Hey all.
As promised here is the video of claycrete clown head sculpt as talked about in the post below. I kept at the sculpt today and extended the forehead, added a mouth and started on the ears so I hope to get that video posted with the next week or so but I'd like to show you the head when it is a bit more polished and complete and right now it is still rough but I am liking it so far.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Props Update.
Happy Sunday everyone!
Yesterday was a productive prop building day. My make and take group will be building a grave grabber prop this March so I headed out to Lowes yesterday to pick up some of the supplies on the parts list. I am pretty excited for this build since it will be my first one actually using a motor and adding motion to a prop.
I have wanted to create more animated props for my haunt the last two years but have always found it hard to do so since I am not that good with engineering those types of props but with some help of the talent people in my make and take I think I will be able to do some pretty cool stuff! I've posted a quick video example of the grave grabber we will be building below so check it out!
Also yesterday, I started to jump back into my Mache/Claycrete head sculpt. I am in the process of editing some of the video I took yesterday of the sculpt as it progressed. It's far from finished but I was able to block out more of the face and now I have a solid idea of what I am going for. It will be a creepy clown face. I am making multiple carnival game booths this year so I wanted to create a few game attendants to man the booths and this guy will be one of them.
The Claycrete has been easy to work with and fairly inexpensive. A 5lb bag could cost around $15-20 and a 1lb bag about $5 so if your looking to save time from making your own paper pulp than this is a nice alternative. Also a little Claycrete does go a long way. You can buy the Claycrete in most craft stores or you can search for it online.
You'll see in the video I talk a little about the sculpting abilities of Claycrete. Though you can't really smooth it out and add lots of detail while working with the Claycrete you can easily apply, shape and form it. You can quickly make defined shapes and a basic structures. The drying time for the Claycrete will vary depending on how much you use and how thick you make it. I let my head sculpt sit over night and it was fully dry by the morning.
Overall I think Claycrete has a lot of good uses, it's quick to mix up, easy to apply and not that messy and it's a huge time saver from making your own pulp. I am looking forward to using it on some mache pumpkins a little later and might even try it out for other small projects lie fo-bricks and ornamental details for tombstones. Check out some of the pics below and look for the video to be posted later today.
A Quick Video Example of the Grave Grabber Prop. This prop uses a deer motor to run it. I like the addition of the tombstone behind this particular grave grabber.
The eyes are ping pong balls. The base of the head was a paper mache ball that was made to be about head size. I added a thin layer of clayceret to the mache than attached the ping pong balls with gorilla glue. At this stage I just started to fill in around the eyes, made a brow line and a suggested area for the nose and cheek bones.
You can see here that I started to give some expression to the face. I added in eyelids, squinting one eye to make it smaller than the other and a built up a big round clown nose and added nostrils. The cheek bones have also been raised some. Next up I will add more to the forehead and then start working on the ears and mouth. I haven't decided yet if I will sculpt everything with the claycrete, I may make the teeth out of sculpy but we see.
Yesterday was a productive prop building day. My make and take group will be building a grave grabber prop this March so I headed out to Lowes yesterday to pick up some of the supplies on the parts list. I am pretty excited for this build since it will be my first one actually using a motor and adding motion to a prop.
I have wanted to create more animated props for my haunt the last two years but have always found it hard to do so since I am not that good with engineering those types of props but with some help of the talent people in my make and take I think I will be able to do some pretty cool stuff! I've posted a quick video example of the grave grabber we will be building below so check it out!
Also yesterday, I started to jump back into my Mache/Claycrete head sculpt. I am in the process of editing some of the video I took yesterday of the sculpt as it progressed. It's far from finished but I was able to block out more of the face and now I have a solid idea of what I am going for. It will be a creepy clown face. I am making multiple carnival game booths this year so I wanted to create a few game attendants to man the booths and this guy will be one of them.
The Claycrete has been easy to work with and fairly inexpensive. A 5lb bag could cost around $15-20 and a 1lb bag about $5 so if your looking to save time from making your own paper pulp than this is a nice alternative. Also a little Claycrete does go a long way. You can buy the Claycrete in most craft stores or you can search for it online.
You'll see in the video I talk a little about the sculpting abilities of Claycrete. Though you can't really smooth it out and add lots of detail while working with the Claycrete you can easily apply, shape and form it. You can quickly make defined shapes and a basic structures. The drying time for the Claycrete will vary depending on how much you use and how thick you make it. I let my head sculpt sit over night and it was fully dry by the morning.
Overall I think Claycrete has a lot of good uses, it's quick to mix up, easy to apply and not that messy and it's a huge time saver from making your own pulp. I am looking forward to using it on some mache pumpkins a little later and might even try it out for other small projects lie fo-bricks and ornamental details for tombstones. Check out some of the pics below and look for the video to be posted later today.
A Quick Video Example of the Grave Grabber Prop. This prop uses a deer motor to run it. I like the addition of the tombstone behind this particular grave grabber.
The eyes are ping pong balls. The base of the head was a paper mache ball that was made to be about head size. I added a thin layer of clayceret to the mache than attached the ping pong balls with gorilla glue. At this stage I just started to fill in around the eyes, made a brow line and a suggested area for the nose and cheek bones.
You can see here that I started to give some expression to the face. I added in eyelids, squinting one eye to make it smaller than the other and a built up a big round clown nose and added nostrils. The cheek bones have also been raised some. Next up I will add more to the forehead and then start working on the ears and mouth. I haven't decided yet if I will sculpt everything with the claycrete, I may make the teeth out of sculpy but we see.Sunday, February 20, 2011
Make & Take!
Hello there!
So yesterday I went to my first ever Make & Take with the NJ/PA Make & Take Group. It was such a good time with a great group of people. Everyone was so inviting and so talented! It was great to share some haunt stories, see some pictures and video and just get back into the halloween spirit. I am really looking forward to our next meeting and first build of the year but for now please watch my video below for more about it.
Stay Scary!
So yesterday I went to my first ever Make & Take with the NJ/PA Make & Take Group. It was such a good time with a great group of people. Everyone was so inviting and so talented! It was great to share some haunt stories, see some pictures and video and just get back into the halloween spirit. I am really looking forward to our next meeting and first build of the year but for now please watch my video below for more about it.
Stay Scary!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
What's in a Name?
Hello all my fright buddies!
I've been meaning to get back to the writing recently but vlog'n has been so much fun! It's still slightly weird for me to be in front of a camera but I do enjoy saying hello to everyone and so far the response has been pretty good. In case you want to watch any of the vlogs or see other videos I have posted on my haunt Grimlock Manor Haunt then please feel free to swing by my youtube page HERE.
I've been pretty excited this week because I am headed to my first ever Make and Take on Saturday with the NJ/PA Make & Take Group. I've been talking to most of them on Hauntforum and they all seem like a great group of people. Our first project this year is a one armed grave grabber. You can catch a quick tutorial on how to build this prop HERE if you are interested in building your own. I have never been real handy with motors and making things animated but I am really looking forward to diving right in to this prop. I am also really interested to exchanging some haunt stories with my local haunt brethren.
Speaking of stories...this brings me to my title for this post "What's in a Name?" Of course most, if not all of us home haunters have a name for our haunts. Our name defines us, it's how we introduce ourselves and it is how our community or industry for that matter will come to know who each of us are. You might have a a signature or handle you call yourself like for instance I am Frightguy, but your haunt name is where it is really at. We slave over our haunts for that one special night a year and it's the name of your haunt that people are going to tell their friends and family when they say "BLANK" was the most awesome haunt I've ever seen! My big question is how do we pick our names? Some people choose to use their first or last names in the title while others might use their street name and house number and then there are those who create totally unique names but how do we finally say that "this is it!" how do we know it's the right name? Well I will tell you how I got mine and if your interested leave a comment in this post so we know how you came up with yours.
When I was thinking of my haunt's name I knew I wanted something original or at least something that hadn't been used yet. I also knew I wanted a manor/mansion theme so that had to be a part of it as well. I wrote out countless names and I also started various logo designs to see how the names would look when complete and with different fonts and finally I settled on Grimlock Manor. To me Grimlock sounded well "Grim"and kind of sinister which was perfect for our back story but actually the name Grimlock came to me a lot easier because it was the name of a favorite childhood cartoon character of mine. Can you guess which one??? Yup you got it! Grimlock is a character from Transformers. He was introduced as the Dinobots leader and he was a Tyrannosaurus Rex (My favorite Dinosaur!) I've always been a big cartoon geek so when I was having trouble settling on a name I started to try and pull inspiration from the cartoons that I loved and once I remembered Grimlock I thought it had a nice and unique sound to it and it was fitting for a haunt name.
So that's my story of my my haunts name Grimlock Manor. I hope if your reading and have a haunt or are looking to start one you will comment on how you came up with your name. Before I go I've posted a quick tribute video of Grimlock. Thanks for the name buddy!
I've been meaning to get back to the writing recently but vlog'n has been so much fun! It's still slightly weird for me to be in front of a camera but I do enjoy saying hello to everyone and so far the response has been pretty good. In case you want to watch any of the vlogs or see other videos I have posted on my haunt Grimlock Manor Haunt then please feel free to swing by my youtube page HERE.
I've been pretty excited this week because I am headed to my first ever Make and Take on Saturday with the NJ/PA Make & Take Group. I've been talking to most of them on Hauntforum and they all seem like a great group of people. Our first project this year is a one armed grave grabber. You can catch a quick tutorial on how to build this prop HERE if you are interested in building your own. I have never been real handy with motors and making things animated but I am really looking forward to diving right in to this prop. I am also really interested to exchanging some haunt stories with my local haunt brethren.
Speaking of stories...this brings me to my title for this post "What's in a Name?" Of course most, if not all of us home haunters have a name for our haunts. Our name defines us, it's how we introduce ourselves and it is how our community or industry for that matter will come to know who each of us are. You might have a a signature or handle you call yourself like for instance I am Frightguy, but your haunt name is where it is really at. We slave over our haunts for that one special night a year and it's the name of your haunt that people are going to tell their friends and family when they say "BLANK" was the most awesome haunt I've ever seen! My big question is how do we pick our names? Some people choose to use their first or last names in the title while others might use their street name and house number and then there are those who create totally unique names but how do we finally say that "this is it!" how do we know it's the right name? Well I will tell you how I got mine and if your interested leave a comment in this post so we know how you came up with yours.
When I was thinking of my haunt's name I knew I wanted something original or at least something that hadn't been used yet. I also knew I wanted a manor/mansion theme so that had to be a part of it as well. I wrote out countless names and I also started various logo designs to see how the names would look when complete and with different fonts and finally I settled on Grimlock Manor. To me Grimlock sounded well "Grim"and kind of sinister which was perfect for our back story but actually the name Grimlock came to me a lot easier because it was the name of a favorite childhood cartoon character of mine. Can you guess which one??? Yup you got it! Grimlock is a character from Transformers. He was introduced as the Dinobots leader and he was a Tyrannosaurus Rex (My favorite Dinosaur!) I've always been a big cartoon geek so when I was having trouble settling on a name I started to try and pull inspiration from the cartoons that I loved and once I remembered Grimlock I thought it had a nice and unique sound to it and it was fitting for a haunt name.
So that's my story of my my haunts name Grimlock Manor. I hope if your reading and have a haunt or are looking to start one you will comment on how you came up with your name. Before I go I've posted a quick tribute video of Grimlock. Thanks for the name buddy!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Vlog 2..I mean 3!
Hey all!
Man, wow! Two vlogs in a matter of days. Doing these does become addicting. I've been having fun vlog'n and hope to keep it up. As promised here is what was supposed to be my 2nd vlog which was a trip around the Grimlock Manor Dungeon. I had some trouble downloading the video from my phone but got things figured out finally! I was looking for some LED's I had had laying around for a prop build I had in mind (more on that later) but just took the opportunity to show some of the props I had laying out.
There are a few vendors I had mentioned in the video that I will list below in case anyone is interested but I hope you enjoy Vlog number 3.
Stay Scary!
Vendor List:
Black Forest Fabrication
Ghost Ride Productions
Abracadaver
Man, wow! Two vlogs in a matter of days. Doing these does become addicting. I've been having fun vlog'n and hope to keep it up. As promised here is what was supposed to be my 2nd vlog which was a trip around the Grimlock Manor Dungeon. I had some trouble downloading the video from my phone but got things figured out finally! I was looking for some LED's I had had laying around for a prop build I had in mind (more on that later) but just took the opportunity to show some of the props I had laying out.
There are a few vendors I had mentioned in the video that I will list below in case anyone is interested but I hope you enjoy Vlog number 3.
Stay Scary!
Vendor List:
Black Forest Fabrication
Ghost Ride Productions
Abracadaver
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Brow Raisers Mask Review - Vlog 2
Hello all!
Sorry I have been MIA recently. Lot's going on. I have also been having trouble with my phone from which I shot my first vlog video from. I can't seem to get it to upload my newest vlog which was a tour around the Grimlock Manor Dungeon which I was showing some of the props I had laying around but I will keep trying to work on that but in the mean time...I did a quick review of a new type of mask I bought this past Halloween season. I used my iSight on my macbook, I am not a huge fan of that but hey what can you do. I rather have a new vlog to share with you than none at all so enjoy!
Sorry I have been MIA recently. Lot's going on. I have also been having trouble with my phone from which I shot my first vlog video from. I can't seem to get it to upload my newest vlog which was a tour around the Grimlock Manor Dungeon which I was showing some of the props I had laying around but I will keep trying to work on that but in the mean time...I did a quick review of a new type of mask I bought this past Halloween season. I used my iSight on my macbook, I am not a huge fan of that but hey what can you do. I rather have a new vlog to share with you than none at all so enjoy!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Plants vs. Zombies!
Hello haunt buddies!
Happy super bowl sunday! I wanted to get a quick post in today before my super bowl party this afternoon. I have to go get all my ingredients ready for my famous buffalo wings (well famous to me at least haha!)
Last night I was introduces to a fun game called Plants vs Zombies! This game is made by Big Fish Games. You can check it out here. It's a lot of fun!
Basically the premise is that Zombies are attacking your home and are after your brains! Thankfully, you have an arsenal of plants to defend you. You have peashooter plants, cherry bombs and exploding mushrooms but the list goes on and on. There are all sorts of zombies that will try to attack you so you have to think fast and use the appropriate plants to stop them "dead" in their tracks! It's such a fun game. The zombies are hilarious, there are plenty of unlockable challenge modes and even a customize your own zombie area so check it out when you have time. Here are a few pics of the game screens...
Also, a quick note. Episode two of the Fright Vlogs has been recorded. I just have to edit the video and should have it posted this week. This week I gave a quick tour of the Grimlock Manor dungeon and did a quick show and tell of some of the props I have laying around. Next up will be a quick product review of the Browraisers Clown Mask which I purchased last year for the haunt. It was a big hit.
Stay scary!
Happy super bowl sunday! I wanted to get a quick post in today before my super bowl party this afternoon. I have to go get all my ingredients ready for my famous buffalo wings (well famous to me at least haha!)
Last night I was introduces to a fun game called Plants vs Zombies! This game is made by Big Fish Games. You can check it out here. It's a lot of fun!
Basically the premise is that Zombies are attacking your home and are after your brains! Thankfully, you have an arsenal of plants to defend you. You have peashooter plants, cherry bombs and exploding mushrooms but the list goes on and on. There are all sorts of zombies that will try to attack you so you have to think fast and use the appropriate plants to stop them "dead" in their tracks! It's such a fun game. The zombies are hilarious, there are plenty of unlockable challenge modes and even a customize your own zombie area so check it out when you have time. Here are a few pics of the game screens...
Also, a quick note. Episode two of the Fright Vlogs has been recorded. I just have to edit the video and should have it posted this week. This week I gave a quick tour of the Grimlock Manor dungeon and did a quick show and tell of some of the props I have laying around. Next up will be a quick product review of the Browraisers Clown Mask which I purchased last year for the haunt. It was a big hit.
Stay scary!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Sebastians Voodoo
Hello my haunt buddies!
Lot's been going on so it's been hard to get a new post up here but I am working on a new vlog/vlogs for everyone. Next two vlogs will showcase some of my props new and old and a quick whirl around the Grimlock Manor dungeon and I think I may do a quick review of the brow raiser masks that came out this past year. I bought the clown version and got some interesting responses to it so I'd like to share that with everyone.
For now, please enjoy the video below titled Sebastians Voodoo. Sebastians Voodoo was created by Joaquin Baldwin while attending the UCLA Animation Workshop and is about a Voodoo doll that must find the courage to save his friends from being pinned to death. It's an interesting concept and a touching short. Enjoy!
Lot's been going on so it's been hard to get a new post up here but I am working on a new vlog/vlogs for everyone. Next two vlogs will showcase some of my props new and old and a quick whirl around the Grimlock Manor dungeon and I think I may do a quick review of the brow raiser masks that came out this past year. I bought the clown version and got some interesting responses to it so I'd like to share that with everyone.
For now, please enjoy the video below titled Sebastians Voodoo. Sebastians Voodoo was created by Joaquin Baldwin while attending the UCLA Animation Workshop and is about a Voodoo doll that must find the courage to save his friends from being pinned to death. It's an interesting concept and a touching short. Enjoy!
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