Halloween

Less than a week until Halloween and I'm scurrying around to get last minute items in place (as I'm sure all of you are too). 

The weekend started with a late night screening of Fulci's ZOMBIE (or Zombi 2, if you like). Seeing a classic up on the big screen was great, and now it's being released on Blue Ray so everyone can have some 70's zombie goodness. Found this trailer with Guillermo del Toro talking about the film which is fun in itself.

Going to sleep at 3 am before a show is maybe not the best idea. On Sunday morning I actually forgot to bring copies of my book with me (I remembered the sign though. Does that count?). Still, it was a good day and many of my creations were adopted (especially the undead nutcrackers). I have some items leftover and will put that up on etsy closer to the end of November. 

Today I finish the last large prop of the Halloween theme and the final little additions to the house. Hopefully by Friday I'll be able to share some photos of that with you.

In the meantime, head on over to The Happy Undertaker where Drazen has slowly been releasing a 10 part series of story illustrations called House of Bats. So far, 3 pages have been revealed and I am patiently waiting for the rest.

Teaser for Project 3 (of 4) in my buycostumes.com adventure stars this 5 foot posable skeleton. Doesn't she look nice and rested?

I'm about halfway through her transformation process, and will spend the next hour or so typing up the start of the how-to. Stay tuned!

Update: It only took me 3 hours or so, but here's part one of a two part how-to, and the first step of this skeleton's journey into a new character.

Vintage picture of a kid in a Creature From The Black Lagoon costume. 

Awesome.

Many more photographs to be seen on Swapatorium's Halloween flickr set.

(via Frankenstein's Fun House)

SPEAKING of vintage Halloween pictures, I added a few from my childhood at the very bottom of the About page. Yes, that's me with the balloons in her hair. And the woman in the other picture with balloons on her head is my mother.

AND many of you have heard the story about me spray painting the tombstone on the wall for my Grade 4 Halloween party. Well now you can see a picture of that too (the link is in my bio on the About page).

Mirror, Mirror on the wall. Who's the ghoulish of them all?

Wait. Don't answer that. Let me pretend it is I.

Here is the first makeover mystery item from buycostumes.com.

In this post I'll show you how to add simple detailing anyone can do. I'll then continue with uncomplicated dressing ideas, and eventually (as it isn't dark in my part of the world right now) I'll share with you how this style can be dramatically altered using lighting.

I have a store-bought mirror that reflects images upside down.

The frame and "glass" are made of plastic (issue number 1 I'll be focusing on).

The size is 14" H x 21" W which is pretty decent. Placed in a hallway or a nook of the room, it would work well as a focal point. But if you want to display it on a large wall, it suddenly looks smaller than it is (issue number 2 I'll be focusing on).

Plus, the mirror itself has a curved back (in order to create the upside down effect). The dressing approach I use will camouflage that as well.

Let's begin with adding depth and texture with acrylics.