Issue 216
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!
I’ll be a guest artist at Dragonsteel Nexus this year! LINK
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)
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)
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:
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
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
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
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.
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:
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Currently reading:
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
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