Day 15: John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) Mash-Up - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
John Carpenter's The Thing (1982)

Hey, hey, it's pretty much the halfway point.  This time it's Thing #1 and Thing #2 from Dr. Seuss's "Cat in the Hat" as, well, Thing #1 and Thing #2 that became Split-Face from "John Carpenter's The Thing" (1982).  Sure, it's a joke so obvious that even I made a similar one previously with Thing #1 and Thing #2 as John Carpenter's The Thing, as have many others, of course.  But, since I guess I'll be doing mash-ups this week, I figured I could revisit that well, why not?

I debated on how realistic I wanted to go with this, but since it was a mash-up, I decided to keep it a bit more Seussian in its whimsy.  I'm debating about revisiting it before the end of the month on the opposite side of the scale.

I also thought it would be amusing to have the "Thing #1" and "Thing #2" signs on their chest weirdly merging, as well. 

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick, digital pencils in Rebelle 8 on a 2,000px x 3,000px @300dpi digital canvas.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks.

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STEP THREE:  Here are the finished colors, done on their own layer.

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Done in Rebelle 8.

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Day 14: The Invisible Man (1933) Mash-Up - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Invisible Man (1933)

I often joke about having to use a blank picture and say it is "The Invisible Man" if I ever don't finish a drawing/painting in time.  Well, in this case, I did the Claude Rains "Invisible Man" as a mash-up with Charles Schulz's Charlie Brown for no reason whatsoever.  Well, other than I wanted to do something with "The Invisible Man" since I was doing the Universal Monsters and all.  And the image of having him as Charlie Brown popped into my head, so I decided to go with it (and will do a few more in this vein, perhaps).

Alongside that image, I thought it would have been amusing to have him writing a variation of Rorschach's Journal from "Watchmen": "Invisible Man's journal. October 14th, 2025. Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face..." but thought it was maybe a bit too much, with a hat on a hat on top of yet a third hat.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick, digital pencils in Rebelle 8 on a 2,000px x 3,000px @300dpi digital canvas.

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STEP TWO:  And here are the digital inks.

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STEP THREE:  Here are the plain colors also done in Rebelle.

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STEP FOUR:  I opened the color plate in Photoshop and used the Color Halftone filter.  And then I imported the finished picture into Clip Studio Paint and placed the paper texture over top.

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Done in Rebelle 8 with an assist from Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop.

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Day 13: The Breakfast Club: Carmella Creeper - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Breakfast Club: Carmella Creeper

Whew, got it done just in time and an hour-and-a-half to spare (well, about one hour by the time you factor in the scanning, clean-up, and whatnot).  Although, I did think it would be fun to set it to post at 11:59:59pm just to add a bit of suspense.

In my dotage, I do have to admit that Carmella Creeper somehow slipped past my Monster Cereal radar.  Well, that and my attempts to avoid sugary cereals, so I don't pay as much attention to that part of the food aisle as I did a years ago--aside from a brief notice that it is that time of year when the Monster Cereals are back out again (which I find reassuring, for some nostalgic reason). 

Anyhoo, here is "The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935) as Carmella Creeper.  Although, she seems to look a lot like the goth lady on NCIS, Abby Sciuto (played by Pauley Perrette... Yes, I had to Google it 'cuz I didn't know the answer to either of those questions).

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 12" x 16" canvas @ 300dpi. 

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 12: The Breakfast Club: Frute Brute - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Breakfast Club: Frute Brute

Still done in plenty of time, it's Frute Brute done as the Universal Wolfman.

There's still one more Monster Cereal mascot to go for tomorrow, and after that... well, I'm still trying to figure that out.  We shall see!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 11" x 14" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on 11" x 14" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 11: The Breakfast Club: Yummy Mummy - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Breakfast Club: Yummy Mummy

It's Yummy Mummy, based on the original "The Mummy" (1932) with Boris Karloff (y'know, Frankenstein's Monster).  The colors were just getting too muddy when I tried to do a more realistic shading and I wanted those colors to pop, so I went with a completely different painting scheme.  Almost a sort of color solarized effect.  It... it definitely stands out.  I'm unsure if it was successful, but here it is nonetheless.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 11" x 14" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on 11" x 14" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 10: The Breakfast Club: Boo-Berry - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Breakfast Club: Boo-Berry

It's Boo-Berry, this time as the "Phantom of the Opera" (1925).  I'll be honest, I wanted to do "The Invisible Man" (1933), but with both "The Invisible Man" and "The Mummy" coming up for Yummy-Mummy seemed a little too close together.  Also, Phantom and Ghost seemed like enough of a connection to hang Boo-Berry's pork-pie hat upon.  And bow-tie.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 11" x 14" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on 11" x 14" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 09: The Breakfast Club: Count Chocula - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Breakfast Club: Count Chocula

Hey, hey, everybody!  Next up on the Universal Monster Cereal mash-up is Bela Lugosi's "Dracula" as Count Chocula.  Two down, four more to go.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 11" x 14" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on 11" x 14" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 08: The Breakfast Club: Frankenberry - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Breakfast Club: Frankenberry

This is an idea that I've had previously--using the Universal Monsters as the Monster Cereal characters--but this time I am doing all the Breakfast Club in a larger, painted format.  First out of the gate is Frankenstein's Monster as Frankenberry.

Like "The Horrors of Sesame Street", I'm just doing the digital pencils and finished painting.  Alas, for these larger ones, I'm just painting as fast as I can to stay on schedule. Sigh...

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 11" x 14" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on trimmed down 11" x 14" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 07: The Horrors of Sesame Street: Grover - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Horrors of Sesame Street - Grover

It's the last of "The Horrors of Sesame Street"for now.  This time it's Grover as "John Carpenter's The Thing"--one of my favorite Horror Movies.

One week down!  Next on deck, another half-dozen series on Monster Cereal characters.  After that... I dunno.  I guess we'll all find out at the same time.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 11" x 14" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on trimmed down 11" x 14" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to do a scan of the mid-point in the painting, so here's the finished painting.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 06: The Horrors of Sesame Street: The Count - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Horrors of Sesame Street - The Count

It's another "The Horrors of Sesame Street"!  This time it's The Count as Count Orlok/Nosferatu.  To paraphrase a joke I saw a while back:

The scariest vampire?  No contest--It's The Count from "Sesame Street"
- "What?  He doesn't count!"
Oh, I assure you he does!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 11" x 14" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on trimmed down 11" x 14" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to do a scan of the mid-point in the painting, so here's the finished painting.

* * *

Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 05: The Horrors of Sesame Street: Prairie Dawn - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Horrors of Sesame Street - Prairie Dawn

"The Horrors of Sesame Street" continue!  This time it's Prairie Dawn as the Cenobite, Pinhead.  She has such sights to show you!

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 11" x 14" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on trimmed down 11" x 14" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to do a scan of the mid-point in the painting, so here's the finished painting.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 04: The Horrors of Sesame Street: Ernie - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Horrors of Sesame Street - Ernie

Yesterday was Bert, so today is, of course, Ernie.  He is Igor to Bert's Frankenstein Monster, which seemed fitting.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 12" x 16" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on trimmed down 12" x 18" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to do a scan of the mid-point in the painting, so here's the finished painting.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 03: The Horrors of Sesame Street: Bert - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Horrors of Sesame Street - Bert

Hey, hey, it's the second of the "The Horrors of Sesame Street", this time with Bert as Frankenstein's Monster.  And, yes, I will use that as an excuse to include one of my favorite Tweets on the subject from comedian, Joseph Scrimshaw:

Three posts down--that's almost 10% of the way there.  Again, who's counting?  😉

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 12" x 16" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on trimmed down 12" x 18" paper.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to do a scan of the mid-point in the painting, so here's the finished painting.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 02: The Horrors of Sesame Street: Kermit - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
The Horrors of Sesame Street - Kermit

I had this idea a few years ago in the back of my mind and decided this was as good a time as any to dust it off and put it to use.  "The Horrors of Sesame Street" will be a series of 6 characters from "Sesame Street" transformed into various monsters.  This pairing was sort of obvious, but I'm nothing if not obvious.  

The good news is that I planned out a half-dozen to get an early start.  The bad news is that I only have three of them finished so far, so it's barely an early start at all, given that they are much larger (12" x 16") and take about twice the time to paint.  Sigh.  So, it looks like I will be playing the part of the Red Queen this October: Running as fast as I can just to stay in place.

Two posts down, 29 to go.  But, who's counting?  😃

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick pencils I did digitally in Clip Studio Paint on an 11" x 14" canvas @ 300dpi.  I printed it out on 11" x 14" paper I had laying about, not thinking about the 12" x 18" newsprint until I had a couple done and printed out already.  Yeah, I'm a little slow sometimes.

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STEP TWO:  I transferred the drawing onto a 12" x 16" gessoed chipboard using Carbon Paper/Transfer Paper, which I then painted.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to do a scan of the mid-point in the painting, so here's the finished painting.

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Done with Acrylic on 12" x 16" Gessoed Chipboard.

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Day 01: This Island Earth (1955) - 31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025

31 Days of HELL-O-Ween 2025:
This Island Earth (1955)

Well, here it is, the start of my 7th year doing "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween".  Over the years, I've done nearly 200 paintings, drawing, and assorted whatnot with various Monsters and their Movies.  This year, I'm hoping to mix stuff up a bit more.  I have plans for the first dozen pictures that will be monster-related, but not from particular movies, per se.  And, after that, I really don't have much of a plan for that, either.  Not that I really had much of a plan in the years prior, of course.  But, this time, much more so!  Or is it much less so? 

Anyhoo, this year I will probably play around a bit more with the format and subject matter, just sort of mixing stuff up some more than usual.  Will I post something all 31 days, as I have in the past?  Who knows?

I'm not sure why I started doing the first and last posts of "31 Days of HELL-O-Ween" with myself as various monsters... well, aside from being a solipsistic egomaniac (hmmm, what's the opposite of an oxymoron?  A tautological redundancy, perhaps?). Anyhoo, this one is a Metaluna Mutana (Or, "Myoo-tant", as pronounced in the movie) from "This Island Earth (1955)".  The Metaluna Mutant was the symbol for Sci-Fi when I was young, and the pictures of the Mutant fascinated me.  It was for a movie that I had never seen at that time, but sorely wanted to.  It was a long time before I caught the movie on a Weekend Monster Matinee on TV.

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STEP ONE:  Here are the quick, digital pencils in Rebelle 8 on a 2,000px x 3,000px @300dpi digital canvas.

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STEP TWO:  And here is the first pass with the layout and coloration.

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STEP THREE:  And here's the finished digital painting, done with a lot of back-and-forth, blending, and general reworking until everything is done.  I then imported it into Clip Studio Paint to put in th word balloon and logo.

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Done in Rebelle 8 with an assist from Clip Studio Paint.

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