24 Days 'Til Halloween Sketching - Pet Food

Did you know today is WORLD OCTOPUS DAY? Did you also know that once you have an Octopus infestation in your home they're almost impossible to get rid of?


25 Days 'Til Halloween Sketching - FrankenBOB's BIG BOYenstein

Okay this is an odd one, but in my defense I was hungry while drawing and a Bob's Big Boy restaurant is 2 blocks from my place.


26 Days 'Til Halloween Sketching - Paying the Rent

Grave robbing as a career includes long hours and many late nights working, especially if a client demands particular body parts. It's important to take breaks and stay hydrated.


27 Days 'Til Halloween Sketching - Nosferatu

Count Orlok from the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu, still remains one of the creepiest and scariest horror movie characters I've ever seen.


28 Days 'Til Halloween Sketch - Alien Abduction

I have two irrational fears. The first is being pulled down into the darkest depths of the ocean by a Giant Squid, the second is waking up in the middle of the night seeing grey Aliens at the foot of my bed.


29 Days 'Til Halloween Sketch - Spectral Bride

This year is Disney's Haunted Mansion 50th anniversary. How could I not sketch some kind of Ghost Bride this October?




31 Days 'Til Halloween Sketch - The Living Dead

No better way I think to kick off 31 days of Halloween sketching than with a Zombie.


31 Days to Halloween - Part One: I'm Blogging Again

Hello All, I haven't updated this blog in two years - but the long held Countdown to Halloween tradition has inspired me to get back to.

If anyone is still following or reading,  I've been through some epic life changes in my time away, but who cares about excuses. It's about Halloween right now.

I don't have a home or a TV show set to decorate and create props anymore like I used to, so I'm just going to draw everyday. My goal is a Halloween inspired sketch everyday for 31 days. Ambitious maybe, but good practice to still be creative daily.

I got warmed up last night with this one. I'll post my official Day 1 sketch later in a "Part 2" post.


21 Days 'Til Halloween: Hogwarts

None can deny that intangible, yet familiar connection between Harry Potter and Halloween. The production design of the films alone should inspire Haunters forever.

I'm a lucky person finding a job on the Universal Studios backlot, but even luckier that my workshop AKA "the prop garage" on our set has an amazing view of Hogwarts, part of the Harry Potter world attraction.

Every once in awhile I forget it's right there, outside my shop doors, until I look up and see the sunset like today. And then my creativity is fueled for another week.






24 Days 'Til Halloween: The Spooky Tree

Making a classic spooky tree for the yard, the kind you think of at Halloween that has that iconic silhouette. With a touch of Tim Burton.

It's made from PVC pipe and the bark is brown paper dipped in a mix of black paint and Mod Podge. More details later.




25 Days 'Til Halloween: Farmer Frightful's Market


First yard project is done and finished. This one was great to begin with as it establishes the harvest theme this year. As I wrote in past post we're going with a more family friendly display, but I was happy to add creepy details with some Halloween humor.


The main market shed was a simple build using pre-made 6' x 8' fence panels. No complicated carpentry either, we just cut down to the sizes and angles wanted and put together as a box using shelf brackets. The more wonky the angles the better. From there it's just bringing to life with set dressing.

More DIY details and some free PDF sign image downloads can be found HERE.

30 Days Until Halloween: The Home and Family Yard Design

Another October begins and with it the countdown to Halloween! I'm happy to say Hallmark Channel's Home and Family show has begun it's sixth season. And as in past years all my Halloween love gets channeled into the show. The network wanted a more family friendly fun concept this year. So I've designed the yard to have a classic fall harvest feel. Not too scary, but still celebrates the holiday.


All of what's in the sketch will be DIY'd on the show during the month, so stay tuned for many updates as the yard progresses.