April 2013

Chet Zar’s monster designs for Hellboy 2

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We are so excited to bring you Chet Zar and Doktor A’s show Oddfellows in May, and somehow, some people might have neglected to let me know that Chet Zar has actually designed some of my favourite monsters of all time. Don’t worry, I’m not blaming anyone; I’m a bit busy trying not to be a gigantic fangirl and embarrass this esteemed internet publication I write for.

First, there’s the Chamberlain, the door keeper for King Balor in Hellboy 2 (yeah, also one of my favourite movies ever). Below is Chet’s clay maquette and a movie still.

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And then, there’s Cathedral Head, who has an extremely appropriate name because y’know…his head is a cathedral. Also from Hellboy 2, he is found in the map shop in the Troll Market, and I am absolutely writing this from memory, because I really, really love these creatures. I believe that Cathedral Head was designed by Guillermo DelToro and sculpted by Chet Zar.

Here is Chet Zar sculpting and painting Cathedral Head bits, as well as a movie still.

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Basically, Chet Zar’s brand of dark, atmospheric monster designs are absolutely stunning, and we have an opportunity to listen to him talk about his work and creative process in May, in conjunction with his show opening.

“Painting With Shadows: Darkness and the Creative Process,” will be Zar’s first talk on why he prefers dark subject matter, and the talk will cover inspiration and artistic choices in Zar’s work, as well as his process and concept. In it, Zar will explain his own process for harnessing the darker side of creativity, and giving tips and tricks on how to utilize your own darker experiences and emotions in your work.

You don’t want to miss it! For more of Chet Zar’s monster design work in film, visit his website! Chet has also worked on designs for two absolutely mindblowing Tool videos, so stay tuned if you’re interested in me getting all breathlessly excitable over them.

Painting With Shadows Lecture

Date: Saturday, May 4, 2013
Price: $50
Time: 12-2pm
Location: Stranger Factory.
To reserve your spot, please contact strangerfactorysales@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Adorable New Kat Banks in the CP Store

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tabbyYou saw them on Amanda Spayd’s Instagram page, and now you can own one too from the very same source! KAT BANKS are here!

We’ve gotten in three different colors of these adorable banks for all your coin storing needs. These fun feline non-furballs are 8.5 x 8.5 inches and ready to purr into your heart for $26 each.

Find them in the Circus Posterus Store right here. 

Kat Banks

The Baby Tattoo Roadshow @ Stranger Factory May 20th!

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Baby Tattoo Roadshow 2

The Baby Tattoo Roadshow is coming to Albuquerque!

Baby Tattoo has grabbed a superstar group of artists and are hitting the road with the single mission of bringing art to the masses!

Ragnar, Coop, Gris Grimly,and Marina Bychkova will all be in attendance and signing their latest books, publihsed by Baby Tattoo, at Stranger Factory on May 20th. That’s a Monday, so if you’re in the area, be sure to stop by and make sure your week starts out marvelously  The roadshow of incredible art is scheduled for 7-9pm, but the experience will last a lifetime!

Did we mention we will have mixologist Michael Trujillo on hand filling libation needs.

Baby Tattoo Roadshow

Something is brewing in Dok A’s Lab!

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Bottles

You aren’t looking at something from the lab I am working in right now, but an actual teaser from a piece Dok A has coming up for Oddfellows. Lab equipment strikes a chord in many of our hearts, and it leaves me to wonder what this Machiavellian robot created by the good Doktor is up to?

Bottles of euphoria, melancholy, and sin can only mean that this robot is toying with our synapses and neurotransmitter signaling, which might be a good thing.

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Chet Zar and Doktor A’s Oddfellows opens at Stranger Factory on May 3rd.

Gas Mask Magnets at Stranger Factory

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I don’t know why we don’t all just move to Albuquerque already. The food is wonderful, the weather’s pretty okay, and there’s an amazing gallery you might know about in Nob Hill.

Speaking of which, these colourful hand cast and hand painted gas mask magnets by DrilOne are available, but only in store at Stranger Factory, so you might want to head on over to the store to snatch one up. If you’re feeling a bit left out(don’t worry, we all are), there are still some DrilOne originals in the online store to ease your pain.

Doubleparlour Doubles the Fun for PINK EYE

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Pink Eye

Seeing “work in progress” shots from shows is like seeing the sequel trailer for a film you have been dying for a conclusion on. But what is Doubleparlour showing here…is it one beast, two beasts, 5 heads and a devil? It doesn’t matter how many creatures we are seeing in this pic, they all look amazing. We can’t wait to see the paint go on.

Doubleparlour’s dazzling display of curating captivating creatures in their sculpts is nothing short of inspiring. Pink Eye is just a bit over 2 weeks away on May 3rd at Stranger Factory, and we will have lots more to show you, so keep watching.

Big Desk, Little Desk.

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Doktor A has been sending us pictures of his worktable lately, so when he sent this picture along, we were a little surprised to see that he’s tidied up a little bit.

Nooooope. That’s not his worktable. That’s just a blatant display of his incomparable miniature modelling skills. Go ahead, squint at it, revel in the tiny details, and be blown away with the knowledge that this perfect little drafting table is about the size of your finger.

DrawingBoardLorez

We have a pretty ridiculous amount of tiny Doktor A details to post coming up, as his work wanders over to sunny Albuquerque, so stay tuned.

Chet Zar and Doktor A’s Oddfellows opens at Stranger Factory on May 3rd.

Painting With Shadows: a Chet Zar lecture

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On Saturday, May 4th, in conjunction with Oddfellows, we are happy to present “Painting With Shadows: Darkness and the Creative Process,” a lecture and talk with exhibiting artist Chet Zar.

Zar will explain his own process for harnessing the darker side of creativity, and giving tips and tricks on how to utilize your own darker experiences and emotions in your work. This will be Zar’s first talk on why he prefers dark subject matter, and the talk will cover inspiration and artistic choices in Zar’s work, as well as his process and concepts.

Painting With Shadows Lecture
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2013
Price: $50
Time: 12-2pm
Location: Stranger Factory.
To reserve your spot, please contact strangerfactorysales@gmail.com as soon as possible.

It takes BOO to make a thing GLOW right!

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BOO2Last week, we just dangled a spooky carrot, but we’re no longer playing hard to get –  here are a few more images of the Mini Glow in the Dark BOO SKELVE! These are the test pulls from Adam at Truecast Studios and sculpted by Scott Wetterschneider at Shinbone Creative. Both have done a stunning job! These resin beauties are just over 5 inches tall to go along with the sold out Mini Greeter that was released earlier this year, and a perfect older sibling to the Boo Skelve that will be in the Cardboard Spaceship x Circus Posterus mini series.

The array of colors are awesome, regardless of lighting, and the image below shows what these ghostly entities do when the lights are off. Now that we have seen two figures from the upcoming miniseries go a tad larger…what’s next?

BOO3

 

Leecifer x Toys are Sanity

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Stranger Factory favourite Leecifer and Stranger Factory fixture Mikee Riggs(No really, he’s there 5 days a week. Behind the counter. Running the store.) have teamed up to produce a special edition of the Sewer Creep figure, designed by Mikee’s toy company, Toys are Sanity!

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Lee writes – “Turns out skating scalding hot radioactive waste is “OK” if you’re a Sewer Creep!!! Brings out the lovely hot pink of your pupils and the charred blackness of your teeth, but it does smoke your shorts and kicks!”

The Meltdown Sewer Creep releases tomorrow – Sunday, Apr 14th 2013 at 3pm PST at Mikee’s webstore, toysaresanity.bigcartel.com.

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