On Bear Hunts

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

There's a book I read maybe nine hundred times while my kids were little called "​We're going on a bear hunt.​" It's about a family who's going on a hike through nature hoping to find a bear. They encounter all kinds of roadblocks and impediments like rivers, snowstorms, and tall grass.

Each one of these things can't be avoided. There's no way to go around them, over them or under them. The only way to make progress is to go through them.

This is like baby's first lesson in stoicism.

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way"

-Marcus Aurelius

This was written 2000 years ago by the most level headed emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius studied the stoics and put their words into action. He kept a pretty good record of these and we are lucky to have his journal survive to this day.

The point of Going on a Bear Hunt and this quote is that if you want to accomplish something that seems insurmountable there's no way to get around the fact that you just have to start and see it through to the end.

Painter Vincent Van Gogh understood this:

"I am always doing what I can't do yet in order to learn how to do it."

Source: ​Letter to Anthon van Rappard (1885) ​

Every project that has pushed me out of my comfort zone has made me a way better artist/writer/creator/business guy. I used to turn the other way or pivot when I sensed things were going to get difficult, but now when I get that feeling I march straight into it knowing that it will transform me into who I want to become.

You need to cultivate these scenarios in your life if they're not already being handed to you.

One last quote on this:

“That’s the thing about writing. Every time I think I’ve figured out how to write, I discover that actually, I’ve just figured out how to write the thing I just wrote, and I have no clue how to write the next scene, the next story, or the next book.” ​Maureen McHugh​

That's a reminder that it never gets easy, and that's the point. Go on bear hunts, brave the tall grass, the rushing rivers, and the blowing snow.

-Jake

Honda Motocompo Upgrade

From the Office of Wheels

In a effort to redesign the Honda Motocompo (​LINK​) into something contemporary, industrial designer Mitch Silva created a cassette-futurism masterpiece.

His idea is to take a Honda Monkey (​LINK​) and give it a sleek angular look that evokes the Honda Elite scooter (​LINK​).

I think this is such a solid design and would love to incorporate more of this aesthetic into the spaceships and robots I'm working on.

More designs here: ​LINK​

-Jake

The Dieselpunk Anthro Fantasy World of Reagan Lodge

From the Illustrators Division

I've known Reagan for years. We go back to the ​FLIGHT​ days. He's an incredibly skilled artist and is pouring all of that ability into WYIT a 200+page graphic novel that should be on your radar.

Reagan's style is a harmonious combination of Franco Belgian comics aaand something I can't quite put my finger on...like 1960-70s-Disney-Anthropomorphic-Milt-Kahl.

It looks great, and I can't wait to read this thing when it comes out.

Check out Reagan's Website: ​LINK​

All his socials here: ​LINK​

-Jake

Pre-Jurassic Park T-Rex Designs

From the Division of Prehistoric Studies

You know what I love? Pre-Jurassic Park t-rex designs:

Back before artists were armed with science and without a major blockbuster influencing dinosaur culture, we got a ton more variety in the interpretations of these animals. Each artist had free reign on what a Tyrannosaurus Rex could look like, because who really knew?

Some leaned into the "terrible lizard" vibe, while others embraced a more lumbering beast look. Artists weren't burdened by realities of physics, anatomy, and physiology and we were the direct benefactors of a cornucopia of amazing and scary designs.

These designs ranged from goofy:

to unhinged:

Somehow these things freak me out way more:

Imagine this absolute unit chasing you in a jeep:

This spicy thing does not skip leg day:

Here's what this all boils down to: The older I get, the more I value creativity and emotion over accuracy and realism when it comes to illustration.

All these images are from this nice album I found on Flickr: ​LINK​

Dragon and Robot

From the Drawings Unit

I didn’t want ​#Smaugust​ to fly by me without doing at least ONE dragon.

To be fair, I drew this in 2023 but never scanned or colored it. Originally, the plan was to have it in the ROBOTS book, but after I laid the book out I realized there really was not spot that fit this illustration.

Then I saw the smaugust art challenge and really wanted to do some dragons for it, but I was too busy with a graphic novel I'm waist deep in to do an art challenge. So I pulled this drawing out, extended the bottom of it and threw some color on it.

Full process post over on my patreon: ​LINK​

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ON PATREON:

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!

Join the Patreon

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

-Jake

On Urgency vs Importance

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

Recently I spoke at the ASU Institute of Religion on my tenets of creativity.

One of the tenets is understanding the difference between urgency and importance.

The problem with making art is its low urgency but high importance. That's why it's so hard to finish our personal work.

Think about this as you're planning out your week. Make sure to leave some time for those important, but not urgent things in your life.

One hack I've found to incorporate some urgency into the art making is to set a deadline for yourself that's linked to an actual event, like a convention/trade show, a holiday/birthday, or a kickstarter/shop launch date.

This points back to the Algebra of Creativity I wrote about last month and one of the key elements of creativity is accountability. Being accountable to someone other than yourself is one of the best ways to bring some genuine urgency into our art making.

-Jake

When the Twingo Goes Wild

From the Office of Wheels

There's a a 2,500-Mile Dakar-Style Rally That’s Only for the Renault Twingo and it looks unbelievably fun. It's called the Twing Raid and it's giving me Toriyama vibes: cute cars, fantastic locations, and fun characters. I think there's a comic story here.

More about this on the official Twing Raid website: LINK​

Instagram: LINK​

-Jake

If Michelangelo made Pulpy Sci-fi Adventure Comics

From the Illustrators Division

LOOK AT THIS MAN'S ART. You guys, I'm feeling a little woozy and I'm not joking.

Lewis LaRosa is an comics and paleo-artist based in Georgia, USA. He's one of those artists that make you want to pick up a pen and hone your craft. Sometimes, though you just gotta put the pen down and soak in his tones and lines.

These drawings are for a project he just kickstarted called TANKERS: LINK​

You can see much more of his work here:

Instagram: LINK​

X: LINK​

-Jake

Soviet Submarine Escape Suit

From the Department of Interestingness

I love these Soviet/Russian submarine escape suits. They look like dieselpunk spacesuits.

More detailed photos here: LINK and LINK

-Jake

The ROBOTS Books are HERE!

From the Special Projects Unit

The SPACESHIPS Book has a sibling!

This book was planned, designed, kickstarted, built, printed, and shipped out in the last 12 months and now I have copies for the shop: LINK​

The plan has always been to pair a book about spaceships with a book about robots. It took about 30 months to actually realize this dream, but we made it. It's a testament to how chipping away at a thing little by little does indeed produce results.

My favorite part of this book is the sci-fi noir private detective story I mixed into it. That was so fun to write and draw.

Get your copy here: LINK​

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.

-Jake

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

-Jake

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

-Jake

The Blue Bird Russian Cosmonaut Retrieval Vehicle

From the Office of Wheels

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​

-Jake

On Sustainable Pace

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

Ok, this is funny, but there's truth to it.

Author Neil Gaiman said,

"Writing a novel works best if you can do the same day over and over again."

NYTimes Commentator David Brooks said

"Great creative minds think like artists but work like accountants."

And the great American conductor and composer, Leonard Bernstein said

"To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time."

There's a temptation to quit your day job and jump head first into your passion. Or to rent out a cabin for a month and draw your entire graphic novel.

Sometimes I get frustrated with my week and say to myself that I wish I didn't have all this administrative garbage to do, and all of this other junk to take care of so I could just spend a solid 8 hours each day pursuing my art.

The thinking is that you just need more time. You don't need more time, you just need to chip away at your dream project or dream scenario on little bit at a time.

Where do you find it? Author Austin Kleon says:

"You find time the same place you find spare change: in the nooks and crannies.

You find it in the creacks between the big stuff--your commute, your lunch break, the few hours after your kids go to bed."

And I'll add: the few hours before everyone wakes up.

You can get a TON done by working in small chunks, at a sustainable pace. That's honestly how all of my self published books got made.

Be the persistent hunter. Create a habit of knocking out a little bit of your thing at the same time every day and be amazed at the results.

-Jake

Round up of some wild Japanese model making

From the Modeling Division

I love the boundless creativity these model makers have. In some cases they've pushed the craft of kit bashing into the world of abstract fine art with shape, texture, and composition being more important than the functionality of the design.

-Jake

@0Zcat

@katoya01

@hair_chira

@1303kenny

@eddy_murao_bis

@makoto_krieger

@butakinoko2020

@zukamako

"THE LITTLE BRAVE TAILOR" by Olga Dugina & Andrej Dugin

From the Illustrators Division

No doubt you've seen the art of German based illustration duo Olga Dugina & Andrej Dugin around the library or online. They are known for their intricate and fantastical illustration style. The two seamlessly work together to create detailed and bizarre renaissance style art.

I recently came across their work again and revisited it with a fresh eye and had to share it here.

You'd expect this type of art to be hanging in obscure pop galleries in Europe, which it has, but you'd be forgiven if you didn't expect these two illustrators to apply their trade to the world of children's books, which they have.

They make the kind of books that ignite imaginations no matter what age you are. I love that they take the medium seriously.

More here:

Behance: LINK Nice big images

Website: LINK Bad small images

-Jake

A Pulpy Collection of Dark Book Covers for The Shadow

From the Office of Dusty Old Books

I found a bunch of The Shadow book covers on Flickr and just love the breadth of style and design these covers have. Really fun stuff. The Robots book has a space noir comic in it and I thought it would be cool to make a little stand alone one shot of it, but it needs a cover design. So I've been looking at old pulp novels for ideas and had to share these with you.

I don't know the artist for these, my internet sleuthing has come up empty so if you know who did this, let me know.

This is by no means a comprehensive collection of The Shadow covers, but the rest I've found are here: LINK

-Jake

The Creative Misogi

The Creative Misogi

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

There's a Japanese Shinto practice called ​misogi​ which literally translates to "water cleansing." Misogi involves ritual purification of the mind, body, and spirit through physical and mental challenges. In practice, people do a yearly pilgrimages to frigid waterfalls, lakes, and rivers and cleanse themselves in them. The aim is to scrub yourself clean of the contamination caused by modern conveniences.

In recent years there's been a growing base of people who have adopted elements of the misogi practice to give them a single memorable experience each year in nature that not just challenged them, but pushed them farther than they've ever been able to go before. These are year defining experiences like climbing a mountain, running a marathon, biking across a state, or in one wild example, a group of guys took turns carrying an 85 pound rock underwater along the coast of Santa Barbara Island.

In short, when looking back over your life and someone asks what you did in 2024, you might not remember anything that happened this year, but you'll be able to recount your misogi.

This got me thinking. I suggest that each year you do a creative misogi.

I've been practicing this for about 30 years now, but didn't know what to call it. The idea is that every year you take on a creative challenge that pushes you harder than you've ever been pushed, something that changes you, and that defines the year for you.

Examples of creative Misogis might be something like:

• Do all 30 days of an art challenge

• Do a 12 episode podcast about a subject that you find fascinating

• Make a short film

• Design a board game

• Draw a graphic novel

• Make 100 drawings of a single subject matter

• Design a website

• Paint a whole set of Warhammer 40K miniatures

There's 3 rules:

Rule 1: Make it creative

The root word of creative is create. Not revise. Not remix. Not update, reboot, or rehash. Your creative misogi should put something into the world that hasn't been seen before. Make it unique, and special to you. It should be the kind of thing that could only come from you and no one else.

Rule 2: Make it uncomfortable

This has to push you to the edge and beyond your current comfort zone. There should be a chance of failure. Through the process of doing this challenge you discover new potential in yourself that was previously unlocked.

Rule 3: Make it contained

Your creative misogi should have a finished created thing at the end of it. Something you can hand to someone. Something you send a link to. Something a person can experience. Something that has a beginning, middle, and end.

The point of all of this is that too often we push off our creative dreams until next year because we think we'll be more prepared or have more time to work on them. Too often one year turns into two, then five, then you get to the end of your life and you're haunted by the things you never accomplished when you had the strength and time to do so.

By taking on a creative misogi you're washing off apathy, indecision, comfort, and complacency to come out the other side a more passionate, decisive, ambitious person who can handle hard things.

Something to think about....

1) What was the last project you finished that really pushed yourself out of your comfort zone?

2) Are there any dream projects you want to do, but have been pushing them off because you feel like you aren't ready for them yet?

3) If you were to finish a creative misogi this year, what would it be?

-Jake

On Structure

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

Back in January I posted this quote for the inspirational thought from French author Gustave Flaubert:

“Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work.”

I got asked by a reader of this newsletter how one actually executes this.

The more structure you can add to your life, the easier it is to deal with problems when they arise and oftentimes many problems vanish.

For example: I used to lose my keys, wallet, and sunglasses ALL THE TIME. It was so frustrating to need to go somewhere and have to spend 10 minutes searching the house for all my stuff. It was always a mini crisis when I couldn't find those things. That's just one example...but my entire life was that way. I had a cluttered office, I had a cluttered schedule, I had a cluttered mind. Eventually I woke up to the fact that these mini-crises were eating away at my creativity because the mental capacity it took to deal with them sapped the cognitive resources I needed for my creative work.

I implemented a "Solve Problems for Future Jake" mindset.

It went like this: One spot for my wallet, keys, and sunglasses. Whenever I get home they go to that spot. Whenever I have to leave, I don't have to search the house, I just need to check that spot. It takes the tiniest bit of more work on my part when I come home, but it is worth not having a crisis in a time crunch later.

I repeated that mindset in every area of my life. Whenever I got a new piece of information I needed to remember, I had a spot to put it: My planner.

I established a daily and weekly schedule for almost everything in my life. I knew when I would be getting up everyday, when I would be eating, working out, showering, and going to work. And each week I knew when I would do certain tasks like my newsletter, inbox (still trying to perfect his one) and patreon updates.

Over time as more and more structure was implemented in my life I found that I was more creative and productive because so much more brain power was available for creative endeavors instead of having to solve scheduling problems and chaotic situations.

Hope this helps someone like me!

-Jake