Luetke Who?
Hello! My name is Mark Luetke and I live in Richmond VA with my wife and son. We have a very hairy dog and an old cat a gray cat. We enjoy beautiful summer days on a screened porch and walking up and down the sidewalk with a certain Remstock on a scooter bike.
Professionally, I’ve worked fast food, cafeteria food, and gas station food. I’ve worked on a pig farm, a cow farm, and a dog farm. I’ve laid brick and cut stone. I’ve replaced auto glass, cleaned carpets, cared for the mentally ill, and studied for the ministry.
Currently I am a full time web developer for VCUarts in Richmond, Virginia as well as a part time freelance developer for Lauren O’Neill Design in Washington, DC. I also maintain a Richmond based web comic at 2816 Monument and founded/moderate the subreddit r/comic_crits which is an online community for comic artists to give and receive criticism on their projects.
Web Design
Your website is often the first opportunity you have to make an impression on your customers. I build highly interactive easily managed websites that you can be proud of. Built on an intuitive CMS framework you will be able to update your own site no matter how computer savvy (or un-savvy) you are!
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Sculpture + Extended Media
VCUarts department of Sculpture + Extended Media required a CMS for their once static site. I came through with a fully featured backend and overhauled frontend that retained all the elements of the old site while incorporating new technologies that looked to the future.
Cinema
For VCUarts Department of Cinema I developed a database driven user friendly site within WordPress while creating several plugins and extensions to the WordPress core functionality. The now publicly available WordPress plugin SlideShowPro SC was developed for Cinema to simplify the publication of slideshows and is now used widely on VCUarts department sites.
SlideShowPro SC
SlideShowPro SC is a plugin for WordPress that gives users of SlideShowPro a global settings panel for their slideshows within the WordPress admin as well as a short code button to quickly add galleries to any post or page. This plugin marries multiple technologies including XML, ActionScript, JavaScript, PHP, and MySQL. It is available for free download from the WordPress Plugin Directory.
VCUarts Anderson Gallery
The Anderson Gallery redesign required deep customization of WordPress’ core functionality to display their extensive archives in an exciting and intuitive manner. This site features auto archiving and re-categorization of posts based on a set timeline.
Ritzy Bee Events
Ritzy Bee Events is a highly customized website built in wordpress. It features a masonry style layout and a fully custom admin area for simple and intuitive content management.
Painting + Printmaking
VCUarts Painting + Printmaking was long overdue for an overhaul. Featuring a custom built admin and extended CMS the new design was a welcome change to their nearly decade old static site.
Interior Design
VCUarts Interior Design was the first department site I had the opportunity to work on while at VCU. This site was built in WordPress and required custom JavaScript to mimic flash visuals from their old site.
2816 Monument
2816 Monument is a web comic I started at the beginning of the year that has quickly gained a strong and dedicated following. It is designed in WordPress using the ComicPress theme framework. Characters include the cat-man hybrid Captain Kittenface, paranoid schizophrenic Captain Remarkable, washed up lounge singer Calypso Cordelia, and down and out Paul Stearns.
Stephanie Ascari Photography
Stephanie Ascari Photography was created with designer Lauren O’Neill. This site is a custom WordPress theme designed to allow Stephanie to easily update galleries and pages and includes a blog.
Z Hospitality Group
I developed six sites for Z Hospitality Group in Greenwich Connecticut while working for Micheal Sparks Design. The Z Hospitality Group websites are built on a customized CMS and include online reservations and e-commerce as well as feature a fully custom JavaScript slideshow landing page.
esterknows.com
As an intern with VCUarts it was my task to develop a new WordPress theme that included a page for alumni to upload bios concerning their current whereabouts. This “alumni organism” as it has been called indexes alumni by department and helps prospective and current students see what their own future may hold after graduating with a degree from VCUarts.
hiphiphoorayblog.com
Hip Hip Hooray is a daily blog cataloging all things kid’s parties from invitations to decor and all the details in between.
I was pleased to work closely with designer Lauren O’Neill to develop Hip Hip Hooray into a fully functioning wordpress theme.
Broad Street Veterinary Hospital
I designed and developed this site for Broad Street Vet while working at Micheal Sparks Design. It was developed in WordPress to allow for easy updates and management. It features online forms, galleries, and user submitted content.
United With Love
United With Love is the second blog from the creator of the very popular site ohsobeautifulpaper.com. Developing a custom WordPress theme for this highly dynamic blog proved a very complex but ultimately successful project. Officially launched in November of 2010 it includes a very deep Vendor Guide as a well as custom templates for Inspiration & Ideas, Tips and Advice, and Real Weddings.
Animation
The first thing I ever wanted to be was a claymation artist. While I have yet to break through the glass ceiling in that lucrative market I have found a genuine love for traditional and digital animation.
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Move Into Writing
I have been working with Move Into Writing for several years developing an extensive program to help children with learning disabilities learn to write. Through the development of animations, games, and workbooks I have had an extraordinary opportunity to help bring a dream to life.
Animation
Animation is an interactive introduction to the process of traditional animation. The actual animation was hand drawn with a light table while the application is built with Adobe Flash and Actionscript 3.0.
Colonel Anderson
Colonel Anderson is a short animation that was created as an introduction for my VCUarts Anderson Gallery workstudy students. This animation was also showcased at Hollins University during a presentation by Amy Moorefield who is now the director of The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins.
Dr. Bradley
Dr. Bradley is a short self-indulgent animation based on a joke between my brother-in-law and me.
Illustration
From gravatars to kids’ books, I’ve got you covered. Having worked with numerous clients to develop projects ranging from early education writing aids to robot murals and installed comics you can be sure that I’ll dive right into whatever project you can dream up!
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1708 Monster Drawing Rally
When 1708 Gallery decided to host their first ever Monster Drawing Rally I was quick to get involved. When asked to create an illustration for the promotional materials I could only say “Yes!” A fun, free, and open project, who could ask for anything more?
Alligators In The Air
Alligators In The Air is a 32 page installed comic I created for an exhibition at Lift here in Richmond. The story follows a young boy’s adventure with two alligators as they travel the world in a hot air balloon. Touching on themes of friendship, loss, fear, and joy this kid friendly tale became far more personal than I could have imagined and will always hold a very special place in my heart. View the entire comic here.
GDES 2010
I graduated with the 2010 graphic design class at Virginia Commonwealth University. As a way to memorialize our experience I drew caricatures of each my classmates. This poster was later commissioned by the department for display in the Graphic Design Building as well as on the department’s website. Further adaptations include t-shirts and a series of gravatars.
Baby Dragons Are No Fun
Baby Dragons Are No Fun is a 36 page silent children’s story. I wrote it to help teach my son to brush his teeth, but as it turns out he would rather be a baby dragon! Baby Dragons was featured on Top Shelf Comics web2.0 and is now available in print through lulu.com.