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jamesburks.bsky.social
Creator of Bird&Squirrel, Agent9, Boxtales (’25) and other children's books. Animation director, writer, illustrator, runner, and coffee lover. Rep’d by Kelly Sonnack | www.jamesburks.com
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As close as I’ll ever get to meeting one of my biggest influences. #charlesschulz #peanuts

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Exploring some story beats for an idea I'm working on.

submitted 5 days ago • 0 comments

The wait is almost over!!! Can Do Book 2 is out next week!

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

Kaw!

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

This is the other main character from my dragon story. When I drew the original turn around, I wasn't sure how the hair would look from all the angles. The nice thing about modeling the characters in 3D is that I can see exactly how it looks now from every angle and adjust the drawings accordingly.

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

Finished the dragon. Now, I'd like to get my brain to cooperate so I can figure out the story they belong to and turn this into a book. How's everyone else doing with their creative projects?

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

The latest from my adventures with Blender.

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

Here’s the latest from teaching myself Blender. I’m not sure why I spent two days on this. To animate it, I’d need to rig it, which seems daunting. I guess I did it to gain experience with Blender. Who knows, maybe it'll lead to something one day. Exploring new skills is never a waste of time.

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

Taking the time to model characters in 3d makes the perfect reference, not only for perspective but also for lighting. Not to mention, it’s also a great way to procrastinate!

submitted 16 days ago • 1 comment

Box gets the full 3d turnaround in Blender. I can't wait for everyone to meet Bea and Box when their first book drops this Sept.

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

Fun with props. Yesterday, I had an inkling to model a milk carton in Blender, and as these things usually do, it took on a life of its own. Ending with a fake ad for a made-up milk company.

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

I decided to download Blender and follow a Domestika course to learn the ins and outs. Here's my first character sculpt. The program is very robust, and I can't believe it's free to download.

submitted 18 days ago • 1 comment

Here’s a Bird & Squirrel commission I did. Brown ink on mixed media paper.

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments

Taking my anxiety on a little joyride.

submitted 22 days ago • 1 comment

The promise ai makes is that it could make products, write & illustrate books, create ad copy for junk, make you rich with zero effort. What it actually does is fill the world with more slop that the rest of us have to wade through to find something worthwhile and real.

submitted 23 days ago • 1 comment

Spent yesterday and today sprucing up the website. I feel like its needed once every couple years. It’s also an amazing form of procrastination when you aren't feeling creative. Stop by and check it out if you need to do some procrastinating of your own. Www.jamesburks.com

submitted 26 days ago • 1 comment

I just posted my latest newsletter on Substack. If you're interested, read all about how wanting to buy a hotdog cart led me to make stop-motion animation instead.

submitted 30 days ago • 1 comment

The stop-motion adventure continues. Gilmore heads for the local Grub N Go for a quick bite to eat. #animation

submitted 33 days ago • 0 comments

Cover reveal. Happy to share the cover for my new graphic novel series—Boxtales! The first volume hits bookstores on Sept. 16, 2025. Click the link to read a sample and see the cover.

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

I took a bit of a break from social media but this is just the reason to return - CONGRATULATIONS ANALÍA! I'm so so happy ABLA gets to be the place where you build your list. Authors - get your submission packages polished!

submitted 41 days ago • 2 comments

Gilmore emerges after a long winter’s slumber. #stopmotion #animation #kidlit #stopmotionanimation #characteranimation

submitted 47 days ago • 1 comment

Gilmore’s end-of-winter wake-up call arrived right on schedule. #stopmotion #animation #kidlit

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

New blog post: Calling fans of Dav Pilkey with recommendations including books by @jamesburks.bsky.social, @jorgeagu.bsky.social, @juddwinick.bsky.social, @drewbrockington.bsky.social, @ianboothby.bsky.social, @spacecoyote.com, and @breebird33.bsky.social. www.lisayelon.com/blog/if-you-...

submitted 51 days ago • 0 comments

Had fun engineering and animating the rapids on this one. Gilmore Bear has big plans for 2025.

submitted 55 days ago • 1 comment

Happy New Year! Here's some stop-motion animation to kick off the new year. More of this little bear to come.

submitted 56 days ago • 1 comment