Disney Lorcana

November 06, 2023 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit

For the last couple years I've been working on a bunch of Disney illustrations for their new card game Lorcana.

This project has repeatedly taken me out of my comfort zone. To the point that I don't know why I was contacted in the first place. Sometimes, I wondered why I agreed to this job!

As you know, I don't typically paint my art, I just slap cell-shade style color on everything and call it good.

However, I've been learning SO MUCH from looking at everything the other Lorcana artists have made over the last couple years I've been doing these. I've also gotten a lot of great direction from the art directors.

I guess that's why I said yes to this, I wanted to be pushed out of my comfort zone and do work that made me scared.

These are the first 5 that have been revealed and there's more to come!

Disney Locana: LINK

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

-Jake

Lost in Somnia

October 27, 2023 in Special Projects Unit

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!

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.

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.

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.

"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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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!

-Jake

The Dragon and the Robot

September 18, 2023 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit

Drew this dragon and robot last night for the livestream. Took a lot of great questions and talked about what you should focus on in highschool as an artist, reasons you should have a table at a convention. Plus you get to hear my wife's voice as she reacts to the comments section.

You can watch it here: LINK

🔴Next livestream is this afternoon: LINK

-Jake

Pictionary Sketchbook Edition!

September 18, 2023 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit

PICTIONARY SKETCHBOOK X INKTOBER EDITION! A new way to play Pictionary.

When Pictionary first came out I was a 10-year-old who LOVED to draw, so when I played it for the first time it seemed like a board game designed specifically for me, a kid who was better at expressing myself through art than words.

Ironically, I always made my team lose because I spent too much time drawing overly detailed pictures! And...it's still true to this day, haha. My family always gets frustrated when it's my turn because I can't keep myself from add ing too much detail and running out the clock.

Now I can’t believe there’s an official Pictionary game with my art all over it!

It’s available TODAY at MattelCreations.com!

It was such an honor to work with the skilled team at Mattel to make this thing a reality.

We put together a bunch of artwork I had made over the years for the Inktober challenge and collected them all in a kind of "greatest hits" sketchbook. I even made an entirely new drawing for it (above).

I hope you are able to pick up a copy. I played it with my family and we had a blast. Maybe even too much fun, haha.

Order here: LINK

-Jake

Getta Pizza Da Future!

August 22, 2023 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit

I designed a t-shirt for the Robots book campaign. I love a good t-shirt and have made a few over the years, so this isn't my first rodeo. Excited to get this one made and put on my torso.

In my book, Robot Crimes Investigator, Ryder, visits a Papa-Bot's Pizza to get a clue about the case he's on.

So I thought it would be fun to make a t-shirt for the pizza business that builds out the Robots universe a little more.

This shirt is exclusive to the Kickstarter so if you want to add it to your pledge, or back it at the T-Shirt level, you gotta follow the link:

back the kickstarter today!

Week TWO of Ryder's Robot Book

August 04, 2023 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit

If you haven't checked it out yet, my new book is on Kickstarter now!

back the kickstarter today!

I've been generating a TON of artwork lately for the Kickstarter, and thought I'd do a big art dump today.

Here's the main character of the new book, Ryder. He's a detective who investigates robot crimes. And in the book the case he's dealing with is a real doozy!

Here's the Robot King.

I did a few variants you can see in my instagram post here: LINK.

People liked these two the best. He's part of a series of chess bots that are in the book.

I did a live stream of this drawing on Instagram you can watch here: LINK

I had a request from a backer to draw Ripley's Power Loader from Aliens. I thought it would be fun to try and draw it from memory. I know it doesn’t look exactly like this, but it was fun to make something that has the vibe. I think I got all the right beats.

And I got MORE requests for drawings of Robbie the Robot from Lost in Space, Gizmo Duck, BD-1 from Jedi Fallen Order, and K2-SO from Rogue One. Again, tried doing all of these from memory.

Lastly, here's a cool sticker I designed for the second stretch goal. Everyone who backs it at the Signature Edition and above will get this if we hit the stretch goal.

PATREON: I paused an 8 part series on getting a book deal while I wait for some feedback from my agent. In the meantime I'm sharing all my strategies, ideas, and the book building process of my next Kickstarter project: ROBOTS. Including raw numbers and my kickstarter dashboard info.

Patrons are seeing concept art, the process posts, the writing posts, and everything that goes into making these books. Here's the breakdown of how I made a complex cover illustration like this, with multiple characters:

The amount of support on my Patreon ebbs and flows, but always hovers around 125-130 people. We are now at 137! So close to my goal of 140 this month.

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

-Jake

Ryder's Intergalactic Guide to Robots, Powersuits, and Mechs

July 15, 2023 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit

NEXT WEEK - I'll be launching my next Kickstarter: a book all about ROBOTS

After the huge success of the SPACESHIPS book I knew almost immediately my next project had to be a ROBOTS BOOK.

Like the spaceships book, ROBOTS will have a mix of everything:

Sketches.
Finished renders.
Cross sections.
A bunch of stuff from the drawings books
and a comic story threaded through the whole thing

I'd love as many people as possible to back this thing on DAY ONE, and here's why:

Kickstarter will only promote highly successful kickstarters to other people.

If a project is funded a few hours and shows continued growth in the first 24 hours, their algorithm says, "We got ourselves a winner here!" and they use their marketing oomph to get the word out. Why? Because they get 5% of the money that's raised, and it just makes business sense to promote the winners.

They love the extra money, and I love it because for every person who backs the project, Kickstarter matches that by getting someone else to back it.

And every kickstarter brings new people to stories I'm telling through my books and art. Perhaps you're here because you've found me through one of my kickstarters in the past. If so, thanks for sticking around!

Click here to get notified on the launch: LINK

THANK YOU!

PATREON: I just paused an 8 part series on getting a book deal while I wait for some feedback from my agent. In the meantime I'm sharing all my strategies, ideas, and the book building process of my next Kickstarter project: ROBOTS.

Sign up now: LINK

The amount of support on my Patreon ebbs and flows, but always hovers around 125-130 people. We are now at 138! So close to my goal of 140 this month.

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

-Jake

SPACESHIPS, SPACESHIPS, SPACESHIPS

June 20, 2022 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit

Some more spaceship drawings I made yesterday and today for the Kickstarter. These are add-ons you can add to your pledge.

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

I've got more art to share in the future. Next week I'll be showing A LOT of process and behind the scenes stuff on the Patreon. So if you haven't signed up yet, now would be a good time. LINK

Patrons also got a free copy of this Red-Shift Renegades One Shot I just released:

There's also been a great discussion on the Private Patreon section of the discord about how to be an indie comic artist, and an outline of my approach to business. Join the patreon and then join us in that conversation!

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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!

-Jake

Kepler’s Intergalactic Guide to Spaceships

June 08, 2022 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit

>>>CLICK HERE TO BE NOTIFIED ON LAUNCH<<<

If everything goes as planned my Kickstarter will be launching next week. If you've enjoyed these newsletters, backing this book project would be a great way to show your love and support.

It's part comic. Part art book. ALL spaceships!

Here's a sneak peek at a couple of the reward tiers:

This is just scratching the surface of some of the things I've been putting together for this. Can't wait to show you the exclusive prints.

Again, sign up here for the notification at launch: LINK

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JOIN THE DISCORD COMMUNITY HERE: LINK

-Jake

Kepler's Intergalactic Guide to Spaceships

June 06, 2022 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit

Been going through my archives and found a TON of spaceship drawings. Decided to make an art book celebrating sci-fi spaceships.

This is the cover art. Kickstarting this thing in June.

Instead of doing DRAWINGS 6 (which is a tough entry point for new fans) and instead of reprinting my DRAWINGS series I’m going to make themed books.

The first one to test this strategy:

“Kepler’s Intergalactlc Guide to Spaceships”

Part comic. Part art book. ALL spaceships!

Here's the Kickstarter Pre-launch Page: LINK

If this is something you are excited about, please click "Notify me on launch" so I can gauge interest in this project before I launch!

Here's a close ups of the original art for that cover:

JOIN THE DISCORD COMMUNITY HERE: LINK

-Jake

Scale Model of Imperial Rome

April 23, 2022 in Architecture Desk, Special Projects Unit

From the Office of Scale Models

Planning on visiting Rome? Put this on your list of thing to see: LINK

This really gets me excited. I've been infatuated with miniature scenes and tiny sets ever since I was a little boy. My grandpa had a scale model of a small town with a train going through it. It was top of my todo list of things to check out when I'd go visit him. My favorite part of Mister Roger's Neighborhood was the end and beginning where the camera pans across the scale model of Mister Roger's neighborhood. If there's something like this at a visitors center, a museum, or a road side tourist attraction you bet I'm stopping to check it out.

This particular model took 35 years to build. It was the project of Italian architect Italo Gismondi. Look at the level of detail, and the overall scale of this thing!

-Jake

Skull Chaser Arcade

January 30, 2022 in Special Projects Unit

From the Special Projects Unit in association with the Division of Partnerships and Collaborations:

I had the fortunate opportunity to be a part of a unique show for Gallery Nucleus called PHANTASY ARCADE. From the website:

“Phantasy Arcade is a unique art exhibition concept born out of quarantine. Featuring a coupling of artist and musicians, each artist created work for an original, non-playable, 1/6th scale arcade cabinet. Musicians simultaneously created original music based on the artists' concepts. The collection is a miniature arcade that evokes nostalgia for things that never were.”

When I was asked to participate, I immediately knew I wanted to do something with Skull Chaser. Here’s what I came up with:

This was so fun to do as an art project, but all I want now is to actually PLAY Skull Chaser. I imagine it being a side scroller like Metal Slug. Each level is a different planet where he chases down a criminal and takes their head for a bounty. He’s then able to spend his credits on power ups and improvements to his ship.

This thing is actually available for purchase, and possibly the coolest part of it is it comes with its own THEME MUSIC, written and performed by George Shaw.

Check it out and ORDER ONE here: LINK

-Jake