Creative Slash

Ep. 062 – Anna Hurley – How to Become the Go-To Illustrator and Survive the Slow Seasons

Every freelancer carries the same two fears. Will anyone pick me for the work I love? And what happens when the work stops? Anna Hurley has faced both. She became the go

Ep. 061 – Brandon Campbell – Mesmerizing Pen and Ink, Mid-Century Magic, and Drawing Without a Net

Most illustrators sketch first and ink later. Most of us also keep one finger hovering over undo. Brandon Campbell does neither. He puts down shapes of color, then draws

Ep. 060 – Oliver Barrett – 300 Pee-wee Posters, Hidden Curses, and Getting Fired Into a Career

Most illustration careers look like a straight line from the outside. Big clients, iconic posters, a portfolio full of names you recognize. Oliver Barrett's started

Ep. 059 – Jess Goldsmith of Women of Type – Cottage Cheese, Bob Lazar, and Why You Are the Niche

Most creatives have heard the advice a hundred times. Pick a lane. Niche down. Be known for one thing. But what happens when the thing you're known for is just you?

Ep. 058 – Clinton Campbell of Studio MUTI – From T-Shirt Label to Global Studio, Scattergories, and Low-Ego Leadership

Illustration is supposed to be a solo sport. One person, one style, one desk. So how does a studio at the bottom of Africa keep a whole team of illustrators working unde

Ep. 057 – Matt Dawson – An Orange in the Door, a Cobain Jaguar, and the Freedom of a Day Job

The dream we were all sold was going out on your own. Your own clients, your own hours, your name on the door. But what if freedom looks different once you've lived

Ep. 056 – Tom Froese – Finding the Why in Commercial Art, Overprints, the One-Brush Brush Pack

Most of us were told the same thing. Make something every day, share it, and the people will come. But what happens when you do exactly that for years, the numbers stall

Ep. 055 – Chris DeLorenzo – Johnny Cupcakes, a 500-Foot Airport Mural, and Learning Everything Once

Most people see a slackline, a motorcycle, or a recurve bow and think, “That’s not me.” Chris DeLorenzo sees the same things and signs up for lessons. He taught himself

Ep. 054 – Van Berkemeyer – Design, Music, and the Empty Chase for the Next High

Van Berkemeyer has built two separate creative careers: one as an illustrator and designer, one as a musician who's had real viral hits and industry attention. He s

Ep. 053 – Christian Helms – The 99-Pack, a McDonald's Broom, and Taking the Joke Seriously

A 99-pack of beer sounds like a joke. It's about as tall as Shaq and weighs eighty pounds. When Christian Helms described it to his mom, she said she didn't get

Ep. 052 – Bill Gardner – Stolen Magic Secrets, a $20 Rock, and Branding for Machines

There are thousands of magicians who can handle a deck of cards better than David Copperfield. There is one David Copperfield. Bill Gardner has a one-word answer for why

Ep. 051 – Paul Lukes – Graffiti, Getting Clean, and Why Ugly Design Converts

Designers spend their careers trying to make things beautiful. So what do you do when your boss tears up the polished sign you made for the tip jar, tells you to redo it

Ep. 050 – 50 Episodes, Over 40 Creatives, and the Equation We Never Meant to Find

Fifty episodes and over forty interviews in, Brad and Dustin have heard just about every piece of advice a working creative can give. About half of it directly contradict

Ep. 049 – John Hendrix – Sandcastles, Doubt, and Why Your Calling Doesn't Have to Be Your Career

Somewhere along the way we started assuming that the thing you were made to do and the thing that pays your bills are supposed to be the same thing. John Hendrix does no

Ep. 048 – Allan Peters, A$AP Rocky & the Design Influencer Dilemma

In this episode, Brad and Dustin dig into the recent Allan Peters and A$AP Rocky situation, but the real conversation goes much deeper. It turns into a bigger discussion

Ep. 047 - Emily Balsley - Murals, Community Art, and Making the World Weirder in Public

Emily Balsley makes art feel like something that should spill out of your sketchbook and into the neighborhood. In this episode, we talk with illustrator, muralist, and

Ep. 046 – Jason Craig – Cash Flow, Chicken Bones & Making Creative Work Actually Work

Jason Craig is the type of guy you talk to about freelance work, and suddenly it feels like you’re seeing the whole thing in technicolor for the first time. This episode

Ep. 045 — Dan Lee — Leaving the “Right” Career and Building a Creative Life

In this week's episode, we talk with graphic designer, illustrator, lettering artist, and all-around creative entrepreneur Dan Lee. We've admired Dan's wo

Ep. 044 – Kate Smith – How Being Unmistakably Yourself Becomes a Creative Business

This episode features artist, illustrator, greeting card designer, and licensing powerhouse Kate Smith on what happens when you stop trying to make work that looks “marke

Ep. 043 – Chris Piascik – The Accidental Illustrator and the Power of Making Work Every Day

This episode features illustrator, author, YouTuber, and accidental Adobe Fresco evangelist Chris Piascik on building a creative career by staying weird, making a lot of