Will Brooks is a freelance artist and designer who mostly works with licensed properties, especially Doctor Who. For five years, Will was the in-house ‘photo’ artist for Titan Comics’ Doctor Who ranges, providing more than 160 covers. He’s also produced artwork for Big Finish Productions and the Doctor Who Experience, and was the lead artist and designer for the second edition of Cubicle 7’s Doctor Who RPG, for which he also wrote material.
Will joins me to talk about how he got his start with licensed artwork, the process of creating covers for Titan and Big Finish, the power of just doing something when nothing seems to be coming together creatively, helpful criticism vs. tearing folks’ work down, the effects of leaving social media, and more.
If you’re tired of your inner critic running amok in your head and you're ready to confine it to quarters, Make Bad Art: Ditch Perfectionism and Have Fun Doing It starts on October 14!
Episode breakdown:
00:00 - Intro
01:10 - Creative Childhood
04:54 - Starting with Doctor Who Art
13:18 - Art School Lessons
15:34 - Art School Experience
19:14 - Impostor Syndrome Insights
24:54 - Beginning in Doctor Who Comics
30:14 - Comic Cover Creation
32:28 - Sources of Creativity
40:00 - Comic Cover Process
42:58 - Social Media Impact
47:10 - Importance of Consistency
50:26 - Facebook Manipulation
56:34 - Current Projects
59:57 - Conclusion
Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in Doctor Who and visual arts.
If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.
Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.
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