My name is Samantha and I have a degree in graphic design and illustration from Winthrop University. Most Graphic Designers don't do illustrations, but I had the unique opportunity in collage to continue my design classes and pickup a concentration in illustration. I find that I like to do both graphic design and illustration.

Graphic Designer vs. Illustrator
My father once asked me "What is the difference between a graphic designer and an illustrator?" A graphic designer uses artwork to create objects like printed advertisement. The artwork doesn't have to be something that they created. They arrange the artwork to deliver the desired message in an effective way. An illustrator draws objects. As you can see from my website those objects can be anything. I have included realistic portraits, caricatures, signs, cartoon characters, mural paintings, character designs, logo designs, icons, etc.

What mediums can you work in?
I'm very versatile; I can use many different mediums (pencil, charcoal, paint, oil, watercolor, and acrylic, digital paint, pastels and gouache).

I do graphic design, but my preference leans toward illustration because there is so much artistic freedom with it.   You may notice there isn't much graphic design work on the site, that is because after two moves and a few computer crashes I've lost a lot of my college work.   I'm currently working on replicating some of my college projects and I will post them in the near future.