Bizarro Year in Review: 2023

2023 Year in Review
By Bizarro

Well, this year just flew by and was filled with all manner of weirdness--some of which were actually pretty cool and completely unexpected.  My art was accidentally used on an alternate Marvel Comics cover to "A.X.E.: Eve of Judgement" #1 by Mr. Garcin.  So, I guess I got to do a Marvel Comics cover in the most bass-ackwards, Rube Goldberg-esque manner... which is exactly the way I would expect it to happen for me, I suppose.

I was also invited to have some of my art on the Escape Motions Rebelle social media pages.  Again, that was cool.  I was also invited to Beta Test Rebelle 7, which was interesting and fun (I hope you're all sitting down, but I'm a nerd).  I found a few bugs, made some suggestions for future features, so we'll see how that goes.  Rebelle has replaced Corel Painter for myself, and has a great painting engine (particularly the Watercolor brush).  They also have a new Metallic paint effect that is pretty neat.  And the pricing isn't outrageous.  Rebelle and Clip Studio Paint are my go to Art Programs.

I also submitted every month this year to semi-local Art Magazine, "Moss Piglet", out of Kenosha, WI, for other art-based fun, and did a few other projects here and there.  Artistically, I think I'm vaguely getting better.  More practice, practice, practice, is needed of course.

After some of that attention, my Blog(s) seemed to take off for several months.  Normally, my Blog is very, VERY modest.  I get about 1,500 hits per month on average.  For a couple months, I was getting several hundred hits a day an a couple times when I had 5,000+ people a day (once as many as 8,000 in a day).  For a little bit, I will admit the numbers made me think I was gonna be popular and my star was gonna rise and all those other cliches.  But, oddly, as much traffic as it generated, I can't say it really moved the needle at all.  There was no real engagement, no new people following me, or anything else of the sort.  They were just numbers on a graph went up, making me wonder if they were just bots, if any of the numbers are real, and just the general existential questions we all ask ourselves.  Ironically, the added traffic dropped off a cliff and returned to mostly normal the day before I started my "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween", which I consider a pretty fun challenge.  Ah, well, again, I'm not sure what the numbers mean, if anything.  Shrug and move on, I guess.  😀

This next year, I'm hoping to expand things a bit more and push myself a bit further.  I have a few projects I'm hoping to do which may be fun, announcements forthcoming later in the year.

I just want to take a few moments to thank everyone who has stopped by to gawk at my modest Blog.  It is much appreciated, more than you can possibly know.  I'm hoping the New Year will be filled with Peace, Love, and all that jazz for everyone.

Peace out, y'all!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Done digitally in Rebelle 7, with a lettering assist from Clip Studio Paint

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Merry Sithmas - Darth Zannah

 MERRY SITHMAS
Darth Zannah

Hey, hey, it's another Sithmas Card!  Always two Sithmas Cards there are... and this time, fittingly enough, it's Darth Zannah, the apprentice to Darth Bane: The original "Rule of Two".

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done in Clip Studio Paint.  It is a 2,00px x 2,791px document at 300dpi.  I used the Symmetry Tool to keep everything, well, symmetrical between the two sides.  Originally, I was going to do the outfit in red with white Santa-type trim along the collar, but then changed my mind and did a full on Santa-type cloak.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks, mostly done with a 15pt digital brush.

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STEP THREE:  Here are the colors, done in a variety of layers under the inked layer before the animation lights were applied.  For the animation, three images were imported into Photoshop in the Timeline, and exported as an animated .GIF.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint (with the animated .GIF produced in Photoshop).

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Merry Sithmas - Darth Sion

 MERRY SITHMAS
Darth Sion

Hey, hey, it's a little late, but here's yet another Sithmas Card!  This time, it's deeper into the lore with Darth Sion, The Lord of Pain.  And dry skin, no doubt; he needs to up his skin care routine.  Darth Sion first appeared in 2004 with "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords" video game and has shown up in some comics.

Hmm, with the position of the necrotic-type skin on his torso, I just realized it almost looks like he is wearing a tank top or suspenders.  Sigh... Oh, well.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done in Clip Studio Paint.  It is a 2,00px x 2,791px document at 300dpi.  I used the Symmetry Tool to keep everything, well, symmetrical between the two sides, then turned it off for the hat and a couple other random bits.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks.  They were mostly done with a 15pt digital brush.

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STEP THREE:  Here are the colors, done in a variety of layers under the inked layer before the animation lights were applied.  For the animation, three images were imported into Photoshop in the Timeline, and exported as an animated .GIF.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint (with the animated .GIF produced in Photoshop).

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Day 31: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
It's the Great Pumpkin,
Charlie Brown (1966)

Hey, hey!  I made it to the end of
"31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" 2023!

Although, ironically, this was the latest I posted a "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" for this year.  In each of the previous years, I had several times where I didn't finish up my drawing or painting and get it posted until 10:00pm or so, and I think one time it was after 11:00pm.  So, dangerously close.  This year, however, I was able to keep up the the schedule and had them posted by 10:00am at the latest (well, except for this one, which is posted at 4:00pm), even though the actual paintings kept incriminating up in time to the point where I was spending an average of about 6 hours per painting.  

I will admit it's a lot of work and I take the "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" embarrassingly serious.  Oh, well, it's great practice.  This year, most of 'em turned out not too bad; a few of them are actually better than OK; and there are also a few stinkers in the bunch that I am slightly embarrassed by.  Y'know, the usual.

Anyhoo, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  👻 🎃 💀

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STEP ONE:  In Clip Studio Paint, I created a 2,000px x 3,000px digital canvas and scribbled out the digital pencils.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks.  I exported the digital inks as a .PNG file, which I then imported into Rebelle 6 to do the coloring.

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STEP THREE:  Just for fun, here's the color plate which I did in Rebelle 6, which I then exported as another .PNG file, sized to fit under the Black Plate from Clip Studio Paint.

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STEP FOUR:  In Clip Studio Paint, I imported the color plate and placed the black plate over top.  I tweaked a couple minor spots to add shadows to the Great Pumpkin and such and called it good enough.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint and Rebelle.

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Day 30: Wicked City (1987) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Wicked City (1987)

I will admit, that when I looked at the Blog this morning, ready to Post today's "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" drawing, I almost fell outta my chair trying to figure out why the posted number said I was at 28 days of HELL-O-Ween so far.  After feverishly making sure I didn't forget to hit "Publish", checking to make sure the latest painting was up on the Blog, and trying to figure out how I missed a day.  After about a minute of panic, I realized the real problem is that I cannot count to 30.  I had accidentally typed in "Day 28" for two different posts.  Sigh...  I'll learn to count beyond my fingers and toes one of these days.

Anyhoo, here we are--one more day to go!  Today's feature is from the 1987 Anime, "Wicked City".  I remember watching this a while back and being impressed with some of the animation and the wild and crazy storyline.  The amount of Anime in America at that time was still limited.  This featured demons, half-demons, and all manner of wild creatures.  Oh, and nudity, as well.  In this case, it was a spider demon with... let's just say she was nude and had a toothy spinneret.

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STEP ONE:  In Clip Studio Paint, I created a 2,000px x 3,000px digital canvas and, using the Symmetry Tool, hastily scribbled the digital pencils.

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STEP TWO:  I used the Transparent color for the ink brush as an eraser of sorts.  I really appreciated the Transparent color option to change any brush you are using into an eraser in Clip Studio Paint.  Every art program should do that, IMHO.

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STEP THREE:  And here is the finished, colored digital scratchboard.  The color was done overtop using a Multiply Layer.  I exported the layers to Photoshop and put in the logo and called it good.  Tomorrow's the last day!

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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Day 29: Robot Monster (1953) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Robot Monster (1953)

Meet the titular "Robot Monster" (1953), Ro-Man, an alien gorilla from Mars as part of an invasion force wearing a diving bell with a radio antenna on top of the helmet and somewhat shot in 3-D--what's not to love?  The story is... well, nothing to speak of, I suppose.  [Spoilers: It was all a concussion-based dream--or was it?]  It's considered one of the worst movies ever made (a long list, of which I've probably seen too many), right up there with "Plan 9 from Outer Space", "Troll 2", and so many others.

And, yeah, I know there's no skull inside the fishbowl in the movie itself, but it was on the movie poster and it looks pretty darn cool--so in it goes!

This was done with Acrylic Paint with a palette of Paynes Gray and Titanium White.

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STEP ONE:  Here is a quick breakdown done over some hastily scribbled pencils.  It is painted on an 8-1/2" x 11" extra thick cardstock which was primed with a 50/50 mix of gesso and matte medium.

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STEP TWO:  And here's the second and third pass with acrylic paint.

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STEP THREE:  It's the finished painting.

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Done with Acrylic paint on 8-1/2" x 11" gessoed cardstock.

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Day 28: Malum (2023) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Malum (2023)

"Malum" (2023) is a remake of 2014's "Last Shift" (I admit I haven't seen that one) by the same creative team.  The story involves a rookie cop taking the last shift at a decommissioned police station--the same station where her previous hero father, also a cop, had shot and killed several officers before being killed, himself.  During her shift, she is on a mission to find out what really happened... and that's when the cultists of the Low God begin to show up.

Gruesome special effects and a claustrophobic, foreboding sense of dread permeate the movie, with many scenes messing with reality so you are constantly off-kilter as to what is "real" and what is imaginary, and even question if there is a difference.

This was done with Acrylic Paint and a palette of: Paynes Gray, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Deep Red, and Primary Cyan.

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STEP ONE:  Here is a quick, color breakdown done over some hastily scribbled pencils.  It is painted on an 8-1/2" x 11" extra thick cardstock which was primed with a 50/50 mix of gesso and matte medium.

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STEP TWO:  And here's the second and third pass with acrylic paint.

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STEP THREE:  It's the finished painting.

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Done with Acrylic paint on 8-1/2" x 11" gessoed cardstock.

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Day 27: Let the Right One In (2008) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Let the Right One In (2008)

This time it is the fantastic Swedish Vampire film, "Let the Right One In" (2008).  A twelve-year-old boy, terribly bullied at school, meets and befriends a "young" girl he later learns is a vampire.  A tale of loneliness, family, and love (of a sort?  The "love" of a Vampire, appropriately, seems of a more parasitic nature).

[Minor Spoiler:]  The entirety of the pool scene at the end shows why you don't mess with Vampires; even though the action is off screen, you see the results as they happen and it is worth the price of admission.

This was done with Acrylic Paint and a palette of: Paynes Gray, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Deep Red, and Primary Cyan.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here is a quick, color breakdown done over some hastily scribbled pencils.  It is painted on an 8-1/2" x 11" extra thick cardstock which was primed with a 50/50 mix of gesso and matte medium.

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STEP TWO:  And here's a continuation and general tightening up of the painting.

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STEP THREE:  It's the finished painting.

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Done with Acrylic paint on 8-1/2" x 11" gessoed cardstock.

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Day 26: Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993)

This time around, I thought I'd do the melted zombie that ripped his own face in half from "Return of the Living Dead 3", in which the U.S. Military wants to use weaponized zombies to fight in wars.

I will admit, this painting was not nearly as successful as I had hoped.  While the melted parts looked slightly unrealistic in the practical effects, the problems were magnified by the painting.  Oh, well, here it is nonetheless.  I probably should have done the Melinda Clarke character/female zombie, instead.  Next year, I guess...  Hopefully, the next one will be better.

This was done with Acrylic Paint and a palette of: Paynes Gray, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Primary Cyan, Cadmium Yellow, and Cadmium Red Deep.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here is a quick, color breakdown done over some hastily scribbled pencils.  It is painted on an 8-1/2" x 11" extra thick cardstock which was primed with a 50/50 mix of gesso and matte medium.

* * *

STEP TWO:  And here's a continuation and general tightening up of the painting.

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STEP THREE:  It's the finished painting done with lots and lots and lots of back-and-forth.

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Done with Acrylic paint on 8-1/2" x 11" gessoed cardstock.

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Day 25: Dagon (2001) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Dagon (2001)

It's another Stuart Gordon, Lovecraft adaptation, "Dagon" (2001).  This time, it's much less the titular H.P. Lovecraft's "Dagon" and more H.P. Lovecraft's "Shadow Over Innsmouth".  (A good insult is to label someone as having "The Innsmouth look".  You're welcome!)

When I thought about doing "Dagon", first considered just painting the female cult leader of Dagon, but she just seemed rather normal aside from her golden crown, given that she was actually a tentacled monster beneath the ceremonial garb.  So, what to do?  Obviously a parody the Starbucks logo!

Also, it was relatively simple, so that actually lets me catch up a bit, so there's that.

There isn't really anything to do as far as the Work in Progress.  Here's the circles and lettering I did in Affinity Designer 2... and here's the drawing I did in Clip Studio Paint with the Symmetry Tool.

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Done digitally with Affinity Designer 2 and Clip Studio Paint.

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Day 24: Mars Attacks! (1996) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Mars Attacks! (1996)

"Mars Attacks!" was chaotic, malicious fun, with humanity dealing with an invasion of Martians with no known objective aside from playing murderously gleeful pranks and destroying all institutions.  I was familiar with the "Mars Attacks!" from the trading cards (alas, I never got to own any of 'em--just saw them printed in the occasional Sci-Fi books and magazines I used to read), and the Tim Burton Movie sort of followed the zany carnage of the cards, although the cards were a lot more gruesome in many ways.

Tons of various stars in the movie, from Jack Nicholson and Glenn Close to Jack Black and Natalie Portman.  I do have to admit, the early CGI for the Martians doesn't entirely hold up to modern eyes.  I would be curious what Harryhausen-esque stop-motion animated Martians would look like.  I can see it even more creepy and unearthly, rather than PS3 graphics version of unrealistic looking effects.

This was done with Acrylic Paint and a palette of: Paynes Gray, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Primary Cyan, Sap Green, Cadmium Yellow, and Cadmium Red Deep.

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STEP ONE:  Here is a quick, color breakdown done over some hastily scribbled pencils.  It is painted on an 8-1/2" x 11" extra thick cardstock which was primed with a 50/50 mix of gesso and matte medium.

* * *

STEP TWO:  And here's a continuation and general tightening up of the painting.

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STEP THREE:  It's the finished painting done with lots and lots and lots of back-and-forth.

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Done with Acrylic paint on 8-1/2" x 11" gessoed cardstock.

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Day 23: Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

It's another Hammer-produced movie starring Christopher Lee as Dracula!  I've watched so many Hammer Dracula movies as a kid and I always found something oddly frightening about them.  Although, maybe it was just Christopher Lee...

This was done with Acrylic Paint and a limited palette of: Paynes Gray, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Deep Red, and Primary Cyan.

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STEP ONE:  Here is a quick underpainting done with Payne's Gray and Titanium White as a sort of grisaille underpainting.  This time I did a pencil sketch underneath to try and keep everything together and give it a better foundational starting point.  It is painted on an 8-1/2" x 11" extra thick cardstock which was primed with a 50/50 mix of gesso and matte medium.

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STEP TWO:  And here's the next pass with color and some extra modeling done with the paint.

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STEP THREE:  It's the finished painting done with lots and lots and lots of back-and-forth.

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Done with Acrylic paint on 8-1/2" x 11" gessoed cardstock.

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Day 22: Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)

OK, I've done "Invasion of the Saucer Men" (1957) a couple times in the past on this Blog, but it was one of those formative movies of my childhood.  I can't say it was in a good way, necessarily.  As a child, this movie scared the bejeesus outta me.  I watched the movie alone, in the dark, during an overnight show called "T.J. and the A.N.T. (All Night Theater)", which showed various Monster/Sci-Fi B-Movies and old TV Series that were cheap and in syndication (the classic "Andy Griffith Show", "Charlie Chan", and many others). 

The aliens had giant, bulbous heads, bug eyes (with an extra eye on the back of their hands), double mouths, and hypodermic needles coming out of their fingers.  And the squeaking and squealing they did was also terrifying to me as a kid.

Then, when I watched "Invasion of the Saucer Men" as an adult (well, let me put "Adult" in scare quotes), it was terrifying all over again.  Mostly because rather than a scary horror movie of a monstrous invasion, it is actually an attempted comedic parody of space alien movies.  In the end, the aliens are vanquished by a group of car headlights shining on them, which cause them to explode.  Just imagine what the modern car's LED beams at full intensity would do to them!

Anyhoo, this hits me right in the ol' nostalgia and is part of what lead me down the path of wanting to watch so many other B-Movies involving aliens/monsters/and robots.  I made my decision as a child and I guess I stick by it.

This was done with Acrylic Paint and a limited palette of: Paynes Gray andTitanium White.

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STEP ONE:  Here is a quick, color breakdown done to suggest the general layout on the page.  It is painted on an 8-1/2" x 11" extra thick cardstock which was primed with a 50/50 mix of gesso and matte medium.

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STEP TWO:  And here's the next pass to put more paint on the cardstock.

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STEP THREE:  It's the finished painting.  Onward to the next one!

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Done with Acrylic paint on 8-1/2" x 11" gessoed cardstock.

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Day 21: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2023:
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

Hey, hey!  Twenty-one down and ten to go!  Someone queue up "The Final Countdown" by Europe!  The end is slowly in sight (although, ironically, I have several out-of-town and extra-busy days and real-life distractions ahead during this last stretch, so we shall see how that goes)...

While not really a horror movie, per se, "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" (1958) is definitely a Monster Movie.  It includes many, cool monsters of mythology: a Cyclops, skeletons, Naga, Dragons, and two-headed Roc, and so many more bits of Ray Harryhausen goodness.  And there is something unearthly and slightly extra-creepy with Harryhausen's stop-motion animation, which makes the monsters all the more seemingly monstrous.

This was done with Acrylic Paint and a limited palette of: Paynes Gray, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, and Primary Cyan.

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STEP ONE:  Here is a quick, color breakdown done to suggest the general layout on the page.  It is painted on an 8-1/2" x 11" extra thick cardstock which was primed with a 50/50 mix of gesso and matte medium.

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STEP TWO:  And here's the next pass to just try to tighten everything up for the painting.

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STEP THREE:  It's the finished painting done with lots and lots and lots of back-and-forth.

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Done with Acrylic paint on 8-1/2" x 11" gessoed cardstock.

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