Meet Breanna Watson | Illustrator & Animator

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

Hi Breanna, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Planning and scheduling things at least a month in advance and also goal planning at the beginning of each month. I’m the kind of person who has a bunch of ideas and hobbies and wants to do them all at once so keeping track of what I want to do and realistically when I can get those things done has helped me tremendously. It also allows me to see where I am stretching myself too thin, like if I’m hanging out with friends back to back and not leaving energy or time to create than I need to plan a rest weekend. I have a planner book, my phone calendar, at least two calendars hanging in my room. It sounds like a lot but trust me it helps!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is an amalgamation of just all the stuff I was obsessed with as a child which was, anime (specifically Sailor Moon and Inuyasha), the toys I grew up with, 2000s girl-core where everything had to be pink and covered in hearts or flowers. To be honest my work is very self indulgent, but I feel like the best kind of art is where you can see the artist in their work. If the younger version of me would look at my art and be completely enamored with it then I feel like I succeeded.

I saw this quote that said “create what you want to exist in the world” and its something I very much live by. I have gotten caught up in my own head especially being surrounded by such talented peers and not feeling good enough to last in this field, but the thing that has always kept me going is that I am the creator of my own reality and just creating to create is worth something. If I don’t make the things that I want in this world, then who will? I just always go back to the child version of me and think about how far I’ve come and how I didn’t always have the ability to make my vision come to life and now I do!

Even with the challenges, I always try to move with gratitude and I think it’s helped reframe my mind so that when I do hit a wall its never one that I can’t get through. I just want the world to know that I put myself into my work to connect with those who were also the little nerd watching Sailor Moon feeling too soft and sensitive for the world, you are seen and loved!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I don’t think you can go wrong with a museum visit, its kind of a rite of passage for visiting NYC. You have to go to the Museum of Natural history and get really scared of The Squid and The Whale diorama, then go to the MET and try not to fall in the water in The Temple of Dendur exhibit.

If they are a big anime nerd, I would take them to Kinokuniya which is a super fun Japanese bookstore that has a bunch of manga, super cute stationary, and goods from Japan. Then chill at Bryant Park and set up a picnic on the lawn while we read our manga.

For dinner I’m taking them to Korean BBQ in K-town and if we wanna keep the night going walk a block up to go to karaoke. If they want a night of dancing we are going to House of Yes or Lot 45 in Bushwick. They used to have these Rihanna vs. Beyonce dance parties before the pandemic that would go until 4am and the energy is always unmatched just nonstop dancing and good vibes.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shoutout my very supportive, beautiful, magical group of friends. The way we support each other in our professional and personal lives is something that I think everyone needs in their life. Being an artist can be a very isolating profession but having people that you can fall back and know that they will catch you is such a gift that I am forever grateful for. Also its really amazing just being able to be surrounded by talented people. I am in awe of their work ethic and can only dream that it rubs off on me!

Website: https://www.breannawatson.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brewatson/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2DmpwR2nX7Ajpgt1dt9zKw

Other: https://linktr.ee/bre_draws

Image Credits
Breanna Watson