We had the good fortune of connecting with Dominic Fernandez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dominic, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
As a digital artist everything in the creative world inspires me. However, one thing that I always go to as a source of inspiration is music. Whenever I need to change my mood or mindset I can just start listening to music. The top 5 artists that I listen to that always inspire me to just create are Kid Cudi, XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, Killstation, and Clever.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
D2R (Dream 2 Reality) is basically my branding as a digital artist. I specialize in graphics and visuals mainly in the music industry. I started off just by posting my art on Instagram and slowly growing an audience on there. Some of my work would even get recognized by artists I listen to. I kept sharing my work on IG and eventually had opportunities to work with some artists and major label companies. All the major projects I was fortunate enough to work on can be found on my site https://d2r.design/projects

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This Shoutout is dedicated to my mom, grandma, Henry, Darlene, Killstation, Leslie, and Clever.

My mom and grandma have always been there for me since the beginning. They always pushed me to be the very best version of myself. My mom is hands down my biggest supporter and always showing my work to other people. Unfortunately, my grandma didn’t get to see me start my journey as a digital artist but I know that she’s watching over me and I hope I’m making her proud. My oldest brother, Henry, has always been someone I looked up to especially as I got older. I never had a father figure in my life but he was someone I looked at as that person. He has an insane work ethic just like my mom which I strive to have. He literally started at the bottom and worked his way up.
When it comes to working a 9-5 job there are a few people who had a huge impact on me especially after going separate ways. Darlene is one of those few people. Ever since I started working with her, she’s been very supportive of my journey as a digital artist. She always gives me input on how to market myself and overall is just an amazing supportive friend.
In June 2019 I had the opportunity to meet one of my favorite artists after their live show, Killstation. I gave him a metal print of my artwork I designed for him. He told me how much he loved it and how he always gets fanart through IG but when he saw mine, he was speechless. He even gave me some inspiring words that I keep close to me till this day. He told me that people will try to bring you down but you can’t let them. Keep working and one day I will be big. Hearing something like that in person especially from an artist I always listen to is something I will never forget. Till this day, my IG profile picture is a picture I took with him from that night. I don’t plan on ever changing it because whenever I open IG I see that picture and immediately remember that night and get inspired. If Nolan (Killstation) ever reads this, I just want to thank you for believing in me and I truly appreciate everything you said to me that night.
This year I started working more with Clever’s manager, Leslie. She’s been amazing and very supportive of my work. She is another person with an amazing work ethic and puts in so much work behind the scenes. I believe surrounding yourself with people with a strong work ethic is very important because it pushes you even more. I’m excited to be part of the team and can’t wait for what the future holds.
The last person I want to dedicate this shoutout to is Clever. He knows how much I appreciate all the opportunities he gave me. Whenever I work with him, I always remind him. He’s the person who opened the first door for getting my name out there as a digital artist in the music scene. In the beginning of 2019, he saw one of my artworks on IG and we kept on working together through the years. I’m now part of his team and can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on. He has always been supportive of my work and helped me in ways he will never know.

Website: https://d2r.design/projects

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2r_designs/

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