Thursday, July 09, 2009

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...

16 comments:

Jan said...

Good episode, great to have Jon back! :)

Very funny one too - I usually listen to all episodes three or more times, because I don't hear everything the first time. (I listen to them while painting and it's a bit hard to concentrate on both painting and understanding English)

So I'm painting today, everything is good, the voices are a great background. I'm not really processing what I'm hearing and suddenly Jon says: "And we took our clothes off.."!

THAT caught my attention! :D

Patrick McEvoy said...

You should have heard the parts I cut out. Or, maybe not! ;)

Ninja Mountain said...

All I can say is that I am quite glad that this is not a video podcast. Brrrrr.(shudders)
---Jeremy

Jan said...

I have a question not related to this episode:

Do you ninjas use a SmudgeGuard when painting on a tablet?
If yes, do you have the official SG one?
(I'm using a glove with two fingers and a thumb cut off and it's pretty good for 1/30 of the price of a SG glove.)

HydeSite_Is_2020 said...

Good show. Thnx guys.

Some thoughts about "awesome:" My agent is rife with stories about illustrators that became "flavors of the week" so to speak, hitting a mark at the right time and getting work. They got haughty and quit the agency and copped an attitude. Then the copycats rush to the lightning rod and decimate the originality, leaving the once proud illustrator scratching their heads and starting over. To me, the moral is two-fold: If you subscribe too much to trends (both commercial movements and what contemporary bits you add to personal style) you might get into trouble, and obviously, if you start hitting a new level of success, don't burn bridges.

Patrick, if what was said on the show is true, and you can snap your fingers and fill your queue, then you are awesome. And you are an awesome host for the show, except for one little thing, if I may: Please, please stop buffering Socar's ego-she knows she's good. We know she's good. She has fans and everything, and her originality cannot be questioned. Sorry, but every time she says something self-deprecating, you can be heard mumbling, "but you are good." It's becoming a little Ed McMahon-ish, that's all.

Lastly, that part about swollen eyes and eventually getting those damned eyebumps was great to hear, because I thought I was the only one. It's another gift to modern artists - computer eye strain clogs the meibomian glands because of the dryness factor. How do I know this? Because I got so sick of it, I actually opted to have them "drained and my ducts cleaned." NEVER, never do this. It involves archaic metal slicing devices and boils down to to the scene in "Fire in the Sky" with the aliens. The procedure felt like someone trapped a mad-as-hell wasp in a jar and held it over my eye. BTW, the bumps came back a month later. The only thing that works is a year of hot towels on your eyes 3 times a day. Sorry about the gross factor, but pay attention wanna-be's, this is your illustrious future. Ahh, the glitz and glammer of it all.

Nicole Cardiff said...

Heh, I feel left out of the magic PS brush pestering now! I assumed Jon just made fun of it because it goes on all the time on forums.

Insofar as progress to awesome goes, I swear by regular life drawing practice. Whenever I stop making "too busy" excuses and force myself to sign up for a course or go regularly, it visibly bumps the structure in my pro work up and speeds up my drawing. Works for me when I feel stagnant, anyway.

There's actually an art book for Natl. Geographic from a little while back with some of Wyeth's work for them. Cool stuff.

Anonymous said...

Hell, yeah, I'm good!

(Alas, I fall short of "awesome." By my definition, anyway. If Patrick wants to contest that, it's his lookout. Ha, ha.)

Unknown said...

Awesomeness indeed!
Great podcast guys and welcome back Jon.
I like the interaction between each person on the show, I don't see a need to change how you guys relate to each other, it shows great friendship between you all. Why change that? :)

Hopefully I'll get my working class voice back on there soonish... now that's something worth complaining about ;)

Michael Jaecks said...

Yes, once again I will have to agree with Grandmaster Purdy. The chemistry between Ninjas built and built over the last 24 episodes and I wouldn't want it to change. A podcast without the usual Socar/Patrick banter would be like a day without sunshine.

Think me a Ninja Sycophant, if you like. I, on the other hand, like sunshine.

MaryHerself said...

What?!! Curb the Patrick/Socar exchanges? Good heavens,NO! In the name of all that is sacred - don't change a thing. You know, 'if it ain't broke' and what-not. I swear I do my best work when I'm listening to a NM podcast. I love you lot, I do, me!

MuYoung Kim said...

Welome back Jon! I hope your holiday to foreign soil was delightful and filled with tea.

I only wish schools would take note of how the Ninja's do things...informative and hilarious is definitely the way to go.

Scott, definitely go in for some more podcasts. The voice of the proletariat must be heard!

On a more serious note, I'm not sure if you already use this or not, but Met-Art is a great reference resource for models in a staggering amount of different angles. It's 99 dollars or so for a yearly membership, but it's definitely worth it.

Ninja Mountain said...

Thanks to everyone for their input on the show's chemistry and interaction. I'm inclined not to change anything, as my fawning obsequiousness for Socar is somewhat leavened by my unbridled sarcasm. Sometimes... :) However I shall endeavor to keep the "you're awesome" comments to a minimum - perhaps twice per show.

On the other hand... you won't have Patrick to kick around anymore anyway. That is, for the next two weeks (at least). A combination of lots of work and a trip to San Diego for Comic-Con are going to eat into my time. See you in a while, and of course I'll keep an eye on the comments here and chime in when I can.

-Patrick

HydeSite_Is_2020 said...

Jeez. You can always count on people to not read a post and then react.

I love the sarcasm and interaction between all the ninjas. Infact, I say more the more sarcasm and off topic banter the better.

Nevermind. I think Patrick understood what I meant.

Good luck at Comicon.

Unknown said...
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ATOM said...

Great podcast yet again.It kept me amused and entertained while finishing the most boring art assignment known to man. :) Thanks for that guys! We miss you Scott!

Unknown said...

Heys guys,
Is there a particular reason, and relevant to us (and not personal), why Socar is unable to make those shows? I think if it's relevant it could be worth talking about. I ask because nobody in the show seemed to have asked and i thought maybe it has already been talked about or it's none of my business.

That premier was gold... possibly fool's gold but still gold! :D