I'm all Googly for Evil Dead II

It's been a while since I updated with any artwork or fx work and that needs to be quickly remedied. It's not that I haven't been working, quite the opposite actually. I moved a little while back I've been building a new studio and a proper home. I have a little garden and I'm still settling in, but it's time I started sharing again to push me further and harder with my artwork and hopefully entertain you enough that it warrants some proper feedback. At the very least maybe you can offer a comforting kick in the ass to get me to do more.

Here's a quick project I created on canvas board for the lovely BJC of Day of the Woman. She's a die-hard fan of the Evil Dead franchise and particularly Bruce Campbell. I'm convinced my butt-chin is the only saving grace of winning her attention. I decided to surprise her with a fun painting to help decorate her new digs, flashy and goofy and just plain fun.

Here's a pencil outline of the 4 characters from the Sam Raimi classic EVIL DEAD 2. This flick is just so much fun to watch. Whether you get held up in the camp of part one being better or vice versa, I do love the special effects make-up and Ted Raimi as Henrietta delivers one of my favorite performances besides his turn in DARKMAN. The canvas board you can pick up at Michael's or Pat Catan's. It's frame ready without needing to be stretched and you get like 6 to a package - perfect for practice and other fun projects.

I roughed in the outlines from a still from the movie and began laying down a base color to be added to as I went along. I left the pencil marks as a guide to brush over rather than erasing them and having to deal with smudges or going over with black marker or ink, which would show through under the acrylic paint.

I started building layers of color by mixing my whites and blacks with the colors I was working with as I went along. Yes, you can use pre-mixed colors that coordinate, but I believe that mixing in the moment is what gives your piece the personality it deserves. Plus it's cheaper too, and that's always a bonus.

I do like how using red and white really forces you to blend your flesh tones. You really have to have the patience and the fortitude to think ahead. Working with acrylic is a cheaper medium, but is far less forgiving it terms of blending. You can start to see a rough resemblance of what I am trying to achieve with the painting.

Next I went even darker, adding my blacks and reds. The shadows are an absolute pain in the ass, but like Burt Reynolds said in BOOGIE NIGHTS, "There's shadows in life, babe".

I did a light wash along the top with black mixed with water. Don't be afraid to experiment with texture. Here I used a paper towel to roll and smudge the colors together. Next up was my little coup de grace, the Zach special if you will...

I love how in the movie during this particular scene each actor is looking everywhere at their own pace. It's almost like the models of Robert Palmer's ADDICTED TO LOVE music video all dancing to their own rhythm. I decided to recreate that with Googly Eyes! They're hot glued on after a bit of black Sharpie to make my lines pop a bit more.

Here's the piece all said and done. I love that it's a bit more interactive as everyone I've shown it to immediately has to shake it to see the eyes in motion. It's a bit cartoony, but I really like it and I cranked it out in under two hours. I've been finding my patience for projects needs to be accelerated or I lose interest. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but everyone appreciates a lover with a slow touch a bit more, so I keep practicing and learning. Above all, I am trying to put the fun back into what I enjoy and I hope to share it more often with more people.

Here's another peak at it with a different bit of lighting. Not bad when compared to the film...

All in all it was a fun little romp of a project and forced me to practice my brushwork. You can call it fan-art if you want, I just call it a good time. Sure, I need to work on certain aspects (did you see those hands? Geeeeeez. It's like they're gonna wipe their ass with Gummy Worms.), but art is always about the journey, not the destination, right?

And if you haven't seen EVIL DEAD 2 yet, then what the hell is wrong with you? Seriously. I have the time to listen.

Zach Shildwacher: As Seen on TV??

I recently decided to get off my ass and stop just hoping for a better future but to actually do something about it. I applied to be a contestant on the 3rd Season of Sy Fy Channel's FACE OFF. Cruising through YouTube there's some very talented folks offering up their skills for a shot at fortune and glory. Honestly, I really recommend you check out these audition videos. There are so many talented artists out there that deserve a spotlight on all their handiwork. These are the folks that toil away for hours on end, with little to no encouragement, making the extraordinary out of the ordinary. How some of them were overlooked for previous seasons of the show is beyond me.

I'm not entirely adept at handling myself in front of a camera, but I am gonna take life by the short and curlies and not watch it pass me by anymore. Here's a look at my Audition Video...

I was really nervous putting this together as I was unsure what to say and how to edit. I wanted to be entertaining and forthright. I knew I had to sell me. What you don't see from the video I can share with you now.

I had some leftover rubber latex from Pat Catan's. This is latex for crafts, masks, and other projects. This is not meant for use on the face as it's a bit more harsh than that of Ben Nye or something comparable. I had some packing foam left over from an eBay purchase. I like to be a formidable artist, one connected to my environment. Reduce, reuse, recycle; these are fundamentals to utilize throughout all endeavors.

I carved down the foam into two pieces using a pair of scissors until I was comfortable with the shape and size.

I coated the horns in liquid latex and then gave them a light brushing with white and black acrylic paint when dry. They were solid and durable,

Here's a closer look at some of the make-up. I wanted to create a demon look of contorted flesh, an emergence of mischief and evil if you will. I used small strips of nose putty to create a more sunken look around the eyes, building from the temples inwards. I secured this with a coating of liquid latex. I also used the nose putty around the horns to blend the look of my skin to the butt of the horns. I used liquid latex to create some peeled abrasions.

I used some leftover white hairspray from Halloween to color my hair and try to convey a cohesive look with the horns. I used the same contact lenses I had leftover from my Halloween costume. It's a small nuance   that really sells the look of it all. I also used some Black Blood mouth spray which is one of my favorite items to anchor a look. Think of it this way; when decorating a room, designers recommend one black item to draw the eye and cement the color scheme you applied. I follow this same rule for my make-up designs.

The colors I used are red, yellow, burgundy, and navy blue. I knew that these colors where completely hued against my skin type and would pop. I was a little unsure of how well they would blend, as I would have used more browns or purples, but I'm very happy with how things turned out. I wanted this look to showcase my painting skills and blending. It's something I know I still need to work on, but practice is what makes perfect. I could have made a huge obnoxious prosthetic piece, but I wanted to do something that would inspire anyone to look around and reexamine the items that they could use around them to create something new and exciting. I like to think that I could be an artist that fans the smoke away from the Hollywood secrets of special effects make-up as I learn more and create more using age tested techniques and new materials to expand the majesty of it all. I believe I would be a great fit for FACE OFF. I am an Average Joe, self-taught save one course, and pushing forward with grit, gumption, and the sweat of my hard work. I have to dream and dream big. It's these dreams that push us forward. I don't want this to remain a hobby, I want it to be a career.

I do hope that my efforts start to garner some attention. No artist wants their work ignored. I'm so thankful to all my friends and those that have shared my Audition Video submission. I am blown away by those that have shared the video, expressed their interest and offered opinions. It's amazing to know that there's such a connected network of support for one's dream. It gives me a much needed kick in the ass to keep trying and  strengthens my faith. I am also starting to save for a better digital camera, one that won't wash out my pics with its over-powered flash. I consider it an investment in proper documentation as I build a bigger and better portfolio. I desire to build a proper studio one day, to move beyond working in a basement, or cramped apartment. I seek to grow as an artist, to develop my craft and exercise my creativity rather than let it be swamped in the mediocrity of everyday life. I want to share what I know, what I've learned as I learn more myself, and hope that others share with me.

Wish me the best of luck as I'm anxious to hear something soon from Sy Fy Channel. I mean who could say no to this face?

Seriously, I want names...

Again a huge thank you to all those that have viewed and shared my Audition Video. Be sure to tune in to the Sy Fy Channel as Season 2 of FACE OFF narrows the contestants down to its ultimate winner. Hopefully you'll see me competing on Season 3.

Beauty is Skin Deep, but it's what I put on Top that's Important.

I was recently visited by the illustrious Brittney-Jade Colangelo, the beauty and brains behind DAY OF THE WOMAN and contributing writer to the Blood Sprayer. Somehow I was lucky enough to have this fetching starlet of stage and computer screen sit down in my make-up chair in the dank dungeon-style basement I should probably never call "my studio". The Una-Bomber would be claustrophobic where I try to work. Seriously, I feel like the plastic surgeon in Tim Burton's BATMAN.





I started brainstorming a look in my head of a certain juxtaposition. I wanted to balance the beauty of BJ's face with a twist of horror and carnage. I also knew I wanted it to be a balanced look, one that wasn't overpowered by one element than the other. They say beauty is skin deep so I decided to play with that and literally cut to the chase.

I wanted this look to be quick and simple but dynamic. I decided on using liquid latex and wanted to rely on my painting skills to impress Ms. Colangelo and my fellow readers by delivering a simple out-of-kit look. Being a theater super-star I wanted to show Brittney Jade and the rest of you what you can accomplish without the need of major prosthetics, facial appliances, or an airbrush kit.

I dabbed two areas of Brittney Jade's face with liquid latex which were allowed to dry. I took some rolled pieces of dried liquid latex and adhered them to the outsides of those areas. This would create the look of sliced skin I was after by creating a distinct line that would appear to be made of skin tissue. I then poked and prodded the layer of latex between these borders to create a ruptured blister look.

I began the arduous task of layering in color. At first I wasn't sure what this would entail. Was she a lizard like alien from V and would it be green? Was she like a T-X from TERMINATOR 3? I joked with BJ and we decided to keep it straight forward after experimenting with some colors and go with a more realistic approach.

I'm a big believer in the Rule of 3 - Use a minimum of 3 colors to blend in your look. One for a base, one for shadow, and one for contrast. I also believe that to sell your effect you have to pay the whole eye. That means if you apply something, it just doesn't go on and then you walk away; you blend it with the surrounding body parts to make the entire look flow. Go down the back, across the neck, around the leg, what ever it takes to make the look seem seamless.

Always remember that each model you work with is unique and different. No two people you work with will ever be the same. Sure you'll run into similar skin tones, body shapes, and what have you, but every one is different in how well they can stay still, how long they'll sit, the curvature of their bodies, the way they sweat, breath, talk, and a bazillion other factors that can eat up the time you need to achieve the look you want. If you want everything the same all the time, work on an assembly line.

After blending in my colors of red, purples, and grays, I added a bit of Fresh Scab. A little bit goes a long way so don't cake it on. I for one can't stand when someone spends so much time & effort on creating a look only to have it coated in too much blood. More blood is great to hear on set, but wait until you hear it called for first.

To give my look a bit of a wet/fresh look I used a very small amount of K-Y Jelly applied to the middle of my borders. It gives it a nice shine. I've tried other off-brands of lubricants, from Wal-Green's to Drug Mart, but K-Y just always seems to work the best for me. Now if I wanted a more NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET look I would not use the K-Y and stipple on black along the edges for a burned/charred appearance.

Having one side done I was able to breeze through the other side of my model's face and match it up from reference simply by looking at the other side. I could have painted up both sides at the same time, but as I was uncertain where I was taking this look I wanted it all to flow organically. Never be afraid to experiment. you won't know what works until you try it.

It's always a matter of taking the time to blend and work with your model. If they're at ease, so will you be and it will always so in your finished product.

It's amazing to witness when an actor/actress begins to accept the change in their appearance and allows it to slip into how they develop their character. Simple actions or emotions suddenly take a dramatic change when you have half your face carved off.

I definitely liked where the look was going. I've come to accept that the way I approach things creatively and the way they end up looking are not always fundamentally aligned, but in this instance what I saw in my head was what I was delivering in reality.

The look seemed balanced on both sides. I really enjoy BJC's everyday make-up for being so simple yet elegant. Eyes and lips like that are made for glamour, but it's always a treat when they encounter something more devious.

Now a while back, a little over 2 years ago, I visited my good friend John Squires of FreddyInSpace.com with the legendary Kristy Jett and met the infamous Jesse Bartel. Over the course of the 4 Loko fueled weekend (read about it here) I somehow managed to Sharpie some spiffy website adverts on the chests of my compadres. BJC being left out of said visit, joked that she wanted the same treatment for her site. Well, who could say no to that face?

I used a dark purple and a fine tip brush to free hand out a font that I though would be readable.

I wanted to incorporate the lettering into the look of the make-up and went with trying to make it look like veins or something else underneath BJ's skin. It sounds cheesy, but Day of the Woman is something inside here trying to get out, right? Don't roll your eyes at me. We had initially discussed maybe making it look like the lettering was carved into her, but decided that this was a more interesting variation to play with instead.

I knew my lettering couldn't be elaborate or overly complex, it had to be read and flow with the rest of the look without taking away from it. After feathering out the purple to the edges, I added some black to the center of the letters and then soft sponged the colors down. I made sure to pull away from the letters from the middle and not the other way, otherwise you'd ruin the make-up and your lettering.

With a couple hardware store clip-lights I used to illuminate my corner of the world, it was time to snap some photos. Remember, I never said I was a photographer either.

Overall I was extremely pleased with how everything looked and photographed. BJ was a terrific model and sits like a champ. I really like how her simple yet effectively dynamic make-up was the basis of this look that carried with it the whole creation. I enjoy how my addition was simple, quick, and able to play well with others. Perhaps I subconsciously channeled Lucky McKee's THE WOMAN for the font, but hindsight is always 20/20. I like to think his graphic designers live inside my head, and not the other way around.

Would all of this been easier with silicone appliances and stencils and blah blah blah? Yes. Would it have been as fun? No. I honestly believe that craftsmanship is an essential component of any artistry, and in an industry where many people are being replace by computers, I strive to be a better effects make-up artist than any friggin' machine. Doubt that and that's how Skynet wins...

And for as much fun as it is to make a mess, there's always the chore of cleaning up. Remember when removing liquid latex from the skin that hot water, soap, and patience are your new best friends.

Many thanks to Brittney-Jade Colangelo for the long trek to visit and letting me play with her face. Please be sure to check out her site DAY OF THE WOMAN and tune in again to Awkward Creations as I stop being so lazy and anti-social and hopefully start posting more.

Lost Loves - Forgotten or Abandoned?

My friend Alex Foster is probably gonna end up as the next big shot producer in Hollywood, but once upon a time I made him a piece of artwork for his apartment when he was stuck with me on the East Coast.

I had found a walnut dresser door from a dumpster diving trip in Soho that was in perfect condition since it was being disassembled for the garbage trucks making their rounds. I snatched it up, brushed it off, and got plenty of odd looks on the subway carrying it home.

I wanted to draw some inspiration from my surroundings. Another friend had given me an old James Bond poster so I decided to play with that. I was also handed a flyer on the way home regarding the persecution of Falun Gong, which it didn't know much about, but the flyer included some striking imagery of human suffering that was too much to ignore.

I used a combination of acrylic paint, decoupage, and Sharpie marker. I decided to utilize the classic look of James Bond, which is almost an icon onto itself. I really enjoyed reading Ian Flemming's pulp fiction as a child and the books always resonated with me; political intrigue, foreign locales, bloody violence, beautiful women, and danger the world over. It's only now that I realize the true politics behind certain events and how they affect its citizens.

I really decided to rethink my understanding of James Bond as a character and what he reflects as a society. These elements of espionage and intrigue, but you never truly see the human suffering of the politics behind the curtain. Not much for movie entertainment, but it’s the basis of understanding the reasons and actions that would place a person in such a situation.

For the flesh tone of the tortured souls, it’s just the wood left exposed. I used a stencil for the star to help separate the piece into three distinct pieces as the eye follows downward. The text I wanted to play with and invoke the feel of a movie poster. The bottom half is a reflection of how all of this is treated like a game, where the players don’t even realize they’re the ones being played. The women at the bottom are actually one bondage image I found & printed from the computer of a cartoon fetish model in stockings and a gas mask. Here I meant to address the misogyny of suffering and the stories reported, whether through Hollywood or CNN, particularly in regards to gender.

 

It’s a strong, striking piece which is quite odd to take in and process. Sadly, Alex decided to get rid of the piece when he was moving because the paint started peeling off of the piece which he thought was a defect. It was meant to do this, to fade away and fall apart, adding another element to the painting. I meant to toy with the notion of how we can let suffering fade away as well as forget about the classics of Hollywood. This was definitely a piece of purging things from my brain, even if I didn’t completely understand it myself.

Here's another little side project I ended up giving to giving to a friend. I started this roughly 5 inch sculpture out of scrap copper wiring. The trick was sculpting it so that I would be able to fit it into its base container, but more of that later.

I molded into a rough shape of the figure and just used scrap pieces of plaster of Paris to make this little figure. After it was dry, I began blending out a flesh tone for the creature with acrylic paint. I wanted it to look somewhat humanoid yet alien.

After the acrylic was dry I coated the figure in about 3 coats of epoxy to give it a solid seal. After the seal was dry I placed the figure in a repurposed olive jar (just peeled the label & cleaned off the glue). I made a label for the figure using Microsoft word, printing it out and using spray adhesive on the backing. The project number refers to my birthday, the project name refers to ZERO which used to be my tag name. And if you can’t figure out Area 51, well that’s what Google is for folks.

I added the statue and added water to fill the jar. I knew that the weight of the piece would keep it from floating. I took one drop of white oil paint and added it to the water, giving it an odd swirl effect. After a little bit of time, some of the acrylic began to strip away and hang off like skin and would lightly sway if moved. Unfortunately I don’t know what happened to it in the end as I gave it to a friend who moved away and disappeared.

I definitely would like to try this project again, especially with materials such as latex, metal, and possibly on a much larger scale. But in the end I was quite pleased with it; not bad for something so creepy that still fits on the shelf of your refrigerator.


 I definitely would like to try this project again, especially with materials such as latex, metal, and possibly on a much larger scale. But in the end I was quite pleased with it; not bad for something so creepy that still fits on the shelf of your refrigerator.