I heard about Will Carsola from Cass and Cory at Yes, Baby on Magnolia. When they told me he had designed the product logo for Liquid Death and was a Burbank resident I knew I had to talk to him. They gave me his Instagram handle and I reached out. I didn’t hear back. I went to his website and his Contact page was an invitation to watch the movie Contact. I loved his sense of humor but was frustrated trying to get a hold of him. I finally got his email and was overjoyed to hear back. Despite his initial aloof nature he was immediately accommodating and friendly. We agreed on a time to meet and sat down together. His beard made an impression as did his height and yet he did not seem the type of person who would create a murderous dog or melting skulls.
I had to ask about those melting skulls? What is your background?
“I grew up about an hour north of Richmond in Bowling Green a small old town. While my family was religious, I was the kid that asked the kind of questions the teacher couldn’t answer. I’ve always felt it’s important to respect the beliefs of others no matter what religion they choose, but early on I knew religion just wasn’t for me. The reason I was asking questions as a child to begin with, was because I was curious. I was seeking answers to what I still think is one of the most interesting things there is, the mysteries of life and death and whether there is a beyond or not. That originated with a ghost experience I had as a young child, around the age of 5. I don’t rule it out to be a dream but I do remember very vividly a green floating head hovering in the dark corner of my room, looking down on me and speaking the same sentence in an unfamiliar language over and over, for hours. This has influenced much of my work.”
Will moved to the city of Richmond at 21 and spent the majority of his 20’s there. While there he was making sketch comedy with Dave Stewart for an L.A. based sketch comedy show called Stupid Face which was created by their friends Laban Pheidias and Ted Newsome. After that first season they decided to move to L.A. Will’s parents were always supportive of his art but they weren’t very happy when he decided to drop out of art school with a year left to go. He spent all the money he had on a used computer and started teaching himself how to edit. Along the way, he realized that he could animate by drawing in photoshop and editing in final cut. But animation would not become his focus until years later.
“Mr. Pickles started as a one sentence idea that I wrote in 2012 which was then expanded on. Dave and I used to write just to make each other laugh and Mr. Pickles was supposed to be a parody of Lassie. It wasn’t even my favorite idea, but when we went in to pitch ideas to Adult Swim they liked it the best. Mr. Pickles was actually based on Dave’s dog Edie, may he rest in peace.”
Mr. Pickles ran for three seasons plus Will and Dave did a spin off called “Momma Named Me Sheriff.” These years influenced Will and gave him a lot of recognition which brought him to the attention of an up-and-coming company, Liquid Death.
Liquid Death’s concept was to go counter to all the false advertising, the use of pleasant images to sell harmful products. To flip the marketing idea on its head. Will Liked that/ He created the skull logo and became the Creative Director responsible for writing, producing, and drawing the art for social media and beyond.
“Meditation plays a big part in my art. I sit, close my eyes and imagine there is one star. I will feel jolts of energy, see visions of other worldly beings but they are coming from a place of peace. While others may have a visceral reaction to my art, I know it comes from that place of peace and fun.”
It was 2019 when Will and his significant other artist Samantha Jones, moved to Burbank and fell in love with it. It even held a personal meaning in that Will’s Grandmother was a secretary for Walt Disney. In 2020 they had a son who now, at 5, has developed his own artistic style creating many drawings each day influenced heavily by horror movies, music, abandoned buildings and more. They often spend time drawing together.
Will loves being a dad – being weird – growing and exploring.
“I know that my art comes from an underlying peaceful source, besides skulls are fun to draw and beautiful in their own way.”
The story isn’t over by a long shot. Will’s Significant other is an artist in her own right and we did an interview with them to feature the whole artistic Burbank Family.
See both Full articles in www.theburbankblabla.com/published
