My newsletter gives people a 5 minute infusion of inspiration to help them stay motivated to create.
Her brother is a centaur
Hello!
I took it easy this week and only ran 10 miles because my ribs still ache from that bike fall last week. Tomorrow I run the Gilbert Half Marathon, so I hope my side doesn't give me any guff! I ran the half marathon in Provo a few years ago and I'd like to match that time which was about 1:45...but I don't think that's going to happen. I'll let you know next week how it goes!
Here's five things I thought you'd like to know about this weekend. Enjoy!
1) How to "Rewild" Your Imagination
From the Department of Video Works
I kept thinking about this rewilding thing I brought up last week that I had to make a video about it. I unpack the idea a little bit more here, and give four suggestions to help you remove your creative inputs from algorithmic influence.
My patrons got an uncut version of this video where I kept in a few extra minutes that set up my thesis a little better, but wasn't absolutely essential to the whole argument.
2) Manderfield Devil Fan Art
From the Department of Creative Bank Accounting's Comics Division
My friend and former assistant, @rae.allen.art, is currently in the last week of a kickstarter for her comic and asked if I'd do a pin up for the book. OF COURSE.
Really happy she asked me. This was just the palette cleanser I needed after Inktober.
You should check out the book she's making! It's Southern Gothic Supernatural Horror. Kickstart JUST ended, but you can check it out here: LINK
Read the comic for free here: LINK
3) Behind the ships of Dune
From the Concept Art Division
Found this great interview with Deak Ferrand, concept artist on the DUNE movie. One thing that I absolutely loved about the film was the brutalist look to the spaceships and architecture. It's a design move that most productions might avoid because the aesthetic can be understated. In big blockbuster you want color! and flash! and pizzazz!
Villeneuve's DUNE has none of that, yet still punches you in the face with the visuals. It's a masterpiece.
This interview with Deak is great, because he gets into a lot of the reasons they went that direction and the thought process behind the different design approaches for each planet's ships and buildings.
Check out the Interview here. LOTS of images: LINK
Deak's Artstation has a bunch of cool concept art too: LINK
4) Dragster Drivers
From the Office of Wheels
Photographer Benedict Redgrove's Dragster Racers series look like glammed up storm troopers. I love the textures, colors, and design of these. Good inspiration for character design.
See the rest here: LINK
5) On Failures
From the Inspirational Thought Unit
Every morning I exchange texts with my friend about what we are going to accomplish that day. We call it our MIT (Most Important Task) and it's a way for us to focus our efforts on that thing so we can remain present in our work and not get side tracked.
At the end of the day we report whether we accomplished it or failed at it. That evening text is always a motivation to get the thing done, even if the day got away from me.
But some days I report: "MIT fail"
That forces me to account for what happened, and figure out where it went sideways. It might be I got distracted, or it might be that my most important task was too much to handle in one day, or it might be that it wasn't important enough, and something else pulled me away. The point is, these failures aren't anything to get too bummed about, but are data for how to improve the next day.
Dan Coyle, author of The Talent Code, puts it nicely:
Ever since I started looking at my failures that way I've been much more encouraged to improve instead of quitting.
That's all for this week. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!
-Jake
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Hi! I'm Jake
My newsletter gives people a 5 minute infusion of inspiration to help them stay motivated to create.
Issue 190 Hello, The last month has been hard and good. I've been grinding away on the Robots book and Self Publishing Pro finishing both the art for Robots and the lectures for SPP. I'm soooo happy to get the bulk of these projects off my plate, because I just landed a deal and signed a contract for a secret graphic novel project that I can't speak about just yet. Hope you're enjoying spring. We've been getting some nice surprise rainy days here in AZ. And my son and his wife are coming to...
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