MrJacks New Wallpaper: Space Platform 04.03.2008

Known for his incredible work on the StarCraft Board Game painting all 180 units, artist MrJack, also known as Luke Mancini, has been blessing our community with his artworks. He's been hard at work on a scenic space platform wallpaper to add to his Starcraft collection which you can download here. I got the chance to ask him a few questions to find a bit more about it.

Museek:
So first of all, how did you get the idea for it? What motivated you to make this fine piece of work?

MrJack:
Well it was actually commissioned by Webnet; I've been trying to get motivated to do some more in depth scene-based work but it's always difficult to finish a big project like that without at least some outside impetus - so when he asked me whether I'd do a somewhat more epic scene than usual I thought it'd be a perfect time to start.

Museek:
Indeed, this is the first scenery we see from you. How was that challenging for you as an artist?

MrJack:
Well it's a massive leap up from single entirely background-less units (obviously) so the biggest challenge I think is just making it hold together as a cohesive piece - it was almost tempting to just paint it as a bunch of single units put together but if you want to actually make an impact you need to capture some atmosphere, as well as keep the lighting and toning across the whole piece consistent.

Museek:
You certainly did that with brio seeing as the composition of the whole piece is a success. Did you know what units you wanted to include from the start or did they just came along during the painting process? In other words, what part of the piece was planned from the beginning and what was improvised as the painting took form?

MrJack:
It was fairly straightforward, I think, from just quickly throwing down a thumbnail and just starting to work straight over it; I decided on the situation, with the Marines left as the last defenders on the platform, and with the ghost calling down the last resort nuke strike against the zerg infestation. So I had the basic idea in my head right from the start, it was just a process of getting it all to fit that idea and the composition I'd laid out, and making the units fit in as well - it's a lot easier to make a hydra that's only a jumble of lines looks somewhat believable than getting a fully rendered monster to be climbing over the edge of a fully lit space platform. But again, that's the fun and challenge of doing a piece like this, of course.

Museek:
How was this challenge valuable to you, what did you learn from it? And are you planning on making more scenery paintings like this one?

MrJack:
I certainly am; and practicing like this is always just a great way of improving a great range of skills - since a scene like this involves so much; lighting, textures, general composition and obviously backgrounds and everything. Hehe. I think I sort of went around it backwards, and ended up finishing most of the detailed work in the front of the scene before finishing up the background, lighting and scenery. Having not done this much you can fall into the trap of thinking 'ah, it's just the background, no-one's really going to notice' but if you put the effort into it and make it sit coherently in with the foreground action then it just makes the finished piece that much more impressive.

Museek:
Yes it certainly does! So you make these images from scratch. What tools/programs do you use?

MrJack:
My original sketches are either done freehand with pencil and paper or in the particularly aptly named Sketchbook Pro, with a wacom tablet - which is probably the most important tool that I use. After that the rest is worked up in Photoshop layer after layer. I work in greyscale mostly since lighting and tone can be a lot easier that way, and usually only bring colour into it quite near the end to unify the whole piece and highlight certain areas to make it pop.

Museek:
Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes to finish such a piece of art?

MrJack:
I'd have to say this was one of the most time-intensive pieces I've ever done, and I'd say pushing close to 40 hours total in the end. Actually that's one of the main reasons that I've never really completed any works like this; without a commission to motivate me I'd get somewhere like a quarter of the way through it and just let it drop; now that I've actually worked through at least one and seen the results no doubt I'll be more likely to keep pushing it.

Museek:
Well that's a great thing to hear! :D We certainly are looking forward to see more of your art. On the Fan art section of Battle.net, there are many works related to the WarCraft universe but very few about StarCraft. How do you feel about that? Do you hope to motivate more people to make SC art with your paintings?

MrJack:
I have actually noticed that, and I think a certain redressing of the balance is definitely required, so if that happens to be an effect of this then I'll be more than pleased.

Museek:
Very well then! There have been people saying you have what it takes to work for Blizzard. Would that be one of your goals?

MrJack:
It certainly would! Despite doing this off my own steam and loving it at the moment there is hardly much of a living to be made from being a fan artist and that's definitely the direction I'm hopefully heading in.

Museek:
That's great, what do you think you'd bring to the company as an artist? Why do you think they should hire you?

MrJack:
Blizzard has a very impressive art department as it is but fresh and enthusiastic talent and extra creative flair is always important in keeping things flowing!

Museek:
So are you planning on attending Blizzard WorldWide convention in Paris this summer?

MrJack:
I am indeed, something which I'm very excited about. It happened to be very lucky that I'll be in Italy at the time; it's somewhat more feasible to get from Florence to Paris for a weekend than from here in Melbourne!

MrJack:
Again, Yes indeed! I think it'll be a great opportunity to do so (and one that I'm sure won't come around again any time soon) so I'm certainly going to make the most of it.

Museek:
Anything else you want to add about your brand new artwork or anything in general?

MrJack:
Overall I think that's it but I have to say look forwards to seeing plenty more where that came from!

Museek:
Oh we certainly are! That concludes the interview, thank you for taking the time to answer all my questions and for being a great member of our community (and our staff!). SC-Source is proud to be the home of MrJack's StarCraft artworks

MrJack:
No problems; it's always a pleasure.

Links:

• Space Platform Wallpaper
• MrJack's artwork section
• MrJack's DeviantArt
• Interview on MrJack's SC:Board Game painting