The Jurassic Mouse Claw Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Just a group of artists talking to anyone that wants to get into art. Every week we discuss the group art challenge, and other topics that can be helpful to other artists.
We all suffer from the same issue, not having confidence in our art...except Brian. He's pretty cocky. But this week, the JMC Art Crew discusses our insecurities and how to build self confidence in our art. What are some of the ways you've helped improve your artistic confidence? Let us know!
This week, we're taking you back to school...online! We discuss the various options that we've used for continuing and furthering your art education online. What courses and tutorials have you checked out? Let us know!
In this episode, we stumble through what we think visual storytelling is all about. Let us paint a picture in your minds about letting your art tell a story. So what do you think visual storytelling is all about? Let us know!
It's that time of year! Where we all set our artistic goals in an effort to improve our skills! Join us as we go through our lists and provide some tips to help you come up with your own goals. How are you planning on keeping yourself accountable? Let us know!
This week we have another special guest, Ricardo Gutierrez, joining us to talk about finding your artistic direction. Is your art journey taking you where you want to go? How do you know where, or even how, to start that journey?
This week we're joined by a special guest, Brian's brother, Allen. We talk about how to rebuild lost momentum when taking an extended hiatus from art. So when you step away from creating for a while, how do you ramp back up? Let us know!
Hey, you. Yeah, the artist sitting with their head down, not pursuing what they really want in life. This is the episode for you, where we talk about following your artistic and career dreams. You can't just sit around and wait for someone to hand you the life you want. You have to chase it! Just...do it!
I mean, we're calling it a pros and cons episode, but really we kind of just go over our thought and experience with vector art. More specifically Adobe Illustrator. What's your experience, if any, with vector artwork? Let us know!
Also, we kept the name of Brittany's employer out of our mouths, out of respect.
This week we dive into the discussion about the real meaning of your art. Do you need to have a deeper meaning for your art to be considered valid? Are you looking to make a bold statement when you put the brush to the canvas, or are you fulfilled by adding mullets onto celebrities? Let us know!
Note: Apologies for the strange clipping at the beginning
This episode we discuss one of the more difficult skills for all artists to study, drawing in perspective. Josh bites off more than he can chew by skipping 1, 2, and even standard 3-point perspective and dives right into the curvilinear wormhole, while Brian and Ed force him to eat his vegetables. What's your perspective on drawing in perspective? Let us know!
Also, as a side note...Brittany is mad at her cat because she thought he got out and was missing, but he was sitting at home, ignoring her frantic calls. Typical cat snobbery.
Another art tips episode?? Of course! This week we discuss art tips for beginning artists, but then we learn that these are tips for ALL artists. We were giving ourselves tips this whole time...anyway, what are some good tips you've got for beginning artists? Let us know!
Every artist approaches their artwork differently...for the most part. This week the JMC crew discusses how we start a new piece of art, and learn some tips and tricks from each other that may help with future pieces. What's your starting process? Let us know!
It (was) that time of year! The infamous monthly challenges that take over all of October. Yeah there are others throughout the year, but we focus on the pros and cons of doing a month long challenge in this week's discussion. What's your thoughts on the idea of producing art daily for an entire month? Let us know!
I mean, you're all picking up on this general theme we've been sticking with for the past few weeks, right? This week Diona joins us as we talk about using (or seeing) your personal art as a form of therapy. Do you get joy from making art? Is there a sense of calm satisfaction from finishing something? Let us know!
We're going to talk about motivation a lot. This week we cover the different types, intrinsic vs extrinsic. What drives you to improve in your art? Is it monetary gain, or a desire fro personal improvement. Let us know!
Treat Yourself! Brian and Brittany are always talking about the importance of mental health, not just in art, but in everyday life. But this time we also discuss the importance of physical health and the benefits to your art and career. What are some of the things you do to take care of yourself physically and mentally? Let us know!
This feels like a topic we'll be touching on frequently, since it's similar to things like "Artist Block," so this week the JMC crew, joined by IWantNoodle (Yay!) discusses different ways to find motivation to do art in times where it's tough to rebuild lost momentum. What are some of the tricks you use to find your motivation to start drawing or painting again? Let us know!
Like pretty much ever artist, you probably started with number 2 pencils and crayons on lined notebook paper, right? This week we talk about budget art supplies and how you can still develop your fundamentals without breaking the bank on the latest and greatest brushes and pens. What's your comfort, go-to budget art supply? Let us know!
Time to nerd out for an hour as Brian and Ed complain about comic book adaptations. I mean, except for the stuff they actually like. This week we discuss which movie and TV shows did a good job of drawing from comic books as the source material. We also end on Brian ranting about the comic book movies we had as kids. What are some of your favorite comic book adaptations? Let us know!
As artists, we not only have to deal with trying to create our art, we also have to deal with brand building. This week the JMC art crew talks about personal branding. The discussion does stray in some strange ways as well. Can you dig it? What are some of the struggles you've had trying to build your own personal art brand? Let us know!
The topic this week is creator's rights. We discuss the pros and cons of working in another company's sandbox, or venturing out on your own with original creations. Both are viable paths to take as an artist, but the decision is always going to be a personal one. So where do you stand on the topic? Let us know!
We embrace our wild sides (except self-proclaimed coward, Brian)! The JMC discusses rebellious street and political art, and sending a message with your work. Is it difficult for many artists with commercial ambitions to really communicate their feelings, without alienating their audience. Let us know if you, as an artist, use your work to communicate a message.
This week we judge companies by their covers...as we discuss logo design. the JMC crew does what it does best and starts out on topic before talking about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (great logo BTW). What designs and logos stand out in your mind? Let us know.
Since we plan on publishing content on YouTube, this week we spent some time discussing which art channels we liked on YouTube, and what we thought we might need to do for the Jurassic Mouse Claw channel. Is there a specific art channel you like, or perhaps some art related content you think we should include in our channel, let us know!
This week, we've got a new guest host joining us...Stewart the duck. He chimes in as the JMC crew discusses how our personalities show up in our art. It's an interesting topic to think about since we've noticed that we've developed our styles in part because of our personalities. Is that something you've noticed with your own art? Let us know.
Though it's a topic that deserves more than one episode, we get into some tips and tricks to help you run your art business. We cover some ideas that would be good for all creative types, with some recommendations for other resources to look into as well. If you want us to do a deeper dive into the topic, please let us know!
This week we spend some time around the campfire as Ed tells us scary ghost stories. And then the real nightmare begins as the JMC crew discusses our thoughts on reboots and remakes. I mean sure we all love the originals, but I bet there are a few unoriginal stories that you love. Let us know!
Back to discussing creative topics again, the JMC crew talks about practical effects vs CGI, and which we prefer. Or at least which is the best at getting the job done. I know you have your preference, as well as some solid examples, so let us know!
This week, we vaguely hover around the topic of art while Brian does some shopping for art supplies (Thanks, JetPens!). It's like Seinfeld...the show is about nothing. I'm sure you'll at least get some entertainment out of it, though. If you want more episodes of us just babbling about stuff we like, let us know!
I was going to hide the topic or do some kind of clever censoring, but there's no reason to bury the lede. This week we discuss Comics Gate and the impact that their attitude has on comics in general. We're mostly civil, but if you feel like we missed an opportunity, or didn't correctly explain the ideology, please feel free to let us know. We're always open for a discussion on the topic.
Sorry, not sorry for that pun in the title. This week, we discuss commissions that you're not comfortable doing. When it comes to you your art...where do you "Draw the Line?" Let us know where your artistic limits are for paid work.
This podcast is going to circle around to various topics repeatedly, and art styles/influences is going to be one of those discussions. We spend our time chatting about who/what we've studied that has had an influence on our respective styles. So who or what has had an impact on your personal style? Let us know!
Although it's only been a few days since the last episode was published, this one was recorded almost 2 months later. We spend some time discussing art-adjacent topics, like NFTs and their environmental impact, but we also spend some time just catching up. Don't worry, we're back onto our regular rotation of art topics after this one.
In an often discussed topic, we once again visit our artistic influences. Like our previous topic of "Art Parents", we talk about the creators that continue to inspire us. Art is a never ending journey, so this isn't the last time we talk about it, so if you've got some influential creators you'd like to bring up, let us know!
This week, we spend some time putting the episode together, so that it is pleasing to the audience. I mean, we don't, but we at least talk about composition to plan your art in a way that is most pleasing to the eye. We also discuss last week's art challenge, foreshortening, and how Brian suckered Ed into drawing superhero stuff...or almost suckered him into it. Is planning the composition a key part of your approach to your art? Why or why not? Let us know!
Time to thicken your skin as the JMC crew discusses how to accept criticism. Seeking out help is one of the best ways to grow as an artist, but it's not always easy to hear. Hopefully we can help ease the blow with our inane rambling. Do you seek out critiques and advice to improve your art? Let us know!
I mean, we all suffer from Artist's Block, right? Besides Ed, anyway. This episode we discuss how we all deal with it, and hopefully provide some good tips to help you out. How do you get past the block? Let us know!
This week Brittany hits the JMC crew with a pretty deep question. "Why do you do art?" What drove you to pursue art, either as a career or as a hobby. Is it a passion that you pursue with your every waking moment, or is it more of a therapeutic outlet? Let us know your answer!
Getting back to the more grown up topics, this week, we talk about pushing past your limits and not accepting complacency in your art. Pushing yourself to improve is the only way we can grow as artists. What are you doing to test your limits? Let us know!
We haven't done an episode devoted to a particular genre for a while, so this week the JMC crew discusses Cyberpunk. We go over our individual entries into the JMC art challenge (which was cyberpunk, obviously), and the movies, games, and TV shows in the genre that inspired us. Do you like Johnny Mnemonic as much as Brian does? Let us know!
As is the norm, this episode we ring in the new year by discussing our artistic and creative goals, and how we plan on achieving them. Also as is the norm, there's a bit of an issue with the audio that seems like a bit of a time skip. Brittany's main goal is to find and develop her own personal art style, which for some reason was lost in the source audio. Anyway, what are your plans for the new year? How are you going to achieve them? Let us know!
Beyond artistic influences, this week the JMC crew discusses our "Art Parents." Artists whose work we've absorbed into our art DNA. Art is a never-ending journey for us, so learning from the masters (in all artistic fields), and building your skills is beneficial. So let us know...who are your art parents?
This week we leap off the page and screen and discuss sculpting and crafting. Josh joins us again and discusses his projects and inspirations, and Brittany finds her Apple Pencil (yay!). Do you mess around with more tangible, hands on projects, like makers, sculpting, and crochet? Let us know!
Wait, are we really doing another episode about Brian's excuses about struggling with digital art? Of course we are! But we also discuss staying organized by planning things out on a marker board or calendar. Diona also joins us for a bit, so it's not all just harping on Brian.
After all that trash talk, the JMC crew focuses their attention on Brian's struggles with technology. Diona joins us once again! Brian and Brittany commit to the 90 min art challenge, so next week it's either Brian's excuses, or a finished piece of digital art! Which do you think it will be?
The JMC Crew gets into a discussion about our personal artistic journeys and where we see ourselves headed, creatively. It's a question that we as artists should be asking ourselves regularly, in order to improve not only our skills, but our art careers. So...where are you headed in your art journey? Let us know!
Once again we get into what's going to be a regular topic on the show. How are you challenging yourself, creatively? This week we discuss Ed's entry into Bobby Chiu's 90 minute art challenge (90minartchallenge.tumblr.com), and Brittany and Brian commit to the challenge as well.
It's just 90 minutes, everyone. Just skip a movie or a couple of shows on Netflix and knock it out. How are you pushing your creative skills? Let us know. If you're not...it's just 90 minutes, c'mon.
We start this week's episode with the hot debate topic of drawing on both sides of the sketchbook page. Once the blood is in the water, we move onto the main topic. This is a pretty big one for us as we discuss the path of a self-taught artist, vs a formally educated artist. We get into what we feel are the benefits and drawbacks of each. Where do you stand on the subject? Let us know!
Challenge yourselves! This week the JMC crew drops our list of things that we have a hard time drawing. Besides crowds of people, riding bicycles through a herd of horses, obviously. It's always good to challenge yourself and learn to draw new things, so what does your list of "difficult items to draw" look like?
We thought we would take an episode and discuss our progress in the month of October. Whether you're doing Inktober, or some other prompted art challenge (or if you're like Brian, doing whatever you feel like using ink), we wanted to give you a bit of an insight into how we've been churning away. How's your month going? Let us know and keep drawing!
Just in time for the Halloween Season, we discuss what we feel make good horror-themed, scary art and media. We also discuss our original plans for our art challenges in October, including Ed's Monsters vs Robot prompt list. What images and designs do you like for your horror images?
In a topic that we'll probably be able to revisit in a future episode, the JMC crew discusses our horror and sci-fi artistic influences. The general consensus seems to be that once movies strayed into CG-heavy effects, they didn't inspire our art as much. Are you the opposite? Can you...draw...inspiration from newer CG-heavy movies and TV shows? Let us know.
Today we discuss our experiences as the LightBox Expo 2020. Since it was all online, we were able to check out a ton of great talks and demos, so we go over our biggest takeaways. It was an eye opening experience for artists of all experience levels, and we all saw great value in attending. Did you check out any of the videos? Let us know!
This week the JMC crew discusses our preparations for the upcoming month-long October ink challenge (a.k.a. Inktober). We touch on some of the recent events surrounding some claims surrounding Jake Parker's up coming book Inktober All year Long, but mostly have chosen to stand on the sidelines and let it all play out, without adding any fuel to the fire. Still, we highly encourage artists, no matter where they stand on the issue, to just keep creating your art and improving. What are your plans for the month of October? Let us know.
In our first discussion on a specific category of art mediums, we start with Brian's least favorite (the one he's most intimidated by), painting. Acrylic, gouache, water color, and oil paints...we touch on all of them. Ed and Brittany give some quality art tips on how to tackle painting. Break out your paints, palettes, brushes, and start cranking out some art! And let us know what your favorite paints are.
This week's episode starts out as our "hodge podge" mix where we discuss what we've each been working on lately. But then we shift over to the real topic. What makes "good" art? Being highly subjective, the answer is obviously going to be different for everyone, but it's a question we were curious about. So, let us know...for you, what makes art "good" in your opinion?
It's a tough question for artists to ask. Are you challenging yourself as much as you could? Are you settling into a comfortable rhythm with your art? If you're using your art as a relaxing outlet, is it even something you think about? As artists, sometimes we don't always take a step back and ask ourselves what we can do to push ourselves to improve. But if it makes you feel better, the JMC crew asks ourselves if we're even doing what we can to improve.
As artists, many of us have been asked to work for free, in exchange for exposure. This week it's the topic we discuss on the show. Beyond that, we also go in to spec work (contests sponsored by companies mostly), and even choosing to work for for free in order to advance your skills/career. What do you think of working for free/exposure, or spec work? let us know.
How do we as artists keep the fires burning? This week the JMC crew discusses how and where we find our motivation to keep doing what we're doing. How do you keep the interest alive with your creative projects? Movies, books, cooking? Let us know.
Sometimes we get around to talking about deeper, more important aspects of being an artist, but that doesn't mean we take ourselves seriously. This episode, the JMC crew talks about mental health, and taking care of yourself. Are you doing everything you need to do to make sure you aren't wearing yourself down to a little nub? Automatic drawing, meditation, podcasting...find something to help you unwind and let us know what it is!
The topic for this episode is artists' tips and tricks...or hacks as the kids used to say. We get into the helpful little techniques to help any artist improve their skills. At one point Brian even has to step away because it's too helpful (and he had a plumbing issue he was currently dealing with), as the others continued on to the ongoing July-fy art challenge.
The JMC art crew talks about our various artistic inspirations from media that has influenced us, to artists to drive us to improve our skills. Yes, that means Brian talks about Jim Lee again (he's got a streak going). Who or what inspires you to push yourself artistically? Do you have a movie that always fills you with creative vision? Is there a particular artist you're chasing? Let us know!
Time to toughen up your skin. This week the JMC crew discusses giving and receiving criticism as a way to improve your art. It's not easy and it's rarely fun, but seeking criticism is always a great way to improve your skills. Even giving helpful tips and advice can help you see ways to fix little mistakes you've been making in your own art.
Join the JMC art crew as we discuss setting goals for your art. For both technical improvements, and where you want to take your art career. We also talk about the next art challenge, July fy, which will be spanning the entire month, so future episodes will focus more on the primary topic. And as usual, we mention either Start Wars, or pro wrestling...maybe both?
This week we're talking about the pros and cons of digital and traditional art. There's no wrong path to creating your art, obviously, but we give our thoughts about how we feel about each method. Grab your pens, pencils, or stylus and just make art! Also the challenge topic is movies, so we have fun with the possible paths we can take. No Star Wars! (unless you want to be a Rebel).
Food Fight! This week the JMC art crew is joined by a new co-host, Brittany, as we talk about turning your passion for art into a career. We cover our own journey in our own art careers before moving onto the weekly challenge...Food.
Spread your wings and take flight when the JMC crew talks about art and social media. We talk about making the mistake of letting likes and shares steer your creative juices before moving on to the weekly topic, Flight.
Join us as we talk about the difficulties we had with the previous challenge, as we each bit off more than we could chew...like Cookie Monster. The discussion shifts to our digital art process, before moving on to the actual topic, Object to Creature.
This week we discuss the previous topic of vintage video games as Edward dazzles us with his vision of a buddy cop Shatter Hand movie. Also, the next art challenge, muppet mashups, talking about the wonderfully wild creations of Jim Henson.
This week, the JMC crew talks about the video games we played growing up, and how it has affected our art.
The first episode, where the Jurassic Mouse Claw crew tries to get a feel for the new show. This week we discuss our first JMC art challenge topic, Superheroes.