Blog Tour - My illustration process

Thank you for traveling with me on this brilliant blog tour. Where it all began is now down a long and winding road of inspirational shares from incredible illustrators and writers. It's been rolling strong now for months and continues to grow with each artist. I was honored by the invitation to climb aboard by my good friend, Rob McClurkan. Rob has been a huge influence and source of inspiration for me through the years, and I continue to be in awe of the way he approaches his illustration process and the eyeball dance inducing results of his finely honed skills. Add to that, being a clever author (Rob's first book "Aw, Nuts!" is out August 26th) and BY GOLLY I am a forever fan! Seriously, Rob is a humble soul with endlessly inspiring talents. So inspiring in fact, I just had to do some FAN ART of Rob's quirky alter ego Buckleberry, hanging with my odd ball Octopus alter ego, Brighton. This is pretty much how our banter about work, life and family feel. Quirky, heartfelt and fueled by a shared respect for one another's work. Cheer's my friend!

If you need more inspiration, I find this to be a treasure trove of Rob McClurkan awesomeness: And here is Rob's wonderful contribution to the Blog Tour!

OK, I suppose this is suppose to be a blog about MY illustration process, not about how much I admire Rob's. So let's begin. 

I am assuming you already know a bit about me, if not, please head on over to my ABOUT page, then on to the CONNECT page so I can get to know you!

Before we dive into process the tour creators did ask that I answer a few questions.

1. WHAT AM I WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I tend to have a few projects on the docket at a time. This summer has been a boat load of brilliant creative opportunities and has kept things pretty exciting in the creative cave. Looks to be a fast paced, fun filled Fall season too. Here are a few in the works currently:

Dog food packaging. WOOOF! 

Picture book for friends upcoming Kickstarter project

Smithsonian book for Grosset and Dunlap

5,000 stickers book for Igloo Books. yep. 5,000.

Picture book for Benchmark (concept sketch stage)

TMNT project in the works ... secret stuff for now ... 

Global Faith

The Bright Group theme this week was Global Faith, and inspired some amazing illustrations from the talented collection of artists at Bright. You can enjoy the incredible work here.

Faith is the central foundation of life for my family and I, so I wanted to capture a scene that has had a deep impact on our hearts, what it means to live out our faith and following God's calling. 

3 years ago, my wife and I felt called to start doing short term mission trips with our 3 kids. Incredibly, God led us to the ministry of Casas Por Cristo while at a conference in Georgia. At first, we were unsettled about the thought of taking 3 young kids to Juarez, Mexico. The stories of the crime rate and fears of our friends and families had us feeling very uncertain about the decision, but we truly felt God calling us to go by faith under his banner of protection.

When we arrived in El Paso, Texas it was astonishing and heartbreaking to be standing in a hotel parking lot (where we were meeting) and looking across a fence into Juarez where extreme poverty consumed the landscape. Thankfully, ministries are reaching across borders and beyond the fearful headlines of crime and violence to help those in need.

From the moment we arrived in Juarez the next day (Friday), it was apparent that God's hand is on the ministry of Casas Por Cristo, in the way they have been protected and grown to be respected in the community. Each year they take several trips (into  Juárez and Acuña México, San Raimundo, Guatemala, Santiago and the Dominican Republic)  to build a home for a family in need. We have been part of groups where we serve along side random people from around the U.S. coming together to serve. In those 3 short days we become a community of friends working along side one another to build hope and show Christ's love.

It is a whirlwind of work in 3 short days. From pouring a foundation and constructing wall frames the first day, to watching a small home fully come together the 2nd day. Then finishing stucco, electrical, and clean up on the 3rd morning, followed by a celebration of welcoming the family into their new home with a prayer service and dedication. This time is always a reminder of the way God is bringing the light of hope into the darkest places.

Though our kids may not be able to do all the construction jobs, they certainly find ways to get involved with carrying boards, holding drywall, or tarring the roof. But seeing our kids playing with the kids in the neighborhood, drawing, sharing toys and gifts is such a sweet reminder that the language of love goes beyond the language barrier. They are doing some of the greatest ministry work by just being kids! 

I could go on and on about the amazing ways God has used these trips in our life and the stories that have come from our time in Juarez. In the end, it is amazing how you can change the life of a family, by teaming with a crew of fellow servants in just 3 days. Basically a weekend of work, to make an impact for a lifetime.

You can read more about the ministry of Casas Por Cristo, and get involved or give support here: http://www.casasporcristo.org

This video was a key factor in moving our hearts to action!

Team Caesar or Team Koba?

After watching "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" this Monday, I have had apes on my brain! I was expecting great things from this film, but it went far beyond those expectations both in storyline, and visuals. The breathtaking home of the apes, and the various types of apes they created has taken the art of cg characters/environments to a whole new level in my opinion. The truly moving aspect of this movie is the emotions they bring to the apes, not only in their expressions, but their language. You truly believe these are a family of apes thriving in this post apocalyptic world. I must admit I was cheering for the chimps the whole time ... sorry human race. That said, the ongoing battle for power between Caesar and Koba was truly a striking portrait of true leadership vs. fear mongering. I could go on and on about the film, but in the end I recommend you go and support the brilliant artistry of this film. I put the soundtrack on and tried to capture some of the emotions I saw in Caesar and Koba. Question is, whose side are you on?

HAPPPY 5 YR. BBBIRTHDAY DRIBBBLE!

Over the past several years Dribbble has been an incredible game changing community of  creatives to connect with on a daily basis. I find endless inspiration in the work that is posted each day, and am wildly motivated to post work that is equally inspiring! Most of all this community has been a place to authentically encourage and be encouraged by fellow creatives that I admire, and have really blessed me with their words of appreciation. Truly a place where iron sharpens iron! You can check out all my shots here: https://dribbble.com/luke-flowers

Thank you to the team at Dribbble for creating this unique community that continues to grow and connect creatives around the globe!

Dragon Puppy

This year I helped teach watercolor nature studies in my daughters 1st grade class each Friday. This week they had their year end field day and asked me to create the t-shirt art for their team. The class came up with the idea of "Dragon Puppy" as the mascot. I sketched up the fun lil' fella in class with the kids direction, then created the vector version for the shirts.

As a gift to end the year and celebrate our art class together, I painted this final piece and gave each student a print as a thank you for all the inspiration and lessons I learned through the year with them. It is always refreshing to see the creative freedom and uninhibited imagination of children as they create!