Pencil Kings | Inspiring Artist Interviews with Today's Best Artists

PK 243: Launching A Board Game on Kickstarter

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Piche is the creator of Champions of Akathena a board game launching on 15 June.  He has advice for anyone who has a passion to make a board game...

PK 242: Reinventing Yourself as an Artist

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Diego Jourdan Pereira is an author of puzzle and activity books, including the Giant Book of Games and Puzzles for Smart Kids, The Big Book of Brain-B...

PK 241: How to Become a Character Designer

11 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and the Co-founder of Evolve Artist. He has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, Dung...

PK 240: Publishing Your Animated Short

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Cawood is a multi-award winning British Animated Filmmaker based in Los Angeles who develops original animated projects in his free time. Havi...

PK 239: Mentorship and Education for Creative Careers

24 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and the Co-founder of Evolve Artist. He has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, Dung...

PK 238: Testing Creative Career Ideas

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and the Co-founder of Evolve Artist. He has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, Dung...

PK 237: Making Your Art Career Path Real

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and the Co-founder of Evolve Artist. He has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, Dung...

PK 236: The 12 Month Art Career Goal

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and the Co-founder of Evolve Artist. He has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, Dung...

PK 235: 4 Phases of a Creative Career

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and the Co-founder of Evolve Artist. He has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, Dung...

PK 234: 2020: The Year of Time

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and the Co-founder of Evolve Artist. He has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, Dung...

PK 233: Redefine Your Creative Career

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Terri Rodriguez-Hong is a UX/UI designer and a UX/UI Tutor at CareerFoundry. In her position as a UX/UI designer, Terri hopes to bridge the gap betwee...

PK 232: Sell Your Art With Social Media

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

David Emmons is the owner of Artist Marketing Formula, a company that helps artists and small specialty business owners utilize the power of the inter...

PK 231: Understanding Personal Branding

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Allan McKay is an Emmy Award-winning VFX Supervisor and Technical Director based in Los Angeles, CA. Allan has created visual effects for projects suc...

PK 230: How to Make a Board Game

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel Piche is a data analyst with a background in databases and data visualization. Outside of his day job, Daniel has combined his passion for brin...

PK 229: The Joy of Art Education

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Bruce Marion is a contemporary impressionist who specializes in creating compelling abstracted cityscapes, landscapes, and figurative and contemporary...

PK 228: Evolution of Art and Self

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Sakhai is a contemporary artist based in New York. With over 20 years of experience exploring plein air painting before transitioning to the ...

PK 227: Exploring the Storyboard Artist Career Path

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sergio Paez is an animation director, a successful author, and a founding member of StoryboardArt.org, a visual storytelling community. He has spent t...

PK 226: Asking for Help to Free Your Time

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and the Co-founder of Evolve Artist. He has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, Dung...

PK 225: Artist Mindset Shifts

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Miriam Schulman is a watercolor and mixed media artist and the Founder of The Inspiration Place, a popular online art class and artist community. Befo...

PK 224: Creative Mindset Upgrade

14 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mark McGuinness is a creative coach, an award-winning poet, and the Owner of Lateral Action, where he helps 21st century creatives achieve their artis...

PK 223: The Business of Fine Art

07 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jason Horejs is the Owner of Xanadu Gallery and the Publisher of RedDotBlog, an online resource that provides art marketing news and business tips for...

PK 222: How to Launch on Kickstarter

30 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tyler James is a publisher, comics creator, and educator. His publishing company, ComixTribe, has published hundreds of thousands of books ranging fro...

PK 221: 100 Day Artist Challenge

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and the Co-founder of Evolve Artist. Mitch has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, D...

PK 220: Artist Business Money

16 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Alexis Fedor is a performance artist, writer, and business developer living in New York City. She is the Founder of Artists In Business, a consulting ...

PK 219: Artist Productivity

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Marco Bucci is an artist and illustrator with over 15 years of experience in the film, TV, game, and print industries. After deciding to pursue a care...

PK 218: Creative Authenticity & Composition

02 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ian Roberts is a trained painter with over 40 years of experience; he first learned alongside his father, a landscape painter, when he was just 10 yea...

PK 217: From Illustrator to Fine Artist

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Bruce Marion is a contemporary impressionist who specializes in creating compelling abstracted cityscapes, landscapes, and figurative and contemporary...

PK 216: Defining Your Art Career Path

19 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Iva Mikles is the Co-founder of Art Side of Life Studios and Mikles & Co. She is an experienced illustrator, digital media artist, art instructor, and...

PK 215: The 4 Life Stages When People Get Serious About Their Art

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the founder of Pencil Kings and the co-founder of Evolve Artist. He has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, Dung...

PK 214: The Critical "Switch" To Go from Dabbler to Pro

05 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is the founder of Pencil Kings and the co-founder of Evolve Artist. Mitch has worked with countless companies, including Pixar, Marvel, D...

PK 213: Insights From a Rich Life as an Artist

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

James Gurney is an artist and author best known for his painting guide, Color and Light, and his illustrated series, Dinotopia. James is also a popula...

PK 212: Building Meaningful Relationships For Artists

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Ross is the founder and CEO of Design Cuts, the highest rated design marketplace in the world. Design Cuts offers the best quality digital assets,...

PK 211: Pinterest Promotion for Artists

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jennifer Priest is a prominent social media strategist, educator, and the owner of Smart Creative Social, a consulting and online education company th...

PK 210: Finding Joy Through Art

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tara Roskell is a freelance graphic designer and co-founder of Kick in the Creatives. She helps small businesses elevate their brands with the use of ...

PK 209: Three Years Growing on Instagram & What I Learned

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Donna Adi is a mixed media illustrator and the creative director for her brand. She is well known for her unique and recognizable style of illustratio...

PK 208: Growing As An Artist By Living Abroad

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

John Wentz is a contemporary painter who was born and raised in San Francisco, California but now resides in Paris, France where he has spent the last...

PK 207: Up Your Game as a Creative Parent

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ryan Roy is an accountability coach and he is the owner of Justify or Just Do It Coaching which serves clients from all over the world. Ryan is also a...

PK 206: Why You Should Make Art Every day

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Carol Marine is an artist, having painted 3000 paintings since she began her quest to paint every day. She started painting daily in 2006, creating on...

PK 205: Exploring Creative Side Hustles with Scotty Russell, Perspective Collective

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scotty Russell is a podcaster, coach, artist, designer, speaker, and pizza enthusiast. He is the Founder and Creator of Perspective Collective, a comp...

PK 204: Strategies for Starting an Art Career with Allan McKay

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Allan McKay is an Emmy Award winner for his outstanding work in visual effects. He is a Los Angeles-based visual effects supervisor and technical dire...

PK 203: Understanding Artistic Identity with Zhiwan Cheung

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Zhiwan Cheung is a Fulbright Fellow, artist, video storyteller, and freelance web developer. His passion for art and desire to create has led him to c...

PK 202: Quality Over Quantity In Your Art And Life with Liron Yanconsky, Liron Art LLC

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Liron Yanconsky is an artist, author, creator, and a watercolor painter. Liron is from Israel and he has started multiple businesses focused on art an...

PK 201: Creative Side Hustles and Natural Light Photography with Sandra Coan, Founder of Sandra Coan Photography

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sandra Coan is an award-winning photographer, industry educator, and the best selling author of Crafting Your Ideal Light. She specializes in studio p...

PK 200: What I Learned from 4 Years of Interviewing Artists, with Youngman Brown, Host of Your Creative Push Podcast.

28 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Youngman Brown is the creator of Your Creative Push Podcast, where he interviews artists from all walks of life to tell their story and how they pursu...

PK 199: How to Pursue Art Wherever You Live

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is an artist and he is the founder of Pencil Kings, a company that helps artists hone their skills and develop their craft. He is also th...

PK 198: Should You Pay for Art Education?

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mitch Bowler is an artist and he is the founder of Pencil Kings, a company that helps artists hone their skills and develop their craft. He is also th...

PK 197: Breaking into Book Covers with Lauren Panepinto

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Lauren Panepinto is the Vice President & Creative Director at Orbit Books at Hachette Book Group, and in this episode, we'll deep dive into what it ta...

PK 196: Marketing for Artists with Cindy Hohman

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Cindy Hohman from ArtMarketingProject.com helps artists market and sell their work by showing them how to be effective and efficient with marketing an...

PK 195: Living a Fully Creative Life with Derek Rodenbeck

14 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ever since meeting Derek I've been fascinated by his lifestyle and willingness to explore, discover and continually reinvent himself. As a comic book ...

PK 194: The Journey to Building a Large Body of Artwork

12 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Arthur Haywood is working to creating art that inspires people to learn and want to read about the stories behind what the viewer sees. He is a classi...

PK 193: How to Unlock Your Full Creative Potential

20 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Rayna was stuck for 15 years... and then 3 questions changed everything. The questions allowed her to see her life from a completely different view al...

PK 191: Do you Love your art?

14 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Mitch talks about how you feel about the art that you are making and why if you aren't loving it, you could be in for a very rocky ro...

PK 191: 3 Simple Steps to Start Your Art Career

07 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This interview with Catherine Orer from theArtistEntrepreneur.com was like a rapid-fire Question and Answer session all around the topic of how do you...

PK 190: Artist Business Insights with Suzanne Redmond

27 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Suzanne Redmond has been interviewing artists for the Left Brain Artist Podcast just like we do with the Pencil Kings show and in this episode of the ...

PK 189: The Future of Art Education with Mike Mattesi of DrawingForce.com

21 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode was originally recorded in early 2018 and has just been released. In this episode, Mike Mattesi and Mitch explore different ideas for the...

PK 188: Deep Dive into the Journey of an Animator

13 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sand is known to the other Evolvers as having a unique ability for keeping the live homework rooms always full of energy and she did not disappoint in...

PK 187: Finding Bliss While Learning to Paint with Jan from Evolve

07 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jan rediscovered her love of art when she found some old paints at a garage sale. The last time she had done any art was when she was 6 years old and ...

PK 186: Daniel never dreamed that he would create realistic oil paintings.

30 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Daniel never dreamed that he would create realistic oil paintings. In fact, he has never taken any art classes before participating in the http://www....

PK 185: What it really takes to make great art with Michael from Evolve

21 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Have you always wanted to create art that gets noticed, but not sure if you have the talent to make it happen? If so, you'll love Michael's story as h...

PK 184: From starting to pro level art in 7 months - what?!

19 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kristen's college professor told her she couldn't draw and after 10 years of believing that lie, she was inspired by the idea of showing her own work ...

PK 183: Meet Evolve Community Superstar Peggy Durant

14 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Meet Peggy Durant - Community Superstar and student at Evolve Artist: http://evolveartist.com Peggy is on a great path and people are starting to tak...

PK 182: Meet Evolve Artist Head Instructor Piper Talladay

06 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As the head instructor at Evolve Artist, Piper Talladay oversees all student homework submissions. She makes sure everyone is kept to the highest stan...

PK 181: Evolve Artist Update - 2 Years Later...

03 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A little over two years ago the original idea for the Evolve Artist program was first discussed. It took a long time to go from the initial idea of ta...

PK 180: Consistently creating award winning art students with Kevin Murphy

22 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Learn how Kevin Murphy has been helping complete beginner artists consistently win awards and scholarships. If you've always wanted to learn, or have ...

PK 179: Welcome back to the Pencil Kings Podcast!

17 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After a much needed break, we're back and here's what's been happening the past few months while we've been focusing on developing the new generation ...

PK 178: Burn The Boats - What REALLY Makes You An Artist?

24 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It's one thing to create a beautiful work of art that's rendered to perfection, but it's an entirely different challenge to express complex ideas with...

PK 177: Becoming a Children's Book Illustrator - Interview With Matt B Lewis.

17 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "You have to be true to yourself, you have to have 100% commitment. If you're gonna do it, yo...

PK 176: How to Copyright Artwork - Interview With IP and Social Media Lawyer, Paul Lombic.

10 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "In Canada, as soon as you write down and you create the comic strip and you put pen to pape...

PK 175: Travel and Living Creatively - Interview With Freelance Illustrator, Ladislas Chachignot.

03 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "If you want your life to change and evolve a bit, sometimes you have to take a step into the...

PK 174: How to Start a Comic Book - Interview With Comic Book Illustrator, Ryan Onorato.

27 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "Take the time and get at least one book done for yourself, because I just think it's more im...

PK 173: How to Make the Art You Really WANT to Make

20 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "If you're painting the things that you are interested in, you're probably going to have a be...

PK 172: How to Break Into Comics: Interview With Creator of The Sire, Michael Dolce

13 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "You don't need a publisher now to be successful. You don't need the 'gatekeepers' any more....

PK 171: How to Unlock Your Creativity - Interview with Author and Psychiatrist, Dr Srini Pillay

06 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "There is something in every one of us that is waiting for this motivation to arrive, that i...

PK 170: How to Live Creatively. Interview With Mixed Media Artist, Tracy Verdugo.

29 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "This whole idea that we should be as good as whoever it is next to us is just crazy. If you...

PK 169: Witches, Demons, and Art. Inside the Creative Mind of Occult and Fantasy Artist, Jim Pavelec.

22 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "Make sure it's something you really, really have a passion for...not just a thing that you ...

PK 168: Can Making Art Change Your Life? Interview with Tamara Laporte From Willowing Arts

15 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "That's a key thing - to be willing to make art that you don't like and be almost neutral ab...

PK 167: Travel and Creativity. How to Reboot The Artist in You.

08 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "Somebody always knows somebody in this creative industry. And, because of the internet, we ...

PK 166: How to Promote Your Art on Instagram.

01 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "Even if you don't know what you want to do, just keep doing, keep trying, keep learning. Li...

PK 165: How to Live Like an Artist...and Build a Successful Creative Career.

25 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "I make art. It makes me happy. There's a certain number of people that it also makes happy....

PK 164: Dragons, Myths and Illustration - How Collette J Ellis Turned Her Passion Into a Career

18 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "Illustration was something I knew I always wanted to do - it was just finding a way to do i...

PK 163: Can ANYONE Learn How to Draw? Interview With Jason Brubaker from Coffee Table Comics

11 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "I wanna do stuff because I want a finished product at the end, or I want a piece of animati...

PK 162: Self Publishing for Artists.

04 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "When you have the creative fire burning inside you, sometimes you just don't know what to d...

PK 161: How to Navigate Your way to Artistic Success.

27 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ The Pencil Kings podcast is sponsored by Freshbooks https://www.freshbooks.com/pencilkings em...

PK 160: How to Turn Your Ideas Into an Animated Cartoon Series.

20 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "What I'd say to people with a great idea is to be prepared to take a few risks, be prepared...

PK 159: How to Become a Better Artist...in Just 4 Months!

13 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "With what I've produced at the Evolve Art Academy, I'm very confident I could submit a port...

PK 158: How to Create a Webcomic...That Gets Noticed!

06 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ The Pencil Kings podcast is sponsored by Freshbooks "Just put your stuff up on everything, be...

PK 157: Creating Your Own Comic Books and Breaking Into the Industry.

30 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Complete Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "For the people who come to me and say: 'how did you do it and how can we do the sam...

PK 156: Printing For Artists Made Affordable. Interview With Matt Davies From Digital Print House.

23 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "At certain periods of time, the status quo should always be challenged for the better. Not ...

PK 155: How to Become a Fantasy Illustrator. Interview With Fantasy Artist, Crystal Sully.

16 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

  Full Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "Find that thing that makes your heart sing (it sounds so cheesy, I know!) ; that th...

PK 154: How an Artist Agency can Help Your Career.

09 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Full Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "I think what's really important is to work on a style that makes you happy. I think yo...

PK 153: How to Make an Animated Short Film

02 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

  Full Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "You can teach yourself so much from the internet these days" ~ Michael Cawood. Want...

PK 152: Want to Become a Magazine Designer or Illustrator?

26 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Full Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "It doesn't have to be perfect to be done. You can always rework it." ~ Katie Buckleitn...

PK 151: Creativity, Art & Mindfulness. Interview With Hyperrealist Artist, Ian Ingram.

19 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Full Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "Just let go of any intention towards making a cool drawing, and somehow that cool draw...

PK 150: How to Have a Successful Art Career And Build Your Audience.

12 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Full show notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "There are so many moments in your daily life when you can actually draw! Lunch break i...

PK 149: How to ask for Feedback From an Artist.

05 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Full show notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ Want to know how to ask for feedback from an artist and take the next steps in your cre...

PK 148: What Does it Really Take to Make it as a Fine Artist?

28 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Full Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ PK 148: What Does it Really Take to Make it as a Fine Artist? "It takes application and ...

PK 147: Thinking of Becoming an Illustrator? How Artist, Kate Oleska, Switched Careers.

21 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

PK 147: Thinking of Becoming an Illustrator? How Artist, Kate Oleska, Switched Careers. Full show notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/...

PK 146: How to Become an Illustrator.

14 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Full Show Notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ "You have to do the legwork. I strongly believe you have to go to the conventions and p...

PK 145: How to Make an Art Portfolio...And Find More Paid Gigs!

07 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Full show notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ Want to find out how to make an awesome art portfolio and find more clients? In this int...

PK 144: Want to Know How to Make a Video Game? Start Here

31 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Full show notes at: https://www.pencilkings.com/podcast-home/ Want to know how to make a video game? In this week's podcast, we speak to freelance con...