Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron “okpants” Sechrist.
Hi Aaron “okpants”, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I started drawing when I was old enough to pick up a crayon. It was the only thing I felt any level of interest in as a child. Shitty drawings of the Simpsons, He-Man, sports logos, etc. It was an escape. I noticed early on I was better than a lot of kids at it, and for the most part, it kept me from getting made fun of. I kept working at it and followed it to art school (Cleveland Institute of Art) where I gravitated towards graphic design and illustration in spite of getting a BFA degree in digital media around 2002. While my dream going in was to become a comic book artist, it became clear that logo design, graphic illustrations and cartoons came more organically to me. (T-shirt art, album art, skateboard decks, etc.) 20 years later, I’m a fully formed adult human that draws pictures and designs logos for a living.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing about this trip has been smooth. And looking back, I’m glad it hasn’t been. If you want to make money drawing cartoons and doing fun shit whenever you want, the world isn’t just going to hand you that. It was hard from the jump, it’s still hard and I had an awareness of that.
I struggled mightily from the onset with trying to fit myself, an artist; into the 40-hours-a-week working model my parents slaved away under because it was what I was raised by. The problem in that is they didn’t work jobs (cop and an accounts payable administrator) that we’re anywhere near the realm of art. I thought that applying a “blue collar” ethic to a career that operated completely counter to that would lead to success but the world was changing, specifically the workplace; and it lead to me bouncing around to employers that didn’t understand me, didn’t value me, or weren’t really producing anything that I gave a shit about if I’m being honest. I got laid off of my last day job in 2008 as a casualty of the economic crash and being thoroughly depressed and frustrated, I made the call that I would launch my own freelance business or fail and just stumble off to a life of self-destruction. That business was given the name okpants and 13 years later it appears to be working.
The other great struggle of my career is money. I’m an artist, not a businessman. There’s definitely an art to making money out of any given situation or venture and it doesn’t come to me naturally. I never spent a moment of my life in business classes, so I had to learn about running my own business on the fly after I left the workplace. The only experience I had to apply to that was being in DIY bands and booking shows, marketing my silly bands etc. so I started there. Here’s the thing about that: None of my bands ever made Foo Fighters kinds of money, let alone broke even. So while the DIY ethos is what made sense to me and I saw a way forward with it, I ate shit repeatedly in keeping up with paying taxes, bills, and going through stretches where clients weren’t paying or not paying enough. I pride myself on learning from my mistakes and only making them once but I’m not above saying I’ve gone around in circles a few times on that one. The money has gotten better, I’ve gotten a handle on managing it; but that area is a lifelong learning process for me for sure. Being in bands also taught me how to be self-sufficient and how to get shit done when people let you down. I struggle with trusting people to help me—I would love a business manager and having “people”. Again, working on it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an artist that masquerades as a designer. I enjoy working on design projects, generally branding related, and finding a way to produce something different within the parameters of a given project. That’s a long-winded way of saying I design logos. I also do a fair amount of illustration work for apparel and print. The past few years I’ve been doing large-scale murals.
I’m most proud of the work I do with Ohio Pie Co. and Six Shooter Coffee—I’ve been able to really thoroughly design not only a brand but entire physical spaces and every aspect of those businesses. It’s a complete vision.
The elements of my work that set me apart would probably be how much I’m not afraid to crank up the dial on color and linear detail coupled with illustrated elements. As much as limitations are needed when working on client projects, I like to push it as far as I can within that. I also really f*cking love lightning bolts.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Happiness and freedom. When I was a kid I thought being an artist meant you just drew and created all the time and wore wacky clothes and you kinda just threw yourself at life on your own terms. I can say that after 20 years of failures and headaches, that is EXACTLY what being an artist is. Having clients and partners who trust me to do my job the way I need to do it. I had to work for a long time and fall on my face a few times to get there, but it’s absolutely worth it.
When I started on this path professionally, I didn’t have a clue where my career was headed and I still don’t. There are no business plans, no projections, no annual reports. We’re alive at a weird time where the rules have been thrown into the garbage. That’s exciting to me but it comes with its own set of challenges. Work life is just chaos and I’ve learned to just be comfortable in that and willing to adjust where needed. The one constant to it all is the work, and that’s what I focus on. As long as I continue to do the work in front of me, not take it for granted and focus on getting better, whatever’s waiting over the horizon is cool. It’s really no more complicated than that. Do the work and if you don’t enjoy it, find something else to do.
No one cares, and that fact can either bum you out or you can understand that means freedom.
Contact Info:
- Email: hi@okpants.com
- Website: okpants.com
- Instagram: @okpants
- Twitter: @okpants
Image Credits
Photos: Lee Sechrist
