The Frankenstein Monster. Micron pen (03 and 05), Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Faber-Castell PITT B-Series Pen and Speedball Super Black acrylic ink in a 5.5" X 8.5" Daler-Rowney sketchbook. Art by Coyote Duran.
Once upon a time - I was in single digits; I reckon - my parents, younger brother and I were at a Halloween family gathering at my maternal grandparents' house in Romeoville, Illinois. My cousins Ryan and Darcy and their mom, my aunt Rita were there as well and we kids were watching "Frankenstein" on a UHF channel (probably 32, the most prominent in Chicago and its suburbs). I killed the lights in the living room and someone protested - I can't remember whether it was a cousin, my brother, mom, grandma or grandpa - but Aunt Rita interjected, "Oh, these movies are much scarier with the lights off!"
And although I've always thought that no old Universal Monsters film would ever be scary, with or without any lights, nostalgically, she was absolutely right.
See, the classic monster films were always best viewed in darkness because the manner in which they were filmed, produced and presented handled half the battle. Not unlike any other film enjoyed in the cinema, they were absolutely meant to be seen in the dark. And, honestly, who knew 94 years ago, that we'd either be watching this film in perpetuity, via reruns, streaming and home media?
No one.
And this goes equally for any classic Universal Monsters film. Man, you name it, any one of the films in the palms of our hands is nothing short of magnificent.
(My absolute favorite? "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein." Look, I don't care what Lon Chaney Jr. thought about this movie. Dude was full of it, man. This flick didn't talk down to anyone. It didn't make the monsters or villains look like buffoons at all. There was still dignity wrapped in a little hilarity is all.)
So during this past Halloween season, my absolute favorite holiday, I decided I'd work on a piece in my "head shots" sketchbook, a 5.5" X 8.5" Daler-Rowney hardcover (Get YOURS at Walmart today!) of the Frankenstein Monster himself, finished up simple as all get out in black ink (Micron pen - 03 and 05 - , Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Faber-Castell PITT B-Series Pen and Speedball Super Black acrylic ink, to be exact!) But first, there had to be a penciled layout!
As always, I have to plot the piece with my absolutely trusty pencil - a leadholder, at that! - my beautiful "Blue Special," my Alvin Drafting "Tech" DA Delux, loaded with 4H graphite. That's the stage in which stuff gets figured out, kids. Proportions get sussed out; likenesses get nailed down. Mistakes get made, erased, then fixed. Once all that's squared away, my "wireframe" inks can get laid down! So...
During this stage, the basic lines get locked in and the original pencils are locked out (erased, that is!). And that's when and where the blacks and shadows get spotted, dropped and detailed.
That's also where you see my influences pop in. Cats like Chris Samnee, Dan Panosian, Jeff Johnson, Dave Johnson, Mike Allred, Mike Wieringo, Darwyn Cooke and Evan "Doc" Shaner. They might not be obvious but the feel is there - and feel goes a long way, man.
You know, years after that visit with my grandparents, brother, parents, cousins and aunt, I checked out Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" from our local Bookmobile and was stuck on confused. Why on Sam Hill is this book not better than the movie?! Isn't that what everyone says about a book that a movie came from?!
Well, yeah, for the most part, Howlers. But what you need to understand is that is anomalous in terms of "Frankenstein." What director James Whale, producer Carl Laemmle Jr., screenwriters Garrett Fort and Francis Edward Faragoh and, who might just be the most renowned visual representative of the Monster ever, the absolutely legendary Boris Karloff brought us was something only translatable via celluloid. With that, we're ultimately encouraged to seek out the literature that inspired our favorite bolt-necked, flat-topped zombie. Celebrate that stuff, kids!
Heck, that's what makes Guillermo Del Toro's new adaptation of "Frankenstein" (now streaming on Netflix!) so freaking rad! Not only does it riff on the properly literary Shelley foundation, it honors the legacy of the absolutely outstanding Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein designs as well. As the kids say these days, if you know, you know. And if you don't, Google yourself a clue and live in the now!
As for me, I'm grabbing up a nice. cold, tasty beverage, roasting up some most excellent popcorn (and if you're smart, you'll gussy up that popcorn with some Pick-a-Flavor Original Ballpark Style Popcorn Salt, packed by Amish Country Popcorn! Dude, straight up, this salt is absolutely incredible! Please visit www.amishcountrypopcorn.com and get yours TODAY, man!), firing up the Netflix and checking out Del Toro's super-groovy Frankenstein movie. And I'm gonna kill all the lights because these movies are much scarier with the lights off!
Thanks, Aunt Rita. You were so right!
Oh, most importantly, thank YOU so much for visiting and reading!
Questions? Comments? Complaints? Commissions? Hit me up at artofthepaw@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Instagram @CoyoteDuran, on BlueSky @coyoteduran.art.com and on Facebook @CoyoteDuranArt. You can also watch some Coyote TV on YouTube @CoyoteDuranArt.
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