Hello,

I have 3 kids in public school so needless to say a lot has been going through my mind this week. I wrestle with what's the point of making and sharing art, especially my brand of low grade pop culture art, when there's much, MUCH bigger problems to solve. Then I saw this quote:
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"A thing without oppositions ipso facto does not exist … existence lies in opposition.”
—CS Peirce

It made me realize if there was no bad in the world, there would be no need to put good into it. The fact that there is bad out there means it is the responsibility of everyone to put good back into it using whatever gifts they've been given.

For an artist their gift isn't just to hold up a mirror to the world and show what it is. The artist must use their art to imagine what is possible.

So that's why I drew a bunch of spaceships this week.

Alright, read on, there's 5 things I thought you'd find interesting this weekend.

Enjoy!

1) Kepler's Intergalactic Guide to Spaceships

From the Special Projects Unit

Been going through my archives and found a TON of spaceship drawings. Decided to make an art book celebrating sci-fi spaceships.
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This is the cover art. Kickstarting this thing in June.

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

The first one to test this strategy:

“Kepler’s Intergalactlc Guide to Spaceships”

Part comic. Part art book. ALL spaceships!

Here's the Kickstarter Pre-launch Page: LINK​

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

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

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JOIN THE DISCORD COMMUNITY HERE: LINK​

It's been a ton of fun seeing what people are posting and discussing over there. The newsletter has it's own thread so you can discuss what I share with other like-minded folks. Come on over, grab a snack and join the party!

2) The Ennedi Desert

From the Exploration Unit

Do yourself a favor and google image search "The Ennedi Desert."

I'm VERY familiar with most of the major rock formations and arches found in the southwestern United States. So when some interesting formations from the Ennedi desert popped up in a few searches and I didn't recognize any of them, my curiosity was piqued.

This place is a treasure of inspiring rock formations and vistas. Seems like every corner of this desert is a shot for a Star Wars location.

Located in northeastern Chad the region has a sparse population of semi-nomads, chiefly Muslims who speak the Dazaga dialect.

Will definitely be referring to this the next time I need to design an alien landscape.

I pulled images from these three websites: LINK and LINK and LINK​

3) The Gungy Futurism of Scott Vanden Bosch

From the Illustrators Division

I fell in love with Scott Vanden Bosch's work a few years ago. Recently, I did a deep dive to try and find all of his drawings over time. It was cool to see how he's evolved as an artist and embraces the cartoony style he's settled on.

Here's a guy who has such a thorough understanding of composition, light and shadow, and design principles that he could do something pretty realistic with his work. But then his art would look like very other concept artist out there. No, Scott has a voice, and it's been a lot of fun to see what he does with it.

These samples barely scratch the surface. You should see the little sculpts he does of these guys.

Website: LINK​

Tumbler: LINK​

Blog: LINK​

Twitter: LINK (the most current collection of his art)

Instagram: LINK​

4) Griz Grobus

From the Comics Division

Been reading this online comic by Simon Roy and Jess Pollard. I'll let them describe it to you:

"On a distant planet, a prying scribe, an overly sentimental constable, and a mayor resurrect a sleepy town’s long-defunct priest-bot. But “Father Stanley” is not what he seems. Meanwhile, in another universe, a hungry wizard accidentally sends a war-god into the body of a chicken"

So yeah, it's pretty fun.

Read here: LINK​

5) On Praise

From the Inspirational Thought Unit

A little more on what I opened the newsletter with about what your art is supposed to be.

I like that. Your art is praise. Your job is to show someone why something should be praised. The act of praising it teaches people to appreciate that thing. I can tell you I didn't appreciate rocks that much until I read Calvin and Hobbes. The way Watterson drew canyons and landscapes in the Spaceman Spiff strips made me realize how fun and beautiful the shapes were in the deserts I grew up in.

As you can tell from my own art and the landscapes I post about here that my appreciation for rocks has continued to grow.

Think about that the next time you're stumped about what to create.

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

-Jake

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By the way, I'm getting a TON of positive responses to my new Renegades comic. If you haven't had a chance to read it, you can snag a digital copy here:

DOWNLOAD MY NEW COMIC HERE: LINK​

​💥Download it and read it TODAY!💥​

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