In March 2020, around the start of the pandemic, Vegalia Jean-Pierre began using TikTok under the profile name @byvegalia, to showcase her art.
“TikTok has been a place for me to find my voice and to find my people,” she told Hometownsource.com.
She began drawing herself and other people of color as cartoon characters, but she found it difficult to draw the hair of the cartoon characters on apps like Procreate and Photoshop because of the intricacy it takes to draw braids or curly hair.
Recognizing a problem that needed to be solved, she created her own set of digital brushes that create a plethora of Black hair textures such as braids, curls, locks and twists, per the story from Hometownsource.com
With more than 555,000 followers on TikTok, and millions of likes and views on her videos and iYou go girl, Jean-Pierre is now a successful entrepreneur with her work selling her digital brushes.
From Hometownsource.com:
Now, her by.Vegalia brand offers more than 50 brushes through Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop and Procreate, with her most popular packs being the Procreate curl and braid set. Each of the sets ranges in price from $8-20.
Last February, she was invited to participate in TikTok for Black Creatives creator incubator program, in which 101 creators and artists were provided with career-building resources.
The three-month program allowed Jean-Pierre to learn effective ways to post on TikTok and grow her audience.
“It was a great benefit to me,” said Jean-Pierre, who now has more than 500,000 followers.
It also helped her build confidence in her social media presence.
It also opened the door for a $50,000 grant, which she received by pitching an idea for an app she is currently developing.
That’s super dope and will for sure help her grow and expand her business.
The killing of George Floyd has inspired Black activists, creatives, business owners and entrepreneurs to be a leader for change, including Jean-Pierre.