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This week’s guest is Jake Parker. Jake is an illustrator, writer, and teacher based in Utah. Jake has worked on everything from animated films to comics to picture books since 1999. He’s lived in six states, working at the best studios with some of the most amazing and talented people in the country. Now Jake freelances out of his own studio in Utah.
Jake started his professional drawing career straight out of school, and in the podcast, he explains how he got that first break which kick-started his career. Since then he has worked for many high profile clients including Disney, Warner Brothers and Google.
Jake’s work has been published countless times in way too many places to list here, but despite that, he might be best known to our listeners as the founder of the hugely popular October drawing challenge ‘Inktober’.
A few of the topics we cover in the podcast:
Talent versus learning how to draw
Jake talks about whether he thinks that some people are just born with a natural talent, or whether it’s possible for anyone to learn how to draw
Dealing with Creative block
Jake goes deeply into the kind of things that can cause a creative block and how to deal with it by filling up your creative bank account
Inktober Drawing Challenge
In the podcast, Jake explains how he started the popular drawing challenge Inktober to improve his brush pen skills and how the art challenge has grown ever since.
Kickstarter for Art Projects
Jake produces his own drawing and comic books some of which were funded via KickStarter including his latest graphic novel – The Star Seed.
Other projects funded on Kickstarter
The Antler Boy and Other Stories
Artists that Jake admires
Two of the artists that Jake admires that he mentions in the podcast are Aaron Draplin (Graphic Designer) and William Joyce (children’s book illustrator)
Teaching Art and Illustration Online
As well as producing his own amazing artwork Jake also teaches art and illustration on the online platform he co-founded with Will Terry called SVSLearn.com. Here you can learn anything from portrait painting to children’s illustration.
We really hope you enjoy the show.
