Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Ninja Mountain Podcast episode 54. The Economics of Ramen...

Drew, Socar, and Jeremy are left to their own devices this week and the discussion follows the meandering paths of the mountain.
In this episode, three wayward ninjas discuss ramen, job titles, the horrors of life-drawing, the art/illustration dynamic, berets, and skimpy costumes.
Easy listening? Or disturbing? You must decide!

http://mchughstudios.com/ninjamountain_podcast/episode_54.mp3



Some questions for our fellow ninjas:

What one word comes to mind when you hear the word, "illustration"?
What is the weirdest place where you have found your own work displayed?
What is the weirdest tool in your studio? The kind of item that your peers might be surprised to learn about?
Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to client communication?
Let's hear your "life drawing nightmares"!



Thursday, February 18, 2010

Episode 53-Copyright 101 with Linda Kattwinkel ! MacWorld with Mercuralis!

Hoooo Boy! We have an awesome episode for you this week and we hope you learn a lot, folks. 

This week copyright and intellectual property lawyer, Linda Kattwinkel, joins the Ninjas to discuss copyright law.




Linda works for noted law office Owen, Wickersham & Erickson, P.C. out of San Francisco, California and they work with some of the most important artists and properties in America to provide legal advice and representation.
You can learn more about Owen, Wickersham & Erickson, P.C. at their law firm's website at www.owe.com
We would like to thank Linda for giving so generously of her time to answer our questions.
Understanding of copyright law is an important part of any artist's career and Linda stepped forward to empower our listeners with solid information.
Thank you, Linda!

You may learn more about copyright and intellectual property law through an excellent series of articles that Linda has written in her "Legalities" column published at the law firm's website.

More can be learned about U.S. copyright law at www.copyright.gov
You can learn a bit more about the Berne Convention through Wikipedia  ( how accurate it is...welll...it's Wikipedia...).

PLUS!!!---
Patrick McEvoy returns to the mountain from his journey to Mac World with an interview he shared with the very talented Melissa Findley ( aka Mercuralis).
To learn more about Melissa's work, head over to her blog site at: http://wickedeye.wordpress.com/
Thank you, Patrick, for being our "man on the street".

Hope you enjoy it, folks!




Thursday, February 11, 2010

Episode 52-Ohh those peevish Ninjas! Plus a visit from Steve Argyle!

In this episode guest artist Steve Argyle joins Socar Myles, Eric Lofgren, and Jeremy McHugh as  the Ninjas discuss pet peeves and embark on other numerous wanderings along the circuitous paths of the mountain.
Many thanks to our donor as Jeremy test-drives the new microphone headset. 
Rest assured that the weirdness of his voice is not a technical foible, but the remains of our co-host's recent battle with a cold and cough. Poor Jeremy-to be struck down by plague at such a tender age...


We would also like to announce the launch of The Visual Artist Podcast Network
VAPN will feature the latest episodes of Ninja Mountain, SideBar, Chris Oatley's Artcast, Escape From Illustration Island, WIP, and The Process Diary.
Many thanks to Thomas James of Escape From Illustration Island for putting together this awesome resource!



Two things we would like to get your thoughts and questions about this week:
1) What are your artistic pet peeves? Perhaps they are things that you have striven to improve in your own work that always jumps out at you when looking at the work of others.

2) Do you have a question about copyright that next week's special guest, Linda Kattwinkel (Intellectual Property and Arts Attorney at Owen, Wickersham & Erickson, can answer for your fellow listeners? Post them in the comments section for this episode!

Other links to check out:
Breaking Into Freelance Illustration by Holly DeWolf--the most excellent book that Jeremy forgot to actually review...;)
Jeremy writes, "It is a very interesting book and talks a bit more about the use of new media and networking to promote your work. It is filled with useful tips, enjoyable quotes, and anecdotes from working illustrators. 
A worthy read for the up-and-coming artist."



Sunday, February 07, 2010

Ninja Mountain Archives!

Due to popular demand (one person demanded it, but she's very popular - thanks Rowena!) here are archived Stuffit packages of the first 20 episodes of Ninja Mountain! They are packed in easy-to-use 5-episode packages. (Frankly, zipping the files didn't save any file space, but they are more convenient if you don't mind the long download. But if you just need an individual file, you can still find the episodes in our blog archives, starting with January 2009).

Enjoy!

Episodes 1 - 5

Episodes 6 - 10

Episodes 11 - 15

Episodes 16 - 20

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Episode 51 -How Do We Explain Ourselves??!

In this episode Andy ( See?! He's not last this time!), Patrick, Socar, Drew, and Jeremy talk about:
How we explain our profession to non-Ninjas.
The vague line between illustration and fine art.
More about every Ninja's favorite book, "Frankenstein", as beautifully illustrated by none other than the amazing Bernie Wrightson.
The sleeping habits of a certain Ninja.
The disappearing craft of inking and...
The Flying Spaghetti Monster.


Subscribe on iTunes, or the noodly goodness that is the Flying Spaghetti Monster will be consumed by alien factions bent on human conquest...

If you strain your hearing you may even be able to make out Socar's hushed tones.
We think she was in the kitchen preparing dinner while joining in our conversation, but we will let you be the judge.
Points will be awarded for the best explanation of her microphone's poor sound quality! :)








Monday, February 01, 2010

Ninja Mountain 50 - ONE YEAR WASTED!!

Yes, this episode marks Ninja Mountain's one year anniversary. On hand to chat (and to keep the conversation as free from actual educational content as possible) we have Andy Hepworth, Anne Stokes, Socar Myles, Jeremy McHugh, Drew Baker and Patrick McEvoy! It's a fun, slightly crazy, and gloriously unfocused look at the last year, the year to come, and a number of topics that are sure to be of interest to someone. Somewhere. Maybe.

http://www.megaflowgraphics.com/NinjaMountain/NinjaMountain050.mp3


Show Notes:
Find out more about the early history of Ninja Mountain on the Escape from Illustration Island podcast episode 8:
http://escapefromillustrationisland.com/2009/10/13/episode-8-ninja-mountain/