Valentine’s Day: a GIPHY Arts Q&A With Bryson Williams

GIPHY Arts commissions hundreds of artists a year, all of whom do impeccable work. Today, we are happy to spotlight GIPHY Artist Bryson Williams and share a Q&A that dives deeper into the creative process.

For Austin-based illustrator Bryson Williams, art is a love language — it’s how he best expresses his love for others, his community and the world around him.

A multi-hyphenate artist with a background in advertising, Williams uses his work to pay loving tribute to his upbringing and the cartoons he grew up on, such as the 1992 cult classic “Bebe’s Kids.” His signature style — a retro cartoon style that he developed as a budding artist at Texas State University — is a reflection of his own life, one that permeates his body of work, from his Black Business Month Sticker package, to his recent Valentine’s Day commission celebrating “the hot mess that modern dating is.”

“It’s weird how I struggled so hard with style [in college] when it’s my most distinct feature. […] I always try to have this chewy, gummy, squishy feel for my art where it looks like it’s edible candy. You could pop it in your mouth. It’s sweet.”

While Williams today is an established commercial illustrator with several big-name clients on his portfolio, he has his sights set on a bigger dream: creating an independent animated movie.

“That’s my ultimate peak-of-the-mountain thing that I want to do […] If I make an independent animated film, it’d be the second Black independent animated film ever made since “Bebe’s Kids” in 1992. […] We haven’t ever had anything like that since. I just want to create something solid that can be another pillar because there’s only been one. That’s nuts to me.”

Below, you’ll find an in-depth Q&A with Williams, as well as several of his GIFs from his Valentine’s Day GIPHY Arts commission.

How did you get your start as an artist? What has your journey been like?

I’ve been doing creative things ever since I was a little kid like everybody else. But, even though I’ve been making art my whole life, I don’t think I really started my art career until my junior year at Texas State University, where I was majoring in studio art with a minor in advertising.

Until my junior year in college, I didn’t have a defining style. I didn’t know exactly what I would be doing as a professional creative; I was just doing what I thought my idols were doing and going from one project to another. However, in my junior year, we had the freedom to come up with our own projects. I was frustrated because I wanted to come up with something substantial, but I couldn’t think of anything because I was trying to impress my professors and get a good grade.

I reached a point where I said, I don’t care if I get a good grade or not, I’m going to do what I like. It’s going to be a guilty pleasure. And that ended up being exactly what I needed. It started with a little animation that became an animated short called “Condor.” It did really well and ended up winning an Austin advertising award. The same thing happened with my senior year project, where I made a board game called “Landshire: the Hood Game.” That project ended up leading to me developing my style.

What was the turning point for you in college? What did you realize about yourself in those projects?

Before then, I always tell people — and they’re always surprised — I actually didn’t draw Black people. I didn’t draw any Black art. I drew aliens, spaceships, video game concept art and fine art for school. I just completely avoided anything that had to do with my actual life because I wanted my art to be an escape.

But then, I realized that is where most of my creativity comes from, so I’m just going to lean into it. That’s when I finally realized, maybe the thing that I’m most closely identified with is actually the key to my creativity. [It’s about] finding your own source of creativity, instead of looking outward and trying to emulate someone else.

School made me more comfortable with it because when I got to college for the first time, it was a culture shock. I grew up broke in the hood. I’d never been to a college before. I’m meeting people who come from money for the first time in my life. So, I felt kind of ashamed of coming from a low-income household because I thought, oh, what are people going to think? That shame went away pretty quickly because everyone in college is broke. And then, you join student organizations and you meet other friends and you realize you’re not the only one. You’re not unique in this situation; plenty of people can relate and do relate, and as a matter of fact, seek out to find content that they can relate to.

[I want to tell artists] everything you need is right there. And the reason you’re struggling so much is because you’re trying to be something outside of yourself. That’s where imposter syndrome comes from; that’s where artist block, creative block comes from. You don’t really have imposter syndrome; you’re trying to be something that you’re not. You’re not being yourself.

What has surprised you on your journey as an artist?

I always knew that I wanted to do something with my art because I love the tangible, tactile, real world aspect of creativity. I love art you can actually use, mess with, interact with; it’s not just on a wall or on a screen. You can actually do something with it. That led me into the commercial art space.

What surprised me was the clients I was getting and the projects I was doing. If you would’ve told me in college, you’re going to work with the United Nations, you’re going to work with Facebook, Amazon, Spotify, I would have been like, “Okay, sure.”

That was just a dream. Back then, I thought maybe in my 30s or 40s, when I’m an executive art director, I’ll get to that point. I didn’t realize that you could get there faster by just doing you. You don’t have to follow the old school route of traveling the country, going from agency to agency, getting fired here, getting hired there. You can build your own platform on social media. You can put your stuff out there and you should put out what you want to get hired for. I tell people this all the time, put out what you want to get hired for.

How did you start making GIFs?

I actually used GIFs initially as an animation exercise. The first GIFs that I posted — the original nine, the little hood ones — those were me practicing my animation. They came out great and people went nuts for the Stickers. I got verified immediately and Facebook hit me up a month later. I was like, oh, yes, I make GIFs now.

I used to always say, I’m not an animator, don’t ask me to animate, I’m not a professional. But, I found my lane with animation. I always had it; I just wasn’t confident in my ability.

I love making these Stickers because micro content is super fun, but I definitely want to do bigger things. I’d love to do a cartoon or an animated film. That’s my ultimate peak-of-the-mountain thing that I want to do, particularly a movie. If I make an independent animated film, it’d be the second Black independent animated film ever made since “Bebe’s Kids” in 1992. It’s a cult classic in the Black community, but we haven’t ever had anything like that since. I just want to create something solid that can be another pillar because there’s only been one and that’s nuts to me.

Is there a Black artist or work of art that you wish more people knew about?

That’s a tough one. There’s a lot of similarities in my art that I originally didn’t notice with “Fat Albert.” If you look at those old illustrations, it’s so similar. Everybody brings up “Bebe’s Kids” or “The Proud Family” or “The Boondocks,” which I get, we ain’t got that many references, but “Fat Albert” is one work of art that I think is super underrated and an influence on me that I myself didn’t notice.

How did you develop your art style? It’s so unique, you could look at it and immediately say, “That’s Bryson’s art.”

It’s weird how I struggled so hard with style when it’s my most distinct feature. I’ve tried every style you could think of; you’ll have a hard time finding an artist that I didn’t try to emulate because I tried everything. The style that you see stemmed from the very first piece I ever made: it was this little Black girl that has a pink puffy jacket and she’s blowing gum while riding a skateboard. It went viral on Twitter and it was my claim to fame.

I always try to have this chewy, gummy, squishy feel for my art where it looks like it’s edible candy. You could pop it in your mouth. It’s sweet. I always look for something that’s visually weird or captivating and just blow them up, shrink them, remove them, add something that shakes things up a little bit. That’s what I’m always trying to do with any product that I create.

Let’s talk about your Valentine’s Day commission! What do you want people to take away from it?

Honestly, to me, it’s a celebration of dysfunction. It’s a celebration of the hot mess that modern dating is, and I think it’s something that’s needed. It’s easy to get frustrated or mad or to feel some type of way about it, but I think it’s good to make fun of it and recognize the ridiculousness of it. It’s rooted in truth.

[Modern dating] is a double-edged sword. [The internet] on one hand has expanded dating, to where you can customize however you’d like to deal with other people in your own way. It’s all about unlimited options. People are always looking for the next thing. It’s been really sort of gamified.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, what’s your love language? How do you express love?

I’m not a very festive person, but I love giving gifts. I love doing stuff for people. I think it’s the creative in me. I like to make stuff and see people’s reaction to it and that’s really why I make art in the first place. I want people to enjoy it. I get more satisfaction in doing stuff for other people than just receiving gifts.

My art is kind of an extension of that, me just giving to the world. Obviously, the art leads to clients, but it also applies in romantic life. You do stuff for others and then naturally the right kind of person will reciprocate. You don’t try to make somebody reciprocate. You just do stuff because you like to do stuff. And whoever is drawn to that is drawn to that. That’s how everything should be really.

I have a quote that I like to live by: Anybody that comes into my life has been a blessing and anyone that I try to bring into my life turns into a lesson. I don’t try to bring anything manually. I let it come in naturally.

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