[Recorded on June 25, 2026]

In this episode, I'm joined by concept artist, AMANDA KIEFER!

Artstation: https://amandakiefer.artstation.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/amanda_kiefer_art

Huckleberry Mentorship: https://home.huckleberry.art/offers/caWkx6z7/checkout

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Host: Robin Chyo

Social Links: https://dodgebrush-podcast.com

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ABOUT Amanda Kiefer

Amanda Kiefer is a senior concept artist with 8+ years of video-game industry experience. She excels at problem-solving for art teams and enjoys creating original characters, environments, weapons and prop concept art.

She has worked for companies/clients such as: Firewalk Studios, Disney Imagineering, Skydance Interactive, Ironwood Games. She's also contributed to animation studios such as Shadowmachine and Dreamworks TV.

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Shared Spotlights

Ben Nicholas - https://www.artstation.com/belgianboolean

Antone Bak - https://www.artstation.com/tonetime----

Referenced Artists:

Natalie Hall - https://www.nataliehallart.com/Alan Lee - https://www.wikiart.org/en/alan-lee

John Howe - https://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/

Iain McCaig - https://iainmccaig.blogspot.com/

Art of Concord

// Adrian Majkrzak - https://ghostorbit.com

// Derek Jones - https://www.artstation.com/prismbrain

// Noax - https://www.artstation.com/noax-design

// Sheng Lam - https://www.artstation.com/shenglam

// Ryan DeMita - https://www.artstation.com/ryandemita

// Kevin Kruse - https://www.artstation.com/kevintk

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00:00:00 - Start

00:00:04 - Intro

00:00:45 - Amanda's Introduction

00:02:58 - Wheel Spin #1

00:04:47 - Natalie Hall - Tattoo Artist

00:10:08 - Behind The Scenes

00:11:57 - Amanda's Art Journey

00:13:26 - Introduction to Concept Art : J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Series

00:14:04 - LOTR Artwork by Alan Lee and John Howe

00:15:22 - Enrolling Animation and Digital Arts program at Chico State University

00:18:09 - Graphic Design gig @ Hot Topic

00:18:57 - Amanda seeing her work out in the real world

00:21:30 - Moving to LA

00:22:22 - Interning at Skydance Interactive

00:22:57 - Video Returns

00:23:05 - Working on The Walking Dead - Saints & Sinners

00:26:07 - Amanda's Personal IP: "Wayward Heavens"

00:26:39 - Attending Brainstorm School and LA Academy of Figurative Arts

00:27:15 - Character Concept Art

00:28:13 - Iain McCaig as an influence

00:39:07 - Reacting to a difficult point-in-time in our industry

00:42:53 - Horror/sci-fi horror

00:46:58 - What is "Creepy Pasta"?

00:48:59 - Silent Hill f (Neobardz Entertainment/KDE, 2025)

00:50:34 - The challenge of making something scary

00:54:57 - Wheel Spin #2

01:05:37 - Different types of portfolio expectations and the risk of being risk averse

01:09:07 - Art tests + Tailoring your portfolio

01:17:13 - Sci-fi

01:28:44 - Working on Concord

01:39:18 - Amanda's Personal IP, "Wayward Heavens"

01:41:31 - New Art: Austrennus Regulus, first Archon of the New World

01:46:50 - Making-of/takeaways

01:53:47 - Wheel Spin #3

02:07:07 - Robin's Spotlight Artist: Antone Bak

02:08:58 - Amanda's Spotlight Artist: Ben Nicholas

02:10:53 - Plugs - Amanda's Mentorship Program

02:14:26 - Outro

Some extra content!

We react to the recent gen ATLAS (genDESIGN/Epic Games Publishing) trailer that was premiered at the 2026 Summer Game Fest.

In this episode, I'm joined by fellow concept artist, EDISON MOODY!

Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/edisonmoody

IG: https://www.instagram.com/edison.moody

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Host: Robin ChyoSocial Links: https://robin-chyo.com/dodgebrush-podcast

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ABOUT Edison Moody

Edison is a Seattle-based artist that has been working in and around the game industry for the last decade. Growing up in Iowa, he was always drawn to stories and art that made him feel like he was somewhere else. His family didn’t have the means to travel outside the Midwest, so games and movies became his form of tourism. Through his exposure to human culture and imagination across the planet, he gained a life long obsession with history, art, and our dreams for the future.

As a kid, Edison remembers fighting desperately to stay awake late enough to watch “Cowboy Bebop,” blasting euro trance music in his middle school hallways, and smuggling his PSP into church so he could play “Mega Man” and “Loco Roco,” careful to avoid the pastor's gaze like Frodo and Sam hiding the one ring from Sauron. He didn’t know it at the time, but these moments were foundational to the kind of artist he would become. Never did he outgrow a single interest — they only deepened as he learned more about the world and himself.

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00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:09 - Welcome!

00:01:07 - Wheel Spin Question #1: What has been the most satisfying piece/project you've worked on?

00:02:12 - CROSSWALKERS

00:05:43 - Being inspired by our surroundings/building your visual library

00:07:37 - Figuring out your art style

00:08:34 - What is Dodgebrush Podcast?

00:12:42 - Edison's Origins

00:13:30 - First artistic influences (Dreamcast, family, fanart)

00:16:06 - First serious attempts at art

00:17:12 - Studying fine art in college00:18:05 - VR immersion/implants (silly tangent)

00:22:17 - Being so easily fooled by early video game graphics (Gran Turismo 3, FF8)

00:23:18 - Formative years working part-time and the impact it had in his life

00:29:39 - Developing social skills and how it might help with conflicting personalities

00:31:21 - Artists and egos

00:34:42 - Artstation's impact on the artist

00:38:20 - Processing other artists' work

00:40:08 - The reality of having to be competitive as a commercial artist

00:42:36 - Creative freedom/artistic integrity

00:45:14 - Wheel Spin Question #2: What would you be doing if you weren't an artist/ art wasn't an option?

00:47:47 - Shout out to Sifu/Basketball

00:48:11 - Seattle's car culture

00:49:14 - Shoutout to Sapphire Suns

00:49:38 - Initial D as an influence

00:53:52 - The artistic impact of studying in Rome/living in Brooklyn

01:00:53 - Finding a Black sci-fi/fantasy writers community group and working on covers/illustrations

01:01:42 - Any person wearing Dragon Ball Z shirt = fellow nerd

01:03:12 - Pushing AND moving outside your comfort zone

01:09:17 - Working with VR

01:12:17 - Has being a concept artist lived up to your expectations?

01:15:52 - Health/dealing with RSI in 2020 during covid

01:18:11 - Dealing with mental health/self-esteem

01:21:22 - Responding to different opinions/staying adaptive

01:25:21 - Work-life balance

01:28:16 - Are you a concept artist who only works on games or a concept artist that ALSO plays games?

01:29:01 - Shoutout to MinnMax

01:31:27 - Console-less nerds coping by reading video game magazines

01:33:46 - Parents and video games

01:39:40 - Being influenced by the Final Fantasy franchise

01:39:50 - Yoshitaka Amano

01:41:35 - The world and art of Final Fantasy XII

01:42:18 - Final Fantasy VII

01:44:49 - Final Fantasy XII, again?! Akihiko Yoshida

01:47:38 - Final Fantasy IX, X, VII...

01:50:47 - Bonus Question!

01:52:30 - Fumito Ueda/genALPHA/The Last Guardian/Shadow of the Colossus/Ico

01:59:02 - Wheel Spin Question #3: Who is one artist you'd recommend to a random person?

01:59:30 - Kehinde Wiley

02:03:33 - Outro

Visual game clips used for educational commentary purposes; rights belong to their respective publishers.