Monday, May 12, 2008

Peek-A-Boo

I've been finding much solace in that old Souxie and the Banshee's song. Somehow it's been helping me stay in the right mind set as I embark on creating Monster Wings. Part of the inspiration for wanting to create a creature with huge demon wings is because of Jeepers Creepers. The character of The Creeper is one of my favs and I think is very creepy. He's also the type of character the Monster Cops would go up against.

So in the intro to the show, I just wanted to see a 2 to 3 second clip of the Cops aiming their guns at a creature as it's huge bat like wings pop open. The creature would scream and claw at them, then the Cops would open fire. Much akin to that final scene in Jeepers Creepers.

That is part of what I was thinking in the creation of Monster Cops. How would these guys react if you place them not just up against classic movie monsters, but also if you place them within classic horror scenes. There was one scene I wrote into this current episode that was a nod towards Return Of The Living Dead, but alas it had to be cut.

But the intro I had in my head would show you the different creatures and how the cops would react and defend themselves. Yesterday I started building monster wings. I've looked over all the videos and links you can find of folks who've created costume wings before. I eventually came upon my own design and built the basic skeletal structure. For the next few days I will work on the skin and rigging, and then figure out exactly what this winged creature will look like from head to toe. A tutorial/blog will follow. I like the idea of a creature in human clothes and it's wings popping out from under a coat or a jacket. Something like The Creeper, but not exactly.

I often like to turn to google image search to help me visualize what it is I'm looking for. Here's a few images I came up with that best express what I'm trying for, or at least the idea of what I'm trying for.


The winged creature from Army Of Darkness. Love the creepy face. If I can steer the face or my creature to looking like that, that would be alright.


Of course The Creeper. This is a shot from Jeepers Creepers 2.


Here's a behind the scenes look at the wing fx. If I can make the wings look this great, I'd be in heaven. For more behind the scenes photos of JP 1 and 2, check out www.makeupandmonsters.com/JEEPERS_PIX.htm


One of the Gargoyles from Tales From The Darkside The Movie. One of the better horror anothologies. Yes a bit cheesy, but back in the day it was all good. This is from the final story in the movie called Lover's Vow. In my opinion the best of the 3 plots. It was creepy, disturbing, great monster fx, and just little bit heart breaking. And possibly one of the best horror plots ever.



Here's a shot of the Gargoyles face. CREEPY! Seeing it in the movie was creepy, especially when it talked.

These last two screen caps are from X-entertainment. They have a full review of the movie with spoilers (so beware). Feel free to check em out. www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0842/

I don't expect my wing monster to come out looking anywhere near as good as the above movies. I just hope by the time I'm done, we'll have another decent monster to show you, even if it's just for a few seconds. And if I pull it off right, I'll do a whole episode around it. Maybe.




Sunday, May 11, 2008

Jeepers Creepers, where'd you get those peepers.

Just thinking.






Monster Research Pics

Yesterday was working on Monsters day. I had started building the frame work for a particular creature, and went out and bought materials for another. The episode itself features mainly Zombies, Vampires, and a Werewolf, but these other creatures I'm trying to include will be featured in the intro and as inserts throughout the show. I'm trying to convey that Shadow Company deals with monsters of all kinds, therefore really establishing the size and variety of this particular universe.

I also spent sometime at Barnes and Noble today. I found myself thumbing through magazines, Fangoria, Gorezone, Horror Hound, as well as others. What started as perusing became me taking pictures with my cam phone everytime I saw an image that intrigued me. A few of these were images from ads for merchandise of T-shirts. I do recognize one image from a retro horror flick from back in the day called RETRIBUTION (creeped me out as a kid).

Mainly these are images that somewhat express the style and structure of some of the creatures the Monster Cops go up against.






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