Lovecraftian LEGO Horror

After successfully raising funds for The Hunger of Slag, production design began in earnest. This involved monster making, city building, and character design - all fun, but all time-consuming. Now, 5 months later, we are right on the cusp of shooting our first frames of stop motion animation.

Not your grandpa's giant slag runner - meet the evolved variant

With drop pods built, minifigures assembled, and latex monsters lit up with lights, the time has finally come for some test shots. In order to ensure the best possible look for this movie, I am experimenting with camera settings, color grading, and set framing. For a project this size, you want to make sure you have everything exactly as you want it before you pour hundreds of hours into animation.

Just dropping in to say hi... and BYE

If you're a stop motion enthusiast (or a film enthusiast... or LEGO enthusiast...) you may be curious as to how all comes together. I am currently working on a monster-making video where I walk you through the process, so stay tuned and check out my YouTube channel if that sounds like your kind of tutorial.

A casting mold for the runner made using monster clay and some LEGO bricks. I poured plaster over this to create a cast, which I painted on with layer after layer of liquid latex to create the "skin".

This project didn't come together overnight by any means. Throughout 2024, I utilized Mecabricks to design the buildings and skyscrapers that would populate the apocalyptic city. This included designing the Holy Temple, which was a real exercise in elegance. I am learning, however, that the REAL challenge is not the building - it's optimizing space in my tiny studio to handle this massive set.

A blender file I put together to visualize the layout of the city, complete with removable sections.

This project demands a lot of focus and persistence, but it is fun and profoundly rewarding when milestones are reached. And the next major milestone? ANIMATION.