Meet Chris Dudley

Chris , thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Over time, we all develop a way of seeing the world. As an artist it’s important to see what others don’t see. You learn to appreciate things as a whole, but also its individual parts. As you walk through life, you are always gathering creative information as future reference material. This is from what you see and interactions you have with the people and environments around you. This provides me with an endless visual library, which is creative “capital” to “spend” on art projects.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
The bulk of our time is spent working with illustration clients to bring their projects to life, however, we work on range of creative projects to which we apply our skillset. (art, illustration and graphic design)

We have worked with authors, schools, actors, recording artists, DJ’s, City & State sponsored Projects all the way to Fortune 500 Companies!

I recently wrote and illustrated a book with dancer/actor Michael Chambers (Breakin’ Movie) called “Lil Boogaloo Shrimp and the Clean Sweep”. It bridges the gap between adults that remember the 80’s and kid’s today. It promotes priority and responsibility using breakdancing and also highlights its debut in the 2024 Olympics.

“Lil Boogaloo Shrimp and the Clean Sweep” is available at www.hudsondawnpublishing.com and on Amazon.

We currently have a lot of projects in the works, so stay tuned!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Consistency, understanding and action!

It’s important to realize that you have to get at least “good enough” to expect client work. Often newer artists expect clients to come when they have not yet exhibited the skillset a client would desire. We have to establish a body of work that shows consistency in quality and ability.

It is imperative to become a “relative expert” in your field. Clients are relying on our ability and expertise. We should have a deep understanding of our craft and how to effectively apply our skills to the client’s needs.

Artists make art! Don’t wait to be asked to do a project. If no one is asking, create a project and complete it.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
There are a few, but I truly enjoyed the book “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. Artists, musicians and athletes are often given praise for automatically having their skillset, yet no one says this to landscapers, carpenters, teachers, etc… “Outliers” truly highlights that even if one has a few inherent qualities, they still have to put in the work to improve. There is no getting around it. It takes a particularly significant amount of deliberate practice and execution to become exceptionally good at ANYTHING!