Day 24: Matango (1963) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Matango (1963)

A Japanese horror/monster movie involving a shipwreck on an island of radioactively mutated mushrooms which transform those who have eaten them into walking mushrooms.  In many ways, it is a bleak movie, even with the somewhat goofy man-in-rubber-suit body horror/monsters, and it does have a certain charm which I like about many of the Japanese monster movies of the time.

The director, Ishiro Honda, is also known for directing another Japanese Kaiju movie known as "Godzilla".  I'm sure there's a connection between Mushrooms and Mushroom Clouds that I'm just not smart enough to make...

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.

Day 23: Hollow Man (2000) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Hollow Man (2000)

It's a Paul Verhoeven remake of "The Invisible Man", "Hollow Man" (2000).  Being Verhoeven, there is a lot of action, interesting visual effects, and blood, too.  I always thought it was strange to have characters go mad with power after becoming invisible, but then again Plato's "Ring of Gyges" was about that very thing (look at me, showing off).

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the quick, digital pencils done in Clip Studio Paint on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas.  Alas, they are pretty dark and barely visible (appropriately enough, given the subject).

* * *

STEP TWO:  And here's the digital scratchboard.  It was a black canvas and using a pen brush with a transparent color--it acts like an eraser, but with the normal brush settings.  Every digital paint program should have this feature, IMHO.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished digital drawing.

* * *

Done digitally with Clip Studio Paint.

.

Day 22: Event Horizon (1997) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Event Horizon (1997)

Hey, it's Dr. William Weir from "Event Horizon" gone "Beast" mode.  Sartre said Hell is other people; turns out Hell is other people in a spaceship which has a black hole warp core that takes them to a another dimension which is a literal Hell.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.

Day 21: Planet Terror (2007) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Planet Terror (2007)

An homage to the grindhouse/exploitation horror movies of the 70's (it was literally part of the double feature for the movie "Grindhouse" (2007), before being split apart to it's own movie), "Planet Terror" is an absurd and grisly take on an escaped bio-virus which transforms its victims into horrible, gooey, rage-filled monsters.  Intentionally over-the-top, it does have it's turn-off-your-brain, squeamishly fun moments.

It's obviously a crazy alternate world in which there is an outbreak and with global ramifications but people just don't pay enough attention to prevent the spread.  Can you imagine something so absurd?  Only in the fever-dreams of Hollyweird, I guess.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.

Day 20: Day of the Dead (1985) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Day of the Dead (1985)

Hey, it's Dr. Tongue from George Romero's sequel to the previous post, "Dawn of the Dead"!

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.

Day 19: Dawn of the Dead (1978) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Dawn of the Dead (1978)

No, it isn't some sort of ultra-messed up zombie porn scene.  Who wouldn't want to see a Zombie hit in the face with a cherry cream pie?  Just one of the many strange scenes in George Romero's semi-satirical "Dawn of the Dead" (1978).  After being turned into zombies, many of the undead just go to the one place they remember from their previous life--the Mall.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.

Day 18: House of 1,000 Corpses (2003) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
House of 1,000 Corpses (2003)

Speaking of creepy clowns, it's the late, great Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding from Rob Zombie's "House of 1,000 Corpses".  It is a grindhouse style movie remix of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre".  A family that slays together stays together!  See, the movie has a positive message about family.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.

Day 17: Clown (2014) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Clown (2014)

It's time for a spooky clown!  In this case, "Clown" (2014).  The movie has a birthday clown cancel and the father trying to step in after he finds a box containing a clown costume.  Hilarity... oh, wait, I mean horror ensues when he discovers after the party that he cannot remove the costume.  He later learns that it is not a clown costume, but the skin of an Icelandic demon, a Cloyne, and a slow transformation--physically and mentally--into the demon continues.  More horror ensues and some very darkly comedic bits, as well.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Oops, I realized a little too late that I did not do a scan of the pencils.  So, here's the first pass (and a little bit of a second pass) overtop the non-scanned pencils.

* * *

STEP TWO:  And here's the finished painting.  A lot of back-and-forth to try and give some of the spooky textures, etc.  My scanner didn't quite pick up all the more subtle effects, so it's all a bit more harsh on the Blog than in "real" life.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.

Day 16: Scream (1996) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Scream (1996)

Wes Craven's "Scream" was a fun, self-referential movie involving a killer(s) in a Ghostface mask picking off teen-agers in a manner which played to--and undermined--the cliches of the horror movies.  It was darkly comedic and had some tension, as well.  The famous opening scene with the phone call with Drew Barrymore set the tone for the rest of the movie.

Well, I'm just over the halfway point for "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween", so let's see if I can keep it up... or if I will completely fall apart.  To be honest, it can go either way.  Partly fun, partly blind terror.  Well, now that sounds like HELL-O-Ween in a nutshell!

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the digital pencils, done on a 2,000px x 3,000px document in Clip Studio Paint.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's about the halfway point in the digital painting.

* * *

STEP THREE:  And the final image.  I have to admit that this was a relatively easy one to do, but it was a bit of a much-needed easy one to catch my breath for a few, as it were.

* * *

Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

.

Day 15: Mad God (2021) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Mad God (2021)

OK, I admit this one is different. "Mad God" (2021) is a (mostly) stop-motion animation by Phil Tippett, best known for doing special effects in many other movies ("Robocop 2" and "Jurassic Park", for example).  It is filled with horrific scenes of deformed monsters and terrifying cruelty.  While there is a semblance of a storyline, this is one of those movies which is best to just let wash over you in a series of ghastly scenes and disturbing sounds.

If you are familiar with the animation of The Brothers Quay, I was reminded of their work (they are probably best known for some of their stop motion interstitials they did for MTV back in the mid-90's).  Whereas there is a clinical precision to their animations, Tippett's "Mad God" is filled with the carnal and the chaotic fused together into a compelling, nightmare world.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE:  I imported it into Clip Studio Paint to do all the random bits and bobs overtop.  I will admit, though, I am not completely happy with the end results.  Ah, well.  Passable, but it in no way captures the twitchy nightmare of the movie.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock and a digital assist from Clip Studio Paint.

.

Day 14: Slither (2006) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Slither (2006)

James Gunn sure likes to put Michael Rooker through the ringer in much the same way Sam Rami does to Bruce Campbell.  There's a fun-loving cruelty about it which carries over into the movies, as well.  In this case, it's slimey li'l invaders from space which take over people's minds and transform their bodies, with body horror cranked up to "11".

If you like James Gunn movies (and I do), "Slither" is a pretty good, darkly comedic, sci-fi/horror movie.  It does have gross-outs galore, though.

Well, two weeks in and I just now caught back up, just in time to have to put the pedal to the medal for the weekend to stay ahead of the game.  Eesh!

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.

Day 13: The Beyond (1981) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
The Beyond (1981)

It's a Fulci Classic, "The Beyond".  The story, as such, is kind of hard to describe... One of the Seven Gates of Hell is in Louisiana (gee, only one of the seven, you say? /joke!/), and the Guardian of the Gate is killed by a mob for practicing Black Magic back in the 1800's.  From there the story picks up in the 1980's and involves people trying to decide what to do with the Louisiana haunted hotel which is also one of the Gates of Hell which, if opened, will end the World.

There are zombies, people-eating tarantulas, more zombies, acid that dissolves humans at an astonishing rate, and more zombies.  Fulci was knows for his Grand Guignol style which is so over-the-top at times that one almost has to laugh.  I do appreciate that he doesn't play it safe with his story or characters, though, which adds to the sense that no one is safe in his movies.  What's that, there's no way something could happen to that child?  [Spoilers!]  Oops, she's possessed and takes a gunshot to the face.

As for the special effects, there is a certain charm to Fulci and his obvious use of dummies and odd prosthetics, and gallons and gallons of fake blood.  As such, the zombie painting is intentionally a little more grotty to reflect the crumbly mask the actor wore.  (That's right, I **MEANT** to do that!)

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.

Day 12: Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil (2017) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil (2017)

The Devil went down to Georgia... Oh, wait, that isn't the movie at all.  I stumbled across this movie by accident while scrolling randomly through Netflix one evening.  I never heard of the movie before and figured I'd give it a shot.  Based on a Basque folklore, the movie involves a Blacksmith who has imprisoned a demon and is torturing the demon for all the Blacksmith's woes and troubles.  The demon is released by an orphan girl and problems ensue.  

I won't spoil anything, but I found it a solid and visually interesting movie.

* * *

STEP ONE:  Here are the pencils on an 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

* * *

STEP TWO:  Here's the first (and probably part of a second) pass with acrylic paint.

* * *

STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic Paint on 8-1/2" x 11" toned cardstock.

.