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!!

As the final post for 2005, I present some unique New Year’s-themed illustrations to enjoy…

More great vintage Soviet Space-themed New Year’s cards can be found at this link.

Be sure to check out the other galleries too. Link via BoingBoing.

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:

As most of you know, I also contribute to 3 other blogs: The Alberta Movie Guide, Luxo: A Pixar Blog, and Palaeoblog, all of which take a good deal of time.

Why do I do it? Aside from sharing things I find of interest, working on the blogs lets readers know what I’m up to, helps me meet new people, hones my writing skills, generates possible work opportunities, and provides a forum to work on my ideas ‘out loud.’

The first posting on the Digital Dream Machine blog dealt with the death of Christopher Reeve and his role as Superman, so I thought it would be a fitting tribute to do something related to ‘The Man of Steel.’

Looking around my archives, I found this old ‘Superman’ promotional poster….

Actually, this wasn’t ever produced for consumers. This week, I decided to dust off my WACOM Graphics Tablet and Pen, get my illustration skills back into shape, and create an original digital image.

Between the paperwork, documentary editing, motion graphics design, and blogging, I haven’t had much time to just ‘sit and draw.’ So I forced myself (yes, artists have to do that occasionally) to flesh out an idea I had kicking around my brain. Influenced by Jeremy Vanhoozer’s fantastic ‘Medusa’ image (definitely check out his blog and website!), I intended to create a digital painting of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude realized in the style of 1950′s-era travel poster. Overall, I’m pretty happy with this image, and there’s things I’d change if I continued working on it; however, for a piece that’s meant as practice, I feel it’s finished (for now) and ready for show.

The last illustration I remember working on was a 10th Anniversary of Hellboy tribute for the 2004 San Diego Comic-Con Souvenir Book. Like the fictional poster above, the ‘Hellboy‘ piece took a great deal of time, and demonstrates why I don’t turn out art as often as I used to. I really want to put my best effort into my work, and unless I can contribute the time to something, I won’t take it on until I feel ready.

Even with all the digital technology I’m surrounded by, I really do miss the days of traditional sketching and painting for hours on end. Whether it was at high school in my art studio, or at home watching a James Cameron flick, I usually had my sketchbook or drawing board nearby. From icon roughs to logo mock-ups to character designs, my art skills were constantly being focused and my ideas became solidified on paper. All I had to do was find a page, grab a pencil, and start drawing.

The WACOM Graphics Tablet allows artists like myself to create images digitally. An input device shaped much like a traditional pen, glides along the pressure-senstive tablet, responding to our hand movements as if we were sketching with a pencil or even painting with a brush. Since the artwork is created on a computer, we have the benefit of being able to ‘undo’ our mistakes a little more easily and make revisions without affecting the original. The method isn’t perfect, and it’s not meant as a replacement for creating art ‘the old fashioned way,’ but it sure does let us do some pretty amazing things.

I’ve got some ideas for other images, so hopefully I’ll find the time to create and share them with all of you. In the meantime, thanks for supporting the blogs and the effort I put into them! Here’s a toast to one year of blogging, with potentially many more to come!

As a bonus, below is my Fortress of Solitude Travel Poster as if it had been printed yesterday. Enjoy!

If you’re interested in seeing a larger-size version, please e-mail me.

‘Superman’ and ‘The Fortress of Solitude’ are ™ and © DC Comics.

As some of you are probably already aware, Sand Pirates of the Sahara was not an actual feature film. It was sort of a mini-movie produced for use in Frank Darabont’s underrated 2001 film, The Majestic. “Brett Armstrong” is really cult-film favorite, actor Bruce Campbell, known mostly for his role as ‘Ash’ in the Evil Dead movies.

The sequences that were shot for Sand Pirates of the Sahara can be seen on the bonus features section of The Majestic DVD. It’s a campy, but definitely fun throwback to the adventure films of the 1900′s. Though the pseudo-film was a nice homage to the George Lucas and Steven Spielberg blockbuster, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Darabont actually has ties to the whip-wielding character, having worked as a writer on ‘The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.’

Careful viewers will notice that a certain golden idol from the Indiana Jones series makes an appearance in the movie. It’s even illustrated in the poster near the bottom right corner.

For more information about adventure films, check out this Filmsite.org link.

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Jim Carrey Online.

I’ve always been fascinated by the colorful graphics on the side of the U-Haul vehicles. From the vibrant Giant Squid of Newfoundland, to the little green alien of New Mexico, to the Happy Face Spider of Hawai’i, the graphics are an excellent way to keep the U-Haul brand name ‘out there’. In my opinion, a very smart marketing move that really hasn’t been matched by others. I’ve also wondered if there was a website with photos of the graphics and today, I finally discovered it.

The U-Haul SuperGraphics website features not only the current series of graphics, but wallpapers, coloring books, and some fun, Macromedia Flash-based subsites. For example, the New Mexico section uses a file folder theme with fairly detailed information about the alleged UFO crash in 1947. Not all states and provinces have current graphics, but you can also find press releases and photos as new ones are unveiled on the website.

The ‘Classic SuperGraphics‘ section is devoted to older vehicle illustrations, and though more simplistic, are definitely worth viewing.

Fun stuff!

I particularly like the designs on the sails.

The ships were surrounded by ancient maps and drawings.

I also found an old Edmonton Journal newspaper stuffed into a hole in the wall. With the fondness I have for Hawai’ian/Polynesian/Tiki culture, I had to share these fun ads as well.

The Tiki really makes the ad. I understand this restaurant was very popular.

Another popular restaurant during its time.

Check out that Polynesian look! Imagine the enchanting sound!

Black and white photos of the interior of The Beachcomber are available at TikiRoom.com.

I’d like to see another Polynesian-themed restaurant/shop open up in Edmonton. Unless one already exists which I’m not aware of, but they have the potential to help you escape to tropical locales without leaving the city. And they allow for some great advertising!

The Adventures of Pinocchio needed quite a bit of image retouching. To see the original scan I did, click here.

The Adventures of Pinocchio © United Artists Records, Inc.

The Sword in the Stone © 1972 Walt Disney Productions

Winnie the Pooh and the honey tree © 1965 Walt Disney Productions

Check out more great covers at the Vol. 1 posting I did a few weeks back.