Owls Are Ready To Go

\ Dear Reader,

After the Trouble and Strife's fine work on the wings and body, the Aliens and I had a moment of stillness as we laid the groundwork for the mask.

That was followed by paint and feathers!


And then reviewed for style :)
As with so many things Squirrel King, once I saw Alien Two, I realized her costume was perfect for the series. Keep an eye out, it's going to fly soon!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Alien Two being ... a Bunny

Dear Reader,

Getting into character is in the air! Alien Two practicing to be a bunny rabbit. I simply had to share.

Tomorrow, the Aliens halloween costumes!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS Behind the scenes The Squirrel King still progresses!

Cherry Fire Leggings

Dear Reader,

Matching cherry-fire leggings - quintessential Squirrel King apparel, brought to you by The Trouble and Strife. Modeled by the Aliens.

Note the fire ruffles on the edge of the lower leg :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Halloween Preparations

Dear Reader,

Some time ago we started on bird costumes. Other pieces of The Squirrel King puzzle have intervened in the interim, but I'm pleased to report Halloween is returning out focus!

Both Aliens will be owls this year, and the body and wings for Alien Two's costume are almost already finished.


Another inspired costume from The Trouble and Strife :)

Stay tuned for the masks and rest assured these owls will be incorporated into the series!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Nail Saloon

Dear Reader,

Just over a week and we'll be shooting the Nail Saloon, a Squirrel King-style outdoor cyclists' cafe.

I've been scouring the web for reference images, and although I think we'll be opting for colorful sports drinks, I do love what some mastermind did with this cappuccino!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS If anyone wants to be a background extra just let me know :)

The Trouble and Strife's Lampshade: Take I

Dear Reader,

The Trouble and Strife has a vision! She sees a lampshade made of doilies.

She's not the first to strive for this greatness and the doilies she's using come from her own mother's fine needlework.

Unfortunately round one was a learning experience and Alien Two had to pop the balloon. Stay tuned though, round two will follow, and I suspect this will feature in Marcy's house!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Fine Art of Flowers

Dear Reader,

An old friend of mine once said there are two things that you can say about raising kids:

1) everything you do will make a difference, and
2) you can't possibly know what that difference will be.

Those combined thoughts have resonated with me over the years.

And yesterday I was proud to see Alien One's effort in her school art contest.

I'm not sure how influenced she was by Guiseppe Archimboldo's work, but I do know she'd seen it before ... at least a year ago on this blog.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Another Little Cut-Out Inspiration

Dear Reader,

Tom, our wonderful cinematographer, flicked me this little clip the other day. Tonally it's obviously a little darker than The Squirrel King, but it's another magnificent example of what can be done with some paper, a knife and a lot of patience!

Going West from 15 Badgers on Vimeo.

Hope the week is off to a great start for you!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Back in the Nesting Woods

Dear Reader,

Here's a couple more pics of Robin, out and about in the Nesting countryside.

On the right, watching the river go by.

And below, keeping an eye on Vlad who's couped in the back of the Mango Goddess - well, his portrait anyway.

Have a great weekend!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Reference for Compositing

Dear Reader,

Often in today's world of film, composited images are polished so thoroughly that you can't tell the individual elements apart. It's a noble goal, but there can also be joy in seeing the joins ... The following little clip is a lovely example of the later, something The Squirrel King aspires towards.


It's fun to see how fantastic even the most rudimentary stop motion and composition can electrify! Great work Leo Bridle.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Hawaii Beach Shoot

Dear Reader,

The Hawaiian beach scene was a massive success!

Well we didn't actually go to Hawaii, but that's the magic of the movies :)

Shi Ne, our Robin, was smoking hot in her coconut-mohair bikini, and Justus' guitar playing was simply smoking ... literally!!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Testing Pyrotechnics with Alien One

Dear Reader,

Last weekend marked a huge milestone for Alien One: she struck her first match! Of course in Squirrel King style we went one better right away, and tested a smoke bomb for the Beach dream shoot ;)


Oh the joy!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS. Fear not, I well tested those fireworks first :)

Justus' Guitar

Dear Reader,

With the big beach scene imminent, the time came to make Justus' guitar. It all started with two of The Squirrel King's favorite materials: cardboard and masking tape.
Beyond those staples, we added crushed velvet, corks and nails!

All in all I was pretty pleased with the final product, as was Alien One :)
There was a little testing of pyrotechnics that I'll tell you about tomorrow, but we're pretty ready to go now. Hawaii, here we come!!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Boop Beep

Dear Reader,

Earlier this week I met up with an old friend, one I haven't seen in way too long! Murphy just finished making his own home-made DIY film called Boop Beep. It's a romantic comedy about a cardboard-box robot.

During our lunch Murphy whipped out his iphone and filmed a little of our catch-up which he subsequently cut as a Boop Beep update. Check it out:


It's kind of a nice set of crib notes for The Squirrel King too!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Robin's Beach Towel

Dear Reader,

Yesterday the Aliens and I recycled some of the yarn around one of Ed's chairs to create Robin's beach towel!

As you can see, even on our hardwood floor the final product is pretty comfy :)

Cross your fingers for sun!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Strips of Color

Dear Reader,

Geared around presenting Ed's accolades, I've made a slew of colorful strips for the certificates' frames. The simple slivers of color are quite alluring in and of themselves, enough so to attract Alien Two's attention.

The actual frames will come shortly, but first we have to make a towel today for our upcoming Hawaii shoot!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Squirrel King on Pinterest

Dear Reader,

Hip to the times, you can now find The Squirrel King on Pinterest. This will be a great way to check out highlight images! Keep checking back as we gradually pin more up, like this gem from over a year ago!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Water Reference

Dear Reader,

I've had an idea for a while now of shooting one of our last sequences with a few hundred people acting as water for the Nesting town river. My idea isn't quite as simple as painting hands blue, but the wonderful boat on an ocean scene around the middle of the clip below shows that even that can look awesome!


So exciting when you see something someone else has done that validates the track you're on!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Robin's Bikini Briefs: Take 2

Dear Reader,

With the days getting shorter and autumn in the air I'm very please to report that, true to Squirrel King form, going off-book is proving to be a the winning approach for Robin's bikini briefs.

Tossing the instructions to the wind, the Trouble and Strife now has a pair of briefs that look fantastic and fit perfectly. A little trim and we'll be good to shoot The Squirrel King beach scene!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Ed's Accolades

Dear Reader,

With one more location to shoot for our town's municipal one-man show it was high time we started on his certificates.

To help me, the Aliens began on Ed's certificates of distinction in fine fashion - over breakfast.
Tomorrow we work on the frames :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Celebrating the Little Triumphs

Dear Reader,

It occurs to me that I forgot to share with you last week this pic of Justus and I celebrating the triumph of our Hemet shoot. As you can see, the name of the road we found ourselves shooting the fire's aftermath on was a little inauspicious ... fortunately the smiles on our faces tell the final story :)

It's very important to celebrate these little triumphs!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Joys of Connection

Dear Reader,

Yesterday, I got to know one of my neighbors. Mark is someone I've passed in the walkway many times, but never properly met. It reminded me once again of the joys of human connection. We chatted about many things squirrel king, and in amongst it all he showed me this delightful paper stop motion:


So my advice for today: get to know a stranger in your midst!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Wonders of Glass

Dear Reader,

While researching Ikebana, the Japanese art of floral arrangements, I came across this wonderful glass version of a boat by Dale Chiuly.

For those of you living in the north west, or visiting, there is apparently a wonderful, now permanent exhibition at the Seattle Center.

I'm going to try remembering that for my own next visit :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims