Meet Tony Lockhart

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tony Lockhart. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tony below.

Hi Tony, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
When I have a creative block, I step away and try to do non-creative activities that can inspire me or aid in creativity. I leave my creative bubble I am often in and go live a little. A few activities that have helped me were simple as playing board games with friends, people watching, music bingo, going to a concert, walking a trail, archery, or going for a drive. I also make sure these activities are not taxing on the mind as well, so my mind can un-wrinkle in a way.

I discovered during these moments while living in life I am often inspired, I think subconsciously when I am not focused on the creative problem I am stuck on, I take in so much from my surroundings then boom! I’m struck at any given moment and have to write my ideas down on my phone or sketch it out on the nearest napkin.

Over time I learned not being creative has helped me be more creative. Live experiences keep the creative gears oiled, I just have to shut down the Mac and touch grass.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m an illustrator with a niche in branded illustrations, concept illustrations for video projects, and augmented reality often used for events. My brand is CreativeSnark, an easter egg to past snarky and humorous illustrations I would sell as stickers.

As of late, I’ve shifted most of my focus to developing augmented reality experiences with Adobe Aero for print and events such as galas or conferences like the 2024 American Advertising Awards or Adobe Create Now. I can never get used to the reactions of viewers and can not help but feel like I create realities for brands. This is the nerd coming out of me but I joke with my friends that I have the reality infinity stone from the past Marvel Studios films. This has led me to create my own Adobe Aero course with Udemy called, “Adobe Aero for Beginners: Getting Started with AR.” I wanted to share this knowledge so fellow creatives can learn Aero and start creating their own AR experiences or realities.

A few notable aspects of my illustration career are working with mental health nonprofits like the Scars Foundation with Godsmack. I am a huge advocate for mental health and love to help others connect by using my illustrations they all can relate to and as I have witnessed, birthed great conversations on social media.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think the three skills that helped me get where I am today are taking chances, reaching out to those who inspire you, and being provident.

Learn to take chances especially early on in your life when you have little to lose. I often say you sometimes just need to close your eyes and take a leap before the fear or self-doubt sets in. For example, back in college, I ran off to California before graduating with only $200 to my name and walked around from agency to agency talking to whoever I could the second day to see if I had what it took to make it in design as my exposure before was just my classmates and by the end of that second day, I had a freelance contract.

Second, do not be afraid to reach out or be intimidated by your favorite illustrator or designer. The best thing I ever did in college was emailing my favorite illustrator just to ask for advice and to my surprise he reached back out and not only gave me advice, he somewhat became a full-on mentor and helped me level up my vector illustration skills. This has worked many times with other illustrators I looked up to, even one from Marvel. You have to have a hunger for continued education.

My last advice would be to understand that timing is everything and this is where being provident comes in handy, always be ready to be caught off guard cause opportunity rarely pops up when we are ready. As a creative I understand we are always updating our portfolio, resume, and so on so just make sure you are in a place where you don’t mind being seen. You may know it’s not done but others often won’t but they may see just enough.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
My two close friends Marissa and Stephanie have been very helpful when I needed to overcome challenges. Despite living hours away they have been my grounders when I am self-doubting, overwhelmed, and frustrated with clients.

Many do not realize I second-guess myself constantly while being guilty of losing myself in my work and over-exerting myself. They always remind me that I need to just slow down and go live that life I mentioned earlier.

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