Fingernails and Stephen King

I keep my fingernails really short. There is nothing worse than nearing the end of a clay project, only to mar it by gouging it with a fingernail. The blemish can usually be corrected, but I would rather keep things neat. So, one of my most important tools is my nail clipper. The one I use once belonged to my grandmom and I always keep it with me in my pocket.

Speaking of fingernails, check out the meathooks in this Stephen King caricature. The three pieces in this project were inked, airbrushed and cut out of illustration board. The caricature was wired so that the “flashlight” would actually light up. The eerie green fog was digitally added years later.

Lighted Stephen King, July 1992

Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing is a comic book character residing in the DC Comics universe.  He first appeared in the horror anthology, House of Secrets, in July 1971.  This issue of House of Secrets, along with the first 12 issues of Swamp Thing, was written and created by Len Wein, with artwork by Berni Wrightson.  The first series lasted for only 24 issues.
The second series of comics was produced to take advantage of the 1982 Swamp Thing movie by Wes Craven.  The comics were only marginally successful until Alan Moore took over as writer.  Moore took the character in a new direction, starting with issue #21.  For several years running, Swamp Thing was widely considered the best comic books had to offer and won many awards.
There have been two movies, an animated mini series, and four comic book runs.  Here are my takes on the character.

 Wizard Cover Art, November 1992

Paper Sculpture, March 1995

Girl from the Green (based on a Swamp Thing character), December 1997

Swamp Thinker paper sculpture, February 2004

Swamp Thinker Comic Book, February 2004

Swamp Thinker with digital background, January 2005

Kritter Kids "Thesaurus"

We're back on track with the Sunday Funnies.  This is the start of my ongoing project of colorizing all of my Kritter Kids comic strips.  The goal is to have them all finished by the end of the year, and possibly publishing a book.  We'll see how that goes.  For now, here is a newly minted colorized strip along with an animation cell of Grant the ant climbing the base of Upper Yosemite Falls.

Zebra Mask

I'm working on a support and a mold for a Zebra African Tribal Mask.  Here is an earlier version.  The new one will be larger, deeper and heavier.  This one is a real featherweight.

Panda #2

I reworked my Faux Wood Panda to give it a more three-dimentional look.  Everything is more rounded, especially the arms.  Also, the eyes are steel pins instead of clay.

Beatles Dress-Up

I did this paper sculpture for the book, "BEATLES ART, Fantastic New Artwork of the Fab Four". It is a full color coffee table book, released in 2006 by Boxigami Books. The two girls in the piece are modeled after my nieces, Emily and Jessica.

Leatherhead Lion

Although similar to my Shoestring Lion, this lion shows improvement in the shape of the head and the faux woodgrain.  Work begins today on yet another lion head.  This will consist of a form that the soft clay will drape over and a mold that the form and soft clay gets pushed into.  Once the basic shape of the head is perfected, I can do all sorts of cool things with it, such as steampunk, millefiori, and extrusions.

With the computer issues resolved, my comic strip will return next Sunday.