Hello!

Kepler's Intergalactic Guide to Spaceships is halfway through its funding period! Fourteen days left!

Over 1030 backers at the time of writing this!

This book is going to be incredible, and unlike anything I've ever created before. An ode to Spaceships, sci-fi and incredible cross-sections books, this might be the best book I've created so far.

Please consider backing it today:

GET THE SPACESHIPS BOOK HERE

Alright, read on, there's 5 things I thought you'd find interesting this weekend.

Enjoy!

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1A) Cutaways

From the Drawings Unit

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This week I drew more spaceships, haha. Current obsession is drawing cutaways of the ships I've designed. These are all going into the book.

Someone asked me if I actually know the mechanics and engineering of what I’m drawing and the answer is yes…kinda.
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I've looked at enough airplane cutaways to have a good idea of what things generally are. Here’s some things to remember when drawing a cutaway:
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- Draw support structure first
- Add fuel source and powerplant - and avionics (these are all dependent on each other so connect them
- Squeeze in life support systems
- Fill in gaps with wires and tubes and other tech
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If you like this kind of stuff you’ll love my new book: SPACESHIPS!​

(I made a guide on how to manage your pledge and add an original art piece: LINK)

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1B) This Week's YouTube Stream

ALSO: I've been doing a YouTube Streams about every 4 days. These are fun and informative if you like a chillsome vibe. My family pops in from time time to time and Alison has been joining me the whole time. It's chill, it's wholesome...it's CHILLSOME.

Watch here: LINK​

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JOIN THE DISCORD COMMUNITY HERE: LINK​

It's been a ton of fun seeing what people are posting and discussing over there. The newsletter has it's own thread so you can discuss what I share with other like-minded folks. Come on over, grab a snack and join the party!

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2) Good night moon

From the Department of Space Exploration

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Fellow Arizonan, Andrew McCarthy is an astrophotographer who does some incredible image work of the Moon. In that first one he actually captured the ISS transiting the moon.

I've been following his work for a couple years now and am always impressed with his captures.

I'm consistently blown away by his images.

Follow Andrew here:

Instagram: LINK​

Twitter: LINK​

Website: LINK​

Here's a nice blog post on how he does it: LINK​

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3) Paul Felix's Lilo and Stitch Art

From the Illustrators Division

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Lilo and Stitch turned 20 this week and it's brought back so many memories of a very impressionable time of my art life. I was in my early 20's and working at my first job at an animation studio, had my first kid a year earlier and was still trying to figure out my art style and where I fit in animation/concept art.

I saw Lili and Stitch and it's combination of cute, fun, and sci-fi made a massive impact on what I wanted to create.

I got the Art of Lilo and Stitch book and studied that thing front to back. I picked up watercoloring and worked on my design skills from it. One artist stood out to me above the rest: Paul Felix.

There's no Paul Felix website and as far as I can tell there's no social media account for him either. What there is though is the "UNOFFICIAL PAUL FELIX" blog.

To see a lot more work of his, check out the blog here: LINK​

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4) Scavengers

From the Film and Animation Division

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I'm not sure how this fantastic short escaped my attention for over 5 years! Made in 2017, Scavengers is an 8 minute peek in an alien world of bizarre extraterrestrial creatures and mysterious rituals. The short, created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner, was created for Adult Swim’s Toonami branch.

The short follows a couple of colonists on a strange planet as they work their way through a series of specially choreographed customs in order to achieve...something. You need to watch it to find out.

Insanely inventive, this makes me want to add a little more weird to my own sci-fi work.

The short is making the rounds again because HBO greenlit an animated series based on the short called "Scavengers Reign."

Watch the full short here: LINK​

Watch the trailer for Scavengers Reign here: LINK​

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5) On Success

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

The success you have in life is all relative. I've met a millionaire who felt unaccomplished, and knew a guy who was able to get job at U-Haul installing hitches and thought he won the life lottery. I think to feel satisfied in life you gotta stop looking outward for validation, but instead look in the mirror for it.

I like novelist Toni Morrison's thought on the measure of success:

Source: Interview with The Guardian​

That might be the key there. Before you take on any project, or invest tome and energy into something, ask yourself, "will this lead to less regret in life, or more?"

(via 3-2-1)​
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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)

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

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*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

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Don't forget! Back the Kickstarter today: LINK​

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