
Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Ortiz.
Emily, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was in middle school, I had a friend that made a clan on Facebook and gave us nicknames beginning with “moomoo”. When I couldn’t decide my own, my friend came up with Moomoofail because I was a little ditsy and goofy. Since then, I’ve kept the name and branded myself as such. The name moomoo came from an inside joke with that mentioned friend and another person in our group.
When I graduated high school, I took modeling seriously and worked with local photographers. I first got reached out to a photographer visiting from Las Vegas and gained some attention from his photos. I posted those photos on my Instagram with my username being Moomoofail and I’ve never felt the need to change it, regardless of the more serious inquiries I would get offered. I would later become a hair model and gain experience in different genres of modeling, such as runway and commercial fashion. I was in an agency for a few years but I also did many things as a freelance model like schedule all of my photoshoots. Currently, I’m a freelance model scheduling all of my work with photographers, makeup artists and stylists around Arizona to create art and have fun with it.
As far as traditional art, I use Moomoofail as an art brand that makes the name has a little more sense. I’ve grown up loving to draw and paint so much that I’ve developed some skill to create my own pieces that would be good enough to showcase and sell. My first solo art show was at RAW in February of 2019. I have displayed my art in my senior year of high school in a local coffee shop but I was able to actually sell my work at RAW for the first time. It was all I talked about leading up to the show. I wanted to display what I’ve created in the past while also creating new pieces that would fit my name since I had no other reason to create a new artist name.
I practiced my photoshop skills and created stickers of hand-drawn cows wearing lingerie. The designs were ones I created when I started a Patreon in December 2018. Once I realized how popular my stickers were at RAW, I decided it would only make sense to make other cow artwork and have a cow theme within my next art event. I became an artist vendor at the Arizona Hip Hop festival in 2019 and that’s when my moomoo cow theme took full force on my displays. I became not only Moomoofail the model but also the artist.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I began my journey as a model, I had just turned 18 and I didn’t even have my driver’s license yet. When you’re a model, transportation is very important. I relied on my parents and my boyfriend to take me to photoshoots and castings, but a lot of the time, I had to miss out on opportunities because they weren’t available to take me. Of course, confidence is always a huge obstacle too. There would be times when I saw a casting listed, but I felt like I could never get selected because I was too skinny or couldn’t get out of my comfort zone. It took a long time for me to accept the way I look and there’s always a chance for me to get selected.
My biggest obstacle is, of course, the way I think negatively about myself. Having these feelings of doubt and being too scared to go out and try for something is discouraging and only gets in the way of what great things could lead in the future. It goes the same for me as an artist. I sometimes doubt how unsuccessful I’d be if I do an event and if people would even like to see my artwork. At one of my shows, I was trembling with fear because I was so nervous to go up to people and introduce them to my art. It’s just the lack of confidence that makes that seemingly smooth road feel so bumpy.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Moomoofail the model is a petite model based in Goodyear, Arizona with lots of spunk and experience. I’ve done work in runway, hair modeling, high fashion, boudoir, couple modeling and more. I take pride in having done modeling within different categories with little to no direction. I’ve been told that I’m very easy to work with and my look is great for any type of modeling. I’m willing to try new things and to step out of my comfort zone to create amazing images and show off any product or clothing that I would be given the honors to wear.
Moomoofail the artist creates traditional art with acrylic paint, ball point pens, and other mixed media. I take pride in the skills I’ve developed with ball point pens, as I’ve practiced with dedication. I have many inspirations with most coming from Japanese anime and video games. When I make a new piece of art, I always find something that I can do better next time or find a different technique to use. I love creating cute sticker designs with my hand-drawn cows and have my current ones up for sale! What makes me so unique is that I have the same name for both of my brands even though they’re different hobbies. I do both with hard work, dedication and passion!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Hopefully, I’ll be able to do more runway and fashion related things for my modeling career. I’ve been trying to expand my portfolio by including high fashion poses and styles so I can have that for designers to see and include me in their shows. I’m engaging with local stylists photographers for photoshoot meetups, so being in connections with these people can really help boost my work.
I’ve been looking for different art events happening in my area to become a vendor and gain traction to my art. I won’t be able to get into every event but with each one that I do, I’ll have newer art pieces that I’ll showcase! I also plan on practicing with media that I’m not too familiar with, such as colored pencils or gouache.
Pricing:
- $75 an hour for modeling related to lifestyle, portraits or fashion
- $95+ an hour for modeling related to boudoir, implied or swimsuit
Contact Info:
- Website: Instagram.com/Moomoofail
- Phone: 6025710047
- Email: book.emilyortiz@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/moomoofail
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/moomoofail/?ref=bookmarks
- Other: https://www.modelmayhem.com/4372948

Image Credit:
Visuals of Haley @visualsofhaley
Ryan Marsh @ryan.marsh.photography
Jon Geib @guns_money_and_mayhem
Nostalgia photography @nostalgic_impressions
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