Even if you don’t know Joe Kulka, you probably know his work. He’s an experienced illustrator, an award-winning children’s book author, and a pillar of the Moore community.
Through more than 20 years of work with the USDA Forest Service, Kulka has created illustrations and picture books featuring iconic characters like Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl. He’s also worked with brands like Sony, MTV Animation, Scholastic and more. He began teaching at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design in 2010 before moving to Moore in 2012. He’s been illustrating professionally for nearly 35 years, and has taught hundreds of Illustration students to be more confident artists.
Read on to learn more about Joe!
What’s your earliest memory of being creative or knowing that you wanted to do something creative with your life?
I think it was around sixth or seventh grade. I loved to draw. My mom was working at a pants factory and was talking with one of her coworkers about how I was drawing, even though I had never really considered it to be a career. Her coworker had a nephew who was an illustrator and lived nearby, so she reached out to him. He agreed to give me lessons on Saturday mornings—he told me as long as I showed up, he wouldn’t charge me. I showed up all through high school, and we became good friends.
I really learned what it was like to be an illustrator. That was invaluable to me because at that age, I got to see someone actually working. One time, he took me with him to Philadelphia to drop off work to his client, and I ended up living a block away from their when I was older. It was just really cool. I really knew that’s what I wanted to do.
Who is the artist or designer who has influenced you most and why?
Robert Heller, the illustrator who took me under his wing, is definitely one. Once I became an illustrator, one of the people I really admired was Charles Santore.
He had a studio right around the corner from Moore. When I graduated from University of the Arts, I got an apartment and would walk past his studio all the time. My friends would call me to grab a beer, and I would start walking to where they were. I always gave myself a test: If Charles Santore was working, I went back home to my studio to work. I missed out on a lot, but it was well worth it.
His draftsmanship was impeccable. When I got to know him and visited him in the studio, the other thing that stood out was his work ethic. He didn’t cut any corners. He would do exactly what I ask my students to do: the thumbnails, the value studies, and the color comps. That’s what produces good work. He was so versatile, skilled, and professional.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve done recently, professionally or otherwise?
Up until last year, I would say the most interesting thing was being able to illustrate Smokey Bear for the Forest Service. I’m really blessed that I’ve been able to get that opportunity and really proud of the fact that they’ve been coming back to me for 20 years to do that.
I’ve always been a fan of author James Patterson, and we have a book coming out together on October 15 that we co-wrote and I illustrated. It’s called Fox is Coming! and it’ll be available on Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble and more.
Having his name attached to anything that I worked on is super surreal to me. I had some sort of connection to him when I reached out—he picked my 2007 book Wolf’s Coming! as a great illustrated picture book for his website Read Kiddo Read—but I never thought I would hear from him.
When he called me, he said something that really put me at ease. He said, “Here’s the way I work. If your idea is better than mine, we go with yours. If your idea is as good as mine, we go with yours. If your idea is worse than mine, we go with mine.” That’s the way it was. He’s a real gentleman and really willing to take ideas in. He was really into our collaboration, which was so nice.
What is it like in your classroom at Moore?
My classroom is the best classroom at Moore [laughs]. First and foremost, I try to make my students feel comfortable. I let them know that in my class, we’re going to work really hard, we’re going to learn a lot of things, and we’re going to have the opportunity to have some fun. I try to make them feel at ease and break any tension.
I think we’re really lucky that we have professors who can do this at Moore, but it’s really important to be able to demonstrate what you’re talking about. You have to be able to get up there and draw what you’re trying to show them. When I do my demos, I hope my students see that I’m practicing, not just preaching.
I love illustration. I want to see my students become illustrators. Once they know that’s the motivation behind why I teach, I think it becomes a lot easier for them to accept the feedback that I give them. We’re trying to get them to improve, so I’m always going to give them a reason why I think something is or isn’t working.
If Moore has a mascot, what would it be?
I like to trout fish, so for me, it would probably be a rainbow trout. I think it would fit with our community, but it also makes me happy, which is the most important thing.
Artwork and photos courtesy of Joe Kulka.
