C-Rations: 0C1101

This week's offering is done with a Chess board

“Old Man’s Day” 16" x 16" Tournament Chess board with arranged pieces

Pawned C says:

I would like to say that this weeks skull was an intentional copy, but I failed to do my research correctly. It was only after putting this post together that I realized that the Skullmaster already won this game.

Remember each Monday during the 3.0 year I am posting an original skull design. My weekly offerings are nothing compared to the one-a-day massive project done by the Skullmaster in 1.0, but hopefully you will find some nourishment in these weekly offerings.

Watercolour Skull **

Yann Roirand, who is studying Art & Design in Sunderland, England wrote:
“I created Tingles using watercolour, ink & acrylic over a photocopy of another watercolour I created before. I realized that what I used 2 paint in High School was very colourful but that I've mainly been working in black & white since I'm at Uni so in this piece, I tried to combine the 2.”


Instructor C says:

Thanks for submitting this piece to us. It seems fitting that your piece should be featured this week as many of our readers are heading back to school themselves. Best of luck in the new year, and we look forward to seeing more of your work later this year.

Speaking of Back to Skull... No not yet, you will need to stop by Skull-A-Day tomorrow to learn more.

**Editor's note- from England so the British spelling applies here.

Killer Klowns vs Skull-A-Day

Just reminding you to enter our T-shirt givaway by showing off my new Killer Klowns from Outer Space tee from Fright-Rags! You've got til just midnight (Eastern Time) to enter so don't delay!

Sunday Simulacra - Version 3.13

Happy Sunday everyone. This week we are getting back to nature with our submissions.

The first is from Chris Reed of DuPont, WA who found this while snorkeling at a beach in Kaua'i.



The next was found by Miss Kim Rushton who said:
“I snapped this two years ago (7/7/07) at a dive site called ‘The Driveway’ in Turks and Caicos. It's about the size of a golf ball and I just happened to see it right before I surfaced - couldn't believe it. It's coral with two algae like plants on it that make the eyes - this is exactly as I found it. Very excited to have found a community of people who share my excitement over it.”

And last for the week is from Angela Combest of Chicago, IL who wrote;
“My neighbor and I were at a stone supplier searching for rocks and stone for a gardening project. You can bet that this fella came home with me!”

Demeter C says:

What a great collection of simulacra this week. It's as if these items were purposely left around as tokens to remind us of the classic greek myths of old. Thank you all for submitting your pictures and I look forwards to seeing many more of your finds.

Keep sending those pictures in to our submissions address. Just keep in mind that since we only post simulacra once a week it might take a little longer than normal for it to be posted.

Bowling Skulls

Brendan Jack is back with more skulls from South Africa. He writes ,"Here are customized lawn bowls made for a South African film titled 'Straight Outta Benoni'. I'm busy giving them away on my site, and seem to have found a home here."


I would guess that your record in lawn bowling is undefeated. These balls are scary enough to intimidate any bowler. Thanks for showing off your balls, Brendan!

Send To Phone

[Flashback Friday] 346. Bokeh Skull

Flashback Friday is a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.0. Each week I'll be posting an original skull along with some additional commentary in order from lowest to highest rated, with the #1 skull appearing in the last week of year 3 of the project...

#40: 346. Bokeh Skull





I learned about the bokeh technique from a fan of the project and even though I didn't really have the right lens to do it properly, I thought the end result was fairly successful. These shots were taken at the top of Church Hill, here in Richmond, Virginia. The images are even more appropriate if you know about the train tunnel that runs under the hill. If you're interested in making your own bokeh photos, there are good step-by-step instructions HERE.

Transformation Skull

Kenn Twofour from Atlanta, Georgia sent us this great set of skulls. He wrote: “ Each is 3 1/2 X 5 inches. 2 color screen print on 1/4 inch wood. Blue,green,yellow and purple. Hand cut and hand printed by me.”


Emulsion C says:

Thanks for submitting your work to us. I am truly astonished by the skills you display in making up this art. Not only are you a master woodworker, but a master screen printer as well. Be sure you check out Kenn's blog for some more amazing skull projects.

Evil Tatman

Need more incentive to enter this week's giveaway contest? Here's Tatman showing off one of the Fright-Rags Tees you could win, while holding his boom stick, and reminding you all to shop smart, shop S-Mart...

Coyote & Deer Skulls

Jennifer Downey brings us an excellent oil on canvas painting of a coyote and deer skull.


Oh give me a home,
Where the skulls always roam,
And the deer and the coyotes play.

Where we'll always post,
The ones you love the most,
And you can see them here on Skull-A-Day.

Great looking work, Jennifer. I like all of the stuff available in your etsy store also.

[CONTEST] Win a Fright-Rags T-shirt!

The great folks at Fright-Rags have kindly offered to give away a choice of one of their seriously awesome horror movie T-shirts to 3 lucky Skull-A-Day readers!

Here are just a few of the many ones available...



To be entered in a random drawing for a T-shirt, just leave a comment below sharing your favorite horror movie of all time. [If you're reading this on FACEBOOK, be sure to leave your comment on the actual Skull-A-Day blog post.]

IMPORTANT: Don't forget to include a way to contact you (either an e-mail in the post OR make sure your Blogger profile has an e-mail link for you on it).


You have until just Midnight Eastern Time September 1st to enter so don't delay! UPDATE: The contest is over. Thanks to everyone who participated!

And of course you don't have to wait til the end of the contest to get your own T-shirts from Fright-Rags. And if you use the coupon code SKULL10 during checkout you'll get a 10% discount on your next order!

Good luck!

[BONUS] C-Rations: 08·26·09

This week’s [BONUS] offering is done with Cigarette butts.

“Beavis” approx 6" x 6" arranged cigarette butts in a sand filled receptacle


Smoke Screen C says:

Year 3.0 has been a year of experimentation for the Tatman and myself. We are not just editors here we are active participants in this project as you can see by our weekly offerings(see them HERE and HERE).

About a month ago an idea for a skull was mentioned in an online conversation, and Tatman and myself thought it would be fun to take that idea and see what each would create with it. Tatman and I live about 700 miles from each other, you have seen a little sampling of our creative interaction in our monthly contest examples, but today's [BONUS] is a first for us in this capacity. Being that we would never have an opportunity to work in the same studio together, we decided to use Skull-A-Day as our virtual studio.

Hope you enjoyed this experiment and be sure to check out Tatman’s [BONUS] here.


Remember each Monday during the 3.0 year I am posting an original skull design. My weekly offerings are nothing compared to the one-a-day massive project done by the Skullmaster in 1.0, but hopefully you will find some nourishment in these weekly offerings.

[BONUS] Tuesdays With Tatman

Call them what you will- cigarettes, smokes, fags, dugans, squares, or durries- these butts are gross. Please, if you do smoke, don't litter. Find a proper receptacle like my neighbor(thanks Tim). If you smoke in your car, please use the ash tray. It's there for a reason.



Approx 14 in. x 14 in. This is probably the stinkiest skull I will ever do...unless some kind of manure comes into play.

Each Tuesday(and occasional others) in the 3.0 year will bring a new Tuesday With Tatman. As a tribute to the Skull Master's astounding feat let's all get creative and try something new(and hopefully skull related).

Send To Phone

Tuesdays With Tatman #12

Every summer Mother Nature brings us a season of new growth and life. Every so often we have to keep some of that new growth under control. This in turn spawns a cycle of death and rebirth. By composting your dead flowers and lawn clippings, you return to the Earth that which you took. Of course there's no better way to symbolize that death than with a skull.



Approx. 12" wide x 18" high. Go now, grassy skull, and return to the Earth and enrich the world with your composted rebirth.

Each Tuesday in the 3.0 year will bring a new Tuesday With Tatman. As a tribute to the Skull Master's astounding feat let's all get creative and try something new(and hopefully skull related).

No Way Home Skull

Germany's own HP Lermer has decided to take his skull memento mori to the grave with him. He tells us, "I send you a picture of my tombstone, I have made to provide. Maybe, I need it some day."



Of course I am a fan of the rock carving. Let's just hope that HP will need this a lot later than sooner. I don't know why I never thought of it before, but I can assure you that Tatman's tombstone will have a skull on it. Thanks for the great idea, HP.

C-Rations: 0C1100

This week's offering is done by Cutting a milk Carton

“Expired” 10" x 4" standard half gallon milk carton cut with additional paper advertisement

Secret Shopper C says:

I think the most fun I had doing this week's skull was trying to get a decent picture of it in its proper surroundings. Plenty of strange looks as I went about trying to set up the shot while shopping.

[UPDATE]
Alternative view: Playing with an LED toy I got in a cereal box last year. It's as if they were made to go together... I don't know like cereal and milk.

Remember each Monday during the 3.0 year I am posting an original skull design. My weekly offerings are nothing compared to the one-a-day massive project done by the Skullmaster in 1.0, but hopefully you will find some nourishment in these weekly offerings.

And the Jolly Roger Cufflinks winner is...

Congratulations to Dee, who was the randomly selected winner of the Skull Cufflinks Giveaway from CuffLinks2Wear.com. And thanks again to everyone for your terrific skull date suggestions! Stay tuned for more contests soon and don't forget that even if you didn't win you can still get your own pair of Jolly Rogers here.

Skull Print

Mark B Hill from Middleton, WI sent us this: “I love the website! Please find attached my submission to Skull A Day. It is a linoleum block print.”

Crimson Ghost C says:

Thanks for this awsome submission. The simple black and white is very iconic in many ways. I have to admit I am a big fan of block prints. I have tried my hand at linoleum cutting in the past, and need to confess I have ruined more blocks than I have completed. Please remember to check out Mark's blog for some more great work.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 3.12

As a continuing theme this weekend we shall endeavor more into the skulls of the food world. Bite sized or not, skulls are everywhere, even in your food. Here are the facts:

Brother Mike Banks hailing from Kalamazoo, Mi came upon this alfredo sauce skull after dinner one evening.



Melissa K from Conneticut writes to us: "I am a Skull-a-day fan; I check the site every morning so I can get my day started! A co-worker of mine offered me some “pretzel crisps” this morning and I was delighted to see a couple of skulls looking back at me!!"



And Skull-A-Day friend Phil Cheney found this character on a shopping trip. He adds, "This is candy covered chocolate called "Chocolate SeaShells". It was looking at me from the bulk container at a Wegman's supermarket in Ithaca, NY. If I had my camera in the store I would have just taken the picture there."



Excellent finds by all of you. In fact I better log out now so I can get something to eat. These pics have given me the munchies.

To all of you skull hunters out there, keep sending those pictures in to our submissions address. Just keep in mind that since we only post simulacra once a week it might take a little longer than normal for it to be posted.

Barbecue Sauce Skull

Food skulls have always been a favorite of the readers and contributors of Skull-A-Day. Of course with food skulls come food product skulls. In the course of 2 plus years of posting skulls we have seen, ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, hot sauce, and even oil & vinegar be used for skull making. Thanks to Danel from Brasil, we now have the first barbecue sauce skull.



That looks like one saucy skull to me(pun intended). Thanks for the submit, Danel. Now, what kind of skull will you find at your next meal?

[Flashback Friday] 140. Body Skull

Flashback Friday is a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.0. Each week I'll be posting an original skull along with some additional commentary in order from lowest to highest rated, with the #1 skull appearing in the last week of year 3 of the project...

#41:140. Body Skull

My girlfriend was the very patient model for this one. Not only did it take hours to apply the body paint over her entire back, but also it took another hour to shoot the photograph, to say nothing of cleaning it all off (who says being a model is easy?!). Still, I think it was well worth the effort for her butt to end up in a book that is loved by teenagers!

P.S. Here's a bonus behind the scenes shot, notice that one of our cats (curled up on the right) had decided to take part in the photo session, and one of my previous skulls was watching over the scene.


P.S. You can now give the top image as a gift on Facebook using the Send-A-Skull application!

Trio of Skulls

A frequent visitor to Skull-A-Day, Tierney C. Thomas from Naperville, Illinois/Frisco, Texashas been inspired to submit some work to us.

The first is just simply titled “Corks on the Computer.”

The next is inspired by the Skullmaster's “Flashback Friday” for 167. Skull by Numbers .

Tierney said: “I recently went to Skull-a-Day.com on my iPhone, and saved the Skull by numbers photo... I managed to do this using the "Scribble" and "Photogene" applications on my phone.”
Finally, another inspired design by the Skullmaster's cut paper skulls from the “Original 365.25”

Tierney wrote: “It started out as a sketch of an alien-ish skull. I then copied it, and filled in the drawing with a permanent marker. It's only the size of an average sheet of printer paper. PS. His name is Fred. :)”


Trifecta C says:

Thanks for submitting your work. We always love to see how Skull-A-Day inspires someone in their surroundings. From arranging objects, to phone generated, to the classic pen and paper, you have demonstrated a number of different techniques out there for making skulls. Thanks also to all of you out there reading this. It is you, our loyal readers, who continue to keep Skull-A-Day stocked fresh with new material.

If you haven't worked up the energy to submit anything yet what are you waiting for, our submission address is right here.

Contest Winner Update

Just reminding everyone out there that this month's contest is coming to a close soon. We want everyone out there to know how much we apprecite your submissions and that we show our thanks in prize form. Here's a picture of our June flag contest winner Eric Vanderkooi with his hand made metal sculpture that was appreciatively donated by Pearson Metal Art.



So don't forget to get those submissions in for this month's contest. ♥ Skull-A-Day anywhere you like, but try to do so in the next week. Remember, you gotta be in it to win it, but the winner is still picked randomly, so everyone has a chance. The prize is unique and hand made plus, there are even runner up prizes.

This might also be a good time to remind all of you about how we like to feature a "skull fanatic" every month. Are you a certified/certifiable Skull Fanatic? If so, send an image or two, maybe a video of your personal skull/skeleton collection and tell us a bit about what makes you so crazy for skulls, how many skulls you own, and whatever else you think is pertinent!

The Gift of Skulls

I just have to show off a few lovely skull gifts I've been given recently:

Caroline Jones, whose work was recently on the site, gave me one of her lovely needle felted skulls in person at a recent book signing!


Tom Sale, whose work also recently appeared on the site, kindly sent me one of his gorgeous skull spoons, the first of his new 3/4 view ones, which were partially inspired by my own Skoon,


And I was given this lovely paper skull, which was made by layering vellum soaked in glue & water over a ceramic skull, by an attendee of my recent skull craft event. Sadly I didn't write down this person's name, so if you're reading this post, let me know who to credit here!...



Thanks again to all of you! I love having such nice hand-made items to add to my personal skull collection.

Doodle Daily Skull

Part time doodle artist Warren Beinart shares his story of inspiration:

"I must tell you that you were the inspiration for my blog "The Doodle Daily" after my business partner, Lisa, who was in the audience when you were on the Martha Stewart Show a while back kept raving about your blog and book. At the time I had always contemplated blogging my doodle art, but I was so busy with my "day job" and building my stationery line, that I never got around to it. After seeing your book and site, I decided I too should post a new doodle every day and a few weeks ago I got started. I hope to keep it going as long as you did, because I love the dedication you had in posting something fresh everyday. Then I figured, I needed to doodle a skull in my style and hopefully it would be something you would consider including in your collection. The skull is hand drawn and then scanned in."



Simply awesome, Warren! I am doodly impressed with you dedication to post a new doodle everyday. Your creativity is sure to inspire others out there to get creative as well. Noah always loves to hear from others who are taking on the 365 challenge and we will gladly add a link to your blog on our home page. If there are more of you inspired by the Skull-A-Day feat then be sure to share it with us. Good luck with your year, Warren, and keep up the good work!

[BONUS] Skull Stencils In Use

A couple more great uses of my classic Skull Stencil and my Two-Part Skull Stencil...

Jeff Jackson did a lovely job decorating his shed door with my stencils (and is now in the process of creating a stenciled toolbox as well!)...



And Noe Derby made this wicked custom bass drum head...

Color Skellis

MarZel, a member of the Dark Artist Guild, sent us the following: “I do follow you religiously, though I do not get around to commenting as I would like. Similarly, I have been meaning to send submissions in for months and just now getting round to it-- Color Skellis- are Skull beads I make.”


Dime Sized C says:

I wish we had the opportunity to post the majority of MarZel's work here, it is all amazing. Make sure you take the time to check out her work on her blog. I really have to say “I ♥ pocket skulls.”

Speaking of “♥ing” things, remember we are going into the final 10 days of our current monthly contest. Remember we still have prizes to give away. There is still time to participate, all the details for the contest can be found here.

Tuesdays With Tatman #11

Yet again I have found a way to use someone else's junk to make a skull. The metal scraps looked so much like teeth that I knew I had to use them on something. I also got the board from the same location. Add a couple of washers for eyes and a nifty u-shaped scrap for the nose and voilà!



He goes by Scrappy the happy skull. He wears a grin because he was spared from the trash bin.


Each Tuesday in the 3.0 year will bring a new Tuesday With Tatman. As a tribute to the Skull Master's astounding feat let's all get creative and try something new(and hopefully skull related).

Charcoal Skulls

These excellent charcoal drawings are from deviant artist Gretchen(Lady-de-sade).

"Perched On A Deer Skull"


"Say Cheese"


I always love the way charcoal's soft shades can make hard bones seem so smooth and silky. Plus, I can only imagine what may have been in the background in "Say Cheese". A trip to a famous place..a visit to a park...a trip to the moon? The entire picture is stripped away and left as bare as it can be, letting us fill in the blanks with our imaginations. Or maybe he's just posing with his I ♥ Skull-A-Day t-shirt on for this month's contest? Thanks, Gretchen.

C-Rations: 0C1011

This week's offering is done by Cutting and Collecting

“Jerry Gar-C-Ah” 12" x 9" flower dead-heads and plant material arranged in dirt on a found plastic lid.

Ikebana C says:

In case you are not familiar with the term the act of removing a dead bloom is called “dead-heading” some believe that by doing so a plant will be encouraged to flower again, a sort of resurrection. These particular dead-heads came from a daisy like flower. Happy 40th children of the flower. Today I needed a miracle.

Remember each Monday during the 3.0 year I am posting an original skull design. My weekly offerings are nothing compared to the one-a-day massive project done by the Skullmaster in 1.0, but hopefully you will find some nourishment in these weekly offerings.

New Skull-A-Day Notebook

The fine folks at Modofly have added another Skull-A-Day design to their amazing collection of artists' notebooks! The 278. Utenskull or Skullverware image is available on their fabric covered 5" x 8" notebooks with your choice of lined or unlined paper. Get the details and buy them HERE.


You can see photos of my other notebooks they sell HERE.

p.s. I'm considering offering some more of my designs for sale this way, so if there are more of the original skulls you'd like to see on a notebook let me know!

Skate Deck Skull

Pantro from Cancun, Mexico free-handed this skateboard using black ink and white acrylics.


Freestyle C says:

Thanks for submitting this piece of art to us. Stay away from grinding it to much as it will mess up the graphics. I guess we now have a new meaning for the saying “Skate or Die.”

National Airborne Day August 16th

Marco "Kanibal" Almengor, a frequent commentator here at Skull-A-Day.com, sent us a piece he did for National Airborne Day.

He wrote: “I have been an avid follower of your great site for a few months now. August 16, 2009 is National Airborne Day. In honor of the great men and women who served this great country and have sacrificed their bodies and lives in many theaters around the world, I designed this art piece. I served in the Army for ten years and spent the last five as a paratrooper... All The Way!”

"Hook Up" 9" x 16" Acrylic,Ink,Charcoal,Colored pencil,Coffee on Bristol broad.


Detail:

Strategic C says:

Thank You for submitting this piece to help us remember this important day. I never could have imagined how popular Skull-A-Day.com is among those serving in uniforms. You can see another posting about those serving in uniform by the Skullmaster here.