I’m so happy to feature Sophie!
Honestly, it cannot be stated enough how important good design is in building your business and brand. Sophie, is an insanely good artist, basically they’re a badass. I’m so impressed by their work and professionalism. I would highly recommend hiring Sophie for any of your design needs…a billion high fives!!! Find Sophie’s work at www.sophiemctear.com
Sophie, your work is beautiful! I’m dying to learn more about you. What led you to the work you do today?
Thank you! I’ve been drawing all my life. My mom is actually a graphic designer as well, so I would watch over her shoulder as she worked with InDesign or Illustrator. She was always really encouraging, and would influence me to learn by doing. I remember making my own birthday party invitations as a kid.
I’ve been working more seriously as a graphic designer and illustrator over the past five or so years. I’m self-taught, but gained more experience at the newspaper I worked on in college, The GW (George Washington University) Hatchet. While I was working as the design editor there I started working with local D.C. venues and bands, namely Comet Ping Pong. I worked there making posters for several years. They allowed me to be so creative, and it was quite an awesome opportunity to work with so many bands that I loved.
I moved to Tucson about a year and a half ago on somewhat of a whim, and have been working on making more physical products to put out into the world — pins, prints, bags, shirts, you name it. The art community here is so prolific and supportive, and I’m so happy to have ended up here.
What or who inspires you?
I’m inspired by nature and Tucson, its mountains and sunsets; color palettes, comic books (I’m a big Image Comics fan), the occult and mystic, tattoo art, music, and by so many other artists and friends that surround me.
Do you have a favorite type of commission?
I’ve been getting a lot of portrait commissions and have been really enjoying those. I think my all time favorite commission though is what I started with — show (and tour) posters! Even before starting to get into the design world, I would be drawn to shows based on their posters. If I saw a poster in my favorite record store, even if I didn’t know the bands I’d always try to go. Most of the time I’d end up loving the bands! Now that I’ve also played music and been on tour, I can appreciate how much of a difference it can make to have a fun poster to promote a show.
Do you have any passions outside of your work?
Definitely music. The music scene is ultimately what helped me get inspired to start making art more prolifically than I ever had in the past. I’m really into “indie” punk and emo music and try my best to support our local DIY scene the best I can. I play violin and sing with my partner, Logan Greene, and some of our friends and have had so much fun playing in a band. I never ever thought I would be singing in front of people, but it’s been a blast!
Check out Sophie’s work at www.sophiemctear.com
3 Comments
Loved this post. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Jessica!
Cool website! Looks like what you’re doing is pretty cool.