JAWS - Humpback whales don't have teeth, like Bruce, the famous shark in the classic film directed by Stephen Spielberg (actually, his debut). But whales really can sink ships when they put their mind to it. Kulo Luna is driven by rage when she sinks the pirate whaling ship that killed her friend.

Kulo Luna is the tale of a large humpback whale that is attacked by pirate whalers in the Philippine Sea and badly injured by a harpoon as she rams and sinks their whaling boat, giving rise to a chase through the shark infested stormy waters of the Pacific Ocean, where an adventurer is trying to save the life of the whale, before the whalers can strike again.

The artwork for such a novel involves seascapes and wildlife, allied to human characters and marine craft. Such a project is demanding, requiring artwork to a very high standard and an imagineer with an interesting point of view. We searched all over the country for such an artist and were lucky to find just such a kindred spirit right on our doorstep in Old London Town.

Siku enhances his traditional art skills as do most commercial artists, using computer graphics. That is how we get all those wonderful animated films, where the CGI is so good it is sometimes hard to tell what is real and what is not. We are not aiming for that with Kulo Luna of course. That is movieland. We are aiming to produce a high quality publication to appeal to young and old. With a view to entertain and inform, staying in genre.

YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER - Silent at the moment, we are narrating this Youtube, to explain the stages and thus make the development log kindly compiled by Siku, a bit more interesting for viewers.

WHERE DID WE START ?

There is no point re-inventing the wheel. On the other hand we need an original take, to bring the genre into the 21st century, incorporating technological advances and ecological calamity.

We needed a cover that would do the story justice. To get some idea as to how other artists were illustrating the 'Moby-Dick' theme, we purchased every graphic novel inspired by Herman Melville's classic tale.

Several ideas were kicked about as roughs, before settling on a Jaws inspired theme, that the Foundation took a shine to.

We will be expanding on this article in the coming weeks .... Please bear with us : )

A BIT ABOUT SIKU

Siku has been featured on BBC's Breakfast News, painting a mural live on C4's Big Breakfast Show. His manga work was featured on More 4's evening news. The Manga Bible was featured in the New York Times. His work on 'samurising' Jesus led to 35 interviews on radio, internet, press and TV, including National Geographic. His clients include Sega, Nike and Marvel and 2000AD.

Public speaking: He gives talks on contemporary culture and interpretation at Eton College and speeches to academics at The Queen's Foundation at Queen's College at Birmingham and Greenbelt.

Quotes: 'Siku is a rare find - an incredibly talented individual who works in a very demanding industry and still manages to have a fantastic sense of humour. He has a tireless approach to his work and always strives to delivery what the client wants. His breadth and ability as an artist seems never-ending. He creates breath taking, imaginative imagery, but his true strength is in telling a great story. Working with Siku is always both fun and productive in equal measures.'

Tony Mitchell - Director of BBC Atlantis

MANGA - Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century. The term manga is used in Japan to refer to both comics and cartooning.

In Japan, people of all ages read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action, adventure, business and commerce, comedy, detective, drama, historical, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction.

Manga has gained a significant worldwide audience, especially in the U.S.A., Canada, and France where it represented roughly 38% of the comics market in 2005 (source: Jean-Marie Bouissou).

LINKS

http://www.theartofsiku.com/

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