Today we’d like to introduce you to Dylan Goldberger

Hi Dylan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

If I had to sum it up into one word, it would be “skateboarding”. When I was kid, my parents would drive me a few towns over to the closest skate shop, where I could spend hours looking at all the board graphics and stickers. My whole life revolved around skateboarding throughout high school and when I went to undergrad at Pratt in Brooklyn, although it was a great art school, I was mostly happy just to be in one of the greatest skateboarding cities in the US.
I ended up taking a screenprinting class with Dennis McNett because I knew he had done some work in the skateboarding industry. I interned with him for a semester and then worked in his studio for a few years after I graduated. He was the first person I ever met making a living as an artist outside of the traditional gallery setting or corporate design job. He also introduced me to the world of printmaking and I began making small screen print editions of my own work. At the same time, I started getting some small freelance illustration jobs from friends I’ve made throughout the skateboarding industry.

Fast forward a decade, and not much changed… besides some wear and tear on my knees and ankles. I’ve worked as a freelance illustrator for pretty much my whole career and when work was slow, I used that time to create work for myself. In 2020, when the world grinded to a halt, I took that time to create my own brand Dog Gone Studios, an online store for all my art prints, t-shirts, stickers and other fun hand-printed stuff.

Present day, I’m working out of my studio in Greenpoint, splitting my time pretty much down the middle spending half the week on client work, and the other half on Dog Gone Studios. And of course, still trying to find some time to skate on the weekends.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

One of the toughest parts of this journey has been figuring out when to turn down job offers. Back when I was just starting out, I was pumped whenever someone wanted to work with me, I’d say yes to pretty much anything even if the pay was too low or it wasn’t really my style. The bottom line is whatever you put out there is what you’re going to get hired for, so, if I’m not happy with what I’m creating, why even put it in my portfolio, right? Plus, constantly accepting underpaid jobs just meant I had to take on more jobs per month to make a living, leaving no time for the projects I’m truly passionate about. It took many years to realize if I said no to this $250 t-shirt job, and instead took that time to make something for myself, I could end up making ten times that selling a print edition or turning it into a t-shirt.

Two ways that helped me get out of that hole were to- a) set a bottom line rate for your projects and don’t take anything under that, and b) when working with clients now, I always ask that they show me something I’ve done in the past that’s the vibe they like just to make sure we’re on the same page. And you know what, 9 times out of 10 they end up pulling something I created for myself.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I offer a warm handmade look to my illustrations that I think can get lost these days with so much flat vector looking computer generated work. I work in traditional relief printmaking, screen printing, and digital drawing, but try to keep that detailed woodcut linework look consistent no matter what medium I’m using. I love creating animal characters to tell a story in my work through dynamic, motion-filled poses.

On the technical side of things, because of my strong screen printing background, I can create illustrations with minimal colors that I know will translate well when printed on products. I think understanding how to layer spot colors and knowing the capabilities of the printer especially helps the skateboard graphics I create stand out on a wall of boards in a skate shop.

As any creative knows, a whole lot more is going on behind the scenes than just drawing pictures. I take a lot of pride in the wide range of capabilities I taught myself to keep my business running smoothly like creating my website, taking product photos, shooting and editing process videos, branding myself, and designing and screen printing my own products.

Any big plans?

I’d love to get off the computer as much as possible. I know I couldn’t do my job without it, but I’d love to spend some more time this year working with my hands. I’ve been experimenting a bit with collaging and painting on top of old prints and that’s been a nice change of pace.
I organize a holiday artist market and am working with some local bars to try to get that to be a more seasonal thing rather than just once a year.
And something I’m sure that’s on everyone’s list is travel more! I have a few shows I travel to yearly, but it would be nice to add a few more into that rotation. I would also be happy to visit some place new not for work : )

Contact Info:

• Website: https://doggonestudios.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dylanjg
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@doggonestudios
• Other: https://tiktok.com/@doggonestudios

Image Credits

Dylan Goldberger