While scanning the upcoming class offerings at the School for Visual Design a couple of months ago, I came across an entry that looked promising: Experimental Drawing. It looked like a great way to break free from the rigid “same old” of some of my art-making patterns. Problem was, it was only being offered on campus during work hours. Bummer. Then, a month later, it became available as a condensed one-night class. A one night crash course, being better than nothing at all, I signed up.

Steve Brodner was one of my first illustration heroes. I just loved his work and his unique fluid style. While the creation of the Internet has generally been regarded as a bad move, it does have its upsides—one of which is that it connects people who in the Old Days would never have met. In this way, I discovered that I could take classes from Steve because he taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. During those classes, I would jot down things he said as we students scribbled away in our sketchbooks. I’ve collected some of that wisdom here.