Steam Chef

Here's the latest painting for the Steampunk Asian Zodiac 2015 Calendar: Steam Chef.

Still painting

I'm still working on the illustrations for the Steampunk Asian Zodiac 2015 Calendar. Here's the latest one: Monkey King. More to come soon!

Under 10 hours left!

My current Kickstarter, Steampunk Asian Zodiac 2015 Calendar, has less than 10 hours to go. Please check it out for my latest artwork. I'd appreciate your support!

10 days left!

10 days left to get the Steampunk Asian Zodiac 2015 Calendar! Ninja Fetch is the latest illustration.

Steampunk Asian Zodiac 2015 Calendar Kickstarter

The Steampunk Asian Zodiac 2015 Calendar Kickstarter launched! Check it out for my latest artwork as the campaign progresses.

Upcoming Kickstarter

A preview illustration for my upcoming Steampunk Asian Zodiac 2015 Calendar Kickstarter; Flying Pig. Launching soon!

Watercolor animals

Some, new quick watercolors.

Upcoming calendar Kickstarter

Here's the cover for my upcoming calendar Kickstarter, featuring animals from the Asian zodiac in a steampunk style.

FanimeCon 2014!

I don’t usually do fan art, but when I do, it comes out like this. I have a limited number of prints available at FanimeCon 2014. Come by Artist Alley table #401 in the Grand Ballroom, if you want to get one! I have my comics and steampunk goodies available too.

On Sunday, I'm doing a panel on Crowdfunding 101 at 12 noon, Panels 4 room located at the Fairmont Hotel.

The Sapling, page 6

Last page of the short.

The Sapling, page 5

Fanime 2014

I have a table at FanimeCon 2014 which runs May 23rd to 26th over Memorial Day weekend. Table number 401.

In addition, I have a panel on crowdfunding. Here's the official title and description.
Crowdfunding 101: Fun & Profit
When: May 25th, Sunday, 12 to 1 pm
Location: Panels 4 at the Fairmont Hotel, FanimeCon
Want to crowdfund your next creative project? Confused about the differences between Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Patreon? Come and learn from Karen Luk who has successfully created and funded two Kickstarter projects. Find out if crowdfunding can help you make your project a reality!

Hope to see you there!

The Sapling, page 4

The Sapling, page 3

Manga classes, ahead!

I just booked my 13th manga drawing workshop for June. Looking forward to a busy month! See the list here: http://karenluk.net/appearances/

The Sapling, page 2

The Sapling, page 1

Trying out a different style for my comics, so here's the first page of a new comic short.

Steampunk Animal 2014 Calendar Kickstarter, four months later

Steampunk Animal 2014 Calendar was my second Kickstarter. The print run and the funding goal was a tenth of my previous campaign for Steampunk ABC at 100 calendars for a funding goal of $900. I completed the calendar in a two months' span, including running the Kickstarter for three weeks, a few events, and shipping 96% of the rewards. Working with a US printer also made it easier to meet the shipping deadline because the printing turnaround was days, not a couple months.

Given the limited time frame to get the calendars shipped out in December, I did not promote the campaign as heavily as the Steampunk ABC one. I was focused on finishing all the illustrations and design work. I used my social media contacts, posted on a couple steampunk forums, and shared the campaign with Steampunk ABC backers. Nearly half of the backers were from previous Steampunk ABC Kickstarter.

The campaign was funded twice over, but I lost a backer once the payments were processed, leaving a final total of $1787 with 67 backers. I ended up doing a print run of 150, instead of the proposed 100, so I could sell the calendar at holiday events. I had three international backers in Australia, United Kingdom, and Croatia respectively. The rest of the backers were in the US. With the increased print run, packaging, and postage, the total was $926. After paying that and Kickstarter fees, I netted $695 before taxes. The Kickstarter campaign pre-sold 84 calendars along with the other rewards. From various holiday sales of the calendar, I gained another $300 gross.

From the Steampunk ABC Kickstarter, I learned that doing sketches and watercolor commissions took too much time to complete. I enjoy doing them for the backers, so I scaled down similar offerings for the calendar. The short time frame to get everything done and shipped out on time was also part of that decision. All the Steampunk Animal Calendar rewards were claimed by the backers. Had I kept the original print run of 100, the funding goal of $900 would have covered all the fees and various reward expenditures. The Steampunk Animal 2014 Calendar was right on the mark for its funding goal.

If you missed out on the original Kickstarter, you can get the Steampunk Animal 2014 Calendar now at a discounted price. I have a limited supply left, so have at them!

Steampunk animal commissions

A couple recent steampunk animal commissions.

Manga Mania Workshops

I'm currently booking Manga Mania workshops for this spring through June. Check out Instruction for more information!