Daily Inspiration: Meet Caleb Linden

Today we’d like to introduce you to Caleb Linden

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When I was a kid, I would try to draw as many cartoons, skulls, logos, or flowers that I could. What really solidified my creative path for me was signing up for a graphic design class my mom talked me into taking. After we were taught how to screenprint, I was hooked. The rules were simple: bring in your own shirts and clean up your own mess. Quickly, I started making all sorts of designs for friends and family. From there, I finally figured out what I wanted to do as a career; have fun and design whatever I thought was cool.

I went to Azusa Pacific University for design and met some great people. I ended up showing some digital drawings I was working on to one of my professors, Joe Suzuki, and he instantly told me I need to be posting them to social media. I took him up on it and a few skips from there I was able to get a fairly successful design career going through it. Currently, I work a full-time job for an experiential marketing company, and I do all my freelance and design work in my spare time. Well… Not all of my spare time. Of course, I find all the time I can to spend with my wonderful wife and two crazy toddler boys. Since I’ve become a dad, my main goal is to draw something that they’ll say, “that’s cool, Dada” to. A very big thank you to Samantha, my wife, for taking care of them so I can get as much work done as possible.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
If anyone says it was a smooth road, don’t believe them. I kid, but the road definitely has not been all that smooth. All the late nights staying up until 4AM rather consistently is really catching up to me as I am getting older. I used to have 20/20 vision as well and now I can’t drive without my glasses on. On top of that, I threw my back out a few years ago because I wasn’t exercising or getting out of my chair as often as I should have… Then there’s the wrist pain… I’ve learned how important it is to take care of my body both mentally and physically. Luckily, I am finally taking the steps to be healthy and on top of it. I’ve been boxing, which is honestly just a blast. Outside of health, I have had my fair share of layoffs due to Covid or economic downturns. When you’re the only one bringing in a paycheck every month, it’s a scary place to be sometimes. I thank God everyday we’ve made it through this far.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a designer and illustrator that specializes in logo and brand design. I’m also known to make some outlandish art. My approach is generally a mix between 90s’ surf n’ skate art and 90s’ comic art. Outside of branding, I design all sorts of things: mashups, skateboarding, alternate realities, strange foods, shirt graphics, events creative, and a ton of skulls, knives, and beer.

I’m dang proud that I have consistently put out new work almost everyday on Instagram since November of 2016. At first, I made it a goal of mine to post every single day. During college, I’d get all of my work done and then stay up until about 4AM finishing the drawing and then post it right there. 7 days a week. It wasn’t until about a year ago that I started focusing on my health that I started posting 5 days a week instead. Still staying up late though…

That’s what I would say really helps set me apart from others though. My sheer will and tenacity to get things done. Even in times where creative block will hit, I don’t let it trip me up. You just gotta push through that sorta stuff sometimes. To me, I have an obligation to my over 50K followers and fans to give them art. And that art needs to be GOOD no matter how I am feeling. When I’m walking around throughout the day, I’m always thinking of what my next drawing, design, series, or what-have-you will be. Most importantly, I always write it down.

How do you think about luck?
I’ve had a fair share of luck on social media with my art being shared by many big time brands or celebrities. The first person to reshare my work was Ethan Klein from H3H3 on Youtube back in 2017. That gave me a big break for sure, but it also came with a bunch of hate from people as well. That’s the part they don’t tell you about. Since then, I’ve had the honor to meet and spend some time with a lot of great artists and designers such as Robin Eisenberg, Aaron Draplin, and Froilan Tam.

I’d say I am both lucky and blessed to have a wonderful lil family. Without Samantha, I don’t think I’d even eat throughout the day. I’m lucky to have a wife that take cares of me for real. In addition to that, I’ve been lucky in having some solid friends who support me in anyway they can. As much as I try to lone wolf it, I’m surrounded by people that care. That’s all that matters to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.calebtlinden.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caleblindendesign
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalebLindenArt
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CalebLindenDesign

Image Credits
Celine Jewell