Episode 7 of the Escape From Illustration Island Podcast features an audio interview with Chris Oatley, inspiring artist, friend, and host of Chris Oatley’s Artcast.  This “after hours” discussion is my part of a crossover between his show and EFII.  You can find the other half here.  Together we go behind the scenes to explore the past, present, and future of his show, as well as the significance of the “human element” that is so prominent in all of his creations.  In addition, I also politely “call him out” and challenge him to expand on some of the themes and ideas that he has previously only hinted at to his listeners.

Want to climb inside Chris Oatley’s brain?  Then you’ll love this in-depth conversation.

Here are links to some of the things mentioned on the show:

ChrisOatley.com
Thomas James Interview on Chris Oatley’s Artcast
Thomas James Interview on the Ninja Mountain Podcast
deviantART

Episode 6 of the Escape From Illustration Island Podcast features an audio interview with Penny Dullaghan, Illustrator and creator of Illustration Friday, one of the more original Illustration community sites on the internet, where artists submit work based on a weekly theme.  The growing site also features a forum, a blog, and an artist interview section.  Penny and I discuss the future of Illustration Friday, her early days as an aspiring Illustrator, her experiences with contacting her heroes, her approach to acquiring an artist representative, and more.

I also introduce a new segment, read a listener e-mail, and share a promo mp3 sent in by a previous guest.

Here are some of the resources mentioned on the show:

Illustration Friday
Illustration Friday Facebook Page
Penelope Dullaghan’s Illustration Website
How to Work with an Illustrator
How I Became an Illustrator
Self-Assignments
Utopian.net
Altpick
folioplanet
CartoonSmart
Digital-Tutors
Illustration Mundo
The Process Diary

In Episode 5 of the Escape From Illustration Island Podcast, I am joined by Jeff Fisher, Engineer of Creative Identity for Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, to tackle the topic of social networking for Illustrators and other creative professionals.  This audio interview was inspired by a recent article written by Jeff for the October issue of HOW Magazine, in which he highlights the value of using online social media tools to take control of self-promotion and networking with fellow creators.  I met with Jeff for EFII’s first face-to-face discussion to explore the possibilities inherent in these tools, and to ask some of the questions that the article raises.  Jeff helped to illuminate the topic by drawing on his years of experience and sharing a long list of resources that can be found below.

Jeff Fisher Online:

Jeff Fisher LogoMotives Central
LogoMotives
blog-o-Motives
LogoMotives on Facebook
Identity Crisis!
The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success

Here are some of the resources Jeff mentions on the show:

HOW Magazine
Twitter
biznik
Facebook
LinkedIn
Creative Latitude
design:related
graphics.com
designer ID
Ning
Naymz
startup nation
entrepreneur.com
Business of Design Online (BoDo)
Powell’s Books

In Episode 4 of the Escape From Illustration Island Podcast, I speak with Von Glitschka, Illustrative Designer, Educator, and creator of the Illustration Tutorial site, IllustrationClass.com.  For this audio interview, we discuss the Illustration industry, the art of designing tutorials and speaking engagements, and a unique approach to Twitter, among other things.

I also make an exciting announcement about the future of Escape From Illustration Island and unveil more ways that you can contribute to the site and podcast.

Here are some of the things mentioned on the show:

vonglitschka.com
IllustrationClass.com
ArtBackwash.com
Zazzle.com
Vonster’s Zazzle Store
Living a Creatively Curious Life
Twitter

For this week’s episode, I am joined by friend and collaborator Jason Ritz, sound designer of Whiskey Sound and Symbolic Pictures. Together we discuss our 16-year history of exploring the art of collaboration, and the ways that we have benefited and grown as creators from these joint efforts. We approach the topic as an analysis of three possible forms of collaboration, and talk about how you can use these methods to Escape From Illustration Island.

As a special treat, I close out the show with a song that Jason and I recorded together last year in a long-distance collaboration process mentioned on the show.  You can also take a look at some of the paintings we’ve worked on together in the image above.  Enjoy!