Murder in the Maze Part I: The Maze

The next few posts  are going to require a little more explanation than normal.  The artwork itself isn't much different from the regular stuff, but the cause for it is.

In 1998-2002 my group of friends threw a series of Halloween parties that were HUGE.  They started out small with just our regular group of friends involved, but by 2001 they had exploded into an uncontrolled tornado of people.  The parties continued well beyond 2002, but that was the end of my involvement with them.

For each party we built a black plastic maze in my friends backyard.  We used black gardening plastic, PVC piping, staples, string, duct tape, nails, 4x4 posts, and anything else we use to keep the construction together.  The Maze was entirely enclosed so that once you stepped inside it was utterly completely dark.  You literally could not see your hand in front of your face once night fell.  You had to move slowly through it lest you slam into anyone else inside or some of the post supports.  It made us all feel like we were young again, playing hide-and-seek in the dark.

The amusing part was that the reason for all this darkness and construction was so that we could play a party game: Murder in the Dark.  We changed the name to Murder in the Maze, because that is where we played it.  It was like Hide and seek and Freeze tag all rolled into one.  We had a great time running around in the darkness.  I'll go into the mechanics of Murder in the Maze in my next post.

These two pieces of art were going to be part of a deck of cards I was creating for Murder in the Maze.  These were two of the victim cards.  My plan was to do a portrait of each of our friends as the murdered victims in the game.  These two are of myself and my friend Don.  My goal was to take flip the images and combine them in Photoshop to create something similar to the face cards of a regular deck of cards.  This deck never happened, but I got several good drawings out of the effort.

{Graphite on paper - scanned and manipulated in Photoshop}

More Maze History and Art:

Changing Course

When I originally started this blog, it was simply to display my general artwork.  At that particular point in my life, things were fairly dark and bleak, so that was the theme that I chose.  Things have changed somewhat.  

Zombiebites will still be the home of my shadowy works, but I will no longer be posting anything other than my darker pieces here.  This will now become the home for my horror works, my works involving fear and darker emotions, for all my Dark Arts.  I'm going to leave the older pieces that are not of the horror genre intact to avoid any kind of confusion or complicated relinking.  From this point forward though, Trail of Bread Crumbs will host all my work that has a spiritual and philosophical bent and EXP3 will host all of work focused specifically on graphic design.

I will have to consider if this blog is going to receive an adult rating though.  If I am truly going to explore my shadows in this space, I may need to apply that filter as in the shadowy realms things can get a bit...unpleasant.  We'll see what time brings.

{Created in Adobe Photoshop}

From the Archives: Three Character Sketches

These three sketches were from a short comic book story I was working on with a guy in California whose name escapes me.  Things didn't really work out, but the drawings had been done.  Figured I would share these.  Set in LA, the story was a Noir type slasher flick involving a serial killer.  Looking at these now, I just realized some strange parallels involving a story I am currently working on with another writer.  Two of the characters look very similar.  Didn't notice that until just now.  hmph.  The stories, however, are very different.  I will post some of that when I am further along.

{Sharpie}

Depths

Bones are always buried.  During our lives, they are buried in our flesh, and when we die we place them under the soil. 

{created in Photoshop.}

In Space

This was a left over panel from the UCBC Flyer from last year.

I'd forgotten all about it until I happened upon it recently.

{created in Adobe Photoshope Elements}

From The Darkness

My favorite kind of Monster next to Zombies - Werewolves.  I'm not necessarily saying what this is, although it does look that way.  I discovered this image while working on some thing else, so who knows.  Enjoi!  :-)

{Digital images manipulated in Photoshop.}


UPDATE 011515:

A variation of this this piece is now available on a tshirt or other cool paraphernalia at my Neatoshop!  Drop by and check it out! 

My Portfolio Spring 2011

Open publication - Free publishing - More art

This is my Portfolio / Resume for Spring of 2011.

I have presented this in a Magazine format.

If you would like to see this larger,

please go here.

When in Deep Water...

When I began working on this, it was going to be a more detailed interpretation of the sketch I did for The BlackSun, but as I continued, it became something more.

{Created in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Indesign.}

UPDATE 091014:  A permutation of this piece is now available on a tshirt design or other cool paraphernalia at my Neatoshop!  Drop by and check it out!

Man in the Moon

This was going to be a business card design, but it never got to that.  I like my current design much more but this image still has a good bit of Magick to it.

{Digital Images manipulated in Photoshop.}

UPDATE 091014:  This piece now available on a tshirt design and other cool paraphernalia at my Neatoshop!  Drop by and check it out!

HIM

I am challenged by this part of myself, yet often I find it necessary to my survival. He holds many of my needed powers and abilities, yet his very presence is a test of endurance.  The stern and exacting essence of Saturn the taskmaster.  Yet, it is not hate that he brings, just intensity.  I say JUST intensity, like intensity could ever be anything but INTENSE.  Once I realized that it was intensity and endurance, it became easier.  I understood his directness.  His message bypasses all the petty illusions we construct.  Like an arrow, his goes straight to the heart of the matter.  This is a challenge if your eyes do not want to see the truth.

{Digital Images manipulated in Photoshop.}

Business Card

Here is my current business card, front and back.

I used elements of this design in my current resume / portfolio.

{created  in Adobe Photoshop.}

Searching The Sky

This is the image for the cover of my current Resume / Portfolio.  I just like it by itself though without all the pesky text.  Also, it is flipped.  Some of these elements are part of my business card as well.  I'll have to find that and post as well.  :-) Enjoi!

{Digital Images manipulated with Photoshop.}

Loss of The Way Secrets Burn

This painting was acrylic on Masonite.  I believe the masonite might have been treated with something as the acrylic has begun to chip away from the masonite.  The damage is very sever and I don't think I can save the painting.  However I was able to get several good photos of it and I'm going to try to repair the existing damage on the digital images.  I will post that once it is complete.

{Acrylic on Masonite.}