The Visual Storytelling Podcast

In This ArtCast :: 5 Tips to make the new year productive and creatively fulfilling. New Year’s resolutions I DON’T recommend. What art & religion have in common. How to learn to love early mornings. PLUS: Music by Good Old War! Artistic growth is NOT a goal. But a full sketchbook is… -Tweet This Quote […]

| Download Video | My friend, Dani Jones honored me with the opportunity to be featured in the first collected print edition of her webcomic ‘My Sister, The Freak’.  (Now available for pre-order at MySisterTheFreak.com) I recorded the entire painting process and broke it up into three parts. Part One Covers: How to avoid re-drawing [...]

IN THIS EPISODE: I interview one of my heroes Cyril Pedrosa author of my favorite graphic novel ‘Three Shadows’ and the beautiful new web comic ‘Portugal’. Cyril shares about his early days at the Disney studio in Paris and his break from animation to pursue his true calling as a comics artist. He shares insights […]

Detail from Norman Rockwell’s “The Soda Jerk” side-by-side comparison with Rockwell’s photo reference. In This ArtCast: I share THREE practices that all artists can apply to their own process that will instantly improve the quality of their finished works of art. Also, I talk about my NEW podcast and web-community: Paper Wings. AND… I explain […]

IN THIS EPISODE :: I have a great interview with my Disney colleague Akiko Crawford and her husband Duncan Crawford.  Akiko is a VERY talented Matte Painter and Environment painter who works in Visual Development like I do. And Duncan has worked as a sculptor on Super-8 and LOST (and he talks about that on […]

IN THIS EPISODE :: Steve Umbleby’s career in Character Design takes another leap forward on account of his hard work, great attitude and remarkable talent. If you haven’t heard my first interview with Steve Umbleby, I recommend listening to it here. PLUS! The modern anthropology of a children’s story anthology reveals how any project can […]

IN THIS EPISODE :: Ryan Jones’ first job is also his dream job. He’s a concept artist at Telltale Games where he designed stylized versions of Doc Brown & Marty McFly for Back To The Future: The Game. Play the episode (player and download link are at the top of this post) and hear Ryan […]

The ‘Brush Tips’ Series: Short video tutorials that demonstrate digital painting tips and tricks that can save you time, increase your efficiency and support a smoother, more intuitive workflow. This episode addresses a frequently asked question: How do I make my cool stylized texture brushes in Photoshop? It’s easy and creating your own brushes is [...]

In This ArtCast :: I share some listener feedback and discuss how artists can develop consistency and professionalism through fundamentals and a refusal to settle for less.  I also briefly address the ongoing debate about digital comics and I talk about a new sit/ stand ergonomic solution for my workstation. AWESOME LINKS :: Art & Story […]

In This ArtCast: I speak with Jerzy Drozd (creator of The Front) and Thomas James (creator of Escape From Illustration Island) about a recent discussion that has been taking place here on ChrisOatley.com regarding personal projects and how to actually finish them. To Pitch Or Not To Pitch Jerzy Drozd Escape From Illustration Island :: [...]

In This ArtCast :: This one has a bit of a slow start (some heavy editing helped quite a bit) but it has a big finish: How I avoid burnout. I explore every possible creative block that I can think of and provide some practical advice for how to stay focused and fruitful during creative [...]

Panel from ‘Creature Tech’ by Doug TenNapel In This ArtCast: I share about my new job as a Character Visual Development Artist at Disney and my regard for the high standards set by previous Disney Jedi Masters like Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. I then reveal my plans for finishing a webcomic/ graphic novel within [...]

In This LIVE ArtCast ::  I am joined by Ed Li (Environment Design), Joel Parod (Visual Development), Ellen Jin-Over (Art Director) and three-time ArtCast guest Mike Greenholt (Animation) for a Live online panel discussion about our work at DisneyToon Studios, our careers, our artistic victories and our struggles. The panelists also take questions from the [...]

IN THIS EPISODE :: Steve Umbleby is a long-time friend of mine and a frequent collaborator. In pursuit of his dream of working as an animation storyboard artist, he moved to Los Angeles and got a job in the industry three weeks later. Steve shares his story and we reflect on the history of our [...]