The Creative Condition podcast

By Ben TallonArts Design

The Creative Condition podcast episodes

July 31, 2024 HIGHLIGHTS of episode 236 with former Rockstar Game lead artist Stephen Bliss
The full-length episode is out now!

Stephen Bliss returns to discuss his creativity and his artistic endeavours since moving on from his iconic role as lead artist at Rockstar Games, including Fear City, and 'Thumper' his new comic by Scout Comics.

We first talked a few years ago when Stephen was in the midst of his superb 'I, Frankenstein' series of artworks. (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-70-stephen-bliss-on-his-iconic-grand-theft-auto/id1038442077?i=1000385250009)

Since then, Stephen has been busy bringing his new world 'Fear City' to life, first through NFT releases, and now via 'Thumper', a comic led by a rather macabre rabbit creation.

We get into sense of self, conscious expression, comparison, and world-building among many other topics.

'Thumper' is out now on Scout Comics: https://www.scoutcomics.com/collections/fear-city-thumper

https://www.stephenbliss.com/

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j4
33 min
July 31, 2024 Ep 236: Stephen Bliss has a dark new bunny. From Rockstar and GTA art to ’Thumper’ comic via ’Fear City’
Stephen Bliss returns to discuss his creativity and his artistic endeavours since moving on from his iconic role as lead artist at Rockstar Games, including Fear City, and 'Thumper' his new comic by Scout Comics.

We first talked a few years ago when Stephen was in the midst of his superb 'I, Frankenstein' series of artworks. (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-70-stephen-bliss-on-his-iconic-grand-theft-auto/id1038442077?i=1000385250009)

Since then, Stephen has been busy bringing his new world 'Fear City' to life, first through NFT releases, and now via 'Thumper', a comic led by a rather macabre rabbit creation.

We get into sense of self, conscious expression, comparison, and world-building among many other topics.

'Thumper' is out now on Scout Comics: https://www.scoutcomics.com/collections/fear-city-thumper

https://www.stephenbliss.com/

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j4
1 hr 1 min
July 30, 2024 HIGHLIGHTS of former Rockstar Games Senior Artist Stephen Bliss in Brooklyn
(The full-length chat can be heard on episode 70 of 'The Creative Condition'.)

Illustrator and artist Stephen Bliss moved to America to take on a job with Rockstar Games. Nobody could have envisioned the explosion of controversy that was the Grand Theft Auto video game series.

I met Stephen in Brooklyn to talk about his journey pre-Rockstar, how it felt to be the man behind the cult video game artwork, and his fascinating new direction since leaving the company.

New York City and its wealth of ripped subway posters have provided the basis for his stunning new large-scale originals and we talk about what it means to feed off the environment around you and why New York is so unique. Creating large-scale street art is something new to Stephen and we talk about breaking away from screens and how he's successfully transitioned to work on buildings. These are fascinating insights from a man who continues to set trends and move forward fast.

'Thumper' is out now on Scout Comics:

https://www.scoutcomics.com/collections/fear-city-thumper

https://www.stephenbliss.com/

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j4
34 min
July 25, 2024 What we learned about creativity from: Judoka Alex Paske
What we learned from Alex Paske, who is a judoka.

The full and highlights episodes are out now!

Alex fights at the highest level against people who might want to hurt him. He must respond in real-time, seeking the flow state and forward motion. If he listens to the voices in his head, positive or negative, it could be over for him in a flash.

We sit down to discuss how 10,000 hours of the craft must be put in to stand a chance of entering the optimal performance zone and finding the flow required to succeed. Alex explores how creativity, innovation, and adaptation are key, and why there are many parallels between judo and flow states in practising an artistic form of creativity.

Mindfulness, clarity, confidence, flow, and instinct are key aspects of creativity discussed in today's episode.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j4
11 min
July 25, 2024 HIGHLIGHTS of The creativity of Olympic gold with former rugby 7s Fiji and England coach Ben Ryan
The full conversation can be heard on episode 152 of 'The Creative Condition' podcast.

When Ben Ryan, one of the most innovative coaches in world sport left his position as England rugby 7s coach, he was all set to take a comfortable role at a sports consultancy company.
Then he saw a tweet advertising a vacancy for the national Fiji rugby 7s job. With twenty minutes to accept or decline the role, he listened to his raging instincts and set out on one of the all-time great sporting stories, taking them, through countless challenges, to an Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Ben shares the mind-bending story, his valuable insights to human empowerment, tips for adapting to adversity, and why it's vital to establish the right conditions for creativity and happiness to flourish in and around us.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j

47 min
July 24, 2024 HIGHLIGHTS of episode 235, flow states in fight sports and adaptive creativity with judoka Alex Paske
The full episode is also out now if you have more time to indulge!

Alex Paske is a judoka. He fights at the highest level against people who might want to hurt him. He must respond in real-time, seeking the flow state and forward motion. If he listens to the voices in his head, positive or negative, it could be over for him in a flash.

We sit down to discuss how 10,000 hours of the craft must be put in to stand a chance of entering the optimal performance zone and finding the flow required to succeed. Alex explores how creativity, innovation, and adaptation are key, and why there are many parallels between judo and flow states in practising an artistic form of creativity.

Mindfulness, clarity, confidence, flow, and instinct are key aspects of creativity discussed in today's episode.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j
35 min
July 24, 2024 Ep 235: Flow states in fight sports, adaptive creativity, and mastering our art with judoka Alex Paske
Alex Paske is a judoka. He fights at the highest level against people who might want to hurt him. He must respond in real-time, seeking the flow state and forward motion. If he listens to the voices in his head, positive or negative, it could be over for him in a flash.

We sit down to discuss how 10,000 hours of the craft must be put in to stand a chance of entering the optimal performance zone and finding the flow required to succeed. Alex explores how creativity, innovation, and adaptation are key, and why there are many parallels between judo and flow states in practising an artistic form of creativity.

Mindfulness, clarity, confidence, flow, and instinct are key aspects of creativity discussed in today's episode.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j4

1 hr 11 min
July 18, 2024 What we learned about creativity from: Digital and social media trainer Andrew Miles Davis
What we learned about creativity from episode 234 with digital and social media trainer Andrew Miles Davis. The full and highlights episodes are out now!

Andrew Miles Davis is a digital dinosaur - he was here, learning, seeing, mastering the social media game before most of us had even heard the cough and screech of a dial-up connection attempt.

But he's not extinct, far from it. He's an expert and trains the world's leading businesses to stay current in an ever-changing arena.

Now he joins a floundering illustrator and author to paint us a picture of the current digital and social media landscape so we can make better decisions to enable our creativity in the places we'd most love to use it.

We get into algorithms, AI, stories, authenticity, the basics and ever-presents of digital marketing, and why it took us 8 years to finally make this chat happen.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Andrew's superb podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/cz/podcast/in-a-i-nutshell/id1707611102

Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmdavis/

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j4
9 min
July 17, 2024 HIGHLIGHTS of Episode 234, digital and social media marketing with Andrew Miles Davis
The full-length version of episode 234 is available now for those with more time to listen!

Andrew Miles Davis is a digital dinosaur - he was here, learning, seeing, and mastering the social media game before most of us had even heard the cough and screech of a dial-up connection attempt.

But he's not extinct, far from it. He's an expert and trains the world's leading businesses to stay current in an ever-changing arena.

Now he joins a floundering illustrator and author to paint us a picture of the current digital and social media landscape so we can make better decisions to enable our creativity in the places we'd most love to use it.

We get into algorithms, AI, stories, authenticity, the basics and ever-presents of digital marketing, and why it took us 8 years to finally make this chat happen.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Andrew's superb podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/cz/podcast/in-a-i-nutshell/id1707611102

Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmdavis/

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j4
35 min
July 17, 2024 Ep 234: Social media, digital marketing, AI, authenticity and algorithms with trainer Andrew Miles Davis
Andrew Miles Davis is a digital dinosaur - he was here, learning, seeing, mastering the social media game before most of us had even heard the cough and screech of a dial-up connection attempt.

But he's not extinct, far from it. He's an expert and trains the world's leading businesses to stay current in an ever-changing arena.

Now he joins a floundering illustrator and author to paint us a picture of the current digital and social media landscape so we can make better decisions to enable our creativity in the places we'd most love to use it.

We get into algorithms, AI, stories, authenticity, the basics and ever-presents of digital marketing, and why it took us 8 years to finally make this chat happen.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Andrew's superb podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/cz/podcast/in-a-i-nutshell/id1707611102

Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmdavis/

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28rwnz18j4
1 hr 11 min

About The Creative Condition podcast

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to 'The Creative Condition' podcast: a show to help you thrive in creative industry careers, tell your greatest story, and lead a fulfilling life on your terms. Creativity coach, illustrator, and author Ben Tallon and his many guests help you navigate an increasingly automated world with human creativity.