In 2011 I launched my first Kickstarter (which funded beyond my wildest dreams) and published an anthology of my short comics. The book was named after my favorite story in the collection: The Antler Boy.

I love this book because it’s a time capsule of my work from the first 13 years of my career, but also taught me so much about self publishing and the craft of making books. When I look at it, I see a Jake that was confident, but still had sooo much to learn.

It’s 15 years later and I want to do a reprint.

And I want to do a brand new cover for it.

The First Pass

This is actually something I wanted to do on it’s 10 year anniversary, in 2021. I designed a cover, but I got pulled in another direction by other projects and I shelved the idea. Here’s what I designed back then:

Idea:

The Pencils:

The Inks:

And the final color and mock up of the book:

I was all set to launch another kickstarter for this edition, but like I said, I got pulled in other directions, the project stalled, and I put it on the backest of back burners.

Until now…

Bringing the project back to life

A couple weeks ago I was reviewing all the projects I’ve started but never finished and the Antler Boy anthology stared back and me and said, “How about now?”

I knew right then I had to do it. I pulled up the last cover I designed and, looking at it with the freshest of eyes, realized it wasn’t right. At all. It was too busy, it lacked a focal point, and the color was…well, I’m not sure what I was doing with the color.

I want the cover to make the book irresistible to pick up. The cover needs to pull someone in. Whether that’s from across the isle at a comic-con, or as a thumbnail on Amazon, the cover needs to say, “You want me!”

After a day of sketching, I came up with two ideas. One that honored the old book but freshened up the design a bit. And one that focused on the Antler Boy and had some mystery to it.

I honestly couldn’t decide which on I liked better so I posted them on IG, X, Patreon, and Substack and asked people what they thought. I figured who better to ask than the people who might want to own it.

I thought maybe a 100 people would fill out the poll, and maybe I’d get 20 comments. Dear reader, I was not ready for the response. Over 4000 people took the poll. I got 400+ comments between all the posts. And I posted on a Saturday too. (which are usually slow engagement days for me.)

The majority of people liked the B cover better... by a large margin!

However, many people brought up a valid point:

B looks cool, but it doesn’t say “anthology.”

Inkpulp was one of many with this note:

I wasn’t sure what to do, then it hit me!

Why not both?

I decided to take everything I like from A and add it to B.

This version retains the contrast and intrigue of the original B design, but with all the characters hiding in the shadows and branches, the cover becomes a “spot the character” game. Which is fun!

So… what’s next?

I’m going to tweak a few compositional things, and then color it.

Which is scaring me a little because I’m not super confident with color.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

-Jake

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

I’ll have a table at the NYCC Artist Alley again this year! More details to come. LINK

I’ll be a guest artist at Dragonsteel Nexus this year! LINK

The Podcast:

Lot’s of great episodes of the podcast lately. A few of my favorites:

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: How to be an Exceptional Artist (My favorite episode this year)

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: How Your Personality Affects Your Art Career (We take personality tests and in the process find out what Disney Princess I am)

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Three Illustrators Shooting the Breeze (No direction or goal for this episode, just talking. This one is for the real fans)

BOOK SALE

My son’s summer project continues. There’s still a handful of great books for sale from my library on ebay here: LINK

Some of these books are ones I wish I could keep, but alas, I’m trying to streamline my collection and keep books directly related to projects I’m developing and selling off books that have fulfilled their purpose for me, or I somehow ended up with doubles of.

Hoping these books find a loving home! Prices are fair, but competitive, and will entertain honest offers. All proceeds go to my son’s college fund.

BOOK SALE: LINK

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Currently reading:

Selling books to make room for this chungus of a book:

The Books of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

I read the first book last fall and it gave me chills, and moved me to tears. I decided I had to read the rest of these. The kids took note and got me this collection of all of the books, lovingly illustrated by Charles Vess for my birthday. Reading book one again now and it’s just as good the second time around. Le Guin is a master.

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

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Hello to all the new subscribers to this newsletter over the last few months!

For those of you new here, and those that have been here from the beginning, I am so glad you are here. It’s been a while since I’ve had time in my schedule to put one of these together, so buckle up, it’s a big one.

IT’S FINISHED

10 months ago I started drawing my second Wings of Fire book for Scholastic and Saturday at 10:30PM I put my stylus down, saved the last page, and printed it out, placing it on the stack. Then I picked up my vermillion pencil and colored in the last square on my progress chart:

This week I set a new record for myself: 13 pages penciled and inked. It takes me about 6-7 hours to finish a page. Wish I could do it faster, but I’m at the limits of what I can do and still have the drawings look good. Working in Clip Studio helps though. I can’t imagine doing this job without that program. (not sponsored)

I love working on these books. Not just because the characters and locations are so fun to draw…but the fans are so fun to interact with.

The FanWings aren’t just ubiquitous (I haven’t met a 10 year old who hasn’t read at least one of these books) they are equal parts smart and sweet. I had the opportunity back in May to attend a FanWing Fest and met hundreds of them across all ages. I saw kids dressed in dragon costumes of their own creation, with tattered and torn copies of the books cradled in their arms.

They don’t love the books because they’re trendy or collectible. They love the characters and their stories. They love them because they see part of themselves in them, and they learn how to navigate emotions and dynamic social situations from the books. Essentially, the books are doing what good books do: put the reader under a spell and open them up to new worlds and ideas. Tui Sutherland has created something special here.

I don’t treat it lightly to be a part of the team that makes them. I’m grateful for it!

Now a short breather before I start the next big project!

Alright, lots to share today so…let’s jump into it!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

I’ll be a guest artist at Dragonsteel Nexus this year! LINK

Skyward Leather Bound Edition

Back in January I finished a project with Brandon Sanderson where I did the design and illustrations for the Skyward Leather Bound Edition. Here’s a mock up of the book:

This book comes out in fall 2026. Leading up to the release I'll be sharing the step-by-step process of how I drew the 36 illustrations for the book. (Patreon exclusive)

The Podcast:

Lot’s of great episodes of the podcast lately. A few of my favorites:

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Philip and Erin Stead: (How to make books together and stay married)

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Dynamic Comic Covers with Shawn Crystal (Inside baseball stuff, but about comics)

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Leaving the Comfort Zone and Reinventing Yourself with LeUyen Pham (one of the best interviews we’ve ever had)

1) The Making of Darkstalker

From the Making Comics Division

I’ve been posting weekly or monthly on Patreon for the last twelve years (first post here!), and I have zero plans to stop. My Patreon hasn’t just been a way for fans of my work to support the work, it’s been a twelve year creative journal. In many ways I think it’s more valuable to me as that. I can’t believe I have a week-to-week account of everything I’ve worked on for over a decade and can easily look back and see what I’ve accomplished, and how I’ve grown as an illustrator.

Most recently I just wrapped up my 13 part Making of Darkstalker. Check that out if you want an in depth look under the hood of a best-selling graphic novel:

2) Monemvasia

From the Office of Environment Design

The ancient Greek town of Monemvasia looks like something straight out of a fantasy book. The town was first settled in the 6th century and has had more lives than a cat as the empires it was attached to rose and fell over the centuries.

By the 1970s it had largely fell into ruin and only 32 residents lived there. Then tourists discovered it and the homes were sold one-by-one to people who had the money and inclination to restore them. Now it’s a hotspot for people looking for a unique and memorable vacation.

But for me, it’s inspiration for my next fantasy environment I need to design.

More info here: LINK

3) The Online Museum of Pterosaurs

From the Illustrators Division in partnership with the Division of Prehistoric Studies

This website is incredible. From it’s about page:

Pteros is a reference museum for the pterosaurs, the only vertebrates other than birds and bats ever to evolve powered flight. Every known genus is documented here, illustrated by paleoartists working from fossil evidence and the current scientific literature.

You don’t need to go to alien planets or fantasy books to find fauna that pushes the envelope of what an organism is capable of evolving into. You just need to investigate the fossil record of earth.

I am endlessly inspired by these creatures. What a thrilling project these paleoartists have put together.

See the website here: LINK

4) DEAD gODS

From the Comics Division

Veteran concept artist Matt Rhodes is tearing it up with a project he’s been chipping away at for about 18 months now: DEAD gODS.

It’s an epic/fantasy telling of the untold story of Noah, the Shipwright in Rhodes story, and how he had to fight all kinds of strange monsters and men in the world before the flood.

It’s a world building project and graphic novel, meaning we are getting all kinds of cool art along with a story in comic form. At the pace he’s going, it’s going to take a few years at least…but that’s not bad, because every step of this journey has been a blast to watch. So much so, that I don’t want it to end.

Matt posts updates on the project every week over on Youtube and his Patreon.

If you still aren’t sold, just watch this trailer here, and this one here.

Youtube: LINK

Patreon: LINK

Website: LINK

5) On your personal library

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

Umberto Eco, author of the popular 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, had a library of fifty-thousand books. (according to this 2013 NYTimes article)

I found this quote on his Good Reads page and I love what he says about books being medicine:

“It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy, as it is foolish to criticize those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. It would be like saying that you should use all the cutlery or glasses or screwdrivers or drill bits you bought before buying new ones.

“There are things in life that we need to always have plenty of supplies, even if we will only use a small portion.

“If, for example, we consider books as medicine, we understand that it is good to have many at home rather than a few: when you want to feel better, then you go to the ‘medicine closet’ and choose a book. Not a random one, but the right book for that moment. That’s why you should always have a nutrition choice!

“Those who buy only one book, read only that one and then get rid of it. They simply apply the consumer mentality to books, that is, they consider them a consumer product, a good. Those who love books know that a book is anything but a commodity.”

Unfortunately, I do not have space in my home for 50,000 books, but my wife and I have dedicated space in four different rooms to books. I think there’s 7 or 8 bookshelves here. There’s a book for every season and mood.

BOOK SALE

That said, we can only hold so many, and every year we wean out books that have served us well, but would be just as loved in other homes.

Which is why my son, for his summer project, has listed about 80 books from my collection on ebay here: LINK

Some of these books are ones I wish I could keep, but alas, I’m trying to streamline my collection and keep books directly related to projects I’m developing and selling off books that have fulfilled their purpose for me, or I somehow ended up with doubles of.

Hoping these books find a loving home! Prices are fair, but competitive, and will entertain honest offers. All proceeds go to my son’s college fund.

BOOK SALE: LINK

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Currently reading:

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

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Hello!

It’s been a minute since I’ve been in your inbox. And by minute, I mean a FOUR month gap in newsletters wide enough to fly an airship through. The nice thing is that in this over-saturated attention ecosystem we find ourselves in you probably haven’t noticed one less voice in your inbox. For the few who have been wondering what I’ve been up to, the short answer for my absence is simply, I’ve been working.

Friday mornings have traditionally been the time I set aside to write a newsletter. It’s been one of my favorite things I do in the self-employed, Frankenstein’s-monster-of-odd-jobs-sewn-together that I call being an independent illustrator. Among those jobs are *inhales deeply for effect* Marketing, Customer/Client Acquisition, Video Creation/Editing, Social Media Managing, Customer Service, Project Management, IT, HR, Accounting, Patreon, and I think I’m forgetting something…oh yes: Art Making.

As a solo creator, I’ve got to do all of those jobs because it’s all a part of what makes the monster able to survive. You can’t have a Frankenstein monster without arms, legs, heart, or brains. They all need to be operating in order for him to terrorize the villagers.

If I only had to do one thing it would be to make art, obviously. But if I had to do two it would be to make art and put out a newsletter. I love writing messages, sharing my thoughts, showing you what’s been inspiring me, and getting feedback and ideas from you. It’s been a true delight of my career to sink into that frame of mind on Friday mornings.

If you missed my last newsletter it was titled “Up To My Eyeballs” for a reason. At some point you say yes to too much and this job becomes a game of triage. If I’m going to take this Frankenstein analogy a little further, the monster doesn’t HAVE to speak to terrorize the villagers. In the same way I don’t HAVE to do social media and newsletters to do the drawings. The freelance work has deadlines, the newsletter doesn’t. After a while though, the monster does need to communicate in order to stave off torch-bearing farmers, or say, convince a maiden to be his bride.

Which is why I’m here. It is time to let Frankenstein’s monster talk, to get this newsletter up and running with a more reasonable cadence. I’d like to get back to weekly, but that seems audacious. So we will stick with a vague yet truthful: you’ll get it when you get it.

Alright, lots to share today so…let’s jump into it!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

Lot’s of great episodes of the podcast lately. A few of my favorites:

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Let’s Talk About Studio Setups

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Cracking the Creativity Code

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Mind-Shifting Marketing Ideas for Your Art Business

Wings of Fire: Book 16, Barnes and Noble “Bonus Poster”

From the Special Projects Unit

A few months ago I was in the middle of drawing my next Wings of Fire comic, when I got an interesting email from my art director. He wanted to know if I could do a “Bonus Poster” for the next Wings of Fire novel. This would be a Barnes and Noble exclusive. This would be a pretty high profile illustration gig. The pay was good too. The only problem was I really didn’t have time to do it. However, I figured I could push a couple other projects back a few days since those projects had a little wiggle room, and clear some space for this one. I told him “count me in.”

Within a couple days I had the brief. Which was basically a dragon on a simple castle back ground. (there was more to it than that. I got a description of the dragon and what not).

What excited me about this project was that I got to be the first artist to design a never-before-seen dragon in the Wings of Fire world.

I share the entire process of how I illustrated this on my Patreon.

Here it is in the wild:

I am pretty happy with this one. I think I pulled it off, but not without pulling out some of my hair. Not that it was too hard, there's just that phase in every illustration where you're not sure you're going to actually land the plane and it will be a fiery explosion with no survivors. I felt that hard, but persisted, and ended up on the runway without any casualties.

2) Kitbashed Mechs

From the Modeling Division

These kit-bashed mechs by Japanese modeler @m1_s1_t1_k1 show what’s possible with scraps of Gundam plastic and a little glue.

More in his Portfolio: LINK

3) The Explorer/Illustrator Frederick Catherwood

From the Illustrators Division

English artist, architect, and explorer Frederick Catherwood was not the first Westerner to explore the ancient Mayan cities depicted in his illustrations, however, he was the first to accurately illustrate what he saw.

His books, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán and Incidents of Travel in Yucatán, were best sellers and introduced the Western world to the Mayan civilization.

What’s cool about this, besides how well done these lithographs are, is that many of these sites have deteriorated since they were first discovered, and his illustrations are so accurate they hold great archaeological value to modern researchers.

He was able to make such precise and intricate drawings because of a special tool called a camera lucida that utilizes a prism to superimpose the image of a subject onto a drawing surface, allowing the user to trace the outlines and details with accuracy.

Catherwood spent a year in the jungle fighting off insect, beast, and even a bout of malaria to get us these illustrations. Though he died at the relatively too young age of 55 it wasn’t the jungle that took his life. He drowned in the Atlantic ocean when a steamer he was a passenger on collided with another ship and sank.

I kind of want to make a graphic novel biography about him.

More illustrations here: LINK and here: LINK

Wikipedia entry: LINK

4) Lace & Linen

From the Comics Division

Found a cool indie comic project by French artist Carla Antonia called Lace & Linen. I love her style, and the this overcast world she’s building. She describes her comic as such:

In a dream-like world where time passes slower, a spy has been ordered to get rid of a man. In a stoic manner, she pursues her task- only to realize this target is someone she already knows. It's a story of two people's way to escape reality in a world they have lost hope with, and how they can find a new light together.

The only problem is she’s just posted on chapter. We need more! But it looks like she’s in submarine mode right now. Not seeing much activity on her socials.

Read the first chapter here: LINK

Carla’s Instagram: LINK

Comic trailer (What. this looks amazing!): LINK

5) On inconvenience…

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

I recently listened to an interview with a writer who ditched their laptop for writing and now uses a typewriter. They have to re-type and re-type over and over again as they make revisions and adjustments to the book.

They said something that I can’t stop thinking about: “making art is inconvenient.”

Their point being that everything you do to make it more convenient makes it less art and more a commodity. Friction is needed to gain traction. Make the contact points too smooth and you get a lot of motion with no forward momentum.

Does adding friction to the process, slowing it down, and letting it simmer on the stove instead of microwaving it improve the quality of the work?

I think it does.

That is something I’m going to consider the next time I stress out about how long something is taking to create.

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Currently reading:

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

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Hello!

Guys, I’m am up to my eyeballs in freelance work right now, so I’m going to keep this part short and get back to work.

As we wrap up this year I just want to thank you for reading this newsletter. I get emails from readers every time I send them and I love reading them, though I don’t have the bandwidth to reply back to all of them.

2025 has been an incredible yet daunting year with the Parker family move to Virginia, my daughter getting married, and a hit book on the best sellers lists. I have a TON to be grateful for and I do not take it all for granted.

I’ll be back in your inbox next month, until then I hope you have a joyful holiday season, and very happy new year.

Alright, lots to share today so…let’s jump into it!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Too Many Ideas, Not Enough Time

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: You Know What Grinds My Grits?

• 🔴 SVS Live: Making the Darkstalker graphic novel

1) Graphic Novel Pro

From the Office of Online Education

Graphic Novel Pro is BACK!

Hear me out…what if 2026 was the year you actually made your graphic novel?

To make that happen you need:

• clear direction

• a solid plan

• a group of peers cheering you on

• a mentor you can reach out to for guidance

We’ve hard wired these things into Graphic Novel Pro so that you don’t have to do this on your own.

The class doesn’t start until January 22th but we are letting a few people in before Christmas because:

• It’s a great present for that creative comic nerd in your life

• Or you can treat yourself since you are a creative comic nerd and your ideas deserve to be drawn and published

• It’s a tax write-off for 2025 (ask your accountant, I’m not a tax pro, but Professional Development is a legit use of your money)

• And to that point, getting really good at your craft is what your future you will be glad you did in 2026

I know it all comes down to you putting in the reps and drawing page after page, but why do that in a vacuum? Why go it alone without any direction?

We hope to see you in class!

Register Here: LINK

LEARN MORE

2) New Download Editions!

From the Making Comics Division

I make digital editions of all my books so that people who missed the print run can still have access to them. I just loaded up the shop with a bunch of new downloads and a deal to get ALL my books at a massive discount.

Order Rux Ryder

Order Lost In Somnia

Order the 11 Book Bundle

Get Organized and Productive!

Here’s my planner (and one extra I made for my son-in-law, by request) ready to be trimmed and spiral bound.

This is a planner for deliberate creators.

It’s been tested and refined in the creative furnace of my own chaotic workdays.

Built to help you organize your process, finish what you start, and move your work into the world.

Order the file here: LINK

3) The Refined Style of Matias Basla

From the Illustrators Division

Just want to bring your attention to a comic artist with impeccable style and killer compositional instincts. Matias Basla has worked on a few cool projects but I’m struggling to find where he’s based and what he’s currently doing.

Projects of note: Sparrowhawk, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Blitmap

Tumblr: LINK

Instagram: LINK

4) Truss Wall House

From the Architecture Desk

Designed by Eisaku Ushida & Katherine Findlay the house was built in Japan in 1993. If that isn’t something out of a Star War. Don’t how practical it would be to live here, but the design is incredible.

Drawings and concepts here: LINK

More photos here: LINK

5) Never Forget How Much Dazzle Camouflage Ruled

From the Department of Graphic Design

Sometimes I forget that this was a thing and I love how the military just gave artist free reign over their fleet for a war. I know radar made this obsolete, but think we should go back to this just because it looks so dang cool.

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Currently reading:

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

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Hello!

I’m back in your inbox as we charge headfirst through fall into winter. I skipped my newsletter last month because we landed a house and moved in, plus I went to New York for a week for the comic convention. All of that on top of a very full work schedule. That’s about all this man can handle in a month!

Here’s the current state of the new studio space:

It’s doesn’t look finished, but like the second Death Star, it is fully operational.

NYCC was a blast with so many great moments, cool people, and lots of creative fuel. Lucky for you, I did not sell all my Rux Ryder and Lost In Somnia books, so I will be opening the shop next weekend to sell those and a few other things. I’ll announce the sale here so you don’t miss it!

Alright, lots to share today so…let’s jump into it!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 🔒Patreon: Lost In Somnia - Before and After

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: How Much I Made at Comic-Con

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Do What Scares You

1) Darkstalker is out!

From the Making Comics Division

My new graphic novel has finally hit bookshelves across the world! I am excited, thrilled even, to have people finally read this book brought to life through my drawings.

I always dreamed I’d have a book on the top 100 sellers page on Amazon. What blows me away is as of today it stands at #27 on the “Amazon Best Sellers” list!

Now, I know that I’m just an appendage to a dragon IP juggernaut, and that this book would be in this spot regardless of who drew it. But I’d like to think that my work moved the needle a little bit. Also, I’m not the only one who worked on this book.

Shout out to the creative team:
Writer/Creator: @tuisutherland
Adapted script: @barry.deutsch Rachel Swirsky
Color: @pencilcatart
Lettering: @ek.weaver
Art Director: Phil Falco

Order on Amazon here: LINK

Or even better: Go out to your local indie bookstore and pick up a copy there.

Here’s some of my favorite pages from the book:

If you want to see lots more behind the scenes breakdowns of this book, I’ll be sharing it on my patreon in the coming weeks.

2) Transformers

From the Concept Art Division

Uhhh…how come not one of my friends, nor the algorithm, has brought this concept art for the 1986 Transformers movie to my attention?! This stuff rules! Way too good and somehow timeless? These designs punch way above their weight and look as good as anything you’d see in an “Art of” book from the last decade.

Art by Floro Dery, who was another wonder from the Philippines. (I have met sooo many amazing artists from that country!)

There’s a great article on his contribution to Transformers here: LINK

3) Brutalist, but not too much

From the Architecture Desk

Once there was an Italian cement entrepreneur who had a taste for art and flare. He wanted a home that paid homage to the material that made him rich. Long story short: in 1971 architect Carlo Graffi and engineer Sergio Musmeci collaborated to build Villa Gontero and with it introduced the world to Italian Brutalism.

I love this because the Italians some how made brutalism look…fun.

And is that little pops of vermillion I spy?

The story didn’t end there. The reason it still stands and looks as good as it does over 50 years later is told here: LINK

More photos here and here.

4) Pre-Raphaelite Graphic Design

From the Illustrators Division

I’m flipping out over here because of these exquisite line drawings by English illustrator Florence Harrison (1877-1955). Harrison was known for her paintings which is a lot of what you find when you google her work. But the stuff that really shine for me is her book design, lettering, and chapter headings.

Gorgeous stuff!

5) On Creative Seasons

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

As you know, I moved to Virginia this summer and Autumn is finally in full swing here. Almost every tree is golden yellow, simmering orange, or burning red, with a forest green pine sprinkled in between. The air is crisp in the mornings when I take the dog for a walk. Last week we had three days of heavy clouds and rain. I didn’t want it to end. When the sun finally showed itself and I felt its warmth I was actually grateful for our mother star. I love this change and did not realize how much creative energy I pull from the weather and seasons. Arizona was good for many reasons, but when it comes to sunshine, it is the definition of the problem of having too much of a good thing.

What does this have to do with creativity other than drawing inspiration from the colors of the season? I think there’s a lot we can learn from our distant progenitors who worked with the land for their survival.

Their work year was divided into four seasons patterned after the weather cycles:

PLANT: till the soil, plant the seeds.

NURTURE: weeding, watering, protecting the crop.

HARVEST: harvest the crops and bring them to the marketplace.

PREPARE: repairing tools, mending clothes, storing grain, planning next year.

You can imagine what this looks like on a quiet homestead in the country, but how do you do this as a modern day thought/creative worker?

PLANT: Discovery & Concept Season

• Gather references, read widely, collect imagery, observe.

• Sketch without purpose.

• Brainstorm story seeds, prompts, “what if?” ideas.

• Have conversations. Wander museums. Fill your creative bank account.

NURTURE: Routine & Crafting Season

• Get to work, showing up daily.

• Build momentum by chipping away at the project page by page

• Not a time for re-evaluation, it’s a time to keep moving forward. Let the idea grow and get roots

HARVEST: Production & Release Season

• Finish your work share it with the world

• Tell the story of your creation

• Enjoy the moment of release!

PREPARE: Recovery & Strategic Planning Season

• Rest purposefully

• Review and evaluate your work, process, and productivity

• Review your creative identity. Ask what do I want to work on next?

These seasons don’t have to overlap seamlessly with the farming seasons. The way I look at it my Prepare Season works best in the summer, so that my winter is spent buckling down to nurture a project to life.

The point of all of this is you should be working to find balance and harmony in your life. Grinding ALL the time leads to serious burnout and doesn’t just hurt your work, it hurts your soul.

I share this, not because I’m a shining example of it, but because I’ve been grinding too hard for too long and need to get back to this cycle. Hoping I can get this going in 2026.

(Note: credit to Cal Newport overall, and more recently @nikgoodner who inspired me to think about my own creative seasons with his post here: LINK)

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Currently reading:

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

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Hello!

I’ll be honest, it’s been a rough couple of weeks. At the risk of ruining the Friday vibes I’m going to dip my toe into some vulnerability.

A combination of personal life struggles and curveballs (the kind you might hear grandpa talk about back before he had electricity and after his favorite horse died) and current events (domestic and abroad, take your pick) has just about knocked me out. I found myself wanting to call my mom and just talk to her, which would’ve helped except she’s been up in heaven since about 2019. (Makes it very hard to reach her.)

So, instead all that emotion accumulated until a critical mass of anxiety bubbled up out of me, causing me to cry at the dinner table one night. My wife and kids froze in horror quietly assessing if this was dad’s final breaking point. I pulled it together pretty quick, mostly because I didn’t want to traumatize the kids or worse, ruin our after-dinner tradition of watching Daily Dose of Internet together.

Luckily, I have a few go-to’s when life insists on going more rounds with you in the ring. Since mom’s not available I have the next best thing: my sisters. They’re the closest thing in my life that resemble the wit, pragmatism, and voice of my mom. A call with either of them tends to clear up dark skies.

I try not to be too much of a drag on my wife (she’s juggling the same struggles too), but darn it, if she isn’t the best person to talk things out with. She balances good sense with empathy. She’ll hug you, wipe the blood off your mouth, and then shove you back into the ring feeling like you can take on that Russian guy from Rocky IV.

You might know I’m a man of faith and I’ve been spending a lot of time on my knees. I find that checking in with the Creator (my favorite title for God) a few times a day tends to re-center me, and keep me focused on what really matters.

My last go-to has and will always be creativity. When it gets rough, I double down on making stuff. When I finish a particularly challenging project I literally get so much serotonin flowing through me my hands start to shake. The feeling is incredible.

After all of that, I felt so much better, like I could go another 12 rounds.

There just seems to be this low hum of anxiety in the air, a malaise that’s gnawing at all of us. I guess that’s why I wrote this today. If you’re feeling it, call family, text friends, check in with God, and instead of letting darkness consume you, go make something.

Alright, lots to share today so…let’s jump into it!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 🎥Latest JP Video: Does Location Matter For Artists?

• 📼Latest SVS Video: Signs You Can Make Money as an Illustrator

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: The Hidden Mistakes Killing Your Illustration Progress

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Illustrators React to Google's Storybook AI

1) I’m Coming to NYCC!

From the Making Comics Division

Somehow I got accepted to the NYCC Artist Alley which is not easy to get into. The show is coming up in October 9-12 and I wanted to have something brand new and exclusive for it. It dawned on me that I had a perfectly good comic story nestled in the pages of the Robots book that could be extracted and polished and made into a cool little staple bound One-Shot.

If you’re thinking about going to the show, get your tickets! NYCC is one of my favorite shows and it’s been ages since I’ve been there. 2019 was the last time!

I’ll have an exclusive new book for sale: Rux Rider in Deadman’s Backup! A sci-fi/noir detective story.

Here’s a blurb:

In an intergalactic city where neon lights cast longer shadows than its star, private eye Rux Ryder takes the cases too strange for the cops. When a powerful tycoon dies in a run-in with a robot and his wife is framed for the crime, Ryder is dragged into a circuitboard of lies, titanium, and paranoia. To clear her name, he’ll have to outwit killers both human and machine, and confront what it really means to be alive.

If you like how that sounds you’ll really dig it.

$15

I printed 100 of them. Signed, numbered.

Any left over will go in my shop.

2) Colorful Costumes from Benin

From the Cultural Archives Concern

These colorful costumes shot by Spanish photographer Julio Sacristan stopped me in my tracks. The creativity on display is undeniable. These were made for Vodun Day, an annual holiday celebrating the culture and spirituality of Benin.

Jilo’s Instagram: LINK (More great photos from around the world)

3) I Miss the Buttons

From the Department for Outdated Tech

Here’s a few images from my morgue files to remind you of what we lost. Remember when handheld tech looked cool instead of like this:

We could go back to knobs, dials, LCD screens, and buttons. Nothing says we have to have everything be touch screen. If there’s any product designers for tech that are reading this, I implore you to consider pushing things back to the tactile and deliberate, creating tech that feels human again instead of making us adapt to cold, frictionless screens.

4) Never Ending Fantastic Worlds

From the Illustrators Division

I want to get lost in the story for each of these illustrations. Or is there a connected meta story happening in between all of these? This are just six of the dzens and dozens of illustrations I had to choose from by artist Migamiga. One thing I love going on here is there doesn’t seem to be a filter for any of these ideas. It seems like Migamiga gets an idea and just executes, no hemming, hawing, or second guessing.

Instagram: LINK

X: LINK

5) On Collaboration

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

Tag yourself:

(By @shencomix)

Saw this and thought it pretty much depicts me (I’m the world building guy.) For us single focus disciplined writers it seems like you’ve got two paths if you ever want to make something great: learn the other discipline, or find a partner.

If you’re a world builder, maybe it’s time to learn character. If you’re a plot architect, maybe it’s time to build a world. That second skill doesn’t just complement: it elevates.

Even if you master both, find someone you can bounce your ideas off with. Some of the greatest works in fiction were made that way Think of Tokien and Lewis, Kirby and Lee, Miyazaki and Takahata, etc.

Ask yourself: what’s your missing half, and how do you fill it?

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

Hello!

After 6 years in Arizona, I packed up my home and studio to start a new life out in Richmond, Virginia. Yes, the Parker’s have moved again.

My wife and I have moved our family around the country a lot since we’ve been married, making homes and friends in California, Texas, Connecticut, Utah and Arizona. I think the places we live are a lot like the friends we've made over the years. Some places you move to for a reason, some you move to for a season of life, but every place leaves its mark. Whether you stay or move on, it’s always a part of you.

One thing you don’t realize about moving until you are in the thick of it, and this is what makes it so exhausting, is you have to weigh each and every object in your possession on a scale of emotional attachment and practicality. Once the object is weighed and found worthy of keeping, you are faced with a series of fatigue inducing decisions.

By the time you’ve loaded the truck every item in there has been lifted and carried not just by your hands, but your brain, and your heart too. It’s a truck carrying the weight of a life being lived.

Now that I’m in a temporary studio while we hunt for a house I wanted to get a newsletter out to you.

Let’s jump into it!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 🚚Follow our move here: LINK

• 📼New Video: Illustration Truths No One Is Telling You

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Illustrators: Don’t Sleep on Branding!

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Why Most Artists Stay Broke (and How to Escape It)

1)Why you need more than one Sketchbook

From the Drawings Unit

I have not been faithful in keeping a sketchbook over the last few years. I noticed a decline in my sketchbook drawing tracked with my increasing workload of graphic novel and illustration projects. I started to think that drawing in my sketchbook was a waste of time. Why should I be drawing in a sketchbook when I should be working on a paying gig??

When talking to other artist I found I wasn’t the only one who felt this way but I also ran into other reasons people don’t do sketchbooks, even though most artist like the idea of doing a sketchbook. Here’s a list of common hang-ups some artists have with sketchbooks. Any of these sound familiar?

• Fear of “wasting pages.” Some artists want every page to look good, so they freeze up instead of experimenting.

• Comparing to others. Seeing other people’s beautiful sketchbooks online can make yours feel inadequate.

• Expectation of consistency. Feeling pressure to keep a unified style/theme through the whole book.

• Intimidation of the blank page. The first mark feels too important.

• Too precious/expensive. Buying a nice book, then being afraid to use it.

• “This isn’t real work.” Believing sketchbook drawing doesn’t contribute directly to finished art.

• Decision fatigue. Overthinking what to draw each time instead of letting it flow.

• Boredom or lack of challenge. Using it the same way over and over without purpose.

• No clear purpose. Not knowing if it’s for studies, ideas, doodles, journaling—so it becomes nothing.

If you have one or all of these hang-ups with sketchbooks you might need to try something I’m calling the multiple sketchbook theory.

Over the last 6 months I’ve had a shift in understanding of what a sketchbook should be and why you need not one, but at least three.

Instead of having a catch-all, draw-anything-and-everything-in-one-book sketchbook or a too-precious-to-mess-up-finished-gallery sketchbook, or some combination of the two, sketchbooks are best when they’re simply workspaces for growth, exploration, and ideas.

Instead of forcing one sketchbook to do everything, I realized I could use different ones for different purposes. Here’s the three different sketchbooks:

1. General Sketchbook: a catchall for ideas, notes, and inspiration.

2. Garbage Sketchbook: a private place for studies, experiments, and bad drawings you’ll never show.

3. Project Sketchbook(s): dedicated to specific books, comics, or films you’re developing.

This system solved a lot of the hang-ups I used to have. My general sketchbook doesn’t feel too precious anymore, because I know it doesn’t have to carry the burden of every type of drawing. My garbage sketchbook keeps me honest about practice. And my project sketchbooks give me momentum on big ideas without drowning them in random doodles.

The truth is, a sketchbook isn’t about making every page look good. It’s about giving yourself the right spaces to grow. Once you stop treating them like galleries and start treating them like workshops, you unlock their real power.

If you like what you read here, I actually ended up making a video about it: How comic artists should use a sketchbook (5 Best Practices)

2) Full-spectrum starfighter runs on color

From the Toy Department

Found this rad little scout ship made by LEGO builder Mason Martin.

More here: LINK

Mason’s Flickr: LINK

(Via The Brothers Brick)

3) A Kaleidoscope of Influences

From the Illustrators Division

Lili des Bellons is a French illustrator and graphic designer based in Paris, France. Their style is a kaleidoscope of influences—from European, Japanese, and Chinese medieval iconography to African art, comics, and French painters.

Don’t let the simple line work fool you into thinking what’s happening here is easy to create. The compositions, color palettes, and subject matter are transportive. Lot’s to learn from this artist.

More here: LINK

Instagram: LINK

Behance: LINK

Art Rep Site: LINK

4) What do you do with a painting this big??

From the Arts and Culture Unit

Fascinating read from the NYTimes this week about an N.C. Wyeth painting I didn’t know existed. I came for the painting, but stayed for the family drama. This article had a little bit of everything in it.

In short, there was a time period last century where something like this was possible: A president of a bank commissioned an children’s book illustrator $270,000 (in today’s money) to do a massive mural for the wall behind the bank’s tellers.

Have you stepped foot in a bank lately? Their vibe has more in common with a Courtyard by Marriot hotel than they do with a museum. I would’ve loved the tradition institutional murals to have survived the 20th century.

As tastes shifted and the painting went out of style it was rolled up and forgotten, until now.

Read the story here: LINK

5) On Editors

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

In this age of the artist-entrepenuer projects and self-publishing one might think of editors as a excessive luxury of an out-of-touch publishing industry, an expense easily ejected from an already tight budget. At worst, some might think them a stifler of creativity, at odds with your creative vision.

In my experience a great editor is none of those things, but exactly as Michael Crichton describes here:

Hire a good editor, or at the very least, recruit a crack team of trusted creative friends who shoot straight and call ‘em like they see ‘em. Your work is too valuable to be left to your own myopism.

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

Hello!

Fist off, fellow artist Peter Han is an amazing artist, and incredibly generous with his knowledge of craft recently was diagnosed with a rare Autoimmune Disease called Miller Fisher Syndrome. If you can spare a couple bucks to help pay for his recovery he could use some help: LINK

I’m about to head out for the weekend in the mountains for some much needed R&R with some OLD buddies of mine. Wanted to send out a newsletter this morning before I left.

There is A TON of stuff I need to update you guys on, but I can’t just yet. So in the meantime read what I have to share today and I’ll catch you next news letter.

Let’s jump into it!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Why You Need a Mentor and How to Get One

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: The Hidden Cost of Being Too Precious with Your Art

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Getting Ahead Despite AI

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: All About Online Shops

1) A Chunky Darth Vader

From the Drawings Unit

I found this drawing of Darth Vader I drew a few years ago and really liked what I captured here. Wanted to see it colored, so I slapped some color on it and am pretty happy with how it turned out.

I like this style and think I unlocked something here that I’d like to bring to other characters. Might need to do a few more Star Wars characters and then apply it to my own characters.

One of my biggest worries as an artist is that I’ll stop evolving, find a rut, and just lay in it until I die. All my favorite artists seemed to refresh their style every few projects as life progressed. Their final form has vestigial mark making from earlier versions, but the entire body found some streamlining that could only happen through years of trials. I’m hoping to do the same.

2) Inkpulp Kickstarter To the Rescue

From the Friends with Projects Unit

Georgia based Comic artist Shawn Crystal has launched a Kickstarter for an incredible Art Book.

This isn’t just a collection of all the great drawings he’s been doing over the years, but a deep dive in the creative process and a celebration of traditional media. It couldn’t come at a better time when so many people are used to not just digital art, but art completely fabricated by machine.

Not only is Shawn an incredible artist, but he’s such a great guy too, and am able to call him a friend. Over the last couple years we developed and taught Graphic Novel Pro for SVS, and he’s been such a joy to work with.

Check out his Kickstarter here: LINK

Website: LINK

Instargram: LINK

Youtube: LINK (One of the most fun podcasts on comics I’ve seen in years)

3) Alien Plant Life…on Earth

From the Flora and Fauna Unit

Dioscorea Elephantipes

Encephalartos horridus

Coryphantha elephantidens

Sonoma Blue Ball Tree (Art Installation, Claude Cormier, 2007 but still alien lookin’)

Euphorbia pseudoglobosa

Don’t know what this is, but it looks cool.

Every once and a while you have to draw a comic that takes place on an alien planet. And that planet is going to need plants on it. To get ideas and inspiration I don’t look any further than Earth.

We’ve got plenty of plant weirdos here. All you have to do is change the size, proportion, and color and BAM you’ve got an alien plant.

Found most of these on pinterest. Here’s my Flora Board: LINK

4) Could be cool?

From the Comics Division

I was a big fan of ComiXology, and less so of the Amazon absorption of it. But regardless of the switch it did make reading comics so easy and accessible.

That said, innovation thrives on competition. So it’s cool that the creators of ComiXology are trying to do something competitive here. I hope they make something better than the kindle store for comics.

What I’d really like is ComiXology mixed with something like Letterboxd mixed with something like gumroad.

I want a place where people who love comics can collect them from Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, Viz, AND indie creators like me! A place where you can also comment on, rate, and review the comics you collect.

I guess it hasn’t launched quite yet, but you can get on the waiting list here: LINK

Neon Ichiban: LINK

NYTimes article on Neon Ichiban: LINK

5) On Existence

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

A friend sent this to me. Not sure where it originated from but the intent is pretty much what I’ve been saying to myself for years: “Finished, Not Perfect.”

Making it exist is not thinking about it, doing concept art or sketches, talking about it or getting a special notebook for the project. It’s actually doing the hard dirty work.

That’s the hang up, isn’t it? It’s hard, it’s dirty, it’s work.

To make that part easier just remember it doesn’t have to be good. Not yet. You’ll get to that later. Just make it exist.

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Weekend reading:

The Art of How To Train Your Dragon: LINK

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

Hello!

First: I decided to close my online shop…indefinitely. The final day is May 30! In order to clear out a TON of inventory I’m doing an insane sale: BUY 1 (one) get 2 (TWO) books FREE. If you’ve been wanting to get my books but they didn’t fit your budget, hop on this while supplies last.

Second: I’m selling off some of my book collection in order to downsize a bit. These are books and things that I once needed as reference for projects and I don’t need them any more, but you might!

eBay Sale Ends May 30!

Everything is priced fairly or to sell. We are flexible on some of these prices, feel free to send in an offer through eBay’s offer feature.

Third: Been a little while since I’ve sent out a proper newsletter and I’ve got a lot of great stuff to share today. So let’s jump into it!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 📚Massive eBay Sale of my Book Collection: LINK

• 🚨Online Shop Closing! Buy 1 Book get 2 (TWO) Free

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Will Terry's Last Show with 3PP!

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Do You Find Your Art Style, or Does It Find You?

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: My Coworker Used AI Art in Her Children’s Book

1) Drawing Pokemon

From the Drawings Unit

Recently I’ve been getting deeper into Pokemon and just wanted to do my spin on a few dragon types. I found I had a little time in between projects over the last couple months so I though I’d do some art for…FUN.

I actually enjoy all my freelance work, and do find it fun even though it’s stressful, but it leaves little time to draw something on a whim.

I’d love to do more, time permitting, but looking at my schedule for the next several months I doubt I’ll be able to squeeze more of these in.

2) Just a bunch of cool looking ships

From the Boats and Ships Division

Found these over on Flickr. There’s hundreds of accounts run by people who are obsessed with planes, trains, and ships. They go out every day and shoot photo after photo of these things.

Anyway, about these ships and boats…I just think they look neat and if I had a nice camera and lived by a harbor I’d be out there snappin’ shots all the time too.

3) A Sci-fi Cathedral to Art

From the Architecture Desk

When I first saw these photographs of Zaha Hadid Architects' arts museum, MICA I thought I was looking at the set of a sci-fi film. The flowing lines, vaulted ceilings reaching to the stars, and winding pillars defying gravity had me wondering if this was CG, AI, or actual photographs. I was astonished to find out this building actually exists and it’s nestled in the city of Changsha, China.

Photos by Black Station Pixel. More here: LINK

4) Dylan Burnett’s Style Mélange

From the Illustrators Division

Dylan Burnett is a Canadian comic creator who I discovered several years ago and instantly fell in love with his style. It’s a mélange of manga, animation, American comics, and Franco-Belgian comics all stirred together and served HOT.

Just when I thought I’d never see something with a little humor and cartoonish style in mainstream American superhero comics I picked up the 2019 X-Force reboot and was delighted by Burnett’s approach to the characters.

That lead me to Burnett’s work on Cosmic Ghost Rider, Antman, and his best stuff: Arcade Kings.

Instagram: LINK
BlueSky: LINK

5) On How to Re-Invent Your To-Do List

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

Writer Jenee Desmond-Harris posted this several years ago and it’s had me thinking about my own to-do list:

(Via X: LINK)

Might be a good technique to see where your boundaries are right now. Take a look at your week and see what was accomplished and what wasn’t and put them in the three categories.

If you’re always finishing what others want you to do and never getting to what you want to do, might be time for some honest conversations with people…and yourself.

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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:

Book Collection Sale!

I’m selling off some of my library because, I picked a lot of these up for reference on specific projects and I don’t need them anymore. I’d like them to find a good home!

​Order something from the shop​ (Best)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Weekend reading:

Skyward

by Brandon Sanderson: LINK

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

Hello!

Spring is in full swing here in AZ with temps starting to creep into the upper 90s. Not looking forward to summer.

I’ve been so stinkin’ busy putting together my latest course which is Graphic Novel Pro and the art I’ve been doing lately is all NDA so I really have nothing to share with you yet. But I did put together another video for youtube which you can see below.

Let’s dive in!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 💥Sign up for my FREE Comic Starter Roadmap video Series: LINK

• 💥Graphic Novel Pro Enrollment closes April 30th: LINK

• 🎙️Inkpulp Podcast: Talking about The 12 Commandments of Comics

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Breaking into Comics in 2025 with Shawn Crystal

• 📚Selling my book collection. Help these books find a good home: LINK

• 🚨Jake’s Shop Clearance Sale: Massive Discount on Stickers and Pins

1) How to Make More Time for Your Creative Work

From the Department of Video Works

Looks like my latest Youtube video ruffled someone’s feathers. Check out this exchange in the comments section:

The video in question is all about the too-hot-to-handle topic of Time Management:

I’ve often found myself frustrated by how little time I have for making comics. It always feels like something else gets in the way. I tell myself, “If I just had a couple of free months, I could make so much progress.”

If you’ve been beating yourself up for not making more progress, let me stop you right there: This isn’t a time problem.

It’s an energy problem, an expectations problem, and a priorities problem.

I want to talk about what’s really going on when we say:

• “I don’t have time to make comics”

• “I’m too exhausted after work”

• “I keep falling behind before I even begin”

Here’s the truth: No one finds time. We all make it—intentionally or unintentionally.

And the good news is, there are tools—tried-and-true methods—that help people make comics even with full-time jobs, families, and the exhaustion that comes with those.

In the video I give a bunch of tactics, mindsets, skills, and habits to conquer TIME.

I won’t get into ALL the points here, you’ll have to watch the video to see those, but I do want to share a few of them with you:

1 - I don’t have enough time

This is often more about perceived time scarcity than actual hours in the day.

The best tactic I’ve found is to do a Time Audit on yourself. Track your time for one week to a month. Write down what you’re doing in 15-30 minute blocks. Most people dramatically underestimate how much time goes to low-value activities (social media, streaming, gaming etc.). This isn’t to judge, it’s to become aware.

The key is to be honest in your tracking. Once you have a better understanding of where all your time is going, you can make better decisions about what is really important to you:

“Should I spend the next 2 hours catching up on Severence, or try to layout a few pages on my comic?”

2 - I’m Too Busy with Work, Family, or School

This is about prioritization and expectation-setting, not just scheduling.

The best tactic I’ve found to battle this problem is Batching.

Batching is one of the best techniques to maximize the limited time you have to work on something.

The reason is, making comics is cognitively demanding. They require a lot of concentration, motivation, and creative energy to do, so once you get into the flow you don’t want to stop and shift tasks because you’ll lose all the momentum you’ve gained.

Like a long cargo train, it takes time to get the train up to speed. To shift tasks is like stopping that train and putting it on a new track, then getting it up to speed again.

If you have a limited time to work on your comic I want you to batch similar tasks to get more done. Let’s say you have 4 hours on a Saturday afternoon to work on your comic. Instead of trying to layout, pencil, and ink a page in that time, plan on doing layouts for four pages. Then in your next session you can just work on penciling those pages. Then in the next you can ink them. Then start the process over with the next set of pages.

3 - I Can’t Manage My Time or Energy Well

This is about systems, not willpower.

It’s not that you’re lazy or undisciplined—it’s that you haven’t built a process that works with your natural rhythms and lowers the activation energy to start.

The best tactic I’ve found to battle this problem is Energy-Based Planning.

Like the time adit mentioned above, you should also do an energy audit and track when in the day your brain works best. Most people have a 2-3 hour window of peak energy. Use it for comic work, and save mowing the lawn or washing dishes for when you’re brain dead.

When I drew Skyheart, I went to bed an hour early and got up at 5 am to draw the book because that was the only way I had enough energy to do it.

Watch the video here

If you want help turning those small steps into real momentum, I’ve got something for you.

I put together a free six-part video series designed to get you up and running on your next comic project.

It’s based on the live workshops I’ve been teaching recently, and it leads directly into the new Graphic Novel Pro course I’m developing with seasoned comics professional Shawn Crystal, which launches soon.

While what I shared today helps you get out of your head, those videos help you get work on the page.

If anything I said here resonated with you, you’re going to want to check it out—because in this series, I show you actual, tactical steps to help you start your comic and finish it strong.

Link’s below. It’s totally free. Hope to see you there.

I want to sign up for free!

Here’s a lil’ sneak peek at the videos. First one unlocks tomorrow:

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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:

Book Collection Sale!

I’m selling off some of my library because I picked a lot of these up for reference on specific projects and I don’t need them anymore. I’d like them to find a good home!

​A few more ways you can support this newsletter:

• Order something from the shop​ (Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Weekend reading:

Fantasy Sports by Sam Bosma: LINK

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

Lots to cover, so let’s dive in!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 💥Sign up for my FREE Comic Starter Roadmap video Series

• 💥Enrollment closes April 30th: Graphic Novel Pro

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: James Gurney: Life is an Adventure

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: The Nine Lives of Art

• 📚Selling some books from my collection: LINK

• 🚨Jake’s Shop Clearance Sale: Massive Discount on Stickers and Pins

1) How to FINISH the comic (or ANYTHING) you started

From the Department of Video Works

I recently posted a new video on Youtube after a yearlong hiatus. I explain why I haven’t been making videos in the video, but if you’re a long time reader of this newsletter, you already know why…I’ve been too BUSY! haha.

The video is directed towards people who want to draw comics, but I think what I talk about applies to any creative discipline.

For example, have you ever asked yourself one of these questions?

1. How do I stay motivated when I stop believing in my idea?

2. How do I follow through when I keep procrastinating?

3. How do I build discipline when there’s no external deadline pushing me forward?

Most of us have gone through phases where we doubt ourselves, that doubt leads to procrastination, and that procrastination leads to us becoming an undisciplined mess.

It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact there’s some pretty easy things you can do that can have a massive impact on your motivation and ability to power through and deliver on your ideas.

How do I stay motivated when I stop believing in my idea?

Most times this isn’t about the idea itself, it’s caused by a shift in your internal narrative.

That inner critic gets louder as you go deeper into the work. Your standards rise. Your imagined outcome becomes harder to reach. That’s natural.

What helps is separating your feelings from facts.

There’s a technique from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy called “Catch it, Challenge it, Change it.” that I find super helpful.

When you start to doubt yourself catch it by identifying the negative thought.

Challenge it by asking questions like:

• “Is that a fact or a feeling?”

• “Was I excited about this idea at the beginning? Why?”

• “What if I just finish a rough version and decide later?”

The trick is to reconnect with your values, not your feelings. Maybe the most important question to constantly ask yourself when you start doubting the work is this:

“What does finishing this say about who I want to become?”

How do I follow through when I keep procrastinating?

Procrastination is almost always an emotional regulation problem—not a time management problem.

You’re not avoiding the task itself.
You’re avoiding how the task makes you feel:

• Overwhelmed

• Uncertain

• Bored

• Anxious

I give several examples of what to do in with procrastination in the video, but I’ll share one here: Make the task stupidly small.

I’ve had to do this over and over again for my long comics projects. Instead of telling myself “Today your’e going to work on your comic” I’ll tell myself “Open the file and draw one panel.”

How do I build discipline when there’s no external deadline pushing me forward?

I think a lot of us have a skewed understanding of discipline. It's not about grinding through misery to finish something. True discipline is about building structure around your goals.

Again, I go a lot deeper on this in the video, but for this newsletter I’ll share one thing you can do: Track your effort, not just your output.

Keep track of time spent on each page. Every time you sit down to work on the comic, write down when you start and when you finish.

By focusing on effort you’re focusing on what you can control. You can’t always control how fast a page comes together. You can control whether you showed up and spent a morning doing the work.

This builds a sense of autonomy, and when you feel in control you’re more likely to keep going.

Every time you show up, it’s a reminder:
you’re the kind of person who does the work.

And that’s way more important than any final product you put out.

Watch the video here

I put together a free six-part video series designed to get you up and running on your next comic project.

It’s based on the live workshops I’ve been teaching recently, and it leads directly into the new Graphic Novel Pro course I’m developing, which launches soon.

What I shared today helps you get out of your head, this series helps you get work on the page.

If anything I said here resonated with you, you’re going to want to check it out—because in this series, I show you actual, tactical steps to help you start your comic and finish it strong.

Link below:

I'm interested!

2) What if Mega-Man Zero was an Anime??

From the Film and Animation Division

Found this incredible Japanese artist fleshing out how a Mega-Man Zero anime might look and I’m here for it. He goes by the name Noah and can be found here:

X: LINK

Blue Sky: LINK

3) Special Delivery Trucks

From the Office of Wheels

If it’s not delivered to my house in one of these I don’t want it.

4) Mecha Pokemon!

From the Office of Robots

And my personal favorite Pokemon: Dragapult!

Canadian concept artist Guillem Ferrer absoltely nailed it with the mech designs. they’re so tight and clean. Killer work!

More here: LINK

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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:

Book Collection Sale!

I’m selling off some of my library because, I picked a lot of these up for referenc eon specific projects and I don’t need them anymore. I’d like them to find a good home!

​Order something from the shop​ (Best)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Weekend reading:

Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four Artisan Edition

by Jack Kirby: LINK

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

It’s a rare rainy day here in Arizona and I’m loving every drop. Just wrapped up a couple projects and am now working on a new course for SVS all about making graphic novels (more on that below). Lots to cover, so let’s dive in!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 💥Never get stuck on your comics project again: Graphic Novel Pro

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Find What Lights You Up

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Should I Start Over?

• 📚Selling some books from my collection: LINK

• 🚨Jake’s Shop Clearance Sale: Massive Discount on Stickers and Pins

1) The Plant Collector

From the Making Comics Division

Earlier last year I got an interesting job from a husband and wife team running a start up called Underbunks.

Their business idea is simple, and one of those things I wish I had thought of: make beautiful and cool artworks for the underside of a bunk bed. So the kid isn’t just looking at slats, but is lost in a fantastic world as they fall asleep.

They had fantasy and fairytale designs but reached out to me because they wanted a comic and something sci-fi.

We worked together to develop a character and a captivating world for him to explore. Then I got down to work on solving the problem of how to tell a story on a single page and make sure the images were’s too big or too small with just the right amount of details for a kid to get lost in.

I’m thrilled with how this turned out and had a blast working with Underbunks on such a unique comic project.

I did a full breakdown of the process—sharing sketches, alternate paths, and how I arrived at the final version—over on my Patreon as well as for all the rabbits at SVSlearn.

2) Make Your Own Graphic Novel!

From the Office of Online Education

Most aspiring comic creators never finish their projects. Why? They lack structure, feedback, and industry knowledge. My latest professional level course, Graphic Novel Pro, gives you the insider techniques, creative systems, and publishing roadmap to actually complete and launch your work.

By the end of this course, you’ll have:

✅ A polished short comic (10-20 pages) that showcases your skills

✅ A clear, actionable plan for your full-length graphic novel

✅ A deep understanding of storytelling, art, and publishing

✅ A strategy to break into the comics industry or self-publish successfully

This 10 week course is going to get you unstuck and actually drawing comics with professional determination.

Learn more here...

This course is literally years in the making and is the best course I’ve put together.

I recently shared one of the worksheets for the course with a friend of mine who is starting a new comic project and..well I’ll let his text speak for itself:

I wish I had this course 20 years ago. Anyway, click the link below to learn more:

Learn more here...

3) 🚨Cool car alert

This is a prototype race car made in collaboration between Italian manufacturers Fiat and Abarth and the infamous design firm Pininfarina.

You had me at that eye-catching dorsal air intake, but I stayed for what I can only describe as an overall the clunky-sleekness to this thing. Perfection. No notes.

4) Kazakh Warrior Woman

These captivating photos of actress Aizhuldyz Adaibekova are giving me strong Moebius/Miyazaki vibes.

5) Wenjun Lin’s Dreamy Wildscapes

Chinese concept artist Wenjun Lin is simply incredible. The way they balance loose line work and paint strokes with a maximalist composition is just sublime. Love this stuff.

Artstation: LINK
Instagram: LINK
X: LINK

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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:

Book Collection Sale!

I’m selling off some of my library because, I picked a lot of these up for referenc eon specific projects and I don’t need them anymore. I’d like them to find a good home!

​Order something from the shop​ (Best)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Weekend reading:

Skyward

by Brandon Sanderson: LINK

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

As we glide through February, I’m excited to finally share the graphic novel I’ve been working on—along with some other fun discoveries that have landed on my desk lately. Lots to cover, so let’s dive in!

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• 💥Enrollment Closes Tonight: My Two Day Comics Workshop!

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Will This Contract Rip Me Off?

• 🎙️3PP Podcast: Love, Money, and Art

• 📚Selling some books from my collection: LINK

• 🚨Jake’s Shop Clearance Sale: Massive Discount on Stickers and Pins

1) Darkstalker: A Wings of Fire Legends Graphic Novel

From the Making Comics Division

I’m so excited I get to share this cover reveal for the book I’ve been working on. Scholastic posted this sweet animated trailer on their instagram account: LINK

It’s been a BLAST to dive head first into Wings of Fire and learn all about this world of dragons created by author Tui Sutherland.

The novel series is up to book 15 now (16 is in production) and those books are being meticulously adapted to the medium of comics by a crack-team of creative people:

Adaptation by Barry Deutch and Rachael Swirsky
Art by Mike Holmes
Color by Maarta Laiho

While Mike Holmes draws the main series, I was tapped to do this first “Legends” book which is a prequel to the series. It’s an honor to be a part of the Wings of Fire crew and help bring this world to life through my favorite medium!

And let me just say…dragons are not the easiest characters to fit into a comic panel. Six limbs, long necks, massive tails… where do you put all that extra stuff without turning the panel into a tangled mess?

All credit goes to Mike Holmes for cracking that code. Any time I got stuck—especially trying to fit three or more dragons into a single panel—I kept flipping back to his books for reference.

What a workout this book was!

Darkstalker comes out November 4th this year. Pre-order here: LINK

2) Miyazaki’s Tribute Comic to his Favorite Car

From the Office of Wheels

I’ve mostly seen Miyazaki’s military comics, so this one was new to me. I love how he breaks down vehicles and humanizes them in his comics—you don’t have to read Japanese to understand the love/hate relationship he has with this one.

Found this over on the Catsuka X account: LINK

3) Tribal Mech Warfare

Listen, I’m a simple guy. I see post-apocalyptic junk robots, and I immediately share it with you. These are from the imagination of Finnish 3D artist Tomi Väisänen. Tomi has an a nice sense of the balance between detail and proportion with an eye for realistic engineering.

More here: LINK

4) The Charming Barber Shops of Takatoshi Okayama

Japanese illustrator Takatoshi Okayama has an impressive body of work, with stacks of art showcased on his website—but what really caught my eye is his playful series of barbershops from around Japan.

I love illustrators who can take something you’d normally pass by without a second thought and turn it into a captivating centerpiece. If this resonates with you, be warned: you’re about to lose yourself in his website.

More here: LINK

Website: LINK

That's all for now. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend!

-Jake

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:

Book Collection Sale!

I’m selling off some of my library because, well, I don’t need a lot of these books anymore and I’d like them to find a good home!

​Order something from the shop​ (Best)

• ​Back a kickstarter when I launch one​ (Also Best)

• ​Support me on Patreon​ (Second Best)

• ​Share the newsletter with a friend​ (Third best)

• ​Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links​* (Fourth best)

• Mention the newsletter on social media (Fifth best)

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

Weekend reading:

Bowling With Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown

by Mike Mignola: LINK

*Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link

I spend a lot of time thinking about creativity: where it comes from, how to cultivate it, and, maybe most importantly, how to actually finish the things we care about. Whether it’s comics, illustration, design, or storytelling, the creative process has its own challenges, patterns, and, occasionally, rules worth following.

This week, I’m diving into one of my biggest creative obsessions: making comics. Even if you’re not a cartoonist, I think you’ll find something useful here; whether it’s a new way to appreciate comics, a deeper understanding of why some work and some don’t, or even a principle that applies to your own creative pursuits.

Over the years, I’ve gathered a set of reminders, principles, and, dare I say, commandments that have helped me navigate the chaos of making comics. They’ve been a guiding beacon whenever I’ve felt lost, and I hope they can serve the same purpose for you.

All that said, lets get to the “commandments.”

THE 12 COMMANDMENTS of MAKING COMICS

1. FINISH THE COMIC
   Most comic artists don’t follow commandment number one and most comics don’t get finished.
   Following commandment one is way more important than two through twelve. You may not follow the other commandments, but do follow commandment one.

2. WORD BALLOONS ARE KING
   Since they have the highest contrast on the page, the eye will be instinctively attracted to them.
   For this reason, use them to enhance the flow of the page.

3. RESPECT THE Z
   There is an unspoken rule that comics are read back and forth horizontally first, then top to bottom vertically second.
   Do not push against this, but let this instinct guide your compositions.

4. CLARITY OVER COOL
   Do not sacrifice clear storytelling for cool designs or layouts.

5. USE WHATEVER TOOL WORKS
   Whether it’s digital or traditional, if it’s getting the job done and contributing to you keeping commandment number one, then keep using it.

6. KNOW THE ENDING BEFORE YOU START
   Whether it’s seeding the beginning with hints and set-ups, or it’s adjusting the mushy middle, figure out the ending first and it will make every part of your job a little bit easier.

7. PANELS CONTROL PACE
   Panels are the unit of time measurement in comics. Use that to your advantage.

8. SOUND EFFECTS ARE STORYTELLING
   Do not neglect the beauty, artistry, and style good sound effects bring to your comic.
   Use them to enhance your story, and flesh out the world your building even more.

9. EVERY SCENE NEEDS AN ESTABLISHING SHOT
   Neglecting the establishing shot robs your scenes of context and staging. Even worse, it confuses the reader.

10. COMICS AREN’T MOVIES
    Comics are their own unique artform, so lean into what can only be drawn on a page.
    Don’t just think of them as storyboards for movies.

11. THINK THEATER STAGE, NOT MOVIE SET
    Add just enough detail in your panels to get the point across. You do not need to flesh out every background with detail. The reader’s imagination can fill in all the gaps.

12. COLOR CONTROLS MOOD
    Don’t just slap any color on your comic pages. Think of it as one more storytelling tool.
    Use color as a visual cue for the mood of each scene, character development, and atmosphere.

Of course, I’m not big on unbreakable rules when it comes to creativity. Any of these commandments can and should be broken when it serves the story. If there’s one commandment that cannot be ignored, it’s this: Finish the comic.

Finish the comic because the act of completing it will teach you more than a thousand unfinished ideas ever could.

Finish the comic because every completed project builds momentum for the next one.

Finish the comic because it won’t exist unless you make it.

Finish the comic because it might just surprise you with how good it is.

Finish the comic because, in a world dominated by algorithm-driven mega IPs, something human and imperfect (like an indie comic) can create a genuine, unforgettable experience.

Finish the comic because someone out there needs this story in their life.

COMICS CREATOR WORKSHOP

If you like these commandments and want to get a deeper understanding of each of them, I’m putting on a two-day comics workshop in a couple weeks that dives into all of this stuff and gives you a massive head start on making your next comic.

In this workshop you’ll:

• Discover the proven skills pro comic artists use daily

• Learn how to outline, layout, and draw your comic fast

• Create a personalized schedule to finish your comic

• Live Q and A session to ask any question about making comics

• Get an in depth review and notes on your comic from me (limited to 10 spots)

Claim your seat!

I ran this workshop last July and the feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive. So many of the class had "those “ah-ha” moments that stick with your for a life time.

I really hope you’ll join me. Enrollment closes Feb 14. Tons more information here: LINK

(Also, if you’re really unsure if this is for you, let’s chat. Shoot me an email and we can set up a call or something.)

STAYING IN THE LOOP:

• Selling some books from my collection: LINK

• 3PP Podcast: Why failing is essential (Live.Die.Repeat.)

• SVS Spring Semester Starts Soon! Livestream Q and A

• 🚨Jake’s Shop Clearance Sale🚨: Massive Discount on Stickers and Pins

Here’s a few things that caught my eye this week:

1) Iain Thody is Just Going With His Guts

From the Illustrators Division

UK based concept artist Iain Thody is building out an alien world of zombies, robots, scavenger, and mutants. I am here for it. Thody has a graphic design background which is clearly evident in his kinetic and well laid out concept art. This all makes him perfectly suited for comics which is the love child of graphic design and illustration.

Most of these comics are still in the idea stage, and that hurts a little because I want to sink into the worlds and stories hiding just behind these fun explorations.

Much more here:

Artstation: LINK

Instagram: LINK

2) Project : ARES

From the Office of Wheels

This retro-futuristic cafe racer by Real Motors is straight out of a cyberpunk dream. Project: Ares is an electric cafe racer with an Akira cycle vibe, that blends current technology trends with sci-fi aesthetics.

I dig it.

3) Yusuke Murata’s Cancelled BTTF Manga