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.