GETTING MARRIED!

Lisa and I are off to get married! See you all next month.

METAL MONKEY KING AT SDCC!

Unfortunately I won't be there but the fantastic new "Metal Monkey King" by Nathan Jurevicius will be. This vinyl turned out amazing! Thanks to the good and talented folks at Munky King. They will also have a full color prototype of the upcoming Angry Clobber Monkey. Check out Vinyl Pulse for the latest.

NO COMICON FOR US THIS YEAR!

It’s that time of year again. Right after the 4th of July San Diego Comic Con fever kicks into high gear. This year will be the first time that Lisa & I have missed SDCC since 03. We have a good reason though; we are running off to the mountains of Colorado to get hitched. It was difficult to pick a date that worked for family and friends as well as our own schedules. July 26th just turned out to be the perfect date. I will miss seeing everyone at the Con, but there’s always next year!

I LOVE SKULLS!

A majority of my art has a fairly whimsical tone. It may not seem obvious, but I’ve always been a big fan of skulls. That’s why when I discovered “I Want Your Skull” I was thrilled and even more so when they included some of my work on the site.

Since I was very little I always remember being in love with skulls, skeletons, anything anatomical.



Around my studio there’s a variety of skulls.



This is a ceramic sculpture my Dad made when he was in high school art class, it kind of reveals his state of mind around 1951.
This used to be at my grandmother’s house. It was used as a doorstop. When I was a wee lad I was equally freaked out and fascinated by this piece. I will always treasure it.

NOW WHERE WERE WE?

I think several months ago I had finished the demo of making the molds for the Angry Clobber Monkey. Go back to Monday, March 10, 2008 that was the last entry on mold making. Now the silicone has been poured, most of the time it takes 12 hours or so to set up depending on how much catalyzer you mix in. When it’s good and solid tear away the foam core and gently pull apart the mold halves. Pop out the clay sculpt and powder the mold. Now it’s ready for resin.





Resin is a pricey material, and on small budget projects we want to waste as little as possible. Here’s a technique for getting a good estimate of how much resin will fill the mold. Some people like digital scales, I’m a fan of the old school 3 Beam scale. Easy to use, I’ve had this one since 1995 it was around $200 then, and that was a big investment! It’s paid for it self many times over



Rice is a good filler for guessing weight. Fill the mold with rice, weigh the rice. I am casting the masters so I want the pieces to be solid.
When I make the prototype it will be hollow. Whatever the solid weight was go with 50% for the hollow weight.



Mix up your resin. I always add black pigment, the gray color helps to see imperfections, seems, ect. Even when casting a solid piece I always turn the mold. This action forces any air bubbles onto the center of the casting.



On the body piece the resin gets hot while curing. The hot air bubble creates a bulge, making a little hole to release the air while the resin is still soft then smoothing it down.



The finished body ready to be trimmed and sanded.

WERE DOES THE TIME GO!

I’m seriously over due for a blog entry or two. The work pile has been enormous, I’ve been doing design work on two TV projects. Both in the early phases of development and production. When the time is right I will be able to share more specifics of the projects. Unfortunately in the entertainment world there are many projects that you put heart and soul into and nothing happens, it never gets off the launch pad. Or the show gets canceled before it even has a chance, I’ve been down that road a few times. So now I will wait until that appropriate time when there’s something to show. My good friend and producing partner Dan Clark has a great My space page with many clips of the we’ve made through out the years.
The Dan Clark Company on my space, I’m sure he would like to be your friend!

The Angry Clobber Monkey is coming along, I believe he will be here this fall, September / October. I will have a big art show release bash at Munky King. I’ll keep everyone posted.

WOW!

Hey Everybody. I've been busy! A couple projects I'll be able to talk about soon.
I promise I will get back to the creation of the blimp step by step, as well as the rest of the ACM making of. I was at the Vinyl Toy Network in Pasadena last Sunday.
Always good to hang out with all the toy people! And I got to meet and sit with the good folks at Toy Break, very cool. I'm looking for ward to the Winter VTN.