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Interview with Animation Art Director Ryan Carlson (Part 1) :: ArtCast #100

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RyanCarlson_PleinAirBarn_AC100

In many ways, I owe my career to  Ryan Carlson.

He played a key role in giving me my first break at Disney, taught me more about painting than any other individual and he, more than anyone for whom I’ve worked, has intentionally helped to advance my career.

…and considering that The ArtCast probably wouldn’t exist without my time at Disney, and The Oatley Academy only exists because of The ArtCast, The Oatley Academy might not exist without Ryan…

In this episode we discuss:

  • Why failure is a necessary part of the creative process.
  • What makes a good Art Director?
  • Ryan’s process for creating a Color Script for an animated feature film…

Listen To Part 1 Of Our Interview With Ryan Carlson:

[ download the mp3 ] [ subscribe in iTunes ]

In Part 2, Ryan Talks About:

  • Working on The Iron Giant and what he learned from Brad Bird.
  • His advancement from Assistant Effects Animator to Art Director.
  • How to lead a team of creative professionals well…

Awesome Links:

Ryan Carlson

Dance Around The Fire: Performance by Chris Oatley, Song by Slaid Cleaves

Lyrics to Dance Around The Fire by Slaid Cleaves

Music by Storybook Steve and Kangaralien

It’s An ArtCast Party!

Please join the Episode 100 celebration here in the comments section!

Post your reactions to anything in this episode that you liked and it would also be fun if you could share one of your favorite moments from the past 100 episodes of The ArtCast…

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Comments

  1. Thanks Ryan, for being partially responsible for the ArtCast and the Oatley Academy! Great interview!
    My favourite ArtCast episode is “artistic growth is not a goal and how to become an early riser.” So practical and inspiring info there! One thing in an episode somewhere that made me laugh out loud was Chris getting very distracted by a double rainbow. XD

  2. I can’t believe it’s finally here. I remember asking Chris what he was going to do for ep 100 a couple years back. Glad he went with Ryan.

  3. I love Sydney as a co-host. 😀

    …”As I began to hire actual humans…” Are we sure about that? Ania is super-human. ♥

    I’ve got so many favorite ArtCast episodes I couldn’t possibly narrow it down to one – thank you so much Chris (and Sydney!) for starting this all those years ago, and for continuing to share knowledge with the internet at large. <3

  4. Omg such an an amazing episode!
    And OMG 100! AH 😀
    It’s so nice to look back now – how many times I listened to some of this episodes, the bunch of great artists I met – both in the internet, and on Oatley Academy, the advice. Oh man.

    Thank you so much Chris and the OA team for this amazing glade in the woods of life. This has been one of the most pleasants journeys I could have hoped for, specially with the likes of art learning, which is usually a pretty thorny path in itself. You guys made this journey bearable and easier. Made me crave the next step.

    Congratulations on episode 100! And onwards to 200!

  5. I just want to say that it’s been an honor and a pleasure to be able to work on the ArtCast with the OA Team for these past 2 years that I’ve been here <3 Time surely flies 🙂

    Thank you Ryan for this incredible interview. The way you talk about taking care of a team really hit home. Super appreciate your insight <3 And thank you for being a mentor for Chris. If not for you I would have never met him or this wonderful team. o/

    I also want to show my appreciation for Chris 🙂 We're all so lucky to have you here with us. Thank you for all you do!

    Another *huge* thank you for everyone who listens to the ArtCast. We couldn't do this without you all.

    I love you all so muuuuuch! <3 <3

  6. I loved the part in the episode on celebrating victories. It is something I often forget, but it is really good to look back at what you have accomplished once in a while!

    I can’t possibly pick a favorite episode, they have all inspired me in some sort of way! And it is always lovely to listen to all the stories and wisdom in the podcast while I am working!

    CONGRATS Oatley Academy on 100 episodes! Thanks for being awesome!! 😀

    • Yes! It’s so easy to focus on all the things we haven’t done yet, and rarely do we take the time to say ‘well done me!’ It’s super helpful to be reminded of that o/

      Thank you for all you your support Nienke! It’s always a joy seeing you in the comments 😀

  7. Thank you so much Ryan for being such an inspiration to Chris and all of us, with this interview! What I love the most about this episode is the throwback to the old episodes, with Chris walking Sidney! It’s what made me start loving this ol’ guy in the first place haha!

    His raw honesty and his well thought words that made me internalize all the deep subjects he dove into, where we would discover a bit more about ourselves along with him. That is something so precious to me and is what I will be grateful till the end of my days. Thank you for putting yourself out there all these years, for always pushing forward to making our lives as artists better. No matter what happens in life, no one will ever take that away from you, Chris. I’m happy and proud to have a part of you in my life, dude. THANK YOU!

    Thanks for bringing so many good people together and being the catalyst to so many special friendships! Special thank you to the whole team as well! You guys work super hard to make all of this happen and I’m glad to know you all!

    Ok, ok I’m done. I think I might’ve gushed a bit too much up there yeesh! CONGRATS CHRIS AND THE WHOLE TEAM! Cheers to hundreds more!

    I’m with Henrike, one of my favorite episodes is “artistic growth is not a goal and how to become an early riser.” I still listen to that episode every January! It’s a good time to relisten and get back on track!

    • Elly! <3 Right there with you; I'm so happy to be a part of this amazing team Chris has brought together. You're the best, it's such a pleasure and honor to be able to work with you o/

  8. Such a fantastic 100th episode! Many thanks to Ryan for his partial responsibility for the creation of Artcast and OA, and for an inspiring interview.

    As for favorite past Artcasts, this one is recent, but I’ve listened to the interviews with Claire Keane a number of times. I love the discussions about how fear never goes away no matter how successful you are – it’s strangely empowering. You can’t wait for the fear to be gone to start working, so there’s nothing really left to do except start. And once you start and that blank page isn’t blank anymore, I find a lot of that fear fades away.

    Chris, I absolutely love your voice. I hit that mp3 download button so fast. If you feel compelled to sing again in future episodes, please do! 🙂

    • Thank you Elizabeth! I agree re: fear; it really is strengthening to know we’re not alone 🙂

      (And we definitely need to get Chris singing in more episodes! :D)

  9. I was first introduced to Ryan Carlson’s work on your site. I’ve download all of his color scripts. I sit there in awe of his ability to capture realistic believable storytelling lighting with great consistency throughout a huge range of environments and lighting conditions. It is humbling to be inspired by his work and even more humbling now to be inspired by his humility as an artist. This was a GREAT 100th episode.

    Great JOB! on the song Chris! The words are so true.

    Jaison

  10. Happy 100th Episode!!! This was very enjoyable, as usual. And it’s a great feeling to know that I’m making money while drawing on my passion project – that has come about in part because of the great support here at Oatley Academy.

    Thank you, thank you, thank you, Chris! I am one of the many listeners who cherish your friendship and passion for art and storytelling! I look forward to many more podcasts to come.

    With all of the many podcasts, I had to go back through to remember which episodes were specific to the Artcast. I think my favorite episodes included those focused on the Delve video essays, but it’s hard to pick.

    I believe I started listening sometime during the first ten episodes, so my memory of those is my favorite. I remember being so impressed that you were building something bigger and more personal than just a career as a character designer. I remember wanting to be just like you in my career. So I kept coming back over and over again.

    And to see how many awesome things have changed in these past seven or so years – and to see how many people’s lives have changed because of it. It’s been simply incredible. Thanks for bringing us along for the ride. 😀

    • And I must say that there couldn’t be a more fitting guest for episode #100. Thank you Ryan for encouraging Chris throughout the years! It’s indirectly impacted many more people than you ever expected, for sure!

      • Hey Scott 😀 You’ve said it perfectly; the Oatley Academy has been such a blessing.

        And thank you for your constant support and awesomeness!! It’s an honor to be part of a community with such caring, wonderful members such as yourself 🙂

  11. Happy 100th episode OA!

    What a fantastic episode choice to be number 100. I can’t even express into words the sheer power of Ryan’s advice “It’s ok to just redo it.”

    I have always been this type of artist. I can never nail anything on the first go and it’s fantastic to hear that even master artists like Ryan struggle with this every day. Stories by their very nature are iterative. Maybe it’s time for me to just embrace the process like Ryan does and learn to love it.

    Thank you all for 100 great episodes and I look forward to 100 more in the future!

  12. Wow 100 episodes! Thats a lot of awesome! I don’t think I can pick part one episode that was my favorite since there are so many good ones. The noah bradley episodes were the ones that first hooked me though. Also the art cast with Adam west brook really struck me as well because it introduced me to the Delve video essays when I was worried about starting my art career too late.

    The thing that struck me most about episode was how similar Ryan’s art background was to mine. To be honest I sort of thought I was the only one that doodled something related to another career. Long story short I spent a lot of time as a kid drawing space ships because I was planning on becoming an aerospace engineer when I was grew up. Later on I realized what was needed for the job and decided it wasn’t for me lol. On top of that even though art was always a thing I did, it wasn’t something seriously until my second time in college. Its nice to hear that things worked out for some one with a similar story.

    Also I loved the song! Thanks for sharing it!

  13. Thank you Ryan and Chris!! Ryan, I remember doing paintings and drawings over and over. I think now, I just erase a lot. I absolutely love your style of painting. It makes people happy! I am so inspired by the both of you!

    I love all the episodes but I really like this one because it takes me back to when I first found The Oatley Academy and Chris was walking Sydney and sometimes on his lunch hour at Disney. The cars in the background and interruptions made me laugh (a good thing.) Yes, Sydney should be an official team member! I too walk my dog Lexie to sort things out and have tried talking to myself in the phone while on some of those walks. I felt a little uneasy about that but it was kind of fun. Personally, I live in a big city yet artistically, I only relate to the people at OA. There is something different about us. I appreciate the team in how they present themselves in an honest manner (not trying to be perfect.) I believe this has helped me to grow as a person. I feel as though I have companionship on this journey when before I was left to think inside myself. This will be my 3rd career change (probably the oldest here) but really I am going back to what I have always loved.

    Chris you are a man of many talents!! I love the song! I hope we hear more of you singing. So true, “…no growth without risk.” You are an example in showing us to be ourselves.

    Thank you so much!
    Melissa

  14. Hi Chris,

    I love how Chris-y this was. haha! Seriously, it’s the Chris I first met. I love the walking and talking to yourself and Sydney and laughing. It just cracks me up! I love it!

    I loved your song and how you talked about it. It was beautiful and touching. And I think you play the guitar beautifully and sing beautifully.

    My favorite parts of the Artcast have always been the parts when you go into deep rant or deep geek out mode. The parts where you really dig deep, and I get to hear the Chris rants. I love the lessons you have taught me. You’ve taught me to be a better artist and to work for my dreams. Thank you for the Artcast and how it has changed my life for the better. Congratulations on the 100th episode my friend!

  15. A perfect 100th episode! I love hearing about your influences, Chris, and how Ryan’s encouragement and mentorship put the wheels in motion for you and OA… Just like you’ve done for so many of us!

    Thanks for another insightful conversation! I really enjoyed the part of the episode where Ryan talked about being humble while working on a team — setting ego aside in service of the direction, and the directive.

    I *loved* the song. I *love* Sydni.

  16. Congrats on 100th episode! Great talk with Ryan. I went to sjsu too, and I think they distilled how important it is to learn how to fail, and push yourself until you fail, and then keep going. The natualy good people who never fail have more to worry about, because eventually they will hit a massive wall and without the tools to work through it people can get really burned out.

    Ive been listening since the early days of you reflecting during your walks, so this was a fun throwback. When I discovered you I was just starting out in animation, doing freelance and working for smaller low budget projects. It was always inspiring to listen about your experiences & advice. There were a lot of good episodes, one that sticks in my mind was one with Ryan Woodward. (I looked it up and it was actually paperwings.) I just remember him talking about how his best opportunities were as a result of personal projects more then from his professional portfolio. that really resonated with me and helped plant the seeds to start creating books outside of my disney animation job.

    And OMG you can sing! Great job with that performance. I don’t come across a lot of LA people who are into bluegrass/folk, but defiantly my favorite genre!

    cheers!

  17. Great episode, it was a little hard to hear you Chris at first but I think maybe you started talking a little louder and the interview was overall good in terms of hearing.

    And its cool to see you get in touch with your creative side on other things for the joy of it.

    However, I think my question is how do you know when its too close to the fire and when you are too far from the dance? I am not sure if I found the right balance. Does anyone ever?

  18. Happy 100th episode!

    I am pretty new to the community, but I wanted to share how thankful I am for the people behind OA for creating this incredible resource and supportive environment for artists to learn about visual storytelling. I’m not sure where I’d be without it!

    One of my favorite moments on the Art Cast is this quote from episode #75, part 2 of the interview with Pascal Campion: “You’re here because you want to create emotional things, but also you’re helping other people look at those images and travel, escape, dream, hope. So if you don’t have any of that in you, you’re going to have a really hard time selling that.” It was hard to pick just one inspiring moment because there were so many others >_< but this one really resonated with me.

    Super fun episode all around 🙂 I'm anxious to hear more on the new mentored course as well! Exciting stuff.

    • Natalie! It’s been great having you around lately. SO glad you found us!

      Yeah, Pascal brought the thunder on that interview!!!

      Thank you for the support and encouraging words.

  19. Happy 100th!!! You guys have taken all of us on such a wonderful journey of learning, sharing and caring through these podcasts- I cannot thank you enough for all the hard work you put in to get such amazing content out.

    Also, OMG! Chris, you are a terrific singer and you play the guitar beautifully!! 😀

    It’s just cruel to ask for one favourite Artcast – I have so many!! But the ones with Brett Bean, Armand Serrano and Pascal Campion have to be the ones that I’ve listened to the most. They are a treasure trove of knowledge and insight.

    Again, thank you so much for the awesome job that you do and congratulations! 🙂

  20. Congratulations!

    I’ve been in and out of OA more than a fiddler’s elbow, but it has always been a constant companion on my art journey since the it’s inception. I think that says a lot.

    You all do an amazing job, guys. Happy 100th episode! Here’s to 100 more…

    <3

  21. Congrats on the 100th episode!
    That song almost made me cry, in a good way. Chris, you sing and play guitar beautifully!

    My favorite moments of the Artcasts were the rants, and also the one about waking up early to work on art, which I’ve been doing (though not always successfully) for a while now. I wouldn’t have known how to make time to do art otherwise.

    I’m so grateful for the Oatley Academy – it’s where I connected and made my best friends, not to mention where I got my fire from. Thank you to Ryan Carlson for being indirectly/directly instrumental to the existence of OA. Also those plein air pastel paintings are gorgeous!

    • You’re amazing, Karlen. You are a steadfast supporter and encourager of The OA. …and thank you for the kind words about the song.

  22. Took me a few days to get through it- I didn’t realize that I have been so busy until I tried to sit down for a moment and

    “By naked I mean vulnerable.” Oh Mylanta!

    • EDIT: I always have a hard time posting on here for some reason :0

      Took me a few days to get through it- I didn’t realize that I have been so busy until I tried to sit down for a moment and enjoy a celebratory Art Cast with my OA family.

      Really great episode! I have been looking at a lot of Ryan’s work this week actually in the Art of Planes book. So neat to hear that drawing planes was how he really started out!

      I also love that Chris gets a chance to talk about management of the OA team and his experiences with leadership in relation to what Ryan is saying.

      There have been so many great ArtCast’s over the years, and I don’t even think I’ve heard them all! I love #92 and #93 with Claire, Brian and Jenn. Especially hearing about Claire having her breakthrough with Little Big Girl. And #68 with Jack Conte of Patreon was so amazing especially the timing of the interview.

      “By naked I mean vulnerable.” Oh Mylanta!

  23. Such a moving episode, it’s a great choice for the 100th. I loved that Sydney was here as well, it reminded me of when I first discovered the artcast.
    Also CHRIS!!! That song was AWESOME! You are a good singer and musician, I’m so impressed at artists that can paint AND play instruments (just painting is impressive enough tbh). It was so nice to get back to the lyrics and discuss the meaning in them. Now I can have this song on my player and it’ll always remind me of the wise words along it: join the party, have fun, stay healthy and positive.
    I can’t choose a favorite artcast. To me it’s having the multiplicity of them that’s really efficient. I guess I need to hear many different voices, giving wise comments and advice each in their own way, to understand and/or be reminded of what I should pay attention to.
    With Ryan, I especially liked when he talks about how the actual making of a project can be tough, compared to the excitement you experience at first for the cool new, shiny idea.
    Experiencing difficult, laborious moments when working on a project can make me doubt the project is what I want to do, or even a good idea at all. Hearing pros acknowledge that these moments can exist (and suck) on any projects is invaluable.
    Here’s to our beloved artcast! May there be many more!

    • So glad you liked the episode, Aline!

      …and thank you for the encouragement about my rendition of ‘Dance Around The Fire.’

      And yes, Ryan is always so grounded and real. I love that he was so vulnerable and comfortable in this interview.

      And yes! Many more ArtCasts to come!

  25. Thanks, Chris, for taking the risk of presenting your song for us. I have deeply enjoyed it (:

  26. So much greatness in this episode as always! The Artcast is hands down my favorite podcast I listen to, and has been since 2013 when I first found OA and this wonderful community of warm, talented, loving people. Thank you Chris for everything you do; to quote the movie Balto, “I’d be lost without you”! 🙂

    I loved listening to your talk with Ryan Carlson. You guys had so many great insights on the artistic journey. A part that really resonated with me was when you mentioned being “future focused” to the point of forgetting to celebrate achievements or take time to spend moments in the present with the people around us. I often fall into the trap of focusing so hard on the dream that I forget to take breaks or time off to just go on a walk with someone, or call up an old friend. Balance is so important, and it’s something I’m definitely working on!

    As far as favorite moments of the Artcast, I have to agree with Shawna and some of the other OA folks who mentioned they love the moments when you’re just being Chris. When you’re walking Sydney, and you can hear the little jingling of her leash and the odd vicious dog in the neighborhood or traffic rolling by, and you ramble and laugh about some profound tangent, those are some of my favorite moments and make the Artcast truly come to life.

    I also love how genuine you and everyone at OA always are. I get so tired of cynicism in the world at large, so it’s nice to have a place to go where everyone just speaks from the heart and is willing to show their true spirit!

    Congrats on the 100th episode, and in getting up the courage to post your song! It was so fun to finally hear you play and sing, I’d love to hear more in future Artcasts!

  27. I’m not at all embarrassed to confess that I teared up IMMEDIATELY after the song began. Not sure if it’s because it struck a chord (no pun intended) or if it was all the emotion you put into it (or both), but it moved me right away and in such a good way too 🙂 Thank you for sharing such a beautiful and powerful performance with all of us! I have a feeling I’ll be returning to it a few more times…

    I’m still pretty new and there’s lots of artcasts episodes yet to listen so… while I can’t pick a favorite I can say I’m looking forward to listening to all of them more than ever 😀 And I can say all of your advice in all the episodes I did listen to have been incredibly motivational and have moved me to, well, MOVE! I’m really happy I decided to join this amazing comunity.

    So congrats to your 100th episode and here’s hoping for 100 more to come!
    Stay awesome 😀

  28. Joining the party a bit too late here – I just got around to listen to this episode.
    It’s been awhile since I had the chance to listen to the artcast while painting – it was great to get back to that with this one. :)) I loved it!
    Congratulations for the episode 100 !
    Keep up the great work, we’ll be around for the 200 as well 😉

    Also: Can’t wait to hear more songs played by you Chris !
    <3