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.

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

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

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

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

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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.

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

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

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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!

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

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

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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.

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

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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!

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

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

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

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

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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!)

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

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

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

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

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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.

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

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

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

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

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Day 11: Hellraiser (2022) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Hellraiser (2022)

Yikes!  Cutting a bit close to the wire this time...  Anyhoo, this time it's the new Pinhead the 2022... Remake?  Sequel?  Requel? "Hellraiser".  Overall, it was pretty good horror movie with several new variations on old Cenobites.  Jamie Clayton makes a good and visually interesting new Pinhead (although, Doug Bradley is still the top... there were a couple other guys who played Pinhead, but they kind of reminded me of Uncle Fester from "The Adams Family" in some sort of sewing accident).

There were a few of the usual horror tropes of dumb young adults standing around while danger slowly approaches, and a couple times when the Cenobites just seemed to be wandering around in the background like they lost their car keys rather than being summoned to this world for a mission.  But, where would horror movies be without those cliches, I guess?

And, yeah, the pins in the Pinhead painting are a little short.  Sigh.  Good thing I choose to do them in acrylic paint rather than digitally so it would be almost impossible to correct them all without having to repaint a significant chunk of the painting over again.  😓😰😱

Well, enough talk--I gotta get going on the next post(s) if I wanna "Beat the Reaper" for 31 HELL-O-Ween posts in 31 days!  Onward!

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

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

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

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

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Day 10: Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

Once again, done in plenty of time!  By which I mean an hour-and-a-half to go.  I'd hoped to be a little further along and start getting ahead of the situation, but of course the "Real World" has been interfering.  Curses!

Anyhoo, this post is Dr. Channard from "Hellbound: Hellraiser II" from 1988, after his conversion to a Cenobite.  Previous post, Frank, makes an appearance, where his punishment in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks is to be like Tantalus--all he desires is literally just out of reach and disappears as soon as he moves toward it.  Julia, Frank's partner in crime, also makes an appearance as well in the flayed, female form, so I guess that's an aesthetic choice for the series--people without skin walking around.

Dr. Channard becomes a Cenobite and decides he's taking over and kills Pinhead, Butterball, Chatterer, and the Female Cenobite (nicknamed "Deep Throat")... Don't worry, they get better and the Channard Cenobite gets his comeuppance. 

There is also a lot of world building in "Hellbound: Hellraiser II", some of which is interesting.  The special effects can be hit-and-miss, although there is a certain quaintness to the obvious matte paintings and stop motion animation like something from Tim Burton's production company.  Still, it is one of the better in the "Hellraiser" franchise for all its foibles.

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

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

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

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

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Day 09: Hellraiser (1987) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Hellraiser (1987)

Hey, hey!  Done with plenty of time--as least an hour-and-a-half!  Anyhoo, I was a fan of Clive Barker's writing back in the day, and did like "Hellraiser" as a horror movie.  It was visually interesting and embraced that aesthetic.  In this case, rather than one of the Cenobites, I figured I'd do a painting of Frank, as he is being reformed bit-by-bit after his escape from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks (or where ever the Cenobites reside).  There is something horrific about a flayed man in a bloody business suit.

Onward to the next one!

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

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

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

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

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Day 08: Young Frankenstein (1974) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Young Frankenstein (1974)

Young Frankenstein is the Doctor, the Young Monster is actually... Oh, wait, never mind, I did that joke already.  While not a Horror movie, per se, it is a parody done with such care and attention to details, that they used the actual props from the original James Whale movie of "Frankenstein" (1932).  It is a great comedy with so many great lines.  In our office, I used to call out "Puddin' on da ritz!" to a couple co-workers in the know, followed by "Soooper-duperrrr!"  Also, Marty Feldman as Igor (pronounced "Eyegore") was awesome, with the response to where he got the brain for the monster: "Abby... Someone".

Slight tangent: I generally like parody songs (and movies, comics, books, etc.).  There is a parody of the Kim Carnes song "She's got Bette Davis Eyes" by Bruce "Baby Man" Baum, "She's Got Marty Feldman Eyes".  It was a regular rotation on "Dr. Demento" back in the day (a syndicated radio show which played all manner of novelty songs, and strange ephemera) and I was delighted to hear it every single time!  Give it a listen, won't you?  😁

Great stuff!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the loosely sketched digital (blue) pencils on a 2,000px x 3,000px canvas.

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STEP TWO:  And here's the first with a digital brush in Clip Studio Paint called "Wet Chet". It's sort of a cross between a gouache and charcoal brush.

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

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Done digitally in Clip Studio Paint.

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Day 07: Society (1989) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2022
Society (1989)

This time it's a bit of satirical horror in which the rich quite literally consume the poor (no one said the satire was subtle).  In "Society", Billy learns the rich (and his family) aren't just a different Class, but a different species altogether.  This particular scene is from their, um, orgy of sorts, where the rich all merge together and absorb the sacrificial poor, working class.  The movie is fun and mildly amusing with a lot of grotesqueries by the end, mixed in with the 80's style rubber suits and puppetry.

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

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

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STEP THREE: And here's the finished painting.

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

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