“Carrion King”

Steven Huang told us: “I'm an artist and designer originally from Hong Kong, grew up in Toronto, and pursuing an active art and design career in New York. My piece is called the "Carrion King", it is made from vellum and pencil crayons.”


Carcass C says:

This is an amazing picture you have sent in. The color lines are brilliant and so precise, at first I was fooled and thought this was embroidery. I love how the light plays with the piece and makes it look like it is rising up in a 3-D sort of way. Thank you for sharing your work with us, including your other industrial design work.

“Countdown To Halloween”
19 more days and counting...

John d'Addario- “Mardi Gras Momento Mori”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".


John d'Addario- “Mardi Gras Momento Mori” $275.00

John d'Addario lives in New Orleans and thinks that Carnival is the most wonderful time of the year. Find him online at http://www.jonno.com

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Muerta Bride

This drawing is abuzz with beauty being displayed by the wonderful colors from Nicholas Ivins. As the story goes, "The medium is ink, marker, and Photoshop. It’s the largest drawing I’ve ever done at 24" x 30". It was a housewarming present for my sister and her new home."



I think Nicholas is gonna be on my guest list whenever I decide to finally have a house warming party. This beats the hell out of any candle holder I've ever seen. It's for certain that it will brighten your sister's house and hopefully liven her days while she lives there. Thanks for bringing us into her home with this blushing bride, Nicholas.


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20 more days and counting...

Skull Angels

Joshua Barber submitted a painting titled "you are so doomed and don't even know it".

I like the angelic and sinister imagery. The coloring and shading make them almost fade into the night sky. Perhaps the skull figure is an angel of death, collecting another soul. The streaks give me the impression that they are traveling quickly to where ever their afterlife destination is.


“Countdown To Halloween”
20 more days and counting...

CONTEST REMINDER: Dia de los Muertos Portrait Painting

CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thanks to everyone who participated!


Don't forget to enter to win a Dia de los Muertos style 5"x7" original portrait of a Skull-A-Day fan, by Rachael  Rossman. You have until Midnight EST tonight. Enter here.

Of course, you don't have to wait till the end of the contest to get your own Rachael Rossman Day of the Dead portrait. Help Rachael fund her Kickstarter project and get a portrait in return (specifications based on funding amount). Her Kickstarter project runs until October 27th.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 5.19

Today's Simulacra features objects with hidden skulls. See if you can find them.

Denise, found this skull. She explains, "When on vacation in Nantucket a few weeks ago, we were walking in town and this caught my eye. It's a hitch of a sort, I was so excited that it looked like a skull that I didn't get the make of the vehicle."

Rob Woods said they found "this little guy we found at a Las Vegas Hospital, it is a window lock." 

Clay Hoffman  found a skull in a pipe wrench. He explains "Looks like a mechanical designer from the past had a love of skulls when he (she?) designed this pipe wrench. You can really see the cranial influence in his work. the design really lets the wrench put a bite into the pipe."

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.


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22 more days and counting...

Water on Concrete Skull

Gentleman Illustrator Kenneth Botsford Jr. sent us this simple yet infinitely creative method of skull making. "Here is a skull I did with water and a paint brush on concrete."



I love how easy and non-permanent this is. This would be lots of fun to try with my kiddos. It instantly reminded me of a post about "sea tagging" that Noah posted at his ALR blog way back in 2009. Thanks, Kenneth, for another great submission. You can see more skulls and tons of more great illustrations over at his site here (warning: some of his lovely images, as artistically beautiful as they may be, are NSFW).



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23 more days and counting...

[Flashback Friday] 5.18- Ukulele Skull

Welcome to another addition of Flashback Friday.** This year the guest editors, Tatman, Azurafae, and myself, Citizen Agent, are taking turns reflecting on 17 of our personal favorite skulls from the previous four years of postings. So please join us as we visit the archives and add our additional commentary on some of the original pieces.

Ukulele Skull

Kurt Schneider in Quincy,MA created this Ukulele from a kit. You can find more pictures and read what Kurt wrote us about it at the link above.


Messenger C says:

I thought I would use today’s post to highlight just one of the many musical projects we have visited with over the years and share with you some information about making music of your own. Our friend Tim Szerlong wanted to pass along some information to any budding artists or designers who have always wanted to have their work possibly show up in the music industry. He shared with us a contest (FYI: not connected to Skull-A-Day.com) happening during October 2011 for designing... you guessed it... a Ukulele skin. If interested you can follow this link for details.


**Flashback Friday was a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.0. Each week during year 3.0 The Skullmaster posted the 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 3.0, all 52 can be found here. During year 4.0 the editors had their chance to countdown their favorites Azurafae HERE, Citizen Agent HERE, and Tatman HERE.

Skull Wars

Artist Denise Vasquez in Hollywood, CA told us: “Here are some of my GLOW-IN-THE-DARK Star Wars Dia De Los Muertos art figures that I created for our recent show ‘Art From A Galaxy Far Far Away’ at the Hold Up Art Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.”

Vaseline C says:

These pieces are wonderful. I truly enjoy how pop culture has become a subject of art and the number of ways that it can be re-imagined. Thank you for sharing your work with us.

PS: since we are are on the subject make sure you check out our friends over at Star Wars Remix who recently featured some work from our staff HERE and HERE.


“Countdown To Halloween”
24 more days and counting...

Chuck Scalin - “Tack-Y Skull”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Chuck Scalin - “Tack-Y Skull” $275.00

Please visit the artist’s exhibit page for information on if this work is available for purchase.


The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Dia de la Abby #62: Skull Nails

This is inspired by my trip this coming weekend to the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, PA and skull nail art by Alice and The Daily Nail.

This was one of the hardest projects that I've done. I've been painting my nails for over 20 years, so I thought I could easily do this. Nope. In fact, what you see is my 2nd attempt at doing this. My other design was too messy, small and cartoonish for my liking. However, my daughter liked it, so I'll paint her nails with cartoon like skulls. If you would like to learn how to do this nail polish design, go to the tutorial.


Every other Thursday in the 5.0 year, I will post my own Dia de la Abby creations   Every Thursday in the 4.0 year, I posted my Dia de la Abby creations and occasionally tutorials with instructions on how I made my pieces. Hopefully you feel inspired by my posts just as I was by Noah's Skull-A-Day 1.0 daily project. Need more of me than just a weekly dose, follow me on  Facebook, Google+ and/or Twitter.

Smoking Skeleton

John Sokol created this acrylic painting in 1997. He titled it "Thanatos with Cigarette"

If this isn't a clear indication that smoking kills, I don't know what is. Of course, many things that seem normal in life can kill us...standing too close to the microwave, incorrectly operating power tools, overeating,  skiing...etc. The microwave is going to get me. I like the shading of this skull. It gives us and eerie graveyard feel to it. It reminds me of the fantasy of what corpses do when we're not looking...smoking in the underworld. Oh no!


“Countdown To Halloween”
25 more days and counting...

Greig Leach- “John”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Greig Leach- “John”

Greig Leach- “John” $250.00

Please visit the artist’s exhibit page for information if this work is available for purchase.

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

[BONUS] 388. iSkull for Steve Jobs

Skull Shaped Box

“Kiteman” at Instructables.com created this skull-shaped party-favour box, and thought thought we would enjoy it. He also included a template HERE for you to make at home just in time for your next skull party that may by coincidence be happening soon.


Kurt C says:

♫ Hey! Wait! I've got a new compartment, Forever in debt for this priceless device ♫

Thank you for sharing your wonderful creation with us and also for providing us with the template so that we can play along at home.


“Countdown To Halloween”
26 more days and counting...

Jenny Kendler- “Vanitas (for Jan Van Huysum)”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Jenny Kendler- “Vanitas (for Jan Van Huysum)” $80.00

In her artistic practice, Jenny Kendler re-invents the idea of ‘the Naturalist’ through the lens of modern ecology, feminism and environmental activism. Kendler presents her intimate drawings and sculptures as a counterpoint to the view of nature as something to be possessed. She suggests instead, that it is we who are possessed by nature.

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Skull Face

Hurry up and catch this skull before it fades away. Dale Grimshaw is the creator of this fading figure who writes, "I came across your site and thought I'd submit an image of mine. I have done several paintings or woodcut prints with a skull theme. Anyway, I've attached 'Skull Face' which is oil and woodcut print on paper."



Dissolving, disintegrating, disappearing into the nothing that is the afterlife.
Vacating, vanishing, vamoosing from our presence forever.
Preserved, protected, and put up on our site to live on for your enjoyment.
Thanks for bringing us face to face with your skull, Dale!

“Countdown To Halloween”
27 more days and counting...

CONTEST: Win a Dia de los Muertos Portrait

CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thanks to everyone who participated!

Rachael Rossman, one of our new sponsors, is a portrait artist who has a Kickstarter campaign to produce new Day of the Dead artwork. As part of this project, she would like to giveaway one 5"x7" original portrait of a Skull-A-Day fan!

Rachael paints Day of the Dead skull inspired portraits of real people. She says,  "I work primarily in watercolor on Yupo, a medium which allows me to achieve tremendously organic shapes and textures. In the process, I explore the relationship between the subject and the viewer with a focus on the eyes, emotion and energy. My greatest joy is in watching seemingly incongruous shapes come together to capture the essence of a person, animal or moment in time. I like to think my portraits paint themselves. I am embarking on this Day of the Dead portrait series because I find the imagery paradoxically dark and beautiful."

Since Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is coming up soon, to be entered in the drawing just leave a comment below saying how you would celebrate Dia de los Muertos with a skull.

[NOTE: If you're reading this on Facebook be sure to leave your comment on the original Skull-A-Day.com post if you want to be actually entered in the contest]


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 a working e-mail link for you on it).



You have until just Midnight Eastern Time Sunday, October 9th to enter so don't delay!


NOTE: Rachael will pay for shipping to the winner.

Of course, you don't have to wait till the end of the contest to get your own Rachael Rossman Day of the Dead portrait. Help Rachael fund her project and get a portrait in return (specifications based on funding amount). Her Kickstarter project runs until October 27th.

Digitally Dead Skulls

Margaret Nichol, is a graphic designer and Illustrator from Toronto in Canada. She explained about the pieces. "The first titled “dead” is an illustration I did for a local Toronto band named Alectrona. The second is “butterfly splatter” and was just an illustration I did for fun."

I'm not normally a fan of digital art, but I like the vivid colors and cartoon like quality of these. The top one reminds me of Bettie Page, who is now deceased. The red swirls make me think of her sanity leaking out of her skull...which it did in a way. Still love her though. The second one has two of my favorite things in it...skull and a butterfly. I like the shading of the colors on the wings. It's would blend into a fuchsia flower nicely.


“Countdown To Halloween”
28 more days and counting...

[BONUS] The Gift of Skulls - Seattle

During my recent trip to Seattle I was given several lovely skulls:

First from Ben and his 3 year old son Sagan...

I was staying at their house and I discovered this Lego quartet waiting for me when I got back from a long day out and about. The little white skull to the left is actually a musical shaker that Sagan likes to carry around and call Mr. Skull!

Then from internet friend Camel...

A lovely painting he made that came in a handmade box.

And a homemade skull mold with plaster cast. Now I can make my own custom skull chocolates!

Thanks guys!

Sunday Simulacra - Version 5.18

Today's skulls were found in foods.

Our Skull Master, Noah Scalin found this one at dinner one night.

Tricia Whitworth Daniels found these skully scones at San Francisco International.

Dolores from Virginia, found this skull while peeling carrots.

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.


“Countdown To Halloween”
29 more days and counting...

Warren's Skull Trio

Warren Draper is an artist from South Yorkshire, England who writes, "I've just come across your site and love it... so I've got three skulls for you... all my own work and all Creative Commons :-)".







What a wonderful way to welcome in the new month, Warren. The ghostly x-ray is a great reminder to always look into the depths of a soul, not just the outer shell that encases it. Thanks for submitting this tremendous trio!

And speaking of reminders, don't forget about our friends over at CountdowntoHalloween.com. You can find them linked at the bottom of each post this month as we help them countdown to the coolest holiday of the year....

“Countdown To Halloween”
30 more days and counting...