Tag: Jon Nielsen

Start Making

Afterword

I really like webcomics. My favorite part is how much you’re allowed to see the creator grow throughout the lifespan of the comic. That’s not something you get to see in most other mediums. Or, at least, it’s not as obvious. Watching someone master a craft little by little is really inspiring. Being able to, at any time, go back and see how they began was so powerful for me that it’s what got me to start drawing.

In other words: comparing a webcomic’s current art to its art from when it first started is mind-blowing to me. Everyone knows that “practice makes perfect,” but this is proof! Proof in a way that is rarely so easily seen.

19-year-old me saw this. He saw this, and he made his own webcomic.

Here’s my very first comic (with a caption added for my Best of Collection):

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And here is my 1000th comic:

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When I started, I knew I would be terrible. But it was okay! All these artists that I admired so much, these heroes, they were all terrible at first too. Of course, logically I knew that. No one is instantly amazing at something they’ve never done before. Of course! But I had proof. And I have proof.

Making things is hard. Getting started is hard. You know you’re going to be terrible, so why start? The answer is simple. One day you won’t be terrible.

Just look at the proof.

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.

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Kumoricon 2018

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Kumoricon is coming up quick!

Maybe it’s weird that it’s surprising to me, but people really like my book about a robot and they keep buying it! Hope I have enough copies to last the weekend!

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.

#RCCC2018

I think I say it every year but #rccc was an amazing con! I met so many cool people and made some awesome new friends! I have a bajillion ideas on how to make the next show even better and I can’t wait to get back to work.

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.

I Sure Do Like Robots

I have a hard time wrapping my head around complicated machinery. Even though I somehow drew a whole book about robots, I avoided drawing them most times because I didn’t think I was good at it.

I’ve since changed my mind!

Designing these little Bandit Bots is the most fun I’ve had drawing in a long time. Instead of drawing complicated machinery, I focus on finding fun, simplified shapes and arranging them in cool ways. I did these for #MarchOfRobots and right now I’m doing #AdventureApril.

Of course I had to make it about robots.

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.

Stoneman Douglas High School Uses Art To Begin Healing Process

After the horrible tragedy at Stoneman Douglas High School, we were informed that art teacher, Sandra Traub, was putting together art to display.  The goal is to put up hopeful, positive pieces for the students who are returning to classes.

NBM’s creators have donated several pieces.

The first is from Val Mayerik, co-creator of Howard The Duck, and NBM’s upcoming Of Dust & Blood: The Battle at Little Big Horn, with writer Jim Berry.

FD

The second is titled Star Fixer from Jon Nielsen (author of Look)

Star-Fixer

Hopefully, the donated art can be a source of comfort and inspiration for the students and faculty of this horrible tragedy.

 

 

I Just Really Like CMYK

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I’m finally learning what my favorite colors are and how to put them together in nice ways!

I’ve always felt that coloring has been my weakest area when it comes to my art. The infinite rainbow of colors is extremely intimidating for me and I lock up when choosing colors for a piece. So I spent the last year practicing, exploring different color combinations, and studying color theory. It still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me but I think I’m getting close to unlocking color’s many secrets!

And I’ll share with you one of those secrets now.

Find your favorite colors.

It took me almost ten years to discover that I very much enjoy the CMYK color palette. I’m a huge nerd for anything even remotely CMYK. I don’t know what it is, but cyan, magenta, and yellow — colors I don’t even really super love on their own — just make me happy when put together. The K stands for black but I actually don’t often use a lot of black in my drawings?

Unless you count the lineart.

Finding a color palette that I absolutely adore has taught me a lot about how colors work. I always have a set of colors that I know will work together and I know how to tweak it to suit my specific needs without breaking it. I cannot emphasize enough how much this helps a person who spends an embarrassing amount of time picking the right shade of green for a tree.

Colors can sometimes be pretty neat, is what I’m saying.

You can find Jon on Twitter where he posts his silly drawings and sometimes brags about his kids, and you can find out more about LOOK here.