To all Ninjas...

We'll be back after the holidays!

We hope you have a fantastic and festive season.

If you're staying up on Christmas Eve in hopes of spotting Santa,

Forget it. 

He's the ultimate Ninja.

Ninja Mountain 45 - Radio Ventriloquism

Started writing this in the style of a foul mouthed pirate. Then completely got over it. Think yourselves lucky.

So! Episode 45! This week the full Ninja Mountaineer Squad were largely indisposed, preparing for something called "Christmas". Nonetheless a plucky team of handpicked idio...panelists managed to get together and record their thoughts on the newly released version 3 of painting software ArtRage.

In true Ninja Mountain style discussion rambles and ranges as you might expect as Andy, Scott and Jon open up their new programs and dive in, live to tape. They share their thoughts and observations on Ambient Design's new baby. Where others may hesitate in presenting a radio show about live use of a graphics program our crack team took no prisoners.


Bit of a special interest episode, we freely admit. But what? You gonna ask for your money back?

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain045.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes It's free and it feels so good!


Show Notes:
Artrage 3: http://www.artrage.com/

Doh! And now updated with our AR3 doodlings made during the recording of the show!
Jon:



Scott:



Andy:




Have no fear, we'll be back soon with more critique episodes, featuring both the work of the Mountaineers and our respected listeners!

Ninja Mountain 44 - Critique THIS!

We've talked about the power of critique, we've extolled the virtues of giving and getting good crits, and now we step into the crucible ourselves! Each Ninja offers up one piece to be examined and discussed by the panel, and nothing is spared. Patrick, Socar, Jeremy and 2nd-time guest Drew Baker share pictures and opinioins and maybe, just maybe, learn a little bit about love in this very special episode. Oh, and we laugh about yaoi. (A lot).

So come on in! Listen to our idea of good critiques, in this weeks awe-inspiring NINJA ART THUNDERDOME!


http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain044.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes, or we'll be forced into drastic action. And nobody wants that.


The Pictures!



Socar Myles - Mr. Mole in the Wild Woods



Socar Myles - Mr. Mole detail



Jeremy McHugh - Dragonslayer



Drew Baker - Bullywug Attack original

After the critique session, Drew went back and made some changes to the initial piece. Here's his update - see what you think!


Drew Baker - Bullywug Attack after updates



Patrick McEvoy - Blasphemer


We invite you to post your own comments, as well as your own pieces for critique, in the message section below. Let's have some fun!

.

Ninja Mountain 43 - Let's Quickify!

Listener Brian Bowes asked us for ways to "quickify" one's work and that opened up broad discussion amongst our panel of Ninjas this week. We go to extraordinary lengths to unravel the mysteries of particle board, delve deeply into our individual art processes, and make frequent mention of a certain Art Director of whom you may have heard.

http://mchughstudios.com/ninjamountain_podcast/episode43.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes, damn your eyes!!!


Show Notes:
Jon Schindehette

Masonite

Mattias Snygg

Ninjas on this episode:

Ralph Horsley
Anne Stokes
Socar Myles
Patrick McEvoy
Jeremy McHugh

.

Ninja Mountain Episode 42 - Collectors Are People Too

All right!
In this episode the Ninjas meet with Patrick Wilshire, founder of Illuxcon, to learn about the genesis of this popular event and how it was put together.
We also take advantage of Mr Wilshire's long involvement in the genre art collecting market to learn more about what makes collectors tick.
A very cool discussion that we hope you will enjoy.

Episode 42

Show links:
Illuxcon
The Illustration Exchange
Collin Lenzen

The Ninjas this week:
Ralph Horsley
Socar Myles
Patrick McEvoy
Jeremy McHugh

Special Episode 41b - Illuxcon Part 2!

All right!
Jeremy has edited and compiled episode 2 of our two-part Illuxcon Special Extravaganza.
In this episode you get to listen in as our traveling Ninja interviews many more of our favorite artists along with a small wrap-up at the end with his friend and illustration student, Joe Acone.

http://mchughstudios.com/episode_41b.mp3

Aritsts in this episode include:
Brom
Justin Gerard
Gary Lippincott
Ian Miller ( who Jeremy foolishly refers to as Ian Williams...sorry Ian. He is being beaten as we write this. He will never do that again...Ever....)
Bob Eggleton
Mark Zug
L.A "Allen" Williams
Volkan Baga
Steve Ellis
Robh Ruppel
Donato Giancola
Don Maitz

Too much awesome to be contained within one meager episode!
Thank you for joining us on our latest voyage away from the misty peak of Ninja Mountain.

We hope you will enjoy the show!

Episode 41 A---Illuxcon Episode 1!!!

Oooh la la! Jeremy here, taking over from Patrick and Jon for the week to do the whole thing on my own from recording to editing!

Too many artists for one episode!
Enjoy all the awesomeness I was able to uncover in the sleepy college town of Altoona, Pennsylvania.

http://mchughstudios.com/episode_41a.mp3

Today's episode compiles the interviews I conducted on Saturday and include:
William O'Connor
Larry Elmore
Matthew Stewart
Michael Whelan
Cynthia Sheppard
Laura Diehl
Chris Burdett
Piya Wannchaiwong
Ryan Yee
and Aaron B Miller

Plus I ask two art collectors, Greg Obaugh and Mike Stubbs, what makes them tick and their thoughts on the world of fantasy art collecting.
There is more to come in episode 41 B which is on its way so stay tuned!

Ninja Mountain 40b - D&D Legends Special

If you are a fan of old-school Dungeons and Dragons, great fantasy illustration, great artists, or all of the above, this may be the best show you hear all year! Join Jeremy as he hosts a special round table of Joseph Goodman, Erol Otus, Jeff Easley and Stefan Poag.

Yeah, we don't need to hype it any more than that. Just listen.

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain040b.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for the love of Cthulhu!!

Show Notes
Jeff Easley
Stefan Poag
Erol Otus
Goodman Games


AND... For all the latest in Ninja news and happenings, Twitter-style, be sure to follow http://twitter.com/NinjaMountain (Or "@NinjaMountain" for you hep-cats). You'll be glad you did. Probably.

Ninja Mountain Episode 40 - Cannibals of the Typing Pool

JOIN US! This week the team meet up at the S. Myles typing pool. The audio is absolutely shot to heck by the incessant clatter of brand spanking new imac keyboard keys, but we just like to think of that as edgy and lo-fi. And you can too!

This week the NMeers (enemeers? ew!) form up to make a giant beardless female robot dwarf, blindly marching across a poorly constructed and ill conceived cardboard landscape littered with conversational dead ends and the smoking holes left where we edited out the parts not suitable for the tender ears of our culturally refined and gloriously urbane listeners. Much as a machine built to wage war may find consciousness, nay sentient joy, in the roiling heart of battle, we like to think the kind of people who tune in to our show will find a similar, if tiny, nugget of wondrous enlightenment in the roiling heart of this week's nonsense.

Turn on, form up, fire the lazors, transform into a slightly shapeless robot dinosaur and fall apart wondrously to the strains of NINJA MOUNTAIN EPISODE 40

On this week's slice of heaven we have the towering clacking edifice of Socar Myles, the enormo-dome of Californication Patrick McEvoy, the wonderfully understated yet somehow louche in a Frank-Lloyd-Wright-gone-wrong stylee Andy Hepworth, the fantastically baroque and perspective defying mansion that is Dr Eric Lofgren Laboratories and also little Jonny Hodgson.

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain040.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free!

Show notes?
Don't be stupid!

Ninja Mountin Episode 39 - What's new?

It's a short one this week, as a planned UK-based segment fell victim to scheduling problems. But fear not! Though short in stature this episode is long in content, as we ask the question: "what's new in your studio?" Equipment, new paints, new books, new work methods - we cover it all! Plus a preview of Illuxcon plans, and some of the tomfoolery that's made Ninja Mountain the talk of water-coolers worldwide for nearly one-thirteenth of a decade!


http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain039.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free! Really! We would not lie to YOU, of all people.

Show notes:

Illuxcon

Jon Schindehette

Grumbacher Max Oils

Find the Ninjas on Twitter!
@andershep (Andy Hepworth)
@jonnyHodgsonArt
@packbawky (Socar)
@jeremymchugh
@Patrick_McEvoy
@Eric_lofgren
@scottpurdy
@scottjohnsonart
@paintagram (Sam Araya)
@RalphHorsley
And the official robo-overlord itself:
@NinjaMountain

Books this episode:

Ninja Mountain Episode 38 - Epic Chair Fail

Once again our crack team of ninjas... no wait, our team of crack ninjas...I'll come in again.


This week on Ninja Mountain: Robo Jeremy returns to introduce Patrick,
Socar, Jon, and Ralph, who discuss: Stuff! Stuff like: A single top tip for aspiring illustrators, good and bad qualities in art direction, defending your home against shotgun assassins, sketching, and Twitter.

You'll marvel as Socar takes the moderator's golden laurel wreath and takes charge. Gasp in amazement as Patrick swings from rope to rope, roll your eyes as Jon says "you know" a lot, and feel that funny feeling in your tummy like going over a hump backed bridge in the back of the car when you were a kid as Ralph breaks ranks and offers actual content.




http://mchughstudios.com/ninjamountain_podcast/episode_38.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free!
And leave a message there too. It's compulsory!

Show notes:
coming soon! (Wait, are there any notes for this show?)

Ninja Mountain special - Listener round table

It's a special middle-of-the-week episode, courtesy of Socar, who coordinated and recorded our first-ever listener round-table discussion. Joining Socar are Ninja Mountain regular Eric Lofgren, along with Mike Schley, Erika Harm, and Mary Layton.

(The sound quality is a bit rough here and there, but it's well worth it for the awesome discussion!)

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain037b.mp3


Show Notes:

www.marylayton.net
www.mikeschley.com
www.erikaharm.com
www.ericlofgren.net
www.gorblimey.com

.

Ninja Mountain 37 - The All-Necrophelia Episode

This week it's a big group indeed! Jon, Eric, Andy, Socar, Patrick and Jeremy all team up to answer questions about art school and job negotiations. And of course, the topics wander into many interesting areas. Very interesting. Very interesting and, let us say, "specialized". But it's all in good fun, and no corpses were harmed during the recording of this week's episode. Join us, won't you?


http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain037.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes!! Just do it!!! OK, then, we have an understanding.

Show Notes:

Jon Hodgson's Fantasy Art for Beginners:



Chandra Free - The God Machine

Escape from Illustration Island crossover GO!!!

Thomas James has released the other part of the EFII/Ninja Mountain crossover! Listen as the tables are turned and it's the Ninja's who are interviewed!

Escape from Illustration Island

Thanks again Thomas for a fun time!

Ninja Mountain 36 - Barry Manilow

This week it's a small yet tiny group, as Socar, Jeremy and Patrick field more of your questions from Twitter. From painting, to digital, to client relations and many other subjects too. So come for the discussion, stay for the singing!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain036.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free, and we'll stop singing.

Show Notes:

Barry Manilow


My Turn Mobile

Ninja Mountain 35 - Crossover!

Welcome to another exciting episode of Ninja Mountain, this time with a big difference. No, we won't suddenly start to make sense or something - that's crazy talk. No, this time we are crossing over with Thomas James from the Escape from Illustration Island site and podcast. The first part of our day was devoted to Thomas trying to interview us (fat chance of that) for his podcast. You can hear that on his site soon. And the second part, which you'll hear here, was Thomas attempting to figure out how we still have a podcast when we are obviously too silly to do anything other than giggle at our own off-color jokes.

So! Let the fun begin! Thomas James joins Patrick, Andy, Socar, Jeremy, and the long-lost Jon for an episode of fun and information. We discuss Podcasting and social networking, and finish answering the questions from listeners that we began last week. So... Join us... Join usssss!!!


http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain035.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free, just for the Halibut.

Show Notes:

Escape From Illustration Island
Thomas James

Update!
The Ninja Mountain episode of EFII will be released Tuesday, 10/13/2009. Keep an eye out for it!

Ninja Mountain 34 - Triple shot!!

It's a huge episode this week, with three utterly AWSOME segments! First, Andy, Socar, Patrick and Jeremy take lots and lots of questions from listeners and answer them with the laser-sharp focus and on-topic concentration for which we are justifiably famous. Then Ralph joins in to talk about making your art dynamic - what are the elements that art directors are looking for in a visually exciting picture? Then Anne joins in to to talk about preparations for a new picture (spoiler alert: we ALL agree!) Audio fun-time nuclear happy starts... NOW!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain034.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free, because we all want to be your special friend.

Show Notes:
In a couple of days we'll put up all the twitter names here for the folks who wrote in with questions!

Ninja Mountain 33 - Life and Other Disasters

Welcome to the much-anticipated 33rd episode of Ninja Mountain! This week Andy, Patrick, Jeremy and Socar talk about artistic distractions, disasters, and other fun stuff that may or may not make any sense at all. But they are on their best behavior as they invite a guest artist to join in the chat: Drew Baker!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain033.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free, then sit back and enjoy the Awesome!

Show Notes:
Drew Baker

Ninja Mountain 32 - contractually obligated

Not just an episode! A contractually mandated obligation to you, our listeners. Andy, Patrick and Jeremy discuss working with new clients, some thoughts about contracts, working on new Intellectual Properties and the dreaded OTHER STUFF. Then, like a sweet zephyr of beauty, Socar joins the testosterone-laden group to add the fresh air of sanity to the male-dominated conversation. Or something.

Listen to it, there really might be some sentences which can be parsed into the English language... somewhere.

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain032.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free!
A message wouldn't hurt much, either.

Thank you for listening, please drive through.

Some GenCon pics!

My wife very dutifully took some pictures of our time at GenCon 2009 for you to enjoy.
I divided my time between showing my portfolio around on the convention floor and performing interviews with occasional opportunities to work at my booth.
I am glad you all enjoyed the audio segments I collected while at the show. I wish to extend special thanks to all that had a moment to share with us.
GenCon has a special place in my heart as you can probably tell from these past two episodes. Far from making this into a two episode commercial for the Indianapolis convention, I chose to corner creatives with whom we might not otherwise have an opportunity to speak with on the show.
Much praise must be heaped upon Patrick and Jon for their herculean efforts in wrangling these special episodes with their superior audio-fu!
Many thanks to folks who approached me at the con to offer their compliments to our team. It has been very heartening to learn that our show is making a difference and entertaining you at the same time. :)
Enjoy the pics and we look forward to bringing you more Ninja goodness as we return to our regular recording schedule this week with episode 32!
---Jeremy

Look wot my friend, Paul "Prof" Herbert got for me! A little Ninja of me very own! I wore it the whole show. It's all about accessorizing, baby. :)


Diesel LaForce recounts the early days of the GenCon Art Show in a late night interview.


My friend and art hero, Steve Prescott


My buddy, Heather Kreiter!


Drew Baker and Beth Trott


Hanging out with the Norse God of Lighting. That's how I roll...


Everyday con-goers in their finery.


The lovely and talented couple, Tony and Kay Steele!


Don Higgins-- good friend and creator of the "Dark Magic and Donuts" web comic


A few random everyday con-goers doing random every day con-goer things.


Matt Stawicki interview!

Ninja Mountain 31 Moar GenCon!

Welcome to the second part of our Gencon coverage, featuring an interview with art show organiser Diesel, and a report from the artshow awards themselves.

This show is shorter than normal due to the annual editors holiday. Once they have recaptured, suitably punished and humiliated, normal service will be resumed.

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain031.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free!
And please do leave a message there too.



Show notes to follow!

Ninja Mountain 30: GenCon 2009 Special

Hold on to your bandwidth, its a monster! Part one of our GenCon 2009 coverage is out, and its a biggie! Jeremy and his pin stripe vest deliver a stunning array of interviews with the biggest names in the gaming art world.

YOU the listeners gave us a digital recorder, and by golly we used it!

This special super extended episode features interviews with Omar Rayyan, Jon Schindehette, Wayne Reynolds, Steve Prescott, Randy Galagos, Chris Seaman and more!

And there's more to come over the following weeks!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain030.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free!
And please do leave a message there too.

Copious enormo-show notes:

Omar Rayyan
Wayne Reynolds
Steve Prescott
Chris Seaman
Randy Gallegos
Jon Schindehette's blog
Chris Pritchard
Aaron Miller
Amy Ashbaugh
Arkady Roytman
Joe Slucher
Andy Hopp
Matt Stawicki
Tyler Walpole

The crew of WIP was there to enjoy the show as well.
The WIP Podcast!
Jeff Himmelman
Caroline Himmelman's "The Art Of Business" blog
Peter Morhbacher
Anna Mohrbacher

More GenCon footage is on the way, folks. We recorded 3.5 hours of interviews so be sure to listen up for future GenCon goodies!

Ninja Mountain 29: Rise of the Replicants

A hell of hot metal and hate powered circuitry breaks loose like an avalanche of mixed metaphors this week on the Mountain. With Jeremy away at Gencon gathering the audio-fruits of the season the remaining Mountaineers do their best to cope with the robot apocalypse sans congenial host, and welcome in our new robot overlords with answers to the following questions:

Via email, Aaron Anderson (afaceart.blogspot.com) asks how we keep as busy with work as we all seem to do.

And for once we come up with some of our own content, and ruthlessly interrogate ourselves like souless killing machines sent from the future about how we learn new skills, programs and techniques whilst juggling all the other activities we're forced to enact by our cold silicon masters.

On the show this week are Patrick, Andy, Socar and Jon, with guest soundbites from Ralph and Anne

Plus a special guest two line appearance from the mighty Kiwi deathmecha Ben Wootten!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain029.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free!
And leave a message there too. It's compulsory!

Show notes:
coming soon!

Ninja Mountain Episode #28 - 1)talk 2)??? 3)PROFIT!!

OK, the episode is a tiny bit late, but after the earth is swallowed whole by giant space lampreys, who's really going to care?

What the horrible space eels WILL remember is that this episode features a great conversation between Ralph Horsley and special guest Steven Belledin, questions from listeners, and lots of conversation with Jon, Socar, Jeremy, Ralph and Patrick. And they will regret having swallowed our planet so callously and destroyed such entertaining artists, and perhaps... Just maybe... They'll think twice before doing it again to another beautiful blue planet somewhere else in the cosmos.

Though, frankly, we doubt it.

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain028.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free!
And leave a message there too - it's fun!


Show notes:

Steven Belledin

Spyder pro calibration device

August competition time at Scotch Corner

You there! Yes you! You'd like to win a poster print wouldn't you? Of course you would. So get over to Scottish art blog Scotch Corner, where you can win a 60cm x 30cm Jon Hodgson print for just posting a comment in the month of August.

http://scotchcorner.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-competition-dragon-rein-by-jon.html

Ninja Mountain Episode #27 - Return of the King

This week sees Patrick return the conquering hero from San Diego Comic-Con (or SDCC or CCI or whatever the search engines prefer to find), with his blood stained booty sack crammed full of audio goodness! Jeremy and Socar take some time to tackle a question from a prospective client and... Patrick is back from ComicCon!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain027.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free... It's FREE!!

The Show Notes

Todd Lockwood

Steranko - comics & book covers

Chandra Free
Chan at the Archaia panel with Zachary Quinto (she starts about 4:40)

Chris Burdett
(Who blogged extensively about the con, and even has pics of Patrick's seminar!)

Mu Young Kim

Nicole Cardiff (Thanks for the cookies!)

Alex Eckman-Lawn
(His Graphic Novel Awakening is on Amazon now!)

David Rodriguez - Starkweather: Immortal Graphic Novel is in Previews NOW!!
Pre-order it at your local comic book store asap!! Art by your friendly Ninja Patrick McEvoy.

Mark Smylie

Marv Mann
(Some New Kind of Slaughter is on Amazon now!)

Ninja Mountain Episode #26 - Love Hate Sleepy Time

It's that time of the week again. Set your ears to stun and tune in to the latest slice of happytime sugartaste goodness from Ninja Mountain!

We're back to a compact and bijou hour long show this week as the whole team were frankly exhausted.  In spite of their advanced state of fatigue another wonderful* show was wrung out of them drop by drop until the sonic cup verily flowethed over!  This week we take listeners calls once again, with two questions from the wonderful Christopher Burdett, and the fantastic Caroline Himmelman.  And in fact we even come close to answering some those questions!  The love runs free and its hug time for everyone.  

This week's questions:

Why are fantasy artists apparently so nice to each other when we're all in competition?

How do you cope with falling short of teh awesome?

Would you talk about a bad experience with an art director? On line? With friends? (We might not get round to answering the friends part in much detail since we got motoring on the online topic...)

Between the actual content there's a gold mine of actual singing, dancing and all the other things four freelancer artists do when they are too tired to know any better! This week's show is presented by Andy, Jeremy, Jon and Socar.  

We mention it in the show, but it seems appropriate to give a shout out to our other caller of this week, the mighty ATOM, who's call will feature on next week's show when we have our resident monitor expert back on hand to give some real information.  Thanks ATOM, we love you.   As ever you can call the show on Skype via jon.hodgson.

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain026.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free... It's LOVELY!!

The Show Notes

Christopher Burdett: http://www.christopherburdett.com/

Caroline Himmelman: http://www.carolinehimmelman.com/

(Caroline is also on the WIP Podcast (Good interview this month guys! I was cheering! Jon):  http://www.wippodcast.com/

*c'mon this is ad copy, what do you want?

A WIP/Tutorial from McHugh.

Hey All,

As many of you know, Art Order ( www.artorder.blogspot.com) is featuring a cover contest right now and, after deciding to give it a go, I figured it would be a great opportunity to put together a WIP/Tutorial.

The joys of not being locked into a Non-Disclosure Agreement. :)

This is a more detailed description of how I go about generating a finished illustration and it builds off of previous discussions on the show.
The article is in 4 parts---

Part 1: Rough sketch
Part 2: Detailed drawing
Part 3: Grayscale underpainting
Part 4: Painting

I hope some of you find it useful.
Thanks for reading!
---Jeremy McHugh

Ninja Mountain Episode #25 - Three Way Split.

Its a big one this week as three seperate Ninja Teams assemble to deliver a triple whammy in a joyously confused magazine format. First up we have Anne Stokes and Socar Myles discussing the topic of being an awesome female fantasy artist in what can appear at a glance to be a male dominated world.

Next up its convention talk with Patrick McEvoy, Ralph Horsley and Jeremy McHugh - get the fat ole skinny on what to do at your next convention attendance! Whether selling prints or selling your soul to every art director you can lay hands on, this crack team discuss it all.

Lastly Andy Hepworth, Ralph Horsley and Jon Hodgson discuss the work and influence of truly awesome historical and fantasy artist Angus MacBride.



http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain025.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free!


Show Notes:

Angus McBride: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_McBride
Moar McBride: http://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/?p=77
McBride's work in Look and Learn: http://www.lookandlearn.com/cgi-bin/if.cgi?img=0&search=Angus+McBride&cat=all&bool=phrase
Characters of Middle Earth on Scribd.com (which we only recommend when a book is waaaaaaay out of print): http://www.scribd.com/doc/12510173/Angus-McBrides-Characters-of-MiddleEarth


NB:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that since this is the first time I've been let loose in the itunes/feedburner control room on NM I probably did something wrong in making the show work. So bear with us if the magic doesn't happen first time. --Jon

Update - Holy cow, it would appear to have worked! Who would have thought it possible?

Equipment drive

Hi loyal Ninja audience! We have a fun idea - Patrick and Jeremy would like to record some interviews with artists at San Diego Comic-con and GenCon this summer. But to do this, we'd need to buy a digital recorder, and we were wondering: is there any chance we could get you to pitch in? Sort of an "Equipment drive". If you're interested, just click the "donate" button on the left side of the page and send whatever you can afford; no amount is too small!

(Except negative numbers - I guess that would be too small. So technically I lied, but hopefully you know what I meant in spirit..)

Thanks a lot! We'll let you know the results of the drive soon. As always, we really appreciate your support whether monetary or words of encouragement or simply downloading the podcast. We're glad you're there.

** UPDATE: We're doing GREAT on donations on this. I've already gone ahead and ordered a spiffy little recording device that will be here in time for San Diego, and a couple of other ancillary items. Thanks very much for all your generous contributions. Feel free to keep donating (as always!), but we just wanted you to know that this drive has been a rousing success!

PS - Keep an eye out for Patrick at SDCC and Jeremy at GenCon, with recorder in hand... They'll both be on the lookout for people to record for the show!


** UPDATE 2!: It occurred to us that perhaps we should give some much-deserved credit to those great folks who have donated - both to this drive and in general. However, we were also concerned that perhaps anonymity would be valued by some of you as well. So, if you would like to have your name trumpeted to other Ninja-watchers, (or if you wouldn't, either way!) please send an email to Patrick - contact @ megaflowgraphics.com Thanks!!

Summer Convention Funtime GO!

Hey there Ninja Mountain listeners!

Well, summer is here, and with it comes conventions. And the biggest in the US is the San Diego Comic-Con. Patrick will be attending, mostly hanging out at the Archaia booth promoting the upcoming Starkweather: Immortal hardback, but also giving a Digital Painting Seminar!

The seminar is now officially up on the SDCC Friday Programming page. Here's the text:

6:30-7:30 Digital Painting Seminar: Patrick McEvoy (Starkweather: Immortal) demonstrates the art of digital painting with Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter. Using examples from his work on the Marvel Style guide, a panel from Archaia's Starkweather, and a cover from BOOM! Studios' Fall of Cthulhu, Patrick will step through various techniques, starting from pencils and working up to a final rendering. Learn how to bring a fully painted look to your digital artwork! Room 30CDE

So, if you're attending the con, be sure to be at room 30CDE at 6:30 Friday the 24th, and give Patrick a little love.


UPDATE: Patrick's also going to be on an Archaia comics panel on Thursday:

2:30-3:30 Archaia/Roddenberry Productions: Days Missing— Archaia Studios Press is now simply known as Archaia! Learn about the sci-fi titles the publisher has in store, such as Titanium Rain (with creators Josh Finney and Kat Rocha), Robotika (with creator Alex Sheikman), and Starkweather (with writer David Rodriguez and artist Patrick McEvoy). Then meet the creative dream team behind Days Missing, the new sci-fi comic miniseries from Archaia and Roddenberry Productions, the legendary company that brought you Star Trek. Get a sneak peek of exclusive covers and art, and learn more about storylines for upcoming issues. Panelists include Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth from Roddenberry Productions; Archaia’s Stephen Christy, Mark Smylie and Rob Levin; Chris Burnham (X-Men: Divided We Stand); Ian Edginton (Stormwatch); Phil Hester (The Darkness); David Hine (Batman: Battle for the Cowl); Frazer Irving (Batman and Robin); and Matz(The Killer). All attendees will receive a free copy of Days Missing#1! Room 3

----------

In other news, Jeremy will be at GenCon in August. I know he's looking forward to seeing you all there, I hope he writes a little more about it here... :)

Ninja Mountain Episode #24 - Teh Awesome!

What is the quality of "awesome" that is the only sure way of getting work as a freelancer? How do you get it? Do any of us have it? Well, the only thing you can count on is this: you will hear the word "awesome" more times in one podcast than you ever thought possible! Jon is back this week, along with Jeremy, Patrick and Socar. Also, questions from listeners, a book report from Jon, and the world premier of Jon's acid house mix of Socar's "Like a Boss" tribute. Yes, it's nonstop mayhem in the Mighty Ninja Manner! You can't afford not to miss it - AWESOME!!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain024.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free... It's AWESOME!!


Awesome Show Notes:
SciFiFantasyHorrorSpace_ArtShows

PS - yes, it's ep. 24!! Misprint fixed...

Hey! I never post artwork over this way. Except for today!

Couple of recent pieces - A new cover for the Magnum Opus Press reissue of classic Brit rpg Dragon Warriors:

(C)2009 Magnum Opus Press and Jon Hodgson

A quickie cover for my friends over at d101 games:

(C) 2009 Jon Hodgson

Cheers!

Ninja Mountain Episode #23 - Keepin' it Real

This time out we talk about how we keep up the interest in our work as the years go by. And lots of other stuff too, as always: Kieran Yanner returns from a long hiatus with a terrifying story of tragedy and survival in the face of overwhelming adversity, Jeremy relates to us the harrowing experience of a rogue ceiling attacking his studio, and Patrick can't think of anything to complain about at all. Wanker. And of course, DJ Jazzy Socar lays it down strong, yo.

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain023.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes for free! If you do it, Socar will rap for you. If you DON'T do it, Socar will rap for you 20 times.

Show Notes:

The Daily Monster

Like a Boss!!!

That "water drawing" thing we mentioned - Emmanuel Guibert.

Ninja Mountain Episode #22 - Long and Drawn out

This week we welcome longtime ninja Eric Lofgren to the show! He joins Jeremy, Socar and Patrick, and everyone tries to stay on the subject of drawing: techniques, tips and philosophical meanderings. Plus a call from a listener, a write-in question, and some book and web site recommendations. It's a long, jam-packed episode, so what are you waiting for? Start listening now!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain022.mp3

Subscribe for free on iTunes if you don't want a pie in your face, too!

** UPDATE: There was a sound problem at the end of the call-in section, which has now been fixed! **

Show notes...
http://www.ericlofgren.net/

http://www.waynebarlowe.com/

Roger Dean books:
Dragon's Dream: Roger Dean

Views

Magnetic Storm

Ninja Mountain Episode #21 - From Boom to Bust and Back

Has the economy affected the illustration business, and how? What are the Ninjas doing about it? And could the current downturn possibly put an end to a new Golden Age of Illustration that we didn't even realize we were in? Socar, Jon, Patrick and Jeremy talk it over. Also - more of your calls and questions! Join us, aren't you?

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain021.mp3

Subscribe for free on iTunes, or Socar will beat up a pimp!

Show Notes

Chandra Free

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines

The (UK) Association of Illustrators Pricing Survey

Don't forget to call in with your thoughts, questions, comments and unbridled praise! Just call Jon.Hodgson on Skype and let us know what you're thinking.

Ninja Mountain Episode #20 - The Listeners Strike Back!

It's a very special week on the Mountain! This time out, thanks to the magic of the Skype machine, we were able to take our first calls from listeners, and some SUPERB calls they were too! Listen to Jan's very nice praise, Chelsea's good site suggestions, Micheal's extremely fun performance art, and Elin's seemingly innocent question which ended up sparking prolonged conversation and an... interesting debate. Join Jon, Jeremy, Patrick, Ralph and Socar as we get to hear what YOU are thinking.

We had a great time doing this, so if you found it interesting please join in the fun next week by calling Jon.Hodgson on Skype and leaving a message.

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain020.mp3

Subscribe for free on iTunes, or Jon will eat a bug!


This week's mighty cast of stalwart callers:
Jan Pospisil

Chelsea Conlin

Michael Jaecks

Elin Josefsson

Honorary Ninjas all!!


Show notes:

Stanley Morrison

Monkeyslunch.com

Jason Braun

Ninja Mountain Podcast #19 - International Ninja Conspiracy

A special, history-making podcast today as Jon interviews Ben Wootten, some Andy, Jon and friends record in an Actual Scottish Pub, and Patrick, Jeremy and Socar discuss jobs gone wrong! Don't be the only person you know to miss it!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain019.mp3

Subscribe for free on iTunes!

Show Notes:

Ben Wootten:
http://www.benwootten.com/?page=home

John Howe: http://www.john-howe.com/
Alan Lee: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Lee
Angus MacBride: http://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/?p=77
Kevin Walker: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kev_Walker

Pubcast section:
The Malt Shovel: http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/pubguide/maltshovel.html
The MeeeMooo: www.jonhodgson.com/meeemooo
Matt from the pub: http://www.myspace.com/troldeskau
Scott Neil on The MeeeMooo, since his site seems on the fritz: http://www.jonhodgson.com/wordpress/?page_id=8
Ben Powis: http://www.benpowis.net/
Dragon Warriors: http://www.magnumopuspress.com/?page_id=32

Artists mentioned:
Jack Vettriano: http://www.jackvettriano.com/
Peter Howson:http://www.peterhowson.net/
David: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Louis_David

Miscellaneous:
Lochaber Axe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lochaber_axe
Targe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targe
Edinburgh Castle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_castle
National Museums of Scotland: http://www.nms.ac.uk/
Mervyn Peake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mervyn_Peake

Bitz of Art



==========================================
BREAKING NEWS! DIAL A NINJA
This will get its own post once the new episode has had a little time to get out there, but news just in! You can now phone in voicemail for the show via jon.hodgson on Skype. Call in, leave us a message and we'll probably play it on Episode 20!

Update on Fellow Ninja Grey Thornberry.

Ninja Mountain's blog, besides being a place where we announce show updates and engage in interesting conversations with our listeners is also a news outlet for our fellow Ninjas.
Today, Grey Thornberry let me know about the latest goings-on in his studio.

Grey is keeping busy with several projects for Pathfinder (Paizo Games), due out in September of this year.
He wanted to share a recent image of an awesome Umber hulk with our listeners.
One of his many accomplished paintings was chosen as "Image of the Day"for June 2nd over at ImagineFX!

http://www.imaginefx.com, with a follow-up to be included on the dvd that comes with the July issue, check it out!

And we look forward to eventually having our friend on the show!
To learn more about Grey and his work head to Grey's Studio!

Thanks for reading, folks!

Ninja Mountain Podcast #18 - Adventures in Colors and values

It's a long one today, as we talk about color and value. Ralph, Andy, Socar, Patrick and Jeremy take us through an admittedly introductory discussion about the nuts and bolts of these vast subjects, as well as a few of our normal detours into areas unknown.


http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain018.mp3

Subscribe for free on iTunes!

Show notes:

WiP Podcast
Big Illustration Party Time Podcast

Rendering in Pen and Ink, Guptill

Rendering in Pencil, Guptill (out of print, buy it used!)

Unseen Shadows: 50 cover concept illustrations, Steranko (expensive but hey, you're worth it!)
(And it's up on ebay right now!!)

Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green, Wilcox

Ninja Mountain Podcast #17 - Barely legal internet action

All the aspects of Internet relations, web behavior and our online personae are discussed in this episode, with Andy, Socar, Patrick, Jon and Jeremy. How do we approach this big wide world of web? Well, you may hear something new and perhaps even entertaining as we tackle a subject as huge as Cyberspace itself!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain017.mp3

Subscribe for free on iTunes!

Show Notes:

Pulp Art: Original Cover Paintings for the Great American Pulp Magazines

Ninja Mountain Podcast #16 - A bargain at half the price

This week it's question and answer with the panel as they wrestle some thorny beasts provided by Jon's Facebook friends and rpg.net! "What brushes do you use in Photoshop?","can you give me email addresses of your favourite clients?", and "will you do me some work pro bono?" are all questions which will not be answered. Instead Ralph discusses shooting day for night, Jeremy shoots a man in Reno just to watch him die, Socar brings sexy back, and Jon edits the whole show to make himself seem much funnier than he actually is. As ever.

Actual questions covered: Bulk pricing? How many revisions? Why art? What music do you work to?

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain016.mp3

Become part of the iTunes Army!!

Show notes to follow.

*Hey Kids! Check out Patrick's blog post today for the background and history of the Mountain: Ninja Mountain, the awful, terrible truth.

Ninja Mountain Podcast #15 - Cue the music!

In what is quite possibly our wackiest episode ever, Socar, Jeremy, Jon and Patrick attempt to discuss several important and weighty topics while trying not to laugh too much. Where do we see ourselves in the future, and how will we make it happen? What areas do we need to work on artistically and why? Can we manage to stay on topic for more than a minute at a stretch and why not? All these questions and more will probably remain unanswered in this senses-shattering FIFTEENTH episode!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain015.mp3

I tunes, You Tunes, we all scream for iTunes!


Show Notes

Ramen Home Page
Potted Meat food products (The one Patrick mentioned didn't have a brand name on it...)
Socar's goal
Scott Purdy's GOBLINOIDS!

** Quality Assurance note! There were some sound issues around 50 minutes in on this episode, where Socar was dropped out. We've been working on that and a fix will be up soon. So if you have the version where you can't hear some of the dialog, try re-loading after 8:30 Pacific time May 8. Thanks!

Ninja Mountain Podcast #14 - doing it in style

Hello all you artist-listening people! We're a little bit late this week, but we think it will be worth the wait, as Jeremy and Patrick are joined by South American Ninja Sam Araya and returning Ninja Anne Stokes. Our discussion concentrates on the care and feeding of your personal style. Can you work on it, and if so how? Can you change it around for different jobs, or do you want to? Also, we touch on the topic of the most important or memorable critiques we've received. Interesting stuff all around!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain014.mp3


Or find us here on iTunes!

Show Notes

Sam Araya
http://paintagram.blogspot.com/
Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting, by Richard Schmid
Joel-Peter Witkin
Fantasy Art Techniques of Tim Hildebrandt


Spyder3 pro

** We apologize for the slightly baddish sound quality here and there this time out. Skype was not our friend this day! We think that if you stick it out through the sound issues you'll have almost as much fun as we did.
-Patrick

Ninja Mountain Podcast #13 - Ninjapocalypse NOW!!

In the above image we see Patrick editing the podcast.

Welcome to a very special episode of Ninja Mountain, as we introduce long-time Ninja Mountaineer Socar Myles! First up, Andy, Jeremy, Patrick and Jon talk about the things that have influenced their art outside of other art - mostly movies and literature. (We'll admit there's not a lot of hard-hitting educational content in this one, but at least we had fun...) Next, Jeremy and Patrick join Socar in a discussion about illustration, commissions, world travel, pen nibs, and anything else they happened to stumble across in the course of their conversation. A splendid time is guaranteed for all!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain013.mp3

And inevitably, iTunes!


NB: Right near the end of this cast there are a couple of skype IM "pings". You're not going mad if you hear them and get totally confused by the fact you're not actually being pinged. One day the whole panel will WEAR SOME DAMN HEADPHONES OMG!




Show Notes:
Socar Myles - gorblimey.com

Melissa Findley
Jan off of rpgnet
Casablanca
Citizen Kane
7th Voyage of Sinbad
Zardoz

Socar in Spectrum - medium: "blow": The Rat Queen's Wedding Party

Skeleton fight!!

By way of explanation, in essay form...

Hey Gentle Readers, its Jon here using the ninjatextophone over the interwebs.

I wanted to take time out of the regular glee surrounding the podcast to offer some explanations of a fairly weighty nature. Weighty to me at least.

So, over on iTunes we've been receiving week on week some really great reviews and feedback, which is just wonderful, and warms the cockles of my cold black flinty heart. Seriously, hearing that people are getting something out of our larking about and rambling story telling is really great. Just this week though the inevitable happened. We got our first negative review. Now this in itself is not a problem. I (and the other guys) actively encourage people to express any concerns they have about the show and offer any tips on how people think we can improve what we're doing here. And heck, everyone has an opinion and I think that's really important. I'd hate to feel we had some kind of happy bandwagon and no one dare say anything negative. Anyone who knows me will be well aware I'm far too bloody awkward to hold that kind of position!

So we got a negative review. It had to happen. But in this review there were a couple of points that I personally felt needed to be addressed. I would have been content to just pass it by without comment, but a regular listener had emailed me last night expressing concerns. So I felt the need to make some comment here. Not to engage in some battle of wits over the Internet with a stranger who doesn't like our podcast, but rather to reassure our regular band of listeners about a few things. Since we can't actually discuss via the medium of iTunes - negative reviews just stay there, unfiltered and undiscussed I've brought it here to the Scrolls. I'm at something of a disadvantage too, since the review was posted on iTunes US store, and I can't see it, being in the UK. Luckily I have been sent a copy. Using this format of the blog at least allows some two way communication.



Firstly the topic of Illodeli.com was mentioned as a very negative thing. And that since three of our panelists are owner/investors/exhibitors in Illodeli that makes us hypocrites for suggesting working for very low wages is a bad thing, since the prices for work on Illodeli are low. For those of you out there blissfully unaware of what Illodeli.com is, let me explain. Myself and a few other artists noted that we had a growing collection of work we owned the rights to, either from negotiating first rights deals with our clients, or by virtue of it being old practice work, or new experiments. Or just things we painted for the heck of it. At the same time we were all aware that there is a segment of the gaming and novel publishing world which has incredibly low budgets, and relies on paying freelancers very low rates or uses clip art. Also we noted there's a growing-pains area for such small publishers where they have a modest budget to spend but not enough to really pay for pro level cover work, for example.

So these two things dovetail together very nicely. Through much wrangling of code, huge amounts of testing and general toil we set up Illodeli.com. A site where publishers with low budgets can go and pick up non-exclusive, one time usage rights to these pieces, for a suitable low budget price.

Now in the review I'm addressing we have been accused of being part of the general downturn in illustration rates (which I'm personally not seeing by the way, but we'll accept that point for a moment) and worse that every time we sell non-exclusive one time usage to our existing work we do a freelancer out of a commission. To me this is not an accurate observation, though I do understand the concern. Firstly as a ground rule of the site we have never advertised directly where freelancers go to get work. That would not be ethical in my mind, since Illodeli is a very different animal to freelance. Secondly, and this is where I am at something of an unfair advantage having access to our customer records at Illodeli, our customers I can categorically state are not choosing between spending $600 to $1600 for a cover commission and Illodeli. People with that kind of money are my customers in my freelance capacity, and I certainly wouldn't want to compete with my own core business. There is no overlap.

Illodeli provides a place where I can point those publishers who frequently offer me very small amounts for illustration work. This has been an on going issue for me - getting offered $100 for cover work, or $100 a page for internals. Those rates aren't ones I can consider, and its been really nice to say "Hey, you don't quite have the budget to get me bespoke and exclusive, but check out this other work at prices which matches your budget". Rather than just "No".

That low budget market isn't going away. Its well established. Personally I'm not a huge fan of clip art for a variety of reasons, so we don't do that at Illodeli. I'm even less a fan of freelancers working to very low rates for bespoke illustration on a work for hire basis. I think its pretty distasteful and unnecessary for more reasons than I have space to go into here. So at Illodeli we're strictly non-exclusive, one time usage. And that doesn't suit anyone with significant budget to spend. If you have the quoted $600 to $1600 then you want bespoke work, you want at the very least first rights, if not all rights or work for hire. Illodeli doesn't provide that, and so doesn't compete in those markets.

I'm sorry that was so lengthy, but this is something we spent a great deal of time discussing at the project's inception, and continue to position in the most ethical way we feel we can. As professionals the market is important to us, and after much consideration we do not feel we are damaging it by offering what we offer. Rather it is a totally distinct business strand for a pretty distinct section of the market. Those publishers publishing on a shoe-string are not going away. And if we can both make a little coin from the work that would otherwise sit idle on our hard drives, and offer an alternative to employing freelancers on an utter pittance then we figure that is a good thing.

With that in mind it was probably a mistake for me to have ever mentioned it on a freelancing podcast. The context it came up in was the insight it has given to me with regard to the nature of unsolicited submissions to art directors. Rather than any kind of advert for the site. Seen in those terms I think it was a useful thing to talk about.




The second issue which I wanted to address, and congratulations to anyone still reading, is that we make the podcast to advertise ourselves. Now I can't entirely dismiss this. Of course getting your name "out there", and finding an audience as we have with some of the top ADs in the field is no bad thing. And of course the beauty of the net is that anyone can do the same should they feel the need. Its not like we're using up all the Internet doing this. Feel strongly that we're hogging the fantasy freelance airwaves with our misguided babble? Do your own one! That would be very very cool! That said, I can think of far far better, less labour intensive ways to advertise ourselves as artists. Primarily what we all as individuals do - send ADs submissions. I'd far rather write an email in ten minutes and send it to an AD I would like to work for than spend two hours recording, and three editing material which is arguably helping out our future competition. Really the podcast has a negligible impact as direct marketing. Sure, all these things add up - taking an active part in any community on-line increases your profile tiny notch by tiny notch. We're all making connections here. So I can't completely refute that we're loving the fame riches and numerous groupies that we have attracted over these 12 weeks. But come on. To suggest we only do this to cynically promote ourselves is way wide of the mark, and considerably unfair to boot.

Speaking for myself (and I know the other panelists feel the same, but I'll let them speak for themselves), I do the podcast out of sheer enjoyment. Its fun, its something of a hobby. I like goofing off with the guys and gals on the little stage we've built. None of us had come across anything like what we're doing for our little niche, and its fun. It is enjoyable to connect with all you listeners out there, its nice to feel like we're offering some insights, and maybe some help to our contemporaries and indeed neophytes. We have repeatedly mentioned how hard the market is, what a competitive field this is, and how some of us struggle. I don't think we're tricking anyone into becoming an illustrator, or thinking its an easy ride. Far from it. And this certainly accounts for our overwhelmingly positive response thus far.

Now those points addressed, I'm more than happy to accept criticism of the content, our voices, our opinions, the sound quality or anything else our listeners feel unhappy with! Engaging in this kind of endeavour is a two way process, and we want to know what you guys out there think, whether it is a positive or negative thing. I want to be very clear here that I'm addressing just the two points which I felt stepped into unfair territory, or general misunderstanding of what we're doing. I'm also motivated to take this up here where we can all have some input, rather than in the one way setting of iTunes reviews.

Ok, thanks for reading if you managed to find the necessary three hours to get through all that. This stuff is very important to me and the other guys and gals on the 'cast. I wish I could write with more brevity. And I'm sure you guys out there listening feel much the same when I'm speaking. Seriously though, this is important stuff, and I've chosen my words with care rather than to avoid verbosity.

Right off to edit the second half of the mighty Episode 13! "Ninja Acockalypse"!

Ninja Mountain Podcast #12 - Effortless efforts

Jon, Jeremy, Andy and Patrick talk about the effort put into illustrations, and how the time and money equation ties in to things. This leads into the practicalities of doing a good job on time, and somehow leads to a discussion on the fine art of the critique. Oh, who are we kidding - we're just all over the map this week. But it's a fun discussion, so please join us!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain012.mp3

Or subscribe for free on iTunes!

Show notes to be filled as interest warrants:

Ninja Mountain Podcast #11 - Ninjas gone WILD

Welcome to episode 11 of the Ninja Mountain Podcast! This week you'll delight in discussion, debate, dialogue and diatribe. We can't think of anything you'd rather do with an hour and a half of your precious time than listen to Andy, Scott, Jon, Patrick and Jeremy ramble on about artiness - can you?

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain011.mp3

And we're totally rockin' the iTunes

Show notes:

Illustration Magazine
Illustration Magazine's Blog
What is Lager?
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner
Graphic Storytelling & Visual Narrative

Ninja Mountain Podcast #10 - a Milestone!

Welcome to Episode Ten! They said we'd never make and by George they were almost right!

In this episode we see our giant ninja robot split once more into mini fighting units spread across the globe. Whilst Patrick takes a much-needed break, Jeremy, Kieran and Andy discuss working environments including Kieran's downtown studio of lurve, Jer's rickety lean to/basement and Andy's salubrious art boudoir with its wall of filth; Jon and Ralph almost open the digital vs trad debate but then don't really; and finally Britbot Ninjas Andy, podnoob Scott Purdy and Jon Hodgson talk about their development as artists and some of the stupid stuff they used to think compared to the stupid stuff they think now!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain010.mp3

Its a smasher! And it's just as good on iTunes

Show notes will be forthcoming just as soon as everyone sobers up.

The Art of Spirited Away
Animation Backgrounds
Scott Purdy
The Brits wear these when they work...except Andy

A special note of thanks from a co-host to his co-hosts...

Episode 9 is here and Episode 10 is on the way this week---a milestone approaches!
So far we are having a blast creating this show and it's been great that so many folks are enjoying it and getting good things out of it.

Everyone who appears on the show from the core panel of artists to our regular guests and occasional special guests have given a great deal of their time and talent to making this show what it is...
An excellent resource for aspiring and veteran artists alike.

All of them deserve our thanks!
Regular panelists and co-hosts: Andy Hepworth, Kieran Yanner, Ralph Horsely, Anne Stokes, and Scott Johnson.
Special guests: Von Glitschka and Mattias Snygg
All have shared with us their experience, advice, and insight for which we are grateful.
They all give of their time and join us for recording sessions to produce each entertaining episode.

I also want to take a moment to offer special recognition to two individuals who work tirelessly to bring you each installment of The Ninja Mountain Scrolls.

Patrick McEvoy and Jon Hodgson. Their contributions to the show extend beyond offering terrific insights and advice ( along with doses of good humor) as co-hosts of the program.

Patrick organizes and records each episode and then prepares it for the web by hosting the program on his own web server in addition to uploading it to ITunes. He even prepares the show notes for each episode and posts the write-up to our blog!

Jon Hodgson provides back-up recording and shares with Patrick the task of producing the music and sound effects that you enjoy each episode. Both share a background in music and apply their talents to the show's sound design. Not to mention Jon's own special interviews with leading artists in the industry.

Without these two creators, Ninja Mountain Scrolls would not be the great program that it is.


Thank you, gentlemen, and thank you, once again, to all of our panelists and listeners for your support of The Ninja Mountain Scrolls. A podcast for artists and by artists.

---Jeremy

Ninja Mountain Podcast #9 - Spinning ideas into gold!

Well, it's that time of the week again. And this time out we have a very talkative group indeed - Patrick, Jon, Jeremy, Keiran and Ralph chat about the very big subject of getting ideas from your head and onto the page. And getting those ideas in the first place... And what happens when there aren't any ideas at all! Plus a book review and an exciting tool tip. Join us for a very special episode, won't you?

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain009.mp3

Or click here if iTunes is more your thang.

Show notes

Oblique Strategies: http://www.rtqe.net/ObliqueStrategies/
Jon's painting teacher from high school: http://www.chrisdaynes.co.uk/
JW Waterhouse: http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/
Leeds Royal Armouries: http://www.armouries.org.uk/home
Leeds UK?: link
Drawing Board?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing_board
Art Order! Art Order

Drafting machines?
Here's the kind Patrick has.

Here's the kind that attaches more solidly.


Patrick says: here's a great example of what I was talking about when you have a subject that isn't exactly scintillating, but you still need to do something to make it interesting. Here, I was given the assignment of doing this World of Warcraft card featuring a Shield on a warrior's back. The shield was based on a previous design that needed to be used, and the card had to prominently feature the item (it's an "item" card)

Now, this wasn't really much to go on, so this was a case where I decided to make the picture about textures and light, rather than action or story. And I think it came out OK - I tried to make the piece attractive by doing lots of shine, reflections and highlights on the shield contrasting with worn and textured armor and floor. So when I mention the "fine art" approach of adding interest to an illustration, this is what I'm talking about!

(This picture is copyright © 2007 Upper Deck and Blizzard, used by permission.)

-Patrick

Ninja Mountain Podcast #8 - Ninja Army ATTACK!!

This week we present an unstoppable ninja army so huge, so utterly without hope of containment, that we split it into three parts! Joining Jeremy, Patrick, Jon, Andy and Kieran, we also introduce Anne Stokes, Ralph Horsley, and Mattias Snygg. The first segment features Anne, Jeremy, Patrick and Kieran. The second part brings us Ralph, Andy, Jon and Jeremy, and the third is a one-on-one with Jon and Mr. Snygg. Enjoy the bounty!

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain008.mp3

Or do what the cooool kids do - iTunes!


Show Notes:
http://mattiassnygg.com/
http://www.annestokes.com/
http://www.ralphhorsley.co.uk/

Armor links
http://www.bestarmour.com/
http://www.mac-armour.cz/index_en.htm
http://www.armstreet.com/
http://steel-mastery.com/index.php?&model=cat_page&category_id=17

The Medieval Soldier: 15th Century Campaign Life Recreated in Colour Photographs