Meet Digital Illustrator and Registered Dietitian, Miranda Reagan
Location: Fort Worth, TX
I create for: Business and Hobby
Creative Avenues:
Digital Illustration
Apparel
Products (stickers, buttons, badge reels)
Background
I became a dietitian in 2015, and my background as an RD is primarily inpatient clinical and outpatient bariatrics.
While staying home with a baby and toddler for a few years, I desperately needed a creative outlet. So, in 2020 I invested in an iPad and learned digital illustration and hand lettering.
I pulled a lot from my nutrition background for subject matter as I practiced, and this is how my business Donut Season was born!
Philosophy and Inspiration
Several years ago, I went looking for a graduation gift for my sister who had just become a Speech-Language Pathologist. I found a few shops with tons to choose from- but when I searched for similar items for dietitians, there really wasn't much out there.
I became inspired to create designs and products that I felt would speak to some common feelings and experiences of dietitians, while also being fun, cute items that could be worn or displayed proudly.
I think I went about developing my creativity and artistic skills a little backwards- I suppose most people develop skills and a signature style first, and then worry about what to produce with it. But having a very well-defined audience to pitch ideas to as I've grown has been invaluable, and I'm now excited and inspired to continue growing as an artist, outside of Donut Season and the highly niched designs I create there.
GALLERY
(Click each image to expand)
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An assortment of some of the food and dietetics inspired accessories Donut Season offers, including stickers, magnets, buttons, and badge reels.
| Illustration of raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries interwoven with the word Nourished, drawn on the iPad in Procreate app.
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One of Donut Season’s best-selling t-shirts featuring assorted colorful food doodles and the hand-lettered phrase All Foods Fit. | Assorted 3" stickers made from Miranda's digital art, commercially printed on thick, waterproof vinyl. |
Photos courtesy of Miranda Reagan
Creative Journey
I've always been a "maker" and love cooking, baking, sewing, and embroidery, but I really didn't consider myself creative until recently.
It's been eye opening over the past few years as I've learned an entirely new skillset to realize that creativity is like another muscle that you can grow and strengthen with practice over time.
I think I'm still in the early stages of my creative journey, and working on finding my style and voice as an illustrator and designer. Already though, my creative journey has turned into a wildly fulfilling career path that I never could have predicted.
Owning and operating a product-based business as a solo entrepreneur is so hard, but so fun. Currently, I turn my digital art into physical products like stickers, badge reels, art prints, buttons, apparel, and accessories. I'm loving developing new designs and products, and hope to continue to expand Donut Season's offerings.
My vision going forward also includes collaborating with more brands, dietitians, and business owners, and possibly doing more freelance work down the road. Dreaming big, I'd love to illustrate a children's book, or see my work on products in brick-and-mortar retailers, so I'm working now on improving my illustration skills as well as learning surface pattern design.
Achievements
Donut Season has grown to be the largest online retailer of handmade dietitian merchandise with over 200 products available.
Overwhelmingly positive customer feedback is my proudest achievement; we maintain a 5-star rating across 1600+ reviews!
I'm honored to get to collaborate regularly with other RD-owned brands like All Access Dietetics, and to make custom designs and products for companies like Kate Farms.
How do you do what you do? Give us some insights into your tools, techniques, and creative process.
I work almost entirely digitally to create art, so my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are my most used tools. (I get asked sometimes, so if you’re curious about what specific models I use, mine are the 12.9" 2018 iPad Pro and 2nd Gen Apple Pencil.)
I will sometimes use a reference photo or pencil and paper sketch to start, but then my sketch is refined and the piece is drawn in the Procreate app on the iPad. I also use Adobe Illustrator on a desktop computer to finish designs, turn them into repeating patterns, or format items for printing.
Almost all of the products I sell through Donut Season are made by hand, so I have a whole office full of fun tools and machinery like heat presses, button presses, printers, and cutters.
While I outsource some high volume items like stickers and ink transfers, producing and holding the finished products in my hands is the most satisfying part of creating for me!
Video courtesy of Miranda Reagan
Watch Miranda work on a batch of ~50 t-shirts using specially printed ink transfers of her art and a commercial heat press.
What advice or tips can you offer someone interested in doing what you do?
It’s easier than ever to learn to create digital art online these days! There are a ton of free resources like artist blogs, and tutorials on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
I would highly recommend investing in an iPad and Apple Pencil along with the Procreate or Affinity Designer app. Mine is actually refurbished and was a couple years old when I purchased it and I’ve had zero problems, plus it made the upfront investment a little smaller.
Daily practice and experimentation is key, because even if you’ve been drawing for a long time, there’s a whole different feel and workflow when you work digitally.
You’re going to create some “bad” art, and that’s totally ok! It’s just part of the process as you learn what works and what doesn’t, what you enjoy and what excites you the most. This is advice I need to remind myself of daily too!
Any upcoming events, projects, shows, appearances, or collaborations?
As I branch out into creating outside of the nutrition/dietetics space, I’m working towards opening a Spoonflower shop, as well as expanding to some more general appeal categories on a section of my website.
I’ll definitely post updates to social media and send info to my email subscribers as this happens!
Connect with and Support Miranda
My website is donutseason.com and you can also shop via the Shop App. Connect with me on Instagram and Facebook @donutseason! The easiest way to stay up-to-date with me and what I’m creating, plus get special offers for Donut Season products is to sign up for my email list.
I’m always open to inquiries for collaborations and freelance illustration or design work! Reach out to hello@donutseason.com if you have a project you’re interested in collaborating on or hiring me for.
If you’d like to support me in a totally free and informal way, sharing my posts on social media is easy and super helpful! Or, if you’ve purchased any Donut Season products, leaving a positive review is incredibly impactful for small businesses like mine.
Thanks for checking out our Creator Spotlight on Miranda! Drop us a line below if you know of another creator you think we should feature or if you would like to be featured. We love supporting our fellow creatives!
Also, if you haven't already, join the Artists & Creators in Dietetics Facebook group.
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