The
Yondr Studio
Podcast
The Yondr Studio podcast is a series of conversations between illustrator and graphic designer, Nathan Yoder, and other professionals in the communication arts. Listen in for discussions on the art and craft of visual communication and the technologies that are shaping our world today.Subscribe on these platforms and wherever you get your podcasts:
About
Nathan (that’s me) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1989 and raised in Pryor—a small town northeast of there. I have been drawing as far back as I can remember although in the 8th grade, an invitation to draw t-shirt designs for a local screen printer was my initiation into the world of graphic design.
After high school, I earned an AAS in graphic design from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology and worked at a small branding agency in Tulsa for a time. While there, designing on a computer, I began longing for the days I had spent drawing with pencil in hand.
It was 2010 and the “hand-made” movement was well underway. Encouraged by many whom I saw integrating traditional media back into their work, I began pursuing hand lettering and illustration and sharing my work online. In 2013 that work was noticed by a startup clothing brand in Southern California who hired me as their lead artist. In 2014 I relocated to Portland, Oregon, and opened up shop as Yondr Studio. While there, I met my wonderful wife, Katherine, and in 2016 I relocated to the Seattle area where we now reside with our three children.
Today, I run Yondr Studio out of my home studio in Kingston, WA.
After high school, I earned an AAS in graphic design from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology and worked at a small branding agency in Tulsa for a time. While there, designing on a computer, I began longing for the days I had spent drawing with pencil in hand.
It was 2010 and the “hand-made” movement was well underway. Encouraged by many whom I saw integrating traditional media back into their work, I began pursuing hand lettering and illustration and sharing my work online. In 2013 that work was noticed by a startup clothing brand in Southern California who hired me as their lead artist. In 2014 I relocated to Portland, Oregon, and opened up shop as Yondr Studio. While there, I met my wonderful wife, Katherine, and in 2016 I relocated to the Seattle area where we now reside with our three children.
Today, I run Yondr Studio out of my home studio in Kingston, WA.
Reading Lists
Illustration & Process
Books on drawing, pen drawing, wood engraving, and the practice of illustration.- Beedham, R. John: Wood Engraving
- Ellenberger, W.: Atlas of Animal Anatomy
- Graphic Artists Guild: Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (look for latest edition)
- Guptill, Arthur L.: Rendering In Pen and Ink
- Hood, Amy & Jennifer Hood: Freelance, And Business, And Stuff
- Loomis, Andrew: Creative Illustration
- Loomis, Andrew: Successful Drawing
- Maginnis, C.D.: Pen Drawing
- Monteiro, Mike: Design Is a Job
- Norling, Ernest R.: Perspective Made Easy
- Pennell, Joseph: Pen Drawing and Pen Draughtsmen
Media & Technology
Books on the effects of media & technology on art and society.-
Benjamin, Walter: The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media
- Christian, Brian: The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values
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Ellul, Jacques: Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes
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Ellul, Jacques: The Technological Society
- Kurzweil, Ray: The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
- Kurzweil, Ray: The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI
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McLuhan, Marshall: Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man
- Meerloo, Dr. Joost A.M.: The Rape of the Mind: The Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide, and Brainwashing
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Mumford, Lewis: Art and Technics
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Mumford, Lewis: The Myth of The Machine (2 volumes)
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Postman, Neil: Amusing Ourselves To Death
- Postman, Neil: Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology
- Suleyman, Mustafa: The Coming Wave
AI, Power, and Our Future
Philosophy & Culture
Books on philosophy, art criticism, and sociology that have informed my views on art.- Aristotle: Poetics
- Barzun, Jacques: From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life
- Barzun, Jacques: The Use and Abuse of Art
- Bayles, David and Ted Orland: Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
- Berry, Wendell: The Unsettling of America
- Boorstin, Daniel J.: The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America
- Fromm, Erich: Escape from Freedom
- Fromm, Erich: The Sane Society
- Gasset, Jose Ortega y: The Dehumanization of Art
- Harari, Yuval Noah: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
- Harari, Yuval Noah: Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
- Mumford, Lewis: Art and Technics
- Lewis, C.S.: Good Work and Good Works (Essay)
- Orwell, George: 1984
- Orwell, George: Animal Farm
- Postman, Neil: The Disappearance of Childhood
- Schiller, Friedrich: On Naïve and Sentimental Poetry
- Sontag, Susan: Against Interpretation - And Other Essays
- Sowell, Thomas: A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles
- Tocqueville, Alexis de: Democracy In America
- Trueman, Carl R.: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution
Theology
Books on Christianity that have informed my theological views on art and the culture.- Chesterton, G. K.: The Everlasting Man
- Chesterton, G. K.: What’s Wrong With The World
- Lewis, C.S.: The Abolition of Man
- Lewis, C.S.: The Inner Ring (Essay)
- Lewis, C.S.: The Poison of Subjectivism (Essay)
- Schaeffer, Francis: Art and the Bible
- Schaeffer, Francis: The God Who Is There
- Schaeffer, Francis: How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture
Biographies
Artist biographies and collected works.-
Carrera, John M.: Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities
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Gresham Books Limited: George Mackley: Wood Engraver
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Uglow, Jenny: Nature’s Engraver: A Life Of Thomas Bewick
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Isaacson, Walter: Leonardo da Vinci
- Reed, Walt: The Magic Pen: Joseph Clement Coll
- Solomon, Deborah: American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell
Noteworthy Artists
Wood Engravers
- Howard Phipps
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Wesley W. Bates
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Thomas Bewick
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Asa Cheffetz
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George Mackley
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Herschel Logan
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Eric Bealer
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Leo Meissner
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Barry Moser
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Sue Scullard
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Fred Geary
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Clare Leighton
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Hans Holbein
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Albrecht Durer
- John F. Greenwood
Pen Draughtsmen
- E. H. Shepard
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Daniel Vierge
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Franklin Booth
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Joseph Clement Coll
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Charles Dana Gibson
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Joseph Pennell
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Maxime Lalanne
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Andrew Lang
Steel & Copperplate Line Engraving
Another great field of work worth studying is that of old postage stamp and currency engravers. The work that has been produced by these artisans is beyond question the pinnacle of line art and can be easily found on Pinterest and various other blogs and stamp collector websites.Online Stores & Resources
Resources
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Archive.org — a great resource for old or out-of-print ebooks.
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Abebooks.com — a great resource for finding hard copies of old or out-of-print books.
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The Wood Engravers Network
- The Society of Wood Engravers
- Barry Moser Wood Engraving Workshop at the University of Washington, 1982 (YouTube)
Art Supplies & Equipment
- McClain’s Printmaking Supply
- Artist and Craftsman Supply
- Paper & Ink Arts — dip pen nibs and supplies
- Contenti — a great resource for engraving tools and equipment
- Rio Grande — same as above
- Steve Lindsay Engraving Tools — engraving vises