death's terror and delirium

death's terror and delirium
Originally uploaded by Simon_K

The mind set on the flesh is death,
but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:6

Hello? Is this thing on?

Punk
Originally uploaded by the White coma

I love the sketchieness of these skulls that "the White coma" has been doing.

Skull 341

Skull 341
Originally uploaded by [rich]

30 minute vector illustration. Takes me thirty minutes to draw a straight friggin' line in AI.

;-)

Skull 328

Skull 328
Originally uploaded by [rich]

Sorry the blog has been quiet for so long. I'd blame it on the holidays, but the inactivity started long before I could logically blame turkey, Santa Claus or Christmas music.

Skull-Nation founder, [rich] has issued a graphic challenge to all the dodolers out there to draw a skull every day.

Are you game?

Skull-Nation on Flickr

Kings Of Atlantis (scale)

Kings Of Atlantis (scale)
Originally uploaded by Argonaut Resins END

Wow. These things are HOT!

Argonaut Resins' talented artist/sculptor, END, is producing a set of skulls!

"Ten powerful Demi-god kings ruled the fabled land of Atlantis thousands of years ago... All that remain are their skulls."

And what beautiful skulls they are. Ten skulls. Ten colors. Ten powers.

Here's a couple of sneak peaks:

Kings Of Atlantis

Packaging Sneak Peak @ Cookies N Cream

The skulls will be available for sale on Halloween and each comes with a blind-boxed talisman magnet!

Awesome! No word on pricing yet. I'll post more when I know more.

Stay tasty!

Zook

Leather Skull Mask

Found this gem hiding in an etsy shop this morning and I LOVE it. Very simple. Very sharp. A little late for me. I actually have a Halloween party I'm supposed to be attending this coming Saturday, but the day is so jam packed I'm not certain I'm going to make it so I didn't bother fleshing out a costume of any kind. This would've been perfect. Could've just wore some denim & leather and slapped this bad boy on. Maybe find a way to strap it to the bike next spring or just hang it on the wall. For shame.

Anywho! Happy Wednesday! Make sure you check out Mr. Hyde's other masks, including a nother skull!

Tron: Legacy X Ghost Rider

Ok. So this is a stretch, I'll admit.

GW @ Geekologie had a post today yesterday about a Tron: Legacy X Marvel Superheroes cover mashup. Cool enough, I suppose, but when I saw Ghostie over there I was like, WHOAH!

I really love how this one worked out. Ghost Rider on the Tron Light Cycle looks SWEET! And I really like how they redesigned his hook.

I would definitley read a mashup of GR & Tron, though I'm not sure how the spirit of vengence theme would play out inside of a computer. Hmmm...

I've honestly been out of the loop on the new Tron: Legacy movie, but what little I've seen & heard looks great. Being a child of the 80's I definitely have fond memories of the original Tron.

The Lake by Uberkraaft

The Lake
Originally uploaded by uberkraaft

Check out this digital illustration by UK artist, Matt Williams, aka Uberkraaft. Matt says this was done 95% freehand in Potatoshop (that's Adobe Photoshop for the un-hip reading this out there or those of you too lazy to click that link).

There's even an open edition print available! Sweet!

Tasty, tasty stuff. Drop by Matt's flickr stream and check out some his crazy doodle stuffs! Or, stop by his website! Or! Send him sexy, stalker e-mails!

Happy Monday, citizens!

Stay Tasty!

Zook!

Skull

Skull
Originally uploaded by Ale Amorin

I received a notice today that flickr user, "Ale Amorin" added me as a contact and proceeded to peruse their flickr stream when I stumbled upon this beautiful piece.

The artist says that it's made out of "regular clay" and requires three to four days of sculpting & modeling, about a month to dry and then 16 hours to fire.

Absolutely awesome. I've invited this piece to the Skullnation flickr group and am looking forward to looking through the rest of the flickr stream.

Happy Friday and stay tasty!

Zook

Accidentally stumbled upon this gem of a print at etsy. Just really liked the style and this fine chap's prints are very, very reasonable.

Oh. Accidentally as in I followed a link to this beauty: Han & Chewie which also reminds me of today's Teefury.com shirt which is TOTALLY awesome and which I had purchased at Redbubble just a few weeks ago!

Day of the Dead Art -- Song For Mary

Day of the Dead Art -- Song For Mary
Originally uploaded by David Lozeau

David Lozeau, in case you didn't know, draws all kinds of skulls and skeletons. "Day of the Dead, Lowbrow, Kustom Kulture, and Tiki artist specializing in Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), hot rod, tattoo, and zombie imagery."

Interesting to note that David often times uses one shot enamel, the same type of paint used for pinstriping cars, to create his art. He has a very unique cartoon style that really is all his own.

Make sure and keep an eye out for more stuff on his flickr stream and stop by his web site and pick up some goodies.

Also, if you'd like to bring your love of skulls into the bedroom, check out these cheeky skull pasties over at Yandy.com. This is the same web store that brought us sexy interpretations of Chewbacca and Darth Vader.

Skeleton Keds

Skeleton Keds
Originally uploaded by Zoo&co - The Drawing Lounge

So. I've been terrible about updates lately, but have not been TOTALLY slack. The Skull-Nation flickr group is still going strong with nearly 700 members and over 2,000 images posted.

I have giveaway in the works for a very awesome skull mug by my new friend Cris at SkeletalDropkick over at etsy who we're hoping to get an interview with to kick off the Skull-Nation artist inverview series.

In the mean time, check out these wicked Skeleton Keds by Zoo&Co that found their way into the Skull-Nation flickr pool. They are TASTY! Too bad they weren't on a pair of riding boots. Then again...with winter upon us here in the midwest the scooter will have to be put away for the winter and I can't just go around wearing my biker boots all winter YES I CAN!!! so maybe, maybe, maybe... Hmm...

Anywho! Thanks for playing along children!

Spy any blogable skull art out there that we're missing, drop us a note and get us on current page!

Stay tasty!

Zook

Pixel Skull Microfiber Necktie

Another GLORIOUS etsy find! I've seen work from etsy seller, toybreaker, before and have always enjoyed the ties that they produce. I don't personally wear ties. Ever. But if I were forced to, I'd love to be sporting one of their tasty works.

I also especially enjoy their Bombs Away, Red Robot Inferno, and Crash.

Check 'em out!

And, as always, stay tasty!

Zook

SkeletalDropKick @ Etsy

Another favorite from Etsy that I've yet to order from (Silly, silly Zook!). This guy's work was actually my very, very first "favorite" on etsy.com and I have no idea why have yet to order one of his awesome ceramic mugs. I think it's always come down to the size of the mugs which are a little small for my typical usage (I drink coffee by the GALLON, son). Lousy excuse. I will need to remedy this. In typical Skull-Nation fashion, now that I've blogged about them, I'm likely to go throw some more money at etsy order me one or three or these bad boys.

Unfortunately, SkeletalDropKick's profile doesn't give us much information about the artist, so if there's something you want to know, you'll have to, ya know, ask him and stuff. Or maybe I should quit being so lazy and start Skull-Nation interview series.

Anywho! Thanks for dropping by! Stay tasty!

Zook

"I See Skulls"

Meat Skull
Originally uploaded by Zook74

I've just received word from the fine folks at Skull-a-Day that my "Meat Skull" photo is to be included in a new book they're throwing together featuring simulacra images from the blog.

W00t! W00t! I'll be internet famous, now! Fame! Riches! Babes! And an endless river of glorious craft beer flowing to my parched lips!

Or, ya know, maybe I'll just have something to show peeps at parties.

Or, ya know, a new coaster for the coffee table.

And stuff.

Cheers! And, as always, staaaaayyyyy TASTY!

~Zook (who's had too much caffiene today)

Skullptured Fruit (get it? SKULLptured?) wink, wink

I just stumbled upon these beautiful creations, carved from FRUIT via "Inspire Me Now" and I am HUNGRY! Just kidding! I couldn't EAT them.I couldn't find any information on the artist, Dimitri Tsykalo, though I probably could've looked harder, but I'm just lazy and have better stuff to do, and, well, stuff.

Hit the link to visit the original post at booooooom.com

Thanks for stopping by. Stay tasty!

~Zook!

MICKEY BONES

MICKEY BONES
Originally uploaded by crankmaggot

My man Rick, aka Crankmaggot, delivers up another killer skull, "Mickey Bones", and it's wicked.

Do yourself a favor and check out Rick's other creatures and creations. Truly terrifying stuff lurk within his photostream.

Thanks for stoppin' by!

Stay tasty!

Zook!

Skull Swag

Skull Swag
Originally uploaded by Zook74

What an awesome haul!

Last Saturday I received two slip cast porcelain skulls from SkullHouse and a wicked-cool belt buckle from WATTO.

I've blogged about both of these wonderskull artists before and I gotta say, they make some good stuffs!

Both highly recommended.

650 +

Skull 259
Originally uploaded by [rich]

The Skull-Nation is now more than Six Hundred and Fifty strong! Booyah!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/skullnation/pool/

Black Skull

Black Skull
Originally uploaded by Zook74

Sorry for the lack of updates. I actually had an AWESOME Saturday with three, count them THREE skull-related shipments, but I really tore my back up Monday and have been pretty incapacitated since.

Will have a post up soon detailing items from WATTO, Skullhouse and ITS Tactical soon!

Cheers! Stay tasty!!

Zook

ITS Mini PVC Patch

ITS Mini PVC Patch 04
Originally uploaded by ITS Tactical

My buddy Bryan over at ITS Tactical just received a whole pile of these wicked PVC patches featuring his ITS Skull Logo.

I've always been a fan of the ITS logo and I've just recently discovered this new PVC trend in patches and so am doubly excited to get my hands one.

Be sure and check out the ITS Tactical blog, pick up some cool skull patches and stickers at the store and add ITS over at Flickr!

Cheers! Stay Tasty!

Zook

Skull Belt Buckles by Jon Watson

Freaking. Awesome. These have to be some of the nicest buckles I've seen. Tons of cool styles this guy is crackin' out.

I will definitely be scoring one of these bad boys, available in Single, Double or Triple, in a variety of colors.

The buckles are made by WATTO husband and wife team, Jon & Mary Watson.

If anyone decides to pick one up please let 'em know Zook at Skull-Nation.com sent ya and send us some pix of your new swag when you get it sorted! Peace! Stay tasty ~Zook

Let's Get Murdered

Lets-Get-Murdered-web
Originally uploaded by Matthew-Ryan-Sharp

Just found this gem, quite by accident, on flickr and instantly fell in love, not only with this individual piece, but with the style in general. I don't know much about the artist at this point, other than his flickr member name, Matthew-Ryan-Sharp, and that fact that he hails from somewhere near abouts Chicago (Double awesome points for Chicago!).

Go check out some of his stuff!

Skulls @ Deviant Art!

Ya know. I don't think I ever thought to look for skull images at Deviant Art. Silly Zook!

So. Now I have! Some really sweet stuff over there.

I don't know why it is that I neglect Deviant Art so much. There really is some excellent art, and they seem to have a very dynamic social aspect running through, but flickr has always been my preferred website to showcase my doodles at (though I DO have a DA account; it just rarely gets updated).

So, anywho! Thought somebody might like to look through the DA Skull Search!

Cheers! Happy Tuesday! Stay Tasty!!!

Zook

DollarSkull- The Return

DollarSkull- The Return
Originally uploaded by Zook74

In just one short week, the first of the circulated Skull-Nation DollarSkulls has returned. Originally spent at a Taco Bell in Janesville, WI and then given in change to a co-worker at an Ace Hardware, also in Janesville, who then brought it in to work today to show me.

W00t!

Zook

Skull Patches

Skulls and patches go together like beer and breakfast! So I decided to turn to ebay to see what kind of wicked-killer skull patches I could add to my collection BEHOLD!

I know I've seen this around before, but tonight it struck me in particular.

Being a biker dude I kind of have the perfect excuse to collect lots of skull patches and I think this is a great example becaise I really love putting equal parts biker and geek into the blender together. I think I may be creating a whole new sub-genre of nerd. Like, "Don't cross me or I'll gut you, or maybe we can just go back to my place and watch "Firefly" or "Dr. Horrible" or play some Munchkin".

But seriously. Don't mess with me cuz I'm still a biker...

Dollar Skulls!

George Skullington
Originally uploaded by Skillcrane*

So. Our first official Skull-Nation.com collabortive art project kicks off today with Skillcrane's "George Skullington".

Grab a dollar bill. Doodle a skull on it and submit it to the Skull-Nation flickr group wtih the tag "dollarskull". We'll be blogging about the doodled dollars as we go along.

Wheee!!

Stay tasty!

Zook!

It's the CLOR!

Anything with a skull on is good in my book, but when it's the cover to a lovingly hand crafted publication it's even better.

CLOR is a screen printed art zine that features 12 international graphic artists in its initial issue. The focus is on the handmade and handcrafted part of the project, classic ink illustrations, vector art and some other interdisciplinary forms of illustration methods are combined in a fully hand-screen-printed and -bound mag. Every issue and page of these 200 magazines are unique, unlike the flood of conventionally printed art-books.

Do your eyes a favor and check it out over here.

The Skull-Nation

Skull image by Matt Rea

I just wanted to take a moment to reiterate that The Skull-Nation is, first and foremost, a COMMUNITY art project. We'll be blogging about skull-related stuff here just cuz it's what we like, but in the end this is really about everyone out there that's doing any kind of skull-related art.

Please. If you have any interest in being a part of The Skull-Nation, do drop us a line. There's a contact link up here on this page somewhere (I can't see it from where I'm standing, but you should be able to). Or you could just send me some mail directly @ zook@whitestudiosltd.com or head over to the Skull-Nation flickr page.

Contributions, suggestions, ideas, cool skull products or sites, anything skull-related to share would be welcome. Or, ya know, you could just send us some e-mail telling us how awesome we are. We already KNOW we're awesome, but we can always handle a little more ego-stroking.

Cheers, y'all. Stay tasty!

Crystal Head Vodka

Like gettin' your drink on?





Like skulls?





How about Vodka? In a skull?

Maybe you've seen it at the liquor store or maybe you've been sleeping your way through life. I've seen this time and time and time again at my local store. I'm more of a beer geek than a vodka guy, but come ON! It's in a freakin' skull-shaped bottle!


So I finally got my hands on one and the vodka was good. But then again I really don't KNOW what makes a vodka "good", but it didn't give me a nasty hangover like cheap vodka does (and at $50 a bottle Crystal Head does NOT qualify as "cheap" in my world).

The best part about Crystal Head Vodka is finishing the bottle, though. Now I have a wicked-cool glass skull bottle to play with. Haven't decided what to do with it yet... Fill with colored sand? Fill with a red, viscous liquid? Fill with skull beads?

What would YOU do with that beautiful glass skull bottle, huh?

Crystal Head Vodka product site

Skull-Themed vodka recipes

SKIPPER

SKIPPER
Originally uploaded by crankmaggot

Just found this blokes works over on flickr and this piece in particular stood out and fit very well, I thought, into the Skull-Nation.

The artist, know as crankmaggot, does an amazing array of art pieces and they're all wickedly insane (in the nicest way possible).

Check him out. Some of the images on his stream may qualify as NSFW, so I warned ya. Don't come whining to me if you're busted looking at demon crotch!

Zook

Holes Geological Tectonic Skull

So I blogged about Skullhouse a little while ago, and featured a wicked-cool skull Cyrus had done and immediately after posting I asked myself, "Why in the hell are you blogging about this instead of buying it?".

I didn't have a satisfactory asnwer, so. It's mine!

This little bugger is AWESOME! Smaller than I had anticipated, but it's a beauty. He looks awfully lonely, though, so I may have to score another one or three and make a nice little display out of them. He also came with a nice little base made out of reclaimed wood, which was a nice touch. I just used the word "nice" three times in this paragraph (four if you count my usage of the word in THIS sentence). Why would I use that word so much in a single paragraph? Is my vocaublary truly so shallow? And why am I obsessing over it now? This paragraph now sports two wholly divergent themes, lacks a single, cohesive point and is now 217% longer than it needed to be. Moving on...

Please excuse the crappy photo quality. Taken with my Palm Pre, uploaded to Facebook (which converts images to .bmp for some reason, dl to my 'puter and then uploaded to skull-nation). See what I go through for you people? I sure hope you're appreciative of all my hard work! But I know you're not, cuz you suck that way. Just kidding! I love you! But really.

Go check out some skulls at Skull House!! !!! !

Tattoo Comission...

So. A bit of shameless self-promotion, I guess, but since his face is a skull it's still skull-nation-related, technically! A few months back an art-collector and friend from Chicago had contacted me asking if I would contribute a design to be used in a collaboration piece for a tattoo sleeve he was having done. I was keen on the notion and got to work. After some communication with Ron and his wife I cooked up this guy whom I refer to as "The Accidental Teddy":



I'm very excited for a few reasons! First of all other collaborators for the sleeve tattoo include design greats such as Frank Kozik and Joe Ledbetter, among others, and the sleeve is scheduled to be tattooed by LA Ink superstar Hanna Aitchison! Super stoked! Work is scheduled to begin on August 25th! Can't wait to see the finished piece!

Cheers!

Zook

IzWoz: Skull Art on etsy.com

I ran across the collective known as IzWoz, who operate out of Adelaide South Australia, on etsy this morning and absolutely love thier style. The "Skull Shaman" shirt was the first to catch my eye (I _was_ looking for skulls after all). the IzWoz has several really excellent designs.

IzWoz is ‘An interlocking construct of syntax symbolizing the rolling evolving nature of universal creativity- Everything in existence is in the constant process of becoming something else’

I have no idea what tha means, but I'm pretty sure it's Australian for "We create kick ass shirts!" Or something like that.

The Skull Shaman is my favorite design, but I'm a cheap bastard and $48, while perhaps not a lot to pay for a piece of "art" is a helluva lot to pay for a t-shirt. Maybe I'lll mull it over a bit. Or maybe I'll let the artists know that I graciously dedicated my Saturday morning blogging about them and they'll send me lots of free stuff! Yeah. Probably not after declaring I think their stuff, while awesome, is too expensive for my cheap ass. :P

Anywho! Roll on over to IzWoz and check out some gnarly!

This post has been brought to you by letter "Zook" and by the words "Saturday", "Drunk" and "Munky".

Cheers. Happy weekend. Watch the Zima, eh, folks?

Zook

Zenx13 (again) Video Flip Through

Video - 1/2 way for the project skull3sixfive!
Originally uploaded by zenx13

In repsonse to [rich]s flip through of his year in skulls thus far, Zenx13 has produced his own with a smashing soundtrack to boot!

Skull Scouts?

Freaking. Awesome! Not just that the patches rock, but that a real live Girl Scout Troop Leader had these made for her Girl Scouts. That's gotta be the most hardcore Girl Scout Troop ever! EVER!

Ripped from the pages of Skull-a-day

http://skulladay.blogspot.com/2010/07/bonus-skull-scouts.html

I would buy a pack of these in a heartbeat, and though Noah has gotten his mits on a handful of the patches, like a girl scout, ya gots to EARN them patches. Follow the link to find out how you can win you a patch direct from Skull-a-day!

Cheers. Happy Zombie Tuesday!

Zook

The mysterious wanderer known only as "zenx13" has been a prolific contributor to the Skull-Nation, second in submissions only to your fearless leader [rich] and more then doubling my own contributions with 176 skull images submitted to the pool to date!

Thanks, mate, for helping to make the Skull-Nation what it is!

Zook

Skulls at Etsy.com

Etsy.com is one of my favorite places to look for skull stuff.

One of my favorite skull-makers is Skull House who makes awesome stuff like that up there.

"These slip cast porcelain skulls are all made in small one of a kind batches. Each is hand carved, textured, or glazed. Then fired to around 2300 degrees."

Now I'm no potter and I'm not sure what "slip cast" means, but I can only assume it means "Awesome!"

I've yet to score one of his beautiful skulls and I'm not sure why, though I have purchased other items from himat http://www.etsy.com/shop/cyrusthepotter

Go check him out. And etsy.com in general. A simple search for "skull" will net you all sorts of wicked results.

Zook

http://www.doodle-zook.com/

Oh. Yes. I so need me a set of these bad boys. Head on ove to Thinkgeek.com and score you some of these! These would also be sweet to do some flavored/colored cubes in. Hmm... Add a little cream to make them more opaque for use in iced coffee drinks? Ffffuuuu... Holy crap! They're only SIX BUX? Ok. Gots to go spend money.

Bone Chillers Ice Tray

Buh buy! (see what I did there? Oh yeah)

Zooooooooook...
http://www.doodle-zook.com

Ripped from the pages of fellow Skull (and bacon) blogger Skulls and Bacon is this scrumptions skull-themed bedding set. How fakkin' cool would that be. I'd snuggle all day long in that bed!

Product Site

Zook

A quick flick through...

A quick flick through...
Originally uploaded by [rich]

So. [rich], being our proud papa and all, felt it necessary to show us all up by flipping through his current sketch book and showin us just how much ASS he KICKS.

Dude has some seriously nice drawing chops.

Check out the video and drool...

I Want Your Skull

I Want Your Skull is a class act.

"I Want Your Skull was started in October of 2006 by Ryan August as a reaction against the gross commercialization and commodification of the sacred image of the skull."

"Print issues are compiled several times a year. Each issue features the work of dozens of artists from around the world; as well as, interviews and features on those keeping the tradition of skull imagery alive and vital. The website further promotes the efforts of these individuals, spreading the news of current accomplishments and conquests at the speed of our modern digital age.
Three years and counting…"

Each edition is severely limited and typically includes a limited edition print by a featured artist. The most recent issue upped the ante by including a black bandanna with skull imagery created by the legendary skull artist, Brian Morris, ooo000ooo.

Unfathomably, IWYS's founder, Ryan August, was taken from his family and friends on July 11th, 2010 in a fatal vehicle collison. Ryan's son was also in the car during the collision, and survived with minor cuts and bruising. Ryan died on impact.

Though IWYS is on necessary hiatus in the wake of this tragedy, Ryan's widow has vowed, "I will set to honoring his (Ryan's) commitments involving I Want Your Skull and its related blog."

Our thoughts and prayers are with Ryan's family and many, many friends. Whether you've been a fan of IWYS in the past, or you've just found them, do what you can to support IWYS in whatever capacity it returns in.

Blessings and Peace

Zook

Endtroducing

Ten years ago a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime he didn't commit. This man promptly escaped from a maximum-security stockade to the South Wisconsin underground. Today, still wanted by the government, he survives as a soldier of fortune. If you have a beer, if no one else can drink it, and if you can find him, maybe you can hire... The Zook.

As they say a picture speaks a thousand works, so check out the dude’s awesome penmanship and growing tattoo collection here.

Skull Nation - Onwards.

Introducing...

Skull 192
Originally uploaded by [rich]

...our fearless leader, Rich.

Rich Page was born in the south and is now living above the middle (Notts UK). He likes to doodle, "on anything apart from the cats". He says he'd like to, but isn't allowed.

Rich devised a grand plan for 2010. A skull doodle each day, all year long, and posted to his flickr stream. He also created a flickr group to showcase his miriad bone heads and invited others to participate and the Skull-Nation was born.

Skull-Nation now boasts more than 600 contributors and over 1,500 skull drawings, doodles, tattoos and more!

A blog seemed to be a logical next step with hopes of this little home-brewed community art project taking on a life of its own.

Help us make the Skull-Nation successful! Doodle some skulls! Drop 'em into the pool at Skull-Nation and let's see where we go from here!

Cheers, chaps and chapettes!

Zook

Get Involved

If you like to doodle and even better if you like to doodle skulls then SkullNation is for you. We'd love to welcome all comers to join in over on Flickr by scribbling, sculpting or painting a skull based design and adding it to our group. If you fancy looking through our amazing collection of images from around the world or would like to know a little about our group head on over here to Flickr.

Welcome To The Blog

Hello and welcome,

It's finally here - the new SkullNation blog. It's been a busy year so far for SkullNation, since the group began in January it's gone from strength to strength - Thanks go out to everyone for their support and awesome skulls.

Now it's time to extend the SkullNation reach with a blog. We are looking to get featured artists interviews and products up on the site ASAP, also we want this blog to be driven by you guys - so let us know what you would like to see on here. All suggestions are welcome.

Cheers for now

[rich]

PS to check out our great Flickr group click here.