Timing Is Everything

Tomorrow is October 1^st, a really, really bad time to get sick…but as luck would have it I developed a nasty cold that really dragging me down.

My to-do list is a mile long, I’ve got the time, the supplies, the money but this cold has robbed me of most of my energy.

This evening I did find time to pack up NOCTURNUS, my spider for the Davis Graveyard, he’s off to UPS tomorrow.

The spider was painted last weekend but still needed to give it a good coat of sealant and I also decided to reduce the brightness of the white highlights so now it is darker, more in line with the name NOCTURNUS.

My youngest son also snapped a few pictures for me to show the size of the spider.

Pretty In Pink

So a few of you astute readers of this blog have noticed that the clay being used in some recent projects has a pinkish hue and before you ask, the answer is not that I’m trying to get into touch with my feminine side.

The reason that my clay is pinkish in color is that the cellulose fiber insulation I am using contains a lot of red paper fibers so when it’s mixed with the paste it tints the whole batch a lovely pink shade.

"Pretty in Pink" is one of my favorite movies….wait, wrong topic.

Red paper fibers equals pink clay…simple explanation.

One more thing, and this goes out to Chris Davis from Davis Graveyard….you won’t be seeing any pink glitter anytime soon, I’ll leave that to Martha Stewart.

Fear Finder

This is something I’ve taken for granted for a number of years now, every September there is a free publication available at local stores called Fear Finder, a full color newspaper filled with lots of different advertisements for Michigan haunts, coupons, articles and maps.

The 2010 edition is 40 pages of Haunted House goodness and reaches 1.6 million readers.

This got me to wondering if all you fine readers of this blog had anything similar in your location.

Fear Finder is a great resource and has been a part of my Halloween rituals for the last ten years or so.

What Are The Chances?

After dinner tonight I made a visit to our Salvation Army Thrift Store and to my amazement I found a 5lb bag of Activa Celluclay for two bucks.

Two bucks!

A five pound bag of this stuff retails for over 30 dollars.

Celluclay is a great product, it dries super hard and can be smoothed or textured.

I don’t use Celluclay very often because I prefer to make my own clay but when I have used this product it has worked wonderfully.

P.S. The pumpkin sitting next to the bag of Celluclay is part of a new series for Etsy.

Coming soon!

Library: Manga Occult and Horror

How To Draw Manga-Occult & Horror is another “how to” book showing the steps involved in drawing occult and horror characters.

Manga is a term which broadly refers to Japanese comic strips and cartoons and while I’m not a huge Manga or Anime (Japanese animation) fan some of the ideas presented in this book are interesting.

The book is written by Hikaru Hayashi and distributed in North America by Digital Manga Distribution.

The book features black and white illustrations with clear instructions and will serve you well if you are looking for something outside the box when it comes to designing your Halloween props.

Worth a look.

C.R.A.P. Files 003

Opened another box of C.R.A.P. or “Collectibles Retained and Packed” tucked away in the garage and this one contained some real goodies.

First out of the box was Series One and Series Two of Todd McFarlane’s Monster Playsets.

These sets were produced in the mid 90’s and featured highly detailed action figures and set pieces creating a unique scene with a huge twist of originality.

These toys would be great references pieces when building a room for a haunted house or a display because they are way cool.

Set one included the Hunchback, Werewolf, Frankenstein and Dracula.

Series two consisted of The Sea Creature, The Mummy, The Phantom of the Opera and Dr. Frankenstein.

What’s really cool is that you can combine the Frankenstein sets from both series into one totally kick ass Mad Lab Monster set.

The only set I have opened was Dr. Frankenstein Series Two because toys deserve to be played with and not sealed inside a plastic box.

If you haven’t checked out McFarlane toys be sure to do so because they are a cut above the rest and did I mention that they are way cool?

Library: SCARED!

SCARED! How To Draw Fantastic Horror Comic Characters by Steve Miller and Bryan Baugh is a beautiful full color book detailing some amazing artwork and offering some fascinating history of horror.

This is one of my favorite books sitting on the shelf and serves not only as instruction but also inspiration.

First published in 2004 by Watson-Guptil Publications this is one of the best “how-to-draw” books on the market.

Two thumbs up and prepare to be SCARED!