Issue 194

Hello,

My Comics Creator Head Start Workshop is next Saturday. We have over 20 people signed upI I would love to have you if you're wanting to learn how to save time in the comics process, and make work that matters. Enrollment closes next Friday night.

July 20th and 27th. Mark your calendar, and enroll today: LINK​

Okay, here's FIVE things I thought you'd love as we roll into the weekend!

Enjoy!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 3PP Podcast: Is My Work Ready for Market?​
• 3PP Podcast (with two new guest hosts!): Is Going Pro Worth It?​
• 3PP Podcast: AI is NOT Your Enemy (Read the comments, great points being made)

1) Robot Round Up

From the Drawings Unit

C.A.T.bots:

Rabbit Rides:

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Brawl Bots:

These are all robot designs from my latest book Ryder's Intergalactic Guide to Robots. You can get the digital copy of the book now. The print edition will be available next month!

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ON PATREON:

A complete breakdown and lessons learned from my officially rejected book proposal: LINK​

I'm posting my process for all my art on the patreon. If you'd love getting more behind the scenes content and learn a little more how I approach creativity, project management, and business strategies I post over there at least one a week. Consider signing up!

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) The Blue Bird Russian Cosmonaut Retrieval Vehicle

From the Office of Wheels

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The Russians had a problem. Launching a man in space, having them orbit earth and reentering the atmosphere was all figured out. However, since Russia really doesn't have an ocean it controls to easily ditch a spacecraft in, the landing site had to be somewhere on their vast sub arctic continent.

That means the returning capsule could land in almost any kind of terrain: mountain, tundra, snow, or lake. What kind of vehicle could race out to them in any of those situations, and in any kind of weather?

Enter the Blue Bird, a beautifully ugly artifact of Soviet design and engineering. I love this truck's utilitarian look with hints of retro futurism.

More photos and info here: LINK and LINK​

3) Exotic Alien Fauna of Lestoide

From the Illustrators Division

Chinese concept artist, Lestoide, is absolutely blowing me away with his creative vision. This is what happens when you see Avatar at a young age, then grow up learning all about animal anatomy and painting.

Though the designs look inspired by Avatar, I think he's bringing a lot to the table on his own. Gorgeous work.

More here: LINK​

4) Art in Architecture

From the Architecture Desk

There's a genre in sculpture that I've grown to love over the years and that's three dimensional art that's incorporated into architecture. My favorites are the abstract shapes that clearly represent a mood or ideal an otherwise boring building.

Just a reminder that when you're world building you can say a lot about the culture of the society you're portraying by one or two properly placed building sculptures.

Someone put together a fully stocked album of art in architecture over on Flickr. That's where I found these. Check out hundreds more here: LINK​

5) On The Algebra of Creativity

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

A man reached out to me who's working on an interesting problem. He's looking for a universal theory of creativity. You can see his work here: LINK​

I thought about it and realized I do have an equation that I think works:

C=a+c+s

C - Creativity

a - Accountability

c - Constraints

s - Skill

All creativity boils down to the cosmic interaction between constraints, accountability and skill. Take away one of those ingredients and you either get nothing or you get derivative, uninspired work.

An artist who has skill and accountability, but has no constraints will ultimately fail to deliver something meaningful.

An artist with accountability and constraints, but no skill will fail to deliver something beautiful.

An artist with skill and constraints, but no accountability will fail to deliver anything at all.

Take stock of your own creative work. What's best thing you've ever made? Did it come about because you had the skill to do it? Did you also have a deadline or limited resources to finish it? And lastly, was there something or someone you owed this work to?

Chances are you can check all those boxes. Something to think about as you start your next creative endeavor.

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

-Jake

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Weekend Reading:

​Rules of Summer​

by Shaun Tan