Super Skull Saturday

Hola, skull lovers everywhere. It's time again for another Super Skull Saturday. Today's artist, Felipe Raveau, didn't have much to say in his submission email, but I think he lets his art speak for it's self. I'll start this post off with my favorite.

These are just a few of the many great works from Felipe's blog. Of course I like the skulls best, but there are many more interesting designs to check out. Thanks for helping to make this Saturday another super one, Felipe!

Are you a super skull artist? Are you constantly drawing, painting, eating, and sleeping skulls? Then send us a helping of your favorite works along with some info on what influences you to get creative and we'll keep trying to make every Saturday filled with super skulls.

[Flashback Friday] 161. Latch Hook Skull

Welcome to another addition of Flashback Friday.** This year the guest editors, Citizen Agent, Tatman, and myself, Azurafae, are taking turns counting down our personal favorite 17 skulls from the Original 365.25 Year. So please join us as we visit the archives and add our additional commentary on some of the original pieces.

#12 - 161. Latch Hook Skull

What drew me to this one, is a memory. My aunt (now deceased) taught me how to do latch hook when I was a young girl. I still have a partially done rose project that she gave me. This makes me want to finish it and add it to the collection of finished ones. For this skull piece, I like that Noah took an existing kit, rearranged the colors and pattern, so he could make this. I like the use of monotone colors for the shading and highlights. The colors remind me of coffee, tea, tobacco, orange juice, spices, tar and dirt that might be ground into a well used rug. I wonder if you could dye yarn with such substances.

I understand that he did this in one day, which I know from experience is really rough on your hands. Especially the knuckles which can drag across the rough canvas as you latch hook the yarn. I know that the process of latch hooking is time consuming and rather precise, so I commend him for doing such a detailed project using latch hook.

**Flashback Friday was a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.o. 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.

Oak Skulls

A pair of wooden skulls as a gift for you.

Dave wrote: “I've been duplicating objects out of wood for a while, and after seeing the book, ‘Skulls’, I was inspired to cut a skull from 1.25" thick red oak, and finishing it with furniture wax.”


Troy told us: “This is one of 4 skulls I made this week, from a broken oak ax handle. This is #2 and the only one I have a picture of, as I’ve given all of them away to friends. The others were about the size of an acorn this one was a bit bigger.”

Trojan C says:

Please accept these skulls into your household as a visual gift from the great editors of Skull-A-Day. Thank you both for submitting this wonderful work. I truly enjoy the wonderful aspects of how you can take something that is similar in material and come up with two different results. These truly are a gift for us to behold.

Dia de la Abby #24: Beaded Skull Broach

I've been making jewelry and hand sewing for many years, but I hadn't tired doing nice beading until recently when I made a bridal veil for a close friend. Though the process of beading isn't hard, it is precise and time consuming. Still, I like making those type of projects. I wanted to take my basic knowledge beyond well basic. Though I knew how to do the skull part, the rest of the details (of which I have explained it all in the tutorial), I just learned to do Monday and Tuesday. Of course like any hand sewing project, I'm a quick learner, so I took the basic instructions and added to them to make what I thought to be a better constructed broach. I still want to challenge myself with hand beading, so I know there will be other more intricate projects in the future. Maybe Skull related...but that is for later.

Every week in the 4.0 year, I will be post my own Dia de la Abby posts as well as a tutorial with instructions on how I made my piece. 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 Twitter and/or Facebook.

Embroidered Skulls

Lois from Jogjakarta, Indonesia send us these little skulls. I will let her explain them. "I made these babies few weeks ago for my DIY line stroberiHITAM. I know I shouldn't send any commercially-produced items (cuz I'm selling some of them), but later on I decided not to sell these babies n will send em as giveaways for my friends. It was a fun project, I can play with so many colors for different skulls, and there are no two same skulls! They came out as key-keepers and brooches. Until today, I only hand em one by one to the trusted ppl who can surely take care of em!"

I love that she passes them on to friends, to be trusted keepers of these little cute skulls. They look like they would make good guardians. I like the creative use of colors and stitching to give each skull individual character. These are adorable and they make me think of children's toys. Many of my friends are pregnant, so I wonder if I can make a baby friendly skull. That reminds me of Noah's Baby Toy Skull. Though I might have baby gifts on the brain, these are excellent for adults too. Especially as key keepers. I would have trouble misplacing my keys with these. These are definitely inspirational, keep up the great work!

Knit & Crochet Skulls

First up is Kara York who wrote: “My Momento Mori Scarf is a crochet piece that I designed a while back and thought it would be great for your site. ”



Next is the return of an old friend of the project Michelle Rautis who sent us this knitted skull ornament.

Fallen Back C says:

As the days have become noticeably shorter and a little bit cooler, it is nice to have some visually warming images today. Thank you both for submitting your wonderful art. No matter how many times I see it, I am always in awe by the talent of fiber artists, it takes great power to turn something so linear into the amazing 2-D and 3-D pieces we see.

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy Skull Update

Just had to show you what my Pumpkin Anatomy Skull looks like after just over a week of sitting on my porch in the surprisingly warm November weather. Not sure how much longer it will hold up...

So how long is it acceptable to leave out the Halloween decorations anyway?

"CSI-esque" Skull

Cullen Paradise brings us a sampling of CSI Massachusetts with this nicely done sketch. "I drew this graphite pencil drawing during an internship at WHOI's graphic services department. My mentor picked the skull for me to reproduce from a photo he took at a CSI-esque exhibit at the Smithsonian, that's why it has the numbers etched into it."

Awesome work for such a dark display. The soft shading adds a warmth to the cold anonymous rememberance of the once live human. This skull's past life may have included laughing, kissing, and eating, but now it fulfills a destiny of categorization. You did a great job of capturing the details to bring this skull back to a shadow of it's self, Cullen. Thanks for sharing!

Mi Familia Sugar Skulls

Cindy Couling from Sunnyvale, CA sent us these lovely skulls. I'll let her describe them. "These skulls are hand molded in clay and hand painted with underglazes. This piece is called - 'Mi Familia'."

I, like a lot of skull fans, collect skulls of different kinds. I love sculptural skulls the best. For these, I like the stylized shape of the skulls and that they are hand molded, which makes them all one of kind. I like the intricate details that each one has. If you look at each closely, you will tiny special details. Since this is made with underglaze, I can imagine, it's difficult to achieve this level of detail. Of course, with a traditional edible sugar skull, you can't achieve this overall look. Honestly, I prefer something that is similar in shape and detail, but is able to be on display for an endless amount of time. These would be great additions to my collection.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 4.23

With the weather being so nice lately, I thought I would share some of the skulls that were found outside.

Rich Pettus "saw this while hiking in the Great Smoky Mountian Park up near the Black Balsam Campground on the Cataloochee Divide trail."

Alan Baumener Jr. says, "I found this lovely skull in a tree while I was hiking in Nolde forest on the Middle Road Trail. Nolde Forest is is located near Reading PA."

Todd "saw this the other day in a friend's neighborhood. This is actually a pattern in the brick at the peak of the house in front." It's located in Midlothian, TX.

Thanks for sharing these. They make me want to go on a skull hunting stroll outside.

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.

Super Saturday Skull Portfolio

I've got good news and bad news, folks. The good news is that Benoit Galeron is here today with a generous helping from his portfolio of calavera skulls. The bad news is that I couldn't post all of his great works...but I managed to get these five posted.











As a bonus bit of good news, you can always see more of Benoit's pieces on facebook. Just search for Rhitewiot. I love all of the ornate details you include in these, Benoit. Each piece has so many unique designs yet the whole collection comes together like a happy skull family home for the holidays. Thanks for sharing!

[Flashback Friday] 35. Watercolor Skull

Welcome to another addition of Flashback Friday.** This year the guest editors, Citizen Agent, Tatman, and myself, Azurafae, are taking turns counting down our personal favorite 17 skulls from the Original 365.25 Year. So please join us as we visit the archives and add our additional commentary on some of the original pieces.

#13 - 35. Watercolor Skull

Not only is this beautiful, but I know from experience, that making something like this takes a lot of patience and a steady hand. I like the use of light and shadow, it adds to the creepy factor of a skull. It also allows the details of the skull's structure to show nicely. This skull reminds me of old black and white horror movies. I imagine it would fit perfectly in an overgrown graveyard or in a secret crypt. It's a nice mix of horror and beauty.


**Flashback Friday was a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.o. 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.

Dia De Los Muertos Skulls

An old friend Ontario,Canadian artist Kimberly Hart, from Monster Kookies returns with some new pieces.

She wrote: “I have been keeping my eye on your blog for quite some time, now! It's been a few years now, actually. Every year I make Day of the Dead Skulls. Here are a few I have made so far.”

Black and White Skull -pearly white base made from polymer clay and then the details were painted entirely by hand with black acrylic paint. He's got silver rhinestone eyes, as well.


Full Colour Sugar Skull- lot of bold and vivid colours which is also completely handpainted with acrylics and features little lavender rhinestone eyes


Valentine inspired sugar skull with black and red details that have been hand painted with acrylics.

Retro C says:

It is a honor to be able to feature you again. In the year and few months since I last visited your site, your work has achieved a new level of awesomeness. Thank you for being such a loyal friend of the project and taking the time to participate again by submitting your work. I look forward to seeing what you have in store for us for next year.

Dia de la Abby #23 - Sugar Skull Make-up

In the spirit of Halloween weekend, Dia de los Muertos and Skull-A-Day, I decided that this year, I needed a skull inspired costume.

The make-up is inspired by sugar skulls and La Calavera Catrina (The Elegant Skull). The makeup took about an hour and a half to apply, but was well worth the time and effort. Other than the bottom lip area, it held up really well for the 7+ hours I wore it. If you would like to learn how I did my make-up and see some additional photos of it, read the tutorial. I made my hair flowers, which clip into my braided hair ring. I'm wearing a vintage black Mexican dress. My drop earrings, which compliment my hair flowers nicely, were made by Veronica Roo's Valuables. My husband and daughter also had skull like make-up. Photos of them can be seen on my blog, later today. I hope you all had a great weekend too. If you had a skull inspired make-up, please submit it to us. We would love to share it.

Every week in the 4.0 year, I will be post my own Dia de la Abby posts as well as a tutorial with instructions on how I made my piece. 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 Twitter and/or Facebook.

Skull Nails

Alice Cabrelle, of Nails by Alice, from north of Italy, sent us this nail art she did on her nails.

I am one of those ladies who LOVES nail polish, so this caught my attention immediately when I saw it. I know from years of painting designs on my toe nails (I work with my hands, so finger nail polish chips too fast for me.), that it's tedious to make sure your design is exactly the way you want it. I'm really impressed with the details in these designs. I haven't painted designs on my nails in years, but this really inspires me to get creative with them. I'm changing my polish today!

Pyrography Skull

Artist Sheila Rayyan from Mother Spoon Studio said: “Here is my favorite skull I've created so far! This is pyrography (wood burning) on a wooden box. It was inspired by Mexican Dia De Los Muertos designs as well as middle eastern henna patterns.”


Prometheus C says:

As this Halloween season wraps up, I thought this piece is a fitting tribute to send us off towards next year. This is absolutely amazing. In the past I have tried “pyrography”, but I was never able to achieve the beautiful and intricate patterns that you are able to achieve with this piece. I never would have thought to look towards henna patterns as inspiration, but now that that you have mentioned it, this is a wonderful connection to make. Thank you for submitting this piece for us to share with our readers.

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy Skull Follow-Up II

Just in time for Dia de los Muertos, here are a couple more lovely homages to my Pumpkin Anatomy Skull ...

Jason Allen Schlyer in San Francisco photographed his version beautifully...

and Lauren from College Station, TX said "I'm a biological anthropology student at Texas A&M (I study modern human craniofacial variation, so essentially I study skulls), needless to say I was more than ecstatic when I saw what lay beneath a Jack-O-lantern's face..."

Plus Christopher Jay Martin in Toronto, Canada did something a bit different and put my logo for Skull Appreciation Day on his pumpkin saying, "So I know last night wasn't June 4th but to be honest, every day should be a day for cranial love and appreciation."

Have you got your own skull-y pumpkin to share? Send it in!

LP Skull

C. Spliedt puts the bristles on the record to bring us his acrylic devil skull on vinyl. Be careful not to bump your computer while spinning this one across your screen.



I would think it would be only appropriate if this were painted on a Slayer or Ozzy album, but then again Chicago kicks ass, too. The work on your site is some of my favorite stuff, C. Thanks for cutting a track for us to share!

Light Skull

Deek sent us this great light skull.

Deek didn't include any info on how it was done, but I suspect it was done in a similar manner to Noah's Sparkler Skull or one of the laser skulls. I've enjoyed playing with light for many years. I always wondered if the light from the flashlights that I shown so happily at the sky was ever visible to planes or beyond that. Probably not, due to the light not being bright enough. However, with a powerful one, there might be a chance. From space, large clusters of city lights can be seen. I wish there was a way of lining them up to make a giant skull. A lady can only dream...lights out.

Skull-A-Day Press: Pumpkin Anatomy Skull part III

Still more great press on my Pumpkin Anatomy Skull!...

The LA Times 

Geek Mom


and even PostSecret like the image enough to include it as their Halloween greeting...