Phew!

*Exhales*

It's been a very busy couple of months of late, what with setting up multiple online gallery/shop spaces and entering several exhibitions locally. On top of that I've been writing applications for various jobs, plus one university course that I would very much like to get on. I came to the process relatively late, so doing my research and getting everything organised has been a little bit hectic.

I've also been working away on a commission which is due for completion very soon. It is of a pet dog called Ella and is intended as a surprise birthday present for the husband of the commission maker.

As soon as it's completed I'll upload a scan here. In the meantime, here's a photo of a lion mug. ROAR!

Available to order at all good LukoStores!

The Hard Sell

BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS! BUY MY THINGS!

BUY THEM! NOW!

I've been busy lately researching and setting up the infrastructure to hopefully start selling more of my work- original paintings, prints, etc. and also to publish my artwork and to take commissions.

As such I have stores on various sites such as Zazzle, BigCartel and Etsy, amongst other online galleries. Why not check them out! :) I'll be updating them regularly with new work and products.

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/LukoStore
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LukoStore
http://www.LukoStore.bigcartel.com/

Eventually I hope to have a dedicated website, showcasing my work and providing an ordering system too. It'll be useful for promotional purposes, to put on business cards and the like.

What's the time Mr. Wolf?

I took the opportunity this week to re-work the wolf painting that I originally posted a good many months ago. I was not happy with it at the time or afterwards as I felt it could do with some more detail and better colour balancing.

I'm reasonably happy with it now. The edges look more like how I wanted them to the first time round, with more definition against the background. I also took some time to improve the eyes, as they looked a little bit too intense before, like the wolf was tripping rather heavily or something. Now he just looks mildly drunk.

Something Something Tiger

Another painting, another deliberation over the title.

The tiger was done in record time, compared to the other paintings, which I'm quite happy about. I intend to keep on lessening the time it takes whilst maintaining the same or higher quality in future output.

The tiger, gorilla and wolf are now framed and ready for exhibiting at the Reading Rooms in Berkswell over this coming weekend (Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July), so it will be interesting to see what happens...

Miscellaneous.

Steven Avery's Mum looks a lot like Yoda...

The Ecosse brothers.

Fruit Salad

Tom from the Apprentice 2011

Mother and Child!

'Mother and Child'. Or something. I really struggle to come up with good titles for finished paintings. I seem to want to just say what the painting is of, like 'Lion'. 'Tiger'. 'Wolf'. 'Paint on canvas, applied by a brush over a number of hours, whilst listening to the inane babble of ITV's Loose Women'.

I really tried with this painting, but all I could come up with (before Mother and Child, which is pretty rubbish really) was 'The Universal'. Which is incredibly pretentious. Ha. Oh well, something to work at...

The painting itself, I'm quite happy with. Again, I feel like I could have done more, as usual, but it was becoming a case of ever diminishing returns the more I worked on it. I'm still learning what works and what doesn't. I still haven't mastered what brush to use and when, instead sticking to the same one or two brushes, which probably aren't always best suited.

Ideally I'd like a really, really fine and stiff brush to get the really fine details on, but I can't seem to find any for sale.

Mod. Project XIX.

Yes, 'Project XIX', our codename. Ssshhhhhh!

Here are some more detailed heads. They're primarily for our 3D modeller for reference whilst he creates the face so that he can get the right shape and expression for everything- hair, moustache, beard, etc.

They're still very sketchy for now as it's still very much conceptual. I intend to create much more detailed and finely rendered versions at a later date. A good opportunity to further my Photoshop painting skills.

Below is an early, unfinished (as always) view of the cowboy character from behind. It lacks details, like weapons, bullet belt and other accessories, but it gives the general idea of how he should look.

More concept art

Instead of just adding more work in progress to the original Mod post, I'm going to try and make new posts from now on for anything that warrants it. I'll also try and provide more commentary and insight.

But for now, here is a more detailed face for the cowboy character:

Still work in progress though!

To Post or Not to Post

I've been in two minds for a while now as to whether or not to make this post. The reason being; I'm not all that happy with they way the above painting has turned out. But then I decided there's no point in only showing things when you're happy with them. If I did that, I'd probably never ever post on here. I almost always feel that there's more I could have done with a painting or sketch. Most artists probably think that way. It's what drives us on as human beings- the eternal search for perfection.

Actually, that probably gives the wrong idea about what I'm aiming for in my work. It's definitely not perfection. Not in a photo-real sense anyway.

Unfortunately with the wolf painting I ended up leaving it too late, and being as I had a deadline for its completion- the hand in date at the gallery in which it is now hanging- to me it appears unsatisfactory. I know that if I had managed my time slightly more effectively I could have achieved a higher degree of detail and finish. As it is, to me at least, it looks incomplete and lacks detail, which is a shame as I can see its potential.

At this moment I should point out to any future potential employers or clients, that on a professional basis my time management and ability to reach deadlines satisfactorily is impeccable :) The wolf however was done purely for personal reasons, so I'm allowed to slack off.

Mods and Rockers.

Recently, as an antidote to being extremely bored at work, my workmates and I have decided to have a crack at making a game mod. This fulfils two important roles. 1.) It gives us something to talk about, and 2.) It gives hope. Hope that there's something better out there beyond our contemptible working lives. Jokey face.

I'm providing the concept art whilst one of my workmates will do the modelling based on my designs, and the other- the coding. We plan to use Valve's Source Engine and Hammer.

Currently, we're keeping things simple in terms of narrative and gameplay, with an aim to expansion once we get things properly underway.

The story is yet to be finalised, but is essentially just a means to creating some interesting looking characters who will form the backbones of two opposing sides or teams: The Alliance (think evil big corporation, profits driven, bully boys, well funded) and The Independents (think space cowboy, renegade, smuggler, mercenary pirates for hire).

To start with we will be focusing on creating one character from each side and making an interesting map with a few cool weapons for a simple death match/slayer mode of game type. However, we have lots of other new an interesting ideas for game modes that we think will be pretty fun and unique.

Below are a few early sketches.

The first sketch, pencil in pad, I like the idea of Sci-Fi borrowing from periods in history, in this instance the Wild West.

Some head sketches done on a Wacom Tablet in Photoshop. The independent character. Facial hair is a given, these guys are too tough to shave! Unbound by any particular regime as such, their appearance could well be described as scruffy. I like the idea of facial tattoos and scars implying a certain 'don't screw with me'-ness to his character. We've also been toying with the idea of mechanised body parts, one of the Sci-Fi elements. Perhaps a voluntary upgrade or maybe a necessary one. Either way these guys have seen a lot of action.

Another Photoshop Wacom Tablet attempt. The proportions are a bit messed up, but it's something to build upon.

Pencil sketch. My first attempt at an Alliance character. He's quite Storm Trooper-y at the moment, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I don't want it to be too derivative of Star Wars.

Wacom Tablet. Incomplete.

Still incomplete...

Also incomplete...