Digital Dream Machine

One of the best things about Halloween is working your way through the candy and treats throughout the year. In addition to this year’s haul, be sure to check out my 2005 blog post for a bunch of tasty Halloween leftovers from last year!

AUDIO GOODIES:

Characters © Mike Mignola. Art © 2006 Starz Media, LLC and Revolution Studios.

An audio interview with Hellboy and The Amazing Screw-On Head creator, Mike Mignola, can be found over at Word Balloon. Mike discusses the upcoming Hellboy Animated films, working with Tad Stones, more Abe Sapien and BPRD adventures, and the big red character’s beginnings. *Contains potentially offensive language near the end. (via Hellboy Animated.)

The Nocturnals © Dan Brereton.

What’s Halloween without Dan Brereton’s The Nocturnals? The Gunwitch, Doc Horror, Halloween Girl, Polychrome. Great names. Great characters. Great stories. Great art. Check out another great Word Balloon audio interview…this time with the creator of the fascinating Halloween-style characters himself.

Note to movie and TV producers: Where’s the Nocturnals movie or animated series we’re all waiting for? These easily-translatable characters, if handled properly, could potentially be a box office tentpole film or series!

Tunes for Ghostbusting: Ghostbusters Project:Remix. Use the free Switch application to convert the WMA files to MP3 or other format. Flip4Mac (also free) is also required for conversion.

VIDEO LOOT:

The Skeleton Dance © Disney.

Tune in to Disney’s classic Silly Symphony animated short, The Skeleton Dance (1929), on YouTube.

Lonesome Ghosts © Disney.

One of my all-time favorite Disney animated shorts, Lonesome Ghosts featuring Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, can also be found over on YouTube.

“Bustin’ makes me feel good!” - Ghostbusters by Ray Parker, Jr.

SWEET GRAPHICS:

Art © Bruce Timm.

Arglebargle has a blog post on Bruce Timm’s monster art as well as influential poster artist Reynold Brown. Some really fun images! (via The Ward-O-Matic.)

Art © Merrill Rainey.

Merrill Rainey has posted some fun icons, desktop wallpaper, and PDF coloring book at this link. (via Drawn.)

Scarloff. Art © Matt Putnam-Pouliot.

Matt Putnam-Pouliot has posted some fun wallpaper at this link. (via Drawn.) Be sure to check out his fantastic art gallery filled with fun ghouls and beasties!

Art © Mars, Incorporated.

Guess the titles of 50 Dark Movies hidden in imagery in this Hieronymus Bosch-like painting at the M&M’S Dark Chocolate website.

Art © Vera Brosgol.

“Everyone Loves Mummies” is a fun wallpaper for your desktop by Vera Brosgol. (via Boing Boing.)

TASTY TREATS:

Photo © theprojectmaker.

Hosting a Halloween gathering? Check out this fun set of instructions for creepy but consumable foods for supper! (via Boing Boing.)

Photo © Bakerama.

Mmm-mummy cupcakes.

GHOULISH CRAFTS:

Photo © Spooky Blue.

Carve your own decorative tombstones. Create fear with the wicked scarecrow!

Art © www.origami-club.com.

Use the leftover candy bags to make your own Halloween origami! (via Monsterama and Paper Forest.)

FREAKY LINKS:

The League of Robots and Monsters
BlueSky Studios Challenges - Halloween!
BlueSky Studios Challenges - Classic Movie Monsters
Smooky Ghost Story. (via Cold, Hard Flash.)
Flickr photos: Jack O’ Lanterns, Halloween, Pumpkin, Pumpkins, Ghosts, Monsters, Monster, Spooky, Costume
Monstrous.com - “The largest site about monsters.”

Photo: Copenhagen, Denmark. © Warren Leonhardt.

Warren Leonhardt’s ”abra macabre!” Flickr photoset. Be sure to view his fun blog with other spooky postings!

Happy Halloween Boils & Ghouls!!

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas © Walt Disney Pictures.

Catch a glimpse of how the wizards at Industrial Light and Magic and Disney transformed Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas into a 3-D film format in this video.

Photo: Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY.

Tim Burton discusses the impact of the film at this USATODAY.com article:

“It makes the movie weirdly better; you just see it the way it was meant to be — completely dimensional,” says Burton, 48, on a visit to his native Southern California from his adopted home in London. “It takes the story and actually deepens it. I see details in the sets that I don’t remember seeing.”

Burton has resisted tampering with the 1993 film that has become a cult classic. With so many current movies generating sequels or even forcing out a trilogy, Burton’s Nightmare stands alone. There will not be another installment, he says. But that’s not for lack of trying on the part of Disney, the studio that released Nightmare.

Burton — whose most recent films are The Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and who is in pre-production on the screen adaptation of another macabre story, Sweeney Todd — fends off sequel offers from “each new regime that comes in” at Disney. “I just say no. So, there won’t be a Jack Visits Thanksgiving World.”

Part of his desire to keep the movie a solo offering has to do with the connection the stop-motion animated film has forged with die-hard fans.

“You can’t screw around with that,” says Burton. “It’s not a mass-market kind of thing. It’s kind of specialized.”

Visit the official movie site at this link where you can watch Jack’s head follow your cursor, check out the remasterd soundtrack (with tracks from Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple, and of course, Danny Elfman), and enter a contest to create a character and win a greeting from Tim Burton for your MySpace page.

IESB has video clips and photos from the coverage of the film’s premiere at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood at this link.

Thanks to Cartoon Brew for the first video link!

Here’s Part 2 of the interview I conducted with author/illustrator extraordinaire Mark Schultz regarding his career, influences, and future projects. Once again, thanks to both Mark and Palaeoblog creator, Dr. Michael Ryan for making this possible.

Enjoy!

–

Mark, thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions. We discussed your early career in Part 1 (at this link) and moved on to past/current projects, so let’s continue there.

Q: Are there any projects that you’d change if you could or do you consider past experiences as learning and move on?

Schultz: I look at everything I’ve done as a learning experience. There are some projects I’ve done that I’m not particularly proud of, but I learned, and I think improved, from all of them.

Q: Because we can’t be working all the time, what do you do to unwind when you’re not creating heroes and monsters?

Schultz: Hike—for exercise as well as to refocus my mind and eyes. Read. Watch movies—preferably B&W classics that are generally ignored today.

Howard Hawks’ 1951 sci-fi masterpiece. A fave of both Mark and myself. © Turner Home Entertainment.

Q: Is there something you do to refresh your creative spirit and get back into drawing or writing mode again?

Schultz: Hike. Travel. Visit the ocean.

Q: You recently took a trip to Spain where some of your work was exhibited. How was your trip and did you find European’s reactions to your work to be different from North Americans?

Schultz: Generally speaking, Europeans don’t seem to draw as definitive a line between the fine arts and the commercial arts as we do in North America. They are much more open to the notion that comics can be a legitimate form of expression. The Spanish people, at least, seemed to me to be much more knowledgeable about art in general—they consider an appreciation of the arts to be part of their every day existence.

Let’s move on to future projects.

Q: Do you plan on returning to Xenozoic Tales? Are there any plans for another animated series or feature film? How about a DVD box set of the animated series?

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. © 1993 Mark Schultz and Nelvana Limited. Images from here.

Schultz: There is nothing I want more then to get back to producing new issues of Xenozoic Tales. It is just a matter of finding a way of financing the process of getting it started again. My glacial slowness makes things difficult. I’m hoping to build a savings reservoir that could give me the time to devote to getting the series up and running again. Specifically, I have a four issue arc in mind that would complete the storyline I left hanging, but would also stand on its own, and would be collected as a trade paperback. At this time there are no current plans for XT projects in other media.

Q: In addition to Xenozoic Tales, what property that you’ve been involved with in the past, would you like to return to and in what capacity?

Cover art for SubHuman Issue #1 © Mark Schultz.

Schultz: I’d love to see SubHuman up and running. We really didn’t get a chance to get our sea legs under us with the initial Dark Horse mini-series. Both Michael and I have lots of stories Krill Stromer Family stories we’d like to tell, and hopefully someday we’ll have the chance. Beyond that, I have tons of other projects percolating away that are just waiting for the right opportunity to come to a boil.

Q: Who would you most like to work with that you haven’t yet had a chance to and who would you like to work with again?

Schultz: I’m pretty happy working mostly by myself, or with my already established cohorts.

Mark Schultz’s studio. Note the otherworldly visitors! Photos courtesy of Dr. Michael Ryan.

Q: What properties would you like to work on that you haven’t yet?

Schultz: I’d love a chance to illustrate Edgar Rice Burroughs, and more Robert E. Howard. Right now, a couple of years after I stopped writing Superman, I’m finally getting a chance to illustrate a Superman cover! I’m psyched!

Action Comics #836. Artwork by Mark Schultz. © DC Comics.

Q: What are you working on now and what projects have you got in the pipeline?

Schultz: I continue to write the Sunday comic strip Prince Valiant, which is beautifully illustrated by Gary Gianni. I’m working on Vol. 2 of my Various Drawings art book series, doing lots of commissions in connection with generating work for that, and picking up comic cover and illustration work here and there. It all continues to go well, I will be generating a series of books for Flesk Publications, the publisher of Various Drawings.

Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volumes 1 and 2. © Mark Schultz and Flesk Publications.

Q: Since Xenozoic Tales features dinosaurs, I can’t forget to ask if you have a favorite one?

Schultz: Of course, Tyrannosaurus rex is an icon that would probably be my all-time number one, but the coelacanth, with its great survivor’s story, is a sentimental favorite. I love drawing both of them.

Thanks again Mark for your time and letting all of us take a peak inside your creative mind. Please keep us up to date on your new projects and we wish you the best of luck with all of them!

Schultz: My pleasure. And thanks to all the readers for the support!

Stay tuned for a possible update from Mark on even more recent projects and topics we might have forgot in our first 2 parts!

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund art for sky*dog comics. © Mark Schultz and the CBLDF.

As the 2D version is one of my all-time favorite films, I’m really looking forward to seeing this…

Image: Copyright 2006 Walt Disney Pictures.

Trailer available at this link.

Image: Copyright 2006 Joel Fletcher

For a taste of what the film might look like, be sure to grab your red and blue anaglyph 3-D glasses and check out Joel Fletcher’s The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D photo gallery. Joel was an animator at Skellington Productions and worked on the film.

Sources: Aint It Cool News and Cartoon Brew.

Ray Harryhausen tribute painting © Jim Dallmeier.

Stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen will be helping to develop a series of new features, TV movies, video games, and merchandising under the Ray Harryhausen Presents banner for Mindfire Entertainment according to Reuters and the Hollywood Reporter via Yahoo! News. From the article:

Producer Mindfire Entertainment, which joined forces on the projects with the 85-year-old director, said several scripts are in development — one set in Greek mythology and another with an alien invasion theme. Production on the first film is set to begin in the fall.

The plan is to release one movie in the $15 million range and three TV projects in the $4 million range every year, Mindfire CEO Mark Altman said. Harryhausen will oversee all visual effects, which will be done in CGI (computer-generated imagery) but will be in the spirit of his stop-motion effects, Altman said.

Harryhausen said “utilizing the incredible advances in visual effects technology” would enable him to reach an entire new generation of audiences. “These stories are universal, and I could not be more thrilled than to revisit some of my favorite worlds — past, present and future — in these new films,” he said.

As a great admirer of Harryhausen’s work, I’m thrilled to hear that he’s bringing out some fresh ideas from old worlds for all of us to enjoy. Take a look at many reecent feature films (Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers, Peter Jackson’s King Kong) or video games (Killer Instinct, Age of Mythology, God of War) and I guarantee you’ll see the Harryhausen influence.

Even if Ray does nothing more than provide the initial concepts and inspiration, you can bet the projects will be both epic and fantastic.

As you’re probably well aware, I’m a big King Kong fan. It remains one of the most engrossing variations of the Beauty and the Beast story. Almost no film today has matched the lushness of Kong’s jungles, fierce Skull Island creatures, or emotion exuded by an animated lead character. King Kong is also a movie that proved to be the key inspiration to more animators, palaeontologists, archeologists, artists, and filmmakers than any other motion picture. And that inspiration continues today as each new professional inspired by Kong fires up the imaginations of the young viewing audience. Let’s not forget King Kong came out during the The Great Depression, which makes its associated box office achievement and high praise even more amazing.

Over the Christmas holiday, I received a DVD Box Set of King Kong, Mighty Joe Young, and Son of Kong and finally had a chance to sit down and watch the new print of the film and included documentaries. RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World, is nothing short of outstanding. Arguably, it’s easily one of the best “making of” DVD features yet and is on par with Peter Jackson’s legendary behind-the-scenes material included on The Lord of the Rings trilogy and newly-issued Director’s Cut DVD of The Frighteners. Despite having one of the greatest films of all time now available in a beautiful new presentation, the documentary alone was worth the long wait for Kong’s arrival on DVD.

Found on the second disc of the King Kong Collector’s Edition DVD set, RKO Production 601 features a running time of just over 2 and a half hours, (worthy of even Peter Jackson’s new lengthy remake), and does an exemplary job of telling the story of the film’s creation. Jackson, Ray Harryhausen, Phil Tippet, Alan Funke, Frank Darabont, Randall Cook, Ben Burtt, Joe Dante and others explain and analyze how the film was realized. From painstaking recreation of the King Kong armature and lost Spider Pit Sequence, to multi-plane set formation and projection, to the actual stop-motion animation process, and even the pioneering Max Steiner’s score, the documentary is not to be missed by any true animation and King Kong devotee.

King Kong has become bigger than the lovable beast himself. Though he is considered one of the most recognizable silver screen characters of all time, the film proved to be the new apex of fantasy and adventure storytelling on film. So, when you head out to watch Peter Jackson’s version, or the latest big-budget special effects blockbuster, think back to the incredible achievements of Willis O’Brien, Cooper and Schoedsack, and a giant ape, who was in reality, less than 20 inches tall.

King Kong artwork © 1933 RKO Pictures and 2005 Turner Entertainment Co. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Carole Horst with Variety reports on the charming effect of clay animation on movie-going audiences:

Computer generated 3D images dominate the short history of the animation Oscar. But this year, two front-runners — DreamWorks’ Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride from Warner Bros. — both use film’s oldest animation technique: stop motion.

Wallace director Nick Park — who has already won three Oscars for shorts, two of which starred cheese-loving Wallace and his clever dog Gromit — fashioned a plasticine Little Britain for the film, with artists painstakingly manipulating the plastic clay figures, then photographing them frame by frame.

“Audiences love the technique. Audiences think (the characters) are real people and they respond to them,” says Wallace producer and Aardman Animation principal Peter Lord, adding, “once you’ve seen an army of 2 million in a CGI movie, you stop being moved,” and people react to the reality of claymation.

Tons of clay was used, and CGI was only used briefly — and only for scenes in which traditional claymation methods would not work.

“The technique doesn’t hold you back,” says Lord. ” There’s nothing you couldn’t try.”

Corpse Bride was shot using two dozen digital cameras and five Power Mac G5 desktops. Tim Burton and animation vet Mike Johnson directed the film that used puppets covered with Latex “Skin” — inside each puppet was a full animatronic armature that was manipulated to create frame-by-frame movement and facial expressions.

“There’s something compelling about the tone and style,” says Johnson. “But the most important thing is the story.”

Read the full article at the link above.
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride © 2005 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Wallace and Gromit © 2005 Aardman Animations Ltd. DreamWorks Animation L.L.C.

Thanks to Cartoon Brew for bringing animation fans this news: the original puppets of Santa Claus and Rudolph (from the treasured Rankin/Bass holiday special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) have been found.

Long thought lost, the puppets were found among the holiday decor of a former Rankin/Bass employee. The puppets have been purchased by TimeandSpaceToys.com and will be restored for public display.

Check out the TimeandSpaceToys.com article for more information.

Also, be sure to read last year’s lengthy but informative post on the animated holiday classic.

RUDOLPH animated program © & TM Classic Media.

There’s a good interview by Mark Zimmer with stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen at digitallyOBSESSED.com.

“Harryhausen: I always worked by myself, because I like to concentrate. I prefer not to have people around. So every inch of film is usually the first take. We never had time to do retakes.

dOc: How did you remember from one day to the next, ‘Now, was I moving this limb this way or that way?’

Harryhausen: Sometimes if I had to stop a scene I would make notes, but you have it in your mind. When you make storyboards, you sort of think of it as though it’s in action. I guess I have a Zeus complex. I like to manipulate these people as Zeus did in the early Greek concepts.”

Ray also talks about his past work with Willis O’Brien, the upcoming ‘King Kong‘ ‘Mighty Joe Young‘ and ‘Song of Kong‘ DVDs, and even Peter Jackson’s ‘King Kong.’

Hellboy Animated concept art by Sean “Cheeks” Galloway.

Like the recent motion picture, ‘Hellboy‘, created by author/illustrator Mike Mignola, will be coming to life in animated form. IDT Entertainment and Revolution Studios will bring ‘Big Red’ to life in direct-to-DVD productions, and possibly an animated series, online content and video games. Ron Perlman, who acted as Hellboy in the feature film will also be providing voicework for the animated versions. Guillermo del Toro, director of the film, will serve as a creative producer along with Mignola.

Read the Variety article at this link.

I was pleased to hear that a fellow member of The Drawing Board, Sean “Cheeks” Galloway, was chosen as the lead designer and fellow Hellboy.com forum member and animation veteran, Tad Stones, is the supervising director. With all of this talent, Hellboy is certainly in good hands.

Follow the production of Hellboy Animated at the new Production Diary.

Check out more of Sean’s outstanding artwork at his online gallery, where I’m sure you’ll see how his dynamic style is a natural fit for animation.

There’s also a great interview with Tad regarding animated television series development at Digital Media FX.

While we’re talking about Hellboy, here’s two great lithographs I recently received. The first comes courtesy of ‘…’ at the Hellboy fourm, and the second arrived thanks to Jun at The Comic Bug.

Hellboy mini-lithograph produced by Dark Horse Comics.

Hellboy Hurricane Katrina Red Cross Relief lithograph by Mike Mignola.

Hellboy and all related characters © Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics, Inc.

Check out this great Flickr photo from Princess Shari of Stitch from Walt Disney World…

“It’s Experiment 626!” - Originally uploaded by Princess Shari.

I love Halloween. Always have. Cool costumes, dark decorations, mysterious movies, and creepy activities make this one of the most fun times of year! So, in keeping with the Halloween ’spirit,’ here’s some spook-tacular treatsll!

Images © Lucasfilm 2005.

HALLOWEEN IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…

In addition to the Star Wars paper masks I blogged about last Halloween, StarWarsKids.com has posted a new set of masks for you to print, cut out, and wear. This year’s masks feature characters from ‘Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith‘ including Kit Fisto, Yoda, Aayla Secura, Tion Medon, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, R2-D2, General Greivous, C-3PO, 3 clone troopers, Padme Amidala, The Emperor, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the Boga.

The site also features a tutorial for home-made Star Wars treat bags at this link.

For Jack O’Lantern patterns, Star Wars Kids also features fun intergalactic designs ranging from a simple Rebel Insignia to a complex Tusken Raider. Paste them on your pumpkins and start carving your galactic affiliation!

SPOOKY SONGS SURFACE AND VILE VIDEOS EVOLVE!!!

Michael Fleming has been posting an insane amount of links to obscure but fantastic Halloween-themed MP3 music files on his blog. Unfortunately, the process is slightly complex but it’s definitely worth it to hear some great music! Especially noteworthy are Bing Crosby’s ‘The Headless Horseman,’ Vaughn Monroe’s ‘(Ghost) Riders in the Sky,’ Ronnie Dawson’s ‘Rockin’ Bones,’ ‘Watusi Zombie‘ by Jan Davis, and ‘King Kong‘ by Tarantula Ghoul and the Cryptkickers.

A few more obscure songs that fit the Halloween mood can be found at this link on WFMU’s Beware of the Blog. ‘Parade of the Damned‘ features the cool ‘Bo Meets the Monster‘ by Bo Diddley and Messer Chups’ ‘Intro Monstro Crescendo‘ among other hip tunes.

Image courtesy of The Scooby Doo Case Files.

Halloween without everybody’s favorite canine sleuth and his gang, Mysteries, Inc.? No way! ‘Scooby Doo, Where Are You!‘ is still considered one of the finest animated series. From spooky storylines to eerie locations with evocative background art, the show still outshines some of today’s top cartoons.

The Scooby Doo Case Files website has posted links to the hip ‘Scooby Doo themes,’ including unreleased symphonic score tracks from the show. A real treasure, Ted Nichol’s compositions are not to be missed! Delve into the site to discover episode summaries, imcompetent sheriffs, avatars for the Internet, and an index of monsters with roll-over images revealing their true identities! Be sure not to miss a section I savored, Wallpapers, which features a ton of outstanding animation background designs from the show!

Images courtesy of Ben Kane.

Some readers will probably remember ‘The Hilarious House of Frightenstein,‘ a 1970’s Canadian TV variety show featuring some of our favorite monsters. Wth the legendary Vincent Price and Billy Van, the show had some truly enjoyable moments featuring Count Frightenstein, Igor, Grizelda, the Librarian, Wolfman, the Oracle, and others. I remember being particularly fascinated by the set design, cinematography, effects, and music. ‘March of the Martians,’ the memorable theme from the show, (created with the famous Moog Synthesizer) can be found among the other goodies on the Frightenstein Downloads page. Be sure to snoop around the incredible tribute website for show info, music, video clips, and even a ‘Return to Transylvania‘ documentary!

Of course, no Halloween should go without a visit from Jack Skellington or a giant robot!

EERIE IMAGES AND TERRIFYING TEXT!!

Keith Milford’s blog, Old Haunts, collects “Halloween photos of long past,” marketing material, greeting and trading card art, and even music and audio stories from old vinyl LPs. The bonus audio downloads ‘Alfred Hitchcock presents Ghost Stories for Young People,’ ‘Casper the Friendly Ghost Haunted House Tales,’ ‘Sounds of Terror!‘ and others let your ears enjoy a Halloween chill! I have no doubt that you’ll recognize some of the costumes and relive childhood ‘trick or treat’ memories.

Check out Jay Stephen’s blog, Monsterama for some amazing illustrations and creative monster lore. Described as a place to see ‘cute creeps from popular culture,’ the new blog is already loaded with great images by Jay. Along with artwork, you’ll discover brief histories of characters like Casper the Friendly Ghost, Gossamer, Fangface, and others.

Jay, a Canadian with a great sense of design, is the creator of ‘Jetcat,’ ‘The Land of Nod,’ and ‘Tutenstein,’ all of which I highly recommend. He’s also a regular contributor to Drawn!, a blog that provides insight and links about illustrators around the globe. Some of the links in this post were found at the blog.

Project Gutenberg has online text versions of ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow‘ by Washington Irving. Available in both HTML and Plain Text formats, this is the original tale that has spawned numerous film versions. No Halloween celebration is complete without a reading or viewing of this great story! Download ‘Dracula‘ by Bram Stoker or ‘Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley as well!

RavensBlight features a fun collection of Haunted Paper Toys including The Mechanical Bat, Coffin Gift Boxes, the Splatterbot, and more; all courtesy of artist Ray O’Bannon. With paper (preferably heavy cardstock), scissors, an X-Acto knife, glue, and tape, you’ll be able put together these morbid masterpieces. To download and print the files, you’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

retroCRUSH, “the world’s greatest Halloween website,” is a must-see for any pop culture and Halloween fan. The vast archive of images, audio, and text will devour hours of your time. Check out “the world’s greatest Halloween costumes” with photos of many vinyl and plastic costumes from yesterday and today. I know I’ve certainly worn a few! Marvel at the Top 100 Monsters of All Time! Note: Not all portions of the website are safe for younger children or work viewing.

Open your goody bag to find the MonsterParty font by Michael Gaines (use the caps lock key with it) or the many other horror fonts that await your experiments!

How about some great icon sets such as Vintage Halloween, Creeps, Boo Buddies, Macabre, Snappy Hour Halloween, and Cute Dead Icons. You may also enjoy Haunted Hard Drives, Ravenswood Revisted, World of Aqua - After Dark, and Jack Skellington.

Oh yeah…if you can’t find a real pumpkin to carve…how about a digital one? Thanks Tad!

Well, that’s a bowl full of treats from me! How do you like them apples?!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Amazon.com links:

The much-loved inventor Wallace and canine companion, Gromit.

Sadly, a fire has destroyed the warehouse of Aardman Animations in Bristol, west England early this morning and claimed much of its animation past.

Thankfully nobody was in the building, but most of the company’s history has been lost. Sets and props from ‘Chicken Run‘ and the first ‘Wallace and Gromit‘ shorts are believed to have been consumed by the fire. CNN had this to report:

“Today was supposed to be a day of celebration, with the news that ‘Wallace and Gromit’ had gone in at No. 1 at the U.S. box office, but instead our whole history has been wiped out,” Aardman spokesman Arthur Sheriff said. “It’s turned out to be a terrible day.”

Sheriff said the warehouse contained sets, props and models from the company’s productions, from the children’s cartoon character “Morph” through the Oscar-winning, anthropomorphic “Creature Comforts” series to the Wallace and Gromit films.

Wallace and Gromit’s creator, Nick Park, said the earthquake in South Asia helped put the loss into perspective.

“Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn’t a big deal,” he said.

You can read more at the CNN article and Bloomberg U.K. site at this link.

Word also comes from BBC News that all is not lost…

“I’m pleased to say Nick Park’s original ‘A Grand Day’ out rocket, that he built by hand, is safe and sound,” Mr. Sproxton [company co-founder] says. “It’s very close to him.”

Park’s three Oscars for Wallace and Gromit and Creature Comforts were also elsewhere.

The clay characters themselves are not kept after filming because they disintegrate, and the Aardman film studio is in a different part of the city and so is unscathed.

The original film and negatives are stored in a humidity-controlled vault at a different location and the sets from the current Wallace and Gromit feature film, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, were also elsewhere.

and regarding the studio’s future…

Although the company’s history may have gone up in smoke, its future is still looking rosy.

“The fire doesn’t really affect future productions because even the Wallace and Gromit sets tend to be built almost from scratch for each film that we do,” Mr. Sproxton says.

My best wishes to the entire animation studio and staff in recovering from this disaster. Now get out there and see ‘Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit‘ at your local theater!

As a note of interest: Not only did the studio create award-winning shorts and feature films, but also the much celebrated ‘Sledgehammer‘ video for musician Peter Gabriel. Find more of their history at the official website.

Update: December 11, 2005 - The Big Cartoon Forum has posted an article on the cause of the blaze. It’s believed that the fire was started by an electrical fault with an appliance.

Image courtesy of Aardman Animation Studios.

Pixar Animation Studio’s Joe Ranft passed away in a tragic car accident last night. Truly sad news. Please see my post at Luxo.