Meet Rai Fiondella: Freelance Illustrator & Creative Writer

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

Hi Rai, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
My favorite quote is: “Where I look is where I go.” Whenever I start having doubts about myself or my artwork, this quote helps me to refocus on my goals, and to feel pride in my achievements rather than being stuck on the “should have, would have, could have.”

It’s good to have ambition, but it’s also good to allow yourself to feel proud of the steps you take along the way, big or small. By looking at the things I’ve accomplished, rather than thinking, “oh, I should be further with this project by now,” I think, “hey, I drew an entire comic page more than I had yesterday!” Reframing my thinking in a more positive way keeps me motivated, and it encourages me to push harder to achieve more of those goals.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is about telling stories through the characters I draw, about making my audience feel what those characters feel. I’ve always seen illustration as a sort of tool to connect to people, a way to take people on journeys through the worlds I draw and help them discover more about themselves by relating to my characters. (Plus, I mean, getting to draw dragons and knights and creatures in epic scale, and for that to be my job, is just, like… the coolest thing ever.)

Getting to where I am today professionally challenged me in a lot of ways. I would say some of the hardest things to overcome were the expectations of the industry. It was strange enter a creative field, which encouraged thinking outside the box, and still feel constrained by this universal idea of what success looks like for artists. I recall being told by many fellow artists that the only way to be successful was to move to big cities and be hired by these giant publishers or well-known companies. While that was always an option for me to pursue, it took me a while to recognize that that sort of grind is not how I personally want to work, or what fulfills me.

I always felt collaboration was important, and I have a lot of fun bringing people’s ideas to life through commission work, but there is also this freedom in knowing, as a freelancer and entrepreneur, I have the power to write and draw anything I wish to share with the world without worrying about pitching it to someone first or it needing approval to get published. I feel lucky that in this age of social media and technology, I have the opportunity to post my work to a wider audience online, and it makes it much easier to connect to people more instantly, and more personally.

Bottom line is, there are many paths one could take on the road to success, and you don’t have to take just the one that people expect of you.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in a pretty rural town in Connecticut, so I’ve always been a lover of forest walks and surrounding myself with nature. The hiking trails around here are filled with towering oaks and pines, it’s easy to let yourself get lost in them. If I had a week, I would try to take my friend to this one in particular called the Blue Trail; there is one path on it that breaks into a big, golden meadow, and every time I walk through it I feel like I’ve entered a new, peaceful dimension away from everything. It’s a great place to recharge and gain creative inspiration, as a lover of fantasy!

Also, here we have a place called Mystic, by the shore. It’s a village with a ton of maritime history, with a famous seaport museum, and lots of artsy souvenir shops! I’d totally bring my friend to the Mystic Aquarium there too, it has beluga whales and, (one of the best things ever), penguins! They have a passion for conservation there and protecting the world’s oceans and marine life. Besides getting to interact with the sea animals, I just love the peaceful moments you get in aquariums too, like in those darker exhibits with the wide windows where you can just quietly watch fish swim.

Otherwise, at the end of the day, just take me to a big ol’ mall arcade and I’ll stay in there playing Pac-Man on the giant wall screen for the rest of night. Hahaha! 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?

I would like to give the biggest shoutout to my mom, dad, and two bros for their never ending support and encouragement of my art since I was a kid. My parents always believed in me and my craft, and not once did they try to push me out of it in lieu of getting me into something more stereotypically ‘successful.’ They are my biggest fans, even today. They’ve attended every exhibition and event I’ve been a part of, viewed and gushed about every illustration and story I’ve made, and I know without their love and support I wouldn’t be where I am today.

I also want to give a shoutout to my friend Branwen OShea, YA sci-fi author and fellow lover of fantasy fiction! She has given me the opportunity to break into the illustrated book cover industry by commissioning me for one of her own.

I’ve always loved writing stories and drawing them, so getting to work with her on her debut sci-fi series, starting with ‘The Calling,’ and seeing that work get published is a dream come true. Seeing my artwork printed onto an actual book and getting to hold it in my hands has given me even more drive to publish and illustrate more of my own stories too!

Website: https://raifiondella.carbonmade.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/raifiondella

Other: Carrd and Commission Info: https://raifiondella.carrd.co/