So often, we create great work, have fresh ideas and know our skill set. But can we express ourselves with confidence, in an effective way that does the work justice?

It's an age-old conundrum; one strong skill set balanced out by shortcomings. But does it need to be this way? Sara Coggin, illustrator and language teacher joins me to talk about breaking down misconceptions about confidence and why they are at the root of issues expressing our creativity. We dig into why it's crucial to join the emotional dots and why we have to be sympathetic to our personality.

This podcast is kindly supported by http://illustrationx.com and http://theaoi.com

https://saracogg.in/

https://www.instagram.com/cogginsketchbook/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/speaklikeyou/?hl=en

http://bentallon.com

http://bentallonwriter.com

Ep 156: Language and expressing creativity with Sara Coggin

Creative Director of Stylorouge, Rob O'Connor joins us to discuss the fundamentals of the London based creative consultancy company's astounding success over several decades.

Well known for their work with Blur and on the iconic poster designs for Trainspotting, Rob discusses their wider work and the importance of creative collaboration, freedom and why total democracy is not always the best method of running design projects.

Rob also explains why the creative process is a bit like making a cup of tea...

Stylorouge official website: http://www.stylorouge.co.uk/

Ep 6: Rob O'Connor, Creative Director of Stylorouge (Blur, Trainspotting, Spinal Tap art-direction)

Illustrator and designer Kingsley Nebechi joins me to discuss the release of his debut artist book, the wonderful post-apocalyptic illustrated Tribe Hunters. Kingsley’s fascinating journey involved a move from his native Italy to London at the age of fourteen and he’ll tell us all about the challenges he faced, possessing only a very basic grasp of the English language before thriving and embracing the sink or swim nature of the English high school and the cultural differences.
 
We recount our first meetings through Twitter, when Kingsley came across my angry blog and we connected because whilst my freelance lifestyle ramblings resonated with him, he feared it was getting to me a little too much!
 
We find out why Kingsley’s mother’s notepad doodles during phone calls influenced him during childhood and became subtle foundations in the beautiful patterns seen throughout Tribe Hunters.
 
He also tells us why thoughts become things if you believe in the work you’re doing and work hard, how he landed a job with his dream client and favourite creative agency I Love Dust following a degree in Portsmouth and why London’s Liverpool Street being so busy isn’t such a bad thing if you use it creatively!
 
Kingsley Nebechi’s story shows us why life’s challenges and changes can instil a fierce resolve and work ethic and details a fantastic example of self-publishing success that anyone with aspirations of comic book work, character design or storytelling must hear.
 
http://kingsleynebechi.co.uk - Kingsley official
 
http://twitter.com/kingsleynebechi - Kingsley’s Twitter
 
http://instagram.com/kingsleynebechi - Kingsley’s Instagram
 
http://ilovedust.com - iLoveDust

Ep 36: Kingsley Nebechi talks about his artist book 'Tribe Hunters' & working for iLoveDust

La Boca are a London based image-making studio working with a wide range of clients including Penguin Books, Adele, Island Records and Vintage Books. They recently created a set of stunning cover designs for a series of reissued science fiction classic books, a bucket list project for Scot and Richard, both long-term fans of the genre. We discuss what it was like to land such a brief for a client like Penguin, how the work came about and the methods they used to build La Boca into one of the coolest creative agencies in the game.

These guys provide a fantastic showcase of why it's important to lead from the front with the work you would like to do and why it often leads to the clients you would most like to work for. We also cover a few unconventional methods of creating illustration and touch upon why cats in multi-coloured triangles are not cool.

Ep 47: La Boca creative studio discuss their Penguin Sc-fi classic book cover designs

What makes a strong portrait? Stylistically, it's wide open to the viewer's taste and use in context. But what is the essence of a great artistic representation of a human being? I'm joined by Beka Smith to discuss personalities, eccentricity, warmth, the importance of how others perceive the subject and other variable factors to consider when creating a portrait.

Beka is a London based portrait artist who's work has been seen in the BP Portrait Award and on Sky TV's Portrait Artist of the Year show. After an uncertain start, trying to work out a creative career path that felt right for her, she found her way into portrait art in an unconventional way, picking up some hilarious and touching stories en route.

We discuss how she attains portrait commissions and the many, many things that a portrait artist has to go through!

http://www.bekasmith.com/ - Beka's official site

https://twitter.com/BekaSmithArt - Beka on Twitter

http://instagram.com/bekasmithart - Beka on Instagram

Ep 55: The art of the portrait! Beka Smith joins me to discuss the essence of great portraits

I'm kindly invited to illustrator What Katie Drew's studio where as you'd hope, sits a desk smothered in incidental ink splats, chance smudges, marks and some smirk raising doodles. With a truly humorously naive, organic style, I talk to Katie about the evolution of it and a journey via the world of advertising. 

We discuss how time out and a look into other disciplines can help in the long run, why a talented network can be crucial and Katie's strong presentation of her work.

Moving image is becoming more and more ingrained in our daily lives, the way we digest our information and I talk to Katie about her stunning animated RSA short film collaboration with George The Poet. She also tells me why 5am is a slice of horror in her world right now and how motherhood can impact a freelance creative journey.

This is a fascinating insight into one of the most deceptively simple, yet powerful styles in the game and the lady behind it. 

Get your thoughts over on Twitter @arrestallmimics now!

http://whatkatiedrew.com/intro/ - website

http://shop.whatkatiedrew.com/ - shop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfEF_P73RE0 - A Climate Of Change, collaboration with RSA and George the Poet

https://www.instagram.com/whatkatiedrew/

https://twitter.com/whatkatiedrew?lang=en-gb - Twitter

Ep 56: What Katie Drew on her humorous, naive illustration style & journey via the advertising world

Would it be fair to say that every creative professional, beginner, student or casual ink head has at some stage struggled to settle on a style? Do we even have to? Why is that so frustrating? Willkay Oddking is a broadly skilled artist, designer and illustrator working with the likes of Adidas, G-Star Raw, Converse, BBC and under his own Oddkingdom brand.

Will joins me at my studio to talk about his versatility and why he's content operating as something of a creative chameleon right now, until a style grabs him and screams 'settle on me!!!.' We talk about London as a creative city, the balance between his work as a graphic designer, illustrator and live artist and where he'd like to head. 

This is one show for those who have not yet found confidence in the direction they are heading and offers a nice alternative to working in the creative industries with a signature visual identity.

Get your feedback over on @arrestallmimics on Twitter!

https://www.oddkingdom.com/

https://twitter.com/willkay_oddking

https://www.instagram.com/willkay_oddking/

Ep 57: The creative chameleon! Willkay Oddking discusses versatility in creative style

Kerry Hyndman has just won the Blue Peter Book Award for 'best book with facts.'

The London based illustrator has brought to life David Long's 'Survivors: Extraordinary tales from the wild and beyond' with her stunning full colour illustrations for Faber & Faber.  

I catch up with Kerry to talk about the experience of bringing to life such an original children's book with often graphic tales of human endurance.

With a narrative so powerful and evocative that the imagination of young people will likely be consumed by larger than life stories, how did Kerry tackle such a creative brief with her predominantly digital style of image making? 

Kerry shares an encouraging tale of arriving in the world of illustration via a fine art degree, working with publishers Faber & Faber and discusses her map illustration work. Join us in quite possibly the first podcast to be recorded in the turret of a library building...

Get your thoughts over to @arrestallmimics on Twitter

http://www.kerryhyndman.co.uk/

http://www.kerryhyndman.co.uk/#/survivors/ - Survivors

https://twitter.com/kerryhyndman

http://www.centralillustration.com/illustrators/kerry-hyndman

http://kerryhyndman.bigcartel.com/

Ep 60: Kerry Hyndman wins the Blue Peter Book Award & shares the story about Survivors & her journey

Who are you? What do you do for pleasure? What are you drawn to and from where do you get your sense of identity?

It's one of the most valuable things we have, the thing that sets us apart and brings us together for all the right reasons, our armour in the arts.

Photographer Owen Harvey joins me to discuss why his portfolio is 100% personal passion work, how he developed his iconic projects documenting subcultures, groups of often wrongly demonised social circles and intriguing characters.

Is it better to get a bar job to pay the bills, or create work that you do not love?

We go deep on the theme of identity, get us thoughts and feedback over @arrestallmimics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook now.

http://www.owen-harvey.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ojharv/

https://twitter.com/ojharv

Ep 104: Identity and creativity - Photographer Owen Harvey on belonging, demonisation & subculture

On the surface, Typographic Specimens is a collection of extraordinary creatures made entirely out of letterforms, numerals and punctuation marks. But behind this beautiful book is a fascinating tale of the Reverend Jackson Whitehead and his adventure aboard the HMS Pica, sister ship to HMS Beagle, which famously carried one Charles Darwin.

I'm joined by A.W. Bainbridge, a lecturer in Graphic Communications and Creative Thinking at the University of Central Lancashire, who details the story of his eccentric ancestor.

The book is available now via Ammonite Press.

Get your thoughts over to @arrestallmimics on social channels now

http://www.ammonitepress.com/gift/typographic-specimens/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Typographic-Specimens-Natural-History-Letterforms/dp/1781453098

http://instagram.com/frontaldepression

https://www.thedisciplesofdesign.com/

Ep 107: Typographic specimens. The creatures made of type, an adventure at sea & Charles Darwin

Welcome to 'The Creative Condition' podcast: an ongoing exploration of human creativity, hosted by The New York Times, Adidas, and Premier League illustrator and author Ben Tallon.


Creativity is an often misunderstood pillar of human happiness, something far bigger than artistic talent and crucial for fulfilling lives and careers. 

Little by little, Ben builds an archive of valuable stories, experiences, and tips to help you maximise yours.


Featuring exclusive interviews with experts and thought leaders, including illustrators, rock stars, artists, sensitivity experts, designers, emergency service workers, Olympic gold medal winners, comedians, microbiologists, photographers, fighters, and many others.


Supported by founding sponsor illustrationx.com


Also supported by the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Contact Ben at hello@bentallon.com and join the chat on socials at @bentallonpod. Subscribe and review on Apple podcasts at: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-creative-condition-podcast/id1038442077

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