I had never followed any one webcomic too closely until I came across Edith Zimmerman’s Drawing Links newsletter. It’s so personal, funny, and honest. I always look forward to it in my inbox and you should definitely add it to yours. 

Below she was kind enough to share how she got into the world of comics and visuals and how she turned it into her full time gig.

How would you describe Drawing Links and the overall creative work you do?

Thanks for featuring me, Erik! Drawing Links is a newsletter, and each installment contains a comic strip I’ve drawn about my life. And in some installments, at the end, I link to interesting things I find online.

When it started, I thought of it as a way to fulfill my twin creative urges of sharing stories from my life and sharing cool things I find on the internet. 

Have you always been artistic or did something specific send you down that path later in life?

As a kid I liked to draw, and in college I spent a couple years thinking I’d be a studio art double major (with English), but eventually I dropped the studio art part. I was lazy and didn’t know what I’d do with a studio art degree! 

I mostly stopped drawing after that, but then I picked it up again when I stopped drinking, at age 32, and had a lot of extra time and energy on my hands (in my hands?). Back then I was Googling stuff like, “What do people do besides drink?” And a lot of the advice was like, “Try stuff you enjoyed as a kid, again. You will probably still enjoy it.” And it was totally true. It was almost sad. 

You have been part of some amazing publications like The Hairpin and The Cut, and you have a long history as a writer. What went into the decision to focus more full time into illustrations as part of your work?

Thanks! It wasn’t intentional, but I like to think I’m continuing the writing part, just with pictures now. I have a patchy work history, with phases where I work a lot and phases where I don’t work at all. The comics and illustrations essentially wormed their way in from the sidelines. At first I did them just for fun, for myself, and then I shared them privately on instagram. Then I shared some more on Medium, and then I started doing illustrations for the recovery newsletter The Small Bow. And then I quit my day job and leaped into sharing the Instagram comics in a newsletter instead. And since last year I’ve been charging money for the newsletter, which is fun but also a major change and totally stressful. 

But there’s something about combining words and drawings that makes me feel like I’m most myself, or like I’m communicating a mood or moment in a way that feels most satisfying. Sometimes, anyway. 

What tools do you use?

For pens and paper, I use Micron pens (sizes 01 and 03), Staedtler colored pencils, and Borden & Riley #234 Paris Paper for Pens. 

For computer stuff, I use a Canon scanner and a 2017 MacBook Air. To adjust and arrange the images after I scan them, I use the “Preview” application (the one that comes with the computer).  

Do you have a favorite drawing or illustration of yours?

I don’t think so, but this is an interesting question. I published a long comic in 2017 about getting sober. The drawings are all “bad,” but there’s an unpolished-ness to them that communicates something important to me.

There’s something so real when a person is just making drawings even though they’re not “good.” Like you can see their hand in it more; there’s something like a more direct connection.  

Do you have any influences or visual artists that inspire you?

So many! Julia Wertz and Gabrielle Bell have both been huge influences. And Lawrence Yeo of More to That opened my eyes to the possibilities of combining newsletter-dom and illustrations.

Any advice for someone who is looking to start adding visuals to their work?

I’d say just jump in. There’s something so appealing in seeing what someone has made by hand. It’s so personal and human. 

And in my opinion it’s even more effective when the drawings are kind of terrible. It’s like, “Oh yeah, there’s DEFINITELY a person over there. Thank god.” 

Join the newsletter below to get interviews like this and to find inspiration among visual creators.

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As someone who loves science, I was very pleased to discover the work of Argha Manna. His instagram and website are full of amazing and intricate comics and illustrations inspired by the history of science. The genre of indie visual science communication is something I would love to see more of, and Manna is doing phenomenal work in this space.

I was immediately drawn to Manna's creations, but seeing his illustration of Carl Sagan (featured above) sealed the deal for me in becoming an instant fan.

Please enjoy the short interview below where Argha shares his unique background as a scientist turned artist, his processes, and his creative inspirations.

Tell us about the creative projects you work on.

I am currently working on two comics projects. One with Sci-Illustrate, a Munich based science-illustration company. The other is a collaboration with Prof. Geoffrey Bowker (University of California, Irvine) and Dr Bodhisattva Chatterjee (University of Oslo). In the first project, I have been creating motion comics on brain organoids. The second project is a book project on coevolution, under the CoFuture project. My past projects could be found here.

How long have you been visually creative? And how did you get into making comics around the history of science?

I am a self-taught artist. I have not attended any art school or design school. I dropped out from my PhD in cancer biology in the final year of grad school and I did not have any job. At that time I was severely depressed and took refuge in art. Making art became a therapy for me.

I started making science illustrations because I have an extensive background in science. I started my own blog named 'Drawing History of Science' in 2018. I found that even though there were many sci-illustrators and sci-cartoonist working around the globe, hardly anybody tried to tell stories from the history of science through art. So I took the opportunity to play on the open field. Joseph Wright (of Derby) directly influenced me to capture stories from the History of Science through visuals, but I took a different path from him. Instead of painting, I found comics to be a good medium to bring tales from the history of science into life. 

What tools do you use?

My method is hybrid. Usually, I love to draw images using waterproof black ink. Then I scan the drawings and add colour either digitally (using Adobe Photoshop) or manually (watercolours and other mediums).

Is there one image or comic you are particularly proud of?

I would like to mention two pieces of work.

1) Since the last year I have been collaborating with Prof. Lydia Bourouiba, the principal investigator of the Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory from MIT. At the end of 2020, I published an essay in comics translating complex scientific findings from Bourouiba’s lab into a visual story. The essay was published in The Annals of Internal Medicine and was also featured in Graphic Medicine - The Best of 2020 list by the Journal of American Medical Association.

2) In 2019-20, I collaborated with the University of Exeter on a project titled 'Famine Tales from India and Britain,' a project supported by the Art and Humanities Research Council, UK and the British Library. My role was to develop graphic non-fiction on the Great Bengal Famine of 1770. The graphic story will be published soon by Jadavpur University Press. Now the project website is exhibiting my work online. Please click here to enjoy the exhibition.

Are there any visual creators who inspire you?

When I started drawing comics I was mostly inspired by Joe Sacco's graphic journalism. I used to dream of producing work like Sacco and of writing a comic book like ‘Palestine' someday. Larry Gonick’s science comics also amazed me.

Beyond comics, I used to get inspiration from Sun Xun and Ai Weiwei. Their subject matters and styles are very different from my practice though. 

What advice would you give to someone interested in making comics or who wants to add more visual creativity to their work in general?

I don’t think I am in the position to advise anyone since I consider myself a young student of the comics medium. Rather I would like to share what I followed and am still doing. I do not keep faith in talent, rather I practice a lot. Comics are a very slow medium. It involves background research, writing, and drawing. So one has to be very patient. I try to learn from the work of the masters every day, like Art Spiegelman, Joe Sacco, Chris Ware, and Robert Crumb.

As with so many of the visual creators featured here, I found Ash Lamb’s visuals in my Twitter feed. His selection of ideas to visualize are top notch and his visuals pop off the screen unlike anything I’ve seen before. The landing page for his website is also absolutely beautiful. 

Please enjoy this interview where we get to find out more about Lamb’s background, process, and tools. 

Tell us about the creative projects you work on.

This year I've been involved in a few amazing collaborative projects with top creators. I've had a phenomenal time. There's nothing like joining forces with inspiring people to create something valuable. 

Right now I'm laser-focused on my own projects. I want to build a world-class brand and to do so I have to bet on my own ideas. At the moment I'm committed to making and sharing one illustration every day. 

I'll always be open to new projects as long as they're aligned with my mission, which is to help passionate creators take their craft and life to new heights through the power of visual storytelling. 

How long have you been visually creative?

I've been visually creative since I can remember. I've been drawing literally all my life. My parents are creative professionals so I learned the fundamentals from them at a very young age. I'll be forever grateful for their unconditional love and support. 

Please tell us about the process of making your visuals. The tools, the idea process, and how you make them look so unique.

The very first step in my creative process is to sketch my vague idea on a sticky note. I'm all about applying as many constraints as I can so I always use the same small square sticky notes.

Once I'm happy with my loose sketch I take a picture of it and clean up the lines on my iPad Pro.

Last year I switched from Photoshop to Procreate and even though I still use Photoshop on my Mac I couldn't be happier with Procreate. It's a dream come true. It's fast, clean, functional, and the Apple Pencil is unreal. Now I can create professional illustrations anywhere without any unnecessary resistance. No setup is required.

Once I've cleaned up the lines I proceed to render the illustration until it's finished. I focus on using simple geometrical shapes and some basic shading to make the shapes pop out. Pair that with beautiful colors and you've got a beautiful illustration.

Is there one image you are particularly proud of?

It's hard to pick one! I'm generally very proud of my craft. 

I'm currently struggling with detaching myself from my work. Sometimes I get way too obsessed with my illustrations. 

Here are two of my favorite pieces:

Are there any visual creators that inspire and motivate you?

There are so many creators that have inspired me to become a world-class illustrator. I'm so grateful to have discovered them.

• Jack Butcher is one of the best designers I know. He's an absolute master of his craft. I discovered him a year ago by coincidence and he has completely changed my life.

• Janis Ozolins is an absolute genius at communicating relatable and funny ideas and situations in a beautiful visual style.

• Aaron Alto is a phenomenal artist. He has inspired me to simplify my process and style. As he would say, trust the process.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

Experiment and have fun! There's no need to rush. If you put in enough repetitions you'll eventually find your own unique style.

Find constraints! Simplify your creative process and style as much as you can. Do yourself a big favor and streamline your workflow. Less is more. As Connor Fowler said, multiplying your tools won't multiply your result.

This interview is part of a series that focuses on creators who live at the intersection of writing and art. The goal is to provide inspiration and practical tips for anyone looking to add more visuals to their work.

I’ll admit it. I’m terrible with font choice and I get overwhelmed when I look at a drop down menu of 100+ fonts. I know that fonts can be critical for a successful visual, but I don’t really know where to begin. 

Luckily I recently discovered FontDiscovery, a great design-focused newsletter from Hua Shu. Hua is an experienced designer who is generous with the knowledge she shares around fonts and good design. I love that each issue of her newsletter showcases one specific font along with various use cases. It’s very beginner friendly and walks anyone interested in upping their design game through all sorts of helpful tips. 

No matter what your interest is in visuals, it never hurts to add some good foundational knowledge around fonts. Hua was kind enough to let me pick her brain below. Enjoy!

Tell us about the creative projects you work on.

I write a weekly newsletter called FontDiscovery, to share design ideas, resources, inspirations, and actionable marketing tips with makers and creators. I’m working on launching a design tool with my co-founder, Wenting. I also draw comics about design and branding on my Twitter every week!

How did you get so interested in fonts and design in general?

I enjoyed drawing and painting when I was a child. However, as I grew older, I realized it was tough to make a living as a full-time fine artist, so I turned to design instead. Eventually, I started liking design better because I loved creating work to solve a specific problem, shipping things fast, and expressing myself digitally. 

What should a writer or creator who doesn’t have a lot of design knowledge know about fonts? 

Fonts have tones and personalities. You can use them as a way to express yourself. For example, if you create a design with big, bold letters, you might be making a point of emphasis. If you create a design with thin, small, spaced-out letters, it might suggest calmness. 

What is your favorite font? And what is your favorite font for blogs/websites?

I just covered Terminal Grotesque in the latest issue of my newsletter, and I like it a lot. It has an eclectic vibe because it combines modern characteristics in letterforms with more retro aesthetics like pixelation. As a result, there is a weird, vibrating visual texture when you use this font in design. 

I enjoy Libre Franklin for blogs and websites. It’s a sans serif with a friendly vibe, and it has a lot of weights for makers to choose from. Sometimes when I write, I have many different levels of information (header and several levels of subhead, body, bullet points, captions). Having a versatile font that has many weights helps with creating clear information levels ... a lot!

What tools do you use when you create something visually?

I use Figma and my laptop. I use Notion or Google Docs to do research and write ideas down. 

Do you have any favorite creators who work at the intersection of writing and art?

I really like the work of Aletheia Délivré (@delivreal), whom I think was featured here previously [note: She was! Check it out here]. I also really enjoy the work of @LumrahLanyard. They create satire comics around work and corporate culture.

Did you know you can make a profession out of sketchnoting? That is just one of the many things I learned from Shilpa Srikanth, creator of the Think Visuals newsletter. Shilpa has a contagious passion for creating visuals and sketchnotes around ideas worth sharing.

Below she was generous enough to answer some of my burning questions around her creative process.

Tell us about the creative projects you work on.

I practice scribing in the space of Live Graphic Recording in conferences, summits, business strategy discussions, and group processes. I'm passionate about spreading visual awareness and speak about it in various forums. I work with clients in simplifying the processing of their content visually. I am a facilitator and Organizational Development practitioner and I use visuals to create discoveries in the space of group process work. 

How long have you been visually creative?

It's been over six years. My journey began with taking sketchnotes in conferences that I attended, making sketchnotes of articles and books that I read, and with visual journaling and reflections. Some of my visuals are featured in The Minnesota Organization Development Network (like here).

I eventually discovered the space of Live Graphic Recording and around last year this time I realized that this was my calling.

This year I took the plunge of moving on from a full time HR role in a global conglomerate to my own start up SScoops Think Visuals.

What went into the decision to start including original visuals with your work? And why did you start your Think Visuals newsletter?

a) I see my visual journey as a calling, my Ikigai. When it all started, it just happened, like in a state of flow. One thing led to another and here I am with a deep sense of gratitude. I worship this sacred space of visual practice.

b) Sharing is my way of giving back. I learnt by seeing the works of some people that I have called out in the next question. I feel grateful today when people tell me that they find value in my visuals or that they feel inspired to begin their visual journey. My newsletter is a recent one. I thought why not curate my visuals theme-wise and offer it as a platter. Hence with my newsletter Think Visuals, my intent is to enable correlation between pertinent themes through visuals and also nudge my subscribers to practice the visual prompts that I share.

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing?

Given an option, I always prefer hand drawn and I presently operate in this space more. I scan my hand drawn work and send across to my clients. I'm also comfortable with Canva. 

I am inching towards digital scribing. I'm exploring both the Surface Pro and Procreate [on iPad]. I should hopefully commence that journey soon, considering it makes it far easier to project live scribing virtually.

Is there one image you are particularly proud of?

I would like to recall with gratitude an image, where it all began. I'm deeply connected both with this image and the meaning that it conveys. It's me the beginner behind this scribe, and this verse resonates very very deeply with me. "What you seek is seeking you". - Rumi

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

I draw inspiration from all my fellow visual practitioners, but particularly mentioning a few names here:

@tnvora @abhijitbhaduri: When I treaded on this journey, I always looked up to them like a learning school. Both of them have their unique styles and bring their own depth. Both are extremely generous with their sharing. Maybe that's also a reason why I find a sense of fulfillment when I share my work today. Sharing is my way of giving back.

@Rob_Dimeo: I am ever grateful to Rob for introducing me to Meditation Doodles. Practicing them helps me at two levels: 1) It takes me to a state of synthesis and calmness 2) It helps me with my hand flows, strokes, and grip as I draw. Each of these are critical for hand drawn visuals.

@sherrillknezel: Her daily drawings are so so powerful. I love how she maintains her consistency along with the depth of her verses. I also feel evoked by her graphic recording work.

@aurasky_: Sathya is a recent discovery. I love the simplicity he brings in and I relate with his passion of wanting to share and spread visual awareness. I find his visual remixes powerful.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

I wouldn't really call it advice, but sharing what worked for me.

a) There is no absolute way of visual creativity. So don't wait for perfection. It's an emergent space. Figure out your unique strength and offer that.

b) Tune in and bring awareness to your visual creations as you are working on them. You will find it meditative, healing, uplifting and enriching.

c) Keep practicing to get better and better.

d) There's no harm in sharing. Through sharing, you experience a sense of belonging with the larger visual community and the ecosystem beyond. Through sharing, you are letting new opportunities emerge.

I first found the visuals of William Willis (aka Coach Willis) when he volunteered to go on "the hot seat" of a newsletter mastermind group I'm part of. This means that he was volunteering his work to be open to any and all feedback from the group (a brave soul indeed).

What stood out to me immediately was the fact that William pairs each of his short, daily essays with an original simple visual. I found the flat designs to work really well with the inspirational and thoughtful writing.

Of course I was immediately curious about his creative process and the reasoning behind his format. I reached out to express my curiosity and William delivered some great responses that I'll share below.

But first, be sure to subscribe to his newsletter right here and follow Will on Twitter right here.

Tell us about the creative projects you work on.

I publish 1 sketch + 1 quote + 1 essay each weekday on a specific topic to challenge and inspire people at Adventures In Life. The purpose of this newsletter and blog is to help people find meaning and reach their aspirations one small step at a time. I'm translating some of them into YouTube videos here.

I'm working on a new community called Creator Campfires. My goal is to connect creators with fellow travelers who can support them at any stage of their journey. I describe it in more detail here.

I'm also working on a book of sketches, quotes and essays about Stoicism. I hope to produce others in a series about meaning, motivation, continuous improvement and other topics I write about.

What went into the decision to start including original visuals with each edition of your newsletter?

The visuals came first. I sketched them on an iPad initially, but discovered Jack Butcher about a month in. I was fascinated by the simplicity of his visuals, so I started experimenting with a simpler form of my own in Figma. That was the ticket.

I did something similar soon after with writing. I was initially focused on long-form articles, but after joining Ship 30 for 30 early this year, I found writing and publishing about 300 words a day (now weekday) worked better for me.

Simplifying and taking smaller steps has resulted in well over 100 essays and slightly more visuals. I’ve been prolific so far this year!

How do you come up with ideas for your visuals? Do they come before or after you finish writing?

These days I write the essay first. As part of writing, I select up to a handful of quotes to help illustrate the topic. One of those quotes ends up being headlined. I then create the visual based on the headline quote.

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing?

I use Figma to create visuals. I use Obsidian to write and link my essays with my notes. I use Notion to track my workflow, statistics and a record of both what I publish and where I publish it.

Is there one image you are particularly proud of?

This is a tough one! I would choose the one included in this essay.

It is paired with a fantastic Emily Dickinson quote and represents living in the moment.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to build an audience using visuals?

Don't focus on building an audience initially. Find your medium for visuals. Mine is vector drawings with Figma, but yours may be sketching with a pencil. Then practice consistently and deliberately visualizing things that inspire you. Once you’ve developed consistent output and enjoy the work, then you can start thinking about distribution and engagement.

I have a strong opinion about what I choose to visualize. I focus on what I am interested in, not what I think an audience wants. The right people will be attracted to what you enjoy. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. It will only result in work you don’t enjoy.

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

Deepu Asok (@Deepuasok): I love his writing and visuals. Very talented and inspiring! He is working on a book called The Process Is the Product that I can’t wait to get my hands on. I’m certain it will contain some of his great visuals.

Craig Burgess (@craigburgess): Craig doesn’t toe the conventional wisdom line. He is an inspiration to me with visuals and is a great writer. His recently released book called The Magic Visual is fantastic.

Janis Ozolins (@OzolinsJanis): He sticks to visuals, but they are so amazing I had to mention him.

I hope I’m not forgetting anyone. I want to engage with more people who write about and visualize ideas. It is difficult to do both consistently.

Aletheia Délivré has been creating some fascinating visuals on Twitter. The below visual in particular is what made me an instant fan of her style.

Her illustrations are full of personality and tell a story, which I love to see in my Twitter feed. She also chooses the best quotes and ideas to draw (that Ira Glass quote above is a classic). 

I wanted to understand more about her background and reason for making these visuals, and Aletheia was kind enough to answer some questions for us.

What was your path to visual creativity?

Pen and paper have always been my favorite. As a teenager, I’d draw my own children's stories, print my own magazines, and make everyone’s birthday cards.

To help me process complex concepts in university (I was a biochemistry major), I leaned into drawing to help me break things down into understandable and connectable ideas.

Drawing things out has the generation effect for me — it greatly improves my ability to remember things.

Even in storyboarding and designing today, I always reach for paper (even if they don’t look very pretty!)

I like to associate visual work with intention, so that’s been my latest experiment.

Your recent visuals on Twitter are so good and have a great mix of words and art. What made you start creating them in that style?

I started using Twitter more regularly in late 2020. Tweets, threads, newsletters, blogs, articles, podcasts, etc. are all part of a giant firehose of information. It’s overwhelming for me. In that stream, I’ll sometimes find diamonds worth remembering and want to capture them.

Combining words with art was an attempt to capture the “beauty” of a thought, a quote from a book, an idea, a concept, an inspiration, a feeling.

Ultimately, now it feels like I’m curating and creating my own collection of diamonds.

In terms of style, I think of my work as “art” rather than visuals because to me it's more about the soul of the artist than about the punchline. This is in large part why I hand-draw, and why every idea I draw is sort of personal to me. In that sense, the art is almost like a stewardship: from me to you.

“Art is what we call the thing an artist does.

It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, what makes it art, is that the person who made it overcame the resistance, ignored the voice of doubt and made something worth making. Something risky. Something human.

Art is not in the eye of the beholder. It's in the soul of the artist.”

—Seth Godin

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing?

iPad Pro and Apple Pencil 1, on the Procreate app. For colouring, I like playing with the opacity levels on the water-colour brushes in Procreate.

I often get inspired while out running, so I have to credit the Notes app on my iPhone for safeguarding some otherwise fleeting sketch ideas.

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

I love the imaginatively simple style of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (author of Le Petit Prince). I find it both intentional and elegant. Behind his work there's also an ethos that I deeply identify with. He wrote and drew all of Le Petit Prince. The idea that writers can draw their own stories, aka be their own visual interpreters regardless of skill level, is authentic and empowering.

In terms of modern day inspiration, probably Liz&Mollie. Janis Ozolins is also an awesome friend and great source of inspiration.

Finally, I also love Aaron Aalto’s zest for sketching and his audacious, experimental spirit. The world needs so much more of that.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

If you haven’t started yet, I think the most important step you can take is to start. If you’re continuing, the most sustainable attitude you can have is to keep experimenting shamelessly. I’m still in the latter boat too! And don't be afraid to "steal" ideas to make them yours.

Being visually creative with your work does a number of helpful things: 1) It forces you to think about and see your work from different angles;  2) It’s an effective way of storytelling and communicating your ideas with impact; 3) It helps you to practice letting go of your ego; 4) It makes you relatable to others (if you’re into making friends, of course).

This interview is part of a weekly series that focuses on creators who live at the intersection of writing and art. The goal is to provide inspiration and practical tips for anyone looking to add more visuals to their work.

Aaron Aalto is a prolific visual creator on Twitter. He effortlessly shifts between short animations, audience engagement, and even sketch tutorials. His posts come alive with a simple, consistent sketched style that is instantly recognizable. Sketching as thinking and trusting the creative process are the connective tissue that hold a lot of his social media content together. Since following Aaron, I've had this urge to play more with animation in Procreate.

Below are some thoughts Aaron was kind enough to share with us about his visual process.

Please tell us about the creative projects you work on.

I'm working on launching a design freelance business. Additionally, I’m working on a sketching course that aims to teach anyone the basics of sketching ideas. 

How long have you been visually creative and how did you land on your current visual style?

Since I could hold a pencil. First memories of drawing are from Kindergarten. 

I tried doing all kinds of illustrations. So when I stopped trying I landed on what I’m doing today. 

It was born out of a desire to impute humanity to my work. 

What went into the decision to start including original drawings and short animations on Twitter?

It started as a fun thing for the 30 or so people that were following me. 

I’m riding on the shoulders of giants like Jack Butcher, Matthew Kobach, and Naval. They’re talents inspired me to share the work. 

What tools do you like to use for creating and publishing?

iPad and Pencil. Procreate (6B pencil). Rush. That’s it. 

Is there one image or animation you are particularly proud of?

Yes, the “Secrets of Life” animation with Steve Jobs. I’m proud of that. 

What advice would you give anyone who wants to build an audience using their visuals?

Find out who you are and what you want your life on Earth to be about. Follow your curiosity wherever it leads. Provide people with value. Hone your craft and march forward. 

Trust the Process. 

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

Sure. Jack Butcher is a great friend and a huge source of inspiration. And then I’m blessed to have a circle of creative friends that continually inspire me. 

I’m a wealthy man when it comes to inspiration. 

If you liked this, you'll love our newsletter. Join below to never miss creator interviews and to feed your visual creativity along the way with tools, tips, and inspiration.

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The tagline for Brendan Leonard’s website, semi-rad, is “humor, essays, adventure.” If you sneak in the addition of “drawings”, it would perfectly sum up his content. Leonard is a remarkably consistent creator who has for years been adding personality and levity to his writing through the use of simple drawings and charts.

I first found his writing through the article, The Life-Changing Magic of Ignoring the Ratings, and have been thoroughly enjoying everything he puts out since (you can grab his newsletter at bottom of his website to never miss new posts).

His best drawings from 2020 are a great primer to his visual style.

They largely deal with real-life relatable situations:

And humorous reflections on adventure/running:

As you'll see in the interview below, Leonard has been hard at work building an audience over many years, and he was generous enough to share some of the secrets to the artistic side of his content.

Tell us about the creative projects you work on.

I've been writing a blog post every Thursday on my site at Semi-Rad.com since February 2011, and I have a biweekly column on OutsideOnline.com. Over the years, I've written for more than a dozen publications in the adventure world, including Outside, Adventure Journal, Alpinist, Climbing, Backpacker, Trail Runner, Runner's World, and others. I've been directing short films since 2014, and my films have toured internationally and won several awards (my most recent film, How to Run 100 Miles, is probably the most widely-viewed).

I've also been doing hand-drawn illustrations and charts since about 2013, at first just for my website and Instagram, but in recent years for editorial and commercial clients (Strava, Arc'teryx, La Sportiva, Tuft & Needle, Smartwool, and others). I've also written a dozen books, and my illustrations appear in some of those, including my newest book, I Hate Running and You Can Too. I also do a lot of public speaking and I teach a writing and creativity workshop every year through the Freeflow Institute. 

How long have you been visually creative?

Wow, on my current professional trajectory, not that long, maybe since 2015, but I guess I've been drawing stuff off and on since I was a kid, and I did get some graphic design experience designing newspaper pages early in my career, from 2003 to 2008. 

What went into the decision to start including original visuals with your work?

I actually just drew a very scrappy flow chart on a piece of printer paper as a joke for my blog one week back in 2013, and the response to it showed me how much people react to easy-to-read, simplified ideas. 

From there, I started to do more and more, until in 2016, I bought myself an iPad to try to make digital files of my drawings. And then I started posting lots of them to Instagram, which over the years became the place I have my biggest following. 

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing? 

I use a 2016 iPad Pro and an app called Procreate, and I honestly use about 2% of the real capability of Procreate—I have one brush I use, and my stuff is very, very basic, compared to what the app can do in the hands of someone who is more of a "real" artist.  

Is there one image you are particularly proud of?

Near the end of 2020, I asked people on Instagram about the things they did to get through our very weird year, and I got about 500 responses. I put as many of them as I could into a big digital drawing that I put on my website and on Instagram.

That took a ton of work for something I knew was not going to be relevant for very long, and also was very hard to present online, so it was probably kind of foolish, but felt important at the time. 

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

Off the top of my head: Adam Kurtz, Ellis Rosen, Mona Chalabi, and my friend Anna Brones. 

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

I think most of us have a really hard time giving ourselves permission to try something, like we think our stuff needs to be way better before we put it out there. The more you try, the more your stuff is going to improve, and you are always going to look back on what you did three years ago and think it sucks compared to what you can do now, so you might as well get started.

This interview is part of a weekly series that focuses on creators who live at the intersection of writing and art. The goal is to provide inspiration and practical tips for anyone looking to add more visuals to their work.

When I started paying attention to visual Twitter, Sathya and his iconic yellow visuals quickly became a routine and welcome part of my feed. People were eager to like and share his visual takes on quotes and concepts.

Like this:

And this:

Or visual threads distilling talks or books like this:

Sathya is relentlessly positive and incredibly consistent with putting out new and interesting visuals. He went from 600 Twitter followers in Jan of 2021, to almost 3,000 now at the end of April 2021. He also has a newsletter that is full of his and other people's visuals that you can find here.

All this growth using this yellow aesthetic culminated into a book released on Gumroad, which is 100 of Sathya's best visuals packaged nicely in one spot.

I was interested in sending Sathya some questions around how he developed his style and the tools that he uses. He delivered the goods, and I was delighted to learn he uses Canva to make all of his yellow visuals (which has a free version).

Sathya has recently been exploring the power of mind mapping, and because this site is dedicated to all things visual, we thought it would be fun to present the responses in the form of a mind map.

So please enjoy exploring the branches of creativity instilled within this mind map. For accessibility and links, below is a bullet point version as well.

Tell us about the creative projects you work on

• I make visuals out of:

  • Quotes

  • Tweets

  • Interesting ideas/ concepts

  • I'm the Yellow Fellow

  • 3 major topics

    • Practical philosophy

      • Stoicism

      • Modern day self-help

    • Creativity & Learning

      • Creative struggle

      • Life-long learning

    • Visual thinking

      • Visual learning

      • Visual notetaking

      • Sketchnoting

      • Mindmapping

      • A bit of ADHD

How long have you been visually creative?

• Oct 2019

  • Joined Twitter

• Nov 15, 2020

  • First visual

• Nov 23, 2020

  • Joined Daily Visual Community

• Dec, 2020

  • 500 Followers

• Jan, 2021

  • My birthday

    • Feb 2, 2020

  • 1000 Followers

• Feb 2021

  • 2000 Followers

• March 2021

  • First podcast appearance

  • First session by HelloMeets

• April 2021

  • April 11, 2021

    • 'How to make Visuals' session

  • April 14, 2021

    • Published 'The Yellow Visuals' ebook

  • End of April

    • Hopefully will touch 3k followers

How did you decide on your unique style?

• Started with mimicking

  • Jack Butcher's black background style

  • Didn't like dark background in a visual

• Joined the Daily Visual community

  • Tried various forms

  • Black + White

    • Jack Butcher

  • White + Black

    • Craig Burgess

  • Yellow + Black

    • Sathya

      • Became the Yellow Fellow

    • I get icons from The Noun Project

    • Finalized based on feedback

What tools do you use for creation and publishing?

• Pen & notebook

• Canva

  • For visuals

  • Infographics

• XMind

  • Mind maps

• Scapple

  • Concept maps

Is there one image you are particularly proud of?

• 3 visuals

  • Beauty is in the repetition

  • Curate-Compress-Create

  • Maybe this mind map :)

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art who inspire and motivate you?

• Visuals

  • Jack Butcher’s Visualize Value

  • Craig Burgess’s Unobvious & Daily Visual community

  • Liz and Mollie

  • Janis Ozalins

• Sketchnoting

  • Mike Rhode

  • Doug Neil, Verbal to Visual

  • LetSketchin

• Mind map

  • Tony Buzan

  • Hazel Wagner: TED Talk on ‘Want to Learn Better? Start Mind mapping’

  • Visakan

  • VigNotes

  • Alex Paval

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) using visuals to grow an audience?

• Experiment

• Embrace yourself

• Consistently create

• And importantly, hold on!

  • You got this!

If you liked this, you'll love our newsletter. Join below to never miss creator interviews and to feed your visual creativity along the way with tools, tips, and inspiration.

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I first found the work of Sophie Lucido Johnson from the delightful article, How to Do 50 Things. This led me down an inevitable rabbit hole of consuming a large portion of her writing on Medium and her website. Sophie nails an effortless combination of writing and drawing that I aspire to, across all sorts of formats and styles.

Below are Sophie's responses to some questions she was kind enough to answer for us about her work and process. Please enjoy and share.

Please tell us about the creative work you do.

The coolest thing I currently do is work as a contributing cartoonist for The New Yorker.

I also make illustrated essays, short comics, and other things that incorporate writing and drawings at the same time. My next book is called Dear Sophie, Love Sophie (Harper Collins), and it's a full color, totally graphic work, which I am very excited about. 

What went into the decision to add artwork to your writing (or vice versa)?

I think brains enjoy texture. The part of your brain that deals with language, order, and logic, is different from the part of your brain that deals with images, feelings, and pictures. It's nice to let both parts of the brain play while they're taking in a work of art. The first time I sat down and read a graphic novel cover to cover, I noticed that I had this warm tickled feeling in a very deep part of myself. "Ah! My brain is so happy!" I thought. And I knew I wanted to make art like that. 

Also, I took a class from Chris Ware and Lynda Barry (yes I am BRAGGING!) that helped me solidify a foundational belief that I now hold about art and literature. Art benefits from taking itself less seriously. Creativity is served by access. Chris Ware asked if we would rather make one work of art that could reach one person who would pay $1,000 for it; or make (effectively) 1,000 works of art that 1,000 people could access for $1 each. He was making a case for comics. Comics take a long time to make, but they're accessible; they're for everyone. I love how comics artists spend so much time on their work, and readers spend so little time consuming it. It is a way of saying to the reader / viewer: "Thank you for taking the time to look at my work. I put a lot of time into it too, to make it worthy of yours."

You have a wide range of styles and formats that all work amazingly well. How do you decide what direction to go in with an idea?

Thank you! This is a hard question to answer, although I think maybe the truest thing would be to say that I spend a great deal of my time staring out windows and at lakes. 

Is there one piece that incorporates your art + writing that seemed to resonate with people the most? Why do you think that was?

I get a lot of emails to this day about my first book. It's about polyamory, and breaking standard narratives of what love is supposed to look like. Representation matters; there are so many people who have emailed me to tell me that they were grateful to see their kind of love written about somewhere in the world. I have had the experience of reading something or seeing something and thinking, "Oh my god! That's about me!" and feeling so FREED by the recognition. It feels nice to not be alone in the world. 

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

Right now, I'm really into the idea of abundance, and I have always believed that there is no such thing as bad art or good art. So my point is: have fun while you're making something. The idea that there is only so much success to be had and only one way to succeed is a lie about scarcity that benefits the status quo. Creating should be fun and pleasurable. Every type of writing and art has an audience. Only make what brings you joy.

What are your artistic tools?

[Note: this and the next question are answered so well on Sophie's FAQ page that I pulled directly from there. Check it out for even more info.]

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of my work using Procreate on the iPad with the Apple Pencil. I use the brush Pencil 6B. I will own that I do a lot of tracing, and that I also stray from the tracing, depending on what I am trying to work on.

When I’m drawing by hand, my tools are:

• Pencils: I like Staedtler with an HB lead softness (and while we’re at it, I have more than 5 Staedtler write plastic erasers).

• Pencil sharpener: exclusively the Alvin brass bullet, which will change your whole life.

• Pen and ink: I use a G-nib exclusively with any number of nib holders; I haven’t got a favorite. I like Speedball India ink, although I don’t know that it’s different than any other India inks.

• Felt pens: I’m a Micron girl. I pretty much only use size 03, and I replace them constantly.

What artists do you like?

In no particular order (but you will notice these are pretty much all people who make comics, which I think is the holy grail of the art forms):

• Lynda Barry is my religion. I have her tattooed on my bicep (along with Chris Ware, who is also perfect). Her philosophy about art and learning is the basis of everything I make and do. Start with “Syllabus” but then get “What It Is,” which is just the greatest book I’ve read in my life. I bought several copies so I could give them out to people. Then I ran out, so you’ll have to buy your own.

• Chris Ware. I didn’t realize how wonderful he was until I took a class from him, but all that meticulousness and humor and sweet self-deprecation isn’t an act; it’s the real deal.

• Jillian Tamaki. I shamelessly copy her style as much as and as best as I can, which is to say, incredibly often but not very well. “Super Mutant Magic Academy” is, in fact, my number one favorite book.

• Eleanor Davis. “What Is Art” is the quintessential art school book, and it’s lovely and perfect. Eleanor Davis drew the background for my desktop. She doesn’t know that.

• Sam Alden. Sam is a magician with light and shadows. His artwork is ALL OVER MY HOUSE (seriously: it’s in pretty much every single room, and my house is big), and looking at it makes me feel both jealous and whole.

• Jessica Thompson. Full disclosure: Jessica is one of my best friends. But she’s also a genius who doesn’t completely know that she’s a genius yet, and so you can buy art from her pretty cheap still. I want to live in the world that Jessica draws.

• Bianca Xunise. Bianca is the artist the world needs right now. Her work is gorgeous, challenging, and it is making change in the world. Follow, subscribe, hire.

• Liz Montague. One of the only Black female cartoonists the New Yorker has published. Her work is vibrant, funny, and unapologetically itself. I am a big fan, and I can’t wait for her forthcoming memoir.

I first stumbled on Salman Ansari's work when Nate Kadlac (our first interview!) recommended his newsletter, the Quick Brown Fox. It's full of fantastic writing about creativity and embracing your inner polymath. Salman also illustrates his newsletter and essays with an amazing and distinct visual style.

His writing is brimming with personality, wisdom, and a great sense of visual creativity. Please enjoy the interview below where he talks about his background, process, tools, and advice for creators.

Tell us about the creative work you do.

I work part-time building software at a friend’s AI startup, but the majority of time is split across a number of creative projects. Given that I have “free reign” over these, they vary a lot from week to week. A key part of my lifestyle is embracing my inner polymath, and pursuing lots of different interests. Most of my creativity goes toward writing (newsletters, essays, short stories, lots of tweets) and drawing (illustrations, comics, animations), and finding ways to combine them.

How long have you been visually creative?

I’m not sure! I used to draw a fair bit in art class in elementary school days… but I never kept up with it. Then, a few years ago, I was taking an extended period of time off after startup burnout. I am a huge fan of animation (both in terms of film, as well as implementing animations in software I build), and so I really wanted to learn how to animate. I decided to learn how to draw first, and really got into learning a lot of different areas of illustration. That led me to draw comics, and eventually some short GIF-style animations.

What was your thought process for incorporating original visuals into your work?

I started with drawing comics for fun. I’d just have silly ideas for a joke or punchline, and make a comic and share that.

In parallel, my writing momentum had picked up and I was publishing newsletters and essays consistently. I struggled to keep drawing regularly given how much time I spent on writing. So, I decided to use blog posts as a prompt for drawing — I try to draw a comic for almost every essay now. I would describe the art style for those as “characteristically messy”. Mostly I’m so tired from all the writing, that I try to get the comic sketched, illustrated and colored in less than an hour. It’s not very clean, but I’ve found that the message matters a lot more than the perfect lines. People tell me it’s my “style” now, and I giggle.

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing?

I spend a lot of time taking notes, and have tried lots of different tools for that — Bear, Roam Research, Obsidian, etc. A regular journaling and note-taking habit is a key part of my creativity pipeline — it helps me reflect on my thoughts, build self-awareness, and make creative plans. Pretty much everything I do comes back to a note I wrote somewhere.

As for drawing, I use Procreate for almost all my illustrations. I’ve also recently resumed playing with physical paper and pencil, colored pencils, paint markers and such. I use physical tools more intentionally to take a break from devices, or when I want a physical artifact (lately I make drawings for nieces, nephews, etc.). For animations, I also use Looom and love it.

Is there one image you are particularly proud of? What was the process from start to finish on creating it?

Honestly, my fox avatar character is still my favorite: 

I did a little thread a while back showing the process of how I got to this version, which became the mascot for my Quick Brown Fox newsletter.

I always remember the first versions that were so messy as a reminder that good things come with practice, but also that each of those was a unique character in their own right. I've drawn many other things that are more realistic or more detailed, but there's something special in creating a character you love.

A close second is this animation of Quick Brown Fox zapping away (“exit, stage left!”), in which I took an animation of Road Runner as inspiration. I love how the cloud of smoke turned out, and just the general feel of it.

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

• Ralph Ammer: His blog explores the nuances of visual communication, and the power of drawing. Lots of incredible lessons there!

• Rekka Bellum of Hundred Rabbits: Her drawings and stories are so whimsical and wonderful. I find them incredibly inspiring when intermixed with her life’s journey and work, wandering the seas on a boat while making incredible tools and sharing ideas with the world.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

Just start! It is obvious advice but there really is something to be said about the power and energy that comes from momentum when you just get into something.

I’ve also collected my best advice for writing into a free online Writing Guide, which has advice for overcoming creative blocks, getting started, etc. that I think can apply to any kind of creative work.

The truth is that so many other voices are already out there filling our feeds, often without the best of intentions. And that’s why I try to encourage folks who are more thoughtful to publish their work. I recently published a newsletter video sharing this plea: Stop Hesitating, Start Publishing.

My advice on visuals specifically would be to find prompts that help you stay motivated to keep drawing. The toughest thing about visuals is that you need to practice to get better, so you need consistent prompts.

I sincerely hope to see more creators share their work, and I’m embracing my own role in supporting other creators. If you’re reading this and want to bring a question or thought that I can help with, please reach out! My DMs and email inboxes are always open.

Almost every day on Twitter, Jane Zeke combines quotes or thoughts with portraits she paints digitally in Procreate. The quotes and paintings are great in their own right, but combined they are just a fantastic boost to the quality of visual Twitter. She also provides a time-lapse video in a thread below for each painting, which is something I would love to see more of.

Jane answered some questions below about her process and provided some wonderful thoughts about creativity.

Tell us about the creative work you do on Twitter

I started a Twitter account in January as a way to push myself to practice digital drawing. I work under a pseudonym to expand my network. Outside of Twitter, I'm a painter and an art teacher.

How long have you been visually creative?

True Story: Before I could write, I saw my mom's signature on a check and forged it on a piece of paper. Been doodling ever since.

What went into the decision to start including quotes and time-lapse videos of your portraits? 

It's a healthy exercise to reflect on your day, think of one quote that resonates with you, and share it in a quirky, colorful package. The time-lapses are just a way to invite people into my *virtual studio* to see my drawing process. 

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing?

Procreate, Adobe Premiere, and my plain ol' sketchbook. 

Is there one image you are particularly proud of?

I get excited about tiny elements of each portrait. For this feed, I limit myself to about an hour or less per drawing. It's really hard to decide when to put the pencil down and post them. I'm self critical - you might notice that there are issues with proportions, wacky facial features, and some haven't achieved a likeness. I'm not necessarily proud of the images, but I'm proud that I'm putting unfinished work into the world because not many people are comfortable with that. 

What advice would you give anyone who wants to build an audience using their visuals?

Send me your artwork. I want to see it and cheer you on!

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

Professor Clara Lieu. Total badass. Art Prof podcast powers my morning commute. 

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

Welcome feedback and QTIP (quit taking it personally). Hearing new ideas and implementing feedback will help you grow. 

Bonus question: I noticed that David Perell follows you on Twitter. Any particular story behind that?

Didn't know anything about him until he followed my Twitter - Glad he did because I now enjoy reading his weekly newsletters. Seems to have a good taste in art. ;) 

I met Chad Moore through the Ness Labs community, and quickly became intrigued by his experience with sketchnoting. He was kind enough to share his journey with us below. You can keep up with Chad and his visuals on his website, on Twitter, and via his monthly newsletter.

Tell us about the creative work you do.

I am a Scrum Master in Software Development/IT. I’m not making art in my day job so to speak, but there is a lot of room for creative thinking in my role. I do a lot of coaching, and help teams solve problems, so there are elements of creativity throughout the day.

I’ve been a writer and doodler off and on for years, and a couple years ago started putting these things together. I add my drawings to blog posts, and have formalized my sketchnoting practices.

Over the last couple years I started to study and mindfully practice sketchnoting.

How long have you been visually creative?

Ever since I can remember I have taken visual notes of some kind. I made stop motion animations with the family camera and legos when I was younger. I studied photography in high school and college for a while. My teacher showed me photoshop and I got into the digital side.

I worked in game dev for a long time as an animator and technical artist. Then in the design field as a scrum master and project manager, where I assisted with facilitation of all sorts of activities for people and organizations to better understand themselves and their customers.

What went into the decision to start including original visuals with your work?

I don’t remember it being a conscious decision. It just kind of happened along the way. Now I am more purposeful.

What have you found to be the benefits of sketchnoting?

I’m more prone to distractions than I’d like, and have taken on several activities to be more present and focused. I’m building a meditation practice. I was studying improv comedy before covid. You have to be absolutely in the moment when you’re improvising. And sketchnoting is another one of these activities. There’s certainly pre and post work one can do for a sketchnote, but being absolutely engaged in what you’re hearing and seeing, and trying to represent it visually in the moment feels like magic.

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing?

For sketchnoting, I like to think “something to write/draw with and something to draw on”.

There is no perfect pen, marker, or drawing app, etc. I think to myself: What pen is closest to you right now? Use that one.

That said, most folks go with a black archival ink pen. Any brand will do, really. I like Pigma micron and Copic multiliners, personally. Copic also makes nice water based markers too. They have ones with chisel tips on one end, and a brush on the other.As for paper, I use a stack of cheap printer paper for the day-to-day doodling and notes. I have a trusty Leuchtturm1917 notebook for bullet journaling and a 5x5 sketchbook for sketchnoting.

I typically start analog, take a picture of my sketchnote, and then go digital.

I have an iPad with the second gen Apple Pencil. It’s my primary computer and my entire digital studio. I draw and animate in Procreate. It is a really feature rich app that I’m still growing into. That said, sometimes I like the simplicity of the Paper app too.

My latest work has me making small animations in Procreate, and putting them together (arranging them on the screen, and controlling when they start) in Keynote. You can do what I’m doing on iPad in Keynote, but it’s frustrating to use, so I borrow my wife’s MacBook Air when I need to do that work in Keynote.

Here’s an example. I made a sketchnote on paper to represent what I wanted the final piece to look like. Then, I created six different animations in Procreate. I brought them all into Keynote to place on the screen, and control their appearance.

As a sidebar, I used to work in video games, as an animator and technical artist. I never did conceptual art myself, but worked with a bunch of folks who did. They’d have a huge PC of course. Over time they went from drawing with a tiny little tablet connected to the computer, to these giant monitors you could draw on directly. Now, all that processing power, innovation, and WYSIWYG is on a tiny tablet. Amazing.

Is there one image you are particularly proud of?

I was (still am) overthinking how I do what I do. I came across this post on Metacognition from the Ness Labs blog. It really spoke to me, and helped me understand myself a bit better. So I wanted to draw it to have it sink in even further.

I’m proud of the way I represented the abstract concepts visually. Especially Energy. That lil’ guy is my hero. Let’s get his energy up!

However I’m most proud of how I was able to put myself out there and ask several different groups of people for feedback. Sketchnoters, artists, and folks who would read these kinds of articles in the first place. That depth from creators and the breadth from the readers helped me iterate on the illustration quite a bit.

Show your work, get feedback. Don’t wait!

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

Chris Wilson is a sketchnoter, teacher, and writer. I know him personally and he’s a great collaborator too. You can find him at Learn Create Share.

Austin Kleon is inspiring to me as well. His newsletter and books are fantastic. If you have the chance, give his books Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going a read. They are fantastic resources for creative people.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

Don’t think, just do.

Don’t get caught up in what you’re trying to do and which tools are best. Just start. Doodle when you’re in a meeting. Science supports the fact that you retain information better if you take visual notes.

Start small. Put one tiny drawing or collage or some other visual you made into your writing. If you’re a blogger, maybe at the start of each heading, use an image instead of an h1 or h2, etc. Putting an image you made into your writing really can show personality and connect readers of your work in new ways.

Here’s an image I used in that context, it was the start of blog post I wrote. This image took me seconds to draw, and is far from perfect. A simple, “imperfect”, easy to make image can go a long way for you and your readers.

Have fun with sketchnotes. It’s not about realism, it’s about capturing the idea of something visually. If you’re drawing a cat, you can search for images online, and try to represent the cat. It's even possible for concepts like “interpersonal relationships”, or “code coverage”, or “political divide”. Those concepts require you to think creatively.

Have fun with it!

Janis Ozolins is one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter. He illustrates thoughts and quotes that hit home for anyone in a creative pursuit.

Like this tweet:

His audience has doubled in the short time I've been following his work and it's all thanks to his approach to pairing thoughtful ideas with simple, striking illustrations. I caught up with him over email and he was kind enough to share his journey getting started as a visual creator. Be sure to follow Janis on Twitter for non-stop great visuals and sign up for his email newsletter right here.

Tell us about the creative work you do.

I illustrate various things around creativity. For the most part: creative struggles. This quote captures one of the primary goals I try to accomplish with my illustrations.

"One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone."
― Shannon L. Alder

What was your journey to get to your current visual style?

It's been a while. In early 2016, I decided I want to be part of the Creators Economy. I tried a bit of blogging and YouTube, plus some other things, but it never lasted.
Around mid-2019, while reading this article by James Clear, I was fascinated by how he visualized concepts for extra punch.

I was hooked and started to illustrate lessons I've learned over the years. After a while, I found Visualize Value which made me push harder to nail down a really minimal aesthetic, but I struggled to get to a point where I was satisfied with my work.

Aaron and Andrew got me curious about drawing with hand. In a matter of days, I had an iPad in my hands, and I started to draw. I loved it, and with extra inspiration from Liz and Mollie and Tim Urban, I developed the style I have now.

Here is a thread with examples and some addition to this story.

What went into the decision to start including original visuals with your work? Do you find it helps you communicate your ideas better?

I've never been a big reader. I love audiobooks, podcasts and I prefer if people add visuals to their blogs as it helps to illustrate the ideas better or hold my attention for the piece I'm reading

It goes back to the good old advice: make something you would love to see yourself.
Also, I love the challenge of taking an idea and trying to figure out how I could communicate this idea so my audience understands it instantly without burning many calories.

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing?

Step one: always be ready to capture thoughts and ideas, so you don't end up like this.

Step two: have your constraints in place (color, schemes, fonts, etc.).

Step three: Communicate your idea within those constraints.

Another tip: it does not always start with a lesson of the message I want to deliver. Often it starts with a simple object or situation I've noticed, and then I figure out what message could go into that.

For example, I noticed this "Life Sucks" playlist on Spotify.

I then figured out how this could fit into an illustration, and I came up with this:

The most important tool in my tool stack is the iPad with Apple Pencil. All the drawings currently happen in the Procreate app.

Is there one image you are particularly proud of?

I find the most joy when I use analogies in my work, but one of my recent favorites is this message I try to remind myself of often.

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

Tim Urban from Wait But Why. He is amazing. I love his work.

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

Don't be afraid to imitate others and mix things up. There were so many times where I felt like giving up because I felt like a copycat or not original enough.

In those moments, it's important to go back to your Why? Why are you doing this? If your intentions are good and generous, it's easier to give yourself a break and keep going.

On a final note. Feel free to arm yourself with my favorite quote from Brendon Burchard.

"Believe in your abilities to figure things out."

I first met Brittany Jezouit through her podcast recommendation newsletter, The Podcast Broadcast, which is sadly no longer active (but evolved into The Bello Collective). She is a big reason why I got into writing about podcasts. I've always appreciated her design sensibilities in everything she does, which is why I'm excited to feature Brittany's thoughts below. In her current role as editor of Better Marketing—one of Medium's most popular publications—she infuses interesting visuals and good design across the whole site.

Please enjoy the interview below:

Tell us about the creative work you do.

I’m the editor for Better Marketing, a publication about marketing, business, and creativity. Before that, I worked in higher education and nonprofits, and as an editor at a tech/design start-up, so all of my work has involved some element of creativity.

How long have you been visually creative?

Oh gosh, that’s a hard question! I was always into art when I was younger, and photography in high school and college—I was the photo editor for my school’s newsmagazine. I remember feeling like I’d lost touch with the creative side of my brain after I graduated, so I started doing side projects like a 100-day graphic design challenge, just to learn more. Most of the visually creative work I’ve done has been DIY and out of necessity—a feature image for an article, an email header, a logo design, that sort of thing. 

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing? 

I love the Adobe Creative Suite, but it’s expensive! So I lean on free or less-expensive tools, like Unsplash and Canva. As for publishing, the publication I run is on Medium. My portfolio website is on Squarespace, but that’s mostly because it was an easy choice. (Now that Medium is allowing custom domains for user profiles, I might even move mine there!)

I know you are quite handy with Canva and other similar tools. Any tips for creators?

I love Canva and I’m pretty new to it, so I have definitely not mastered it yet! I know they offer tons of templates for marketing documents and social media content etc., but I usually start from scratch and use Canva to make feature images for articles. I like grabbing a photo from Unsplash and jazzing it up in Canva with a quick effect, like ColorMix or Duotone—it’s an easy way to make a stock photo more unique in less than a minute. They also have an awesome library of hand-drawn illustrations in their “elements” library that are beautiful and look professional. 

Is there one image you’ve created that you are particularly proud of?

I loved making the cover image for the Bello Collective’s 100 Outstanding Audio Stories of 2016.

I just copied all the podcast logos and images into Photoshop, then rearranged them and ended up with a fun freeform rainbow-shape. It’s been neat to see that style replicated and adapted for subsequent articles in that series. 

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

I follow lots of publications and newsletters to get inspiration. I love the custom illustrations in publications like Elemental—they have awesome feature images from artists like Kieran Blakey and Maria Chimishkyan.

And I read every newsletter I get from The Ringer, even though my interest in sports is minimal, because I love their design style. 

When you are reading content online or reviewing pitches for Better Marketing, what kind of visuals stand out to you? 

Creating a publication that feels inclusive of all readers is really important to us, so having diverse representation in our feature images is a big priority—choosing photos that represent different ethnicities, genders, ages, abilities, etc. I appreciate unique visuals, stock photos that don’t have computers or phones in them, and anything DIY. 

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

Have fun with it! My design style is a little chaotic, and I’m always trying out new things—some are better than others, and I look back at some feature images and cringe, but it’s a lesson to learn from. I think it’s important to not take it too seriously.

When choosing a stock photo, you have two main options.

1. Take a bland choose-the-first-thing-that-catches-your-eye way approach that adds to the never-ending wasteland of terrible images.

2. Or you can take a more thoughtful approach that involves choosing unique, artful images that are delightful to look at.

Elena Fernández Collins has perfected this second approach and was kind enough to share their expertise.

Ely is both a podcast critic and podcaster (Valence and Radio Drama Revival), and has a tremendous creative output in this space. In addition to her tremendous knowledge of audio fiction, I am always impressed by Ely's knack for finding the perfect image to include with articles.

Like this one:

And this one:

These definitely caught my eye while scrolling. In my opinion, this is much better than what is cluttering most of the internet.

Ok, now on to Ely's secret sauce.

What paid or free sites do you like to use for searching? 

I only use free sites because I am a broke freelancer. My favorite sites are Pixabay, Unsplash, and Flickr. I also regularly search through this list of stock/creative commons photo databases that focuses on representation.

What is your thought process for finding the right image for an article? 

The first thing I do is determine what vibe or atmosphere the article in question has. Is it informative in a serious way, or a chatty casual way? Is it an in-depth profile of someone or a lengthy review? Is it a themed list of some kind? Once I determine the vibe, I narrow in on theme and topic. If it's a profile, I'll usually try to use a photo of the person I'm profiling; that's easy. But if it's a review of a show and the show art isn't great for a header image for whatever reason, I'll start thinking about the themes that I'm focusing on in the article. Am I talking about loneliness, or companionship? Compassion and empathy, or found family, or queerness or racial justice? What's the core of the article?

At that point, I start picking out keywords from all this brainstorming I've done and setting important representational boundaries. If it's a podcast about racial equity, I want a photo with people of color in it; if it's about climate change, I want nature and industrial garbage; if it's a fantasy, I'll pick relevant fantastical items that show up. One of the most difficult headers I've selected is this one, for this review of Janus Descending.

For this one, I wanted a combination of any of the following: icy planet, two people, darkness or purple hues, ruined architecture, and space. These are core concepts and setting design elements to the story of Janus Descending, and I wanted to see that reflected in the header.

I spend a lot of time making sure that I am not highlighting white, skinny bodies more than I am other marginalized bodies. Once I have some options, I sort for quality and size and spend a while staring at them, getting a feel for how they set up against the mood and/or theme of my piece. I usually put it in with my draft and read it with the headline, the image, and the first paragraph visible.

Any other tips? 

Think outside the box! One of the harder things is writing a how-to article for anything in audio and not using a photo that involves a mic, or headphones, or a computer. Try something else -- try looking for drawings instead of photography, people instead of objects, and any larger concepts of what you are writing about.

Also, if you know someone who's good at Photoshop who works with you or who you like, hire them to lightly edit some stock photos if those photos have that permission. Shout-out here to my companion in crime Jarred Worley who created the image for my review of Passenger List. I couldn't get the image of a cut-out hole of plane from a sky out of my head. Jarred made it happen.

The creative work I do

I work in medical sales for my day job, which doesn’t always allow for the most creative expression in the world. In non-Covid times I spend hours and hours driving each week, which is how I became obsessed with podcasts and eventually how I fell in love with creativity again.

This podcast obsession combined with a new interest in writing (which I can trace directly back to this interview with Kevin Kelly) led to the creation of Hurt Your Brain, which started as a place to explore the best places to learn on the internet and to write about various topics that interested me. But my main creative output quickly became the newsletter, where I recommend thought-provoking non-fiction podcasts and links that make you think. 

I also began writing for other outlets and became connected with great publications like The Bello Collective.

Hurt Your Brain was born with the thesis in mind that we are all life-long learners, and it’s never too late to try something new. In that spirit, I started learning how to draw and experimented with adding my own visuals instead of relying on stock photos. 

The first drawing I added to my site was for my second blog post, an explainer on what Reddit was and how to use it for learning (by now it is probably pretty dated). 

The one thing I remember about this drawing is that it took way longer than it should have (I didn’t trace it) and I was super nervous to put it out into the world.

After that though I was hooked and fully committed to adding my own visuals to everything.

How long I've been visually creative

Pretty much exactly as long as I’ve been writing Hurt Your Brain (since 2015). I never felt artistic growing up and fell into the stereotypical trap of assuming that if something didn’t come naturally or easily then I shouldn't explore it.

It wasn’t until I was older that I realized this is all hogwash. People learn things completely new in adulthood all the time, and it’s really only a matter of interest + time to get good at something. 

I’ve done a combination of learning traditional drawing (mostly by following drawabox.com tutorials), sketching in a notebook, and following various YouTube tutorials on digital drawing. 

Thought process for incorporating original visuals into my work

I decided early on that I didn’t want the site or newsletter to be a graveyard of lame stock photos, but I also really wanted to include visuals of some kind. I figured drawings (even of dubious quality) would satisfy my creative itch more than stock photos. There was also the side effect that if I created my own visuals for everything it would force me to practice in public. This was also around the time a lot of sites were blowing up (like Wait But Why) that featured drawings prominently as part of the writing. This was a huge influence on me.

The tools I use

At one point my company started switching to iPad Pro’s instead of laptops. I decided to check out the Apple Pencil which turned out to be a real game changer. Early on I used free Adobe apps like Sketch and Draw, but now I almost exclusively use Procreate, which I absolutely love and am still learning to use all these years later. I get a little carried away experimenting with different brushes, but the round paint brush is my go-to choice.

I usually create an image in Procreate, save it to my camera roll, and then upload directly to the site on Wordpress (both Hurt Your Brain and this site) as well as to Mailchimp for the newsletters. 

Before creating an image in Procreate, I try to sketch out a bunch of ideas in a small drawing notebook.

The image I am most proud of

This one.

I was writing an article for The Bello Collective, and I had this idea to compare podcasts to books. I sketched out some ideas of what a bookshelf full of podcasts might look like and decided to create a version digitally using various pencil brushes. 

It was one of the first times I created an image for something other than my own site, and I was proud of how it turned out. This also fully solidified in my mind the creative satisfaction that comes with pairing your own words with your own art. 

At a podcast conference, I was blown away when Tamar Avishair, creator of The Lonely Palette, told me she cried when she saw her show included with so many players like Radiolab and This American Life. My writing had certainly never made anyone cry, and this was a strong signal to me that art is worth pursuing even if it’s not something that would ever be in a museum.

Creators working at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate me

Tim Urban’s Wait But Why is a blog I love, particularly when he was putting out content much more regularly (he’s currently working on a book). His writing and the topics he chooses really scratches a certain itch for me, but it was his admittedly amateur art that I really loved. Here’s this extremely popular blog that has stick figures and poorly drawn graphs as a feature, not a bug. You don’t need to be an Artist to communicate with art. 

Just like Kevin Kelly gave me permission to write, Tim Urban gave me permission to create visuals.

Now I am continuously impressed and inspired by any writer who also creates their own images, hence the reason for this entire site. There are so many creators within newsletters and on Twitter that are killing it with their creativity. I'm starting to compile my favorites in a public Twitter list.

Advice for anyone who wants to start adding visual creativity to their work

For anyone thinking of starting to draw or design their own images, I highly recommend it. The world really does have too many bland stock photos and I for one get downright pleased when I see any kind of original art within writing. It also stands out in a good way against the rest of the noise of the internet. And if you are worried at not being good, just look at anything I do for proof that the technical bar isn’t very high to get started. 

Also, avoid drawing people at first. I learned that quickly. People are really hard at the beginning (or anytime really). There is no shame in going the stick figure route if you need to.

And for god’s sake, don’t be afraid to trace pictures or to simply follow along with a YouTube tutorial. I followed this one to draw the Millennium Falcon for this post, and it came out WAY better than if I tried simply looking at a picture.

Don’t make your life harder by feeling like everything has to originate from your brain. Great artists steal, even more so at the beginning.

Creator: Bryan Ho (Twitter, personal site)

Main projects: Startup Illustrated (whose mascot is shown above) and Gumbr

Recommended starting point: Subscribe to his newsletter and check out his illustrated post on the basics of business thinking.

Bryan Ho is an artist and entrepreneur who lives in Singapore. I came to appreciate his work via Startup Illustrated on Twitter, which is full of fun and simple illustrations that explain various ideas in business. After catching up with Bryan over video, I also came to appreciate his wide ranging experiments and projects that led up to Startup Illustrated.

Bryan always enjoyed drawing when he was a kid and became fascinated by the illustrations of Neopets. This love of art led him to draw items and potions for D&D style role playing games that he invented with his friends. Bryan pursued business in college and while doing a skills audit, he realized his love for and skills at drawing could be paired with his entrepreneurial spirit.

He is modest about them, but this led to two very successful projects (that are no longer updated but very worth looking through). 

• An Instagram account that at one point had around 30k followers. He posted a drawing every day and engaged with the art community on Instagram as much as possible. (He says this was a great experience but to watch out for burnout doing this kind of daily challenge).

• A Facebook page full of tutorials and drawing inspiration that has around 700k followers. Many of the tutorials can still be found on this YouTube page, which has some fantastic stuff.

To further enhance his skills, Bryan took a course in web development on the side. Web skills + experience growing an audience around art + interest in business all led to the start of his latest projects, Startup Illustrated and interactive content (such as these very cool co-founder question cards).

The remainder is a lightly edited transcript from our conversation.

What was your thought process for incorporating original visuals into your work? What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing? 

For Startup Illustrated it’s mostly pen and paper. I’ll take a photo on my phone, I’ll send it to myself, and I’ll put it into Photoshop. I then use a tablet pen with a hand me down Surface Pro. There are alternatives to Photoshop that I’ve tried, like Gimp and Inkscape. But primarily I’m the most comfortable with Photoshop in terms of just going freehand. 

My goal was to settle on a drawing style I can do consistently and quickly that doesn’t detract from the message and doesn’t take me three hours every single day to do it.

I realized that the fidelity of the drawings don’t take away from the messages. Just look at xkcd or the Oh No Blob. 

For the "Oh No" Blob, I was like, I can do that, and I can do that consistently. I can find a way to modularize a lot of the drawings and find a way to put it into a system.

Every time I do a custom drawing, like for the hands, or any item that represent certain things, I chuck them all into Google Slides. Now each time I do a custom drawing it just adds to the assets. And eventually there will come a day where I can take this asset and that asset and this asset and stuff them all together and make something new, something that addresses that problem I'm visualizing.

The background has to be yellow, the person has to be drawn in black, and speech bubbles done in a certain way, and jointless hands, just wavy and blobby. These are the kinds of constraints I’m putting on myself. And the width of my pixel brush. But otherwise, it’s just free form around "how can I visualize this?"

How did you come up with the aesthetic?

The yellowish background was actually inspired by Post-it Notes. I did a full year of design thinking with a partner, and a fundamental part was that you should represent your ideas visually as well as writing them down. A picture conveys a thousand words kind of view. I wanted to apply that to business as well. If you can illustrate an idea for a product, and then stick it on the wall with a thousand things, why can’t you do that with business concepts and business models and business thinking? And that’s where the yellow came from. 

The art style was influenced by a lot of other artists that I saw. I was thinking, "How can I allow people to project themselves onto this amorphous blob in the same way the ‘Oh No’ comic does?"

As long as I can see heads, as long as I can see hands, I think that is enough to convey the message. 

Is there one image you've created that you are particularly proud of?

I would say maybe this one? It was the one that started my entire account even though it was not the first one I posted.

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

One of the reasons why I went with a Post-it Notes look is because of the aesthetic that Jono Hey creates with Sketchplanations.

In terms of other writers, Deepu Asok with Visual Wisdom and Marie Dollé with In Bed With Social, who sometimes creates her own visuals. 

What advice would you give anyone who wants to start (or continue) adding visual creativity to their work?

Just keep it simple. That’s really the crux of it. Keep it as simple as possible. Look at Jack Butcher, Jack Butcher does it extremely well. Look at xkcd. You just need stick figures. 

It’s about the message. In the end, you just need to keep the message in mind and make it something you can consistently do over and over again. It’s very easy to get into entrapments like, ‘this illustration isn’t good enough", or "I should go for a more complex art style and add anime eyes and wavy hair for everything!" In the long run it’s about consistency, over and over again. You cannot do anime eyes and long hair in every single post, you don’t need to go for that straight away. You can slowly evolve it over time to find your style.

And some of the proudest drawings I’ve done are simple. Two black round things for eyes. Felicia Chiao blends this idea of simplicity and complexity really well. 

This is the first of an ongoing interview series that focuses on creators who live at the intersection of writing and art. The goal is to provide inspiration and practical tips for anyone looking to add more visuals to their work.

To kick things off with style, I caught up with Nate Kadlac over email about the excellent newsletter he creates called Plan Your Next, which has delightful illustrations and fantastic thoughts about creativity.

Tell us about the creative work you do.

By day, I’m a product designer for a real estate startup. Most of my work there involves designing user experiences across a number of platforms, like mobile and web apps.

Outside of that, I write a weekly newsletter called Plan Your Next, which explores how to find creative inspiration to pursue your next thing. I also write longer-form articles on my site, and I love to help non-designers learn how to apply design in their own life, personally and professionally.

How long have you been visually creative?

Ever since I can remember! I grew up in an artistic environment. My dad is a creative OG, a multi-disciplinary artist in the truest sense of the word. He built our house and would finger paint creatures like butterflies and snails into the ceiling paint, and I would often catch myself seeing a new figure throughout my childhood.

I grew up painting, drawing, and using photography to explore my creative interests. During college, I wanted to explore how I could apply design to the web, and was dissatisfied with the speed at which I was learning that. I ended up quitting college and learning how to code and design websites through a mentor of mine at the time, which launched me into a new chapter.

What was your thought process for incorporating original visuals into your work?

To make email less boring! I rarely draw unless it’s aligned with a goal, and having a newsletter to combine my writing with a visual element felt like a natural fit. 

When I relaunched my newsletter, I wanted to make the experience more interesting for my readers. Adding an audio component, a visual component, and a written component is rarely found in combination amongst the noise. This is my attempt at creating more signal vs more noise. 

What tools do you like to use for creation and publishing? 

It’s very simple. My 12” iPad Pro, an Apple Pencil, and Procreate. Some other tools that I use to get creative would be my iPhone, which I use to take reference images and then bring them into Procreate to illustrate in my own style. 

After I’m done illustrating, I export my illustrations and drop them into Figma to resize and export for different use cases. 

Most of my note-taking happens in Roam. My writing takes place in IA Writer. I publish my newsletter using Substack, use Twitter for signaling, and Webflow for my own blog. 

Is there one image you are particularly proud of? What was your process?

The illustration for my article, KonMari your creative life.

When I draw, I often use reference images. I do this because I aim to do an illustration in 30 minutes or less. 

For this particular illustration, I looked to harness the feeling of tidying up your digital life. Since this article is based on the techniques Marie Kondo uses, I came up with the idea to use a set of open hands, which visually mimics the care she takes in tidying. 

To get a good reference image for perspective, I had my wife take a photo of my hands, and I used that to illustrate the idea. 

The meaning behind this image is to care for the things you love and remove the unnecessary. I added small illustrations representing social networks and media that we might consume on a daily basis and added some joy sparks to bring it all together. 

In Procreate, I use just two tools to stay consistent. HB pencil for outlines and a gouache brush for coloring. 

Are there any creators who work at the intersection of writing and art that inspire and motivate you?

This is tough as I don’t see too many creating original art with their writing. But one I am inspired by is Salman, who writes a newsletter called Quick Brown Fox.