Get happy about the first day of Christmas...
A Werewolf Moon
It was 4 am. I woke up last night for no real reason and go to the kitchen for something to drink. I notice how bright and amazing the moon looked. Clouds moving past as if out of a werewolf movie. Next thing I realize, I'm standing barefoot in my backyard taking pictures of the sky. Growling and howling that I can't find the right exposure setting to really capture it.
The neighbors must think I'm a lunatic. Maybe I'll just tell 'em I've been cursed by an old Gypsy woman.
Drew Struzan At Work
It's always inspiring and just plain cool to see an artist who's work you enjoy creating it...
Goodbye Forry Ackerman
Click on image to enlarge.When I was a little kid, the perfect Saturday started with constant spinning of the TV knob trying to watch all the morning cartoons at once on every channel. Hours tearing up the house and yard with my GI Joe followed. Late afternoon would be spent finishing and displaying my newest Aurora model kit. I'd then wind down reading my comics or Famous Monsters of Filmland magazines waiting for Mom's call to dinner from downstairs.
Thank you Uncle Forry. You were a big part of my childhood.
Thank you Uncle Forry. You were a big part of my childhood.
Waiter! There's a Fly in my Artery!
Back in 2001, I was working on the Battlestar Galactica proposal for FX artist Vincent Guastini. At the time, he was also doing creatures and make-up for the horror film INFESTED. It told the tale of mutant flies who lay eggs in people's veins. One shot needed to see the eggs and a vein interior. Because it would be fairly large and closer to a set than a make up effect, Vinnie asked me to help. These pictures are courtesy of writer/ director Josh Olsen. Thank you Josh!
It needed to come together fairly fast. Being anatomically accurate gave way to artistic license so it would look extra eerie, weird and creepy. I made a forced perspective frame of concentric circles about 6' to 7' long, curving to one side.
Over the frame, I stretched and glued sheets of rubber latex, letting wrinkles and creases happen where it looked organic and natural.
Next came airbrushed shading and blue veins. The "set" was decorated with tightly stretched scraps of latex. Vinnie took over, goring and gooing the whole thing up with his magic.
I remember him joking that his place was looking more like ILM than a creature shop.
Lookie What He Can Do!
Right after the Bumble put the star on, he went ahead and started decorating the whole tree for us. It's still a work in progress. It turns out Bumbles are decorating perfectionists...who knew?
How an ugly ornament becomes a keepsake.
I was experimenting with glitter glue, thinking about doing some Christmas crafting. I knocked out a sloppy and quick ornament. I set it aside to dry. I thought later I'd see how the stuff looks and if worth making something really nice.
I forgot all about it. My niece was visiting the other day and in my workroom playing. Later that night I decided to clean. I reached for the ornament I made to throw out and noticed a little note beneath it ...
So now this fairly ugly and sloppy experiment has meaning and memory. It's going to hang from my tree for years to come.
I forgot all about it. My niece was visiting the other day and in my workroom playing. Later that night I decided to clean. I reached for the ornament I made to throw out and noticed a little note beneath it ...
So now this fairly ugly and sloppy experiment has meaning and memory. It's going to hang from my tree for years to come.
A Train for Joey
Randomly searching You Tube yesterday for old TV shows I worked on yielded a episode of HGTV's Outer Spaces and gave me something to blog about today. Being art director on the show was always hard work, often challenging but sometimes a bit mind numbing. Every yard had similar basic needs week to week...painting, landscaping, fence fixing and so on. So when unique and just plain fun projects could happen, I jumped on them. On this episode I got in trouble for my enthusiasm.
This particular season of shows had already done a few yards with kid's playhouses in the spotlight. The network wanted us to stop including them for awhile (and "over the top" projects in general). Guest designer Rick D'Amato's plan for this backyard was to take the family's love of trains and create a modern Americana feel. Any ideas for the family's son Joey was frowned upon, although Rick, myself and few others really wanted something. Especially when there was one undefined empty space and a train playhouse would be a fun compliment to the planned station platform inspired feel of the back porch.
I just decided to make one for the yard anyway. I promised producers it would not be big or too "over the top". I even remember saying it would be a small detail, just a minor addition. Yea, well...that changed when I started to make it. I couldn't help myself. You can hear host Susie Coelho's surprise first seeing this "small detail" in this clip (at the 3:00 minute mark)...
The segment showcasing it in depth was not planned. Joey's train was impossible not to see from other parts of the yard and had to be addressed in more detail. I knew I was in trouble and a phone call from a perturbed supervising producer at the home office was in my future. In the end, the family liked it and made Joey really happy...
Evolution of a Cartoon
October 1980
My Scarsdale, NY Halloween window painting contest entry.
My Scarsdale, NY Halloween window painting contest entry.
October 2008
My niece Devin.
My niece Devin.
November 2008
My last cartoon for the 31 days of Halloween on Para Abnormal.
My last cartoon for the 31 days of Halloween on Para Abnormal.
For a Laugh, Help a Unique Museum...
Click on image to enlarge.If in Maine next week go see the show. If not, donations are always accepted. Visit Loren's site Cryptomundo for all the details and view all the other fun posters here.
A Prop a Month...
...that's the plan.
One of the great joys to Halloween is it gives me reason to make stuff I've always wanted to make. Unfortunately I'm often distracted from working on things until the last few weeks before October. By then of course, my ideas are so many that certain ones have to be nixed, like my crashed UFO this year among others.
There's no good reason to wait till the season gets closer when it's too much fun to create for. Especially when I can take time to up the quality of my props and make them what my vision is. So look for monthly updates on these projects, a early countdown to 2009.
This Halloween I discovered many yard haunters go far beyond mere holiday decorating. They create temporary public art installations. The level of detail and quality is made all the more special in that it's only displayed for just a few weeks, in some cases, just for a few hours on Halloween day. This inspires me to no end. It really makes Halloween a unique and special holiday as one of the most artistically driven.
I'm putting together a long list of these inspiring homes and will post soon.
One of the great joys to Halloween is it gives me reason to make stuff I've always wanted to make. Unfortunately I'm often distracted from working on things until the last few weeks before October. By then of course, my ideas are so many that certain ones have to be nixed, like my crashed UFO this year among others.
There's no good reason to wait till the season gets closer when it's too much fun to create for. Especially when I can take time to up the quality of my props and make them what my vision is. So look for monthly updates on these projects, a early countdown to 2009.
This Halloween I discovered many yard haunters go far beyond mere holiday decorating. They create temporary public art installations. The level of detail and quality is made all the more special in that it's only displayed for just a few weeks, in some cases, just for a few hours on Halloween day. This inspires me to no end. It really makes Halloween a unique and special holiday as one of the most artistically driven.
I'm putting together a long list of these inspiring homes and will post soon.
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