6 Independent Artists You Need to Check Out!
Joshua Macmillan
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I feel like it is fairly safe to say that everyone who frequents this site or enjoys the entertainment that we do constantly keeps their eyes open for that truly spectacular piece of memorabilia. Maybe it is a prop, toy, clothing, or perhaps it is even a truly authentic costume for that Halloween party or convention.
A few fans, however, could not find that truly spectacular piece in stores and relied on conventions or ads in a paper or magazine to find the really cool items that for some reason seem to be able to give us better looking replicas and figures than some of the more mainstream companies that are out there.
How about we take a look at a few of the fans out there who decided to exercise their creative and artistic side and channel it into creating wonderful pieces that are just utterly fantastic! In this list of artists you will see a mix of 1/6-scale custom figures to full-body costumes that are worthy of being worn on-screen!
Brad Miller (SirBrad FX)
Brad is a seasoned veteran in the costume and prop-making field with thirty-six years of experience, the last ten of which have been a full-time thing. He started with Jason and Michael Myers. After being introduced to horror movies at the age of six, he wanted to be those characters and began making costumes and going out on Halloween and was in every parade and contest that would allow him. He found that he was usually winning first place, scariest, and best overall costume. The first costumes he made were the sack head Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th Part 2 and a Michael Myers costume put together with a Don Post mask.
He spent his time terrorizing towns in these costumes for over 20 years and they lasted a long time due to how well he took care of the products. However, it was his dream to have a life-sized Jason in his house but no one sold anything like that so he made it his goal to make his own and to produce the best quality replica he could. After discovering the internet, he was able to find out about all the cool masks and props that were out there which led him to step up his game and to produce quality work of much higher levels. One thing led into another and the next thing that Brad knew, he found himself turning his hobby into a full-time gig! His work on the various Jason costumes has gained him quite the notoriety but he doesn’t limit himself to just doing our favorite hockey mask-wearing slasher; he has also done Michael Myers as stated above, Leatherface, The Creeper from Jeepers Creepers, Madman, Cropsy, and many others. Brad’s love of horror translated into a full-time career and it isn’t slowing down.
You can get in touch with Brad here:
https://www.facebook.com/sirbrad4?fref=ts
https://www.youtube.com/user/sirbrad4
Here is some of his work:
Creations Unearthed
If you are in the market for a great custom 1:6 scale figure, then you could do much worse than seeking out Creations Unearthed! If you check out this shop’s website, you will find various fantastic custom figures and mini replicas of horror characters that you won’t find mass-produced. Creations Unearthed has been creating fully poseable custom collectibles since 2012 and has cornered the market on high-end highly detailed products. The artist is attracted to the details that can be put into a small figure and has chosen to create the miniature replicas of characters within the genre that has always kept him mesmerized ever since his teenage years and has successfully kept himself and the horror fans who seek his work out completely satisfied! All of the art that he creates is hand-crafted and made to order from the custom head sculpts to the full body costumes worn by the characters.
You can contact Creations Unearthed here:
http://www.creationsunearthed.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CreationsUnearthed/
https://www.instagram.com/creationsunearthed/
Here is some of his work:
Lu Demello (Screwy Luie)
Formally known as Lu Demello, “Screwy Luie” graduated college in Boston and shortly after became a freelance advertising artist in the Eighties, when he made a name for himself by getting a bunch of Coca-Cola gigs. Lu got into television production work in the Nineties and won an Emmy award for set design in ’98. He then went into teaching art from the years 2000-2015; afterwards he retired from his day job and now spends his time making fantastic horror figures for us, the horror fanatics! Screwy Luie is a highly sought after artist, and looking at his work you can tell why!
You can contact Screwy Luie here:
https://www.facebook.com/scrwyluie
Here is some of his work:
Steve Bellamy (The Devil’s Latex)
If you are looking for a great collectible mask or bust, one of the many great places you could go is to see the man behind The Devil’s Latex! From Ontario, Canada, Steve Bellamy has been providing stunning work for the last six years. From slashers to comic book characters, you can find it all and in great detail. I’ve seen a lot of collectors using these for display, and I’ve gotta say that I can’t wait until I can personally pick up a couple of these Jason Voorhees pieces! Unfortunately The Devil’s Latex does not yet have an online store that you can seek out but he is active on Facebook and Instagram!
You can contact The Devil’s Latex here:
https://www.facebook.com/DevilsLatex/
https://www.instagram.com/thedevilslatex/
Here is some of his work:
Montwain Gonzales (One’s Customs)
Montwain Gonzales is another spectacular artist who is working in the custom screen accurate figure department. Also known as One’s Customs, he has been customizing and creating realistic horror figures since 2009. Montwain began after seeing a custom figure review by a friend named ccg1171 on YouTube who was reviewing a custom Jason Takes Manhattan figure by another artist who went by Darkartist. Amazed, he went and did his research and saw that the custom figure market was something that he could get into! He then started his own YouTube channel and connected with ccg. Not long after he began reviewing Montwain’s own custom 7-inch and 1/6-scale Jason figures. Afterwards the websites horrorbid and FridayThe13thTheFranchise began doing stories on his work.
After years of practice, he was able to build a small following and turn what he did for a hobby into a full-time career. He has done business all over the world recreating all sorts of horror characters such as Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy, as well as other cult favorites! It is easy to tell that you could say that he has become one of those guys you seek out to make your childhood horror fantasies come true! More recently, his work has been featured in the June 2016 issue of Rue Morgue magazine! He is currently working on expanding his business, moving into different scales of figures, busts, maybe some life-sized masks and more so there is lots to look forward to in the near future.
You can contact him here:
https://www.facebook.com/onescustoms01/
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/ones-custom-figures
https://www.youtube.com/user/OnmuphuckinOne
https://twitter.com/onescustoms
https://www.instagram.com/onescustomsfigures/?hl=en
Here is some of his work:
KreationX
KreationX is another great place to find great masks! In operation since approximately 1998, the first product that KreationX created was a Freddy glove replica which he had made for himself. In the early days of eBay, he decided to list it and the auction ended at something within the $500-$600 range and that was enough to send him on his way making replicas as a hobby and selling on eBay, which led to his first website theglovemaker. After that he started sculpting and one of his first sculpts – a Frank the Bunny mask – was later purchased by Don Post Studios and was later released in their Halloween lineup!
You can contact him below:
https://www.facebook.com/Kreationx/
https://www.instagram.com/kreationx/?hl=en
Here is some of his work:
