Conservation Illustrator Stefán Yngvi Pétursson
About this podcast episode…
Conservation Illustrator Styngvi
Meet Icelandic artist Stefán Yngvi Pétursson, AKA Styngvi, as he shares his journey from working in an ad agency to becoming a freelance conservation illustrator.
Inspired by shocking pollution during a trip to Indonesia, Stefán decided to use his creative skills for environmental activism, or 'artivism'.
He established a successful freelancing career through Instagram, but more recently has expanded his network and leads via LinkedIn, his website and email outreach.
With a growing online presence and support from platforms like Patreon, Stefán aligns his art and business with his values, promoting sustainability, environmental awareness, kindness and positivity.
In this chat we explore his passion-driven career and his strategic pro bono work (including a collaboration with a major music star).
But whilst it may feel like Styngvi may have found his calling, what to actually call himself is another matter. An ethical designer? An ocean storyteller? A science communicator?
How about: a really great podcast guest? Enjoy!
Available as a video podcast too - Watch Stefán here on the site, on YouTube, or Spotify.
Read a full transcript & get Links in the tabs.
More from Stefán Yngvi Pétursson
Styngvi website
Styngvi on Instagram
Styngvi Shop
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson on LinkedIn
More from Steve Folland
Transcript of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland and conservation illustrator Stefán Yngvi Pétursson AKA Styngvi
Steve Folland: As ever, we'll get started hearing how he got started being freelance.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Let's go back to the beginning.
Not all the way to the beginning, but yeah, I'll just say that growing up I had basically a pen and pencil in my hand the entire time. And I was always creating, creating characters stories. And then my dad managed to get me a cracked Photoshop, and that's when I really fell in love, like designing my own Pokemon cards.
I was creating the characters and imitating the cards, and I would create that. And yeah, it was a lot of fun. But even though I loved it so much, I didn't even think that I would make it into a career somehow. It didn't even cross my mind because I think I didn't know anybody who had made this attempt at a career.
I had no role models. So yeah, I just did the logical thing and became a programmer. Right. Ah, yeah. I just thought, you know, there's always gonna be demand for programmers. There's always, you know, gonna be jobs well paid and yeah. I ended up moving to the Netherlands from Iceland. And did a study there called Creative Media and Game Technologies.
So in a way it was a creative, I was able to do some fun stuff with code and I thought, okay, I could have at least some creative outlet. And then I ended up in an ad agency working alongside my studies. My coworkers were great and everything, but not having control over who I work for basically, and not really living according to my values in my work.
That was first red flag for me.
Steve Folland: Mm-hmm.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: And I was thinking, maybe this is not the path for me. But yeah, just stuck with it until I got the opportunity to go on an exchange in my study. So they encouraged us to go and explore the world and I took that chance and I went all the other way to the other side of the world.
At this point I was done with ad agency life and I just wanted to get away from it. And thought I would just have a fun little vacation, basically. But it ended up changing the entire course of my professional life and personal life. And at this point I was already kind of into sustainability and environmentalism.
. Turned, I just turned vegan and everything, so it was still kind of fresh. But this experience being immersed in a completely different culture. And being able to slow things down a little bit. Things were so fast paced in the Netherlands, like you're just working, working, working. Like weekends. You do like some hackathons and it's just how it is.
I had no space to breathe, but there I could just relax and come back to myself.
Steve Folland: Where was it you went?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: In Indonesia.
Steve Folland: Wow.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah, I went to the second or third largest city. I wasn't in Bali or like one of those cool places I was in, like I was in a city of 11 million people coming from such a small nation.
This is just... it was completely overwhelming. But what especially struck me was the amount of like air pollution specifically. Like I could really feel it. It was hard for me sometimes just to breathe and the plastic pollution was just horrific. I lived close to the Citarum River, which is one of the most polluted rivers in the world.
And just, you could barely see the water just from mountains of trash. And yeah, it was just shocking. And at this point I just thought, what am I doing? Why am I in ad agency promoting consumption and like just trying to make money and I thought, no, this is not really like, I would rather do something towards this.
So at this time, I was starting to come back to drawing, like I said, and I always had a sketchbook with me and I basically just drew and sketched what I was seeing 'cause I just needed to process everything somehow. And I wanted also to share it with people. So I was decided to start my very first Instagram account. This was back in 2017.
So yeah, I started my Instagram. Started posting my work illustrations and trying to educate people on the topic, and it really resonated and people were sharing it, liking, starting conversations, and at this point I was thinking, oh wow, my art has some kind of power here and maybe I can do something with that.
And yeah, from there it just grew and now I'm here. And it was kind of an accident, but it's the best thing that ever happened. Yeah.
Steve Folland: Wow 'cause when you said that you, you know, you went to the other side of the world and there was a change of pace of life and I, I thought it was gonna be the change of pace of life, but actually, rather than sounding like you were blissfully living on a beach, you were more saddened by what you saw around you.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Mm-hmm.
Steve Folland: But there's one thing to start drawing from that perspective, it's another thing to then turn that into a living, to find clients, to find, you know, a way to make money from it. So how did you make that step?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: It was also kind of accidental. Like I never made any grand scheme on how to make a living from this.
But posting on Instagram, people just started coming to me. They wanted my work on like a t-shirt, wanted to put it on the wall like a print. And from there I thought, okay, I'll just make a shop so people can buy and support me that way. So that was my first income stream. Then I started a Patreon page because people just really wanted to support me and I just, yeah, made a way for them to do that.
So my second income stream was from Patreon, and eventually I was being noticed by organizations and brands because I created work that was highly shareable, like it was getting a lot of traction at this time. So Instagram was just the place where they could find me and reach out either with DM or email or, yeah, it, at this point, it all just came to me and I just said, okay, yes, they were aligning with my values, I could choose my clients.
Steve Folland: Yeah, I loved that it was. Driven from your values from the very beginning?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Mm-hmm.
Steve Folland: How would you sort of define what they are then or now?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: My values? Like I said, I don't want to just promote mindless consumption. I would rather my work have some kind of impact, whether it's environment or conservation.
I want my work to be kind of a way to educate people and make them stop and just think maybe a bit differently and get them out of this fast paced, like not thinking about anything and just, you know, make them reconnect with nature a little bit. And I try to do it in a positive way, not to be so pushy and like make something shocking.
And, yeah, so my, my values are, I would say optimism, impact, like positivity and yeah, just doing things ethically and being kind, kind to the planet.
Steve Folland: So you had brands approaching you. Is that how it's been since then? So this is back to 2017 to today, or have you become more proactive in reaching out to people, or has it simply all been coming to you?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: No, I definitely became more proactive in the past, yeah, two years I would say. Instagram, sadly is not the place it used to be. Yeah. Back when I was just getting started, I was being approached by really big names already, and I felt like I didn't have to make an effort in outreach. But yeah, now I wanna be more selective of my clients.
I know more what type of work I would like to do. And so yeah, now I'm becoming more strategic and actually reaching out, thinking who I really want to work with, what I can offer them, and yeah, switching my attention from Instagram to other areas. Yeah.
Steve Folland: What are those other areas?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Well, I do emails. That's just basic, but LinkedIn has been surprisingly good for me.
I, I always imagined for a creative illustrator, it wasn't really the platform for me, but yeah, the past year I've been more active on there and just posting my, my content, my, my art and yeah, really cool connections like this one. And yeah, client work as well coming from there. So. It's Yeah. Good so far.
Steve Folland: That's so cool. Did you know what you were doing business wise when these clients were coming to you and you accidentally almost started this business? Did, did you know how to deal with that side of, you know, you got the art nailed about the other side of it?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: No, that was a complete mystery to me, and I've just been figuring things out along the way.
But yeah, like I said, about two years ago, I became more intentional and. Decided to join a online platform coaching type of place where I can really learn how to be a professional, creative, and that has been very, yeah, very beneficial.
Steve Folland: So what, like business coaching?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yes. It's how to position yourself in your business doing creative work.
Steve Folland: And what were the biggest changes that you then put into place? Over the last couple of years. So you were, you started on LinkedIn.
. But anything else?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: I've redefined my process. I have, make sure that I just follow steps and have a yeah, CRM system where I can put in all my clients and make sure that it's not just in my head floating somewhere. Just having some kind of structure and, yeah, just making sure that my contracts and everything is very well fleshed out and not to get screwed.
Steve Folland: What, what have you found most challenging out of that side of it?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Well, I always find it quite uncomfortable to like self-promote and reach out to outreach, basically.
I don't know, it just feels a bit icky to do salesy stuff like that. Yeah. So for me that's the biggest hurdle. But every time I do it, I always get, I never get anything negative, so I don't know why it's such a big, big deal. It's not.
Steve Folland: Are you quite systematic about your outreach? Like is there a, a rhythm to it? Are you regularly reaching out to people?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah. This is something they really hammer on in this, coaching course. We should do at least 10 outreach, cold outreach per week and then follow up. So I have like a sheet where I say like, when did I send the first message? When am I gonna send the second? Yeah.
I try to have some kind of system there so I don't forget. And just to keep myself accountable and...
Steve Folland: And who are those people you are reaching out to? Brands that you feel align?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah, that's one of my main things. I don't accept projects that don't align, you know, with these values that I have. And if I'm working on something, it needs to be, there needs to be passion in it for me to do my best work.
So yeah, I reach out to mainly NGOs and like organizations that are like not for profit, but you know, just to raise awareness to do some campaign work for them or, mainly campaign work and creating some like illustrations for their storytelling and visuals. Yeah.
Steve Folland: Have you ever come up against an issue, I guess, where, because you're so passionate about the reason why you're doing something and what that work could do. That sometimes people, they might, for legitimate reasons, not have the money that you, you would like to ask for, to do something. Like, I'm wondering how you get around that, whether you feel that pressure, whether you, you are okay to step away. 'cause I feel like there must be a tension in there.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah. I mean, especially working with nonprofits, you can't expect huge, you know, budgets and I know this so I try to have some kind of balance, you know, I still do some work for actual brands that are for-profit, but as long as they have, you know, same core values and are not just, you know, destroying the planet with my work, but even, you know, of course, creatives should be paid fairly, but I, I also accept free work sometimes, like I do pro bono work and I'm able to do that because I have my Patreon, like I get monthly support from people and I see that as my way to give back to them to support. NGOs, they might not have, you know, the huge budget, but I still really believe in their cause, so I'm able to give back in that way.
Steve Folland: So with your Patreon as well, are you still creating your, your own work for that audience? Like is there a, a private section of it? Or is it all public, but people want to contribute to support you?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Mostly people just want to contribute. Like I have a questionnaire for them, like, what do you want to get from this? And they just say, I just wanna support your work. But I do a lot of, like personal artwork as well.
Like I just have so many ideas and I just want to create, and for the people that are supporting me, I like to give them, you know, monthly mobile screensaver with my work, they can switch out and just have like a nice message on their phone and share a bit of insight into my creative process and projects that I'm working on.
So just to let them know more like what's going on and what I'm doing with their support, basically.
Steve Folland: And do you still create products as well? Is that still a side?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: In my shop? Yeah. I have, I have a, a calendar every year, like a, wildlife conservation calendar and I have some merch, like t-shirts and prints and yeah, still a good source of income for me as well.
Steve Folland: If you are listening to this, if you're watching this, you have to go and check out, Stefan's work. I'm sure you will. Anyway, you've gotta be intrigued, surely. But do, do, go take a look.
You, you have like an artist's name. Is that also like your company name? Is it all?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah, my artist name. It's basically just my first and middle name squeezed together is nothing super creative. But yeah, it's just something that stuck with me. It used to be my programmer name, but now it's my artist name. Yeah, so everything is created under the Styngvi brand, so it's Styngvi.com and on socials, I'm Styngvi everywhere, so, and people call me Styngvi in real life so that's just how I've become known.
Steve Folland: Brilliant. So you do do some pro bono, how's that gone for you? How, how, how do you think about that side of it?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah. For me, pro bono work has been a huge part of my success, I would say. I want to give back with my creative work and some of my biggest clients have come from pro bono work, so I, I'm not saying that people should just do work for free, but just if you do it strategically that benefits you and you have passion for it, you should go for it.
Because for me, I did this, poster for a whaling protest in Iceland with a musician, Bjork from Iceland who did a collaboration, she performed at this event, and from her posting it on her social media, I was approached by Patagonia, which was my ultimate dream client. Wow. And when I saw them in my inbox, I was like, what the...? But yeah, they came from this work that I did, and from there I got a really nice project with them for another like awareness campaign.
So I still, to this day, I do proponent work. Every quarter I do a infographic for a magazine for free and for also from that work I've gotten cool infographic clients. So yeah, it's, it's really worked in my favour.
Steve Folland: I love that. You say you think about it strategically. . How would you describe that strategy, I guess?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah. Well, in my case, if it's something to do with ocean conservation, something that I want to be known for and the type of work that I want to do. So if someone would approach me with a really amazing project or an idea and they don't have like maybe the budget or not the entire budget that I would want. I would still consider it and think of ways that I can make it work.
And in this case I do require, like to have full creative control. Like I'm not gonna be told exactly what to do. I'm gonna, you know, make sure that I do it for me as well as for them. So this is my approach to it.
Steve Folland: Yeah. So it's the thing that you wanna be doing, but you, you get to call the shots a bit more.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah, exactly.
Steve Folland: And that eventually brings you more of that kind of work. And if it doesn't, hey you did something good in the meantime and enjoy doing it.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Exactly.
Steve Folland: Yeah. So have we covered all of the different sort of revenue, you know, the ways that you are making a living?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah. Well I also do some like wholesale basically to some museums and, like museum shops and stores in Iceland. Mainly in Iceland.
Steve Folland: Awesome. Is that? How, how did that come about though? Through them reaching you, or did you get an agent or?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: No. Yeah, they just reached out and I go there because it's like The Whales Of Iceland Museum. Of course, I, I love whales, so I'm gonna go there and try to like network and yeah, we've had a collaboration for the past four or five years and they just, yeah, love my work and gladly supporting them as well, so..
Steve Folland: That's so cool. Do you know anybody else doing what you do? Like is there, I don't know, maybe there's a community of eco minded freelancers or businesses for example, or are you solo in what you're doing?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: No, there's actually a, like amazing group of people out there, and I was really happy to find like a like-minded community like this. And in fact, there's I think, three that I'm aware of even. So there's, Creatives For Climate. It's like a group that you can join. They even have like in-person events and workshops and job boards and everything.
Then there's Clean Creatives that are like designers that have signed a pledge that they will not do any work for, you know, oil companies or something like this. And then there's the. I think it's called Sustainability Creative Charter or something like this. Yeah, so there's people out there and people really want to like use their creative skills for good.
Steve Folland: Awesome. So ha. Have you been able to meet up with him?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: No. Unfortunately in Prague there's not. May be in Prague. I'm the only one, but...
Steve Folland: So in terms of your portfolio, is there a particular way that you show your work?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Honestly, like six months ago was the first time I ever put like a case study on my website. Before that, it was just my shop and in a way that was a way that I could show the personal work that I do, but I wasn't able to show like my client stuff.
So yeah, up until six months ago, it was just Instagram mainly where I was getting clients, but then I realized I need to do something a bit differently. So yeah. Now on my website, I. Just showing a bit of insight into my projects and like some sketches and no really thought out way.
Steve Folland: No, but it is so like your case study will show the thinking through that process and what the outcomes achieved for the, for the client.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah, exactly. So there's just a bit of, first, a brief and some sketches and my idea behind my thought process and yeah, then the final outcome and the impact or results that it had for the client.
Steve Folland: And how about the way you put yourself out online? Would people see Stefan on Instagram, for example, or on LinkedIn, or do you just let your art take centre stage?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Mostly it's my art. I'm trying to show more of my face and not just be behind this sketchbook, you know? But yeah, I, I see way more engagement when I do like, speak, like for myself and show my face. But for me, the main purpose is my art. That's really what I want to, you know, let shine.
Steve Folland: Yeah. Do you have like a constant stream of work coming in or is it quite seasonal? How, how do you ride that rollercoaster out?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Well, this coaster has become a lot, like more stable. It used to be ups and downs and, that was like the, the hardest part in the beginning. There were many moments where I thought, you know, I just need to get, you know, a normal job, stop this. But being able to build up my client base, build up trust, and a reputation in this field.
Now I see more like steady stream of clients, returning clients coming back and with my new outreach methods, I'm able to, you know, if things are starting to dry up, I at least have some connections that I can check back in with. And yeah, right now this rollercoaster is not so not so bad.
Steve Folland: That's nice. You mentioned an email, like some kind of newsletter. What do you do for that? How often are you doing that? What kind of thing is on it?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah, it's not as regular as I would like. I'm trying to rethink my strategies there a little bit. But yeah, in the past it was just mainly. Tell people if there was like, new stuff in my shop, but I wanna be a bit more intentional about it and bring more value than just, you know, up shop updates.
And actually I'm thinking to change up my content strategy and also start a podcast. Like podcast series, yeah. Where I talk about more, you know, how to use your creativity for good and more about my journey and steps that I took. And how I found my clients and all that stuff. So yeah, I was thinking I would have this 10 episode series and match that with a newsletter on Substack.
I, I just wanna get away from Instagram for now, to be honest. So I just wanna, you know, try out different areas.
Steve Folland: Fantastic. Especially like a, you know, when you said about the fact that there, there are these communities, for example, there's people out there who, yeah. Who are inspired, I think, by wanting to do more values driven work.
. So, yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Plus you've got a lovely voice, Stefan. Don't waste it. Right.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Oh, thank you.
Steve Folland: What about the work life balance side of things? How does that feel for you?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: It's very tricky because when you do something that you're so passionate about and... I love to draw, I just, I would do that in my free time and I can just get totally lost.
So I am, yeah, I used to have a really, basically no work life balance, but now I have my partner, I have my dog, so I really need to just, you know, step away from the desk. And now I'm able to structure myself better. I have like time blocks for client work, time blocks for personal work and just time blocks for no work, basically. So...
Steve Folland: So you've scheduled in the no work.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yes. I put it in my calendar.
Steve Folland: No, but that's, Do, do you actually have it in there? As in, okay. This is, this is time where I'm not meant to be doing anything.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Just as a reminder, you know, I can just get caught up in an idea and just start, you know, doing stuff and then I just need to remind myself to just, it's good to take a break and just step back.
Steve Folland: How would you, because this is also what will go on the website, how would you describe yourself? So normally I would say, oh, you know, I'm a freelance copywriter. I'm a freelance graphic designer. What will I put for you, Stefan?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: I've been playing around with my titles quite a bit.
I come from ethical illustrator and designer, and now it's more conservation illustrator, ocean storyteller, and Science Communicator. Yeah, any of those work for me? I.
Steve Folland: Yeah, I'm gonna need a bigger... I'm gonna need a bigger website.
That's interesting in itself though, because Yeah I remember seeing, was it ethical designer?
So you've already moved on from, from that, I think. that I saw at one point, how do you play around with those? How do you settle on them?
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Mm. Well, I, I used to have ethical designer like for a long time. But then I was getting questions like, does it even mean, people were kind of unsure what it entails, so well, when I started my LinkedIn, basically I, I realized I should maybe have more of a more keywords basically.
So yeah, that's how it evolved. But yeah, I feel like I'm in a transition now where I need to find a new, you know, short form that can encompass what I'm all about.
Steve Folland: Yeah. It's funny isn't it, because it's, it's beautifully, well, to a certain extent, unique.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Mm-hmm.
Steve Folland: But equally you wanna, are you paying attention to what people are asking for or searching for or, or saying to you, like, how, how you end up choosing these things?
Or is it No, that sounds good. That feels good. I'll play with that for a while.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Well, when I did my redid my website. I had a copywriter help me and she did a keyword research for me. And yeah, the term ethical illustrator isn't really searched. It's not something people are really aware of. So she suggested that I create more of like keywords that people might search for, like Ocean Illustrator or Conservation Designer or something like this. So that made me think.
Steve Folland: Ah, gotcha. That reminds me of that episode we had with Raymond who was, Sustainability copywriter. We had a whole discussion about going round and round, trying to get the right word. If you haven't listened to that episode, I recommend it. It's so good. Yeah. Sometimes you've just gotta call yourself something, haven't you?
And start putting it out there.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Yeah, exactly. If you don't say what you wanna do, then how are you gonna get that work?
Steve Folland: Yeah. Oh, I love it, Stefan. I love what you're doing. I love the way that it's working for you and for the world, but it's also beautiful to look at art. So do go check it out. Of course.
Go find Stefan on Instagram and LinkedIn, in particular. See, see what is up to there. There will be links at beingfreelance.com. So if you can go through and find them for yourself. But for now, Stefan, thank you so much and all the best being freelance.
Stefán Yngvi Pétursson: Thank you so much, Steve.
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