Finishing touches nazi

[higginsr]

I see so many awesome yard sets and talent on this site... it is a great community... I just want to extend some thoughts about putting finishing touches on your displays... the human eye is an amazing organ, it works just as hard on an unconscious level as it does on a conscious level… this is why subliminal messages are an effective tool for ‘selling’ something to the audience. There is a difference in theatrics and the natural world however, those differences should only be subtle in the fact that theatrics (your scene) should push and exaggerate nature… this often comes by “pushing” contrasting colors to create depth … ask a child to paint you a lake and that child will naturally get out the blue paint and start painting…why? Simple, that child is trained by stereotypes, what is assumed, not what is really there… as adults most never care to make that leap into actually studying what is in front of them and they too will pull the blue paint out and go to town. In this example, being the detail nazi, I would smack your hands for pulling that blue from the box… not that it couldn’t eventually come out but not initially… ok, enough with the water analogy… the point is everything in nature is layered and that needs to be the approach when finishing out a prop/scene/haunt. Your unconscious eye is what picks out these layers of colors and sells the product, without the conscious/unconscious eye picking out what it needs to; a message is received by the brain that is not believable. Water has a multitude of colors, water refracts white light splitting it into it’s shades on the color wheel… reflected light that isn’t getting bent is bounced off the surface… rocks are never one color… so why is all the tombstones flat gray? Calcium in rocks is white, there are browns, reds, greens, patina from dirt and the elements … for max believability push the contrast between the darks and lights the most on props that are closest to your audience. Look at www.scarefactory.com for how they faux finish… earthy touches sell the creepiness of a prop… just saw someone’s pictures that did amazing detail on cemetery pillars then garnish a cheesy one dimensional, cartoonish web right next to it…ugh! All that work and one misplaced web makes the whole thing look hooky…

Haunter assignment 101, next time your are in a natural setting… look around, I mean really look at stuff… why does that wall have color variations, look at the particular weeds and grass that grows from neglected areas… look at the marble steps of your local library… they are white, sort of but look at all that rich color variations! Watch a movie, look at the “atmosphere” of a scene… what makes it work, pause the movie and look around… the abandoned, dusty toy knocked on it’s side in the middle of the room for example… it might certainly not have anything to do with the movie per say, but the mind picks it up… why is it there? It puts a human vulnerable aspect into the scene… just an example to make a point…
Spending hard earned money and time carving tombstones only to paint them flat gray and stick them randomly in the yard does not do them justice… the ground cover, flora, abuses of time… all these come together to give the scene weight and really sell it to the audience…

As far as painting goes; take the time to layer your paint, don’t be afraid to push colors to far… don’t be afraid to push contrasts to far… this is a common problem for people just starting out… mottling techniques, washes, dry brushing, faux finishes via sponge, paper towels… etc… there are many things at your disposal, have fun and use them all!

[BudMan]

Danka

[RookieSpooker]

You should write infomercials. I wholely agree with what you are saying. I'm going to be putting alot of extra work into bringing in dead trees, leaves, etc. to "sell" my graveyard. And also covering the house with GRAY spiderwebs (never white), spanish moss, etc. and building a steeple for the roof. Now if you will excuse me, I must return to the garage.

[Sickie Ickie]

I agree AND disagree. Many of the scenes and details we add are based on fantasy. while some details are able to be realistic, it is perfectly understandable- and sometimes preferable to the senses- for other details to be from dreams.

[Revenant]

Yeah, but... (I know, I know... I can hear Pee Wee Herman right now saying "Why does everyone always have such a big But?"... well, here's my big but...)

I'm of the opinion that if you want your haunt or display or haunt to be at its best, the props would look best if they're at the same level. Even if it's a Hauntz-57 approach without a theme, a hyper-realistic weathered mouldering stone effect (say, tcarter's mausoleum) would be put off by an inflatable Frankenstein or jackolantern lawn leaf bag next to it. If cartoony and minimalist is the goal, the super detailed stuff will look out of place next to it. A simplified lo-rez Scooby-Doo haunt would look fine with bluckies but that gel-minwaxed corpsed Bucky will look like he got lost in among them. Un-detailed mixed in with super-detailed is sort of jarring.

Of course, that doesn't mean you have to have a lawn full of stuff at uniform levels. You just group it so that the superdetailed stuff is close to the audience and the cruder stuff is further back, just add some broad shadows to it to it so it fits into the scene. After all, in the movies, The mutant soldier characters wearing the 17,000 dollar suits of bio-cyber exoskeleton armor with the pneumatics and digital readouts are the actors with the lines right in front of the camera. The extras wearing the broadcloth and duct tape with the pieces of color photocopies glued to them are standing a few ranks back in the crowd. :)

[Sickie Ickie]

Can't argue with that- mainly because I agree. heh I was suggesting that not all haunts have to be on a realistic level. Some can do Scooby doo, some can do Sponge Bob, while others do CSI . :)

[tonguesandwich]

I understand were you are coming from and you have excellent points but I disagree with your depth psychology of why a child or adult paints a lake blue as being stereotypical, which would mean a child would paint a lake blue to conform to socially accepted behavior, especially in a way that lacks imagination. Nothing could be further from the truth for a child. It has to do with how the brain stores information as symbolic. Symbols are extremely powerful in our basic cognitive process. People have understood this for thousands of years and have controlled the world through these visual means. I do a series of lessons to show students how this happens and why. Breaking away from these symbols is difficult for new art students. What, in my opinion creates a dull scene is using these icons or symbols in a display. The Grandma display, or “trite” display, that basically is a billboard of participation and communicates a message.
I believe that the best “scary” scenes exaggerate nature causing the mind to be uncomfortable or unsure. We need to take these symbols of the holiday and make them unsure. High detail is not required for most yard haunters because it is a dark holiday. The majority of light is artificial with ambient lighting causing many of the illusions as well as uncertainty in the penumbra and shadow areas. This would also compliment the previous post of detail being relative to distance. Artificial lighting should be one of the most important factors for the yard haunt and in my opinion, engulfing detail.
I believe the trick is creating a scene that is believable and not comfortable, yet not necessarily realistic (like 99% of all movies) especially through exaggeration.
Obviously a blowup will not create any of these but it could still create a symbolic message to the viewer….and if that message is happy Halloween instead of you are going to have the crap scared out of you, that is still cool.
:ninja:

[edwood saucer]

I agree with Rev on many points. A perfect example is what they do in movies - hero shots get all the detail whereas distance shots are fudged. Even the highest budget movies use full head pull over masks.

This thread is obviously not meant for me - I understand you guys go to a hell of a lot of detail - I'm much more Scooby Doo in my approach.

But having said that - doing this for the first time last year - we learned a lot about how much details does not have to be in certain things. How contrast is important over subtlety and how red paint falls to black quickly!

This will be a fun thread to follow. To that end - I want to make my haunt even more Scooby Doo like - more phosphorescent colors - just don't have the time this year.

One last thing - regarding all this - and speaking of exaggerating nature - watch Murnau's Nosferatu.

[frstvamp1r]

Hey EdWood, on a TOTALLY side note...your red to black...that's why fire hydrants now-a-days are no longer red, but other colors...because of red quickly going to black. And that's another totally useless fact provided by FRST. Now back to the topic...as for myself, I have to have my stuff detailed. I mean so much so that props that should only take a day might take a month. But I do live by the "put the detailed up front, and the not so detailed in back". Alot of my cheapy WalMart bought tombstones are in the back hidden by shadows from the more detailed tombstones I make in the front. Even some animated props I have I strategically place depending on how "hoaky" it looks. If I didn't have time to dry brush some stuff onto it or change its costume it goes somewhere else. I too like realism in my haunt. My wife is the more "scooby doo" style. So for that one Holiday in Dec. we go all out with inflatable snowglobes and santa on a Harley while the Polar Bears give those damned penguins a ride.

[higginsr]

I understand were you are coming from and you have excellent points but I disagree with your depth psychology of why a child or adult paints a lake blue as being stereotypical, which would mean a child would paint a lake blue to conform to socially accepted behavior, especially in a way that lacks imagination. Nothing could be further from the truth for a child. It has to do with how the brain stores information as symbolic. Symbols are extremely powerful in our basic cognitive process. People have understood this for thousands of years and have controlled the world through these visual means. I do a series of lessons to show students how this happens and why. Breaking away from these symbols is difficult for new art students. What, in my opinion creates a dull scene is using these icons or symbols in a display. The Grandma display, or “trite” display, that basically is a billboard of participation and communicates a message.
I believe that the best “scary” scenes exaggerate nature causing the mind to be uncomfortable or unsure. We need to take these symbols of the holiday and make them unsure. High detail is not required for most yard haunters because it is a dark holiday. The majority of light is artificial with ambient lighting causing many of the illusions as well as uncertainty in the penumbra and shadow areas. This would also compliment the previous post of detail being relative to distance. Artificial lighting should be one of the most important factors for the yard haunt and in my opinion, engulfing detail.
I believe the trick is creating a scene that is believable and not comfortable, yet not necessarily realistic (like 99% of all movies) especially through exaggeration.
Obviously a blowup will not create any of these but it could still create a symbolic message to the viewer….and if that message is happy Halloween instead of you are going to have the crap scared out of you, that is still cool.
:ninja:

Thank you for the thoughtful response... stereotype was definitely the wrong word... imprinting or symbolic is more on target, reinforced by how society encourages the use of these accepted standards. Positive reinforcement for coloring a lake blue as a child has far reaching implications as an adult… as adults we simply stop ‘seeing’ things and accept the symbolic images in it’s place because of years of positive reinforcement…. I will preface this by saying that I do not believe a child should be admonished for using these perceived notions of what an object looks like… not at all! I just feel that it makes it harder to consciously ‘see’ what the unconscious already is evaluating. As artist (yes we are all artist that do this stuff), we need to be aware that what we have known to be true simply needs to be re-evaluated. Your point on the exaggerated nature is well taken and also plays well in the context of my “detail nazi” rant… a monster is only believable if it takes cues from the physical world… i.e. Bone structure, muscle placement, etc… as a sculptor I have to be sensitive to this or else there is no payback for hours of work. My façade that I am doing for this year is a play on a natural environment with elements of the fantastical… it’s carved stone walls aren’t unlike other structures found on historical sites yet the addition of the various-sized skull archways and blood fountain is simply in the elements of the supernatural so it puts the mind in a precarious situation which as you mention is the crux of what makes a good scare… contrasts at times do need to be exaggerated, there is no question about it… a scene/prop/setting needs to ‘read well’ my point is that there are many things going on at the unconscious level that need to be taken into consideration. Coloration adds depth even if it is within a very tight color spectrum. When painting masks or busts we use a method called mottling which is basically air brushing squiggles of off-white (or other color) on the surface then painting layers of paint on top of it (base, squiggles, layers)… what you get is a bust, I don’t care the material (latex, silicone, plaster) that has extremely believable skin qualities… why is this? On first inspection we don’t see the various layers of paint that is making up the fleshy surface but the mind picks it up quickly… my rocks on my façade have numerous techniques from dry brushing to washes to misting to create the feeling of depth on the rocky surface… it sells much quicker than simply painting it grey (the symbolic impression) and calling it done. As noted by some, this simply isn’t the reason to display a yard haunt… Scooby-doo is better in their opinion and I couldn’t agree more! But for those that want that different level, just train your eye to ‘see’ the natural world around you… don’t be afraid to experiment or push color further…
Visions of Bob Ross… “Happy Little Trees”

[Just Whisper]

This is a very interesting and enlightening thread. I hope everyone will keep it light and readable, and stop dragging it through the psychological mud. I did not realize until last year that, while I had lots of very nice Halloween and Christmas props at each respective season, I did not have much background or scene setting items. It lacked ambiance and detail. So I really appreciate this thread reminding us that it is important to those of us who WANT detailed, realistic haunts to remember to go the extra mile and do what was stated in the first post. thanks nazi Hig. :)

[Papa Bones]

Well, since I have found this place I have always lived in apartments and haven't been able to do a haunt, that may change this year and if not, it will by next year. My haunt when I have one is likely to be more scooby doo than csi, because haunting is supposed to be fun, and it seems to me that worrying that much about making the props look exactly like the real thing would take most of the fun out of it. Thats just me, mind you...

[Bethene]

PapaBones, I agree, it must be fun, or why do it? But a very detail oriented person will find fun in all the picky little details. I fall some where in the middle. but being in a park setting, I need to be more on the fun side, this years cemetery is alittle darker and i hope to be more into the details, I do understand what Hig was saying, looking at the world paying attention to the details, no only will you bring out more in your haunt, you just might see more beauty in the little things in life!

[jdubbya]

I enjoy threads involving the detail we put into our displays, but maybe this one is a bit over the top for me. My thought is that the target audience here are kids in the 3-12 age range, who have a limited time to get to as many destinations as possible. They, as well as their parents, are likely not taking the time to soak up all your details. A look around your yard, jumping at a scare, no matter how hokey, grabbing the candy and off to the next house. Some folks will linger a bit to take in more. I'm not sure how critical anyone is over a yard haunt. My sense is that when the kids go home that night and dump their pillow case on the floor and sort through their loot, your house will be mentioned as the "cool house on xxx street". The next morning at school, they'll talk about the scary house they went to but doubtful one will comment on the realism of your props. They'll just remember it was a great place to stop at on Halloween night, and they'll look forward to it next year. We are all our own worst critics and while some of the detail we put into stuff is nothing short of amazing, is it lost on our audience? I think it is. I have become more focused on atmosphere; light, sound, shadows, some well placed scares, etc.. and while I have upped my own level of detail on certain things, it's more for my pleasure. I know some people take in every little thing. I've seen adults walk around my display for half an hour with video cameras, stopping to point something out to a companion. It's neat to watch, but not as neat as the look on the kids faces when they walk through grabbing on to each other and looking over their shoulders, laughing through the screams! I try not to lose sight of why I do this Halloween thing. Just to make some good times for those who still celebrate it. Hope I'm not misinterpretting the gist of the thread.

[MacabreRob]

WTB Line breaks...