Hi. My name is Craig Smith. I have been an artist all my life. I remember drawing illustrations and logos for my school newspaper printed on mimeograph machines in Elementary school.

I don't recall when I first started drawing portraits, but my first recollection was when I was babysitting for the neighbor's kids. They were toddlers at the time, so after bedtime there was a lot of down time, so I filled it by drawing portraits of the kids from photos they had around the house. I discovered that I have a great talent for capturing likenesses. I believe there is a difference between merely copying a photograph or image, and actually capturing the likeness of a real-life human (or animal). Even though the images I work from are two-dimensional, I think I capture the three-dimensional feel of the living subject.

I grew up in Michigan (not, near Detroit) and went to Lansing Community College where I got my first art degree. Then I moved to Chicago where job opportunities in graphic design and art were more plentiful than they were in Michigan. After a few years there, I got tired of such freezing winters and moved to the San Francisco area. While I've never actually lived in the city of San Francisco itself, I've lived all over the rest of the Bay Area, particularly in the East Bay.

Over the years, I have had may different experiences and jobs in and around the graphic industry. I have even gone back to school to learn animation. Some of my job titles have included: graphic designer, illustrator, screen printing artist, comic book artist, storyboard artist and portrait artist.

 

~ Craig Smith