Alien Life Found...on Earth
And a fist full of cool stuff
Issue 210
Hello!
Fist off, fellow artist Peter Han is an amazing artist, and incredibly generous with his knowledge of craft recently was diagnosed with a rare Autoimmune Disease called Miller Fisher Syndrome. If you can spare a couple bucks to help pay for his recovery he could use some help: LINK
I’m about to head out for the weekend in the mountains for some much needed R&R with some OLD buddies of mine. Wanted to send out a newsletter this morning before I left.
There is A TON of stuff I need to update you guys on, but I can’t just yet. So in the meantime read what I have to share today and I’ll catch you next news letter.
Let’s jump into it!
STAYING IN THE LOOP:
🎙️3PP Podcast: Why You Need a Mentor and How to Get One
🎙️3PP Podcast: The Hidden Cost of Being Too Precious with Your Art
🎙️3PP Podcast: Getting Ahead Despite AI
🎙️3PP Podcast: All About Online Shops
1) A Chunky Darth Vader
From the Drawings Unit
I found this drawing of Darth Vader I drew a few years ago and really liked what I captured here. Wanted to see it colored, so I slapped some color on it and am pretty happy with how it turned out.
I like this style and think I unlocked something here that I’d like to bring to other characters. Might need to do a few more Star Wars characters and then apply it to my own characters.
One of my biggest worries as an artist is that I’ll stop evolving, find a rut, and just lay in it until I die. All my favorite artists seemed to refresh their style every few projects as life progressed. Their final form has vestigial mark making from earlier versions, but the entire body found some streamlining that could only happen through years of trials. I’m hoping to do the same.
2) Inkpulp Kickstarter To the Rescue
From the Friends with Projects Unit
Georgia based Comic artist Shawn Crystal has launched a Kickstarter for an incredible Art Book.
This isn’t just a collection of all the great drawings he’s been doing over the years, but a deep dive in the creative process and a celebration of traditional media. It couldn’t come at a better time when so many people are used to not just digital art, but art completely fabricated by machine.
Not only is Shawn an incredible artist, but he’s such a great guy too, and am able to call him a friend. Over the last couple years we developed and taught Graphic Novel Pro for SVS, and he’s been such a joy to work with.
Check out his Kickstarter here: LINK
Website: LINK
Instargram: LINK
Youtube: LINK (One of the most fun podcasts on comics I’ve seen in years)
3) Alien Plant Life…on Earth
From the Flora and Fauna Unit
Dioscorea Elephantipes
Encephalartos horridus
Coryphantha elephantidens
Sonoma Blue Ball Tree (Art Installation, Claude Cormier, 2007 but still alien lookin’)
Euphorbia pseudoglobosa
Don’t know what this is, but it looks cool.
Every once and a while you have to draw a comic that takes place on an alien planet. And that planet is going to need plants on it. To get ideas and inspiration I don’t look any further than Earth.
We’ve got plenty of plant weirdos here. All you have to do is change the size, proportion, and color and BAM you’ve got an alien plant.
Found most of these on pinterest. Here’s my Flora Board: LINK
4) Could be cool?
From the Comics Division
I was a big fan of ComiXology, and less so of the Amazon absorption of it. But regardless of the switch it did make reading comics so easy and accessible.
That said, innovation thrives on competition. So it’s cool that the creators of ComiXology are trying to do something competitive here. I hope they make something better than the kindle store for comics.
What I’d really like is ComiXology mixed with something like Letterboxd mixed with something like gumroad.
I want a place where people who love comics can collect them from Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, Viz, AND indie creators like me! A place where you can also comment on, rate, and review the comics you collect.
I guess it hasn’t launched quite yet, but you can get on the waiting list here: LINK
Neon Ichiban: LINK
NYTimes article on Neon Ichiban: LINK
5) On Existence
From the Inspirational Thought Unit
A friend sent this to me. Not sure where it originated from but the intent is pretty much what I’ve been saying to myself for years: “Finished, Not Perfect.”
Making it exist is not thinking about it, doing concept art or sketches, talking about it or getting a special notebook for the project. It’s actually doing the hard dirty work.
That’s the hang up, isn’t it? It’s hard, it’s dirty, it’s work.
To make that part easier just remember it doesn’t have to be good. Not yet. You’ll get to that later. Just make it exist.
That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!
-Jake
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Weekend reading:
The Art of How To Train Your Dragon: LINK
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Vader's pants make him look like an umpire. If you swap the lightsaber for a bat you could make a Star Wars themed baseball team... Or turn baseball into a Jedi/Sith sport using lightsabers as bats.
This is a fantastic post! Wanted to hop in to tell you there’s a really neat platform called League of Comic Geeks that lets you log what you own, what you’ve read, and rate and review! You can also follow other users and see what they’re reading/reviewing!