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Ad Hawk Curiosities

Sculpting, Molding, Casting, Painting. Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Collectible, Gaming. Props, figures, forts, So feel free to reach out and talk to us.

Washington, DC has a wealth of culture that brings fine wears and case-goods at reasonable cost. We do both customization and rehabilitation of home furnishings. In our rehabilitation of old things sometimes new things emerge, some of these one of a kind creations can be found for sale in our etsy shop. Creators of the SP'UNE. We also do commission based original work.

06/16/2019

So, it must be pretty obvious by now that nothing is shaking, but for the leaves on the trees, and this is because I am tired.

I don't think that I am ever actually going to get around to selling anything here-- mostly on account of the fact that most of the things I want to make already exist, in forms superior to those that I could produce.

It's a bit dizzying, really-- and it marks a major transition in my life.

If I were to try to define what youth was for me, I would call it a time of invention, spurred on by dissatisfaction. Nobody made anything anywhere as sophisticated as I needed it to be (in my own field, of course), so I spent every bit of my energy getting to the nexus of creation-- as far as toys are concerned.

And it was a dusty plateau, governed mainly by how much each pass down the assembly line would cost the project.

It is still the same up there, I am sure-- but some things that used to be costly are now cheap, and other things have become forgotten.

It's weird.

I didn't start making real art until I achieved genuine irrelevance.

05/06/2019

Morning, y'all.

This here is a piece I started years ago, for a friend's single that has long since been released... Alas, I'd run out of money to finish it.

Because it is so hard to finish.

One wishes to include other aspects of his career, including Neon-- and one is gonna' have to wait a while on that one.

In the meantime, one was able to acquire certain paint at a lowered cost-- so one jumped at the opportunity.

The substrate had been previously treated to a salt-mask over *other* spray paint-- and there was a poor overall quality to that layer (compared to layers of epoxy & paint that had come before).

I touched up using Montana Black: Copper, which really does whup Krylon's ass-- at least as far as user-friendliness is concerned. Krylon insists on making proprietary spray-assemblies that are utter crap. Montana has tips that... work.

And the paint is beautiful.

After the enamel was *mostly* dry, I went back in with Montana Gold: Acid Green.

Immediately, I got what I wanted: a lurid, Frazetta-esque hue on the fleshy bits, and verdegris (or the origins thereof)on the metal bits.

After that-- a little color-wheel f**kery with orange and blue-green, just to see if it did that weird optical thing-- which it did.

Awesome.

Later, I switched on the blacklight, and s**t got *really*weird. Unanticipated coolness.

This morning, I went back with a Purdy brush & water, and wiped off the masking.

Montana is some cool stuff, and that ain't no lie. Believeth me...

Or don't-- just leaves more for me.

******ciao.... =]

05/02/2019

Updates on the Inbit/Invid vignette. The multicolored one, and the mainly white versions are test-shots that I may take to different places, and the grey-green casting is Casteline-- intended for reworking, and the real Star of The Show. Most of the rubbish you see surrounding this poor fellow is of my own design & construction-- and this is a personal WIP, as I mentioned before. Not intended for commercial porpises. Or any other cetaceans, for that matter-- commercial, or otherwise.

04/10/2019

Notes on Class Structure:

I have been giving it a good deal of thought, as well as going through a number of practical exercises, in order to figure out how to best serve the student.

1.) The student *must* have their own reference.

I don't draw, which is a composite of both "I can't," and "won't." Drawing is not my thing, and so therefore-- I can't really participate in the design of the student's ORIGINAL work. I also can't draw Batman for them.

2.) The student must expect results commensurate with their skill-level, and experience.

I do not say this to be mean, I say it because we'll be working together, and we will be managing each other's expectations, as well as those of the group-- all together. The student will be gaining experience, and developing skill-- and they'll have something that we seldom get when we're starting out; extra hands, and people watching their back.

So... if your skills are such that, all you can do is make simple figures-- we'll teach you how to get the *most* out of them.

3.) The student must have their own basic tools.

We'll have several examples of stylus, pick, and sculpting tool available, so that students will be able to familiarize themselves with what is available, and what works for them-- but they should be prepared to buy their own as classes progress. Part of the value of the classes themselves is the opportunity to utilize certain instruments prior to purchasing them-- which can save the starving artist quite a bit of cash.

4.) The student will respect the work of others.

This statement actually means many things, but mostly-- it means that we don 't steal from each other, or anybody else-- and we treat each other's work with dignity. We'll give honest critiques, when they are requested, but we'll keep unsolicited comments to ourselves, and abstain from using terms that our grandmothers would not approve of in our critiques. I am not saying to *completely* censor yourself, or your art-- but don't insult your team mates' work.

5.) The student will respect their own work.

The trope of the Tortured Artist is one that, while valid, is best carried out solo, if that is one's ambition. Smashing stuff up, or panning one's own work-- it is a form of negativity that can snowball into all sorts of unhappy consequence. Therefore-- keep it cool. If the work gets too hard to handle, and I can't get to you -- take a break. I promise that I *shall* get to you, and whatever problem has arisen-- solutions exist, and we'll find them.

I'm sticking to a principal of fives, as we start out. Five rules, five students-- and five of everything else I can assign a value to.

I wish you all the very best,

--Danny

04/09/2019

Order emerges from the maelstrom of the chaos!

Ha-ha!

04/09/2019

A word on Influence...

If you were to ask me about favorites, I would tell you that I look to Alan Moore for story, and Moebius-- Jean Giraud-- for art.

I am one of those people who believes that comics became something different after Moore made Swamp Thing elemental. In fact-- I believe that he elevated the genre, and he did so without using N***s, but instead-- by juxtaposing obviously fake things in real-world scenarios.

Moebius?

To be real, I never read Heavy Metal to read Heavy Metal. Given the choice, I'd opt for the original French publications as an adult; the expression itself-- Métal hurlant-- it says much more.

But still though...

Howling Metal was definitely a racy, exploitative publication-- and the validity of that fact may be argued to whatever end that it must be argued, by those whose job it is to do so, but for me, as a kid-- they promised, and delivered-- fantasy.

Giraud's part in that cannot be overstated: he created worlds of mystery, not too far from the imaginings of Roger Dean, *except*-- Moebius' worlds were POPULATED.

By weird, weird beings.

On the other hand, the people whom I learned from?

I learned from people who were devoted to American Comics in ways that I cannot even comprehend. These people all came up in the 1970's, and for them-- comics were either a lifestyle, or an escape-- and while I also cannot help but applaud the Pulp Industry for keeping the Arts alive during some dark, dark times... I also wasn't (and am not) so much a believer in the philosophy of 1970's Hero Fiction.

"I'm a Monster-- I am here to Kick Your Ass..."

Let me just say that it works for many people, and I'm not one of them: I am not about Hulk Life.

Now, here is the point where I have to tell you about Frank Frazetta...

You'll learn more about how to sculpt action figures for the American Comics Market by studying his work than you will by any other source, period.

"But, Danny-- what about when everything changes, and we're all represented appropriately, and the cause of Progress has been served?"

It'll be a fine day, but they'll still want to release Legacy figures, and there will always be... Wrestling.

04/08/2019

I was asked the other day "Why you doing this, you just a Nice Guy, or something?"

Man, I wish.

No, friends-- this is a Tale of Redemption, and not the Glass Bottle type (although, I must admit that the expression "No Deposit, No Return" does have a definitively Capitalistic ring to it; their version of "Know Justice, Know Peace.")

Am I wandering?

You betcha': that's a Part of The Price: in exchange for free intel, you must suffer my TL:DR'isms.

Sorry 'bout that!

Anyway, there are a number of reasons why I am willing to impart a lot of "free" information and -- work-- to my Community. Part of it has to do with establishing a reputation. Another part has to do with making it perfectly clear that when I *do* offer to sell you something, you're getting a fair deal.

I might not be a Nice Guy, but I am a Fair Guy.

I also have a lot of experience, and I want to share it. I've seen what happens to human beings when they devise secrets, then carry those secrets to the grave, and I will tell you...

Tremendous waste of energy. Gargantuan. Like, as in-- ZOMG, REALLY?!?! Why would you do that to yourself?

When I say that my story is one of redemption, it goes like this...

Once upon a time, I lived in Fullerton, CA. I was an aspiring artist, and so therefore-- I worked at a National Coffee Chain, was constantly broke, and walked my happy ass to work every day.

Sometimes, this had existential benefits. Ever seen a feral cat lap rainwater from an upturned leaf? Magnificent vignettes of life abound when you are a pedestrian, and it *definitely* sharpens your Jedi skills, too-- you stare at that dude until he sees you, and you don't get killed by an automobile.( I am convinced that, if you are evil, you can develop this skill to the length of choking somebody out-- but I don't have enough time in my life to be evil).

The other benefit to being a pedestrian, and walking to work through the alleyways of creative neighborhoods is that you overhear-- or downright witness-- what goes on in the carports and garages of the village. One day, I overheard "rice paddies" used in conjunction with "RTV," and I *knew* what was going down: somebody was doing Molding & Casting, right in my backyard, and I HAD to be a part of it.

So, I ingratiated myself. I made myself valuable. I learned things. I became a part of the THING, dude-- and it was awesome.

The workload was awesome, too. 18 hours a day, for months-- without pay.

The abuse was relentless.

Pointless.

I'm a sculptor. I make things. If you destroy me, you destroy all of the work I may have ever created-- to do such a thing is both cruel, and stupid.

Eventually, I did break down, and bug out. I tried my hand at making props for stage shows-- but I had no idea what I was doing, nor the stresses involved in the RockStar Lifestyle.

Neither I nor my products were bomb-proof, as promised.

I retired in disgrace-- moved to the DC area, and learned Building Trades, Safety Trades, Civilian Support Trades: a bunch of really heavy stuff, for my country, my community, and for myself.

I am now who I thought I was, 20 years ago, but it took a LOT of work, and a LOT of support. -- and I want to be able to give something back to the DC Art Community.

I put you on my resume-- you are my people, and I AM your neighbor.

This is my reason/point/objective.

You wanna' go and get some?

04/08/2019

This was a busy weekend: in addition to the production of royalty-free parts, I resumed work on a couple of personal (not for sale) pieces-- homages to the great Masamune, wherever he may be.

04/07/2019

Greebles.
Phase 1.
Feed the Pony.

04/07/2019

Pyrex is gorgeous and I have the privilege of using it. The new wax pot is a vintage Pyrex Glass Flameware #6283. Low even heat = no bubbles 170 f / 76.5 c

04/05/2019

Good Day, Friends!

I'm excited to announce the RW Inception of...
THE BRENTWOOD/BRENTWOOD (that's Brentwood OVER Brentwood, for all if you non-fractional individuals) TOYMAKER'S ALLIANCE.

Yeah!

Why so named? Well, my studio is in Brentwood, MD, and many of our activities will be taking place over the border, in Brentwood, DC., which is so convenient-- it seems almost as if fate decreed it...

Due deference is served by the happiest of coincidences, which sets the tone for the very nature of our confederation: while we all enjoy what mainstream content providers have to offer us-- we feel that, in order to get the most out of lives, WE WANT TO MAKE OUR OWN STUFF.

The first chapter in our Epic Narrative is going to be:

MAKE YOUR OWN ACTION FIGURE.

Because, well... it is my specialty.

What can you expect to gain by participating in this endeavor?

Knowledge, Sun. (That's right, I DO recognize that light inside of you).

I will instruct you in how to:

Create a moldable form.

Sculpt.

Mold.

Cast.

Fit.

Finish.

And perhaps... even more.

If you're interested, give me a shout-- within the next few days, we're be designing the course structure, as well as devising a few tools in order to determine the level of complexity that we'll be able to facilitate.

We're working it out, ya' dig?

Best,

--Danny

04/04/2019

We'd like to send out a massive thanks the peoples (we visited two separate locations) at Artist and Craftsman Supply: they made sure we could get critically needed, *professional* supplies without having to drive out to PA. -- MUCH APPRECIATED!

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