Day 01: Return of the Fly (1959) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022:
Return of the Fly (1959)

Oh, hi, I didn't see you there.  It's time again once again for "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" in which I try to do 31 pictures from various horror movies--posting daily--in celebration of HELL-O-Ween!  And, of course, each year something seems to come up which adds further obstacles to finishing this self-imposed challenge, and this year I have several.  We shall see if I prevail or I get to use the much-threatened blank page of "The Invisible Man" or "Slenderman" as a stick figure.  We shall see!  Hmmm, Y'know I sure complain a lot for someone who has no one to blame but himself for all this...

Anyhoo, this opening bit involving myself as the human-headed housefly from the 1959 movie, "Return of the Fly" (don't worry, in the movie he gets better).  Sure, the original "The Fly" had marginally better effects (and was shot in color, as opposed to "Return of the Fly" in black-and-white), but the fly head in "Return of the Fly" will always be the iconic one I think of when I think of this movie series.  "But," I can hear you asking, "If the movie is black-and-white, why are you in color in the bottom panel?"  Good question!  And the answer is...  (mumbles and incoherent muttering)

I have an inordinate affection for crappy B-Movies--I watched them as a small kid every chance I could get.  Anything involving monsters, aliens, or robots, and I was all in.  Yeah, it really doesn't say much for my upbringing.  But, it was either that or go play outside.  I stand by my choice!

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31 DAYS OF HELL-O-WEEN:
The Take-Home Game!

Once again, here are some logos for those of you who (for some dumb reason) want to play along at home!  It doesn't have to be daily--heck, just do one or two for the entire month--that's just as valid.  I'm just a dum-dum that does stuff the hard way.  There's no glory, no fame, and no fortune (trust me, this is the fourth year and none of those are anywhere to be found).  It's just for fun.  Sorry, I meant "fun".  If you do wind up using them or posting anything, send me an e-mail of the link and I'll check it out!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the first pass with pen-and-ink and gouache (opaque watercolor) painting.  I had some pencils, but I did them so light they didn't scan for sour apples, so here's this stage, instead.

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STEP TWO:  And this was the finished painting/pen-and-ink before I imported it into Clip Studio Paint to colorize the bottom panel and engage in some digital chicanery to clean it up a little bit.  I did include the word balloon which was done in CSP.

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STEP THREE:  And here's the finished image.  Onward to tomorrow's image!

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Done in pen-and-ink and gouache on 11" x 14" (140#) watercolor paper and some digital fixing and coloration in Clip Studio Paint.

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