My name is Justin Perkins, I am an artist and illustrator from Detroit, MI. Over the past 15 years I have been creating artwork for a range of different projects including editorial illustration, children’s books, web comics, indoor murals and gallery art. I enjoy working with clients and working together with them to bring life to their ideas and visions.
For the past decade I have had the opportunity to teach elementary and middle school students and inspire the next generation of artists. I illustrate my experiences with my students in my web comic Mr. Orange.
My Story: How I Got Started
I had always been a creative kid; making things out of foil, drawing pictures, hot gluing broken toys together to make new ones etc. It became clear that I was destined to be an artist when I started drawing designs on classmates pencil cases for $5 in 7th grade. In high school I began earning my money by doing art for classmates and adults I knew. After connecting with a local public arts group I discovered my art had value and my work being featured in a school magazine helped me gain the confidence to pursue illustration as a career.
By the end of my freshman year at College for Creative Studies (CCS) I was doing art in two of the Detroit’s biggest public art events (Street painting at the Detroit Festival of Arts in the summer and ice sculpture at Noel Night in the winter). While at CCS my work was in many art shows and I also did client work. I completed illustration and education programs at CCS in 2011. I started freelancing soon after and was also given the opportunity to teach the next generation of creatives.
Justin Perkins 