Issue 181

Hello,

I've neglected the newsletter for over a month because I've been trying to do ALL THE THINGS. And when you're in that mode, something has to give.

The main focus this month has been, for obvious reasons: Inktober. I've been going at it pretty hard, trying to make something new and cool (see below). I didn't set out to do this. A day before the challenge started I didn't even have a plan. But after I drew the first image of a boy falling out of his bed down into a city, I knew I had to just run with it.

I did pretty good doing it daily until this week. Alison had surgery on Wednesday, and I've been taking care of her, and the household, and trying to stay on top of my work. Next week I'll be traveling to Los Angeles for Lightbox Expo, so I'm not sure when I'll finish this project.

My plan was to wrap it up in October, then go back to finishing the ROBOTS book in November. If I don't finish Inktober in October, I'll come back to it probably on a weekly basis, and finish it when I finish it.

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

Enjoy!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• Podcast Episode 178: What If You Could Go Back In Time?​
• Podcast Episode 177: 10 Sins of Art School Students​​
• Podcast Episode 176: Stop Practicing Start Making​
• I'll have a table at LIGHTBOX in October: LINK​

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​MASSIVE PIN & STICKER SALE!​

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(My daughter handles all the shop orders and saw that we weren't moving pins or stickers lately and so she insisted we have a super sale now. I pushed back, that's TOO big of a sale. Then my wife chimed in and backed her up. So we are having a super sale from now until Sunday night. Get 'em while they're cheap!)

1) Lost In Somnia

From the Special Projects Unit

Have you ever had a dream where you’re lying comfortably in your bed and then the next moment falling over a city? It’s happened to me a couple times and I always wake up with my heart pounding!
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For this year’s Inktober challenge I’m wanted to try answer the question: what if you don’t wake up from the falling dream? What happens next?!

This is my 15th Inktober challenge, and every time (whether I complete it or not) I get pushed just beyond my ability and comfort, AND I seem to get better at drawing.
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I guess that’s why I keep coming back to it.

With that, here's my first 16 drawings for the year:

Instead of waking up from the dream, the boy’s fall was broken by a loose web stretching between the derelict buildings. It looked as if the city’s inhabitants had vanished years ago. He was not looking forward to meeting its new citizens.

The boy wriggled free from the webbing, and dove into a hole in the ground to escape the oncoming spiders. The dark tunnel widened and opened up to a lighted path underground.

The bikers rode sharp and fast as they dodged around the boy and skidded to a halt. One in front and one in back, these were the first humans he saw since landing in the foreign city. Something about their dead eyes made him more afraid than the spiders.

Something about the boy demanded protection rather than predation. The bikers knew exatly where to take him.
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Guided by these unlikely saviors, the boy found himself standing before the Underseer in a chamber aglow with surface light. Here, the Underseer, a figure of enigmatic authority, bestowed upon the boy a truth as profound as it was unsettling.
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"Without the map," the Underseer said, "you shall remain forever adrift in this dream world, a ship without a star to steer by."

The deal was struck with an unspoken weight that hung heavily in the chamber of light.
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"I shall give you the map," the Underseer said, his voice echoing through the chamber like a distant thunder. "But in return, you must retrieve something of great importance to me. In the belly of the Temple of the Golden Sun, lies a sacred artifact—The Star Crystal. Bring it back to me, and you shall have your passage out of this underworld. Your path homeward will be revealed."

The chamber was a place of profound stillness, save for the haunting drip of condensation that echoed through the air. As the boy’s fingers closed around the Star Crystal, he felt a shiver of otherworldly power coursing through him. The crystal was cold to the touch, as if it held the very essence of the cosmos within its core.

As the boy hurried out of the temple, clutching the Star Crystal tightly, a question nagged at him. Why had the Underseer not retrieved it himself?

The toad monster's monstrous bulk belied its deceptively swift and nimble nature. Determined to escape its attacks, the boy darted into the labyrinth of the underworld. The toad gave chase, each crushing bounce closing the gap between them with alarming speed.
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I realized after I finished inking that the proportions were off on the boy, so I went in with correction tape and tried to fix it. Still not happy with the pose/proportions. Finished, not perfect, right?

Just as the boy felt the monstrous toad's noxious breath and gaping jaws closing in on him, a turn of fortune appeared in the form of a girl swooping in with breathtaking speed on the back of a jet-powered beetle.

The Underseer's promise of the map was just a lie laid bare by the danger the boy escaped. She flew him out of the underworld, beyond the fallen city, to wander lands safe from the treachery of the Underseer and his malevolent forces.
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There, the two of them hatched a plan to return the Star Crystal to its rightful place, knowing that it was essential not just for the boy's escape but also for the stability of this dream world itself. In the process the two's hearts became intertwined with a shared sense of purpose and destiny.

The boy and the girl observed the strange passage of time, which seemed to move faster and differently in this realm. Days turned into years, and it felt as if they had known each other for a lifetime. The memories of the boy's home, once vivid and urgent, began to fade like a distant, forgotten story.
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The importance of the Star Crystal started to diminish in their eyes. It was tucked away safe on the hidden island where they had carved out a life together.

Watching the moon rise over the sea the two found a sanctuary in each other's arms that they never wanted to leave. However an unspoken reality lingered in the air. The enemies that had haunted their journey through the dream world were not to be underestimated, and their thirst for power and control would not wane with the passing of time.

As the urgent transmission crackled through the girl's radio, a sense of foreboding gripped the boy and the girl. The call summoned her to the Sky Castle; a place she had vowed never to return to. But her commitment to that old promise dissolved when she learned why she was needed. The voice of her mother was faint but heavy, "The world is collapsing, we need the Star Crystal."

With each strike of her dagger, the girl carved a path through the assailants as the boy shielded the Star Crystal. The crystal, pulsing with an otherworld energy would find safekeeping with the Castle's Monarch. The only question remained was how the Underseer knew to send a wake of Sun Walkers to the Sky Castle first.
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I couldn’t quite get this finished yesterday, so I’m officially behind! Good run though. I think this is the best I’ve done on Inktober in a while.

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My plan, as always, is to stay on top of the challenge this year and do all 31 days. If anyone has been following my posts you'll see I've fallen behind this week. Life got in the way (see the intro above) and I haven't been able to do it the last 3 days.

I might catch up, or I might have to come back to this later, not sure how I'm going to fit in the time to finish this AND go to Los Angeles next week for Lightbox. We shall see!

PATREON: If you want to see ALL the sketches, reference material, and prelim drawings I'm doing that go into the creation of these drawings, become a patron today.

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​

2) Search for the Eagle's Eye​
​From the Illustrators Division

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Cool new book alert. I love indie book projects, especially the world building kind that's going on with Search for the Eagle's Eye.

This is by Arizona based artist Tate Parker, who, if the last name wasn't a give away, is my son.

He was in California for a couple years doing missionary work and carried this little sketchbook with him everywhere he went. He'd do drawings in it inspired by what he saw and was doing. The result was this epic adventure of three kids as they search for the Eagle's Eye.

I love how raw and honest the book turned out. Tate's an empathetic Gen Z storyteller that makes me excited for this new generation of creators.

You can pre-order the book here: LINK​

Tate's Instagram: LINK​

3) Did you read Graphic Novels during Middle School?

From the Friendship Unit in cooperation with the Comics Division

​Austin Shurtliff is an indie comic creator, SVSlearn.com curriculum specialist, and friend of mine who needs your help with a survey he's doing for his dissertation.

He's asking younger adults why they enjoyed reading graphic novels in middle school.

He's been trying to collect enough usable responses for the survey to begin analyzing the data, but still needs about 40 more people to meet the minimum amount.

• To participate, you need to be between 18-32 and have enjoyed reading graphic novels during middle school (this can include books like Bone and Missle Mouse, as well as manga)
• The survey takes about 15 minutes
• Take the survey here: LINK​

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If you're over 32, can you send this to someone you know who meets the requirements? Thanks for doing my man Austin a solid!

4) The ROBOX BASIC

From the Office of Robots

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Cool robot designed by the late Kim Jun Gi and made by 1000Toys. These came out about 5 years ago I believe, but I just found out about them recently. Love the tranformability of them, and the utilitarian design.

More images here: LINK​

5) On content creation

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

You are an artist who makes art, a storyteller who tells stories, NOT a "content creator."

Pulled this quote from this hammer of an opinion piece: LINK​

Also, if you want a comprehensive in depth dive on "content" one of my favorite youtubers went hard on this: LINK​

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

-Jake

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