Lean Into Art

LIA Cast 269 - Lettering & Sound Design in Clip Studio Paint (Rebroadcast)

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Originally broadcast May 3, 2019. Jerzy’s begun a new comics project, and it’s been a while since we’ve had an art demo on the LIA Cast, so th...

LIA Cast 360 - Daily Creative Celebration AKA Victory Donut (CWC)

13 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ready for another day of work, yet not feeling it. So many valid reasons to be in that situation… yet also having due dates and commitments to mee...

LIA Cast 359- Viewing Angle Tells the Story (MWS)

06 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Working on the thumbnails for your next comic and discovered you’ve sketched dozens of pages of talking heads? We cartoonists can put the reader’...

LIA Cast 358 - Showing Up Socially, Balancing Quality and Effort

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Posting socially is something most independent creators need to work with. I've often been the show up when I've made something, share it, then most...

LIA Cast 357 - Write Posts Quickly With Prompts, Constraints, and Instinct

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When you sit down to write a blog post is that a comfortable creative activity? Are there times when it feels like the words are stuck or just not s...

LIA Cast 356 - Prioritizing Your Work

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve all been there--you start out with the promise of a new day, a reasonably curated to-do list, and a commitment to make your art. And suddenl...

LIA Cast 355 - Training Your Analytic Eye

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Frustrated that you can’t find a way to bring the big feelings you get from others’ art into your own? Maybe you just need to train your analyti...

LIA Cast 354 - Creating Clarity or Inspiring Awe (CWC)

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Clarity competes with other concerns when writing and illustrating - what’s a useful approach to get enough information and emotion into the page?...

LIA 353 - Listening With Notetaking to Understand and Facilitate Groups (MWS)

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are you in meetings in person or on screen where you’re taking notes in front of folks? When we're listening to learn from a conversation even on...

LIA 352 - Feeling Overwhelmed (CWC)

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every once in a while we feel like we're in over our heads, whether it’s due to the number of tasks we've committed to, ambiguity of the tasks, or...

LIA Cast 351 - Make Your Own Time Tracker (MWS)

11 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s no big reveal that time tracking and journaling can be invaluable tools to help you find the time to focus on your creative work. But how do ...

LIA Cast 350 - Advocacy as Part of Your Creative Business

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rob feels he has a variety of advocacy ideas tangled up and thinks it’ll be super useful talking with Jerzy on today’s show - he’s been doing ...

LIA Cast 349 - Panel Tools in Clip Studio Paint (MWS)

25 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wonder what those paneling tools do in Clip Studio Paint? You’ll be surprised by how much they can speed up your work. Join Jerzy and Rob for...

LIA Cast 348 - Reading/Watching/Playing (CWC)

18 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When we make things, write stories, any creative work needs input. Sometimes that’s focused research, other times it’s the indirect idea fuel of...

LIA 347 - Create a Fast Frequent Comics Challenge (MWS)

11 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ever think about participating in hourly comics day or similar comics events? Avoid entirely but think about it still? Or try and get stuck? We’re...

LIA 346 - Projects that Frighten You (CWC)

04 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ever not try an art project because you feel some fear about the work involved? This week Rob and Jerzy look at what they do when they feel frighten...

LIA 345 - Quick Flatting in Clip Studio Paint (MWS)

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob share some tricks in Clip Studio Paint that will make flatting easy for beginners, and speedier for those who have been doing it a whi...

LIA Cast 344 - Getting and Believing in Rest

21 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Join Jerzy and Rob for an exploration of how our relationship with rest affects our work. Sponsors for this episode Boulder and Fleet: Mining for T...

LIA Cast 343 - Shipping Every Day

14 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some frequently shared advice among creative people hoping to build an audience or attract customers is to “post something every day.” Many of u...

LIA Cast 342 - Should You Evolve Your Long-Term Project?

07 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week Jerzy and Rob look at the Lean Into Art project itself as a case in point. When should you check in on your commitment to a long-term proj...

LIA Cast 341 - Ongoing Adventures in Illustration Using Clip Studio Paint

31 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sponsors for this episode Four Million Years Later Rob's workshops and coaching Lean Into Art Discord Links mentioned: Bruce Lee: The Tao of Gung...

LIA 340 - Year-end Extra Lean

24 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob celebrate the end of the year by practicing an Extra Lean episode, which are emergent discussions based on what we've recently experienc...

LIA Cast 339 - Service-Driven Design can Make it Better

17 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when you begin to navigate the creative constraints of a project with the needs of the client, the users, and yourself in mind? Are the...

LIA Cast 338 - R/W/P & Picking Tools for Your Experience

10 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob get together for another analysis of what they’ve been reading/watching/playing. In the second half they’ll look at how your own e...

LIA Cast 337 - Where in the Blank Part 2: Creative Time Tactics

03 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Last episode we started exploring creative time strategies and considering capacity as an overall foundation to help with being realistic about crea...

LIA 336 - Where in the Blank is the Time to Create

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Creative projects need lots of things, different concerns to focus on. Each of those concerns takes time. Where’s the time to create? How can we b...

LIA Cast 335 - Art Soundoff 2020 Check-in: Topics & Outcomes

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob check in on their 2020 Art Soundoff journals. What themes and topics did we choose, and why? What outcomes are we hoping for with this...

LIA 334 - Writing and Using Digital Notes: Part 2 of Note Taking for Making

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Last episode Jerzy and Rob talked about note taking on physical media, including a demonstration of taking notes. It’s a big topic, why and how yo...

LIA Cast 333 - Useful Note Taking for Making Things

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Note taking can help with gathering our thoughts and set us up to build upon ideas. Join us in this note taking and note using infused episode of th...

LIA Cast 332 - Art Tools: New Potential and Reliable Favorites

29 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Whether digital or analog, favorite art tools have a timeline and a story to them. First you’re curious about a new way or something breaks and it...

LIA Cast 331 - Art & Video in 2021

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

2020 has asked many of us to level up our skills with online teaching, learning, and presenting. Jerzy and Rob check in to see how they’ve been th...

LIA Cast 330 - Spooky and Monster Stories

15 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob celebrate some of their favorite spooky stories and stories featuring monsters. In traditional LIA fashion, they also ask themselves w...

LIA Cast 329 - Drawing for Yourself

08 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Creating for yourself, no matter your medium, has a power to it. Recently it’d been over a month since Jerzy drew something just for him. He found...

LIA Cast 245 - Setting Up Projects for Whittling (Rebroadcast)

01 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Some projects get the bulk of our effort and attention, yet others are those side projects that get less frequent or shorter durations of time and e...

LIA Cast 328 - What is Professionalism?

24 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week Jerzy and Rob are joined by returning guest Gregg Schigiel to talk about the value of keeping the connections between you and your social/...

LIA Cast 327 - R/W/P & Obstacles: Chaos

18 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob check in on what they’re reading/watching/playing, followed by another entry from the Obstacles series. Sponsors for this episode Ca...

LIA Cast 263 - Public Art Drops (Rebroadcast)

10 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week Jerzy and Rob look at the methods and rationale for hiding pieces of original art in public. Links to sites mentioned Jake Parker's Art D...

LIA 326 - Creative Challenge Season 2020

03 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week Jerzy and Rob are joined by returning guest Gregg Schigiel to talk about the value of keeping the connections between you and your social/...

LIA Cast 325 - Curiosity to Level Up

28 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob look at the role curiosity plays in designing, creating, marketing, and acquiring other skills useful to communicating with images. Sp...

LIA Cast 324 - The Big Why

20 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob check in and model the big question: why do we do the work we do? Sponsors for this episode Four Million Years Later Guitar Fretter ...

LIA Cast 323: Service Minded Marketing: Teaching Artist and Other Options

14 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One way to add service to your products is to teach about how they get made. Marketing your work as an artist can be an uncomfortable second skill, ...

LIA Cast 249 - UX Bag of Useful Stuff (Rebroadcast)

06 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Visual storytelling is a big theme with the Lean Into Art podcast. Also: working with what you have as a storyteller to do a myriad of things that g...

LIA Cast 322 - Maybe it's time to hire yourself

30 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What do you do when you’ve got a product that you can’t find a partner for? Is it time to set it aside and try something else, or is it time to ...

LIA Cast 321 - An Exciting Unplanned Art Project or Technology Appears! Now What?

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Is there an easy and useful way to find success criteria for projects in a technology you’re excited about? This week Jerzy and Rob talk about whe...

LIA Cast 320 - Digital Drawing Hacks

17 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week Jerzy and Rob look at ways they’ve sought out more efficient approaches to drawing using digital tools. Sponsors for this episode Supe...

LIA Cast 319 - Obstacles: Managing Time, Managing Energy

09 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week Jerzy and Rob take a look at some of the obstacles we encounter in making our art. How do we struggle with finding time for our whittling an...

LIA Cast 190 - Getting There Being There (Rebroadcast)

02 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week Jerzy and Rob are joined by returning guest Gregg Schigiel to talk about the value of keeping the connections between you and your social/...

LIA Cast 318 - Navigating Burnout

26 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Uncertainty, unrest, new realities, and managing a side hustle can easily lead to burnout. What do you do to navigate or manage it? How can describi...

LIA Cast 317 - Drawing Games & Setting Up Creative Spaces

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Join Jerzy and Rob as we put our streaming studios through some tests! Work continues on our studios evolving, a couple episodes ago we mentioned wo...

LIA Cast 254 - Side Hustle for Product Development (Rebroadcast)

11 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A truth for many of us is we have to hold down some other jobs while we hustle to make our art. How do we think about this friction between keeping ...

Black Lives Matter

04 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Instead of our usual exploration of visual storytelling and thinking about creative process, this week we have a brief yet important message to share....

LIA Cast 316 - R/W/P

28 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rob and Jerzy like to remind themselves to make space for reading, watching, and playing. Join us for an exploration of media we engage with for rel...

LIA Cast 315 - Learning OBS Studio to Level Up Video Streams

21 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The tools we use to make and share our art change a lot. Individual tools wear out, digital tools change company hands, business plans change and to...

LIA Cast 189 - Inclusive Creative Work (Rebroadcast)

14 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Join Jerzy and Rob as they explore creating projects and works that are inclusive, think through ways to detect and avoid toxicity, and celebrate pr...

LIA 314 - Learning from Collaborating, with Jon David Guerra

07 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Back in episode 230 we talked with Jon David Guerra about taking on big projects and hiring collaborators. Jon returns to reflect on his experience ...

LIA Cast 313 - Virtual Events pt 2, with Jen Vaughn

30 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our exploration of virtual events begun in the last episode, Rob and Jerzy are joined by cartoonist, narrative designer, and DM of the Bi...

LIA Cast 312 - Virtual Events

23 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Practicing safe behavior during a global pandemic means the cancelation of more and more mass gatherings. Many events and institutions have turned to...

LIA Cast 311 - Inspiration Nearby

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What kind of inspiration do we choose to surround ourselves? Join Jerzy and Rob for a conversation about taking a look around the home creative spac...

LIA Cast 246 - Minicomics Preflight Checklist (Rebroadcast)

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Minicomics are a favorite topic on the Lean Into Art Cast. As Jerzy and Rob have expressed in many episodes, they’re a great format for testing ou...

LIA Cast 310 - Storytelling and Color, with Steve Hamaker

02 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob are joined by Steve Hamaker, creator of Plox, collaborator on The Pathfinders Society, and colorist of the graphic novels Hilo and Bon...

LIA Cast 309 - Projects, Products, and Choosing a Framing for Creative Work

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How do we think about projects and products? Jerzy and Rob recently watched Jake Parker’s video on "you need a product not a project" which prompt...

LIA Cast 308 - Your Creative Identity

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Positioning yourself in an industry/community can involve identifying what makes your art or service distinct. How do we think about developing lang...

LIA Cast 307 - Checking in on Your Network, with Gregg Schigiel

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week Jerzy and Rob are joined by returning guest Gregg Schigiel to talk about the value of keeping the connections between you and your social/...

LIA Cast 306 - R/W/P

05 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Occasionally Rob and Jerzy like to remind themselves to make space for reading, watching, and playing. Join us for an exploration of media we engage...

LIA Cast 305 - Which Mental Model for Your Creative Project?

28 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Creative process has an objective progression in some ways. There you are with an idea at one point in time, stuff happens, now you are in the futur...

LIA Cast 244 - Happiness, Metrics, and the Daily Thing, with David Seah (Rebroadcast)

20 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dave.Sri Seah returns to the Lean Into Art Cast for a discussion on his annual Groundhog Day Resolutions plan. Join us for an exploration on finding...

LIA Cast 304 - Developing a Workshop or Event

14 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Join Jerzy and Rob for an exploration of the incidental parts of making art and teaching, and how that can be used to develop workshops, presentatio...

LIA Cast 303 - Working Together, with Ryan Estrada

05 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ryan Estrada returns to the Lean Into Art Cast! This time we’re talking about the joys and challenges of making things with the people closest to ...

LIA Cast 302 - Character Design Exercises

30 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy shares some of the classroom activities he uses to get students thinking hard about the various design choices presented when designing charac...

LIA Cast 301 - 2 Minutes to Practice

23 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Join Jerzy and Rob as they discuss ways to practice little habits that can feed and support aspects of our art, business, and beyond. They’ll be r...

LIA Cast 300 - Learners and Leaners, Aren't We All

16 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Constructing a community around ideas we care a lot about and want to help others make use of: pursuing your art, developing it to where you want it...

LIA Cast 299 - 2020 Creative & Learning Goals

09 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Last week we reflected on our professional adventures in 2019. This time we look ahead to thinking about what we want to learn and how we want to cr...

LIA Cast 298 - Learning From Professional Adventures in 2019

02 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Every year is worth reflecting on, both Jerzy and Rob had interesting professional adventures in 2019 and now it’s 2020! Perfect time to look back...

LIA Cast 297 - R/W/P

27 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us it’s the holiday season at the end of 2019, so Jerzy and Rob take a look at what they’re reading/watching/playing to refresh and ...

LIA Cast 296 - Fiction and Nonfiction Minicomics

19 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Making minicomics has been a celebrated topic on the Lean Into Art Cast. They offer a low-risk way to get some practice on your craft, test out idea...

LIA Cast 215 - Celebrating Mini-Comics (Rebroadcast)

12 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It’s time for a fresh look at why mini-comics are so great. Join us for a discussion on the advantages mini-comics offer when added to your art pr...

LIA Cast 295 - Reflection and Journaling to Learn and Plan

05 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our “obviously” series of favorite topics, Jerzy and Rob are discussing what’s so great about journaling and reflection as a habit ...

LIA Cast 223 - Gratitude (rebroadcast)

28 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Join Jerzy and Rob for a discussion on the role of gratitude in creative endeavors and how being intentional about expressing gratitude changes the ...

LIA Cast 294 - UX, Obviously

21 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Similar in spirit to our last episode about comics we visit another obvious in hindsight topic. It’s been a while since Jerzy and Rob have talked ...

LIA Cast 293 - Comics, Obviously

14 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a while since Jerzy and Rob have talked about what’s so great about comics, so if you’re in the mood for a joyous discussion on visu...

LIA Cast 292 - Art Soundoff Check-In

07 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob look at how they’re finding Art Soundoff, model some of the strategies they use to create audio journals, and celebrate some of the ...

LIA Cast 291 - R/W/P

31 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob check in late Fall season for a discussion on what they’re reading, watching, and playing for fun, learning, and recharging. Sponsor...

LIA Cast 290 - Lean Into the Damn Story, Pt 2

24 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob team up with the hosts of the Tell the Damn Story podcast, Alex and Chris, for a two-part discussion on writing, art, and finding your...

LIA Cast 289 - Developing and Journaling via Art Soundoff

17 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Art Soundoff 6.0 is coming up, join Jerzy and Rob for a discussion on how they plan to make the most of this year and the kinds of things we’re in...

LIA Cast 288 - Finding Momentum Midway Through

10 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Starting is hard. Shipping is hard. And it gets hard midway through the making of the thing. You hit setbacks, frictions occur, and frustration sets...

LIA Cast 287 - Designing a Workshop Experience

03 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As we level up at making things, we might be called upon (or feel a calling) to share our knowledge and experience with others. But how do you unpac...

LIA Cast 152 - Minicomics Carnage with Zack Giallongo (rebroadcast)

26 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Talking about making fast & fun comics on the LIA Cast! What makes mini comics and zines worthwhile to us? In this episode of the Lean Into Art C...

LIA Cast 286 - Trying New Tools + When and Why

19 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

New projects sometimes require new tools. Jerzy and Rob explore what illustration and design tools we’re finding useful of late and in what situat...

LIA Cast 285 - Hacking Creative Challenges 2019

12 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Creative challenge season is nearly here, so Jerzy and Rob turn their attention to thinking about what value they find in creative challenges and ho...

LIA Cast 201 - The Influence of Constraint (Rebroadcast)

05 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

And old saw we haven’t used on the Lean Into Art Cast in some time is “limitations breed creativity.” What we typically mean by this is that l...

LIA Cast 284 - What Does Viewing Angle Mean?

29 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How does a storyteller use distance and viewing angle to communicate emotion and meaning? Join us for an interactive episode of the Lean Into Art Ca...

LIA Cast 283 - Generating Lists of Ideas is a Learnable Skill

22 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Getting ideas out of your head, gathering a whole bunch of them all at once is a useful creative exercise in so many situations! Jerzy and Rob expl...

LIA Cast 282 - R/W/P & Leaner Comments

15 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob check in at the end of summer vacation season for a discussion on what they’re reading, watching, and playing. In the second half of...

LIA Cast 281 - Mentoring

07 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What do I need a mentor for when I have YouTube? Join us for a discussion on the value we’ve received in being mentors as well as mentees. Sponsor...

LIA Cast 280 - Rejection

01 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Making things to communicate visually means subjecting yourself to an onslaught of rejection. This week we look at how we react to and engage with r...

LIA Cast 279 - Unity Game Dev Beginner Thoughts

25 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Developing and designing video games is something we like to discuss from time to time and it’s been a while. Join Jerzy and Rob for discussion an...

LIA Cast 278 - Clip Studio Paint Comics Process

18 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There are lots of different software options these days for drawing, but one that Jerzy’s been excited about for several years now is Clip Studio ...

LIA Cast 277 - R/W/P (& Leaner Comments)

11 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy and Rob check in during the summer vacation season for a discussion on what they’re reading, watching, and playing. In the second half of th...

LIA Cast 276 - Problem Solving Odds and Ends

03 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Things come up, new projects, unexpected challenges with a task, requests from a collaborator that could use your help. Join Jerzy and Rob for a dis...

LIA Cast 275 - Reflecting on A2CAF

28 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jerzy’s back from the 10th anniversary Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival (A2CAF) with observations and reflections on his experience. Join Jerzy and R...