A Lukky Charming Wolf Crier

Freelance artist Michael Luk designs art and toys

Wolf Criers Club
Vol 7

Wolf Criers Club is a collection of illustrators, writers, designers, and wolves that met through a course called Children’s Book Pro from the folks at SVS Learn. We started as a random assortment of students helping each other get through the coursework and decided to keep moving forward together.

This newsletter serves as a way to get the word out about each other and our projects. At the same time, it’s how we will build an audience of fans, friends, and potential colleagues as we navigate the arts and illustration industry together. Our members are based across North America, Europe, India, and Australia.

This week we are meeting the guy behind the Wolf Criers Wolf-In-Glasses logo, and an inspiring designer Michael Luk. He’s in New Jersey, but sometimes on our Zoom calls I imagine him in a pod orbiting the planet or he dials in from the future or something. He is a dreamer and magician showing us his illustrations and toy designs. And he can work out a draw-over to help another artist lickity-split.

He is a charming and focused presence in our group, and you’ve seen the adorable Wolf-In-Glasses, yeah? This guy brings mad skills to the table.

Here’s a bit about Michael

Michael Luk is an industrial designer specializing in toys and home products.  Growing up with 3 siblings so close in age, his parents always had the living room TV on to learn English and to keep the kids from killing each other.  Michael watched every cartoon he could and some programs not suitable for children which may have given him his inventive imagination. 

He enrolled in art school to study traditional animation at a time where studios were starting to move exclusively to digital and 3D.  Learning to 3D model opened opportunities in 3D printing.  Prototyping accessories for GI Joe’s 25th Anniversary was just a start in his long career in the toy industry.  He’s developed products for Disney, Fisher Price, Hasbro, Mattel, and several store-owned brands.  Check out some of his recent work with Ankyo.

Having worked on licensed properties for many years, his desire to develop his own intellectual property over the years grew so big he needed to get it out somehow.  He enrolled in a comic book class at SVA taught by Carl Potts, a big contributor at Marvel Comics in the 1980s and 90s.  He wrote a book on comic book storytelling.  With his guidance, Michael created his first zine, Sharko and Sparky. 

With his experience developing toys, he thought he knew what would make a good children’s book.  He was a naive.  Having a rough start drafting a manuscript, he signed up for Childrens Book Pro to learn what was missing.  That’s where he met and joined the Wolf Criers Club and their drive to work and tell great stories. 

He plans to open his own online shop later this summer.  Come back and visit michaelluk.com. 

5 Questions for Michael

• Where are you from originally and where are you located now?

I was born in Chicago, IL and moved to New York when I was 7.  I grew up in Long Island and spent most of my adult life and professional career in the city.  I’ve lived in sunny Los Angeles, CA and the factory towns of Shenzhen, China.   I now live in my wife’s hometown of Morristown, NJ.  The famous cartoonist, Thomas Nast lived here.

•  How did you get your name?

Michael was a popular name and I think my family just picked the name to help me fit in.  Luk being my last name, I’ve been called Lukky (or Lucky) since the 3^rd grade.  There's usually another Michael in any given group.  My Chinese name is my middle name but I’ll keep that to myself right now.  

•  Who was an important influence, teacher, or mentor?

My father had always encouraged me to pursue a career in art.  He preferred I study architecture but he was the one who took me to the comic book shops and toy stores up until I learned to drive.  His collection of Chinese art books has influenced the children’s book I’m currently working on.  

•  When did you start taking your art seriously?

2006.  I was fabricating things professionally then.  There’s a Wired magazine article with a picture of me sculpting me in 2007.  Around that time, I was working on art restorations for a Vanderbilt Mansion, animating short films (Things I realized in 2002), and building small scale models of Imagine Peace Tower for Yoko Ono’s, playground models for Tom Otterness, and the prototype for Belly Buds.  

In 2019, living near the Brooklyn Public Library, I would read a graphic novel a week. That was when I dived into world building, story crafting, and illustration.  I have tried doing this early on in my career in animation, but an unfortunate hard drive accident was tough to bounce back from.  I learned my lesson and back up everything. 

•  What is grabbing your attention this year?

Right now, my lawn. Haha.  A lot of landscaping to do.  

We’re expecting a baby in October.  I hope to wrap up my first children’s book before she arrives.  We’ll be taking a vacation to the Cotswolds and Paris later this May for a babymoon. 

And I’m excited for the movie release of Deadpool and Wolverine.    

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If you enjoy this post, please share it with a few arts friends and subscribe or follow Wolf Criers Club on Substack for weekly updates. If you enjoyed this article, please leave a fun comment for Michael and the rest of the Wolf Criers Club.

The wolf-wearing-glasses logo is by Wolf Crier Michael Luk.

The editor this week is Kato McNickle.