Happy holidays, right?
For the past...Two years it seems, I've turned into one of the goto typography designers. I guess people also respond well to the psychedelic look from the 60s and 70s that inspired my own work.

So, let's promote.
Over at [link] (Zen Monkey Studios), I have lots of prints!


Those three designs, under the name "Coding Project X" are available solo, or available as a pack of 2 or 3. Using the discount code "HUMANOID" on checkout knocks the price down 15%.
They're all available at [link] (Coding Project X Prints)

And if you prefer a shirt:

They're available at these three links:
[link] (Coding Project X)
[link] (Decoding Project Z)
[link] (Encoding Project V)

Then if you prefer another famous guy, we got shirts and prints of him too!

But he's also available in 3 colors for a limited time. The Green is permanent...Blue and Red tunics? Not as much!
Snatch them here [link] (Describing The Legend Shirts)

But if you prefer prints:

I totally have the available here:
[link] (Describing The Legend Prints)

And you know, be sure to check out all my stuff in general at:
[link] (Zen Monkey Studios)
[link] (Shark Robot)
[link] (Level Up Studios)
and finally:
[link] (Red bubble)

Thanks guys, your support in all shapes and forms, from just checking me out, or saving the design and turning it into a wallpaper, sharing with friends, buying a copy of something, or being inspired with your own work, you are helping me out.

-J

On how I personally make my typography designs?
I don't know... Maybe if I get 100 different people asking me to on here, I'll actually put the time down to keep track of the steps I take in making one.

Deal?

Heya, for the rest of today 8/19/2012, you can head on over to shirtpunch.com to grab this monopoly parody I drew for $10 on a shirt, but also on buttons and stickers! Check them out.

When the sale is over, it will be available on redbubble.com for a bit more, but I can't really control the price tooo much.

Peace y'all!
-J

Finally getting the time to sell the last of these books. Once they are gone, they're gone. While the comics themselves might see daylight in the future, this specific book will never be printed again. I will use all the funds earned from these sales to help invest in the future. And believe me, the future is looking bright.

These comics were written in 2004-2005, with this book printed in 2005. A lot has happened since then, but if you were a fan of the old, this is my thanks to you.

Get it here!

This got popular on tumblr, and it was just asking to be turned into a glow in the dark graphic t-shirt. So, theyetee.com pick up on the chance!



This will probably be the cheapest price such a shirt will be at. So if this tickles your fancy, be sure to snatch one up before time runs out!

Thank you guys!

-J

Another design of mine is now up, this time over at RIPT Apparel. This is an old slogan I came up with back in 2004, but I haven't put it on a shirt since 2006. I can't believe it's been almost six years, but it's back!

I thought you'd want to be interested! It's this design:

and it's called "Baby Pet Ninja Turtle."

teefury.com sells their stuff once a day, but they also sell their shirts for really cheap prices of $10! Compare that to $18-25 that you'd normally see.

Okay, thanks for reading!
-J

Hey, every few weeks I'm going to be running a contest to give away some prizes to people who have been nothing but supportive. This week I'll be giving away three copies of this poster.
To qualify, this is what I ask you to do:
1) Go to my facebook page and "like" it.
2) Find the status regarding the giveaway.
3) Either "like" that status or leave a comment in it.

I will then pick 3 winners in a few days!

Thanks for your support, 2012 will be aweeesoooome.

-J

You know what I don't use often? Deviantart's journal section. I don't know why.
You know what I use everyday though? my facebook page, where I've been linking to a lot of things lately, such as my second go at drawing 1 character per day. I lasted about 110 days last time before burning out, this time I'm just going to try and go as long as I can without promising "a month, a year, forever."

So if you'd like to see what I come up with, sign up. And believe me, I'm going to ask for your suggestions on who to draw next, cause often I'm just blanking, or a character "doesn't feel right!"

So far I'm up to day 8! I KNOW RIGHT?! AMAZINGLY LONG!

Be well,
-J

Heya,
Remember this design? Well it's on sale today at teefury.com for today (6/23/2011) only. That's kind of how teefury rolls. I kind of like that business model. It kind of pumps me up to come up with designs.

The site sells their shirts for $10 plus about $2.50 for shipping. It's a really nice price point, and I need to learn how to match that rate.

Okay, hope you dig it!
-Josh

Just sending a heads up to you all. I am signing and numbering 75 copies of  this design:


The poster is 18x24'' and they're being shipped from me directly. I'll be giving 30% of the revenue I earn from this to:
The Japan Society: Earthquake Relief Fund, because their FAQ was a nice read, and because so many other people are going to the Red Cross with their money.

The other 70% will be going straight into funds to pay for The Rock Opera I'm producing. Which is almost done, we can see the finish line, but we're still not quite there!

So you can get it here for $14.50 and 3 bones for shipping.

At least I think that should be enough for a poster tube to mail it in and what-have-you...!

If you liked the design, there ya go. If you think the price I'm offering is too much, you can get it here for a few bucks cheaper, but it won't be signed and numbered, and nothing goes to charity there. Or maaaybe one day we will dooo thaaat anywaaaay, Hmmmmm~~~~!

Anyway, be well, and thanks for your attention.

-J

Hey guys,

I'm really happy everyone enjoys these typographic designs. First to answer a few questions:

1) I'm not typing the words out in illustrator and warping them. They're hand drawn. I feel doing it hand drawn gives it a more unique to my own style kinda look. Every stroke in every letter comes from my hands, just like how I'd draw and ink my more "normal" illustrations.

2) I'm not sure if I take requests... But I will absolutely do suggestions!

3) I come up with words that either associate to the character, or describe the personality of the character. I try to avoid the actual names of the character. If the names of some of the characters' universe are also words, such as Wily and Light are words on their own, I will more likely bend the rules. But it's why you'll see, "MEGA!" and "ROCKS!" instead of Megaman and Rockman.

Anyway, I was working on another design, this time One for Bruceman, considering he was the start of doing these in the first place... But then my STYLUS BROKE! I have a rush delivery for a replacement to arrive tomorrow... Sadly I'm down a bunch of money to get the replacement. It's okay, it's necessary to work! It's just jarring because I wasn't expecting to pay for a replacement at all until last night.

But after Bruceman's design is done, I'm up for a suggestion to do another character. So, let me hear it! Who do you have in mind?

Be well,
-Josh

My first brain child that I was happy to call my own, Stubble, has turned ten years old. The first comic was published online on October 23rd, 2000. And it was bad. I'm not even being self-effacing.

Earlier tonight, I have spent a few hours getting the old comic strips and putting them into a pdf file so that people, if they so choose, could either read it online like a book, or download it and read it on their ebook reader of choice. I just tested the file on my kindle, and it all transferred really well! Problem is, I was an awful writer.

A few comics I have the characters basically saying, word for word, what they were doing in the panel. "And now I am swimming." "And now I am reaching downwards. I am scared." Sometimes the jokes were so out there, that I made myself laugh hard. But a laugh because it was so bad, it somehow became a little bit good.

I think I lucked out when I made the comic. Online comics was a fairly new thing, and there was probably a couple hundred when I started. Now there's thousands. Almost everyone with an internet connection is trying their luck at it. I think if I started today at making comics and stories for the first time, the excruciatingly negative, but rightfully so feedback would traumatize me from ever trying. But because I posted the first run ten years ago, there were a lot less options. Comics online were more of a new thing back then. There were a bunch of comics made by people in their 20s and 30s, yes, but I was 16, so I made a story for that age group.

Long term, this was really good for me, because I've now been coming up with stories, drawing and writing for over eleven years now as a result (I ran a different comic for a year prior to Stubble). And that means both the 12 year theory that I talked about in Compare Your Life To Pixar might only be a year away, and the 10,000 hour theory is getting closer to 10k every day with the 11+ years of doing this under my belt.

I am now a lot more proud of the work I am pumping out, and I already have a decent sized audience because of my history. Now, I am able to go back and rewrite Stubble as a story that is worth sharing with more than the previous 3-4 thousand visitors. I connected to an audience in the past, and now that I have over a decade of experience and skill-crafting under my belt, I might be getting close to seeing some absolutely real results.

I hope to captivate people around the world, I really do. What can I say? It's exciting stuff.
I hope you give this version of Stubble a shot. I think it's going to be really satisfactory when it's done. I hope you like it so much you tell all your friends to read it and then their friends read it, and so on and so forth. I hope it connects to people, a lot more than it did last time.

Thank you so much,
-J

Things are working, slowly but surely.
Career is progressing, personal projects are moving.
Family life good, social life fine. Health going up, income going up.
Relationships, not fabulous. Needs fixing. Need to fix something within, get back to me later.

Rock Opera will be recorded next month.
Novel's first draft has been finished since May, have been revising it every now and then.
Comic short story being worked on.
Stubble 10th anniversary... Not going well. I don't know what the hell is up with me there.

Some days I'm happy, some days I'm depressed.
Some days I'm jealous. Some days I'm able to see that I'm doing everything the way I'm supposed to, and that life is not a competition, not a race, so why care who is doing what.
I don't even want to be doing what they're doing. I AM doing what I want to do.

I am reading a lot of books, like 3 at once right now. I am reading a bunch of magazines, like 5 at once.
It helps me get my shit together.

I am drawing every day. Every damn day.

There are things that are just humbling in life. A client ending a relationship with you, friends having a party a few minutes away from your apartment and not feeling you're "close enough" to invite...
Girls fearing to meet you because you might just be "too good" for them (lack of self-esteem much?), illness. Manipulation, stress...

Stress over this:
I went to a shaman who said, "I am no astrologer, but on your thirtieth birthday, all the planets realign exactly the same as you were born. And around that time, a person should reflect on their lives, and see if they're following the path they should be. If they are, doors begin to open. Opportunities begin to unfold. Everything begins to fall into place, the way it should be. But if a person is not following their path, then those doors begin to close. They begin to lose their opportunities, and things for them never happen."

I had "fame." Sort of. Not really. Tens of thousands of people knew my name. That could fill a town or a stadium, I always reminded myself. I wasn't emotionally ready. People making fun of me on livejournal made me maaaad. Angryyy. They don't know me, how daaare they slander my name.

That is unavoidable, y'know. Think of even the most "loved" people, and you'll find others spewing distaste for them.

If I were to ever get my career going in the direction where an audience is necessary, where I lose a part of my private life in exchange for other things, I need to be more internally grounded and secure.

That is actually one of the biggest things I am working on right now. It's not to be more spiritual, even though I might think of myself a spiritual person... But it's more to awaken myself, which means to be true to myself as best as I can in a healthy way. If I make videos that tell you to keep going, 12 years on average is the norm, 10k hours is what it takes to become a master at something, they would all be meaningless if I was a rotten individual.

I am like everyone else; We all go through trials and tribulations in life. I am going through a long one right now, but something said to me, "If you didn't go through this, and everything went well for you, you would not be able to relate to humanity. You'd be a spoiled and rotten person. This is good for you, even though it hurts and sucks right now. You have a lot to offer, and they're all coming soon. But you need to suffer a little bit first. You will be okay."

And it's one of the most important things that keeps me occupied. I'm working to improve myself as a person more than as an artist.

I'm not saying I was a bad person before then. But I am saying I do need to be better.

Kind of like... Heh. Like if I became successful right away, earlier in my life. I probably would fuck it up like Lindsay Lohan.

And she's going to jail today. She lived 15 minutes away from me when we grew up.

A friend said to me, "With everything you do, you can't fail."

Others say to me, "You're so successful. How do you do it?"

My inner voice says to me, "We got a lot of work to do..."

I wrote the following on my twitter account:
"I'm asking for your help/opinion. I'm thinking of making an auto-biographical one-shot comic when I'm done with another project... But it's not happy, it's intense and dark, and leaves something about me that should probably be kept personal, into a very public spectacle. I don't know what to do. It might be therapeutic... It might help me move on from a dark moment in my past, but it might also be a mistake."

Right now I'm working on this comic about a boy and a girl who end up in a serious relationship because they love each other for more than just how they look. The title, as of right now, is called, "Self Esteem." Because during their dating and start of their relationship, their self-esteem and self image of themselves prevents them from really expressing how they feel about one another. They are too afraid of disappointing the other person, be it from having ugly duck syndrome, or too many bad experiences in the past, they're just scared. They're scared the other might think they're ugly with their shirt off. Or that they might be a bad kisser.

In the end, however, it is a happy end. "I love your face, your hair, your smell, you mind, your voice, your thoughts, your humor. Everything that makes you, is what I love." Because when two people love each other, they see the other person as exactly what they want. A little beer belly or a crooked toe isn't going to scare anyone away. In fact, your fault is what might make you so appealing.

And I want to do a bunch of stories that might come off as melodramatic or serious, but always ends on a positive or happy ending. A realistically optimistic ending, no fairy god-mother stuff with me.

But this autobiographical story wouldn't have a happy ending. It explains a dark past of mine that I forgot. It regressed into my memory until I hit twenty-two years old. But like the twitter post says, it's very personal, almost taboo. People don't like to admit it exists, and while I have no shame in my story, I was six how could I be ashamed, it's still something that I'm shy and uncomfortable to think about, let alone discuss.

So I'd like to hear opinions and thoughts. I might disregard everything people say to me and do it, or not. But input would be very nice.

Thanks.

This video: [link]
Sure has affected my life a lot more than I thought. I like it because this is how I talk to people quite often. My positive talking is not for everyone, and I sometimes get the feeling some people think I'm talking full of horsesh*t, but when someone listens and not only agrees but feels motivated, then in return, I feel good as well.

I don't know how to talk about myself to the public, so I won't be 100% candid just yet. But I'll tell you that I go to a shrink, so that I can handle things better, worry less, and mature. I talk to friends who have turned into life coaches, and surround myself with like-minded individuals. I've been doing a lot of things that try to make me a better person, and in return, I'm starting to get pretty good at looking at the bright side of things.

What's interesting is that my mind sometimes works a little bit logically. It often allows me to notice that sometimes common sense is often forgotten, or even dismissed, when it comes to many things in life.

For example, the video in regards to Pixar, I talk about the importance of perseverance. If you talk putting in the time and effort to gain the skill and experience in order to be good enough as an artist, you'd say "Well, duh. Of course. That makes total sense." But then you might a week later not put two and two together and fret that your career isn't moving. But it is! You're putting in the time and effort to gain the skill and experience necessary to become an artist.

And I think many people just needed me to tell them that through the video that what they are doing is correct, and if they are not seeing results, it just means things are going slowly, and fortunately not at a halt. We're never able to notice how we're growing as a human being, but people around us can. Same idea. Sometimes you need someone else to point out the obvious to you.

If you like that video, check out my others. If you like those too, tell your friends. If you all like it, why not follow me here, and follow my journey. Feel free to try and talk to me, I'll do my best to reply if I'm not overwhelmed by the messages... Just don't do it through the deviantart "notes" page. I always forget that section exists.

Why am I asking you to share the video? I dunno. I think I created something that's more helpful than hurtful to the world. It's not necessarily funny, but it's fun to watch and hopefully makes you feel good at the end, y'know? And if that causes a revolution in the creative world, bumping up the amount of success stories because people didn't throw in the towel too early... I'd be elated.

Be well,
And your favs, messages, and all signs of support, helps me push through the tough times.
I'm serious.
-J

I'm all down for jokes and whatnot, but this is just silly!

I'd be much more accepting of the joke if I would be able to go back into my avatar settings and could manually set it back, but I can't.
At least give me Team Lady Gaga, cause I want nothing to do with Twilight. Please! I already suffered and was told to read the series, and bought it because I'm AN IDIOT THAT SHOULDN'T LISTEN TO HIS FEMALE FRIENDS.

Boo.

What's interesting is that a lot of people I've read on forums to those who have complained have stated that a real professional should have their own personal site, and if you use deviantart to try and be professional, you're not a professional...

Well, as a professional, that had to just send in his tax papers that stated I'm a professional illustrator, and as a person who knows other professionals, we do use this site. Art directors use this site, people have gotten jobs from this site, and people like to see you're always working and updating your material.

Building an audience is very important, and this is a massively huge community of a website. It is actually BAD for a professional to NOT be on this site. You almost have to be on such a community now that we live in the digital era.

Fortunately I don't rely just on this site, but it's bad when I'm being informed from clients that they google my name and saw I also "happen to have a deviantart page."

Oh well, perhaps in the end it won't do much damage because I don't directly link to deviantart from my portfolio site, which is often where I direct clients and art directors...

However, I just wanted to state how a lot of people on this site who claim you're not a professional if you're on it? That's negative thinking in a sense. Technically they're saying they don't consider THEMSELVES a professional, and how can you succeed if you don't believe you're something you want to be?

You can't.

So for everyone on this site, I tell you this: I think a lot of you are professionals, and I think a lot of you can be professionals. Don't sell yourself, and others, short.

Be well everyone and be happy!
-J

willdraw4food.com is an online archive of videos.

Be it film, animations, slideshows, video-blogs, pre-recorded how-tos with commentary or music, we're trying to include them all here. This website will do its best to document the progress of artists, where they will explain how they survive with their career path, what they're experiencing, what they're thinking, and words they follow to keep sane.

Hopefully, from it all, these videos will entertain you, educate you, motivate and even inspire you to find your own path in life. Maybe to be an artist as well. Perhaps an actor, a comedian, a gambler, a doctor, a chef, etc.

Currently the primary artist and founder of the website, is Josh Mirman.

To avoid any further  sentences written in third person, let me tell you who I am.

I am a freelance illustrator and writer, but I see myself mostly as a storyteller. I enjoy creating entire worlds and universes of fictional characters following stories that I have come up with. These stories have been published online in the past through comics, and has attracted a healthy-sized audience. Now, I am working on novels and children's books, while I make comic strips once a week located at www.punksandnerds.com

And if my stories are simply narrated through images, well, that's where my illustrator-self comes into play. I have clients who hire me, which help pay for the bills, and build up my experience. I struggle through both successes and failures in obtaining new clients, expanding from children's book illustrations, to concept designing for potential marketing campaigns.

But my personal projects, the things I do on my own time, is what I am most passionate about.

All of these I will do my best to document on this website. I will explain through my vlogs what I'm feeling. I'll make videos commentating how I work on the computer, and I'll make little slideshows where I talk about how I keep myself sane in an otherwise very difficult career-path.

I will persevere. Will you keep me company?

-J

=====

That was ripped from the website. However, calling all artists. If you think you have videos you'd want to make and contribute, please get a hold of me and let me know what you have in mind!

My new series, Will Draw For Food, where I talk about how I make it as an artist.

Episode 1: Compare your life to pixar:
[link]

Bonuse episode: What do you want to do with your life? (Thank You)
[link]

Episode 2: The Importance Of Relaxing
[link]

Watch the videos, enjoy the videos (please?), share with your friends, and let me know if you like them.

-J

1/18/2010
Thank you so much for spreading my video around. "Compare your life to Pixar" has been viewed over 25,000 times in one week! You're all amazing and I am humbled by your kindness. Here are three videos for this week, as well as Compare your life to Pixar again in case you didn't see it the first time.

Please keep sharing my videos that you enjoy with your family and friends. Word of mouth is the best way for these things to grow. And you have all did an incredible job of it!

Illustrate Improv: Star Wars (Comedy):
[link]

Will Draw For Food: What I Wanted To Be (Thank You)
[link]

Will Draw For Food: Compare Your Life To Pixar (Motivational)
[link]

Vlog 2 - Pixar Aftermath (Video Blog)
[link]