We’re incredibly excited to announce our 2026 Season-Ales artist ... Dylan Goldberger! Dylan’s process of creating is as off-centered and intricate as the art itself. He blends an analog process of wood carving with digital illustrating to complete pieces that are packed with motion, character, and a love for subcultures like skateboarding and classic country music. Dylan's work has landed on everything from beer cans and concert posters to skateboards and apparel. He’s even collaborated with the likes of Dead & Co., Billy Strings and Sturgill Simpson, along with brands including Nike, Vans and Thrasher.
Rooted in craft, detail, and story, Dylan’s work feels handmade, lived-in, and just a little wild ... a perfect match for our Season-Ales art series. You’ll find his work throughout the year on Czech-Spresso (January – March), Festina Pêche (April – July), Punkin Ale (August – October) and Covered In Nuggs (November – December).
Get to know Dylan in the interview below, and check out his killer portfolio here!
How long have you been an illustrator?
I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember. I went into art school not really thinking about a career, just knowing that if my homework was drawing and painting, I wouldn’t be quite as miserable as I would be doing something else. I was mostly focused on skateboarding every second I could. I guess I would define an illustrator as “drawing as your job,” so the first time I got paid for any of my art was in 2009, during my junior year. I designed a skateboard graphic for my local skate shop, 2nd Nature. It also doubled as my final project for a screenprinting class, so it was rad to get paid for doing homework.
We have a saying we use a lot to talk about our beer – "Analog beer for the digital age." – could you tell us a little bit about how you use analog and digital techniques to create your work?
That’s actually a perfect way to describe how I work. My medium is a mix of 1000 year old woodcut printing and today’s digital painting tools. Ideally, I carve all the linework as a woodcut, scan it, and then finish the coloring digitally. A lot of the posters, skateboards, and T-shirt projects I do need to be set up for screen printing, and working digitally makes it easy to keep all the color layers separate. It also allows me to make quick edits for clients without having to redo an entire carved block. Some projects just have too quick of a turnaround, so I’ve also developed a digital drawing technique to mimic the woodcut look. But if I have the time, I’d much rather spend a week carving than staring at a screen.
How is approaching posters based on beer brands different than, say, a movie, a band or a specific personality? Does your process change at all?
It honestly feels very similar. No matter what the project is, the first thing I do is some form of research and gathering of reference material. For a concert poster, I’ll often look at lyrics or research the venue or its city to influence my sketches, and for a beer label my influences would be the flavors, ingredients, or season. Designing the four cans for Dogfish Head felt very similar to how I approach a skateboard series, where you want to find a way to make each board unique while still fitting into the overall theme.
How much input do your clients give on content?
It totally depends on the project. Branding projects usually involve more back and forth and tend to be more heavily art directed, whereas with posters and skateboard graphics, I’m usually given a bit more creative freedom. I definitely enjoy being able to explore my own ideas and sketches, and I usually end up liking the final illustration more when the client isn’t breathing down my neck making a million revisions.
You’ve worked with a lot of big names, and at some point must have worked with bands or actors or directors that you really love. Do you ever step back, pinch yourself, and think, “Wow, it’s really cool to be a part of this creative world”?
Yeah, high school Dylan would have lost his mind if I could go back and tell myself about some of the crazy projects I’d get to work on down the line. I was probably more star-struck by some of the skateboard companies I’ve worked with and the pro boards I got to design, because those were the “celebrities” for me growing up. All of that still comes with a little bit of impostor syndrome that I think most artists have, wondering why they’re reaching out to me for this, when half the time I feel like I’m still winging it.
What do you like to play with when you’re drawing something? Composition, size, color … all of the above?
All of the above to some degree. I feel like I’m comparing every answer to skateboarding, but growing up watching skate videos and looking at so many skate photos in magazines really helped me with my sense of composition, perspective, and the ability to capture motion in a single frame. I struggled the most with color, and I think when I started screen printing and was forced to limit my palette, that really helped me find my color style. Even when working digitally, I limit my colors and work just as I would if I were creating screen print separations.
Who do you admire in illustration, past or present, and why?
Oh man, there are way too many contemporary artists and printmakers I love to name. As bad of a habit as social media can be, it’s also a great source of inspiration, and I love scrolling through and seeing what other artists are up to.
The first illustrators I was really drawn to once again came from the skateboard world. I loved going to the skate shop and looking at all the graphics on the board wall and sticker case. Andy Jenkins, Jeremy Fish, and Jim Phillips always stood out to me the most. Some older artists, who would probably still be classified as contemporary, that I always find myself going back to for inspiration are Heinrich Kley’s sketchbooks and Fritz Eichenberg’s wood engravings.
I also worked as a studio assistant and studied under Dennis McNett AKA Wolfbat, whose work I greatly admire and who is the reason I got into printmaking. He combines his woodcuts and screenprints with sculpture to create these insane, larger than life puppets and costumes.
At Dogfish, we’ve learned to embrace the intersection of art (in liquid form) and business. Was that ever tough for you?
Anyone who freelances full time knows how tough it can be to run your own business. I don’t have an illustration rep or an assistant, so it’s just me handling everything from self promotion and contracts for my client work, to printing, packing, and shipping Dog Gone orders, all on top of actually creating the artwork!
Like I mentioned before, there can also be some creative freedom lost when you’re working only for clients, so it’s important to find time for your own work. When things shut down in 2020 and work came to a halt, I used that time to build Dog Gone Studios as a way to create and sell my own art prints, T-shirts, books, and stickers. These days, I split my time pretty evenly between client work and self initiated projects for Dog Gone Studios. It’s all about finding the balance that works for you, and at the end of the day, even on the bad days, you have to remind yourself how awesome it is to get to draw things for a living!