Issue 206
It’s a rare rainy day here in Arizona and I’m loving every drop. Just wrapped up a couple projects and am now working on a new course for SVS all about making graphic novels (more on that below). Lots to cover, so let’s dive in!
STAYING IN THE LOOP:
💥Never get stuck on your comics project again: Graphic Novel Pro
🎙️3PP Podcast: Find What Lights You Up
🎙️3PP Podcast: Should I Start Over?
📚Selling some books from my collection: LINK
🚨Jake’s Shop Clearance Sale: Massive Discount on Stickers and Pins
1) The Plant Collector
From the Making Comics Division
Earlier last year I got an interesting job from a husband and wife team running a start up called Underbunks.
Their business idea is simple, and one of those things I wish I had thought of: make beautiful and cool artworks for the underside of a bunk bed. So the kid isn’t just looking at slats, but is lost in a fantastic world as they fall asleep.
They had fantasy and fairytale designs but reached out to me because they wanted a comic and something sci-fi.
We worked together to develop a character and a captivating world for him to explore. Then I got down to work on solving the problem of how to tell a story on a single page and make sure the images were’s too big or too small with just the right amount of details for a kid to get lost in.
I’m thrilled with how this turned out and had a blast working with Underbunks on such a unique comic project.
I did a full breakdown of the process—sharing sketches, alternate paths, and how I arrived at the final version—over on my Patreon as well as for all the rabbits at SVSlearn.
2) Make Your Own Graphic Novel!
From the Office of Online Education
Most aspiring comic creators never finish their projects. Why? They lack structure, feedback, and industry knowledge. My latest professional level course, Graphic Novel Pro, gives you the insider techniques, creative systems, and publishing roadmap to actually complete and launch your work.
By the end of this course, you’ll have:
✅ A polished short comic (10-20 pages) that showcases your skills
✅ A clear, actionable plan for your full-length graphic novel
✅ A deep understanding of storytelling, art, and publishing
✅ A strategy to break into the comics industry or self-publish successfully
This 10 week course is going to get you unstuck and actually drawing comics with professional determination.
This course is literally years in the making and is the best course I’ve put together.
I recently shared one of the worksheets for the course with a friend of mine who is starting a new comic project and..well I’ll let his text speak for itself:
I wish I had this course 20 years ago. Anyway, click the link below to learn more:
3) 🚨Cool car alert
This is a prototype race car made in collaboration between Italian manufacturers Fiat and Abarth and the infamous design firm Pininfarina.
You had me at that eye-catching dorsal air intake, but I stayed for what I can only describe as an overall the clunky-sleekness to this thing. Perfection. No notes.
4) Kazakh Warrior Woman
These captivating photos of actress Aizhuldyz Adaibekova are giving me strong Moebius/Miyazaki vibes.
5) Wenjun Lin’s Dreamy Wildscapes
Chinese concept artist Wenjun Lin is simply incredible. The way they balance loose line work and paint strokes with a maximalist composition is just sublime. Love this stuff.
Artstation: LINK
Instagram: LINK
X: LINK
That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!
-Jake
My sponsor for this newsletter is…me. It's me, because I'm not accepting sponsors for my email list, and don't plan to any time soon. Really, I'd just like people to buy stuff from my shop. If you like this newsletter, you can support it a few ways:
I’m selling off some of my library because, I picked a lot of these up for referenc eon specific projects and I don’t need them anymore. I’d like them to find a good home!
Order something from the shop (Best)
Back a kickstarter when I launch one (Also Best)
Support me on Patreon (Second Best)
Share the newsletter with a friend (Third best)
Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links* (Fourth best)
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I'd appreciate any of these when you can. Thanks!
Weekend reading:
Skyward
by Brandon Sanderson: LINK
*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link
You are probably already following these folks but I think you would enjoy looking at Carlos Pecino and Ash Thorp's work (Make Haste Corp). As a fellow "simple man who likes cool vehicles" I highly recommend. https://makehastecorp.com
Skyward is awesome. 🤩