MANILA, PHILIPPINES — This year, like the years before, the Graphika Manila conference hall was packed with creatives, all on their own journeys as they navigate their path in the industry. So, it’s probably fair to say that when graphic designer and illustrator Soleil Ignacio, one of the many illustrious professionals that made up this year’s impressive speaker lineup, got up on stage to talk about her creative journey and the inevitable rejections, moments of doubt, and crises that came with this career, it resonated with the audience.
When her mom pushed her to take up Visual Communications instead of her plan to take Interior Design, that was the start of her path to becoming the artist that stood on the Graphika stage last February 11. She recalled, however, that she has always been obsessed with drawing girls — from Anime characters to classic Disney Princesses — growing up, and that eventually shaped her work as a freelance artist and designer.
Soleil has gone on to do amazing work for amazing brands, mostly in the fashion and beauty industry. Forever 21, Uniqlo, TRESemmé, L’Oreal Paris, Lustrous Makeup, and Nike are just a few of the many clients she’s created stunning illustrations for. She’s even done spot illustrations with Vogue Japan for some of its features. And when she realized how isolating working from home as a self-employed artist could be at times, she also founded Studio Kapitbahay, a shared creative space that espoused collaboration and community, with fellow creatives.
However, during Soleil’s talk, she focused on the fact that life as a creative isn’t just about how to achieve milestones and get great projects like these. Rather, it’s also about navigating the rejections, dealing with burnout, and knowing to find your way back when you feel lost.
She recalled a time when she was always feeling defeated. Not only did she get a rejection that had her feeling completely thrown off at a time she was already feeling lost, but she was also struggling to get in touch with her love for illustrating. And while contracts that fell through and the pandemic all played their part in it, Soleil made it a point to acknowledge that a lot of the burnout was coming from the pressure she was putting on herself to churn out new projects.
What saved her from that mindset? Surprisingly, it was climbing.
Throughout Soleil’s talk, she listed three tips. One was to always have a contract — that’s what gave her security even when projects fell through. Another was to get in touch with people and connect with fellow creatives — that’s what helped her get the opportunities she’s gotten. But what seems to be the most important one, at least on the topic of navigating all this doubt and the emotional hardships of being a creative professional, is the last tip: zoom in, zoom out.
“What I mean by that is detach yourself from your art from time to time, so you can find your focus again,” she said during a follow-up interview with adobo Magazine.
Getting into climbing was that “zoom out, zoom in” moment for her. Finding something she deeply enjoyed outside of the creative world not only reminded her that she doesn’t need to be creating all the time, but also that her identity shouldn’t be entirely defined by being an artist.
“I was always pushing myself to do something productive, do something creative. Eventually, I felt really burned out by that,” she told adobo Magazine. “So, you [need to] look for other hobbies outside of art, outside of design. You don’t always have to be working on your craft.”
After zooming out and getting that perspective in check, she was ready to zoom back into art. Realizing that art is just one part of her life allowed her to let go of the constant pressures she put on herself and gave her more room to breathe and dive into the joy of creating once more. In fact, her work for the anniversary party of her go-to climbing gym, Climb Central Manila, was one of the projects that made her fall in love with creating again.
Regaining this balance helped her find her groove again and take on a more sustainable outlook toward her creative journey as she took on new exciting projects, like her collaboration with Nike that was inspired by Women’s Basketball in the Philippines, and looks to explore more facets of art like tattooing.
And while she knows that there may be more setbacks in the future, this time she’ll be armed with the knowledge that who she is isn’t defined by her creative career.
She ended her talk with her self-assurance that all creatives should take the time to remind themselves once in a while, especially during rejections, big shifts, and times of doubt: “My skills as an artist weren’t a measuring tool for how I should value myself as a person.”
