Issue 02: September 2024 Welcome to the second newsletter! If you missed the first, you can read it here. Summer was a kinda rough art season, I spent a lot of it dealing with tendonitis problems that have messed up my whole schedule. I'm glad to be getting back to painting finally, and luckily there are some neat things to talk about in the meantime... the newsletter must go on! I also finished the last page of my new picture book manuscript, which is a small but symbolic victory. Here we go! CDQ 29 Some interior pages from the article. A Signature Hamm Last month was the debut of Hamm, the Hungry, a signature card I painted a while back for the Hearthstone expansion Perils in Paradise. Hamm was right up my alley, I just love drawing precarious stacks of food. Winners and Winnies Project Dra-gone Recently we learned that a big game project from Phoenix Labs that I helped out with for several years was abruptly cancelled. While my own concept portion ended last year, the game was extremely close to official release this summer. Everhaven (codenamed Project Dragon) was overflowing with unique and thoughtful designs. This is unfortunately a pretty common tale in video games, and while you learn to be ready for anything, it stings to see so much great work go unrealized. The slim silver lining is we've been given the OK to share concept work from the project. I'll be spelunking into my art archives in the coming months so I can share some of the development work. In Issue 03... -This newsletter ended up pretty full, so I'm bumping the Q&A kickoff... Email me your questions for next issue, I need a few more. -Shimmering Skies, the fifth Lorcana installment, is now available in stores. I'll put some new cards in the next issue. (Yes, that will also be the Halloween issue!) Thanks for reading :) -John |
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Issue 07: July 2025... The Summer Postcard If you missed the last issue, you can read it here. It's been a while, I've been deluged in deadlines and dad-lines and this issue has sat half-complete for too long. Since last time, I also finished the first round of card signing and wrapped up a round of painting mentorships which I really enjoyed... I get to ramble on about my favorite topics, and of course the artists did a great job. This newsletter is about a year old now, and the question of...
Issue 06: April 2025... The Vernal Journal (Ok so, Vernal means spring... I know it's a stretch.) If you missed the last issue, you can read it here. Last time I asked for some questions, a recurring request was Tips for New Freelance Artists. I know many readers don't fall into this category, but for those who do, I put together a list at the end of some of the things I find important in retrospect. I've been reviewing a lot of portfolios lately, and these things are especially on my mind,...
Issue 05: February 2025... The Winter Edition (Pt. II) Hello! If you missed Winter Edition Part I, you can read it here. Everyone around here has been under the weather with winter plagues, so I'm running very late on Part II, but I saved a few pieces of art to make it interesting. I also tried something new and gathered some Q&A questions on socials. I answered the short ones and took some longer answers for the newsletter. Seems like a pretty good system, and thanks for the submissions. A...