Creative Theory Podcast

Jon Lam is a senior storyboard artist and character designer that has worked in the Game, Animation and Comics Industry. He is currently working full-time at Riot Games. Previous projects include Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, Star Trek Prodigy, and INVINCIBLE To find out more about Jon, go here: https://www.instagram.com/jonlamart/ www.droidbrush.carbonmade.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonlamart/ Jon and Ilya talked about his education and how it got him into the industry, ethics of current AI practices, ArtStation and their response to art scraping, the future use of AI, practicing a variety of skills and finding the one that speaks to you and a lot more. Episode Links: https://www.theverge.com/2022/12/23/23523864/artstation-removing-anti-ai-protest-artwork-censorship https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/17/23558516/ai-art-copyright-stable-diffusion-getty-images-lawsuit https://www.artstation.com/bsnake/albums/all https://www.instagram.com/zoerism/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/matthieu_pommier/?hl=en

Sam Bradley is an artist, art director and writer based in Toronto. He was born in the early eighties and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Mostly through happenstance he attended Sheridan College, where he quickly discovered a passion for the visual arts. After graduating from Sheridan's BA Animation program he began his career in the animation industry, where he has worked primarily as a designer and art director on many different television series over the course of ten years. Previous to creating & directing SPACE BETWEEN STARS, he was the Art Director on Justin Time GO, a Netflix original series created and produced at GURU STUDIO. Alongside his work in animation, he has a deep love for consuming & creating comics. His heart is split between his creative pursuits, traveling the world with the people dearest to him, and befriending dogs whenever and wherever possible. SPACE BETWEEN STARS is his directorial debut. You can find more of his work at: www.dreamylabs.com https://www.spacebetweenstars.com/ https://www.instagram.com/findneweyes/ Sam and I spoke about what aspects of work and life changed since the pandemic started, working from home, pursuit of personal voice, going from working in animation to video games, Sam's film - Space Between Stars, and a lot more. Episode Notes: Space Between Stars short - https://gem.cbc.ca/media/canadian-reflections/s01e238 https://www.instagram.com/findneweyes/ https://www.spacebetweenstars.com/ JETT video game - https://www.jett.fyi/ I Lost My Body - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9806192/ Beautiful Darkness - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_Darkness https://dont-nod.com/en/ https://lifeisstrange.square-enix-games.com/en-us/ https://www.instagram.com/dedouze/ Sword and Sworcery - https://store.steampowered.com/app/204060/Superbrothers_Sword__Sworcery_EP/

Drew Young is an internationally exhibited painter with shows and projects in Thinkspace Gallery, POW!WOW!, Abend Gallery just to name a few. On top of that, he acted as the Visual Arts curator for TedX Vancouver 2014/2015, Skookum 2018 as well as being the Founder of Snag — a weekly live-painting exhibition focused on illuminating Vancouver's alternative arts culture. He currently acts as Curator and Artistic Director for the Vancouver Mural Festival. Drew and I talked about his development over the recent years, pursuing galleries versus personal pop ups, return of the art scene post pandemic, choosing subject matter and the strengths behind it, importance of art in day to day life and a lot more. To learn more about Andrew and his work, follow the links below: https://www.instagram.com/drewstuff/ https://dyoung.ca/

Jeff Simpson is a concept artist for games, film, T.V. and various other media with over 15 years of experience. Some of his clients include Ubisoft, Edios, MPC, Lionsgate, Universal Pictures just to name a few and he is currently working as a visual development artist at Marvel Studios. Jeff and I talked about his move from Montreal to Vancouver, how city culture can affect the studios in it, having a strong style, acceleration of the entertainment industry, finding one’s voice in art and a lot more. To find out more about Jeff and his work, go here:https://www.instagram.com/jeffsimpsonkh/https://www.artstation.com/jeffsimpsonhttps://www.patreon.com/jeffsimpsonart

Macarena and I talked about how she started in textile design, moving around the world and working in LA, finding inspiration, the challenges of being a freelance artist, what is exciting about the textile field and a lot more. Macarena Luzi is a self taught textile designer based in Los Angeles, California. Her work is centered in rugs that feel both fun and elegant with a focus on color and texture.Find out more about Macarena and her work here:https://www.instagram.com/macarenaluzi/https://macarenaluzi.tumblr.com/https://macarenaluzi.com/

Nathan and I talked about creating personal IPs, Nathan’s move from the VFX industry to working at Unity, the ability to pursue personal projects, Norman’s Island project going to Annecy, and a lot more. Nathan Thomas has animated on movies such as Star Wars, Captain Marvel, Terminator: Dark Fate, Bumblebee, Guardians of the Galaxy, Godzilla, just to name a few from the long list that he has been involved in. He is a founder of Little Mountain Animation and creator of Big Dinosaur, Norman’s Island and Magic and Machines. Nathan currently works as a Senior Artist at Unity Technologies. To find out more about Nathan and his work, go here:http://nathanthomasanimation.com/https://www.littlemountainanimation.com/

In Part 2 of the podcast, Andy and I talked about the design process for live action costumes, the future of 2d animation, tropes of the animation industry, Andy’s personal projects and more. Andy Poon is a Visual Development Consultant, Art Director, Designer, Illustrator, Costume Designer who is currently working at Bardel Entertainment in Vancouver, BC. Andy has art directed shows such as Slugterra, Monster High, Blaze and the Monster Machines as well as created designs for live action shows like Batwoman, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow and others. Andy is also a recent Emmy winner for his work on the Dragon Prince. Find out more about Andy Poon and his work here: https://www.instagram.com/andypoondesign https://www.artstation.com/andypoondesign https://andypoondesign-blog.tumblr.com/

A brief talk about losing and finding yourself on the pursuit to creating meaningful work over the last year.

Jesse and I talked about his pleinair practice, working in the animation industry, personal and professional growth, being an artist and its relationship to identity and a lot more. Jesse Winchester Schmidt is a painter, production artist, animation art director at Stellar Creative Lab, and a pleinair enthusiast.  You can find out more about Jesse and his work here:www.winchesterArt.cahttps://www.instagram.com/jwinchesterart/

Taylor and I talked about working while traveling, life during quarantine, Taylor's freelance practice, motion graphics industry, working at Giant Ant, understanding yourself and a lot more. Taylor Jon Peters is an animator and illustrator from Vancouver, Canada. To find out more about Taylor and his work, go here:https://tjpeters.ca/@taylorjonpeters

Luis and I talked about working as a freelance designer, his journey in the animation industry, choosing to follow the path that brings you the most fun, being part of LightBox Expo, expanding one's skills and a lot more.  Luis Gadea is Character Designer and Animator who was born in Canada and grew up in Costa Rica. Some of his clients include Netflix, Dreamworks, Warner Brothers, Illmunation Studio, Passion Pictures, Animal Logic and many others. These days he is a freelance Character Designer on animated projects that are yet to be announced. You can find more about Luis and his work here:@luisgadeawww.luisgadea.com

Allan and I talked about his versatility, how he starts out on a piece, power of 3d software and how it mixes with 2d animation, working in the animation industry, brainstorming ideas and a lot more.  Allan Douglas Parker is a designer, vis dev artist, 3d wizard, musician, powerlifter, just to name a few of his passions. He currently works as a CG Generalist at Titmouse Studio. To find out more about Allan you can go here:https://brokemypencil.ca/@brokemypencils

Michael and I talked about how he went from a full time job in set design to being a full time fine artist, the way he grounds himself, Michael's solo show - PACE, the pressure of producing large quantities of artwork, the pressures of social media and a lot more. Michael Robert Bock is an artist, production manager and a set designer. To find out more about Michael and his work go here: https://www.instagram.com/michaelrobertbock/

Bailie and I talked about her variety of interests and how she is able to follow them through, working on multiple graphic novels, her love for Gothic art and folk music, studying at Sheridan, working as a full time layout artist and a lot more. Bailie Rosenlund is a graduate of Sheridan's Illustration program in Oakville, ON, Canada and an award-winning illustrator now located in Vancouver, Canada. Bailie currently works full-time as a BG Layout Artist at Titmouse Inc. while also being a part-time freelance Illustrator and at the same time working on a graphic novel - "Les Piggies". You can find out more about Bailie and her work here: http://www.bailierosenlund.com/ @bailierosenlund

Genice Chan is a Chinese-Canadian artist from Vancouver, BC. Genice and I talked about taking part in art conventions, managing to balance work and life, trying to pursue various types of art, ways to find and learn from resources online and a lot more. To find out about Genice look for @genicecream on all platforms.

Johel and I talked about his journey from Costa Rica to Vancouver, first job experience, working while studying, Johel's project "Lizards Have no Friends, being versatile, and more. Johel Rivera is a multi-disciplinary artist from Costa Rica who now lives and works in the animation industry in Vancouver, Canada. To find out more about Johel and his work, go here: http://www.johelrivera.com/ https://www.instagram.com/johelriveram/

Sunny and I talked about working in the animation industry, learning 3D software, Sunny's design process and how he got his first job, value of networking, personal projects, and a lot moreLearn more about Sunny and his work here:www.sunny-shah.com/@grizzlyfrog

Michael and I talked about his balance between representational and abstract work, search for new mark-making, Michael's latest show - State of Mind, ideas for new bodies of work, traveling and a lot more. Find out more about Michael and his work here: https://www.michaelrozen.com/ @m.rozen

Andrew and Ilya talk about working on murals, inspiration for abstract work, art education at Emily Carr, textiles, application of patterns and a lot more. Andrew Tavukciyan is an artist from Vancouver, Canada. You can find out more about him and his work here: @tavukciyan http://tavukciyan.com

Sebastian and I talked about working in Argentina, Sebastian's transition from animation to illustration, learning new skills, illustration industry, receiving awards, value of constant learning and a lot more. Sebastian Curi is an Argentinian Illustrator & Animator based in Vancouver whose work bridges colorful characters, bold illustration with graphic design and animation. Sebastian likes to use strong lines, big shapes and simple color palettes. He has been working for over ten years in the animation industry and lately found himself more focused in my illustration work. Now Sebastian enjoys collaborating with brands and agencies to bring his style into their world. His clients include: Apple, Warby Parker, The New Yorker, Venmo, Frank and Oak, Outdoor Voices, CNN, Soul Cycle and Refinery 29. Find out more about Sebastian here:www.sebastiancuri.comhttps://www.instagram.com/sebacuri/?hl=en

Jace and Ilya talk about Jace's transition from concept art to being a painter and a teacher, Korean culture, moving to Canada and finding a passion, value of failure, live painting, being ambidextrous, pressure to be better and a lot more. Jace Junggyu Kim is a Canadian painter currently based in Vancouver, BC. He was born and raised in Korea where he was highly influenced by comic book art until the age of 15. He graduated Emily Carr University of Art and Design with a bachelor’s degree in Media art (animation) with the passion of animator. He worked in various game and motion graphic companies as a digital artist but he made a drastic transition to become a traditional painter. Find out more about Jace here:https://www.instagram.com/jacethekim/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/jacethekim/?hl=en

Stefan and Ilya talk about balancing multiple passion projects, finding time, Minerva's Map, artistic influences, comic book conventions, selling one's work and a lot more. Stefan Tosheff is an illustrator, comic artist and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia who loves guitar riffs, play fighting, singing peoples names to them, and hates being late for anything. To find out more about Stefan's work, go here: http://stefantosheff.com https://www.instagram.com/stefantosheff/

David and Ilya talk about David's evolving work, transition into sculpture, how various mediums reflect back upon one another, selling art work, Vancouver art scene, murals, albums covers and a lot more with a special appearance from the RCMP. David is a is a multi-disciplinary artist and maker, based out of Vancouver, BC. His practice of painting, sculpture, and collage aims to explore intricate systems of interconnectedness, while enabling a range of reclaimed woods, paints, and other materials to interact with each other in unique ways. Find more about David's work here: www.instagram.com/druvid

Graeme and Ilya talk about Graeme's journey in the entertainment industry, line quality as a strong tool, Art Breakers market and the work that it requires, creating an art book and using Kickstarter, exercise, travel and a lot more. Graeme McCormack is an illustrator, concept artist at Relic Entertainment,and one of the founders of Art Breakers Market. You can find more about Graeme and his work here: http://www.wizardsandunicorns.com https://www.instagram.com/wizardsandunicorns/ Look out for Art Breakers Market coming your way in Spring of 2019.

Raine and Ilya talked about Raine's journey starting from Rainmaker all the way to Industrial Light & Magic, pivotal moments in one's life, environment inside the VFX studios, tackling personal work and sense of self, various art styles, and a lot more. Raine Anderson is a self made artist who has been working in the film, commercial, TV and video game industry for close to 20 years. Raine first got his start in late 1997 as a runner at Mainframe Entertainment. He then moved his way up into an artist position shortly after and has not looked back. Over the years, Raine has traveled around the world honing his art on both the professional and personal levels. He is currently working as a Texture Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic Vancouver. Some of Raine’s work credits include Happy Feet (2006), Avatar (2009), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Partysaurus Rex (2012), X:Men: Days of Future Past (2014), The Revenant (2015), Deepwater Horizon (2016) as well as the upcoming Valerian and the City of a Thousand planets (2017) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). You can find out more about Raine and his work here: https://raineanderson.wordpress.com/https://www.instagram.com/raineandersonart/https://www.pushthesky.com/m.imdb.com/name/nm1923654/filmotype/visual_effects?ref_=m_nmfm_1

Priscilla and Ilya talk about her year away in Harrison Hot Springs, building a website, tackling large murals, development of style, family influence on self and artist path, freelance lifestyle, Priscilla's ambitions and a lot more. Priscilla Yu is an artist, illustrator, and muralist. Currently based in Vancouver, her colourfully painted worlds dwell in a strange gravity, where the rules of physics are stretched and the inhabitants are adorned with elaborate clothing and large open windows for eyes.  Find out more about Priscilla and her work here:www.priscillayu.ca@priscillayuart

Zoë and Ilya talk about being engaged with the local art scene, importance of process, time management, Zoë's recent bronze sculpture and her collaboration practice, her process, being sober and a lot more. Zoë Pawlak is a contemporary, Canadian, artist and designer, working with private clients, interior designers, and brands. She is an active participant in the Canadian creative community and has made a significant contribution toward supporting and promoting female entrepreneurship.  Zoë’s work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Martha Stewart Living, Interior Design Magazine,  Design Milk, and Domino Mag. Zoë has worked with The Property Brothers, Love It or List It, Lululemon, and Playboy. She is represented in New York by Uprise Art. Zoë's paintings are in the private collections of Cobie Smulders, Cristina and Trevor Linden, and Club Monaco. Find more about Zoë here:https://www.zoepawlak.com/@zoepawlak

Jake and Ilya talk about Jake's path in the animation industry, being versatile, creating morally meaningful art, definition of entertainment industry art, making an impact on the world through one’s work and a lot more. Jake Collinge is an illustrator and entertainment artist living in Vancouver, Canada who has work experience as a Concept Artist/Designer in feature film, animated TV, and games. Member of humble drawing club and supporter of art scene who is also fluent with Maya pipelines for 3D mechanical and set design. Find out more about Jake and his work here: https://jakecollinge.com@collingejake

Amory and Ilya talk about balancing work schedules, charcoal as a main medium, value of process and planning, post graduate education, teaching, metal music and its connection to art, and lots more. Amory Abbot is a visual artist living in Vancouver, BC who currently teaches at Emily Carr university, and is represented by Russo Lee Gallery in Portland. Find out more about Amory and his work here:@amoryabbotthttp://www.amoryabbott.com/ Find Amory work at Art Breakers Market in Vancouver, BC this September 22 - 23:http://www.artbreakers.ca/

Two of the four founders of Art Breakers Illustration Society - Laura Bifano and Tessa Riecken, joined me in studio to talk about the upcoming Art Breakers event, how it got started, the community it is creating, its value and what the future goals are. We also spend some time talking about Tessa's and Laura's art practices, their approach to art and separation between personal and professional work. Find out more about Art Breakers here: www.artbreakers.ca/ Don't miss out on the event happening on September 22nd and 23rd. Tessa Riecken is traditionally trained painter who currently works at Titmouse as a character designer while doing a lot of illustration during her free time. Find Tessa at http://tjriecken.com/ and @wereville Laura Bifano graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design in 2008, and now splits her time between freelancing, fine art, and working on animated shows and feature films. Laura has an art show - Altars, coming up at Kafka's on September 13th. Find Laura at http://www.laurabifano.com/ and @bifanoland

Aaron and Ilya talk about value of life drawing, traditional medium in the digital education, ways to select schools, value of art community, working in video game industry and lots more. Find more info about Aaron here: @aaronwhiteart www.designerwhite.ca

Benjamin and Ilya talk about technical education, Benjamin's interest in vintage and old-fashioned subject matter, taking inspiration from past pursuits, the way he builts up his illustrations and lots more. You can find Benjamin's work here: @benjamintstone http://www.benjaminthompsonstone.com/

Andrew and Ilya talk about life balance, Andrew's journey to his art career and what's to come next, studying from masters, the value and difficulty of design, teaching and lots more. Find Andrew on social media and artstation.com at @andrewdoma

Eric and Ilya talk about tools to improve image making, working in the motion graphic industry, Giant Ant culture, Eric's journey from Brazil to Canada, finding one's voice, keeping up with personal projects and lots more. Eric Pautz is a Brazilian Art Director and concept artist living in Vancouver, Canada, currently working as Art Director at Giant Ant. You can find Eric at @epautz on most social media platforms. http://www.ericpautz.com/Info https://www.instagram.com/epautz/

Michael and Ilya talk about studying in Calgary, the value of intensive education, finding freelance work, understanding your own style and voice, various ways of making a living as an artist and lots more. Michael Mateyko designs for print while maintaining an active illustration practice. His freelance work includes branding, promotional pieces, editorial, and publication design. Find his work at: http://www.komboh.com/ https://www.instagram.com/komboh_inc https://www.instagram.com/bummer_club/ Check out his solo art show this June 15th at James Black gallery at 7pm.

Aimée, Tristesse and Ilya talk about what defining yourself within an art style, what it means to make great collage work, their upcoming art show - In Situ, challenges and benefits of being an art teacher, what it means to be a professional artist and lots more. Aimée Henny Brown is a project-based artist working with printed matter in flat, sculptural, and performative manners. She is also a non-regular faculty at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and her archives, research and printed matter aim to place historical content within her contemporary visual art practice. Find Aimée at: http://www.aimeebrown.ca/about/ @aimeehennybrown Tristesse Seeliger is a Vancouver mixed media artist primarily working with painting and collage. Her art focuses on geometry, territories, perception and cartograph,y and stylistically her work is part abstractions part designed objects that’s aim to create a conversation of alternate modes of perceiving land and space. Find Tristesse at: http://www.tristesseseeliger.com/ @missytrissy Art Show - IN SITU – Aimée Henny Brown, Julia Kreutz, Jessie McNeil and Tristesse Seeliger JUNE 2 - JULY 1, 2018 Opening Reception: Saturday, June 2, 3pm | Artist Talk: Saturday, June 16, 3pm

Scott Sueme is abstract artist and painter from Vancouver BC. While he is most known for creating paintings and exhibiting artworks, he also specializes in custom installation painting, mural and graphics. Scott and Ilya talked about the world of graffiti, evolving as an artist through various styles, pricing and naming artwork, Scott's previous bodies of work and the upcoming Home Work solo show, and lots more. Check out Scott's show - Home Work on May 11th, 2018 at Kimoto gallery: http://kimotogallery.com/homework Learn more about Scott here: http://suemenow.com/ https://www.instagram.com/scottsueme/?hl=en

Tierney and Ilya talk about working on murals, value of experimentation in the artistic pursuit, playfulness and finding ways to contiune learning, transition from full-time to freelance work life style, and a lot more.

Matt Boismier is an Art Director, character designer, and fine artist currently living in Vancouver, BC. You can find him at @tooninator on Instagram and see more of his work here: http://www.tooninator.com/ Matt and Ilya talk about the amount of effort it takes to achieve your dream career, obstacles and attitude towards failure, doing freelance work while traveling, future pursuits and lots more.

Tara and Ilya talked about the benefits and pitfalls of pursuing many types of artistic expressions, working towards an Art Director position, travel, being a woman in animation industry, finding fulfilment in traditional mediums and a lot more. 

Will Phillips is an illustrator, 3D generalist working on VR games, and a fine artists who has an upcoming first solo art show at Slice of Life Gallery and Studio on March 15th, 2018. Will and Ilya talk about working on video games, difference between large and small studios, how to approach a consistent body of work, learning from the people we aspire to and a lot more.  Find Will Phillips on Instagram - @sketchbork

rendan and Ilya talk about starting your own brand, freelance lifestyle, supporting other artists, how travel affects one's life, beating cancer and a lot more. Brendan Megannety is an artist, designer, photographer, the man behind Vancouver-based print and apparel brand Explorer’s Press. Find Brendan here: @explorerspress https://explorerspress.com/ @halfandhalf.shop @signfeldcustom www.brendanjmegannety.com

Peter and Ilya talked about balancing numerous artistic avenues, ambition, pursuing large projects, what it took to become a movie director, and a lot more. Peter Ricq is an award-winning creative force. Besides his work as a Visual Artist, he is also a, Television Producer, Writer, Art Director, Designer, Music Composer and Performer with Humans and Gang Signs, he created a graphic novel - Once Our Land, a feature doc - Come Together, and recently had his directing debut with dark comedy/horror movie - Deadshack. Find Peter here: http://peterricq.com/ https://www.instagram.com/pricq/?hl=en

Yousuf and Ilya talk about how various aspects of life tie into artistic pursuit, balancing your time, finding a way towards a clear vision within your art, making video games and a lot more.  Yousuf Mapara is an Art Director, animator, martial artist, creator of Secret Ponchos. He has been involved in the video game industry for over 19 years, 15 of which he has been in a position of Art Director and Creative Director, with a passion for constructing impactful moments and experiences for game audiences. 

Jose and Ilya talk about speed painting, balancing your style versus what is demanded of you in a work scenario, contemporary art, education, studying, art culture of Mexico City, and more. Jose Arias was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. At the age of 18, he moved to Vancouver, B.C. along with his family, to have a better life and pursue a career in the animation and production for film and games industry as a concept artist and designer. Find Jose and his work here: https://www.instagram.com/g.i.joze/ https://www.artstation.com/josearias