Spring has Sprung.

The ice has melted. Some one did not use enough chain and concrete block.  Rookies.

When the ice melts, winter’s secrets are revealed.                                             Dark Oak Creations, 2017.

“Take away the horror of the situation. Take away the tragedy of her death. Take away all the moral and ethical considerations you’ve had drummed into you since childhood, and what are you left with? A 105 lb. problem.”

— Kyle Fisher, Very Bad Things

–from TVtropes.

When I go on a wandering photo shoot, I never know what I’ll find. Enjoy.

End.

Winter Kill.

Lonely places remove the blindfold from our eyes. For some, this is terrifying.

I went for a walk.

Forgotten part of the Old Wiley Farm near Dark Oak, Missouri. This section has been forgotten so long it is turning into woods.

You never know what you’ll find.

Face to face with Mortality. 

The coyotes, or something, has stripped this poor pilgrim clean. Mother Nature is red of tooth and claw.

We all have a tiger on our back trail.

End.

Phantom Sighting.

Hobbies take place in the cellar and smell of airplane glue.

–John Updike.

I think John knew. . . things.

Thing in the Dark.        By Dark Oak Creations.

 

“…I saw the infernal Thing blocking my path in the twilight. The dead travel fast, and by short cuts unknown to ordinary coolies. I laughed aloud a second time, and checked my laughter suddenly, for I was afraid I was going mad.”

— Rudyard Kipling, The Phantom Rickshaw

More Madness.

Travelin’.

Portrait of the Apparition.

In which and where at, we find an end to this post.

Happy haunting.

End .

 

Bat Droppings.

Busy day ahead. I’ll leave a couple of bat droppings for you.

Prop concept, from the sketchbook of Dark Oak Creations.

 

From the sketchbook of Dark Oak Creations. Something to do while on the phone with the government. A true Bat Dropping.

May the wind be at your back.

End.

Photo Shoot.

I had been cooped up all week, sculpting a tabletop-sized figure in clay.

U. S. Marine woman. The first sculpt in a military series by Dark Oak Creations (I don’t always do Spooky).

Working small always tests my work ethic. Some sculptors can work in miniature and love it. Me, I love to sculpt, but my style and nature wants big, expansive gestures. So when, after four days of being diligent, good boy sculptor, my wife announces she’s working from home on Friday, there was only one thing to do.

Road trip! 

Wilderness Photo Shoot.

After taking my wife to lunch (I’m not stupid), I loaded the props up and set out for the woods.

It was 63 degrees Friday afternoon. In Missouri, in mid-February, the first thing I see as I  step into the field is a snake. A freaking little stripped snake slithering out of my path. I chose to take this as a good omen instead of worrying about Global Warming.

Field work always takes much more time than I think it will. I did not get to all the locations I had in-mind. I did manage to get some “shooting” accomplished. Enjoy.

Monster in the slough. Dark Oak Creations.

Monster in the slough with places to go.

 

Stay out of these woods, kids.

“Somebody back east is sayin’ “Why don’t he write?”– Tmmons, from Dances with Wolves.

Stake out.

Sometimes, I get the urge to leave some of my less expensive props on site, or even stage them at some particular location (not where auto traffic could see it, though. Don’t want accidents). I’m sure I am not the first prop artist to feel this impish impulse.

Perhaps, one day, one evening, when the sun is dying on the horizon and the purple dusk creeps from the shadowed wood, I will give in to that sibilant whisper. Yes, perhaps the whispering imp will seduce me, and I leave a Horrible peeking from behind a tree in the park.

End.

Cat Lover.

Here, Kitty, Kitty.

Midnight Snack. From Dark Oak’s sketchbook.

From a poet:

Perhaps this moment is a dream

And you are in my mind

Please bring me a nice bowl of cream

And leave those tweets behind.

This is the last stanza from the poem The Cat and the Tease, by Theo van Joolen. You can find the poem in its entirety at fairypoet.com

I took a few liberties and added a Dark Oak twist to the original art work by Daniel Merriam.   Merriam is a fantasy artist. You should check it out if you like that sort of thing. I would give an example but my own sketch would be devastated by comparison.

End.

Pygmy Dragon with Orc Master

Quick concept sculpt for fun. May it please you!

Orc, clay sketch by Dark Oak Creations 2017

This is rendered in Monster Clay. It is fast and easy and is reusable. I must go now and prepare to support The Falcons in tomorrows Super Bowl.

End

Wednesday Bat Droppings

The aracni-ape

. . . sprang from a doodle sketch, a bat dropping. The more I looked at the beast, the more I wanted to bring it to life. I kept thinking what a fearsome creature this would be, all those sharp legs and claws ripping at you, the teeth snapping at your face and throat.

Aracni-ape concept sketch. Dark Oak Creations.

Someone said he would hate to be in my head. That’s okay; it’s pretty crowded in there already.

Close up concept sketch of attacking aracni-ape.

Aracni-ape by Dark Oak Creations

I will leave another dropping. Perhaps one day, this creature will “live” as well.

Concept sketch of Bat Beast, Dark Oak Creations.

End.

Halloween Mini-Monsters

Gee, Uncle Dark Oak, why don’t you ever make something for us?

 

Two little nieces, both deserving to be spoiled to the limit and who know more about horror

Broken Bonds. And, hungry!

movies than this old man, asked for some “horribles.”

Halloween was shuffling at a deceptively fast pace toward me. I grabbed some sticks and glue and got busy.

I managed to snap these shots before sending the creations off to the girls.

 

These were fun to make. Perhaps one day I will have time to indulge myself and make more of these little wall-hangers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy lil’ winged thing. I cheated and used a store-bought skull.

A Closer Look at the Escaping Prisoner.

God, I love Halloween.

End.

Studio Stuff: Creature Skulls

 Creature Skulls. In starting a new creature, what kind of creature skull I start with depends on the prop design specs. Is it permanent, or is is single use?  Indoor, or outdoor? The answers dictate the build.  Sometimes the  skull or “face base” is just a wad of paper or plastic, and I build out from there with various mediums, clay, foam, etc. For realistic props, I like best just to sculpt the skull either in epoxy putty or clay.  If any kind of lights or mechanisms are to be installed, a hollow “skull” is needed.

Upper part of Aracni-ape skull.

The Quick and Dirty Prop.

For quick, “B” roll creature prop skulls, a wad of paper, a milk jug, anything goes. I liken cheap, one season props to B roll film footage–necessary, but not quality-critical.  The B roll props are meant to be viewed from 30 feet or more, usually in dim light, and not intended to pass as a real creature in close-up inspection.

Example of a “B” prop meant to be seen at 30′ or more in dim light.

The B prop will be posed above and behind a bush or headstone, the silhouette doing most of the work to convince the viewer they are looking at a “real” skull or monster. The shadows are our friends.

The Aracni-ape below is not a B roll prop.

Aracni-ape dental study. By Dark Oak Creations.

The jaw bone below is sculpted in Monster Clay over a wire and sheet  plastic armature. This is not a true attempt to sculpt an accurate skull, but a rough form on which to build out and refine with another medium. Since Aracni-apes are an alien species, I indulged myself with the dental structure. I wanted many sharp teeth for the creature but within the realm of the familiar.

Acracni-ape lower jaw

This lower jaw I sculpted separately to facilitate sculpting and treating the inside of the upper mouth.  I added the teeth (epoxy putty) to the upper jaw later after I had assembled  the head, installed the tongue, and painted the inside of the mouth.

The photo above shows the lower jaw molded in RTV.  I used InstaMorph to form the mother mold.

A versatile material no prop shop should be without.

Not getting paid for the plug, but I’ve used InstaMorph for many things, from small mother molds to fabricating a lost camera-to-tripod adapter. One of the best benefits of this stuff is that it is reusable. Just melt it in hot water and reshape it to form.

End.