Well, that was crazy. The past week has been a bit of a whirlwind for me. After uploading my NBA Icons on a whim to Reddit's /r/NBA, my work received attention that I didn't realistically think was possible. The public reception to my work was an unexpected, humbling, and overwhelmingly positive experience. The simple image gallery post has presently received over 50,000 (!) views, 2,500 'upvotes,' and 300 comments.
People wanted shirts and hats, phone wallpapers, tattoos, art prints, and icon sets. Art Directors dropped by to give me kudos. New freelance opportunities emerged.
Even the league itself reached out to me, but more about that later.
As a first time venture into the public realm, I was totally floored by the overwhelming support and appreciation for my work. It infused me with the adrenaline shot I needed to dive back into freelance. The internet is a funny place, sometimes.
I've always been a diehard basketball fan, and an illustrator at heart, so the opportunity to combine both passions, and actually have people like it? Incredible.
There will be a little bit of NBA-themed merchandise showing up in my Goods for purchase or download in the coming weeks (you have to try to monetize even a little bit...) so be sure to keep your eyes peeled.
I can't thank everyone enough for their support. It means the world to me. And while this 15 minutes of fame has been tremendous, I don't think this is the pinnacle for me, but rather, the start of something exciting.
Go Celtics!