the first spook

   
     Ok so this is the first picture I made of the series. I like the previous one better but they both are cool in my opinion. let me know what you think! 

Spook Series

    Ok, so I have been trying many experimental things in Photoshop, and I think I nailed one of them. I decided to mess around with some brushes I haven't used before, and ended up really rolling with it. Its a bit of a strange picture, and almost spooky. I just decided to name them the Spook series. This is the second and best one of the three I have made so far and will definitely make more. I really used the clone tool a lot in making the background and the fireplace. I got stock textures to use along with the clone tool. I also used a lot of dodging and burning to create the effect of light coming off of the fireplace. I also used a black and white gradient overlay layer to create the effect of it getting darker in the back of the room. Overall, I think it turned out great, and I want to keep doing more.  

     So I decided to get messy with Photoshop and start messing around with the liquefy tool, the glow edges filter, and the emboss filter. I'm not quite sure how I achieved this, all I know is that I made sure to not use a technique, just paint, smudge, and let my eye wander. The finished product looks nothing like how it started and I'm kind of glad about that. In the middle of the picture is the ghost, can you find it? 

Tree and a Sunset

     So I'm experimenting with new brushes that I custom made, and I really like what I have done. I'm trying to get better at making brushes and what not, and it's coming along well. So here is a pic I made using my new brushes! more on the way, as well as other artistic things. Thinking about writing a book, more on that later. 

     OK, so I haven't exactly been keeping up on my blog for various reasons. And my stop motion has, well, stopped. I guess this blog post is going to be about why I cant shine as an artist. 
     
     So for the time being my stop motion is not underway anymore. I will resume production and I think I have a way I want to continue it without doing any more filming, but enough about that. 
    
      I have had a lot of ideas, and not much to show for them. I think part of my problem is my lack of skill. I have ideas that are very cool and very vivid, but only seem to come to life inside my head. My lack of skill and knowledge means I can have an idea but when I try to create it, it doesn't look quite right. I have experimented in many mediums, and I have enjoyed all of them. But it seems when I get a really good idea I never create that idea like I pictured. And I have an issue focusing and working on an idea. When I get a vision, I want it NOW! I get sidetracked and get bored. and most of all, I get more ideas. I have ADHD, so I get rapid thoughts and ideas. So while focusing on one thing I will get another cool idea and go towards that, abandoning my current project. If I could only complete a project without thinking about "whats next". once I learn to do this I think I will be able to do thinks much more interesting than I currently do. But for now, I need to work on finding out WHAT I want to do. Claymation, pen and pencil art, Photoshop, you name it. 

Stop motion!

     Okay, so I have had an incredibly fun time making my stop motion, and I'm still racing to finish. There are a few sequences that really turned out well. A few things that happened to my materials had me balled up in anger and rolling on the floor laughing. The physco cat (cat #2) decided to get up on a chair and steal a bunch of ribbon and put it in her food bowl. The reason she does this is because the other cat, Mojo (A.K.A. mojocat fatkitty, fat cat called bitch, momo, fatty, surrogate man (long story), and puss) can't eat if something foreign is in his food. So sally (A.K.A. psycho, skitty kitty, crazy cat, schizo,) decides to save her food by putting things like leaves, sticks, ribbon, rope, shoelaces, and lots of other crap in the food bowl. Well after solving Mojo's issue, i yelled at psycho for using my materials. then i checked all my clay for hairs in it. thankfully it was clean. for now...


     I'm sure my cats will end up eating something that will make their poop strange at some point but they are clay-free for now. Some of the cool things i have done include: experimenting with hot clay and cussing out the blob, licking a blob of clay, using a candle and dripping wax on my banana, scouring the house for junk to use in the future, vacuuming all the hair from the two cats, listening to music and thinking about sequences, washing my hands over and over and over and over, and freezing. lots of freezing in that garage, which is why i heated the clay. In the future i will try new crazy things, maybe even having my own foot in a film! 


     Well that's all, remember to subscribe to my blog and follow me on Twitter and like me on Facebook! 

"The Man in the Lower-Left Hand Corner of the Photograph", and more news!

 
      OK, so now that I have talked about the first stop motion that inspired me, im going to talk about a stop motion that was a downright mindf*ck. "The Man in the Lower-Left Hand Corner of the Photograph", is an absolutely chilling, creepy, and disturbing stop motion. when i first watched it (in the dark at 2 am) I was quite haunted by it. The two part film captured the surreal feel, and creepy mood that I love. This is more disturbing than "Crooked Rot" and might even be one of the most disturbing thing on Youtube. Watch part 1 HERE, and part 2 HERE. I wouldn't recommend this for small children, because it IS in fact really disturbing. 


     In other news, I have created a Facebook page. This is going to be another page I use to connect you with art. Like and subscribe so you can get more access to the art you love!!! Go to the page HERE!

Crooked Rot

   

 
      This stop motion short is one of the main reasons I decided to go into making one myself. I have always wanted to try stop motion and claymation, but never really got into it enough. However when I stumbled upon this I was immediately hooked. "Crooked Rot", by David Firth, is an absolute masterpiece. It is a completly surreal and chilling video indeed. I think there are two reasons that it has that "feel" that defines it. Watch it HERE

1.      The fact that it's stop motion and has a framerate lower than reality. The lowed framerate is visible, but not to the point that its distracting. Things that are animated smoothly like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Coraline" don't have as chilling of a feel as this stop motion film. Examples of the lowered framerate to create a unique feel is the show "Crashbox" and parts of the movie "The Evil Dead". The different Frames Per Second (FPS) should be subtle enough to where its not distracting, but gives that feel of a separate reality. This is one reason stop motion and claymation period have a very distinct feel to them. 
2.      The second reason is the one that sticks out to me is the content itself. When you create something so unique and strange, it will have that feel that is almost impossible to replicate. The objects used as well as the use of the manikin heads created something cool, disturbing, and almost scary. When you see a water faucet, you see nothing but a piece of metal with a knob. But combine it with other objects and you have something that is downright disturbing.

     This short deserves to be watched over and over. It is art. David Firth's genius never fails, and this, his last stop motion film, is a perfect example. Can't wait to finish my stop motion, and i will be providing a few more examples in upcoming posts.

New Update for Blogz

     Heyas. Well I have been having to overcome some obstacles lately as an artist and blogger. With so much on my plate its hard to keep up on the blog. I have had a recent issue of my video card burning out, so I'm stuck using other people's computers in my house. Family issues as well as the economy has made me a bad blogger. Right now I am working on a new stop motion film called "Cranial Insanity". Its mainly claymation and should be done sometime in April. 
     
     The blog's design might need some revamping. Perhaps some more flair? Overall, I like how the blog looks. However I think I strayed from the original purpose of the blog: to connect you with creative media on the web. Now i will always showcase my works here, but other works need the spotlight as well. 
     
     I need feedback and info, feel free to contact me or tweet me @Crazystuffvids

CADS CREATURES: The Database

When CADS started creating inhabitants for his world, he feared rebellion. Due to his faltering resolve in making the world to image, he feared the inhabitants would resent his ways. To prevent an uprising from even kindling, he created The Database. The Database lies in CADS' personal lair collecting data from every part of the world. Nobody knows how it works or how powerful it is. However it is known that because of this device several enemies of CADS have shown their faces.