Thoughts on Illustration

Get your FREE Illustration Training Plan Worksheet (PDF) — https://www.tomfroese.com/freetrainingplan

"It’s a marathon, not a sprint"—but what does that actually mean for your creative career? In this episode, Tom looks back at his biggest insights from 2025 and explains why trying to "do it all" is the fastest way to stall your progress.

Using his experience as an ultramarathoner, Tom shares how to apply a training framework to your illustration practice to ensure you're building "functional strength" rather than just busy work.

• The Danger of Dabbling: Why multiple professional roles create competing interests.

• Training Blocks: How standard timelines help you build progressive fitness in your art.

• Functional Strength: Identifying which habits support your main goal and which ones undermine it.

• The Power of One: Why 2026 is the year of doing one thing exceptionally well.

• [Download] FREE Illustration Training Plan Worksheet

• [Read] 2025: The Year in Review (Substack)

• [Listen] The One Big Shift for Social Media in 2026

I’m building a new signature course for illustrators and I need your input. Take this 5-minute survey to help me build it, and get 20% off at launch!👉 Take the Survey Here

Pre-order Drawing is Important: https://geni.us/DrawingisImportant

What does it actually take to build a sustainable life in illustration—without burning out or chasing every new platform?

In this episode, I’m sharing a conversation where I was the guest on Design Icons, produced by Noun Project. Nick Power’s questions gave me a chance to step back and reflect on my career honestly—what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what I’m still figuring out.

We talk about:

• Lessons learned from a decade+ as an illustrator
• Creative plateaus and my worst year for client work
• Why style is about reliability, not aesthetics
• How constraints shape better work
• Visibility, sustainability, and what actually moves the needle

This one covers all the classic interview questions, but it gave me a chance to reflect on the basics in a real, honest way.

→ Support the podcast on Patreon: patreon.com/tomfroese
→ Explore Noun Project: thenounproject.com

Become a paid supporter on Patreon— ⁠https://patreon.com/tomfroese⁠

What if social media isn’t actually social anymore—and what if that changes how creatives should use it?

In this monologue episode, I reflect on a growing realization I’ve been wrestling with for years: social media has quietly shifted from a space for sharing and connection into something much closer to corporate media. And many independent creatives have been doing a lot of unpaid work for big tech without fully realizing it.

I talk candidly about my own experience building audiences on Instagram, YouTube, and this podcast—and why the familiar promise of “just keep sharing and it will pay off” no longer feels like a fair trade. I unpack the gambling-like dynamics of algorithms, attention, and hope, and explain the one big mindset shift I’m making as I head into 2026.

This episode isn’t about quitting social media. It’s about rethinking our relationship to it, getting clearer about what we’re actually selling, and using these platforms more intentionally—as business tools, not creative homes.

🙏 A huge thank-you to all paid supporters on Patreon and on Spotify. Your support makes these thoughtful, independent episodes possible.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why social media now functions more like corporate media than a social space
• How algorithms turned “sharing” into a gamble
• Why the old promise of free publicity no longer works for most creatives
• My own experience building large followings—and what I’ve actually gotten back
• The shift from thinking like a content creator to thinking like a business owner
• Why “look what I made” isn’t enough anymore
• How clarifying your product and your customer changes everything
• What this mindset shift means for creatives heading into 2026

LINKS

🎨 Inky.af — My class on creating expressive, inky illustrations using analogue techniques in Affinity (now free forever)

⁠http://tomfroese.com/teaching/inkyaf⁠

📗 Drawing Is Important — Book preorder available now

⁠http://geni.us/DrawingisImportant⁠

HOW TO SUPPORT

You can support Thoughts on Illustration by:

• Sharing this episode with a friend
• Leaving a comment
• Leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts
• Following the show / subscribing to this channel
• Becoming a paid supporter here or on Patreon — ⁠https://patreon.com/tomfroese⁠

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

• Website — ⁠https://www.tomfroese.com⁠
• Instagram — ⁠https://www.instagram.com/mrtomfroese⁠
• Daily Drawings — ⁠https://www.instagram.com/drawingisimportant⁠

CREDITS

Music and cues by Mark Allan Falk:

https://linktr.ee/semiathletic⁠

The State of Illustration Report with Darren Di Lieto | Episode 65

What does the illustration industry really look like right now — beyond highlight reels, social media, and shiny success stories?

In this episode, I talk with Darren Di Lietto, founder of Hireillo and the author of the State of Illustration report. For more than a decade, Darren has been surveying illustrators around the world to better understand how we work, how we get paid, and how sustainable illustration actually is as a career.

We have an honest conversation about confidence, pricing, late payments, mental health, and the quiet pressures shaping illustrators’ lives today. We talk about who’s best positioned to thrive, where illustrators are struggling most, and why so many are being squeezed out early on in their careers.

I was surprised, and honestly a little bit depressed by the numbers in the report—but Darren helps me see some of the positive takeaways as well.

🙏 A huge thank-you to all paid supporters on Patreon — your support makes conversations like this possible.

IN THIS EPISODE

• What the State of Illustration report reveals about the current health of the industry
• Why confidence in pricing and negotiation remains such a challenge
• Who seems best positioned to last — and who is most at risk
• How late payments and income instability continue to affect illustrators
• The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on creative careers
• Mental health, anxiety, and confidence among working illustrators
• What hope and resilience Darren sees in the data
• Where the State of Illustration report might go next

SHOW LINKS

From Darren

• State of Illustration report ($18USD — PDF download) — https://www.stateofillustration.com
• Hireillo — https://www.hireillo.com
• Darren's website — http://darrendilieto.com

From Tom

• 🎨 Inky.af — My new class on creating expressive, inky illustrations using analogue techniques in Affinity (now free forever) — http://tomfroese.com/teaching/inkyaf
• 📗 Drawing Is Important — Book preorder available now — http://geni.us/DrawingisImportant

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

You can support Thoughts on Illustration by:

• Sharing this episode with a friend
• Leaving a comment
• Leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts
• Following the show / Subscribing to this channel
• Becoming a paid supporter on Patreon — https://patreon.com/tomfroese

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

Website — https://www.tomfroese.com

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/mrtomfroese

Daily Drawings — https://www.instagram.com/drawingisimportant

CREDITS

Music and cues by Mark Allan Falk — https://linktr.ee/semiathletic

In this episode, I get honest about the tension so many of us feel around AI: the uneasiness of using it while also distrusting it. I talk about why that discomfort might actually be meaningful—and how embarrassment or shame can act as a compass for finding the line between assistance and authorship.

I share a real story about how AI helps me not over-think a purchase decision with my daughter. I also share about my feelings about receiving AI-written emails. You'll learn how I think about using AI to help me without letting it replace the parts of my job that actually matter. We talk about the long game: creative confidence, limits, process, and what it really means to maintain authorship as an illustrator.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why discomfort around AI is healthy
• The difference between assistance and authorship
• How AI can quietly shift from convenience to dependency
• Why the process—not just the product—is central to illustration
• Why “drawing the line” is literally part of our job
• Two reflection questions to check your relationship to AI

SHOW LINKS

• Paul Kingsnorth's Substack — https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com
• In the podcast I mistakenly said his Substack was called Pilgrims in the Machine. It's actually called the Abbey of Misrule, which is way more badass.
• Paul Kingsnorth's website — https://www.paulkingsnorth.net
• Rethinking Creativity in the Age of AI — A more pro-AI conversation on The Future with Chris Do and Jodie Cook — https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-futur-with-chris-do/id1209219220?i=1000737893787

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Thanks as always for supporting the podcast. Patreon and Paid Spotify Supporters make it possible for me keep doing this!

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

• My New Book! Drawing is Important! — tomfroese.com/links — look for the green book cover
• Work and Classes — tomfroese.com
• Instagram — instagram.com/mrtomfroese
• Daily Drawings — instagram.com/drawingisimportant

CREDITS

• Music and Cues by Mark Allan Falk — semiathletic on Linktree

DRAWING IS IMPORTANT — NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

My new book, Drawing Is Important, is your guide to making drawing a meaningful daily habit. Through stories, insights, and exercises, it helps you draw more often—with less pressure and more joy. Available Spring 2026 — Pre-order now! The first 500 orders get a free hand-signed book plate! Look for "get pre-order prizes" after clicking the link.

Interview with Raymond Biesinger

How do you defend your creative work when clients underpay, misuse your images, or ignore copyright entirely?

In this episode, I talk with Montréal-based illustrator, artist, and author Raymond Biesinger, whose new book 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off (Drawn + Quarterly, 2025) is part memoir, part self-defence guide for independent creatives.
Raymond pulls back the curtain on wage theft, unauthorized usage, blurred legal lines, and the everyday realities illustrators face when protecting their work — and their livelihood.

This is a wide-ranging, candid conversation about money, boundaries, professionalism, and what it really takes to survive as an illustrator today.

🙏 A huge thank-you to all paid supporters on Patreon — without you, this show wouldn’t exist.

IN THIS EPISODE

• What “being ripped off” really means (hint: it’s not just stylistic copying)
• Why wage theft is rampant in the creative industries
• The blurry, case-by-case nature of copyright enforcement
• How creatives can strategically bluff to protect their work
• Why talking openly about money is essential for healthier creative careers
• The role of mood, timing, and resources in deciding whether to pursue a dispute
• How Raymond developed his signature collage-driven style
• The surprising story of a fan who copied his style — and how it turned into something positive
• What Raymond hopes independent creatives will take away from the book

SHOW LINKS

Raymond Biesinger
Website — https://fifteen.ca
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/raymondbiesinger
📕 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off (Drawn + Quarterly, 2025) —  https://drawnandquarterly.com/books/9-times-my-work-has-been-ripped-off/
📘 305 Lost Buildings of Canada — Goose Lane Editions — https://gooselane.com/products/305-lost-buildings-of-canada?_pos=1&_psq=305+lost&_ss=e&_v=1.0

From Tom
🎨 SLO-FI Illustrations (new Skillshare class) — 30 days free: https://skl.sh/4nbo3KT
📗 Drawing is Important — now available for preorder: https://geni.us/DrawingisImportant

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

You can help Thoughts on Illustration grow by:
• Sharing the episode with a friend
• Leaving a rating or review
• Following the show
• Becoming a paid supporter on Spotify or on Patreon — https://patreon.com/tomfroese

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

Website — https://www.tomfroese.com
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/mrtomfroese
Daily Drawings — https://www.instagram.com/drawingisimportant

CREDITS

Music and cues by Mark Allan Falk — https://linktr.ee/semiathletic

What is the secret to making cohesive illustrations? Also known as unity and harmony, this is the elusive quality that makes your illustration feel "whole". In this episode, I look at why that sense of unity is harder to achieve in digital work, and how thinking in terms of physical media and physical reproduction methods can bring your images together. 

I introduce what I call The Five Stars of Cohesiveness—Purpose, Drawing Style, Medium, Reproduction Method, and Application—and show how, when these align, your work gains that solid, self-contained presence we all chase. Using Ben Shahn’s The Shape of Content as a case study (read on for visual examples), I unpack how medium and black-only printing worked hand-in-hand to create unusually cohesive results—and how we can borrow that logic in our digital workflows. 

If you’ve struggled to make your digital illustrations feel unified—and want a concrete framework to diagnose why—this episode is for you.

IN THIS EPISODE

• “Truth to materials” — keyword materials
• The Five Stars of Cohesiveness
• How physical constraints shape shape your style—and why limitless tools can derail it
• Case study: Ben Shahn’s expressive linework printed black-only in The Shape of Content
• Why your chosen medium is the central star, influencing both idea and outcome
• Illustrating for print (even when your art never gets printed)
• Try This: would your piece hold up in black-only? as a 2–3 colour Riso print?
• Classes and resource recommendations

SHOW LINKS

• Ben Shahn — The Shape of Content (book) — https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674302426
• “Illustration” (definition/context) — general reference — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illustration
• My Skillshare: Illustrating for Letterpress (technical limits → clearer decisions) — https://www.tomfroese.com/teaching/impress-me
• Slo-Fi Illustrations (analogue paradigms in a digital flow) — https://www.tomfroese.com/teaching/slofiillustrations
• Di Ujdi — Introduction to Risograph Printing (layered colour thinking) — https://skl.sh/47BXNm5

HOW TO SUPPORT / LISTEN

If you’d like to support this podcast and hear the full version of monologue episodes like this one:

• Join on Patreon for as low as $3/month

• Become a paid subscriber on Spotify ($2.99/month)

• I also post monologues as full articles on Medium.

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

• My New Book! Drawing is Important! — tomfroese.com/links — look for the green book cover
• Work and Classes — tomfroese.com
• Instagram — instagram.com/mrtomfroese
• Daily Drawings — instagram.com/drawingisimportant
• 
  

CREDITS

• Music and Cues by Mark Allan Falk — semiathletic on Linktree
• 
  

——————

DRAWING IS IMPORTANT — NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

My new book, Drawing Is Important, is your guide to making drawing a meaningful daily habit. Through stories, insights, and exercises, it helps you draw more often—with less pressure and more joy. Available Spring 2026 — Pre-order now! The first 500 orders get a free hand-signed book plate! Look for "get pre-order prizes" after clicking the lin

How does one become a professional cartoonist? In this episode, I talk with New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro, whose sharp wit clever drawings have kept readers laughing (and thinking) for more than fifteen years.

Toro’s debut book, And to Think We Started as a Book Club (out now from Simon & Schuster), gathers the best of his cartoons from over a decade and a half at The New Yorker. In our conversation, we dig into the realities of professional cartooning — from the weekly grind of submissions and rejection, to the balance between writing and drawing, and the creative fire that keeps artists like Tom doing it anyway.

🙏 Thank you to all paid supporters on Patreon — without your support, this would be an expensive hobby. Thank you!

🟢 Listen on Spotify | 🟣 Listen on Apple Podcasts | 🔴 Listen/Watch on YouTube

Cover of And to Think We Started as a Book Club …

IN THIS EPISODE

What it’s really like to be a New Yorker cartoonist — and why rejection is part of the job

How the relationship between writing and drawing defines the cartoon form

The secret to making a success New Yorker-worthy cartoon

Why embracing imperfection keeps art alive

How Tom feels about his body of work from the past 15 years

SHOW LINKS

Tom Toro’s Website — https://www.tomtoro.com

Tom Toro on Instagram — www.instagram.com/tbtoro

📕 And to Think We Started as a Book Club (Simon & Schuster, Oct 7 2025) — https://publishing.andrewsmcmeel.com/book/and-to-think-we-started-as-a-book-club/

SLO-FI Illustrations (my new Skillshare class) — GET 30 DAYS FREE WHEN USING THIS LINK — https://skl.sh/4nbo3KT

📗 Drawing is Important — https://geni.us/DrawingisImportant

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

You can show your appreciation for the Thoughts on Illustration podcast by:

Sharing with your friends on social media

Liking / Following / Subscribing

Leaving a review on Apple Podcasts

Becoming a paid supporter on Patreon — patreon.com/tomfroese

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

Work and Classes — http://www.tomfroese.com

Instagram — http://www.instagram.com/mrtomfroese

Daily Drawings — http://www.instagram.com/drawingisimportant

CREDITS

Music and cues by Mark Allan Falk — http://linktr.ee/semiathletic

Thanks for reading Thoughts on Illustration with Mr. Tom Froese! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Looking to Get Into Illustration? Here’s How to Begin.

NEW—I am now offering free previews of Monologue episodes. This will help you decide if subscribing on Patreon / Spotify is right for you.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an Illustrator’s Starter Pack that could get you up and running as an illustrator ASAP? The reality is that any attempts to find a fast track into illustration could actually slow you down. In this episode, I share my SMART System: five paradigms (Styles, Markets, Applications, Reasons, Techniques) that help you get specific about what you want to make and where it belongs. Instead of hunting for the perfect gear or foolproof course list, SMART gives you a clear way to map your starting point.

If you’ve been overwhelmed by tools, apps, or conflicting advice—and you just want a concrete way to begin—this episode is for you.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why gear and classes alone won’t make you an illustrator
• The SMART System overview
• Styles vs. Techniques: how they relate and why they’re not the same thing
• Markets vs. Applications: who buys the work vs. where the work lives
• Reasons (purpose): the “why” that sharpens every brief
• The closest thing to a starter pack? — (iPad + Apple Pencil + Procreate)
• How to use SMART to choose your next practice project and reduce decision paralysis
• Two starter-pack parables: first-aid kits and flimsy badminton sets
• As always (from now on), a reflection prompt to help you turn my thoughts into your actions!

SHOW LINKS

• Malika Favre (style reference) — malikafavre.com
• Hervé Tullet (style reference) — herve-tullet.com
• John Roman, 45 Markets of Illustration (markets overview)
• What is Risograph Printing? (technique primer) — risottostudio.com
• Procreate (iPad app) — procreate.art
• My New Skillshare Class — SLO-FI Illustrations

HOW TO LISTEN/READ

If you’d like to hear the full version of monologue episodes like this one:

• Join on Patreon for as low as $3/month
• Become a paid subscriber on Spotif ($2.99/month)
• This is also available as a story on Medium for paid members on that platform.

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

Work and Classes — tomfroese.comInstagram — instagram.com/mrtomfroeseDaily Drawings — instagram.com/drawingisimportant

CREDITS

Music and Cues by Mark Allan Falk — Semiathletic on Linktree

What happens when you bravely create from what matters most to you—even when you’re not sure others will understand? In this episode, I talk with artist and author ⁠Suzy Ultman⁠, whose work blends joy, vulnerability, and cultural identity in a way that’s both incredibly specific and widely relatable.

Suzy is the creator of a series of Jewish-themed board books for Penguin Workshop — ⁠I Like Your Chutzpah⁠, ⁠Shabbat Shalom⁠, and It’s a Mitzvah! — and in our conversation, we explore the story behind these books: the experiences that shaped them, the fears Suzy had about putting herself out there, and what it means to lead with joy even when it’s rooted in something much deeper.

IN THIS EPISODE

• How Suzy went from client-based work to building a licensing brand around her own voice
• Why she was initially afraid to make books that reflected something deeply meaningful to her
• Why she sees herself as a bridge (middle child, anyone!?)
• What it looks like to make joyful work rooted in meaning, emotionally layered, and honest
• Suzy’s advice for artists who want to create from a deeper place but aren’t sure where to start

REFLECTION PROMPT

What’s something you’ve been afraid to share in your creative work — and what might change if you let it in?

SHOW LINKS

• Suzy Ultman’s Website — https://www.suzyultman.com/
  
• It’s a Mitzvah! (Penguin Workshop, Sept 2, 2025) https://www.suzyultman.com/shop/p/mitzvahbook
  
• Suzy on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/suzyultman
  
• Paper Doll Parade – Chronicle Books — https://www.suzyultman.com/paper-doll-parade
  
• Friendship Carousel – Chronicle Books — https://www.suzyultman.com/friendship-carousel-bts

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

You can show your appreciation for the Thoughts on Illustration podcast by:

1. Sharing with your friends on social media
2. Liking/Following/Subscribing
3. Leaving a review on Apple Podcasts
4. Becoming a paid supporter on Patreon — patreon.com/tomfroese

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

Work and Classes — http://www.tomfroese.com
Instagram — http://www.instagram.com/mrtomfroese
Daily Drawings — http://www.instagram.com/drawingisimportant

CREDITS

Music and cues by Mark Allan Falk — http://linktr.ee/semiathletic