Halloween 2010 – Update 15
October 25th, 2010 by John WolfeThe Angel of Death’s almost ready to coax my corpses from their graves! A touch of paint here and there, combined with a few hours of cloak work, and very soon he’ll be set to take his place as the haunt’s latest overseer.
Here’s the last installment in the Angel of Death’s video series:
If you’d like to see other installments, the Halloween 2010 Preview Page archives all previous Angel updates.
Aside from my annual Happy Halloween post on October 30th, this will probably be my only entry for the week. Also, due to setup and cleanup taking such a good deal of time, the blog will be pretty quite for the next eight or ten days. But as soon as cleanup wraps, I’ll start working on the Halloween 2010 photo page and I’ll be posting a haunt image or two in an upcoming entry.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
My God!!! John this is truly exceptional work my friend. He turned out a hell of a lot better than my own tiny imagination ever thought he would look like. If my nightmares looked anything like this guy, I would certainly never get any sleep.
John, you know what gets me about your props? It’s how realistic your ground breakers look…as if they truly did just now crawl out from under their coffin and cut their way through the earth with whats left of it’s hands. Those hands are wicked!!! They look like they just now clawed through the earth after months of decay. I’m totally in love with those hands John, wow, your creativity and the work you do continues to astound me.
The wings are perfect…..perfect! I wouldn’t change a single thing about how they look. I think the folds are just right and that torn weathered look to the end of the wings couldn’t be more appropiate. I agree, having the skin of the wings tight just wouldn’t work for the look. Torn, ragged and worn out wings, however, fit in perfectly.
Thank you for attaching them for this video too sweetie and zooming out so we can see the whole thing as it stands right now. My God he’s huge! That is one scary ass prop John and I have a funny feeling your going to not only be stopping traffic with this one but people might be turning your street into a parking lot!!! I think your about to have a very very busy Halloween day/night. You’ve done a tremendous job on the angel John, everything you touch turns to gold
Thank you for this last update and the 15 videos your viewers can choose from.
AWESOME JOB JOHN!
October 25th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
John, as always, you are an artist of the highest talent and your love of all things dark and spooky makes you my idol! This is a prop to remember forever.
October 25th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
he’s wonderful…should be most impressive with a 12 foot wingspan…wow. really nice work! (and thanks for sharing the how-to’s!)
October 26th, 2010 at 9:37 am
Looks amazing. Completely honest when I say, if I saw that thing in somebody’s yard I would think it was a prop bought from a store. It’s HUGE. Love it.
October 26th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Goldie,
Funny you should mention not ever getting any sleep, cause there was a comment from a YT user on one of the update videos a while back stating they wouldn’t want to wake up and find him standing over their bed! Actually, that’s exactly where I’d like to display him — over my bed — if there was enough room.
Well, maybe not right over the bed, but I’d really love to hang him in the living room if it had a vaulted ceiling. I’d place him about ten or fifteen feet in the air dangling from the middle of the room as a permanent display piece.
His wings were extremely tricky, especially trying to hang the material from behind and also get a perspective of what it looked like from the front. I’m really thinking the membrane of each wing would look good with a misting in places from a dark gray or even black spray paint, but it’s going to be so dark in the haunt that some “airbrushing” probably won’t even show up on the material. And I’m glad you like the looser-fitting, pleated-look when it comes to the material, too.
And the hands — I love working with those things! I really enjoy trying to make them look nothing like the original style of a bucky hand. No offense to the folks who make anatomical skeletons, cause they do a great job, but it’s a ton of fun seeing how far you can take those things away from looking very vanilla and so non-creepy. Plus, since they were never intended to be used on a Halloween prop, and they were always meant to hang in a doctor’s office or a classroom some place, it gives you a good challenge of trying to figure out how to adjust their hardware to make them work on a corpse. I’ve found prop building, especially a prop of this size, to be good exercise for the brain.
Yeah, I’m hoping he’ll have the “stop-traffic” effect! Normally traffic slows quite a bit as it passes by the house, but I’m hoping the sheer size of those wings will cause people to just park where they are.
Actually slowing to almost a standstill may not make some drivers too happy, but it is A LOT safer for the kids that way.
Thanks for all of your wonderful feedback and great comments, Goldie! I’m really glad you like him and it’s honestly been my pleasure to work on him and to show these updates for the last ten or eleven months.
autumnforest,
Thank you so much, autumn, that’s very kind! I know just how much of an appetite you have for all things spooky and to know you regard my work on the Angel that highly is a tremendous compliment. I absolutely appreciate it!
Pam Morris,
Thank you, Pam! That means a lot to me and you’re very welcome about the how-to vids. I’m totally in the moment and looking forward to Halloween night, but at the same time I can’t wait to get started on more how-to stuff and my prep for 2011.
Again, I really appreciate it. Thanks.
Doug,
Really? That’s awesome! Thanks, Doug!
October 26th, 2010 at 11:21 am
I couldn’t believe the size of him when you backed up-WOW! Truly stuff of nightmares. I really love his nasty, bloodstained teeth and in particular the way his arms reach forth to snatch souls-very effective! I know he is going to scare the bejeezus out of some people and I can’t wait to see pictures of your haunt.
I wanted to say thanks again for letting us peek into your studio and your creative process with these videos. It is fascinating and really inspirational-makes the idea of making a prop much less intimidating when it is broken down into steps. Already thinking about making something next year and learning as I go along myself. You are awesome!
October 26th, 2010 at 11:45 am
That is just amazing, John!
October 26th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Oh, John, I’m just speechless!! I don’t brandish the word ‘masterpiece’ around very much because I like to think we are all in the process of creating our best works but John, you’ve got a masterpiece here!!! I’m reaching for words and he’s just so far beyond them! He is breathtaking! His massive scale, the mache detail, the wing draping of the fabric, the paintwork, everything about him- there’s no other word but masterpiece! If I could only be a fly on the wall outside in your front yard on Sunday so I could keep track of the number of “WOW!”s, “MOM/DAD, LOOK!!!”s and “OH MY GOD!”s and “HOLY #$%&*”s you’re going to get because he is going to blow people away!!
Thank you so much for showing all the detail work in his hands and the way you built his arms and made them sturdy. I love Gorilla glue products too! The way you extended the fingers and blurred the line between ‘finger’ and ‘claw’ makes them look so intense! They are such a perfect size for his scale, how big everything is about him- he’s just massive and I can’t wait to see pictures of him all set up in your yard so we can see how big he is in relation to your house. He is really a masterpiece, John and you should be wildly proud although I know you’re too modest to pat yourself on the back so I’ll do it for you! You’ve done so great!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay John!!!!! ::claps and jumps up and down!!!::: Wooohooo!!!!!
October 26th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
That’s F***ing INCREDIBLE!!!!! Awesome job, dude!
October 26th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
I just checked my e mail and saw your post . I had to kick everyone out of the front room except for myself and my 13 yr old son. we quickly clicked on the link and sat and watch with our mouths hanging open. This is just awesome! John your have done a superb job . I like the way your shredding came out on this and the wings are perfect. Amazing my friend! My son could only say , no way. Did he really make that? It`s amazing. lol he is like me , A lover of everything halloween. Keep up the great work. And thanks for sharing.
October 26th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
You think that is scary you should see me in the morning before coffee
October 27th, 2010 at 12:46 am
As always, your work is just amazing. Thanks for sharing your whole process this year – just amazing. Definitely an inspiration to us haunters.
Happy Haunting.
Cheers!
October 27th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Reading your blog & seeing your work has been such a treat this year. I actually created a new category in my annual “big Halloween post” just because your site is too cool to lump in w/ other stuff. Because you were kind enough to express an interest, the post is here: http://themadblonde.livejournal.com/365680.html
I know you’re probably crazy busy right now, so I will wish you luck in achieving all that you wish, & enjoying all that you achieve. Happy Halloween (a little early) -Karen
October 30th, 2010 at 2:46 am
themadblonde,
Thank you so much, Karen. I absolutely appreciate having Season of Shadows included in your big Halloween post and the fact you placed the site in its own category, too! Awesome!
I will absolutely be visiting your site and post after Halloween. Thanks again.
Happy Halloween to you, too!
October 30th, 2010 at 3:29 am
Herstrangekind,
I’m really glad you like him! Thanks. It’s my pleasure to be able to show how the props come together and it’s great to know the videos help make the process of creating Halloween decor more manageable. Once you start working on your props, if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to leave comments or send me an e-mail — I’m here to help in any way that I can.
Happy Halloween!
Julie,
Thank you so much! Have a great Halloween!
Camile,
Wow, that’s extremely kind! Thank you very much!
I’m looking forward to seeing the reactions of the kids and parents as well. Speaking of being a fly on the wall, if you happen to have a spare minute (although I know that’s not usually the case with all the trick-or-treaters you get) you could swing by the webcam page. I don’t think the camera will be focused on the Angel but one will be in the cemetery and the other will probably be focusing on the front porch. And isn’t Gorilla Glue the best? I love that stuff!
Thanks again, Camile. Happy Halloween to you and Kieran!
Damian the HalloweeNut,
Thanks, man — much appreciated! Have a great Halloween!
ssflipo13,
Awesome, I’m glad you guys like him! Thank you so much for your kind feedback during the entire process of creating and documenting the Angel’s progress and please thank your son for me, too. Happy Halloween to you and your family!
Barry Huddleston,
I’m gonna need a picture of that.
Have a great Halloween!
The Frog Queen,
Thank you so much! Happy Halloween!
October 30th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Happy Halloween to you too John. My son is hooked on your site now lol He also loves that you do paranormal investigations. Which I also do.
October 31st, 2010 at 8:38 am
Happy Halloween all you ghoulish people!!! I hope it is a magical one!
October 31st, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Tonight, if you hear something scratching around your window, something making the dogs in the area bark, hear a little faint giggle, it’s just me coming for a visit on All Hallow’s Eve.
November 1st, 2010 at 6:53 am
ssflipo13,
Awesome! Thanks for showing Season of Shadows to him. Hope you guys had an amazing night last night.
Ethan,
Hope yours was special, too!
DaleTheDoll,
Ah, that explains a lot, cause I could have sworn I heard the pitter patter of little feet on the roof around 2 AM.