Emerson Tung's Tankhead

From the Illustrators Division

Kindred spirit and formidable hard surface artist Emerson Tung has just launched his new book: TANKHEAD.

I've been watching Emerosn post these tank mech designs for close to a decasde now and it's exciting to see them collected in a world building book.

You can order the book here: LINK​

Check out the rest of Emerson's work here:

Website: LINK​

Instagram: LINK​

Twitter: LINK​

Artstation: LINK

-Jake

The Kinetic Ghibli Fan Art of Art Veider

From the Illustrators Division

Art Veider is a St Petersberg based artist who excels in energetic action comic style art. His characters are typically drawn from the waist up in a dynamic pose that exude creative electricity. I've been a fan for years.

Recently he's drawn a trio of Ghibli fan art pieces that I love to death.

You can see more of his work here:

Instagram: LINK​

Twitter: LINK

-Jake​

Recent Sketchbook Stuff

From the Drawings Unit

Over the years, as client and personal project needs picked up, I have started to draw less and less in my sketchbook. I used to finish 3 sketchbooks in a year and now they are taking me well over a year to finish.

What I noticed is that when I did have a moment to sit down to draw in my sketchbook I had forgotten how to do it. I had forgotten what a sketchbook was for. It seemed like a waste of time...time that could be spent working on my to-do list. None of my drawings were creative or exciting. They looked forced and unimaginative.

About halfway through this year I realized I hadn't had any NEW ideas. I've been rehashing old ones and executing on past ideas. It dawned on me that my lack of sketchbooking was probably a culprit. I decided to rediscover my sketchbook and recapture its power to be a place of exploration and fun. The drawings above are the first fruits of that.

I'll get more into my sketchbook philosophy in another email, but for now, just wanted to share these drawings.

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​

On your art's purpose

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

I saw a recent IG post from an artist I follow who had been off of instagram for a bit. Essentially, he was off the platform to recalibrate and get back to making art for himself and not for likes and attention. He points to social media as being an unhealthy place for young artists because of the focus on likes as a measure of self-worth, the problem with comparisons, and a false sense of community.

I applaud this artist (Jake Morrison) for taking a life moment to step back and come at his work in a healthier place. Reminds me of this quote:

The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline… but rather the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.

– Glenn Gould (Canadian classical pianist)

Count this as your reminder for the day to stop making art for the algorithm and make art for people, and for you.

The artists I most resonate with aren't instagram artists (though they might post there), they aren't witty on twitter, or youtube click-baters. The artists I love are the one's who I've met in person and/or have spent hours with their work in my hands and mind.

Figure out how you can provide that experience for people and I think you'll lock in a solid following for your work and be happier as a creative person.

-Jake

Alex Braun's Magic Paintbrush

From the Illustrators Division

Wanted to point your attention to a new up-and-comer I found on Twitter, then had the pleasure of meeting briefly at Lightbox: Alex Braun.

It was the gecko archer that initially caught my eye and I had to see more, and BOY was there more. I love the DnD world he's building out, the dinosaurs, the colors and rendering. I think he found a magic paintbrush or something, becasue his work is beautiful. Good stuff. Keep an eye on this guy.

Website: LINK​

Twitter: LINK​

Instagram: LINK

-Jake

DWJ's Grungergetic Vader Short Story

From the Comics Division

Possibly my favorite creator from the last 10 years, Chicago based comic artist Daniel Warren Johnson is getting tons of heat (the good kind) right now because of his Transformers book that he's doing for Image/Skybound.

We are just one issue into the Transformers story, and it is dynamite already, like ALL of DWJ's books, but I wanted to direct your attention to a short comic that might have missed your gaze: "Annihilated" from the Darth Vader: Black, White, and Red series that came out earlier this year.

​Felix Comic Art posted the original scans from DWJ's story on Twitter, and it's a great tribute to the greatest villain in Star Wars.

DWJ does artisanal comics which means they look just as good (if not better) as raw scans versus fully colored and printed.

You can see more of Daniel's work on his website: LINK​

Youtube: LINK​

IG: LINK

-Jake​

Expired Mansions​

​From the Architecture Desk

I found this incredible photo album on Flickr of abandoned mansions and castles around Europe. They are the work of photographer Benjamin Wiessner. There's not much online about this guy that I could find in a cursory search, but there's plenty of photos of vacant, decrepit buildings and awe inducing locations attributed to him.

I love urban (and in this case sub-urban) exploration. Creeping through abandoned places, piecing together why these ghost homes were vacated fills my mind with stories and things I want to draw. When I can't do it in person, I live vicariously through people like Wiessner who generously share the wonders they see with us.

Check out 75 more expired mansions in his Flickr album here: LINK

-Jake

Disney Lorcana

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

On content creation

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

You are an artist who makes art, a storyteller who tells stories, NOT a "content creator."

“Content creator neatly accomplishes two things at once: It lets people who make garbage think they’re making art, and tells people who make art that they’re making garbage."

-Jason Bailey

Pulled this quote from this hammer of an opinion piece: LINK​

Also, if you want a comprehensive in depth dive on "content" one of my favorite youtubers went hard on this: LINK

-Jake

The ROBOX BASIC

From the Office of Robots

Cool robot designed by the late Kim Jun Gi and made by 1000Toys. These came out about 5 years ago I believe, but I just found out about them recently. Love the tranformability of them, and the utilitarian design.

More images here: LINK

-Jake