David Malki ! is the cartoonist and creator behind Wondermark, the inventively playful and poignant comic that we’ve linked below—so do yourself a huge favor and check it out right after listening to the episode. In addition to his creative endeavors with Wondermark, David was also co-editor of the Machine of Death series of fiction anthologies and is presently the director of games development at Cut.com. Throughout this conversation we discuss developing artistic taste, finding your audience, interacting with feedback, cultivating patience in the midst of process, and deriving your style from your work. Having been at this Wondermark expression for almost 18 years now, David’s made it clear to the universe that he’s here to develop his craft for the long game. He has some insightful reflections on process and building a creative life that he was generous to share with us, and we can’t wait for you to hear them.