Werewolf links, news, and reviews
Mike of Fantaxy FX sent me a link to a YouTube video of his latest creation– a 180cm (6′) tall werewolf with articulated head and arm movements.
Pretty impressive! You can see more of Mike’s work at www.fantaxy.es, although you’ll need to be fluent in Spanish to get the most out of the site.
Consider photomanipulations. Specifically, consider the masterful work done by lessthanhuman, who has been blending humans and animals on DeviantArt since 2004. His most recent work, Red Riding Hood, is a prime example of what can be done with a little Photoshop, some decent source materials and ten tons of pure talent. Here Red Riding Hood is being menaced by the Wolf, but it’s clear that got a surprise in store for her assailant. This is the one time I’ve ever really rooted for Red in this scenario!
lessthanhuman’s work is beautiful in a way that goes far beyond the technical impressiveness of his photomaniputlation skills– he’s an artist whose work is portraiture of the finest type. Check out his other work on DeviantArt, and if you like what you see, keep in mind that you can commission him. Incredibly, his rates start at a paltry $40 US, so if you want to see what you’d look like as a werewolf (or other animal hybrid), now’s your chance.
Back in July, I mentioned Stuart Pearson Wright‘s painting “Woman Surprised By A Werewolf”, and I wanted to remind everyone that you can now see it for yourself at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England.
Author Eva Gordon sent in this note late last week:
I’m an author of fantasy/paranormal novels. My debut novel The Stone of The Tenth Realm
‘s main male character is a Scottish Werewolf, Logan MacLeod, and he has to kick ass to set things right.
I was checking out Eva’s site, and noticed that she has a background in biology, environmental science and anatomy/physiology, and she’s also worked at a wolf sanctuary. This range of knowledge and experience could make for some extremely detailed and interesting werewolves, and I asked her how she applied this knowledge to her writing. She replies:
…my background in the biological sciences has certainly influenced my writings. I’ve read a few paranormal novels about wolves and I often cringe because some wolf biology and behaviors are off. I’m more lax with lycan characters because they are the author’s own creative invention. In my just released novel, my werewolf was cursed, but when he joins a pack of real wolves he behaves as they do. In my current work in process, The Wolf Maiden Chronicles my lycans are genetic and I even drew out a pedigree and punnet square (biology 101) before writing the first one, Werewolf Sanctuary, which is under consideration with a publisher at this moment.
It’s always a pleasure to see writers approaching the subject of werewolves with care and interest, particularly when they’ve got real-world knowledge to help shape the characters. You can find Eva’s first published novel, The Stone of The Tenth Realm, on Amazon.
As several other sources have announced, Universal Studios Hollywood will be screening an exclusive preview of The Wolfman as part of its Terror Tram experience this Halloween. The Terror Tram, if you didn’t know, is a tram-based tour of “remote and menacing locations of Universal’s legendary backlot”, including sets from Nightmare on Elm Street, Psycho and War of the Worlds. Built into the trams are LCD screens which will display the Wolfman preview, which may or may not be the trailer that was played at Comic Con earlier this year.
From ComingSoon.net:
“Halloween Horror Nights” will continue on consecutive weekends beginning on Friday, October 3 through Saturday, November 1. Event dates are: October 3-4, 10-11, 17-19, 24-26, 30-31 and November 1. The event will begin nightly at 7:00 p.m.; closing hours vary by night throughout the event.
If anyone sees this, please do let us know what the preview is like!
As we’ve mentioned a few times before, the forthcoming Sonic The Hedgehog game, Sonic Unleashed, will feature a “night mode” where everyone’s favourite spiky blue mammal turns into a werewolf (referred to informally as a “were-hog”). Kotaku has posted a new trailer which features extensive footage of this style of game play. Werewolf Sonic moves slower than regular Sonic, but boasts some punishing physical combat moves, which seems like it might lend some balance to a game that otherwise looks like it consists largely of running as fast as you can through beautiful terrain. Check out the video below:
Say what you want about where Sega has taken the Sonic franchise in the last decade, but this looks pretty damned cool. As previously mentioned, Sonic Unleashed is being released for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 18th 2008. An alternate version for the Wii will be released at the same time.
Sorry for the absence, everyone. I had some pretty excellent stuff happen over the weekend– my wife returned to Canada after an unplanned four-month absence caused by some problems with immigration paperwork. It was a long summer without her, and now that she’s back, you might see some interesting new art-related features appearing here before long.
Anyway, sorry again for the absence, and now it’s back to werewolf news!
Hey, werewolf freaks. I’m taking Friday the 12th off to attend to some important personal business. Weekly Werewolf Art and any new lycanthropic tidbits that get sent my way will be posted on Saturday… and I’ve had some pretty sweet messages from an author and a comic book creator, so the wait should be worth it.
As always, if you’ve got some werewolf news, let me know, and if you like the site, please spread the word. Thanks!
As reported by Fangoria and Dread Central, writer / director Jason Cuadrado has finished shooting a 15-minute short film about a nun who’s kidnapped and wakes up in the woods handcuffed to a werewolf. The film is called Monstrous Nature and it should be making the rounds on the festival circuit soon. It stars Camillia Sanes as the beleagured nun and Gary Perez as the werewolf, and special effects (gore and werewolf effects!) were handled by Graham Shcofield.
A nun. Handcuffed to a werewolf. Are you taking notes, Kevin VanHook?
You’ve got your Man of Steel and your Dark Knight in one corner, and your werewolves and vampires in the other corner. This October, DC Comics is hoping you’ll put a big pile of money right in the middle so these four forces can all grab a fistful. Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves is a four-issue, bi-weekly title written by Kevin VanHook and illustrated by Tom Mandrake, and if it seems like I’m having a hard time getting excited about this, that’s because I am. Check this official synopsis and see if you don’t wind up the same way:
A man is killed by a mysterious creature – his body drained of blood. A woman is savagely attacked by a ferocious beast – her jugular ripped out. Bat wings flutter across the moon and the howl of a wolf echoes through the streets, for the creatures of the night have risen from the grave, and humanity’s only salvation is the combined might of The Last Son of Krypton and The Dark Knight Detective. Blood will run red when Superman and Batman face off against vampires and werewolves for the fate of the entire DCU!
See, I’m… I’m just not feeling it, guys. There aren’t a lot of plot points there to criticize, but already this feels like the sort of thing that’s been done a dozen times before, and in ways that seemed less like a deliberate cash-grab. I’m ready to have my mind changed, but I don’t have a lot of interest in this one. What about you?
