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Long Lost Friend Studio is my self-publishing imprint, the studio space where we work, and a YouTube channel featuring videos about art and creativity. This blog covers everything happening with me and Long Lost Friend Studio.
As Harvest Season Ends, Black Phillip Arrives
The dark tale was told masterfully by the talented actors who all gave stellar performances, but it was an ominous goat named Black Phillip who reached out and clutched at my soul.
2026 Autumn Monster Challenge
We’ve invited our Patreon Members to create whatever monster sends chills up their spines for the Long Lost Friend Studio Autumn Monster Challenge.
Cold As A Witch’s Swamp
She will reach out her long, sinewy arms and drag innocent passersby into the water and down into the murky depths, never to return.
Every Witch Way
While Michelle worked on needling the heads and bodies of Ghoulish Gertie, Wanda the Wicked, and Glenda the Good, I put my nominal sewing skills to some use and stitched together a trio of outfits.
Witchbook Sketchcraft
This October Michelle and I are observing Witchtober, a self-imposed art challenge to create witch-related projects all month long.
Palette Cleanser
You think, “I should clean the palette today, but…I’m gonna be using it tomorrow. I’ll do it then.”
The Vampire Girl Next Door
If it were me stuck in that creepy house next door, being stalked by a monster? Last thing I’d want to have to square off with is a girlfriend with a taste for blood.
Where Wolves Are Made Of Foam
This time, we wanted to experiment with a new material: Spray Foam. Same stuff you use to patch holes in your walls. But now we wanted to use it to make a werewolf mask.
Ruining My Sketchbooks
I remembered the six or seven good quality, hardbound sketch journals I’d picked up over the years, sitting on a shelf where I keep my art books. Every last one of them absolutely bereft of sketches.
The Grande High Witch Under Inktense Scrutiny
I've tried watercolor pencils before, but these had a little extra kick. The bold, strong colors are a little bit of magic that made the Grand High Witch pop right off the page.
There's A Bad Moon On The Rise
David recuperates in a British hospital, barely ever conscious, and dreaming of very dark things. One of those dreams involves seeing himself in a hospital bed, being cared for by a nurse, and suddenly turning into a pale-faced, bloody-fanged monster with red-rimmed eyes and a taste for flesh.
A God Incarnate, In Digital Inks
Michelle and I finally saw Shin Godzilla this month. It’s been out for a decade, but we don’t like to rush things. The movie was just the inspiration I needed to try out a few more of the new digital brushes I purchased for Affinity.
Draculove Meets Thankenstein
I didn’t want my social media feed to seem like an abandoned cemetery. So I took a run at a couple of classic monsters to fill in the open graves.
As Cold As Ice
In my continuing effort to turn a negative into a positive, I thought I could turn this brutal winter around by challenging Michelle to another monster sculpt-off throw down showdown. The theme? Winter Monsters.
Getting Our Grinch On
Michelle and I had a few last minute tasks to complete around the workshop before Christmas Day. One of those tasks was inking and painting some extremely-last-minute holiday cards for our friends featuring Dr. Seuss’s version of Scrooge, The Grinch.
I’ve an Affinity for Free Art Software
Could you turn a buck with a free app? That’s the question we pose in this week’s video. That is, can a reasonably skilled illustrator, using only the new, completely free Affinity app, create a piece of art they would happily hand in to an art director or client? Let’s find out.
Return to the Mini Dark Universe
It took some time, but we finally clawed our way back up Feltenfoam Mountain and entered the gates of our miniature Dark Universe to add four more classic Universal monsters to our growing horde.
It’s A Dark Universe, But Also Fuzzy
Michelle and I thought it’d be fun to create a miniature version of Universal Orlando’s Dark Universe Theme Park. Some of the impetus behind that was naked envy of anyone who got to go to the grand opening of that park while we toiled, vacationless, in our dimly-lit workshop. But mostly we did it as a fun way to sharpen our skills and make some monsters.