WTH?

I haven't been able to post lately and I cannot figure out why. It's been very frustrating! Maybe you guys can help me out. When I'm trying to post, I cannot get the cursor to even show up in the typing field unless I change the field to HTML. Any ideas? I miss being able to communicate with the haunty community :( If this is the only way that I can do it, so be it. At least I've figured this much out :) Happy Haunty Blogging!

Master Sculpters

PumpkinRot had posted a link this morning to a YouTube video featuring the making of the Pumpkinhead creature from the movie, Pumpkinhead.  I LOVE seeing this type of behind the scenes work so I watched video after video that was on this stream.  I had no idea that the creative team behind the Pumpkinhead creature, also created the amazing creatures in the Alien movies as well as the massive dinosaurs in Jurassic Park!

I just subscribed to this stream.  Lots of inspiration here and it looks like some how-to's.

Hope you enjoy!

Stan Winston School YouTube Stream

Image Source

Plague Dentist

Happy Monday to you all!  I know, I know, I'm trying to be positive about Monday, but I'm just as tired as you guys are and on top of that, I have to go to the dentist this afternoon =P

But, it could always be worse...I could be the dentist, digging around in people's mouths all day long.

I often wondered if dentist's masks are scented to mask any bad breath that they might come in contact with.  I know that if I were a dentist, I'd want to stuff my mask with potpourri or something... much like the plague doctors did.

Could you imagine, a dentist with a plague doctor mask performing your dental work???

Now that's a scary thought!

Image Source

Home Haunter's Awards 2012 Winners

Friday, the winners of the 2012 Home Haunters Awards were announced and I'm very excited and honored to say, that 2nd Street Cemetery earned another golden skull this year! 

Much to our surprise, we were awarded with the Best How-To Video. Neither of us had considered that our video fell into that category, until we went back and watched it again.  That's when we realized how much of a How-To Video it really is =) 

I'd say that 90% of my Halloween pictures each year, are of all of all of the various building stages of props.
I love showing how much work goes into each individual project and I like showing the finished product in the yard. I also like looking back at the pictures myself to see how each project progressed and how I've grown and what I've learned as a prop builder.

 Chronicling the stages of prop building is like chronicling the life of a child.  It begins with taking snapshots through various stages of development, the first being the ultra-sound, which is fuzzy and it's difficult to see what the subject in it is actually going to be and then following them through the awkward tween and teen years and then finally the college graduation picture. 

Halloween projects are much the same way in that, they start out as a jumble of supplies and sketches that resemble nothing of the finished project, then things start taking shape but are still awkward silhouettes of what it will be come and then the final and most gratifying part is when it's complete placed in the yard for everyone to see =)

So, thank you to the judges, who realized what our video was all about, even when we initially didn't :)

I think this is going to finally give me the kick in the butt that I needed to do a couple of tutorials this year.  I have PLENTY of pictures to get that project started ;)  I'm very excited about that!

I want to send out a big  CONGRATS to all of the other winners! As well as a big thank you to  Chris and Jeff Davis, for putting this whole thing together, to all of the judges for taking on the task of judging every one's haunts and to Hellmouth Haunted House for putting together the Awards show :)

If you'd like to see the awards video, you can view it here.

Here is the entire list of winners:

2012 Haunters Video Award Winners
Best Yard Haunt Canyon Trail Cemetery
Jim Slanker
Carol Stream, IL

Best Yard Haunt (Vanguard) Spider Rider of Dun Ringill
Steve Parmley
... Sacramento, CA

Best Indoor/walkthrough Haunt The Butcher of Provincetown Haunted House
Brad Goodspeed
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

Best Indoor/walkthrough Haunt (Vanguard)Hellizondo Carnival of Risk
Craig Schriber
Simi Valley, CA

Best Static Prop IHauntU
Grant MacDonald (Cemetery gate)
Edmonton Canada

Best Static Prop (Vanguard)Deadwood Cemetery
Michael Braun
Gurnee, IL

Best Animated PropHellizondo Carnival of Risk
Craig Schriber (meat grinder)
Simi Valley, CA

Best Animated Prop (Vanguard)Bates Haunt
Dave Bates (house projection)
Utah

Best Party Haunt Valridge Manor Place
Stacy Saman
Ancaster, Ontario Canada

Best Video Production The Butcher of Provincetown Haunted House
Brad Goodspeed
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

Best How-to2nd Street Cemetery
Heidi & Donnie Rauber Jr.
Covington, LA

Propmaster Award Hauntcast/Village Mire Yard Haunt
Chris Baker
South Yarmouth,MA

 

Happy Haunting everyone!!!

Halloween Project Inspiration

This time of year, I always start scowring the internet, creeping around my favorite haunts looking for inspiration for new projects for my haunt. 

Pinterest has been a HUGE source for inspiration.  There are a ton of fellow haunters on there, sharing the cool things that they've done or that they have found on the web.

The techinques that are jumping out at me the most this year, are masking tape and chicken wire ghosts. The initial allure is that they look amazing, but then looking further into it, the materials are relatively cheap and they are light weight. 

Although there are a lot of pictures out there of amazing creations of both mediums, it took a little digging to actually find tutorials that revealed how the creations were constructed. 

Here are some amazing pictures of the projects:

Packing tape and cheesecloth ghost:

http://pinterest.com/pin/74661306295207988/

(Image Source)

 Packing Tape Ghosts:

http://pinterest.com/pin/232428030739805577/

(Image Source)

This link on Pinterest also has a brief explaination of how the person who had found the image, made her own version.

Here is a great, basic packing tape sculputre tutorial.  I'm sure that we haunters can dream up how to do the rest :)

Packing Tape Sculpture Tutorial

With the right lighting, I can imagine that these creations would be spooktacular!!!

Chicken Wire Ghosts:

Now, this next one is a REALLY convincing ghost.  This is totally what I'd expect a ghost to look like :)

http://pinterest.com/pin/233835405621907430/

(Image Source)

Below is the tutorial which is basically pictures, but I think it shows, that this thing was put together in pieces and not just one big sheet, as I had originally thought.

Tutorial

It doesn't seem that there is an exact tutorial for this one, but after looking at other chicken wire sculpture tutorials, I think that we have an idea of how this can be achieved.  I think the hardest part would be to get the skirt to look so effortless. 

 From what I've seen of the sculptures made just of chicken wire, it's important to twist the cut ends of the wire together to make invisible seams.  These creations are definately better when the chicken wire is not overlapping.

Chicken Wire and Cheesecloth Ghosts:

I really like the style of this one, because the cheesecloth is used as the clothing, but the chicken wire is used to show the face.  That contrast of the different, delicate materials, differentiates the clothes from the actual ghost. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/344103227749521363/

(Image Source)

Below is the actual tutorial for the ghosts in this picture.  This one is pretty decent.

Chicken Wire & Cheesecloth

I plan on trying to tackle at least one of these methods.  I may even try both chicken wire and packing tape.  When I do, I'll take pictures and make notes and let you all know what works, what doesn't and what's worth the effort.

I hope that this has inspired you all as much as it has inspired me!

Happy Haunting!





A Week Earlier Than Last Year

Looks as though the craft stores are ready to stock their shelves with pumpkins and crows and everything else Halloweenish that we love... only, it's June... mid June!  They've stocked about a week earlier than last year.  I've all ready seen a few things at Hobby Lobby that I want to get my hands on >=)

Happy Hump Day!

I couldn't help myself ;)  Happy Hump Day everyone!