Meet Jordan-Maeve Eusebio | Designer & Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jordan-Maeve Eusebio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan-Maeve, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
This question has been the background radiation of much of my life, especially when it comes to artistic pursuits. Between my own passions and skills, pressures to choose a “safer” more lucrative career, the ever-changing landscape of creative industries, and economic and financial factors, it’s always been difficult to decide which way to go. But over time I’ve learned that the choices of “keep going” or “give up” are not always mutually exclusive—and that they instead exist on a spectrum.

After I graduated with a degree in graphic design, I changed course and tried very hard to break into the animation industry as a storyboard artist. After a few years of trying—using my day job earnings to take classes, attend conventions, network, and get feedback from professionals—I felt myself burning out from the pressure, and had to step back.

At the time, it felt like I gave up on my dream. It was a deep blow to my ego, and I stopped drawing for years. But between then and now, I slowly started drawing again—first for a friend’s gallery shows, then for others as favors, then commissions, then for myself again, and now I’m going to be illustrating children’s books. While I gave up one specific dream, I managed to keep going and find other avenues for my art. This is a lesson that strengthens me even today: “giving up” something doesn’t have to mean putting it away forever. You can give up something in order to keep going in your life, and find your way back later. If it’s meaningful, you can (and often will) find your way back.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Getting to where I am today wasn’t easy or expected. Earlier I mentioned my unsuccessful attempt to break into the animation industry, and how heavy a blow that was to my artistic endeavors. After that, I continued doing graphic design work and gave up on the idea of ever drawing professionally. During that time, I nursed my creativity back to health by going back to fundamentals, drawing what I loved, and drawing things that made people laugh or smile. I did small time commissions, made little comics out of my Dungeons and Dragons games, and learned to follow the threads of my silly ideas, no matter where they led.

In my art, I like to combine all the things I love in funny and unexpected ways. In the most recent work I’m known for, the Silly Shrimphony, that would be orchestra, sea creatures, and puns! It was a silly idea that I honestly just did for myself and didn’t expect anybody else to enjoy, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much it resonated with others. Is resonate the right word? Maybe it just amused them as much as it did me!

Speaking of the shrimphony, I’m very excited to announce that I’m collaborating with mama-author Katherine Chow to turn silly shrimphony into a bilingual children’s book! It will be published by Bitty Bao, a Chinese-English children’s book publisher that I’ve been working with for some time now. I’d like to thank them for seeing the potential in my idea, and giving me the opportunity to bring it to life in such a unique way. The book won’t be out for some time, but anybody interested in learning more when it drops can follow me or Bitty Bao on social media!

It’s only in looking back at my journey that I can clearly see the road that lead me here. When I was discouraged from drawing, I gave up my dreams—but free from the pressure to impress a big studio, I slowly found my artistic voice again. I used to shoot down my own ideas because I thought they weren’t good enough. As I gained my confidence back, I learned to trust those instincts and throw caution to the wind. The silly shrimphony was an exercise in following through with an idea that I might’ve cast aside as being “too dumb” in the past, and it lead me to successes and opportunities I never imagined.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Southern California has so much to offer! First on the list would definitely be some beach time, and that goes for any time of the year. During the summer we can lay out on the sand and play in the sea, and when it’s colder the beach is still great for walking and exploring tide pools during low tide (tip: you can find the local tide schedule at tide-forecast.com!). Some excellent beaches include Malibu and Newport Beach—be sure to go early to secure your spot in the sand! For more sea creature goodness, I’d take our friend to Long Beach’s own Aquarium of the Pacific, which boasts a plethora of incredible little sea critters, including ones you can pet!

I’d also give our visitor a tour of one of my favorite museums, the Getty Villa in Malibu. A branch of the Getty in LA, the Getty Villa is modeled after an ancient Roman villa and houses plenty of Greek and Roman art, all set inside beautiful architecture against the picturesque backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. The Huntington in San Marino is also a must-see, as it also houses an impressive collection of art, as well as a sprawling botanical garden that’s flourishing all year round with unique seasonal plants.

As for eateries, you can’t go wrong with most neighborhoods in LA and Orange Counties. We can hang around South Street in Cerritos, which is essentially one long road filled with delicious eateries, desserts, and boba shops. My favorites in that area include Soup Shop, RiceString Noodle Shack, MeetFresh, Bakers & Baristas, and Bopomofo. I also love going to the SGV (San Gabriel Valley) for some seriously legit Chinese food, including dim sum like NBC Seafood and Hong Kong style cafes like Alice’s Kitchen (pastrami pineapple bun sandwich!). Also, get boba at Xing Fu Tang in Alhambra. You’ll thank me later.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m lucky enough to say that there are so many people in my life I can possibly dedicate this shoutout to, but ultimately I’d like to recognize my husband, José Eusebio. He’s admired and supported my art since we met, and has continued to unconditionally believe in me, even when I couldn’t believe in myself. His encouragement has shown up in the forms of collaborating on a webcomic with me, giving me beautiful and inspiring art books for my birthday and Christmas every year, always hyping me up in front of others, and just being excited by what I create.

Aside from José, I’d like to give a shoutout to my sister, Mika Garcia—an artist in her own right, she’s loved my art for literally her whole life and never hesitates to remind me of that. She’s my biggest cheerleader and she’s always in my corner, and her encouragement is always uplifting to me.

I’d also like to mention my friend Stephanie Han. It was her pressuring me to make art for her gallery that ultimately broke me out of my rut and sent me back on my art journey. Thank you for your kind bullying, Steph!

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