Dream Quest by Alfred Liu

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From the Illustrators Division

Australian artist Alfred Liu is a master of miniature marvels. There's enough detail and story happening in each of his intricate illustrations to fill a book.

Here's his artist's statement:

In the land of dreams, portals open and close leading to different times and places throughout the universe.

Karzelek monks travelling through the east to spread the holy word; the Ixian gate opens; adventurers, creatures and familiars make their way to distant lands. A wise cat rides a donkey helping all those he comes across or playing tricks on them.

As these portals fade, another opens and a mysterious red robed figure beckons you to come in.

RAD.

You can see more of his work over on his website: LINK​

Instagram: LINK​

And at the Outre Gallery who is hosting a show of his until September 17: LINK

-Jake​

Why Bill Watterson Vanished

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From the Comics Division

I found a fascinating read about why Watterson retired, never to return (in a real way) to the medium of comics.

The article was some retread of the story I already know, about how the constant battles with the syndicate he signed on with for creative control and autonomy. However, the article shed some light on a few blind spots for me, specifically what he was like in college and the years in between graduation and CandH. And also the absolute GRIND is was to do Calvin and Hobbes at the level he was doing it for a decade.

I remember when Bill Watterson retired from Calvin and Hobbes. I was 17 or 18 years old and I just KNEW he was cooking up a project that was even better than Calvin and Hobbes to share with the world in a few years.

Well, those years came and went, and for almost 30 years I never quite forgave him for just dipping out (even though he left us with the most wonderful comic strip ever created).

​This article gave me some closure and empathy for the guy. I get it, Bill. Live your life.

Read the whole article here: LINK

-Jake​

Above the Clouds Postman

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​From the Film and Animation Division

This is some pre-production art for this rad little short about a couple girls who deliver mail by air.

It's just a 3 minute animation test for a possible anime series. There's not a lot of information online about who made this. It just kind of popped up one day. I really hope they get the funding or whatever they need to flesh this world out some more.

Watch the short here: LINK​

(via @Catsuka)

-Jake

The Dragon and the Robot

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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!

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From the Special Projects Unit

PICTIONARY SKETCHBOOK X INKTOBER EDITION! A new way to play Pictionary.
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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.
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Now I can’t believe there’s an official Pictionary game with my art all over it!
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It’s available TODAY at MattelCreations.com!
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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

The 10 Greatest Robot Designs in Pop Culture

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The following list is what I consider the 10 best robot designs ever. I base this according to 3 factors:

  • Aesthetics. Is the design visually appealing?

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  • Functionality. Is the design mechanically sound, or does it look mechanically sound?

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  • Cultural significance. Has the design influenced other mech designs, or pop culture to a significant degree? Or is the design the pinnacle of other mech designs before it?

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There's a lot of robots that didn't quite make the cut that I love dearly. What it came down to is how much I felt they exemplified those three criteria. And if any of them scored a little lower in one area I had to sideline them for a better robot. With that, let's get to the list, starting with number 10!

10) Johnny 5

Designed by Syd Mead this was the first truly functional looking robot I remember seeing as a kid, and not just some guy in a suit. He's so iconic, Pixar couldn't help but make a smaller, cuter version for their Wall-e design.

9) The Iron Giant

I love this design because it takes all of the robot designs from the golden age of Sci-fi and makes a perfect symbol of them all. Plus it's incredible how much expression and character they were able to achieve with so few moving parts.

The Iron Giant was designed by filmmaker Joe Johnston, which was refined by production designer Mark Whiting and Steve Markowski, head animator for the Giant.

8) District 9 Exosuit

I love this design because it's got alien vibes, but made with familiar looking technology, though it's weapon systems are anything but terrestrial.

Designed for the District 9 movie by Weta Designer Greg Broadmore.

7) Eva Unit 01

Designed by Ikuto Yamashita this thing wrinkled my brain when I first saw it. It was like a perfect evolutionary jump from the Japanese mech designs of the 80s.

6) Canti from FLCL

Canti's retro futuristic design so aligned with my sensibilities when I first saw FLCL in the early 2000s that I thought, this is the most beautiful robot ever designed. I think he's my favorite of the bunch here...but I couldn't move him farther up the list because he's scores lower on the influential scale.

Not sure who designed him, so I'll credit FLCLs creator: Kazuya Tsurumaki​

5) AT-ST

Between the AT-AT and the AT-ST I thin this design is just better. We caught a glimpse of it in Empire Strikes Back, but would not get to see it in full action until three years later when Return of the Jedi came out. This is hands down, the best walker robot design ever made.

Designed by ILM and Nilo Rodis Jamero​

4) K2SO​

Standing on the shoulders of giants, the artists at ILM created a new classic with K2SO. A droid design that I think captures all the essence of previous Star Wars droids, imbues it with some contemporary shapes and proportions, and makes it what I think is the best robot in Star Wars.

Designed by the ILM art Department. Too many contributors to list here.

3) VF-1 Valkyrie

The VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross/Robotech was Designed by Shōji Kawamori and if this design doesn't reserve him a spot in heaven...then I don't know what to say.

I could write a novel about this design, but I'll just say this: It's a futuristic F-14 that transforms into not one, but two robots.

2) Voltron

Voltron was my FIRST robot crush. I watched the tv show faithfully. What makes this so awesome is that if it was just a team of FIVE giant robot lions that fought space beasts, I would've been completely satisfied...but no. Those lion bots combine to form a giant humanoid robot WITH a sword.

Perfection.

Designed by Takayuki Masuo, Yoshiro Harada

1) RX-78-2 Gundam

And this is it, the number one greatest robot design. I'll admit I'm not a huge Gundam Fan, I like it just as much as the next guy...but I can not deny its cultural impact, it's aesthetic appeal, and the care taken to fully flesh out the engineering of these things to the point of building an ACTUAL 1 to 1 size Gundam.

Designed by Kunio Okawara.

That’s my list. Of course, just as important as what was put on the list is why certain robots were left off the list. A few close runners up were Optimus Prime, Cherno Alpha, and the AT-AT. If there’s any that you think definitely should’ve been on this list, let me know which ones and why!

-Jake

On the secret

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

A friend of mine shared this with me recently at just the right time. I've been frustrated that I have to do all this client work along with all of my commitments to SVSlearn to pay the bills. When really I'd love to have the freedom to just clear my plate of all of that to work on a comic book that may or may not make any money.

It was a reminder that working on it an hour at a time may not seem like much, but it's far and away better than it languishing in my imagination while I wait around for a wide open schedule.

I knew this once! I just needed it to smack me in the back of the head again and say "do it!"

(via @dankoe)

-Jake

The Wild Diversity of Marine Worms

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From the Flora and Fauna Unit

I found this fascinating collection of worm photographs deep in the depths of Behance. They're taken by Russian photographer Alexander Semenov who specializes in underwater photography.

These things spark my imagination but also give me major creeps. I'm not quite sure if these rainbow skinned freaks will guide me to Valhalla or crawl into my ears and eat my brain. So...they're perfect.

More here: LINK​

Semenov's portfolio: LINK

-Jake​

The World of Calpan

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From the Concept Art Division

Over the past year or so I've been watching Chinese VisDev artist Claude Z build up a portfolio of images that flesh out his world of Calpan.

I don't know what the story is, or what he's planning on doing with this, but I just think it's a fascinating peak into what seems like a fully realized world that Claude Z visits from time to time.

I'm anxious for more, and if he's ever able to collect these into a book, I'll be first in line to get one.

See the rest of his work here: LINK

-Jake​