Hello! It's been a minute. Going through a very busy period of life at the moment. For various reasons but one of them is that the PuddleJumpers Kickstarter is LIVE.
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You can check out the full kickstarter here. I've been really pleased with the rate of backers coming in and was also tickled pink to get a shout-out on Comic Book Yeti. Thank you again to Doug for the vote of confidence.
With all this kickstarting going on I should probably be writing more about it...
Instead, lets talk about some of my favourite YouTube channels.
Trent Holbrook
This name might ring a bell if you're into wargaming/painting/sculpting/hobbying in general. I'm not at the moment, but have been in the past, and likely will be in the future. And if I am, it will be because of people like Trent.
Trent is also the creator of the Miscast Youtube Channel, but what I'm linking to is is second, daily, permadeath channel.
What does permadeath mean? It means if he misses a daily upload, he deletes the channel. Gone, done, finished.
I love this channel. Not just because Trent's obvious and contagious enthusiasm for what he does makes me feel good. but because the idea behind it is such a great manifestation of a mentality I'm still trying to cultivate in myself. That creative projects don't have to be forever. That it's ok to stop doing things. It's tremendously exciting and invigorating to watch and has quickly become something I tune in to every day. He seems like someone who's really generous and invested in participating in community. I'm inspired by him.
Get that FOMO, then get on board.
Michael MacKelvie
I do not care for American Football, Basketball, or Baseball. But I do care for Michael MacKelvie.
It's not just the combination of a smooth, chocolatey delivery and endearing use of toys to illustrate his point. it's that Michael is delivering sports and more general statistical analysis in a manner that is narratively stimulating. I still remember when I picked up Michael Lewis's Moneybag in a Waterstones many years ago as a mathmatically challenged 6th form student and had a mind-expanding lesson that anything, even maths, could be interesting if you can find the story tangled up in it.
That's what Michael does with a lot of these videos. Yes, there are graphs. Yes, it is about sport. But it's also about the human condition, assumptions made, mistakes identified and defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. Give it a chance, if only to hear those smoooooth vocal notes.
Pottery To The People
Oh look another person figuring stuff out as they go along. I wonder why this keeps happening...
I love channels like this where you get to watch someone go through the creative process. Try things, have things go wrong, and learn things just for the sake of doing something and learning new skills as you go. I'm a potter as well so there's an added level of satisfaction seeing this stuff done, but I think I'd love this channel anyways just because there doesn't seem to be anything that Mia won't give a go, and because of how openly she wears her inspirations and influences as she goes. I think it's an excellent reminder that something doesn't have to be entirely original and your own to be 'worthy'. And, in fact, often those connections make them better.
The Tale Of The Iron Snail
A second Michael! This Michael runs the successful menswear channel The Iron Snail which is all about the kind of tiny minutia found in clothes that makes people like me go 'Maybe I do need a pair of shoes designed for the African Veldt...' But I'm not here to recommend that channel, I'm here to recommend his semi-secret, infrequently updated second channel.
There's actually more of this kind of vibe earlier on the main Iron Snail, but that's faded away as Michael's figured out a format that works for him and his main audience. More power to him. But it's these looser, more Vloggy videos of him just figuring stuff out that I love to watch. There's some connective tissue between this channel and Trents. It's just two people who don't know exactly what's going to happen, but they know what they want to do and they're out there just trying. I find it tremendously inspiring.
It helps that Michael's a charming and goofy guy.
And Finally...
I'd be remiss if I didn't link a channel that has been immensely valuable to my development as a comics writer:
Is there anything Hass touches that doesn't turn to gold? This channel is an absolute goldmine and a great well to return to whenever I'm looking for ideas about what interesting things I can do with my next project. There's so much to learn and be inspired by on this channel, as well as the exceptional PanelXPanel.
That's all I've got time for right now, but if people enjoyed this perhaps I'll do more in the future. Check out the kickstarter if you haven't already, and thank you so, so much if you do decide to support the comic.
Alex.