Josh Gottsegen is an AI artist, creative director, and founder of Tropland Universe, the Digital Animal Kingdom. With over 25 years of experience in design, marketing, and production, he brings long-term creative leadership to AI-native media, intellectual property development, and visual storytelling at scale.
Gottsegen began developing the Tropland Universe in 2013 as a publishing IP with the Joosh’s Juice Bar children’s book series, introducing original characters and narratives designed to engage young audiences through storytelling and visual imagination. That world expanded in 2020 with the middle-grade novel The Adventures of Rockford T. Honeypot, which became an Amazon #1 bestseller and established Tropland as a cohesive story universe rather than a single title.
As artificial intelligence emerged as a creative medium, Gottsegen extended the original publishing IP into digital wildlife imagery and short-form video content, transforming Tropland into a global Digital Animal Kingdom. Today, Tropland Universe reaches millions of viewers worldwide and has generated over one billion views across platforms.
In addition to Tropland Universe, Gottsegen is the founder of OneLight Studios, a creative production and strategy studio supporting organizations across entertainment, sports, and culture. His work has included collaborations with major studios, brands, and institutions such as Universal Studios, Disney, Fox, IMG, NFL, IndyCar, Ferrari, and the Vatican Museums.
His current focus centers on applying artificial intelligence as a creative tool rather than a novelty, emphasizing narrative intent, visual consistency, and licensing-ready intellectual property. Through this approach, Gottsegen has built a global audience of more than two million followers and collaborated with technology platforms shaping the future of digital media.
