If you're new here, my name is Jason — I'm a New York-based cartoonist and illustrator, podcaster, author, comedian, and a below-average actor— and this is Process Junkie: The weekly newsletter exploring insights into the creative process with you.
I’ve made my living as a creative artist for 20 years. I’ve learned a lot of useful lessons in that time: I hope to not only share those lessons with you, but build a community of creatively curious people who share their own insights. If even one person gets something out of it, I'll be happier than Morris when he hears the fridge door.
Before we begin…
…Thank you for subscribing. I really appreciate you being part of this. I'd love to find out who you are, what you do, and what you're hoping to learn from this Substack. Introduce yourself! What are you working on, What tools are you using, what are you reading, and what you do for a crust? No obligation, obviously, but by all means:
If you’re just joining today, you can catch up on the rest of what Process Junkie is about in this quick video:
Over the coming weeks and months, we're going to cover the 3 fundamental tenets of Process Junkie:
Go your own way: Discover your unique creative process to make the art you want to make. Don’t compare it to anyone else.
The Process is the reward: If you want to actually enjoy your art, you should be relishing in the 'doing' part of creating something rather than just the 'finishing' part.
Making mistakes: Getting comfortable with fear and imperfection and ceding control to happy accidents that only happen when you dive in head first. (I'll also share some cheat sheets on mistakes you can simply avoid without losing the lessons.)
We'll explore all three concepts deeply, covering the psychology behind creative thinking, tips, studio habits and rituals, tools, other artists' methods, books, resources, software, and drawing tablets.
Creating Art With Human Hands
I've always worked in a hybrid way: I primarily use traditional drawing and writing tools, but I’m not a luddite: I use all kinds of digital hardware and software. I like to use a variety of tools to create art because I don't want to hem myself into using a single tool my entire career. I like to experiment and organically find a new thing that I didn't know about. I encourage you to do the same.
The one important thing, above all else, is that I create all of my work using human hands.
Speaking of digital tools: I'm now going to load you up with a veritable buttload of downloadable goodies:
If you're a FREE subscriber, I thank you for being here and want you to know that you will always have access to this version of the newsletter. But, if you're serious about leveling up your creative process, I'm sharing one additional post per week, PLUS monthly live chats, AMAs, and, most importantly…
Downloads and Swag!
Paid subscribers immediately get access to a living folder of assets and resources that will be continuously updated. If you sign up today, you will get access to the following:
Custom Photoshop Brushes*:
My custom digital sketch pencil (and smudger)
Crayon/Pastel brush
Textured drawing liner
Pressure-sensitive ink spatter brush
My smooth, contoured, inking brush
My splodgy dip pen (roughly equivalent to a drizzly, unpredictable Hunt 101 Imperial nib)
A splodgy flat-liner
And the piece de resistance: My digital watercolor brush.
*(For Photoshop 2021 and up)
Custom Procreate Ink & Watercolor Set: This is a selection of brushes I developed for drawing New Yorker cartoons. You can explore and experiment with them to see if they float your iBoat.
My Art/Drawing/Project Templates: This folder is chock full of templates I use for project planning, tracking, and creating everything from comic strips to New Yorker cartoons. The folder includes:
4-panel Daily Comic Strip Template
A Watercolor Painting Template
A B&W Sketch Palette Template
A Storyboarding Template
A New Yorker Daily Shouts/Daily Cartoon Panel Template
A Golden Ratio overlay for compositions
An Instagram Post (Feed) Template
An Instagram Post (Stories) Template
An iPhone screen size template
Printable: Break your job into small chunks and check them off
Printable: A Weeks of Year planner
My Custom hand-made Watercolour Splodges (Royalty Free): These are easily the most valuable tools in my drawing kit: I painted dozens of splodges, swooshes, and splorts for you to use for backgrounds, textures, accents, or whatever you like. They're yours!
Desktop wallpapers: These reminders sit right on your desktop and offer tips for enjoying your work and staying focused on the essential things.
Phone wallpapers: These lock screens and wallpapers will keep you inspired and remind you of why you started this artistic journey in the first place. This folder also includes a bonus collection of my wallpapers and lock screens from my annual "NO-vember challenge," which helps you get better at learning to say NO.
Bonus Comic eBook : Lastly, I made an eBook of the 102-year-old legacy* strip I wrote and drew for 16 years. In this particular Sunday series, I sent my character back in time to meet his former self.
*A Legacy strip means it has had multiple creators work on it since its original creator died. I would have loved to offer this book in Kindle format, but Kindle is still woeful at offering comics and art books, so this one is only available in an Apple Books format.
Whew! That's a lot of stuff…
…and I'll only ever keep adding to it. If any of the interests you, you can get access to it right now by clicking below:
In the next issue…
…we'll begin our journey together, delving into the necessary skill of making mistakes to learn as an artist. It's not always comfortable, but it's essential if you want to grow as a creator.
2 important reminders before I go:
I want you to know up top:
Nothing pisses me off more than gurus prescriptively telling other creative people exactly how to do things-- How they must use a certain tool or how they absolutely must approach a project. I'm always just going to show you how I do my things, and then expect you to figure out how you want to do your things. Take everything with a grain: everyone's process is, and should be, unique to them. I am not a guru.You shouldn't be comparing your work to mine or anybody else's:
As Teddy Roosevelt famously said: Comparison is the thief of joy. Nothing sucks the life out of creating art like looking at someone else's work and seeing a chasm of skill or experience. Some people start with more natural talent than others, but the only person you should be comparing yourself to is yourself, a week ago. Or a year ago. You can't measure your own success with someone else's ruler, so why make your process miserable by doing so?
Parting thought:
(Print these out each week: Stick them on your desk, in your notebook, or somewhere you can see them often.)
"Every great work of art started with a rough sketch. Start now. Nobody ever has to see your first draft."
Whether you’re a seasoned artist or just starting, I hope Process Junkie provides you with inspiration, guidance, and a community of like-minded creatives.
Thank you for reading this week’s edition: Sharpen your pencils and join me back here next week on Process Junkie.
Your pal,
