Giuseppe Castellano talks to illustrator and artist, Rafael Lopéz, about how illustrators can approach color fearlessly; why fun, community, and discipline are a creator’s holy trinity; what it means to give all children the stories they deserve; and more.

To learn more about Rafael, visit rafaellopez.com.

Artists mentioned in this episode include: Mary Blair, Alice and Martin Provensen, Charley Harper, J.P. Miller, Jon Klassen, Christian Robinson

If you find value in this podcast, consider supporting it via Substack or Patreon. / This podcast is produced by IllustrationDept.com—a global leader in online education for illustrators. / The music for this podcast was created by Oatmello.

If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, you can email Giuseppe.

Giuseppe Castellano talks to illustrator, teacher, and author of Drawing Is Important, Tom Froese, about the pleasures and pains of podcasting; why doing things in small increments is a real way to reach big creative goals; how creativity isn’t just about creating; and more.

Find Tom‘s book, Drawing Is Important, here, or at your favorite bookseller. To learn more about Tom, visit tomfroese.com.

Artists mentioned in this episode include: Saul Bass, Mike Lowery, Lauren Nassef

If you find value in this podcast, consider supporting it via Substack or Patreon. / This podcast is produced by IllustrationDept.com—a global leader in online education for illustrators. / The music for this podcast was created by Oatmello.

If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, you can email Giuseppe.

Giuseppe Castellano talks to award-winning book creators, Erin and Philip Stead, about how illustrators can know if they’re going in the right direction; why artistic (read: human) “mistakes” are important; what cynicism and conformity do to creativity; and more.

Find Phil’s A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic here or at your favorite bookseller. Learn more about Erin at erinstead.com.

Artists mentioned in this episode include: Jules Feiffer, Brian Lies, John Burningham, William Steig, Anselm Kiefer, Jon Klassen, Peter Brown, Eric Carle, Tomie dePaola, Domenico Gnoli, Imero Gobbato, M.B. Goffstein, Leo Lionni, Mark Teague, Barbara Cooney

If you find value in this podcast, consider supporting it via Substack or Patreon. / This podcast is produced by IllustrationDept.com—a global leader in online education for illustrators. / The music for this podcast was created by Oatmello.

If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, you can email Giuseppe.

Giuseppe Castellano talks to award-winning illustrator and instructor, Gérard DuBois, about his twenty-five-year award-winning run; how he approaches complex editorial assignments; what it takes for your illustration career to get rolling; and more.

To learn more about Gérard, visit gdubois.com.

Artists mentioned in this episode include: Edel Rodriguez, Robert Neuman, Henrik Drescher, Chris Buzelli, Brad Holland, Brian Cronin, Francisco de Goya, Henry Moore, Aristide Maillol

If you find value in this podcast, consider supporting it via Substack or Patreon. / This podcast is produced by IllustrationDept.com—a global leader in online education for illustrators. / The music for this podcast was created by Oatmello.

If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, you can email Giuseppe.

Giuseppe Castellano talks to Caldecott Honor-winning children’s book illustrator and author, Brian Lies, about what “broccoli books” are, and why he’s not a fan; how he did and didn’t get the Caldecott call; what it means to be driving, not driven; and more.

To learn more about Brian, visit brianlies.com.

Artists mentioned in this episode include: Oge Mora, Harry Devlin, N.C. Wyeth, Helen Oxenbury, John Burningham, Randolph Caldecott, Ed Young

If you find value in this podcast, consider supporting it via Substack or Patreon. / This podcast is produced by IllustrationDept.com—a global leader in online education for illustrators. / The music for this podcast was created by Oatmello.

If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, you can email Giuseppe.

Giuseppe Castellano talks to Karina Granda, Art Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, about how she looks for illustrators, and what makes a portfolio stand out; what the downside is to responding to an illustrator’s cold email; how book-making is a team sport; and more.

To learn more about Karina, visit karinagranda.com.

Artists mentioned in this episode include: Brandon Dorman

If you find value in this podcast, consider supporting it via Substack or Patreon. / This podcast is produced by IllustrationDept.com—a global leader in online education for illustrators. / The music for this podcast was created by Oatmello.

If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, you can email Giuseppe.

Giuseppe Castellano talks to award-winning author and multimedia artist, Selina Alko, about why illustrators who say, “I’m not a writer” are almost always wrong; how she approached Otherwise Known as Judy the Great—her poetic ode to Judy Blume; why every creative needs to be their own best friend; and more.

To learn more about Selina and her books, visit selinaalko.com.

You can find Otherwise Known as Judy the Great here, or at your favorite bookseller.

Artists mentioned in this episode include: Lisa Desimini, Matt Mahurin, Mike Curato

Photography by Good Job Photos

If you find value in this podcast, consider supporting it via Substack or Patreon. / This podcast is produced by IllustrationDept.com—a global leader in online education for illustrators. / The music for this podcast was created by Oatmello.

If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, you can email Giuseppe.

Giuseppe Castellano talks to Simone Friend and Beth Johnson, the partners behind Friend + Johnson, about why social media is a double-edged sword for illustrators… and agents; what we must all agree on, no matter what you think about AI; what illustrators should focus on; and more.

To learn more about Friend + Johnson, visit friendandjohnson.com.

Here is the episode with Daniel Abraham that Giuseppe referenced.

Artists mentioned in this episode include: Robert Valentine, Don Sibley, Woody Pirtle, Michael Bierut, Milton Glaser, DJ Stout, Jeff Kern, Peggy Sirota

If you find value in this podcast, consider supporting it via Substack or Patreon. / This podcast is produced by IllustrationDept.com—a global leader in online education for illustrators. / The music for this podcast was created by Oatmello.

If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, you can email Giuseppe.