Mr. Chicken's Haunt

Reptile Sculpture

2012-01-10T18:48:00.000-08:00

More to come...

Still There

2011-12-20T15:27:00.000-08:00

This lantern has managed to stay up since the 2009 yard haunt. It still glows at night, too, thanks to the solar-powered LED inside. I like to think it's just hanging there, waiting for a chance to haunt again.

From the Shadow Farm

2011-12-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

I can now count myself as the proud owner of an original Dave the Dead sculpture. It's a really nice little piece that I won in a giveaway on his excellent blog. Hmm...I see a pumpkin collection forming in the future...

Thanks, Dave!

New Blog Picture Thingy

2011-11-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

It was time for a change, and I wanted to "own" this blog more, so I decided to make a new picture up at the top there.

For the sake of reminiscing, here's the old one:

I tried to keep the spirit of Don Knotts there without having his actual picture. Hopefully it comes through. I also thought it ought to better reflect what this blog is about these days. The new one will be sort of a work in progress as I figure out exactly what I want it to look like.

Exciting News!

2011-11-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

I've just been admitted to the Dick Smith Advanced Professional Make-up Course. Some serious creature and character making to come. Wish me luck!

Zombie Makeup Application

2011-10-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to apply my "Walking Dead" inspired zombie makeup. Custom foam latex appliance, PAX paint, alcohol-activated makeup, creme makeup, custom out-of-mouth dentures.

Oh No!

2011-10-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

My brains are all exposed!

Pumpkin with sculpted brains for the Honors Department at my university. It's dried out a little since I sculpted it on Friday.

In other news, happy Halloween! Good luck to all you haunters tonight. I'll be posting one more time before the day's over, so don't forget to stop by again soon.

Stink Eye

2011-10-28T01:25:00.000-07:00

The first pumpkin of the year just before being submitted for the competition.

The Death of a Monster Book

2011-10-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

Without doubt, the most complicated build on "The Book Eater" was also the one that gets the least screen time. The book is shot, then doused with cleaning solution (a bottle/label I whipped up a half hour before call time on the last day of the shoot, and which was eventually shattered by the actor who had to throw it at the book for one too many takes). It bleeds out its last inky-oozy breath, and our heros are safe.

I fabricated a third book with bullet holes in the cover and pages made of most of a ream of paper hot glued to a cardboard spine.

The ink slime was made of Karo syrup tinted black and pumped through vinyl tubing with a turkey baster (well, three turkey basters-- one for each sliming point). The tubing ran through the book from the spine until about 3/4" from the front pages. As you can sort of see from the first picture, it took three of us to execute the effect, as the pressure of the syrup was nearly too much for the turkey basters.

Here's some test footage. The bottle on top here was to coax the slime into exiting out the front instead of just lifting the pages up.

And this is what it looks like on the inside. Drilling eight inches through a ream of paper isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, but once I (and all the carpenters working in the scene shop of the theatre department) figured out how to do it (hint: it took 3 different drill bits), it went pretty smoothly.

That's all for "The Book Eater" until the director shows me some finished clips. Thanks for following along.

Spoiler: The Dog Dies

2011-10-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

The monster book in "The Book Eater" eats the dog off camera, so I needed a bloody collar and dog bed. I used Mehron "3D gel" (useful stuff to have around, though only worth buying if it's from the 90% off post-Halloween sale, as it's dead simple to make) on the collar so it would look wet, but be completely solid so as to not get on the floor of the bookstore in which we were shooting.

I imagine most people reading this blog know that you can't just splatter fake blood all over and be done with it. The blood has to make sense. So I asked the director how the dog dies.

The dog is sitting on his dog bed, minding his own business, when the monster book comes out of nowhere and wraps its tentacles around him.
He starts clawing at the bed, trying to wriggle free, and he tears up some of the cushion.
The book tentacles constrict the dog like a python and squeeze him so tightly that he POPS like a water balloon!
Whatever's left gets dragged off the bed and swallowed by the book.

Actually, I think the director just said the bed is torn up and bloody after the book's tentacles constrict the dog... I might've embellished a little.

It's all there. See it?

My art director actually did most of the dog bed, but for some reason the only pictures are of me... probably because I look the most ridiculous doing it.

More "Book Eater" to come...

The Book Puppet... with Teeth

2011-10-20T00:40:00.000-07:00

Part of the "Book Eater" script called for the Gorgonomicon book to open, "revealing a mouth instead of pages, with rows of teeth, several tentacles, and an esophagus that continues on for miles." It also crawls across the floor of the bookstore using the tentacles that come out of the throat and lunges at the two protagonists.

On a bigger budget, I would have loved to do all of this with puppets and visual trickery, but it was decided that the throat and tentacles would be CGI. So, it was my job to make a puppet book identical to the hero prop that would act out the scenes and provide a canvas of sorts for the digital effects.

The result was controlled by two rods that could tilt the book up and down, turn it, slide it, and open its mouth.

Points to Mantan for picking up on the greenscreen a few posts back. These shots are of the book still in progress, but in the final film, the special effects guy is going to use the green to take away the control rods and add an endless vortex throat thingy and tentacles in the puppet book.

The pages for this version of the book perplexed me, as the puppet had to be significantly lighter than, well, a dictionary and have room for the teeth to hide while it's closed.

With some advice from Jedi Master Dave Lowe, I used air dry clay over a foam board box and essentially stamped in a closed book pages texture.

The teeth are hot glue castings from a plaster mold, so I only had to actually sculpt about 6 teeth. You can sort of see the channel I cut in the inside cover for the lower teeth to hide in while it's closed. The upper teeth slid behind the lowers.

The torn pages you see here are my last minute addition to help transition from puppet to computer generated throat. Without those, it just looked like the edges of a box all around, and that sort of gives away the illusion.

It's not a perfect prop, but because it's moving around in all its scenes, I think it's actually a fairly convincing effect.

Of course, I couldn't let anyone else operate the puppet on set. :)

More "Book Eater" to come...

Sea Monsters Revealed

2011-10-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

Before I share any more of the making of "The Book Eater," I thought I'd explain the fake woodcuts. Mostly because Dave got way more intense in guessing their origins than I had intended.

The first is based on this still from 1955's It Came from Beneath the Sea.

I just turned the Golden Gate Bridge into a column and tossed the Parthenon in the background for...balance...or something.

The second is a modified version of this real 16th century woodcut of a wolf (werewolf?) attacking a man.

The image was extended and the wolf replaced with a squid.

More "Book Eater" to come...

Ink Slime and a T-shirt

2011-10-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

In the script for "The Book Eater," everywhere the monster book goes, it leaves trails of inky slime. We were shooting in real locations, so we couldn't just spill anything that might stain their walls or furniture. I had a few different solutions that I'll share in this post.

This was a rehearsal of a scene exploring the aftermath of the book tearing through a storage room that we see previously stacked floor to ceiling with boxes of books. I was rather pleased with the way it all turned out, though it looked better in the real scene than in my pictures.

The ink on the boxes was clear Elmer's glue tinted black. I laid out a torn up box and dripped ink over the parts I thought the book monster might have been in contact with.

I had my assistant (whom I had the producer upgrade to Art Director because he was so helpful throughout the shoot) grab discarded pages from the university library's printer room to tear up and blot with black paint to simulate monster-ravaged books.

The ink blobs were a bit of trial and error, but I ended up making them out of hot glue painted black with a gloss coat for wetness. Once peeled off of the bathroom counter, they can be positioned and repositioned as needed from set to set.

One of the bookshelves we dressed with the torn paper and ink blobs.

There was one other method of ink slime, which I'll get to in a future post. It's pretty cool.

Last for today is one of the actors in the shirt I made, based on the director's concept. He's supposed to be a fantasy/sci-fi geek kid. Craft paint via custom stencil on a $3 t-shirt. I went with craft paint because it would be a more matte finish than fabric paint...just don't wash it.

More "Book Eater" to come...

Monster Book

2011-10-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last two months or so working as the production designer on a student film called "The Book Eater". Sets, props, costumes, and...yeah, that was about it. I got involved because the director is a friend of mine, and also there's a monster book that terrorizes a bookstore owner (sounds like fun to me!). I'm going to spend the next several posts talking about the different pieces that went into making the film happen.

First, I'm just going to look at the hero prop of the "Gorgonomicon" book. I made three books for various parts of the film, and this is the one that just sits and looks pretty for the actors to interact with.

The construction is based on Dave Lowe's Creepy Old Book Making how-to.

The book is built around an old dictionary the director found.

...It's also built backwards. It was decided that this would add a little extra mystery to the prop.

Foam core, cereal box, duct tape, and hot glue form the structure of the cover.

A little paper towel corpsing with cheap craft paints finished it off nicely. I decided to dry brush a darker shade and gave it a light clear coat on top to make it appear a little more like some sort of weird leather.

A few of the camera-ready pages of the hero prop featuring Latin poetry in some font out of Lord of the Rings, and fake woodcuts of rampaging sea creatures. Incidentally, both images are references to existing monsters (if anyone recognizes both, I'll be really surprised and give you a virtual high-five).

More "Book Eater" to come...

Stolloween Pumpkin

2011-10-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

It's here! My Stolloween pumpkin arrived in my dorm room on Friday.

This was the random winner from Scott Stoll's second "Build Me a Pumpkin" contest, so it's his three-dimensional interpretation of my design idea (below). It's a big pumpkin (Haunted Mansion iPhone included for size reference) with 5 removable flies and a whole lot of rot.

Although Scott did all the hard work on this, it reminds me how fun collaborations with other haunters are, especially with great artists like Stolloween.

Thanks, Scott! It looks great.

Teaser

2011-10-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a project. There's florescent green paint involved. Stay tuned.

Monster Makeup Case

2011-08-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

Because sometimes you just need to make a monster on the go.

Harbor Freight tool case, custom stencil, silver craft paint.

Unexpected Groundbreaker

2011-08-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was asked if I still sold groundbreakers. I wasn't planning on doing any this year, but they're fun to make, so I agreed to do one. Here's the result. It's based on one of last year's designs.

Post-Leota Build

2011-08-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

Little known fact: ShellHawk makes a great Madame Leota.

For those who missed the live show, we recorded some clips from it which you can view here.

Many thanks to Robert and Stacy of CalHaunts NorCal and Mantooth Manor who helped behind the scenes.

We all enjoyed ourselves, and hopefully everyone else got something out of it.

Zombie Makeup Sculpt

2011-08-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

Sculpt for a Zombie makeup inspired by KNB EFX Group's work on The Walking Dead.

The teeth here are stand-ins for the real teeth, which will be hard plastic underneath the foam latex "skin."

2011 Skins are Finished

2011-08-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

Three posts in one week? This has to be a record!

Here's this year's batch of Skins for 3-Axis Skulls ready to be shipped off to their new haunts.

You might see some different faces next year, by the way...

ShellHawk, Mr. Chicken, and Madame Leota... Live!

2011-08-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, August 14, tune in starting at 1:00pm (Pacific Time) to ShellHawk's BlogTV Channel where ShellHawk and I will be building a very cool Madame Leota prop from start to finish. I don't know if we're giving away the really fun part about this prop yet, but it's going to be awesome. You won't want to miss it.

You don't have to make an account to watch and comment on the live stream, but if you do and you subscribe to ShellHawk's channel, you can get an email notification when we're starting the broadcast.

See you then!

Zombie on the Workbench

2011-08-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

Old Woman Prosthetic Application

2011-07-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to finish the Old Woman makeup. This was my first time doing a full face appliance (this one's gelatin) and my first time using Alcohol Activated makeup. I had some problems with edges (as usual), and there are a few things I'd improve with the coloring, but, overall, I'm quite pleased with the results.

The neck and face moved a lot more realistically than I expected.

This, by the way, is my lovely model.

Grim, Grinning Ghosts ...in My Pocket

2011-07-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

I finally caved and got an iPhone. I needed a case to protect it, and that seemed like a good place to sneak in some Halloween. So, I found a website that lets you design your own case, and I picked out one of my favorite illustrations by the legendary Marc Davis. It's concept art for the Haunted Mansion organ-playing ghost in the ballroom scene.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a high resolution image of the whole drawing. I took a high rez picture (which also had better color) that was incomplete, laid it on top of a lower rez picture to get the layout, and used Photoshop to extend it beyond even that to fill out the canvas (err...case). I found Davis's signature and slipped that in there, too.

High-rez, Low-rez, composite, case preview

And today it arrived!

I'm very pleased.

Guess What Came in the Mail Today...

2011-07-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

I caught this on eBay last week and just had to get it. An original 1964 copy of Dick Smith's Do-It-Yourself Monster Make-up Handbook, a special issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland well before my day. Now, I could keep borrowing the updated 1984 version from the library a few towns over, or I could reference the digital copy I came across, but you just can't beat the real deal, can you?

Wee Little Old Age Prosthetic Update

2011-06-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Stuart over at http://learnprostheticmakeup.com/ talked me into adding a neck to the sculpture, so here's where it stands now.

Davy Jones Projection Effect (2007)

2011-06-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

We now set the Chicken-Time Machine back to Halloween 2007...

Inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean ride additions, I animated a Davy Jones that appears on the sail of the pirate ship to spout menacing phrases, each bookended by a lightning flash of a skull. It ended up taking so long to do that the animation is the same for each appearance of Davy Jones, but the TOTs didn't notice. ;)

Projection Loop follows the video. Email me at ChickenHaunt [at] gmail.com if you'd like a copy of the loop. And I apologize for the quality of the video-- this was before I got the new camera.

Old Age Prosthetic Sculpt

2011-06-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a sculpt for an old woman prosthetic that I'll apply on a very kind and forgiving friend of mine later this summer.

I'm not totally sold on the texture, but maybe y'all have some suggestions. I'm always up for a good critique. Click the pictures so you can see the textures up close.

It's Chavant NSP Medium over an Ultracal-30 lifecast, for those curious.

Reminiscing

2011-06-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Looking through old files, I came across this sketch from the beginning of 2008 of what I envisioned for the haunt that year. Fun to see what changed.

You can compare it to the 2008 video (below) and the Pictures.

Man, that video's dark. Sorry about that.

CalHaunts Norcal at Maker Faire 2011

2011-05-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was CalHaunts Norcal's second year at the Maker Faire in San Mateo. We modified our booth from the year before and it all worked out great. We even got some new members!

The pumpkin-headed groundbreaker was from a past Make & Take on the Casa Fear pneumatic groundbreaker. Someone had the great idea to make it interactive, so people could control the movement when they came up to the booth.

Scary things are fun!

Hey, I know that zombie! He's promoting the July 3-Axis skull Make & Take I'll be leading. Hope to see you there!

That's Stacy's lifecast that monster mud Grim Reaper is holding. And here's Stacy's real face (well, except for the freaky contacts), fresh from West Coast Haunters Convention (and a tour of the new Nightmare Factory-- I'm jealous!).

Robert of Mantooth Manor's tombstone. You've probably seen it around the web.

Ed Martinez doing a makeup demo. He taught the lifecasting class a few months ago (which I hear was very cool, though I missed it). He also made up the girl and sculpted the zombie head below.

Thanks to everyone in CalHaunts Norcal who put in much more work on the booth than I did (Robert, Robert, Stacy, Rachel, Kevin, Sallie, Ed, Perfessor...I know I'm forgetting some). Y'all did a great job!

Madame Leota has a New Home

2011-05-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

I've transferred my "Conjuring Madame Leota" how to from Hauntforum.com to a page on this blog.

Conjuring Madame Leota

There isn't a place for comments there, so if you have any questions, feel free to post them here.

Romulan Makeup

2011-05-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

Makeup based on Captain Nero from Star Trek (2009).

Gelatin forehead, tattoos applied by sponging alcohol-activated makeup over a plastic stencil (template below), cheapie latex ear tips from post-Halloween sale (since I didn't have the time to mold and cast my own), eyebrows made from paintbrush bristles, bald cap, creme makeup foundation and coloring (could have used more mottled reds and darker flesh tones, but it was a rushed application)...and about two days too little stubble.

Here's the real Nero for comparison...you can see how far off I was on the colors. Oh well, something to work on for the next project.

And more of mine:

*I regret to admit that there's some healing brush at work in these photos, as I had to rush the application in an hour and was rather embarrassed by the edges.

Feel free to use my Nero Tattoo Templates:

Romulan

2011-04-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

Makeup test. More to come.

Lincoln Makeup

2011-04-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

It's theatrical makeup, so it's a little overdone in places and mostly just paint, but here are the pictures!

I think I overdid the nose a little, and certainly need to work on the edges, but overall, I consider it a success, as far as learning goes.

These are actually two different applications, the second photo being from a practice day, but it came out better than the front shot from the final. The beard was since trimmed, the shading refined, and a little more work was done on the eyes, as you can see in the first photo.

Skins for 3-Axis Skulls available for 2011!

2011-04-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

I will once again be offering a limited number of Frankenstein and Zombie skins for 3-Axis Skulls for the 2011 Halloween season.

Here's what they do:

The skins are made of foam latex, painted with rubber cement paints, and are designed to fit a Lindberg skull (though they should fit fine on Buckies or similarly sized skulls). All you do is stretch it over the skull and apply a little rubber cement or latex to hold it in place.

Each skin will be custom made, so different color schemes are possible (the images and videos above are of mine, so yours would vary a little in the paint job). Below are some examples of the painted zombie skins from last year's batch.

$85 plus shipping. Email me at ChickenHaunt [at] gmail.com for details. Orders must be placed by June 30 for this Halloween season.

Happy haunting!

A Nose for Lincoln

2011-04-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

I'm doing an Abraham Lincoln makeup, and I decided I wanted to play with gelatin for it, mainly because I'm doing all of the molding and casting in a dorm room, so de-ammoniating foam latex was out of the question. Also, it's cheap and reusable-- pretty hard to beat.

Plaster bandages used for some quick and dirty lifecasting. nose, chin, and cheeks. The chin is a form on which I will build a beard that will fit my face. I was going to use the cheek casts to make some enlarged cheekbones, but due to time constraints and the fact that this is for theatre, those will simply be drawn on with highlight and shadow.

Casting the plaster positives

Plaster positives.

The sculpt. Chavant NSP soft.

Silicone mold. Because I had the putty left over from the werewolf makeup in the Fall, and I figured it would reduce the risk of undercut problems, I went ahead and used it for this. Cool stuff, but it took a while to get the hang of the casting process in a flexible mold.

Plaster bandages as a mother mold.

The gelatin nose. I'm using a one part Knox gelatin, two parts glycerin, two parts water formula with some creme makeup mixed in. Lots of trial and error to get the color right. This is about as close as its going to get for this project, but I'd like to increase the translucency in the future. It'll get some final coloring when it goes on my face. Stay tuned.

More Oscar-Nominated Makeup Artists

2011-03-05T16:42:00.000-08:00

This is the packet that we were given at the event (which was held at the Academy headquarters) for your reading pleasure. It's mostly information about the makeup artists, but I enjoyed it. You might be surprised by where you've seen their work before.

Oscar-Nominated Makeup Artists

2011-02-27T23:19:00.000-08:00

I was able to go to the Oscar-Nominated Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Symposium on Saturday to see the nominees talk about and show examples of their makeups before the Academy Awards.

It was very cool to see the makeups up close and hear the chief artists discuss the projects. Ve Neill and three of the eliminated artists from the SyFy makeup competition show "Face Off" were in the audience (Frank was sitting right behind me).

At one point, the power went out, and when they got the lights back on, Rick Baker was lying on his back with his microphone sticking out of his chest. Funny guy. Big ego.

Obviously, these are Rick Baker and Dave Elsey's Wolfman makeups. The head above is a stunt mask, and the full bust was a test to show the studio in preproduction.

The following images are from Barney's Version. I haven't seen the film, but I was rooting for it, since realistic human transformations are much more impressive in my book.

All these appliances are silicone aging prosthetics. Above and below are for Paul Giamatti's character.

That's the makeup artist for Barney's Version, Adrien Morot.

You can see just how thin and subtle these pieces are...

Anyway, it was a very cool experience.

Help Hauntcast.

2011-01-09T23:44:00.000-08:00

Listen, people, Hauntcast is in danger of being put to rest, with no chance of zombification. If you ever want to hear the show again while you're out in the garage building props, take out a subscription. It's only a dollar a pop.

If you need convincing, watch your G/Host, Chris Baker's video, below.

Look, you don't have to, but this is your last chance. So, basically, do yourself a favor and buy the show. The sooner the better.

Slowly But Surely...

2010-12-22T22:25:00.000-08:00

Just a little preview of something that's been in the works for a while. No rush on this one.

Thank You, Star Costumes!

2010-11-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

You may have seen ads for the Star Costumes Horror Scholarship over the past few months. If you're wondering who it went to, well, here I am!

I'm very excited and quite flattered. Thank you, Star Costumes!

Pumpkin Sculpting

2010-10-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

There's a pumpkin carving contest this week, and the pumpkins are free, so I figured I'd give pumpkin sculpting a whirl. This is the result of about 3 hours with an exacto knife and a medium sized loop tool.

For a first attempt, I'm pleased. I may add some wire stitches to the forehead laceration if I can acquire them by Thursday morning.

Subtractive sculpting is hard, especially when you're used to pushing clay and you're working on a round object with only about two inches of workable material before it becomes a dark, seeded void, but it's still quite fun.

EDIT:

added stitches

Dream Sequence

2010-10-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

A short Halloweeny video I recently completed for an assignment. Decaying flesh, skeletons, and some recycled 2009 haunt footage-- it fits right in with the blog here.

It was completed in two days, so I'm not totally satisfied with it, but I figured y'all might get a kick out of it.

Hit the Youtube logo for the HD option.

Werewolf Movie FX

2010-10-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

I'm doing Special Makeup Effects and assisting with Production Design on a student werewolf film.

Devils Chariot was kind enough to provide one of his excellent coyote skull castings, which I painted up yesterday with watered down Raw Umber craft paint. This is just for set dressing, but I'm pretty excited about it.

Then I molded and cast the actor's teeth who's playing the werewolf.

I was able to use this "Amazing Mold Putty" from Michaels to make the negative of the actor's teeth, then pour in plaster. It doen't admit to it on the box, but the putty is definitely a 2-part silicone. The dentures themselves are also be of rather unorthodox materials.

I sculpted the dentures over the actor's tooth casting using flexible ("Bake & Bend") Sculpey for the gums and translucent Sculpey for the teeth. The flex clay keeps the gums from breaking, as regular Sculpey is somewhat fragile, especially when it's this thin. They don't look like much here, but once you pop 'em in the mouth and back away a few feet, they're pretty cool.

I also did some hand-laid hair on the wolfman's forehead. Crepe hair and spirit gum. The director didn't want a full transformation, so we kept it at forehead hair and teeth. I'm not totally satisfied with the result, but it's better than my previous attempts.

I color-corrected this shot to see what it would look like in the final film when they do the day for night conversion. It seems to have gotten darker when I uploaded it. These shots are without teeth.

Lastly, there was a bullet wound. I didn't get a picture of the one I did on set, but here's the test application I did on my arm:

For the shoot, of course, there was lots of blood dribbling out of it, but you get the idea. It's just Mehron 3D Gel with some black cheapo makeup in the center for depth.

None of this is anything spectcular, but it certainly was a good experience.

Practice Sculpting, Episode 2

2010-09-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

A little refining. I'm starting to like this guy. I might try to mold it after texturing and before moving on to the muscles.

Taking photos makes it easier to see where it still needs work, for some reason.

Practice Sculpting, Episode 1

2010-09-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've started a small sculpt that I will add to a little at a time. It's not going to be used for anything other than practice. The plan is to start with the skull and build out from there. Right now I'm blocking out the forms. This is about an hour or two in.

The whole thing's about 4 inches tall, Chavant NSP Soft clay

Spiders for a Frog

2010-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about the Davis Graveyard Spiderfest 2010?

Of course you have. But I'll summarize just in case...
Chris Davis (the Frog Queen) of the Davis Graveyard (yes, the Davis Graveyard) wants YOU to make a spider to hang in their tree for this year's haunt. So head on over and learn all about it.

I'm basically done with my contribution as of today.

What the heck? Where are his legs?!

Well, going on the assumption that the Davises are handy with a glue gun, I'm shipping it with detached appendages so he fits in a smaller box. Here's what it will be like with them:

Okay? Everybody happy now? Good. Progress pics below.

When I got to covering the armature, I ended up building up a ribcage type thing to give the rear end more structure.

There's a little Tim Burton and a little Stolloween in there... subconscious inspiration?

Painted Skins

2010-08-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Ready to haunt other graveyards and laboratories across the globe...

Texas

Virginia

Australia

I like the subtle differences between each paint job.

Ready for Paint

2010-08-13T00:33:00.000-07:00

Just you average, run of the mill pile of zombie skins.

Scourge's Skull Shoppe

2010-08-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

I just received my first Skull Shoppe skull in the mail. Even though I bought a "graveyard" casting with minor imperfections, this skull (the HSMM) is absolutely incredible. If you think Bucky and Lindberg skulls are cool, prepare to have your mind blown. You have no idea what you're missing until you get one of these in your hands.

To top it off, Scourge has fantastic customer service. I'm sure I'll be buying more soon.

Now like I said, this was an imperfect test casting of the skull which Scourge had already colored. I bought an uncolored jaw to go with it and got to do a wash with watered down acrylic craft paints to match the pieces. It's not an exact match, but it's pretty darn close. I'm pleased.

The Bloodshed Brothers

2010-07-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

Zach and Jeromy, The Bloodshed Brothers, have been doing awesome video logs on their Youtube channel and... oh, heck, I'm just going to quote them:

The Blood Vlogs follow The Bloodshed Brothers through a year of being a home haunter. Letting Halloween consume their everyday life, they invite you along for the ride.

So, since they bought one of my groundbreakers, yesterday's vlog (below) was a shout out to me, so I'm going to shout right back out at them and say you should be subscribed to their channel so you can watch these videos as they come out.

Seriously, go do it.

Why are you still here? Go subscribe!

Fan Mail

2010-07-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

...sort of

Our neighbors left a note for us before they moved yesterday, and one of their youngest drew on the back of the paper. And what do you know? It's the yard haunt!

That's one of the singing skeletons from 2008 and Frankie singing into microphones in the 2009 lab scene. I wish I could draw skeletons that well when I was in kindergarten... I think we may have a new haunter in the making :)

For Sale: Frankenstein and Zombie Skins for 3-Axis Skulls!

2010-07-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

I will be offering a limited number of Frankenstein and Zombie skins for 3-Axis Skulls for the 2010 Halloween season.

If you haven't been following the blog, here's what they do:

The skins are made of foam latex, painted with rubber cement paints, and are designed to fit a Lindberg skull (though they should fit fine on Buckies or similarly sized skulls). All you do is stretch it over the skull and apply a little rubber cement or latex to hold it in place.

Email me at ChickenHaunt [at] gmail.com for details. Orders must be placed by the end of July for this Halloween season.

Toying with an Idea

2010-07-06T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've been building a new prop in my head, and I thought I'd share the first concrete evidence of it.

What is it? Well, I think the basic design might be reminiscent of something familiar, but the final product will be decidedly... different

And that's all I'm saying now. But feel free to ask questions so I can give mysterious responses...

Joker in Plaster

2010-05-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

As my plastic surgeon always said, if you gotta go, go with a smile!

I made the mold of the Joker prosthetic over the past couple of days. Above you can see the mold walls built up with water-based clay (easier to shape).

Did I mention there's also a nose tip appliance? Oh, well, there's a nose tip appliance. I don't know whether I'll use it, but I know there will be extra foam when I mix it up for the mouth, so I figured I'd take a shot at it.

Here I'm a couple of layers in on the Ultracal-30 mold.

The finished outer mold:

And the core mold, which will either work or cause catastrophic failure due to its sloppiness:

At any rate, I'm gonna hang the core mold on my wall when this is done because I think it looks kinda cool.

Sculpt Complete: Joker Makeup

2010-05-10T22:59:00.000-07:00

What are you laughin' at?

Texturing is more or less complete at this point. It looks a little over the top, but I figure the whole thing's going to be painted bleachy white, with only a little grey shadowing, so the more the better. I plan to mold this sucker tomorrow.

Something New

2010-05-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

You ever dance with the Devil by the pale moon light?

Having made a few foam latex creature skins for last year's haunt, I'm trying my hand at foam latex prosthetics. Above (and below) is the start of a Jack Nicholson Joker (from Burton's Batman) sculpted over a cast of my lower face.

At this point, I'm still roughing in the forms. Once the sculpt is done, I'll mold it, cast it, paint it, and apply it.

Not only is this my first venture into prosthetic makeup, but it's also my first time using Chavant NSP clay. It's very nice stuff.

CalHaunts Norcal #1

2010-04-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

I spent my Saturday learning how to make some awesome Special Effects Teeth at my first CalHaunts Norcal meeting. Cory and his minions from Nightmare Playgrounds did a superb job organizing and teaching the mysteries of acrylic teeth. Everyone walked away with molds and castings of their real teeth, as well as a set of monster chompers, and the know-how to do it again and again. Jealous? You should be.

The Big Haunt Video

2010-02-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Click the Youtube logo to see it on their site with the option of HD.

Storage...ugh.

2010-01-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

I took advantage of the 3-day weekend to finally put everything (and everybody--get it? every body? bodies? corpses? ha ha ha....yeah, okay) where it belongs for the rest of the off season. We put everything in the driveway and put it properly away one by one.

If you recall, this is what my backyard looked like on November 1, and that's pretty much how it stayed for the next couple of months while other things took priority. Now...

My Dad built these 3 cabinets in the garage that house almost everything

All the lights, fixtures, extension cords, foggers, and miscellaneous small props on the right.

All my full size characters in the middle

And all Three Laboratory animatronics (plus some extra foam and my bucky) on the far left.

But what about the Giant Rusty Gear of Doom?

It was just too cool to put away for the rest of the year ;)

An Experiment

2010-01-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

If you read this, please leave a comment.

"read it" will do just fine.
You don't need any kind of account to comment-- you can even be anonymous.

I can see how many visits this blog gets, but I've often wondered how many people actually read the posts, enlarge the pictures, and watch the videos. So, if you've looked at anything here (heck, even if this is the first post here you've seen), leave a comment on this post. I think it will be interesting to see how many actual people there are.

-Mr. Chicken

EDIT: Thank you to all who have suggested various tracking programs. I have been using Google Analytics to track the site, but statistics only mean so much, you know?

EDIT 2: At the request of Devils Chariot and Phil Merrill, a picture:

2009 Video #3

2010-01-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

Monster Mash, anyone?

2009 Video #2

2010-01-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

Again, it's in HD if you click to see it on Youtube.

2009 Video #1 (better late than never)

2010-01-03T09:34:00.000-08:00

The first of my 2009 videos is ready.
Watch it on Youtube's site (click the logo) to see it in HD...ooo...ahhh...

Hauntcast

2009-12-31T12:43:00.000-08:00

My Madame Leota project got a (comical) shout out on this month's Hauntcast podcast. Check it out!

It's about an hour into "Hauntcast 14 :: Happy Horrordays"

From Concept to Reality: The Lab and the Wheelbarrow

2009-12-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

I always think it's interesting to see how a scene or prop develops from the original sketch to the final product.

***

[Cackle]

2009-11-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

Not like I need another witch (especially considering there won't be a haunt next year), but she'll be animatronic (of course that justifies it!). We're talking moving eyes, eyebrows, lips, eyelids, articulated hands...yeah, it's gonna be awesome.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake...

Attack of the 2009 Photos!

2009-11-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

I didn't actually take any pictures this year (again...) but I've been taking stills from the 2+ hours of HD video I shot.

Here's the first batch...I'll be getting the video up in a few weeks

Devils Chariot's Wheelbarrow Zombie

3-Axis Zombie Completed

2009-11-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

Let's get you up to date with this guy...
I finished sculpting and prepared the mold walls...

...and started layering on the plaster

First the front half, then remove the dividing wall, coat with vaseline, back half, then separate them...

Then I made a core...

and finally did a pull in foam latex...

Lastly (at least, until I decide whether he'll get some sparse grey hair), ol' Zombie got an airbrush job with rubber cement paints

Not too shabby for a last minute job

Aftermath

2009-11-02T16:41:00.000-08:00

How many stakes does it take to haunt a yard?
This many:

Decommissioned: 1 virus-ridden laptop (I call it the Schlaptop), 1 dead-bulb projector

Happily, replacements were found at the last minute.

Regrettably, I didn't get very many pictures of the haunt at all this year. The good news, however, is that I got over 2 hours of HD video. The bad news is that I got over 2 hours of HD video...yay editing...

2009 was an incredible success. I'll be posting all the projects that were completed in that last frantic month and the final haunt video over the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Another Zombie Update

2009-09-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

Almost ready for moldmaking

Zombie Update

2009-09-26T17:15:00.001-07:00

Whoa!

2009-09-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

The great folks at Home Haunt News asked me to do an interview last week, and it's already up on the site! And guess what else? I got the cover photo!

You can check it out at http://www.homehauntnews.com/archive/. Go to the September Issue and click on which version you want to read (I prefer the PDF so I can scroll through it).

Coming Soon: 3-Axis Zombie Skin!

2009-09-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

Yup. Even though Frankie's not done, I've begun work on another foam latex creature skin for my 3-axis skulls.

It's still in the roughing out the basic forms stage, but it will resemble that half-sculpt I did last week. Here's a side by side:

Zombie Sculpt in Progress

2009-09-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

3-axis Zombie skin, anyone?

3-Axis Frankenstein Progress Update

2009-09-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I got my best pull so far this afternoon.

Here it is straight out of the mold:

and after a little bit of snipping (the final product will be trimmed much cleaner-- I just wanted to see how this would look):

Here's the three I've done so far...none will make the final cut for my haunt, but it's getting close:

^that one on the far left I used to test paint colors (which I haven't figured out yet) and hair punching (which I will not be doing)

Incidentally, I found out that he looks rather dashing on a bucky skull, even though it was sculpted on a lindberg initially:

(you're just going to have to believe me that there's a bucky under there...yes I mounted it on a blucky body, but what's a cheapskate haunter to do?)

Can You Believe It?

2009-08-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

This is the only shot I got of last year's display at night.

Admittedly, it's kinda cool...a view from Nosferatu's window...

Groundbreaker Zombie take 3!

2009-08-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

Just finished this guy today

It's actually my 3rd try at him. Here he was hangin' out in the coffin in 2005:

And his 2006 incarnation:

I pulled him out of the attic last year to get him reworked in time for H'ween 2008, but only got as far as peeling the flesh off his lousy blucky bones:

Then, a few months ago I did this sketch (in math class):

And then, of course, I finally pulled out the paint and glue and fixed him up into the purple fellow at the top of the post!

Giant Rusty Gear of Doom!

2009-07-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to populate my lab scene this week, and the first addition is a 7 foot rusty gear...of doom!

It's made of scrap plywood (I would have used foam, but there's about 20 sheets of used plywood laying around). Base coat of grey, smeared on coat of brown tempra, then sea sponged/mottled brick red, terra cotta, dark orange, and metallic bronze acrylics.

I wanted it to be twice as big, but the garage is only so large...

Here's the plan for the whole scene, which should explain why it's only a partial gear (of doom):

First Frankie Test

2009-06-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

I was able to whip up enough foam latex to cast a face
...and now I remember why I bought a new camera (shot this on the old one)

Foam Oven Built

2009-06-28T12:32:00.001-07:00

I built the oven for the foam latex Frankie last night. It's made of that foil-backed foam in roughly a 2 foot cube. It fits around an old electric stove top. So far, it looks like I only need one burner to get it up to ~180°F.
The mold will sit on this rack:
That thermometer sitting on top turned out to be unable to handle the heat, so...
And this is the steampunk side....uh, I mean the thermometer side ;)

3-Axis Frankenstein Sculpted and Molded!

2009-06-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here's where he's at now.

Plaster time! I started making the mold a while back.
First the mold walls built around the first half of the sculpt...

Then two brushed on layers of UltraCal-30 (actually, the picture is only of the first layer, but you get the idea)...

Then a thicker layer...

And an even thicker layer...

And then I ran out of U-30. I had to order some more from MonsterMakers.com.

I saw this nifty little trick to make a flat surface for the mold to sit on in Lee Baygan's book.

It worked out pretty well.

Here's the underside with the escape holes modeled in (before I cleaned up the edges and keys with a dremel).

I finished the second half of the mold a a few days later, having coated the the exposed U-30 of the first half with vaseline. It's about four layers of plaster, a layer of burlap soaked in plaster, then another layer of plaster.

I managed to separate them after a half hour of shoving pliers and paintbrush handles into the escape holes...

Then I spent an equal amount of time trying to get the skull out. I ended up working the jaw off, then using the PVC (which was screwed on) as a lever to work it free...

Finally, I cleared out the plaster (which came out very easily because I sealed it)...

I think it came out pretty good. There are some imperfections which (I hope) I can easily clean up, but overall I'd say it's in pretty good shape.

3-Axis Frankenstein in Progress

2009-04-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

I'm getting really excited about this prop, so I thought I'd spill the beans sooner, rather than later.
I'm going to make a foam latex "skin" for one of my 3-axis skulls that is a reproduction of Jack Pierce and Boris Karloff's Frankenstein makeup.

At this stage, I'm beginning the initial sculpt in modeling clay over a Lindberg skull. Future steps involve making both a mold of the final sculpt and a duplicate of the skull in Ultracal (a type of plaster), filling the mold(s) with foam latex, baking the thing, hoping it comes out okay, and painting the final skin. If all goes well, it'll be like having Karloff the Uncanny in person!

Here's the sculpt so far. It's got a long way to go, but I'd say it's beginning to shape up pretty well.

It's sculpted around this skull as a base

Madame Leota How-To

2009-04-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

Although I'm sure most interested parties have already seen this, I posted a tutorial for my Madame Leota effect on HauntForum.com a few months back: Conjuring Madame Leota

The projection loop, in low quality form, is on Youtube, but I've been sharing it with other forum members, so shoot me a PM or email me at ChickenHaunt[at]gmail.com if you want to use it.

2008 Yard Haunt Video Completed!

2009-01-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

It's widescreen, so it doesn't display properly here. Click the post title to watch it on Youtube. Be sure to click the HQ/high quality option.

Alf Re-skinned

2009-01-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

This is Alf* (front and center) as he appeared in 2006.

Pretty cool, but after two and a half years in the attic, he was getting pretty decrepit. So, in true Frankenstein fashion, I kept his noggin and made a better, stronger body for him. This is the new, improved (and heavily Pumpkinrot influenced) Alf:

I like him much better now, don't you?

Basically, the old torso was made exclusively out of newspaper and flour-and-water paper mached paper towel skin. The new Alf's bones are PVC pipes with newspaper ribs, and the skin was soaked in latex-based paint for a much more heavy duty deadness.

*Yes, he does have a brother named Ralf. He's next in line for a redo.

The Crypt Kickers

2008-11-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

My Singing Skeleton Quartet

Halloween 2008 Daytime Shots

2008-11-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

Making Skeletons (Instructables)

2008-11-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

Please, please, please vote for my my Skeleton building Instructable November 10-16 in the Instructables Halloween contest, and maybe even learn a little something while you're there.

You can also toss a vote to my Madame Leota Video in the same contest.

Madame Leota

2008-11-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

The first of a series of videos documenting the 2008 display. Yes, I will get photos up soon.

Why You Shouldn't Play With Hot Glue Guns

2008-11-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm normally totally opposed to gore, but I got some makeup at the after Halloween sale last week and...

Time to spoil the magic. It's a layer of liquid latex over stretched skin, followed by a piece of Kleenex, which got another layer of latex on top of it. I tore out a little hole and worked it around, then applied some black and brown creme makeup and a drop or two of blood gel. I put a third layer of latex on one side to see what it would look like, and I kind of like the paler, shiny texture it made. Perhaps we'll see more of this in the future.

November 1

2008-11-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

WooHoo! I made it through the night (despite periodic showers)! This is what the garage looked like at 10:30 (an hour after we closed).
And here's my big score from the 80% off sale today at the party store. Guess how much. If you guessed $20, pat yourself on the back and eye me jealously. I'm planning to use this guy's body for a skeletal organist of my own design (ie: some combination of Brent Ross's DC Cemetery version (which I got a chance to see last year), Dan Oberly's, and Tom Marchak's). And yes, I am quite aware that the picture is not rotated. Just tilt your monitor on its side if it bothers you.

Actually, because of the rain, we only got somewhere around 150 people (which is 50 less than last year, which wasn't as good).

I'll post the haunt pictures soon.

2008 Countdown #6

2008-10-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

Despite threats of rain, we WILL be open on Halloween night.

2008 Countdown #5

2008-10-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Having not updated this thing in a while, I am pleased to present a rather mysterious preview of upcoming events (why, yes, that was a Rear Window quote - so glad you noticed).
Anywho, this is Stanley:And this is Rear Window, quite possibly my favorite movie*:*Not that it has any connection to Halloween, but feel free to add it to your Netflix queue.

*Edit: Notice the new title of the blog. My allusions are now justified.

From Concept to Reality: Creating Characters

2008-10-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

I want to post all the actual 2008 display pictures together, but I couldn't resist a couple of previews.
For now, enjoy a few of my sketches and the finished props.

2008 Countdown #4

2008-10-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

On October 1st, I put out my tombstones, and I figured I'd take the opportunity to show how I make them.
Design: You'll need to create an epitaph, preferably on the computer, and scale it to fit your styrofoam tombstone. Then, use the printout as a stencil and draw the lettering onto the foam. I've already used my Wonder Cutter to cut the shape of this one.
Carving the Letters: Okay, here's the exciting part. Use the heated tip of a hot glue gun to carve the letters into the foam without letting glue out. This works much like a hot-wire cutting tool, but it's cheap and can still be used for gluing. A smaller glue gun enables thinner, deeper cuts. Hold the gun just above the hot area and work slowly along your lines. The width can be adjusted by the depth at which you carve.
The melted foam gathers in these stringy plastic things around the letters. Pull them off carefully or you could damage the lettering.
Paint in the letters with black paint. I used tempera paint (but acrylic is longer lasting). You don't have to stay inside the letters, since the main grey color will go on top.
I use the hot-wire cuttter to make a slot in the back for about ten inches of 3/4" PVC, which is then hot glued in place.
A small paint roller or large paint brush is useful for getting the main grey painted on evenly and without slipping into the letters. If you're using a paintbrush, make your strokes diagonally for this reason. I made my grey paint with some old white house paint and a bottle of black tempra.
Detailing time! There are thousands of ways to bring a little more life into these tombstones. Here, I speckled black and white paint using an old toothbrush (you know, when you pull back on the bristles with your thumb)...
On this one, I put small blobs of black paint at the top, below he letters, etc., and wiped it down with a paper towel. Straight, downward strokes are key.
I'm sure you can come up with may better finishing ideas, but it's the glue gun that I wanted to share.

2008 Countdown #3

2008-09-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Dave Lowe, I decided to make myself a little homage to Nosferatu, the 1923 German silent movie (if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it). In a couple of hours, I managed to recreate the classic scene in which Count Orlock creeps up the stairs.

I began by bringing an image off Google into Photoshop, where I fixed the perspective. I then projected the image onto a scrap piece of foam core in order to trace the outline.

I cut out the outline and taped it together (hey, nobody said it had to last a hundred years).
After taping it to the back of the curtain and turning on the light......I was pleasantly surprised to see the image at the top of the post. It's worth noting that the tape line is barely visible in person.

October 1st is tomorrow!

2008 Countdown #2

2008-09-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, Sir, I just put up my first Scarecrow. In September. Hey, it's the weekend before the first of October, and plenty of people have scarecrows up throughout the season...except theirs aren't skeletons in burlap.

2008 Countdown #1

2008-09-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share some of the artwork I've been working on for this year's yard haunt.

The Poster for my new graveyard quartet:

...and the skeletal hand that will point the way to the Magic Mirror