In this episode I talk with Jay Hosler, a professor at Juniata College in Pennsylvania. He’s a scientist who has found a way to represent science with comics! Hear how Jay came into this space, and the relationship he sees between comics and sketchnoting.

SPONSORED BY

This episode of the Sketchnote Army Podcast is brought to you by The Sketchnote Ideabook, the sketchbook designed for sketchnoters.

Equipped with a no-bleed, now show through paper, The Sketchnote Ideabook can take almost any marker or pen you can throw at it.

Learn more at:
https://sketchnoteideasbook.com

RUNNING ORDER

• Intro: Who is Jay
• Jay’s path into comics and visual thinking
• Using story’s to describe the natural world
• Why sometimes scientists resist storytelling and visuals
• How story and drawing are bound together
• Cracked crystal of science, story, and art
• Layering of information: facts, context, story, and style
• What excites Jay about describing science with comics
• Wonderstanding — a way of viewing our world
• The capacity to explain and a sense of wonder and curiosity
• The challenging nature of sketchnoting vs. comics for Jay
• Imposter complex and how it impacts our drawing skills
• Channeling nervousness into excitement about what you’re doing
• 5 basic shapes helps sketchnoters become immediately successful
• Model of motivation: see the value, be supported, and efficacy
• What is Jay excited about? The re-release of Clan Apis in color
• Tools
• Not knowing anything is a form of freedom
• 3 tips
• Outro

LINKS

Amazon affiliate links below support the Sketchnote Army Podcast.

• Jay’s Website
• Jay’s Science Comics
• Jay on Twitter
• Jay on Instagram
• Jay on LinkedIn
• Jay’s Books
• Book: Story by Robert McKee
• Robert McKee’s Story Webinar
• Frank Miller’s Daredevil
• Bugs Bunny’s Pronoun Trouble
• Graphic Novel: Clan Apis
• Colorist Hillary Sycamore
• Comic: Bone by Jeff Smith

TOOLS

Amazon affiliate links below support the Sketchnote Army Podcast.

• Moleskine Art Sketchbook
• Koh-i-Noor Mechanical Pencil
• Pilot Color Mechanical Pencil Eno 0.7mm Soft Blue
• Rapidograph Pens
• Japanese Kuretake Pocket Brush Pen
• Vellum Bristol Board 11 x 14
• Westcott Clear Plastic Straight Edge
• Wite-Out Correction Pen
• Sakura Pigma Micron Pens

3 TIPS

1. Don’t be afraid
2. Find the tool that feels right in your hand and helps ideas flow
3. Share your work

CREDITS

• Producer: Alec Pulianas
• Theme music: Jon Schiedermayer

SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES

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SUPPORT THE PODCAST

To support the creation, production and hosting of the Sketchnote Army Podcast, buy one of Mike Rohde’s bestselling books. Use code ROHDE40 at Peachpit.com for 40% off!

Subscribe to the Sketchnote Podcast

You can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or your favorite podcast listening source.

Support the Podcast

To support the creation, production, and hosting of the Sketchnote Army Podcast, buy one of Mike Rohde's bestselling books. Use code ROHDE40 at Peachpit.com for 40% off!

Sketchnote Lab is Mike Rohde’s space designed to bridge the gap between sketchnote theory and practice. You don’t need to be an artist to think visually. Join Mike and learn to use sketchnotes to clarify your thinking, solve problems, and move forward. Learn more about Sketchnote Lab.

Mike is the author of The Sketchnote Handbook and The Sketchnote Workbook, bestselling books that teach regular people how to start sketchnoting and build a regular sketchnoting practice.

He founded the Sketchnote Army and hosts the Sketchnote Podcast, where he interviews visual thinkers to understand what makes them tick.

Mike teaches recorded, live, and in-person workshops to accelerate your sketchnoting practice and provides personalized coaching for your specific visual-thinking challenges.

He is the illustrator of bestselling books like REWORK, REMOTE, The $100 Startup, Honest SEO, The Culture Playbook, and The Future Begins with Z.

Become a Supporting or Founding Lab Partner to support Mike’s work.

Some links in Sketchnote Lab posts are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools and resources I use and believe in.

©2026 Mike Rohde, Sketchnote Lab