Issue 170

Hello!

Glad to be back here working on the newsletter again. I really enjoy newsletter days. Been hard at work on projects and got a bunch of cool stuff to check out so let's get right to it.

Here's 5 things I thought you'd find interesting this weekend.

Enjoy!

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LATEST

I do all kinds of things that never end up in the newsletter, so this spot in the header here is just a quick run down of what I've done recently that I didn't want to devote an entire segment to:

• Space Hamster Sketch: LINK​
• Usagi Yojimbo Sketch: LINK​
• Podcast Episode 153: All About Self Publishing​
• Patreon Art Post: Sketch and Drawing Dump​
• Patreon Process Post: Star Crystal Process​

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1) Big Shop Update!

From the Division of Products and Services

I made a couple NEW pins for the shop. I am so PUMPED for how cool these pins turned out. I designed this octopus holding a pen a few years ago for Inktober and I always loved this design. My wife convinced me that it needed to be a pin, so here we are.

ORDER HERE: LINK​

I also have the Spacing Out pins available: LINK​

AND

I've added a new print to the shop: STAR CRYSTAL: LINK​

The Star Catcher pauses for a brief moment to contemplate his 4th dimensional existence.

All orders that come in are lovingly packed by my assistant Lucy. She's a college student and works Fridays and Saturdays. So if you order now there's a good chance it will get packed up and shipped out before Sunday.

TAKE ME TO THE SHOP!

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PATREON: This week on the Patreon: sketchbook art dump!​

I'm sharing a bunch of images from my private sketchbook.

The amount of support on my Patreon ebbs and flows, but always hovers around 125-130 people. I'd like to get that up to 140 this month. If you sign up this month I'll give you any of my digital artbooks of your choice. Just DM after sign up and I'll send you a download link.

You also get a 15% discount in my shop, and at the end of the month some patrons get all my working files to learn from and pick apart. Sign up here: LINK​

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2) Pre-Ware Motorcycles

From the Office of Wheels

Nice collection of pre-war motorcycles by photographer Paul Clifton. These are more utilitarian looking than the overly designed motorbikes of the current era, but there's beauty in their spartan styling.

Lots of ideas here for vehicle design. I may be incorporating some of these into a future comic.

More bikes here: LINK, LINK, and LINK​

Clifton's Website: LINK​

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3) The Sculpted Architecture of Jacques Couëlle

From the Architecture Desk

Self-taught French architect Jacques Couëlle was a polarizing figure in the world of mid century architecture. Eschewing the straightlines and minimalism that was in voque at the time, Couëlle saw the building as a sculpture and in 1962 created the masterpiece Castellaras estate in Mouans-Sartoux, France.

Couëlle work blurs the line between sculpture and architecture and I really dig it.

More images here: LINK​

Related from the blog: LINK LINK

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4) Elizabeth Torque's Awakening of Wonder

From the Illustrators Division

I only recently became aware of comic artist Elizabeth Torque on twitter where she's been posting these jaw dropping drawings. A quick search to find out more about this artist revealed an extensive back log of comic covers for Marvel: LINK. Her Marvel work is excellent, but also very much in line with what you'd expect on the cover of a Marvel comic.

The work she's been recently posting on Twitter though is a MAJOR leveling up. There's something unleashed and magical about these. Like she's really tapped into something personal. To paraphrase from one of her pieces there I'd call it an "Awakening of Wonder."

I love this new direction for her, and someone PLEASE hire her to draw a Labyrinth comic! If not Labyrinth, then I'd love to see her own comic project some day.

More on her Twitter: LINK

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5) On Reading

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

My Son, who want's to be an artist of some kind professionally some day and knows the importance of a full creative bank account, was stressing out because there’s too many shows to watch, comics to read, films to catch, and he doesn't know where to start or what to do.

Here’s the advice I gave him for comics, but I think it applies to any medium:

• Always be reading a classic. Something that is universally accepted as excellent and has endured through time. This is so you know what other works were built on.
• Always be reading something contemporary. This is to see how the old ways have inspired the current generation, and to see what new groundwork is being laid.
• Revisit something that inspired you as a kid. This is the thing that awakened your love for comics. To remind you of the power of the medium. A variant of this is: just read the trash you love.

I try to follow this advice, but I also give myself the room to just follow my interests. Here's an additional guideline:

You don't have to finish anything you're not enjoying. But do take note as to why it lost you, and remember that when you create your own thing.

What's your reading advice?

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That's all for this week. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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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:

​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)

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Mention it on social media (Fifth best)

I'd appreciate any of these when you can. Thanks!

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