Anyone who knows Mike, knows that he is a HUGE horror fan and he has never had the opportunity to paint Pinhead, so this job thrilled him. We also thought it would be a great subject for tutorials.
Hellraiser Project: COMPLETE TUTORIAL
BLOCK to ROCK Class
Plan a trip to the beautiful Rocky Mountains and build a guitar while you are here! Mike has a 5-day course lined up that will allow you to design, build and FINISH a complete neck-through guitar.
THE SKETCHBOOK & Random Thoughts – AutoPilot
This painting was commissioned for Michael Lichter’s Speed Demon exhibit at the Journey Museum in Rapid City, SD.
Glow In The Dark FRANKIE
This is a project for NAMM. Mike always likes to push the boundaries a bit with these jobs because he is generally given full artistic reign. I thought you might like to follow the process of this piece, as it is challenging both technically and creatively. As most of you know, Mike generally prefers to work on […]
HOW TO: Portrait Class
For those of you who have been around Mike and I before Social Media – you may remember our LearnAirbush LIVE sessions that we held several times each month via our web cam. I just ran across 4 video segments that were requested excerpts from the Portrait Class. End of class images:
UNCIVIL DEFENSE – JACKSON SOLOIST PROJECT
For this project I really wanted to do something with the Statue of Liberty as a foundation but I was looking for something a little more thought provoking than a simple replication of an image. I started with a reference photo of Miss Liberty, imported it into CorelDRAW and then used the basic proportions and sense […]
How To: Kong- A Lesson in Texture
This Tutorial is a study in Daggers and Dots: Mike goes into great detail as he explains the layering techniques he used to create complex textures like leathery skin and hair on his awesome beast, KONG. We are also including some still photos and color use references below: Mike created a very simple mask to […]
HOW TO: Focke Wulf 190 WWII Warbird
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 […]
THE SKETCHBOOK & Random Thoughts – Rob Burns
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 […]
TUTORIAL: PERSPECTIVE and REFLECTION
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 […]
HOW TO: Bullet Holes
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.
SPOTLIGHT: Jackson D.O.C Guitar Series
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! […]