Week 10- 9th Portfolio

     A very scary Halloween to all! This week, I was assigned to create a piece to dedicate to someone, be he living or dead. I chose to dedicate mine to William Gaines, creator of such comic book series as Tales From the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, and The Haunt of Fear. He was also the original publisher of one of my all-time favorite magazines, MAD.

Tales From the Vault of Fear
I created this piece in my usual method of pencil and paper, as well as adding a splash of color to it, which was done with colored pencils. I had originally intended it to dedicate it to a student I saw present his works. He displayed a series of book covers he had created, which really captured my interest, especially his treatment of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Inspired, I did a quick sketch of a book cover of my own, depicting Robert Louis Stephenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.However, when I learned that the piece could be dedicated to anyone, I decided to dedicate it to the crowned prince of horror, Vincent Price. But, considering that I drew much inspiration from the Tales From the Crypt comics, I decided to pay tribute to Mr. Gaines.

What I have drawn here is a ghoulish little man who would no doubt feel right at home in the Cryptkeeper's crypt, or the Old Witch's lair. A vampire bat dangles from his extended finger, and a raven is perched on the corroding dagger lodged in our creepy friend's skull. As a noose dangles around his neck, he holds a leaking beaker of frothing, sizzling poison that leaves boiling puddles on the ground.

I think the first major detail that viewers of this piece should take notice of  should be this spooky gent's eyes. One of the is stitched shut, while the other has a pair of unnaturally- wide lids, the lower of which dangling past his mouth. The second thing to notice should be his otherworldly skin tone  a pale yellow that suggests the quality and texture of moldy cheese. The final thing to notice should be his hunched-over posture, which makes him look a bit on the loony side, as if you haven't probably already guessed.