What Brave The Woods does

Brave The Woods is a private creative agency founded in 2013 by Brad Woodard and originally based in Austin, Texas, before relocating to Boise, Idaho in 2017. The studio provides custom illustration, brand identity, packaging design, illustrated maps, murals, picture books, board game art, and custom typography for enterprise and government clients, using Procreate on iPad and Adobe Illustrator as its primary production tools. Its signature aesthetic fuses mid-century modern and retro-inspired visual sensibilities with contemporary execution, and the studio has shipped proprietary assets such as a custom font engineered for children's legibility in physical toy products.

The studio monetizes through project-based professional services engagements with individually scoped quotes, supplemented by a direct-to-consumer merchandise storefront called Brave Outpost and an educational YouTube channel called Brave Kids Art Club. Its named client base spans Penguin Random House, W.W. Norton, Funko Games, Ravensburger, Oracle, Nissan, the U.S. Postal Service, PBS Kids, The Nature Conservancy, and the Fifty-Nine Parks Print Series. Strategic partnerships with Arnold Worldwide, Asterisk Design, Third Rail Creative, and RetroSupply Co. enable the small team to deliver larger projects than internal headcount would otherwise support, including Oracle's 100+ food illustrations for its Austin headquarters.

The business is bootstrapped and founder-owned, with no external investment or parent company disclosed. Brad Woodard maintains an instructional presence on Domestika and Skillshare, using teaching as a top-of-funnel marketing motion that doubles as talent and client pipeline development. With 1-10 employees, the studio operates as a boutique creative practice rather than a scaled agency, and its growth has been measured through client diversification, award recognition (2024 Silver Dallas Addy), and expansion into adjacent categories such as automotive, government and broadcast work.

Name

Brave The Woods

Legal name

Brave the Woods

Website

https://bravethewoods.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Brave The Woods is a privately held boutique creative agency founded in 2013 by Brad Woodard, providing custom illustration, brand identity, packaging, and educational design for enterprise and government clients across publishing, toys, automotive, and broadcast.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative & Illustration Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Experiential Brand Design (Retail/Exhibit/Signage) (MPAAAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crafts & Maker Arts (Ceramics, Textiles, Jewelry, Mixed Media) (EDAMAAAD), Wildlife & Nature Interpretation Guides (Birding, Photography, Naturalist) (THAAALAE)

Keywords

• Illustration services
• Brand identity design
• Packaging illustration
• Children's book illustration
• Creative agency services

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchaca

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Creative Services: Project-based custom illustration, design, and branding services for various clients. Work includes brand identity, illustration, lettering, packaging, publishing illustrations, and merchandise design. Each project is tailored to specific client needs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Brave the Woods is a creative agency that delivers custom illustration and design services to enterprise clients, including brand identity systems, illustrated maps, murals, picture books, packaging design, album covers, and merchandise illustration. The studio additionally produces published children's books, runs an educational YouTube show (Brave Kids Art Club), sells merchandise through an online shop (Brave Outpost), and offers online illustration courses on Domestika and Skillshare.

Product overview

Brave the Woods is a creative agency that operates as a studio providing illustration, design, and educational services rather than a software product platform. Their offerings include brand identity and logo design services (Domino & Juliette, Visuals/Visibox, G2 Consulting), published books (Nature Drawing Guide, Little Science Books for Ladybird/Penguin Random House), merchandise illustrations (Jurassic World board game for Funko, Great Outdoors Memory Game for Ravensburger, Coyote Snapshirt for Howler Bros), public artwork (National Park Maps and Posters for Fifty-Nine Parks, Santa Stamps for USPS), animation (Acoustic Rooster for PBS Kids, Scout's Honor for Scout Clinical), and educational content through their Brave Kids Art Club show on YouTube and courses on Domestika and Skillshare. Their signature style combines retro mid-century aesthetics with modern design, often nature and adventure themed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brave Kids Art Club: A kids educational drawing show that teaches children how to observe and draw animals, plants and bugs in nature in a fun, interactive way.
• Brave Outpost

Products and services

• Creative Agency Services Full-service creative agency offering custom illustration and design projects including brand identity systems, illustrated maps, murals, picture books, packaging design, album covers, and merchandise illustration for enterprise clients across publishing, toys, corporate, and government sectors.
• Nature Drawing Guide Book A children's how-to-draw book combined with a nature guide published by Rocky Nook Publishing, teaching children to observe and draw animals, plants, and bugs in nature through step-by-step lessons and nature facts.
• Little Science Books Two illustrated science books for children published by Ladybird Books (Penguin Random House): The Solar System and Electricity, each rendered in unique illustration styles for educational engagement.
• Brave Kids Art Club A children's educational drawing show distributed via YouTube that teaches kids how to observe and draw animals, plants, and bugs in nature through fun, interactive lessons.
• Brave Outpost Shop An online e-commerce shop (via Big Cartel) selling Brave the Woods merchandise, prints, and published products directly to consumers and supporters.
• Online Illustration Courses Online courses on digital illustration techniques and retro-aesthetic skills taught by Brad Woodard on Domestika and Skillshare platforms, targeted at creative professionals and aspiring illustrators.

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered notable, ongoing and flagship.

• Arnold WorldwidenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerArnold Worldwide provided art direction for the CenturyLink City Vibe Maps project. Brave the Woods created illustrated maps for multiple cities as part of CenturyLink's customer relocation support materials.
• Asterisk DesignnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsterisk Design brought Brave the Woods on to illustrate 100+ food illustrations for Oracle's Austin headquarters installations. Collaboration on experiential graphics and art installations for corporate environments.
• Third Rail CreativenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird Rail Creative provided animation skills and creative direction for the Scout's Honor animated explainer video project. Brave the Woods contributed illustration and character design work.
• RetroSupply Co.ongoingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration spanning over a decade to create digital brush packs and promotional artwork. Each pack includes video instruction and downloadable guides to help creatives learn Brave the Woods' illustration style.
• Fifty-Nine Parks Print SeriesflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollaboration to create National Park posters and merchandise. 5% of poster sales donated to National Park Service. Artwork licensed for various products including puzzles, books, and beach towels. National Park maps have been particularly successful and expanded into individual park maps.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Franklyn: Brooklyn-based creative agency combining illustration, motion, and brand design for forward-thinking clients. Comparable as a small, design-led studio serving brand and editorial work.
• Jacky Winter Group: Australian illustration and creative agency representing artists for commercial, editorial, and publishing work. Comparable as a small, style-led illustration studio serving global brand and publishing clients.
• DKNG Studios: California-based illustration and design studio specializing in gig posters, screen prints, and licensed products - including national park poster work for Fifty-Nine Parks Print Series, which makes it a direct collaborator/comparable.
• Ghost: UK-based illustration agency representing a global roster of artists for editorial, advertising, and publishing clients. Directly comparable boutique illustration representation model.
• Tinbox Creative: Small US illustration and design studio working with publishers, brands, and editorial clients on book covers and custom illustration. Similar size, client mix, and project-based service model.
• Handsome Frank: UK-based illustration agency representing a roster of commercial illustrators for editorial, advertising, and publishing clients. Closely comparable to BTW as a boutique representation/commission model for distinctive illustration styles.
• Oddfellows: Brooklyn-based creative agency offering illustration, motion, and design services to a roster of brand-name clients. Comparable mid-sized studio working in similar brand and editorial illustration territory.
• Studio Muti: South African illustration and design studio with a similarly stylized, modern-retro aesthetic working across editorial, advertising, and product illustration. Highly comparable on style positioning and client mix.
• Big Bad Buffalo: US-based illustration studio producing commercial illustration and design for editorial, advertising, and entertainment clients. Comparable boutique studio with a strong individual illustrator aesthetic.

Broad incumbents

• Buck: Established US creative and animation studio working across brand, motion, and experience design for large enterprise clients. Comparable category of work (experiential brand design) but at significantly larger scale and broader service offering than BTW.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCIqoAV7s2kyvyyOQqa7ag1g
• Xx.com/brave_the_woods
• Facebookfacebook.com/bravethewoodsstudio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brave The Woods