Inking page 11 & Updates

It’s Friday time for another art vlog, yay. In this episode I ink 4 panels of page 11 of my painted graphic novel “The Pod” and talk a bit about update this very site and my youtube channel. I’ve realised over the last little while that I could be a lot better at posting here and putting in the appropriate metadata, tag and all that seo stuff that I hadn’t thought of too much. I’ve been trying to find some good plugins for wordpress, mostly for seo, but I’ve hit a brick wall it seems that either you’ve got to pay or figure out where to place the damn plugins. Most seem to be for wordpress.org. If anyone knows how to install them I’d love to hear about it or maybe a link to a good tutorial. The ones I’ve seen so far don’t seem to be much help. Anyway, I hope you like this weeks’ episode, Thanks.

Painting Comic Pages Tutorial

Hey Guys,

Here’s a video showing the process that I’m using for painting my graphic novel “The Pod”. I paint directly over my inked drawings in light washes and build up layers of color, light and shadow. I walk through the techniques that I use to create texture and variety in my paintings. I hope you’ll check it out and let me know what you think.

Working for the Man SUCKS!

I’ve been slowly taking steps to distance myself from working a day job in any way I can. Art should be my career, but the demands of life weight heavy on us all. I can’t walk away and build something on my own all at once, I have a family to support first and foremost. I need to get more art out but I don’t have an excess of time to make it, that is the ultimate paradox. So I’ve been building to set up other revenue streams to help, by freeing me from my dependence on working a solid day job. In the past I’ve posted designs on Threadless and Teespring, started and estsy store but all were no help to me. I put in what I could at the time but found they never gained traction.

But I learned from them and have found new avenues to explore, that I think are more suited to what I am trying to do. Currently, I have put up multiple designs on redbubble and set up a Patreon account for anyone interested in getting some behind the scenes info on my painted graphic novel “The Pod”. In case anyone is unfamiliar with these sites redbubble is a print on demand company that invites artists to put their designs on everything from clothing to coffee mugs, they handle the shipping and manufacturing and the profits are shared between them and the artist. Patreon is a sort of crowd funding site that gives fans of artists, musicians and other creatives a chance to support what they are creating. The artist sets the reward tiers based on what they can accomplish and by what goals they set for themselves for as little as a 1 dollar a month pledge. It’s really an exciting time to be an artist, I felt so lost when I was younger not knowing where to look or what to do. Now I just think “Fuck them I’ll do it myself” I know I can do anything and damn it I will.

If anyone is interested in helping me create my graphic novel they can support me on Patreon or purchase something on Redbubble or just like, subscribe and share my Art Vlog videos on youtube. Thanks to everyone already supporting my art it means the world to me. Also I put my comic forever green on webtoons for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. Lastly here’s my latest Art Vlog, thanks again.

 

 

 

Trying new things and moving forward

I also have my comic Forever Green up on web toons here’s the link

http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/tales-of-the-damned/forever-green/viewer?title_no=57137&episode_no=1

Give it a like and share it around, Thanks guys you’re Awesome!

The start of a new chapter – Art Vlog # 13

I really need a fresh start

Out of the gate I feel  defeated this year. I’m still so run down and sick from the last month or so of 2016. Do you ever get the feeling that there is too much shit that needs to get done? and you can’t find a small window to stop and gather your thoughts? I seem to be stuck in a loop of endless tasks. I know for a fact that there are so many things I can do to increase exposure to my art or ways to get better and yet I get lost in the minutia of laundry, parenting, cooking (poorly) and working (constantly). I just feel I need time that isn’t there. I try making it by staying up late or getting up early, both have their own set of pitfalls (lack of sleep being the most evil of them). I’ve tried so many things over the last year, meditation, keeping journal, mindfulness and many others, nothing seems to fit me right. They say that if you do something everyday for two weeks it becomes a habit. Well not quite, you know what I think the secret is, you need to love it. The only thing that I have an extreme drive for is my art, everything else falls away. I can commit myself as little as five minutes to pencil a page in a doctor’s office or 15 minutes on a coffee break religiously, but sticking to a short journal entry or meditation session is so difficult (I think I’d rather be drawing). Perhaps my goals are too ambitious, although that’s not a deterrent, I don’t see myself scaling back so why dwell on anything. If people don’t like what I do that’s fine they were never the intended audience. It’s the few and far between, the strange ones, the individuals who can see what I’m doing, that connect with it. Like minds is what I seek and a challenge. If I wanted my soul to die completely there are opportunities to give up everyday. I think I need a pep talk, but I guess a rant will have to do.

Here’s the latest vlog as well. Thanks to every like mind out there we will connect soon.

Ok let me fix this.

I haven’t been posting my vlog here reliably and I’m sorry. Youtube makes it way too easy to share with facebook and tumblr etc but sending it back here is a manual affair. Also I have this linked back to facebook so there’s some redundancy. Links are now off for starters, next I’ll place the playlist for every video into this post (11 so far) so that they now all here.

Another thing that I’ve changed is my store link. I now have some products available on redbubble ranging from t-shirts and leggings to coffee mugs and sketchbooks, please feel free to check them out.

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/luke+welch

Thanks to everyone supporting me, it really means a lot.

Update!!! more pages painted

Hey, Remember this Painting?

I found some footage of me painting, that I totally forgot about. I added some commentary to walk through what I did. Check it out and let me know what you think. I’m trying hard to improve my filming techniques and lighting, not to mention being more relaxed in front of the camera. Anyway I hope something can be gleaned from my ramblings.

Follow your Dreams

Believe me I know it’s hard to want something, to work towards a goal, to fight every day to make time in an already hectic day. I know and I do it. Why? What else would I do? I haven’t been the type of person to waste time in front of a television or playing games in a long while. I want to learn! I’ll read a book, draw, paint, make music or even build something. Always creating. It takes a toll on you, your family and possibly your day job, but it’s worth it. Am I right? It must be, for those minutes when you lose yourself in the process, the brush strokes, when the whole world disappears, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Sometimes I almost envy people who can just get off work and veg out watching mindless tv, almost. I am too restless, and I’ve played it safe for too long. Seize the day because what else is there, tomorrow wont bring change unless you want it, you bring it. I get lost in my life so often it feels like it passes me by. When someone asks how I’ve been all I ever seem to say is busy, I can never think of anything at the time. Work, family, art repeat, I lose touch with all but the closest of friends and even then it’s been way too long since we hung out. Sometimes you win, today I lost. My time was eaten away and I have nothing left, my tank is empty, I’m just burnt out. Tomorrow, I have plans for you, big ones that could fill your entirety. Oh I know you will fight back, you have an agenda of your own, but I’ll steal my moments and little by little I’ll build my dreams one piece at a time. Try to hold me down and I’ll claw, bite and scream till I’m free because at this point it’s survival, simple as that. Follow your dreams everyone, it will make the most important person in the world proud of you, yourself.

My process Vlog on youtube is up to episode 7. I’m going to be more diligent at posting them here, check it out and see the progress on my graphic novel  The Pod. I’m updating on Fridays, watch, like or share every little bit helps get my art out to more people. Thanks