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Spider vs. the Living Dead

Created for Halloween '17. We used this short to exercise some new ideas about character design, clay puppet fabrication, lighting, sound design, and 2D effects techniques. My father, who is an old horror fan and master pinstriper/letterer, sketched the title design for us. "Spider vs. the Living Dead" was an official selection for the inaugural Cardiff Animation Festival.

Spider vs. the Living Dead

Quick sketches for the character design.

Quick sketches for the character design.

An animatic is used to dial in the timing and actions before animation.

An animatic is used to dial in the timing and actions before animation.

The puppet was sculpted on a ball & socket armature using black & white clay (with some blue highlights). Baby wipes are a must during clay animation!

The puppet was sculpted on a ball & socket armature using black & white clay (with some blue highlights). Baby wipes are a must during clay animation!

We were trying to mimic the overcast lighting from the original Night of the Living Dead. We accomplished this using 2 small lights and some bounce cards.

We were trying to mimic the overcast lighting from the original Night of the Living Dead. We accomplished this using 2 small lights and some bounce cards.

A low-tech, budget-friendly setup.

A low-tech, budget-friendly setup.

A corny photo to celebrate the last frame of animation!

A corny photo to celebrate the last frame of animation!

My father sent us his lettering sketches for the title.

My father sent us his lettering sketches for the title.

We used this and our mouths for all of the sounds!

We used this and our mouths for all of the sounds!