Saturday, October 30, 2010

Happy Halloween, Carmilla and Special Effects Before CGI and Poe's Birthday

Here's hoping that you are enjoying this most macabre holiday. I personally am glutting myself on junk food and cheesey B rate Horror Movies.

Ever wonder about special effects before CGI, Rick Baker or Stan Winston? Back in the silver era of silent film, Chaney of course reigned as the king of makeup but have you ever seen the artistry of John Barrymore in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? In one single take before the jump cut, Barrymore makes the transition from Jekyll to Hyde without the aid of any makeup simply but contorting his face. The result was rather eerie.



John Barrymore, the great grandfather of Drew Barrymore and brother to Lionel Barrymore was considered in his time to the king of actors yet his addiction to alcohol brought him to ruins and late in his career he was often given over to ridicule, yet his early legacy was only surpassed in later decades by actors like Laurence Oliver.



Carmilla


I have finally finished Carmilla. I learned many lessons from this piece, one being to detail out the sketch before digitally coloring it and another on how to create brushes for Adobe.



I really struggled with this piece, that doesn't mean it hasn't been fun, but at times I ran into so many corners that I had to work out of that I wasn't sure I would finish it at all. Now that it is completed I can move on to the next and I am happy with how it did come out. The words Micalla and Camilla are anagrams for her original name which was Countess Mircalla Karnstein.

Amazon has Carmilla if you are interested in reading the story here.

If you would like to purchase a print of Carmilla, you can do so here. I may offer it soon with a different border.



Happy Birthday Poe




Poe came to live with me in October seven years ago, since then every October I celebrate his birthday on Halloween. This ink pig, who in the beginning could fit in the palm of my hand, has grown huge and has been a constant source of comedy, irritation, manipulation and also affection. I have never owned a male cat before Poe, females are rather demure, well behaved and love attention, the male species however are dramatists, court jesters, highly inquisitive and manipulative.

Poe also has his own vocabulary, a chorus of mews, coos and many other verbs but he can't seem to master consonants but he has little issue getting his point across whether it be food, attention or something he wants. He has also learned how to open doors and many times I have come home to see cat food poured on the floor and Poe sitting in the cupboard with an innocent look. I have since switched to canned food not only because it is healthier for him but also because he hasn't learned to use a can opener yet.

Here is hoping he will be here to celebrate 7 or even more birthdays.

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