On Stair Climbing

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From the Inspirational Thought Unit

Sometimes an image just nails a concept so much better than words:

I come back to this theme a lot. Eating an elephant on bite at a time, dripping water eroding a stone, and in this case: climbing stairs.

Show up every day and just do what is in front of you. Don't worry about tomorrow, or yesterday. Just climb the step.

(Image by https://www.lizandmollie.com/)

-Jake

Pascal Hausermann

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From the Architecture Desk

Sitting squarely on the aforementioned crossroads of timelessness and futuristic is the work of architect Pascal Hausermann.

I've seen his work pop up every now and again in places online but I never tracked it back to the source. This stuff is incredible and lightyears ahead of his time. I think his design philosophy is leapfrogging over earth based structures and is inspiring what humans might be living in on the moon or Mars. They say his work is a processor to the blobitecture movement. I think it transcends it.

That last photo is my favorite. Seeing his building succumbing to time and nature makes them it all the more beautiful in my opinion.

A lot more images here: LINK​

Note: I'm pretty sure this guy inspired the architecture seen in the comics of Masimune Shirow. I've been studying Shirow's Appleseed and Dominion lately (his non-naked lady work) getting inspiration and ideas for panel layouts for the comic I'm currently working on.

-Jake

The Hunter

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From the Comics Division

I get a kick out of animated comics. I think their creators walk a fine line between making a comic and making an animated short. Too much animation and it slows down the reading experience. Not enough animation and a little bit of movement looks conspicuous on a static page.

I think Joe Sparrow's "The Hunter" threads the needle nicely. It's a short story about a rich lord obsessed with hunting down and killing one of every animal on earth. Yes, you can expect that his preoccupation with hunting will lead to his demise, but there's a breakthrough the character has at the end which was kind of surprising.

You can read it here: LINK​

You can also get a print (non animated) copy on Amazon: LINK​

Lots of great work on his tumblr too: LINK

-Jake

The Typography of More Tong

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From the Department of Graphic Design

I've seen the work of More Tong pop up on my Pinterest feed from time to time and it always stops me in my tracks. It just looks so cool. I don't know if it's something dug up from the past or if it is design visiting from an unknown future. Timeless, but also futuristic? Definitely.

I'd love it if soda pop cans all looked as beautiful as the one he designed for 7-up. I'd have a hard time recycling it.

Tong doesn't have much of a presence on the internet other than a few designs he's posted on his Behance account. Means he's probably getting some actual work done.

A Beast of a Double Page Spread

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From the Making Comics Division

Made some good progress on the comic this week. Really happy with this double page spread. I designed a new set of characters for the comic called the Scorpios. They're a criminal society with a strong presence on the planet Spartha. They specialize in arms trafficking. Initiation into their family requires one to remove all the hair on their body, have a special communication ring implanted around their jaw/neckline, and get a scorpio tattoo on their chest and forehead.

I'm going to release the first issue of this comic digitally at the end of the month. I'll be Kickstarting a print version in April.

Join the Patreon: Patrons are getting frequent updates on this comic, including more behind the scenes stuff. They've also read the full comic in both roughs and now pencils as I finish them. Tomorrow I'll be posting inked pages for patrons. When I finish the comic I'll have an exclusive special edition PDF for patrons.

Join here: LINK​

-Jake

Denslow's Mother Goose

From the office of Dusty Old Books

Loving these illustrations by W. W. Desnlow from his book "Denslow's Mother Goose." The color palette, the line work, the nutty character designs. Pure gold.

Denslow is probably most famous for illustrating the original Wizard of Oz books.

You can see high res scans of the entire Mother Goose book here: LINK

The book does include negative depictions of people and cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.

-Jake

Dream Poem by Jake Wyatt

From a big filing cabinet in the back of the office

My buddy Jake Wyatt is probably the most capable storyteller I know. He's a smart as a wip, is well read, and has a keen sense of getting the biggest emotional punch you can get out of a tale. I have learned so much from him. Anyway, apparently he can do this stuff in his sleep because he tweeted out a poem he wrote in a dream. And I'll close today's email with this:

"i wrote this in a dream last night (but i met that coyote in the flesh)" - Jake Wyatt

-Jake (Parker)

On Manifestos

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From the Inspirational Thought Unit

Several years ago I was asking myself the deep questions about art, creativity, life, pursuing happiness, and balancing that against my actions, needs, and beliefs. I decided I needed to make a personal creative manifesto.

I made a video about it way back in 2015: LINK​

Manifestos can come across as pretentious, so I don't think you HAVE to have one for yourself. However, it does make things a lot easier when you are in a position to decide what to do with your work as a creative type. When you're caught up in creative bliss the lines between screwing around and getting actual work done can get really blurry. Having a declared a set of rules, intentions, or motives for yourself can keep you from getting too far out in the weeds.

My creative manifesto is simply these three things, and specifically in this order of priority:

  1. Provide a healthy, safe, and comfortable life for my family

  2. Create work that inspires, edifies, or contributes positively to our culture

  3. Teach others to do be able to do what I do

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Ideally, the three all work in harmony, but I won't let one thing higher in the list suffer by serving something lower in the list.

I bring this up now only because I recently saw a great manifesto posted by a small publisher based in South London that does zines. They are called Colossive Press and this is their manifesto:

I think there's a lot to gain from this, and if I were to expand Number 2 of my manifesto it would include a lot of what's written here.

If you feel a little lost at times, or are ever unclear as to what you should be doing as a creator, take some time to ask yourself these questions and evaluate yourself:

  • What do you want to accomplish in life?

  • What do you like to do?

  • What are you really good at doing?

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Then write something out that nails down your ideals, principles, and motives.

Hope that helps.

-Jake

Deiselpunk Electric Motorcycle

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From the Office of Wheels

I think this motorcycle is pretty rad. It's electric, but instead of following the trend to make an electric vehicle look more cyber-futuristic the designer fo this bike went retro.

Pulling inspiration from the diesel age, Katalis Company designed this bike with analog instruments, exposed bolts, and bare seams.

You can see more of their motorcycles here: LINK​

I like this variant:

(via yanko design)

-Jake

Check out this Spanish Apartment Complex

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From the Architecture Desk in cooperation with the Photography Desk

​La Muralla Roja is a post modern apartment complex in Spain deigned by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. I could take or leave most of his work, but La Muralla Roja looks incredible.

Even more so through the eyes of a skilled photographer. Ludwig Favre took these photos and treated them with a little color magic in Photoshop making this place feel otherworldly.

You can see more photos of this place here: LINK​

And the rest of Favre's work is remarkable. Check it out here: LINK​

-Jake

Are You an Octopus or a Phoenix?

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From the Department of Video Works and the Comics Division

In my first youtube video of 2022 I got to interview Ryan Claytor, who is one of the most creative and prolific visual storytellers I've had the pleasure to talk to. He shared something with me that was so profound I had to open the video with it. You can see it below: LINK

Come for the 2 minute intro, but stay for the hour long conversation because it's fascinating.

The reason I did this interview was because Ryan reached out to ask if I'd help promote his comic Kickstarter. Once I heard about the kickstarter and a little more about Ryan I knew I had to have him on the channel.

His comic is called A Hunter's Tale LINK​

It's a mini comic that was written by his grandfather and illustrated by himself. I love the idea of generational creative collaboration.

I read a poem once about how when everyone dies there's three deaths and it has just stuck with me. The first death is when your heart stops beating. The second is when your body is laid in the grave. And the third is that moment sometime in the future when your name is spoken for the last time.

By making new things out of our ancestor's experiences and words the act of creation has a way of turning the hearts of the children towards their fathers and in a way keeps them alive for future generations.

Ryan's kickstarter ends this weekend, so back it before you miss out on it.

Also, check out Ryan's website here: LINK​

-Jake

Skull Chaser in 3D

From the Modeling Division

A friend of mine sent me a link to these recently and I was just floored by how cool these CG models of Skull Chaser are. This REALLY makes me want to pitch an animated series or something.

These were created by 3D artist giobiancoFB.

Click through to see these models on sketchfab where you can actually rotate them in your browser.

Skull_Chaser (Fan Art): LINK​

Skull Chaser motorcycle: LINK​

Skull Chaser motorcycle..animation: LINK​

Skull Chaser motorcycle... in action: LINK​

Work on the comic continues, albeit at a slowww pace. Really happy with this panel:

Still working on a new name for it. I appreciate all the suggestions last week. I feel like I'm getting close to something good.

-Jake

Japanese Tōmyōdai

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From the Department of Creative Bank Accounting, Architecture Desk

I learned about Japanese lighthouses this week. Most of the lighthouses you'll see in Japan look like traditional western style light houses. In the Meiji era Scottish engineer Richard Henry Brunton supervised the building of 26 of them and established a system of lighthouse keepers. Prior to his influence, Japanese lighthouses looked like this:

There's only a handful of these left and they aren't very well known. All of these are Edo period and look distinctly Japanese. I love the squared off and squatty look to them.

For some reason whenever I've thought of lighthouses I always thought of the traditional New England cylindrical style. It never occurred to me that other cultures would need to have solved the same problem and would've done it in their own style. Something to think about next time you sit down to design a spaceship or castle. Try to think about how this particular alien or fantasy race would approach the problem and let that influence the design, from the bones up.

(Via @UrbanFoxxx)

-Jake

Absolute Zero

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From the Comics Division

This is cool...Absolute Zero is a short, 7-page comic book published in Wired several years ago that I never knew about until recently. It tells the story of what happened to Dr. Mann (Matt Damon) on his ice planet before the events of the movie.

This was written by Christopher Nolan himself, and drawn by Sean Gordon Murphy. I kind of wish more movies did this: fleshed things out with comics drawn by really good artists. (That's why I kind of dig the Star Wars comics that are filling in all the gaps between the original trilogy.)

You can read the comic here: LINK​

Or go track down a copy of the November 2014 issue of Wired and read it in print.

-Jake

On Batman

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From the Inspirational Thought Unit

I was thinking about Batman this week. (By the way, I'm not too excited for this new Batman movie. I want to be, but I don't need more darkness in my life right now and boy howdy it looks grim. Crazy idea, but hear me out: What if we got a live action Batman film that was...PG? I'd like a little less dark and a little more knight with my Batman, please. A live action take on the 90's Animated Series would be everything for me. Set in the 30s-40s. The tech isn't over the top. He has to be a detective...stuff like that.)

ANYWAY...Some creators want to be all Batman and no Bruce Wayne.

They want to spend all their time working on the fun stuff, staying out all night, punching bad guys, using the latest tech, and driving a cool car. But Batman does not exist without Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne spends time in the real world, he's watching the finances, he foots the bills, he's out doing research, he's networking, he's going to meetings at Wayne Enterprises. All of that needs to happen for Batman to be able to go out and have fun fighting crime.

At the beginning of my career I wanted to just play the Batman part. I wanted to have fun doing illustrations, graphic novels, working in animation, dabbling with 3D. However, I think in order to really succeed as a creator you need to learn to embrace both the fun art side (Batman) and the less fun business side (Bruce Wayne).

The fully actualized version of you is the person who can kick butt at art, and also kick butt at business. Be Batman AND Bruce Wayne.

-Jake

The Largest Cave on Earth

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From the Exploration Unit of the Department of Interestingness

The largest gave on earth isn't big...it's MASSIVE. Gosh dang, I did not realized just how big until I saw this short film. Film maker Ryan Deboodt did the world a service by taking his drone and camera set up to Hang Son Doong to document its size in this peaceful yet awe inspiring short film.

You can see more of Deboodt's work here: LINK​

website: LINK​

Watch the film below:

(via Colossal)

Skull Chaser Arcade

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From the Special Projects Unit in association with the Division of Partnerships and Collaborations:

I had the fortunate opportunity to be a part of a unique show for Gallery Nucleus called PHANTASY ARCADE. From the website:

“Phantasy Arcade is a unique art exhibition concept born out of quarantine. Featuring a coupling of artist and musicians, each artist created work for an original, non-playable, 1/6th scale arcade cabinet. Musicians simultaneously created original music based on the artists' concepts. The collection is a miniature arcade that evokes nostalgia for things that never were.”

When I was asked to participate, I immediately knew I wanted to do something with Skull Chaser. Here’s what I came up with:

This was so fun to do as an art project, but all I want now is to actually PLAY Skull Chaser. I imagine it being a side scroller like Metal Slug. Each level is a different planet where he chases down a criminal and takes their head for a bounty. He’s then able to spend his credits on power ups and improvements to his ship.

This thing is actually available for purchase, and possibly the coolest part of it is it comes with its own THEME MUSIC, written and performed by George Shaw.

Check it out and ORDER ONE here: LINK

-Jake