Lightcatchers: Behind the Scenes with Jacob Cowdin

We’re so excited to share our newest creation with families like yours. Lightcatchers, a podcast of original stories written for kids, has been a labor of love for our team.

We recently sat down with Jacob Cowdin, the show’s art director and illustrator, to discover the process of bringing this imaginative world to life.

What inspired you as you created the visual look and feel of Lightcatchers?

The look and feel was more of a refresh than a complete-from-scratch brand package. There were things, like Stinger typeface, that were already in use that were working. I let those things, and the ‘Lightcatcher’s’ general desire to bring fun things into existence, inspire me. Visually, I was inspired by some crossover of Astro Boy and these posters I found online of the Michelin Tire Guy in a space helmet.

What did you enjoy most in illustrating and designing the Lightcatchers world?

Ultimately, the work was just fun. Cody gave me a lot of creative freedom and so it just kind of felt like playing in the sandbox. It is an iterative process though, and I look forward to keeping on playing and growing that world.

Who is your favorite character?

Overall Bob is probably my favorite to draw, because of his quirk and stylistic ties to early animation. But I realized after I had finished drawing Zoey that she kind of looked like my mom when she was little, so there are things like that that make choosing favorites kind of hard. There are different qualities about all of them that I enjoy. However, I do particularly love this dolphin that I came up with, and the cat that you might notice from time to time.

What do you hope parents and their kids get out of Lightcatchers?

I just hope that it’s a space that inspires creativity, joy, and laughter. We suppress those things enough in society, I want this to be a place where they thrive, no matter the age of the viewer.