Yesterday I spoke at a high school in Calgary, giving the students a quick rundown of my creative career and things I wish I'd known when I was their age.
Here's a summary of key points I covered:
• My career is nothing like what I envisioned when I was young, but key parts of it shaped my future.
Drowning meme, showing Bluesky leadership paying attention to AI while the codebase drowns, and why's phone dead at the bottom
The famous Hitchcock example of the Kuleshov effect.
One unconventional piece of comics writing advice: study film editing. Look at it broadly but also study the "Kuleshov effect".
Readers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential panels than from a single panel in isolation.
Another writer shared this m answer from legendary Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder & I’m sharing it as well. I read this interview when I was on Rick & Morty & every single thing I’ve written since then (comics, movies, TV, whatever) like this. Frankly its the only way to write imo
And so I will circle around to my constant point: the instinct for a comforting aristocracy is endemic in the human populace, and the job of democracy is to ruthlessly destroy it whenever it appears. Not build a political, legal and moral (prosperity gospel) framework which fucking encourages it.
There’s a clip out there with an anecdote about a GM hosing the players and remarking they knew it would happen, and while I don’t like the GM’s actions, the clip rubs me wrong and I couldn’t figure out why at first.
Expectations: I am god
Reality: I am a part-time cat herder 🐈
my advice to all aspiring artists: if you ever find yourself going "well grass is green so lemme just color this grass green" that's the devil talking. color it pink or purple or blue or orange or brown or white or black. color perception is based on context and you are god so you decide the context
Artwork of a monster attacking Oakland's famous dockyard, illustration by Scott Morse!
Have you seen the great artwork created for Comic Con Oakland by the great @crazymorse.bsky.social?
If not, then feast your eyes on this incredible illustration!
I’d say it’s probably more helpful and moral to, oh, idk, offer to help Americans organize and learn revolution-building skills if your country is so much better at it than ours than it is to be posting “Skill issue, martyr yourself now or you’re a pussy lib” online, but whatever makes you feel good
Come see Mel and I in conversation at CCA next week! I think I'm going to do a little guy trade - bring me a human-made drawing of a little guy and I'll give you a very tiny original painting of a little guy(we'll see how many I get done).
Carefully consider what you want from the comics industry, because a worthwhile career often doesn't come from "breaking into" this business, but instead carving your own unique space out of it.
Wrap around book cover design with an horizontal composition, on the left side, a blooming plum tree with red flowers expands from left to right. On the right side a couple stands, wind making her pink skirt flow, she is holding a small branch of plum tree flowers, and is about to place them on the knights armour as he leans reverently, accepting the little token and maintaining appropriate decour.
Leyendecker style study with 2 versions of Shadowheart from BG3, the Dark Justiciar with dark armour and a sad expression while she shows her scar on ther right hand, she is on teh right side of the peice looking at the opposite side where Selunite Shadowheart stands looking back with a light powderpink armour while holding her favourite flowers. On teh Background a sculpture of Shar looks ominously down
Traditional art piece made with gouche and glittery watercolors for the line details of Iseult from the Witchlands series by Susan Dennard. Mainly with a blue color palette and a bright red contrasting on teh bottom aprt of the illustration, Isuelt stands in the middle ready to bite off one of the threads caught on her hands
Final color options renders of my concept from the Castillian mythological creature the ORICUERNO, with deer hooves, a horns, wings on the legst and a lion tail. With incredible unusual characteristics, the oricuerno could transform water into a cure all poisons elixir and could also turn women into men.
Today is my birthday and as is tradition I would love if you could share my art 😳
I mentioned earlier today that I was struggling with how to do double-sided data merge in Affinity, and that I eventually worked out how to do it. (e.g. for making cards with data driving both sides)
So I've written it up, to help anyone else
planesailinggames.com/post/2026-03...
Comic Con Oakland poster, designed by Steve Leiber. The dates are May 9 and 10 of this year at the Oakland Convention Center
🗣️ Bay Area artists!
Comic Con Oakland has their debut event in May on Mother’s Day weekend, and their Artist Alley and Exhibitor applications are open!
I think it’s going to be a great event because the folks running it are pros who actually care about comics and supporting creative people.
Filming federal agents in public is legal, but avoiding a dangerous—even deadly—confrontation isn’t guaranteed. Here’s how to record ICE and CBP agents as safely as possible and have an impact.
Top panel the artist: aw man that guy's cake is better than mine Bottom panel the audience: holy shit ! Two cakes!!
People really act like you can only like a finite number of things. Believe it or not I can like Loish AND 500+ other artists with all level of following and different styles *gasp surprise* It's the cake meme
Happy St. Patrick's Day, New York.
Matt Colville and Teos are laughing, while Shawn says something humorous.
Matt Colville Blows Our Minds!
Matt Colville on the unique ways MCDM operates and what the rest of the industry might learn from that!
Listen or watch:
masteringdungeons.podbean.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-dU...
#DrawSteel #DnD #TTRPG
@mattcolville.bsky.social @hellomcdm.bsky.social
Yeah but you're not gonna like it. :D
Speaking only for myself, I view being a 3rd party 5E developer as spending your time and money supporting someone else's product and brand. Someone who is, at best, not supporting you.
That is enormously risky. You have no power in that relationship.
It's been a while since I've seen Jo's guide to commissioning an artist go around. But with all the people returning to for Midnight, I'm seeing more people in WoW communities ask "how do I get art of my character?"
This is a GREAT place to start!
Wow I should have gotten at least a nomination for a nobel peace prize for this post
#MythologyMonday
March is National Reading Month in the U.S. - as good a reason as any to share my suggestions for which of the many versions of The Mabinogion you should read!
Brief, it depends what you're looking for.
1/5
Black and white photo of Marjane Satrapi with the quote: "The world is not divided between East and West. You are American. I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same."
Once again.
I read the last option as Otter and now I want to create a kobold otter race for my next game.
this is what kobolds look like in Omios Ures. cat-salamander rascal-pests. they use small shadows and dark nooks as portals to get around your house and steal your shit.
at the first sign of kobold activity, witch doctors recommend placing candles around crannies at night to ward off the bastards.
That is the worst. It would be nice if we could train our brains to flag certain memories as spam so they don't keep popping up.
