Creative Mind - with Bobby Brill

Go behind the scenes of the 10-year journey to create the graphic novel - White Faced Lies - as it went from the spark of an idea to the Sundance Writers Lab to now available on Kindle and Amazon.

Book Synopsis - In China, local companies hire white (but not necessarily qualified) Americans to lend them credibility. Cons such as these, known as "face jobs", are instances in which Chinese companies hire foreigners to pose as professionals to lend credibility during meetings, press conferences, and other events where "face" is paramount. When veteran "face-jobber" Stanley hires a new assistant who thinks Stanley is his long-lost father, Stanley attempts to pull off the con of a lifetime by pretending to be his assistant's dad. A darkly humorous critique of the post-truth world that explores questions of race, systemic fraud, and personal greed, "White Faced Lies" is ultimately about how easily lies become truth.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN LEADER, INVENTOR, and EDUCATOR Perpetually inspired concept ideation, development, direction, education, and realization. Mark Garcia is helping to advance our world by sharing my experiences, perspective, and techniques of industrial design with aspiring creative problem solvers and future game-changers. Instructing junior and senior-level industrial design majors in a course that I have evolved to become more invention/entrepreneurial in its problem solving and design approach.

Top-rated speaker, best-selling author, and consultant Dr. Cindy is on a mission to empower people and companies to get what they want … through sales! Yep, “sales,” that icky word that makes people cringe.

How did she learn to embrace that dreaded activity? After years of consulting companies and helping them grow their business, she had an epiphany: every job really is a sales job.  And every person is a salesperson.

Throughout her career as a college professor, a salesperson, and a consultant, Dr. Cindy realized that people can get more of what they want in work AND in life by using the skills of sales professionals.

She is in fact a doctor – although not the medical kind! – with her master’s in Communication and doctorate in Organizational Communication with an Emphasis in Organizational Leadership and Ethics. Today she focuses on bringing companies and people together to grow their businesses and get what they want in life and in work. Because, believe it or not: you were born with sales skills, and Dr. Cindy wants to help you embrace your inner salesperson to get what you want and deserve.

And it’s not tough, she uses a simple five-step formula that’s easy to remember, easy to stick to, and easy to achieve. But it’s so revolutionary that once she redefines the concept of sales, the world will need a new word for it!

Do you ever wonder who gets to be in charge of making the Pops and toys you love? Well, on this episode we tear open the vinyl to feast on the creative goo that is Funko Creative Director, Reis O'Brien. Fresh off his recent creation of the Grogu Ballon for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Reis walks us through his career from slaving away in the world of illustration to creating toys and vinyl pops that we all know and love. Along the way, Reis gives us some of the best advice on how to look at yourself as an artist, find the spark that you need to move forward with an idea, and be comfortable in your own designs. A great episode for everyone looking to find a bit of mentorship along the way.

Fluxco Design was founded in 2012 by Zachary Calev. As a professional sculptor with an Industrial Design degree in Transportation Design, Zach has carried forth his skills in surfacing and volume experimentation in the automotive world to furniture. Just as important is the ability to fluidly evolve an idea from a two-dimensional sketch to the third dimension of a usable product, is an attention to detail so that no screw, joinery, or tie go unnoticed.

Judy’s process incorporates painting, drawing, collage, and photograph transfers creating an unexpected spontaneous flow of energy and endless possibilities. “I use a torch to heat each layer and manipulate the wax. Unexpected things always happen when you are working with hot wax and fire.  I learned to let go of the critical inner voice when something goes in a different direction and just embrace it.” says Klich.  

Judy captures beauty in her paintings by showing details and scenery often missed by our busy lifestyles.  Her work juxtaposes nature and geometry and displays the connection between the two.  It reflects her need for balance by contrasting elements and creating harmony at the same time.  There is excitement and joy along with a peaceful presence in her work. The beeswax adds a surreal quality of softness and translucency that complements the textural, organic elements.   

Judy has a BS in Interior Design from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an MFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and is represented by Paul LeQuire and Company in Nashville, TN, River Gallery, Chattanooga, TN, Lark, and Key Gallery, Charlotte, NC and The Studio Gallery in Grayton Beach, FL.  She has also participated in multiple juried shows since 2009 including Harding Academy Art Show, Brentwood Academy, and Lipscomb Academy art shows. She paints and teaches encaustic and watercolor in her home studio.  

KC Knoop proudly served in the United States Coast Guard for 20 years.  During those years, he spent most of my time away from home in the southern hemisphere fighting the drug wars that so often threatened our borders. During his years of service to the country, he developed a knack for photography that morphed into a professional career.

Duane Michals, a great influence to KC, once stated, “Either you are defined by your medium or you must redefine it.”  Not long ago while seeking ways to do just that, KC discovered aerial photography.  It was in the sky that he was introduced to a whole new plane for art.  The geometric lines created by the earth all leading to a distant sunrise captivated me.  He found myself awake hours before the sunrise to reach locations he could photograph just as the sun breaks the horizon.  By the time he would return home after hours of photographing, he had already put in a full day as members of his family are just getting up to begin theirs. It is aerial photography that has not only redefined his medium, but has shaped him as an artist.  

Shahzad Bhiwandiwala is a fine art fashion and portrait photographer from Mumbai currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, USA. After a brief stint in the corporate world of Human Resources, he decided to make a career out of his passion for photography. He is an alumnus of the Eddie Adams Workshop Batch XXXIII, a first place Advertising-Fashion awardee at the International Photography Awards, CA Award winner, a Phase One Certified Professional and a professor in the photography department at San Jose State University.

Ephraim Colbert is a creative media producer focusing on arts and culture, civil rights and social action, education, health, poverty alleviation, and social services. Ephraim has turned his experience to developing original content and managing pre/production and post-production from beginning to end for video and audio platforms including producing for KPFA radio, podcasts for Capacity for Health, and other non-profits. His insights into finding clients, working in the non-profit space, and developing your creative voice to help others are just some of the topics we cover in this episode.

In this bonus episode of Creative Mind, we dive in the world of making documentaries. Marjorie Sturm walk us through her film and process for dealing with sensitive subject matter. Executive producer Tod Mesirow explains the art of interviews. We also here from cinematographer Dave Drum about some first steps into getting into documentary films.

In this bonus episode of Creative Mind, we jump into the world of writing, directing and producing for low budget films. We speak with prolific writer-director Doug Campbell about getting a film made in 2 weeks. We also hear from Academy Award nominee Chris Moore on producing films that are well below the Hollywood multi-million dollar budgets.

Antonio Borja is a 2004 BFA graduate from the School of Industrial Design at Academy of Art University. After graduation, Borja went to work utilizing his vast range of skills to launch a professional freelance career, and work for General Motors as a creative designer. He later returned to his alma mater to teach Design Drawing, Transportation Design, and Digital 3D modeling courses. At the Academy, Mr. Borja led the creation of an interdisciplinary collaborative program that gives students hands-on experience working with companies such as NASA, Samsung, Audi, Nissan, Peugeot, Citroen, General Motors, and Jaguar. In this role, he guides students from the schools of Graphic Design, Fashion, Web Design & New Media, and Interior Architecture, to create a holistic vision for the design objectives of the client

Michelle Ruby aka Mrbbaby, a Latina born and raised in San Diego, California, uses elements of her heritage as inspiration for her striking and lively art work. Bbaby is heavily influenced by her community, as well as her Puerto Rican/Mexican upbringing. By combining vibrant colors with traditional imagery, MrBbaby is able to uplift her audience and intrigue her viewers. The artist's aim is to bring happiness and joy to her collectors and community, while also having stronger messages intertwined, all of which are open to the viewer's interpretation.

Richelle is a dedicated artist based in Denver, Colorado. Having grown up a high-level reader, acute interests in science/nature, and an avid fan of books, movies, and games alike- Being a nerd comes naturally and lead to her fun pen name; NerdBird. It was a simple decision to pursue a professional art degree to become even more immersed in the development of new and beloved universes.

She graduated proudly in Spring 2021 from the Academy of Art University with her desired Bachelors of Fine Art in Illustration. Within her degree she covered many topics like Fantasy Illustration, Concept Art, Sequential Art, World Building, and even tailored her Liberal Arts to partake in advanced writing courses for Script and Fiction writing.

What was not planned, but highly regarded, was her immersion in extracurricular activities like the Drawaholics Anonymous and mentoring programs. Not hesitating to help out fellow students where needed, or contribute her non-art related skills to help build the Drawaholics community. The group itself is based around the 2,500 Drawing Challenge and since her time in leadership the community has seen a consistent level of growth and activity. She contributed greatly to their goal "Creating a Culture of Excellence."

Do you ever wonder who gets to be in charge of making the Pops and toys you love? Well, on this episode we tear open the vinyl to feast on the creative goo that is Funko Creative Director, Reis O'Brien. Covered in tattoos, with a deep love for death metal, and cutesy folk art, Reis walks us through his career from slaving away in the world of illustration to creating toys and vinyl pops that we all know and love. Along the way, Reis gives us some of the best advice on how to look at yourself as an artist, find the spark that you need to move forward with an idea, and be comfortable in your own designs. A great episode for everyone looking to find a bit of mentorship along the way.

From the artist - My current series is an exploration of the challenges people can experience with mental health and how the world continues to operate around individuals despite their struggle. Like many, I have experienced my own relationship with depression and anxiety throughout my lifetime. Yet, we often fail to recognize it culturally. The figures I paint have their heads wreathed in fire and are placed in scenes where their obvious condition goes unnoticed. I began this series depicting my own personal battles with severe depression, though it resonates with others’ experiences as well.

I use either oil paint or charcoal when creating my pieces. With oil I’m able to create a thick and heavy impasto texture to insinuate the movement of flame. The heavy texture also shows the weight of the flame that is consuming the individual, while simultaneously creating an aesthetically pleasing surface. My work is based in realism but leans toward surrealism by exposing our unconsciousness.

“A Path of Destruction” depicts an individual walking through a high desert with his head engulfed in flame. He is disoriented and unaware of the pillar of smoke behind him and the fire covering his head. Even though he is on fire he is continuing down his path. My intent is to show the many experiences we have with the debilitating effects of depression, as well as our potential resiliency to withstand being in the fire. My hope is to create advocacy for mental health awareness through my work.

Caroline Baca-Vecchio, a Latina visual artist from Fresno, received her Bachelors in Art from Fresno State University. She is currently pursuing an MFA degree in Painting and Drawing from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Her creative process involves the exploration of the part of us that finds happiness and contentment in the simple things in life, the joy and wonder of just being here, flying a kite, or viewing a polished river stone. Caroline has worked to guide the next generation of creative youth as an Art educator in K-12 schools for over 10 years. She has taught art to students in Germany, Okinawa, and Tokyo, Japan, and back in her hometown of Fresno. Caroline has shown her work locally and has curated shows for her students in Fresno and abroad.

Sign up for the free webinar and StudioX tour with the link below. This is open to anyone interested in the VFX industry, you don't need to be a student!

Emmy-winning producer and director, John “Harv” Harvatine IV is a visual storyteller who combines his love of photography with his passion for stop-motion. After starting his career as an animator, Harv quickly learned the ropes from the stop-motion studios he worked at and formed his own production company. Starting in 2003 with Make Out City Studios, Harv created content for the NFL, G4TV and Interscope Records. In 2008, he co-founded Buddy System Studios with Eric Towner, where they created groundbreaking animations for heavyweights such as Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network. Harv partnered with Seth Green, Matthew Senreich and Eric Towner in 2011 to create Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, which produces the longest-running stop-motion show on television, the Emmy-winning Robot Chicken. Most recently, Harv co-created and directed Crossing Swords, which premiered on Hulu in June and directing Gloop World, which will be released soon.

Mike Shafia is co-producer of the Oscar-winning film “Two Distant Strangers.” For over 10 years Mike has managed content production with an innate ability to lead multiple projects simultaneously, deliver on time, and relentlessly uphold creative vision. Highly organized, proactive, self-motivated, and adaptable - Mike can ‘see around the corner’ and identify communication, logistical, and scheduling challenges. 

Mike Shafia is also the producer for Cinedyne Films. Cinedyne Films is a full-service agency of productivity. Aside from simply being a content creation entity, our overall mission is to foster a proactive, positive environment within the community and provide opportunities for growth; via our PA tutorial videos, after-school production classes for kids, and gig referral services. We emphasize effective clientele communication and hold the principle of "Occam's razor"in high regard, allowing us to ensure a project outcome that meets the highest standards of quality, while staying within the specified fiscal and temporal parameters. From this place of understanding, it is a simple matter to visualize the action, then actualize the vision.

Angie Annett started out on an internship for the San Francisco Giants that lead to creating all graphic design and animation project content for the scoreboard, web, and television. Which lead to creating innovative, original graphic takeovers for up to 30 different special events at AT&T Park, including Pixar, Star Wars, and Metallica Day. Not a bad start for an animation graduate who wanted to create her own theme park. Now Angie is creating a deep, virtual esports experience for Blizzard. Take a listen to her career path and just what it takes to entertain and inform a stadium full of fans.

Lori Beck is a Senior Recruiter with Industrial Light & Magic. She has been with the Lucas companies since 1992, beginning her tenure at LucasArts then moving on to ILM five years later. In 2005, Lori transitioned from supporting artists to recruiting artists. She recruits for various roles across the company while focusing on animation, fx, lighting, modeling, texturing, and art roles.

Amy Beth Christenson started her career with Lucasfilm fresh out of college, where she combined her two childhood obsessions — Star Wars and video games — into one dream job. With LucasArts, Christenson had a hand in the design for titles like Star Wars: Starfighter, The Force Unleashed, and its sequel. From there, she moved into TV animation, working on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, before being promoted to senior concept designer for Star Wars Rebels. There she helped to define the aesthetics of the show and designed some of its most distinct breakout characters including Grand Admiral Thrawn. - StarWars.com

Your assignment is to watch movies, read comic books, and play video games to the point that you become so obsessed with them that everything you ever see, read, or play again becomes part of your vernacular. So much so, that you cannot have normal conversations about pop culture without offering unwarranted and unending critiques. But on this episode of Creative Mind, our guest, concept artist Jeremy Saliba makes the point several times to be careful and never, “yuck someone’s yum.”

“A lot of times I actually tell a lot of the artists on my team to literally turn off your computer step away and go outside. It's just one of those things where you get so much inspiration by things in the real world. I can literally sit on a bench somewhere and just stare at the corner of a building and see how the light just goes across that building throughout the day.  It's just one of those things that I find very relaxing and being able to just like study how light interacts with a lot of things in real life.”  

Light. The basis for film, photography, and the main ingredient in compositing and visual effects. It is no wonder that our guest on this episode of Creative Mind, Charmaine Chan, has spent over 14 years at Industrial Light and Magic. Today, Charmaine can be found in London working as Lead Compositor for feature films, television, theme park rides, AR/VR, and real-time compositing on set for shows like Disney’s The Mandalorian, Star Wars Andor, and The Batman. Light is her medium.  

“Just being able to capture a moment. when you see that light still it's like,’ Let's then deconstruct it. What's going on in this image?’ So, for me, I constantly refer to what I see out my window because it will always come back to you.”  

Working at the crossroads of technology and art Charmaine offers up plenty of great advice to give students and working professionals on what it takes to work as a VFX artist, where virtual sets are headed (and how to take advantage of them), and how to survive as a working compositor.  

10 Teams. 4 Weeks. 2 Words. 1 Incredible book collection. 

Jess Velarde is an oil painter known for using rhythmic brushwork and rich color to create scenes that bring moments of beauty, transcendence, and inspiration into everyday spaces. Born and raised on California’s Central Coast, early exposure to the arts and a deep connection to the beauty of the natural world shaped the direction of her work — evident in her early landscapes as well as her current botanical and figurative paintings. Her art embraces the materiality of oils on canvas through brave, textural interpretations of light and shadow that straddle the line between realism and impressionism. While knowing she wanted to pursue painting from a young age, Jess worked as a professional photographer for eight years before returning to school to earn her MFA in Painting from Academy of Art University, where she also studied in Florence, Italy. She now works full-time as a Fine Artist, creating paintings for collectors around the world from her home studio in Los Angeles.

Lucas Bononi received his BFA in Painting at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco in 2016. Lucas’s current body of work is an exploration of the ontology that exists between man and his surroundings. He often employs both traditional and contemporary methods to his artmaking and feeling both energies at work within him they tell his story.

Lucas has exhibited in numerous group and juried exhibitions across the U.S and internationally. He was awarded First Place in the Portrait Society of America's Annual Members Competition, the Best in Show Award in the BoldBrush Painting Competition, and the Purchase Prize, Best in Show for the Annual Exhibition held at SCNY, NY. In 2019 he was the cover artist for American Art Collector Magazine Sept and has been a featured artist in Fine Art Connoisseur, Southwest Art, American Artist, and International Artist Magazine among other publications.

In this episode of Creative Mind, we talk with Caitlin VanArsdale about working as a visual artist, pitching her own ideas to executives, and what newcomers to the world of storyboards should know. We talk about why watching films are so important and why having a certain style is great if you have a dozen or more styles in your bag of tricks to pull from. We also get deep into where animation is headed as the idea of a “cartoon character” has evolved from just something to entertain children.

For Caitlin VanArsdale, the world of animation is her home. As a storyboard artist by title Caitlin takes a script and brings it to life for a team of animators, designers, and editors to create a television episode or film. As a creator, a more apt title, Caitlin is finding the emotion and the meaning behind what a character is doing or going to do in just a few frames. On character, Caitlin says, “I always work character out. I never start with a concept and that might sound counterintuitive to a lot of people. Think about all of your favorite stories, your favorite shows, your favorite movies - those are going to be really memorable characters and characters that you either relate to or, learn something that you learned once or, something that triggers an emotion in you.”

A look at Caitlin’s credits and it is easy to understand where her thinking lies. She has worked on the Oscar-winning short film Hair Love, the upcoming Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse 2, and done a long stint on The Powerpuff Girls. Although a wide range of visual styles, at their core these properties are touching on our own firsthand experiences, fears, and emotions. Caitlin points out, “I think for a very long-time animation has sort of been forced into the whole of this is kid stuff. And if you look at animation as a medium, instead of a genre it opens up the doors to do literally anything. You can make a horror film, you can make an epic, you can make whatever you want.”

To see more of Caitlin VanArsdale’s work check out –

MICHELLE 'MRBBABY' RUBY

A Latina born and raised in San Diego, California, Michelle Ruby aka Mrbbaby, uses elements of her heritage as inspiration for her striking and lively art work. Bbaby is heavily influenced by her community, as well as her Puerto Rican/Mexican upbringing. By combining vibrant colors with traditional imagery, MrBbaby is able to uplift her audience and intrigue her viewers. The artist's aim is to bring happiness and joy to her collectors and community, while also having stronger messages intertwined, all of which are open to the viewer's interpretation.

“Dive in and make yourself available because there is a tendency as an artist to just try and hone your skills before you put your vulnerable self out there.  So what if the first two rounds don't go that well? You're going to learn a ton from them and keep building.”

Suzy Ultman has been creating toys and books for family and friends since childhood. A born storyteller, Suzy is an illustrator, product designer, toy creator, and bookmaker of sophisticated and simple objects that inspire and delight young and old alike.

Suzy grew up in Pennsylvania but her life and work have taken her around the world both as a visitor and a resident. From living in Los Angeles to Portland, across the sea to Amsterdam and back to Boston, Suzy’s exploration and immersion into these places influences her work even today. Whether gracing your bookshelf or decorating a nursery, Suzy’s signature products tell a story of connection, community and finding your place within a global family.

When she isn’t in her studio folding paper, designing textiles, or creating toys, she can be found strolling through antique shops, finding treasures at flea markets, and communing with nature. She's nested with her husband and three sons in their cozy home in Ohio.

If you have ever walked through any retail store whether it be a Bed, Bath & Beyond, a Home Depot or even a supermarket, the more astute artist will recognize an abundance of graphic elements and illustrations on the packaging, cups, tools, wall art, coffee mugs, and more. The more cynical artist will say, “I could have done that!” Well, yes could have but you didn’t. And that is basically our fault. So much the freelance life of an artist and designer is chasing down work-for-hire, one-off freelance jobs. These are great but these are often buyouts and one-time payments. The thought of licensing your artwork, in the most layman of terms “renting it” to a company has never crossed our minds or been something we even thought was possible. This is where Shari Warren brings in her expertise.

On this episode of Creative Mind, artist and art licensing expert Shari Warren walks us through the business and creative side of art licensing. Often touted, but not exactly wrong, as “making money while you sleep”, licensing is about selling your artwork to a client for a certain length of time, print run, product numbers or SKUs, and/or usages. Think of it as your drawing on a series of coffee mugs, coffee plates and coffee bean canisters. Without thinking too hard you can start to see that as an artist we are often leaving money on the table by not exploring the world with an eye toward trends and seasonal experiences.

As an artist and illustrator living in Northern California, Shari has a life-long passion to create artwork that makes people smile. “I use a variety of media, both traditional and digital, to create my work and love to experiment with different artistic techniques. That said, all of my artwork begins with good old-fashioned pencil and paper,” she says. Her professional background is in the publishing and software industries working as an Illustrator, Graphic Designer and Art Director. Today, she devotes her career to staying up on current consumer trends and creating art collections for consumer products that I hope people will enjoy and buy.

At the Academy of Art, she teaches “Illustration for Consumer Products and Licensing”, a business and portfolio development class, where students learn how to research the retail market, identify current trends to create original art collections for licensing to companies, create a professional portfolio website and marketing materials, and learn about art business basics. Topics covered include creating marketable art collections and product mock-ups for their portfolio to license to manufacturers and publishers who make consumer retail products and to create their own products. As well as evaluating their own illustration style and how it relates to specific product categories, customer demographics and how to "create art that sells".