When it comes to painting Warbirds, a good portion of great execution is understanding how to complete complex masking processes. These types of designs require numerous “layers” and masking them in the correct order is integral to the success of the final piece. For this particular tutorial, we will focus on “order of execution.” This […]Read More
This project has garnered a lot of interest as its progression was documented on social media. Now that it is complete I thought I would put the entire process and the most relevant images and videos together one one place. The project came to us from a customer in China and there are several back […]Read More
This job came to me with very little instruction. The client, Rob Burns, wanted his bike to have a ton of artwork, but still wanted the LimeTime Pearl base coat to be very prevalent; basically he wanted the bike to still be green even after it was covered with art. He also mentioned that he […]Read More
A new ART/MUSIC Talk Show hosted by Mike Learn. Our first guest is Matt from Texas Toast Guitars. Please check this out. It is fun, entertaining and occasionally irreverent.
Learn Academy LIVE!! – 6/28/06Airbrush Technique – PART I Mike started a new lesson today that we will follow until he is done. The subject matter is perspective and reflection, and he has created a sketch and a file that has many elements that will help demonstrate both of these important subjects. Notice How this […]Read More
This Jackson King V is heading home to Bob! The guitar arrived with a broken neck, fortunately Mike is as skilled in luthiery as he is in art! The explosion theme came from Bob’s love of Megadeth music! Here is Mike talking a bit more about the this project:
This is a quick video detailing how to create super-realistic bullet holes in metal – both “innies” and “outies”. Mike explains the process from beginning to end.
Mike has often been given the freedom to create ideas for the Jackson Custom Shop “Short Runs”. This concept, Jackson Department of Corrections is an example. Mike came up with the idea of prison stripes and chains and even designed the chain link inlays to wrap the design from the body up through the fingerboard! […]Read More
I want to address the “technology enhanced vs. all ‘freehand/old school’ airbrushing” controversy that is lingering around the modern art industry. Many of you know my stance on the issue, but maybe not the basis. Here it is. You have 2 choices in life. You can be the hammer, or you can be a nail. […]Read More
Those of you whom have followed Mike for any length of time have probably noticed that he is a big fan of Warbird paint jobs, particularly on guitars. I, better than anyone I suppose, know how much he enjoys this particular type of art, so I decided to ask Mike exactly why he found warbird […]Read More
This particular customer asked for a Godzilla themed guitar that would be in an old 70-80’s Movie Poster style. Fun!! I started by creating a photo composite from a variety of images and vector drawings. When the customer approved my idea, I went on to create a vector mask for the composition. You can see how the layout […]Read More
Custom, hand carved, 3D bad ass, full blown screamer! Mike created this masterpiece as a spec build. Although it sold moments after we presented it to the world, it is still a popular instrument that makes a splash whenever it is seen. The Reaper it is this week’s SPOTLIGHT model. SPECS: 5A maple neck-thru design […]Read More