I'm Shelby!
And I’m Chicago-based artist, creator and writer on a mission to share my creativity and life experience as an artist with the world.
For a little context, I've been drawing and creating art before I could even hold a pencil. Finger painting turned into drawing and drawing into digital art. I started creating digital art in high school when I bought my first iPad and have been using that as my main “medium” since.
Hey there!
Hey there!
In 2021, I graduated summa cum laude from Columbia College Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in Traditional Animation.
After graduating, I decided to continue my studies at Columbia and, in 2022, received my master’s degree in Creative Entrepreneurship.
Currently, I work full time in office administration at a consulting firm in downtown Chicago. Although that takes up a lot of my day, I still find time to create!
I've attended several C2E2 events throughout the years in homemade cosplay creations and in 2023, I attended as an artist for the first time to sell my work and promote my store.
My Etsy shop, The Shelby Shaper Shop, has been in business since 2018. There, I have completed over 1,500 transactions and have sold hundreds of stickers, prints, art books and custom character letters. Now, I’m trying to push business towards my website’s storefront in an effort to steer clear of Etsy’s high seller fees.
Early in 2023, I published the first volume of my self-titled art book series. I plan on creating additional volumes in the future as I continue to learn and progress.
My 8-5 doesn’t stop me from being an artist and business owner. I am currently using any free time I can find to make new art, expand my shop and start paving the road to being a full time creator.
We all start somewhere!
Here’s a peek into my origins as an artist. I started drawing when I was very young and transitioned to drawing digitally in 2013 when I got my first iPad.
As you can see, style and ability may change, but old habits die hard when it comes to subject matter!
