Raiders' 30th: Kid Craft Marion Ravenwood

Per my sister's request, cardboard tube Marion has arrived to complete the Raiders' kid craft hero trio.

Marion was made using the fundamental's shown in the Indy how-to, expect for her hair. It's a 6 1/2" black construction paper circle glued center on top and fringed all the way around. Then the strips are folded down and curled.

My Raider's celebration will be extended into July a bit. I'm a few days behind, but I want to make good on my intended 30 posts for 30 years. I've still got a couple of fun things yet to share ending the blog-a-thon on an adventurous note.

Raiders' 30th: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of MTV

The summer of 1981 introduced the world to Indiana Jones and MTV. And the two met each other a couple of times in those early years.





Okay this one's a reach, but it's got Pat Benatar battling Nazis. How many 80's videos had that theme?

Creative Inspiration: Drawing Tables to Daydream About

Improving as an artist if I owned one of these is a 50/50 chance. On the one hand, I might sit behind and never stop working on. On the other, I might never sit at and just admire from across the room not working. This is especially true if I had the 3rd table pictured.

Raiders' 30th: Spielberg's Doodles Part Two

More storyboard sketches drawn by Steven Spielberg himself. This time from Temple of Doom. These are found in the 1994 book, Star Wars to Indiana Jones: The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives. Click on images to enlarge.

The mine car chase.

Entering the cave beneath Pankot Palace.

Raiders' 30th: The Making of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye

Goofiness from 1995. A Disney Channel special about the making of the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland.

It features Karen Allen and John Rhys Davies as hosts. The fun part is, although they play themselves, echoes of Marion and Sallah (including wardrobe) abound in this tongue in cheek adventure exploring the Temple showcasing the ride.

And speaking of making the Temple of the Forbidden Eye...

Artist and designer Robert Nava has created an incredibly accurate and detailed paper model of the attraction's exterior that you can build yourself! Download all the parts and instructions for free at disneyexperience.com. Trust me (as Indy would say), it's amazing. As is all of Robert's work.

Zombie a Month: Duncan Foorapples

A new Halloween resident this year will be Duncan Foorapples. Duncan's our graveyard I.T. guy, unfortunately for him though, all the ghosts and ghouls haunting the place were interred long before computers and cyber space. It leaves him little to do. Duncan passes the time organizing pencils in his pocket protector and trying to get everyone into playing "Dungeons and Dragons".

I want keep the holiday fun for small Trick or Treaters visiting. Although many of my Halloween zombies are lighthearted, I've found they can still be too scary for some little ones. I hoping to make Duncan a blatantly funny looking character just for them.

As usual, he's going to be a "blucky" based creation. I want to custom make his nerdy spectacles out of two giant magnifying glasses, it would be fun if his enlarged eyes were a real effect. Not sure if I'll get the time to make his calculator gravestone, but definitely an idea to be filed away for another year.

Raiders' 30th: Spielberg's Doodles

Storyboard sketches for Raiders' drawn by Steven Spielberg himself. Click on images to enlarge.

The Idol from the opening scene.

Indy and Sallah open the stone crypt holding the Ark.

Indy tries to save Marion locked in the flying wing cockpit.

The evil one-eyed "monkey man" waving to his pet to remain in the truck.

Marion stumbling into the Well of Souls' mummy chamber.

Snakes recoiling from torches.

Rats on the Bantu Wind affected by the Ark's power.

These were scanned and cleaned up a bit from the 1981 souvenir Raiders' Movie Special Magazine sold at theater concession stands back then.

Raiders' 30th: Temple of Dagobah

"On the bog planet set in Empire Strikes Back we used a creeping vine that is called Old Man's Beard. When we were done with the bog planet we took all that creeper down and left it up on the backlot of the studio, thinking we might use it again. Well, when we built the Raiders' temple set in the studio, we used a lot of that Old Man's Beard again." 

-Associate Producer Robert Watts from the Raider's Movie Special Magazine 1981

Raiders' 30th: Sallah Craft for Kids

Cardboard tube Indiana Jones needed his loyal and trusted friend Sallah. The only thing very different in Sallah's crafting is his turban. It's just a crumpled piece of white construction paper stuffed in the top and wrapped with several thin strips. Now they're ready to dig up that Ark. Once I make one that is.

Pumpkin Watch 2011: One Month Later

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Raiders of the Lost Ark 30th celebration with this important pumpkin patch update.

Since my last pumpkin watch post almost a month ago, things are looking great. The patch is really healthy. The all important female bud flowers are starting to arrive in abundance. I've counted at least eleven so far and the vines haven't even grown to their full length yet. Finger's crossed that my unexpected green thumb this year holds out.

Raiders' 30th: Three Little Indianas (and a Lunchbox)

 

A picture from the toy shelf. Left to right: Disneyland/world exclusive Indy, Lego Indy and a Hasbro Indy. Once upon a time I had the old Kenner Indy and the relatively little known LJN Temple of Doom Indy, but both were acquired back in '80s and have been lost over the years.

Here's a picture from Christmas '84 featuring the LJN figure I got as a stocking stuffer sitting on the coffee table. Also note your dorky blog host wearing his freshly unwrapped, sorta Indy-ish, panama hat. We had just moved to CA that August or September and if I remember right Mom wrote something on the tag like "For new adventures in Los Angeles".

Raiders' 30th: An Unplanned Tradition

My Dad and I have been mutual Indiana Jones fans since the first film was released. His favorite movie as a kid was the 1950's jungle adventure classic: King Solomon's Mines, so my love of Raiders' could of been predestined by genetic code.

We never saw Raiders' together in the theater. Dad traveled a lot back then for work and was in Los Angeles at the time. He still tells the story how he saw it by himself in a movie theater near Beverly Hills.

As it turned out though, being away from home started a tradition. Dad may not realize it, but over the years he's happened to give me a surprise gift for each one of the movies.

It started in 1981, shortly after Raiders' was out. A package arrived from Dad in Los Angeles. Opening it I discovered a folded up poster. Stamped on the edge was: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Excited I started to unfold it... and unfold it... and unfold it. It was huge! I didn't know it at the time but it's what's known as a "three sheet", close to 3' x 7' in size.

That poster hung on the wall above my drawing table through the rest of high school, all of college and some months after. Sadly, after years of enjoyment and countless moves, hanging and rehanging, it got so torn and beat up that I threw it out.

Now we skip ahead to my freshman year of college in 1984. Dad again in those days was still going back and forth between our home in New York and work in Los Angeles (It's the reason my family eventually moved to California).

I went to check my mailbox and found a note to pick up a package from the window. Sure enough, it was a large cardboard tube sent by my Dad.

I decided not to wait and opened it standing in the mailroom. It had a poster inside. I unrolled it to find the teaser for Temple of Doom opening soon.

I went straight back to my dorm room and hung it up. It lived on my closet door for weeks. But, I gave it away to a girl I liked.

Oh the things you do for young love. I actually took her to see the movie on a date that summer. It didn't work out. I should of kept the poster.

Cut to 1990, I was now living in Los Angeles and working on my first real art job, illustrating several children's activity books.

Days and nights were blurring together as I was trying to meet my deadlines. One evening, there was a knock on my door. Dad entered and said,

"Here's some music to work by."

and handed me a CD. It was The Last Crusade soundtrack.


The years came and went. There were a few more Indy adventures to share in. The Young Indiana Jones TV series, the ride at Disneyland and of course, all the family heading out to see the new movie.

 I got a call from Dad one afternoon,

"I'm stopping by for a minute, meet me out front."

He soon arrived with a honk of his horn. He waived me over to the car, rolled down the passenger window and handed me a DVD. It was Crystal Skull, released just that day.

If supportive fan-boy parentage has a name, it must be my Dad's. 

Happy Father's Day Pop!

A drawing of my Dad in 1982 from my first sketchbook (around those early Raiders' years).

Indiana Jones Craft Project for Kids

Here's an easy craft project I created for kids to do or for kids at heart... a cardboard tube Indiana Jones action figure. Any young art-venturer and craft-ologist can make this using ordinary school supplies. A little bit of adult help here or there might be needed depending on skill level. The "how-to" in making our hero can be used and expanded on to create almost any fun character a kid could imagine.

  Materials:

• Toilet Paper tube (or just cut down a paper towel tube)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• White glue
• Construction paper: white, brown, black, yellow, pink, red and green (only one sheet of each is needed).
• Ruler
• Jar lid around 2 1/2" - 3" wide (or something similar to trace a circle with).
• Brown magic marker

Step 1: Indy's Head and Face

• Cut out a strip of pink construction paper about 6 1/4" long by 2" wide. Wrap around the top of tube. Overlap and glue the strip ends where they meet. That seam will now be the back of your figure.
• For his hair, cut a strip of black construction paper about 4 1/4" long by 1" wide. Use the pencil to draw a pattern on it similar to the picture below and cut out. This will create the illusion of sideburns and ears. An optional detail is to cut fringe along the bottom edge. Center this on the back along the top of his head and wrap around to the front. Glue down. 

• Indy's eyes are dots made by hole punched black paper. Make a few extra as they'll be used later. Glue the eyes on the face where you like.
• Now make Indy's mouth by cutting out a smile from red construction paper and glue on.
• You can also skip making construction paper hair, eyes and mouth and just draw on with markers.

Step 2: Indy's Shirt

• Cut out a strip of white construction paper about 6 1/4" long by 1 1/2" wide. 
• To make the collar, cut a V shaped notch out of the middle and fold the edges outwards.

• Center the collar under the face, wrap around tube and glue.
• Use the extra black holes punched earlier and glue on shirt as buttons. 

Step 3: Indy's Pants

• Cut a strip of yellow construction paper about 6 1/4" long by 1 1/4" wide. Wrap around bottom of tube and glue. 
• Make a belt with a thin strip of black paper and hole punched brown paper dot for a buckle. 
• Draw a lineto define legs with a marker (or use another strip of paper).

 Step 4: Indy's Jacket

• Cut a strip of brown construction paper about 4 1/2" long by 2" wide. Center on back of tube wear the shirt is and wrap around to front. Glue down on either side about a 1/2" before the end of the paper strip, this will let the jacket look open and worn over his shirt. 
• To create the collar, fold the two top corners outwards. 
• Use the marker and draw on side pockets.

• Make the 2 sleeves by folding one piece of brown paper in half and cutting out an arm with rounded shoulders. Repeat this with some pink paper for hands cut out in small oval shapes.

• Glue hands to sleeves, then sleeves to jacket. Fold or curl the arms into a pose you like.

Step 5: Indy's Gear

• To make the bullwhip, cut a 8" long strip of brown construction paper tapering to a thin end. Curl it by wrapping very tightly around a pencil and let unfurl. Glue to hand.
• The bag is a simple rectangle cut from green construction paper. Draw the flap on with marker. Cut out a strap from brown paper and glue ends to bag's corners. Make two yellow dots with the hole punch and glue on bag as a clasp and on the strap as a buckle.

  Step 6: Indy's Fedora

• To make the brim, draw a 2 1/2" to 3" wide circle on brown construction paper in pencil using a jar lid as a template or something similar. Cut out. Center on top of Indy's head and glue on.
• Next create the crown. Cut a 5 1/2" long by 1' wide strip of brown paper. To make the hat look indented on top, cut out a wide curved V shaped notch and round off the strip's ends similar to picture below. Curl the strip into a circle and glue ends together. Center on the brim and glue on.

• Make the hat band with a strip of black and glue on.
• Once the hat has dried, draw some extra indented lines on the crown with marker. 
• For the perfect finishing touch, curl the brim's back, front and sides into that distinctive Indiana Jones look.

UPDATE: Of course cardboard tube Indy needs his true love Marion and loyal friend Sallah to complete the Raiders' hero trio. Now they're ready to dig up that Ark!

Both were was crafted using the fundamentals in the how-to above with simple variations on the steps and materials. There are unique additions to each worth noting though.

Marion's hair: It's a 6 1/2" black construction paper circle glued center on top and fringed all the way around. Then the strips are folded down and curled.

Sallah's turban: It's a crumpled piece of white construction paper stuffed and glued in the top, then wrapped with several thin cut strips.