Cory Brickly

When did you first think about art as something you wanted to do? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors?

When I was a kid, I think as early as kindergarten, I had it in my head that I wanted to be either a comic book or comic strip artist. My parents and teachers, all the way up through middle school, were always very supportive of my interest, and I distinctly remember being equally fueled by both encouragement and criticism. I remember showing my parents a drawing and asking if it was as good as a real comic book artist’s, and having them diplomatically tell me that I was “getting there,” then stubbornly going off and doing more drawings and asking the same question. I think eventually to get me to stop they finally acquiesced and told me I was as good as a real comic book artist.

What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up? What were your influences?

I was quiet and shy but very dedicated to my hobbies and interests, most of which were computer-related. I think from an early age I found that working hard on something to impress other people was a way I could engage with others while also circumnavigating the social anxiety I felt.

I grew up in State College, PA, the hometown to Penn State University. It’s an interesting blend of liberal academia, rural countryside and college partying.

When I was a kid I was mostly influenced by comics, largely Spiderman and Calvin and Hobbes.

How has the background you got at the University of Arts played a part in your career?

Before UArts I went to Penn State for film studies, so I was coming into the program with a head full of knowledge of avant-garde cinema, but essentially no knowledge of the world of illustration. UArts helped a lot in filling in my education and gave me a ton of incredible mentors and peers I’m friends with to this day (Also now co-workers as I’m starting my second-year teaching there). I think more than anything it gave me direction and focus and an entry point into the industry that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

You’ve worked in a couple different genres with your clients. How did that evolve and was that an asset for you or a problem getting those clients?

For the first few years I just put myself out there a ton and didn’t say no to anything. Over time I’ve developed a moody/eerie vibe, but I’ve also done a few more light-hearted/whimsical pieces I’ve enjoyed. I’m not sure why I was picked for those jobs given my portfolio but I’m happy to do them!

How do you stay up to date on styles/process outside of your projects? What do you recommend to younger artists who are just developing their portfolios?

Personally I just kind of pursue whatever techniques/skills are of particular interest to me, either with a personal project or by shoehorning it into

client work. Twitter and Instagram are a huge wealth of inspiration that will inevitably lead to you trying new things. For me personally, I’m glad I really buckled down and learned the ins and outs of figure drawing and portraits about two years into being a freelancer—I think that’s improved my work greatly.

You do so many different types of art and design. What is your favorite area to work in?

Lately in my personal work I’ve been very into doing spooky rustic scenes as well as more fantasy-oriented artwork. I think any project where I’m painting a pretty person in a moody environment is my sweet spot.

Can you explain what the experience of working on animation projects is all about for you?

It’s very time consuming! I enjoy doing the work but it requires a lot of effort and detail. Mostly I’ve been hired to do motion illustrations where there’s a bit of parallax motion and some small animated element. I start by painting everything in Photoshop and then bringing into After Effects to make it look “3 Dimensional."

Your fantasy artwork is great. Love the “Kid Standing In Front Of A Building” piece. You used a lot of red in that piece. Using high intensity colors is something you do a lot of. Is that intentional or just your personal palette?

Thank you! After awhile I think I’ve realized that I just use red, blue and yellow in every piece. Sometimes the “red” is more pink, sometimes the “blue” skews more green and sometimes the “yellow” is pale or orange, but overall I tend to just do those 3 colors/piece, I guess because it lends itself to a lot of popping contrasts.

What’s going on in your head when you work on a piece/campaign? Your fears, anticipation, confidence, etc. How do you know something is finished?

I think there’s a point in every piece where I start worrying that I’ve gotten worse as an artist. Usually by the end of it when things have been fixed and changed I’ve calmed down, but often as I work I start to wonder if I’m capable of making good art. With client work, usually the piece is “finished” because I’ve hit a deadline, but with personal work (especially the more elaborate it is) I can spend a good week just tweaking and obsessing over details.

I think most directly I’ve glommed onto J.C. Leyendecker and the Stenberg brothers as primary influences. I’m also a huge fan of Rebecca Mock, Sachin Teng and Tomer Hanuka and TRY to be influenced by them, but I don’t know how much it’s rubbed off.

I’m curious about how you choose what to work on. Is there a certain type of project or client you gravitate towards?

Lately I’ve been very lucky that my agents at Debut Art have gotten me a number of YA book covers and I’m really hoping that trend continues, as they’ve easily been my favorite projects of the past year. They perfectly combine my love of portraits/figure drawing and moody vibes.

What do you do to promote yourself and get work?

These days Debut Art finds everything for me! They’ve been wonderful to work with and I owe most of my career/work to them. When I was starting out, I mostly did cold-emails to art directors I found through Agency Access, as well as more personalized e-mails to a select few dream clients.

What’s the future hold for you? Any ultimate goal?

I’d love to carve out some time to do more personal work and explore a few ideas I’ve had kicking around, but for now I’m (very fortunately) busy with client work. I’m always open for more book covers!

If you could meet anyone in the field you’re in who would it be and why?

I would love to ask Tomer Hanuka how he goes about stylizing figures or Kilian Eng how he comes up with concepts and compositions, but I have a feeling the answer would be “a lifetime of hard work and practice.”

"I really buckled down and learned the ins and outs of figure drawing and portraits about 2 years into being a freelancer—I think that’s improved my work greatly."