CONTAGIOUS - Book Trailer...

About a year ago, I did Make-up FX for a promotional trailer for CONTAGIOUS, a novel by best-selling author Scott Sigler.

The trailer, by Curious Three Film Production, was artistically shot as frame by frame photography, then edited together like a stop-motion animation. There was no time for pre-planning or making any prosthetics before the shoot, so some of the make-up was an on-skin silicone buildup application where necessary.

WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW!!

SEE THE MAKE-UP PROCESS ON MY WEBSITE HERE

Contagious Book © Scott Sigler.
Contagious Trailer @ Curious Three Film Production.
Contagious Make-Up © 2009 J. Anthony Kosar & Kosart Effects Studios, LLC.
All Rights Reserved.

Daily Warm-up 12/23 - Alien Lord

Today's Daily Warm-up, an Alien Lord. About 1.5 hours.

Artwork © 2009 J. Anthony Kosar.

Z.E.O.: Zombie Executive Officer...

Back towards the beginning of summer 2009, I did Make-up FX for a trailer for the book Z.E.O.: Zombie Executive Officer, "A Zombie's Guide to Getting A(Head) in Business" by self-help author Scott Kenemore. You can purchase the book HERE. The trailer, by Axiom Megamedia, was shot purposely on low quality to give the effect like it was an old lost 70's infomercial. Therefore, I wanted to make sure the eyes and eyebrows were expressive enough to be read on the final cut. There was no time for pre-planning or making any prosthetics before the shoot, so the make-up was an on-skin silicone buildup application.

Watch the trailer below!!

SEE THE MAKE-UP PROCESS ON MY WEBSITE HERE

Z.E.O. Zombie Make-Up © 2009 J. Anthony Kosar.
Z.E.O. Book © Scott Kenemore.
Z.E.O. Trailer @ Axiom Megamedia.
All Rights Reserved.

Daily Warm-up 12/22 - Demon

This guy tool about 3 hours. It is very easy to get carried away, ... but overall, getting faster, and I can feel I'm getting better. Here he is in black and white too, I thought it looked cool this way as well.
Here he is withouth the blood. The blood was an afterthought actually. Which do you like better?

SATANIC PANIC Creature Posted...

After joining the project in 2006 designing the creature and creating FX props (Satanic Ritual Sacrificed Animals and a Satanic Ritual Dagger), and after the SATANIC PANIC's worldwide DVD and Blu-Ray release on October 13, 2009, I was finally able to post my creature on my website HERE. Now is when I finally had some time to do so! For those that don't know, this was my biggest undertaking to date: the props mentioned earlier AND a full silicone creature suit with human hair. This was the first time I had done anything to this scale on my own. Luckily I had my Father Joseph Kosar to help. He was my right hand man on the entire project. Other help I had on the creature suit was Chris Hernandez as my onset application assistant, and my Mother Lynda Kosar and my Sister Melissa Kosar as my hair application assistants. Overall, this was a HUGE learning experience on many levels. Anyway, here are a couple pictures...

THE MAQUETTE IS ALSO POSTED ON MY WEBSITE HERE

SEE MORE SATANIC PANIC CREATURE CONCEPTS HERE

SEE THE CREATURE SUIT
PROCESS ON MY WEBSITE HERE

Satanic Panic Sculpts and Art © 2006-2008 J. Anthony Kosar.
Satanic Panic © 2008 Marc Selz Productions, LLC.
All Rights Reserved.

Alien Creature 12-21-09 Warm-Up

Here are a couple versions of today's Daily Warm-up. I got a later start today and had to run out, so late in posting. Time spent was probably about 1-2 hours. Which one is your favorite color / version??

Watercolor Artist Magazine's 2009 "ONES TO WATCH"

CLICK ABOVE IMAGE THUMBNAIL TO READ ARTICLE

If being in Fangoria wasn't cool enough (see previous post), I was completely honored and humbled to be selected by Watercolor Artist Magazine as one of their 2009 top ten artists to watch for their annual Ones to Watch feature in their December issue! All the artists featured are amazingly talented and I am honestly speechless to be there amongst them, especially to be the youngest one!! Pictured in my portion of the article are my paintings Never Known, Never Forgotten and Second Thoughts. Be sure to pick up your copy on newsstands or get your subscription HERE

2009 has been an amazing year for me in the fine art watercolor world, having not only been juried into the American Watercolor Society 142nd International Exhibition with my painting Never Known, Never Forgotten, but also winning the "Dong Kingman Award" and then it being 1 of 40 paintings selected from the American Watercolor Society Annual to tour through 7 states in their 2009-2010 Travel Show. See pictures from the 2009 AWS Awards Dinner in New York, NY - HERE.

Then in 2008, I won Best of Show at the 24th Annual Illinois Watercolor Society Open Exibition for Never Known, Never Forgotten.

Now I am looking forward to 2010 and am excited for all the creative endeavors the New Year will bring!!

Watercolor Artist Magazine Dec 09 Cover & Article © 2009 F+W MEDIA, INC.
Never Known, Never Forgotten © J. Anthony Kosar.
Second Thoughts © J. Anthony Kosar.
All Rights Reserved.

FANGORIA Issue #287 - SATANIC PANIC MASK

CLICK ABOVE IMAGE THUMBNAIL TO READ ARTICLE

This is so cool!! Though I have been in a few articles on Fangoria.com, this is my first time ever in the actual magazine!! Pictured is my Satanic Panic Halloween mask I designed and sculpted for Zagone Studios based of the silicone creature suit I designed and created (pictures coming soon) for the independent Horror film of the same title. The part where I am mentioned is highlighted. If anyone in interested in purchasing a signed Satanic Panic Halloween mask, send me an email!! The mask is pictured below:

MORE PRESS ON THE MASK:

"The mask, which you can see in all its badass glory . . .

was sculpted by J. Anthony Kosar, a young kid who's got
a helluva lot of promise if his website’s any indication."
~ Johnny Butane (DreadCentral.com)

Read the entire article from DreadCentral.com - HERE
Read the Dec 13, 2008 article from Fangoria.com - HERE
Read the July 2, 2009 article from Fangoria.com - HERE
Read another article from TheHMA.net - HERE

Click HERE to see the Mask Making Process.

It was also cool this Halloween season to see my mask hanging up in Halloween USA seasonal stores (BELOW)!! What can I say, I got geeked-out when I saw my mask on the rack!

Also, on October 13, 2009, SATANIC PANIC the movie was released worldwide on DVD and Blu-Ray. There is Making of the Satanic Panic Monster featurette in the special features section featuring the work of Kosart Effects Studios for the film with a cameo by Tony Zagone of Zagone Studios. The featurette was done by my sister, Melissa Kosar of Kos for Three Productions (check out her website and blog). This Creature FX featurette will be posted soon online so all who don't have the film can see. And separate from this feature is a slide show featuring my designs and drawings for the Toby creature.

If you are in the mood for a real independent, low-budget horror movie, order yours today on Amazon.com HERE

Fangoria #287 Cover & Article © 2009 Fangoria Entertainment. Zombieland © its respective owners.
Satanic Panic Mask © 2008 J. Anthony Kosar & Zagone Studios, LLC.
Satanic Panic Poster © 2008 Marc Selz Productions, LLC.
All Rights Reserved.

Daily Warm-up 12/18 - Werewolf

Here is my daily warm-up for today. For these warm-ups, I am practicing on creating without any references. Again, spent too much time getting carried away with the details... BUT IT'S SO MUCH FUN!!! Below is a detail of the face... click images to see them larger:

Vampire Creature Daily Warm-up

Here's my second daily warm-up done in Photoshop. Spent a little more time on this one, but had fun!

First Daily Warm-Up: FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER

I still have a whole bunch of updates I haven't had a chance to post... but for now I will post this daily warm-up I did this morning. I want to start doing these, hopefully at least one every day. This is the first one. So check back often for new quick sketches and studies. This one is of one of my favorite monsters, Frankenstein's Monster!

Per Soldi

I know I haven't updated anything in some time, and have much to update from several conventions and trade shows, to art exhibitions, FX projects, and more... hopefully I can get them updated soon. But for now, I thought I'd show you a new personal Fine Art painting I painted recently. It felt really good to paint something for myself again, a nice break from freelance work.

Per Soldi 12" x 17" Gouache on Illustration Board

The title "Per Soldi" is Italian for "For Money," it just sounds better in Italian. Painted in 9 days, once again I whipped out my small brushes for some tiny detail work. One of the parts I'm most proud of is the Lire (Italian money before the Euro). In the detail images (below), the Italian Lire are pictured larger here than they are painted in order to see the needle point details I added. All the words are there, some in block letters!

CLICK DETAILS TO SEE IMAGE LARGER!

The painting was also added to my website HERE
...and the details added to my website HERE

Per Soldi © J. Anthony Kosar

Female PHANTOM Comic Cover Art....

Race Against Death 7.3" x 10.85" Gouache on Illustration Board

Here is my Latest comic book cover for Moonstone Books.

This painting is the Cover for...

THE PHANTOM: Julie Walker
Race Against Death

. . . scheduled to hit comic shops and book stores in January 2010.

From what I understand, there will be 4 variant covers of this issue. 2 will be utilizing my artwork pictured above. One will be as is, and the other will be a close-up variant (pictured below).

Story: Elizabeth Massie

Art: Paul Daly
Colors: Stephen Downer
Covers: J. Anthony Kosar (Above Images); JD; and Paul Daly

Moonstone Books - 40pgs, color, $4.50
Release Date: January 2010

Two time Bram Stoker winner (and Buffy novelist) Elizabeth Massie delivers a previously unknown adventure tale of danger on the high seas of the ONLY female Phantom that Lee Falk ever created! Julie Walker is forced to take over the Phantom role and guard her friend, Nellie Bly on her historic trip around the world! Something or someone does NOT want Ms Nellie to finish this record breaking trek!

Illustrations © J. Anthony Kosar.
Comic Book © Moonstone Entertainment, Inc.

Behind-The-Scenes of Banzai: Hardest of the Hard 2...

Here are some of the Behind the Scenes pictures at how my cover artwork Battle on the Barge for Moonstone's Buckaroo Banzai: Hardest of the Hard part 2 was made. Again, combining my skills as an FX artist as well as my love for film, I sculpted two very rough creature maquettes for reference. They are each about 2.5-3 inches. Also, my dad and I built a Gatling gun prop for Perfect Tommy to hold. Click images to view larger:

Above: My maquette for the Mantis-Rat-Man that wants to eat Reno, sculpted out of Chavant oil based clay.

Above: My maquette for the Scorpion-Rat-Woman also sculpted out of Chavant oil based clay.

Above: The Gatling Gun prop made of wood and PVC pipes.

Battle on the Barge 7.3" x 10.85" Gouache on Illustration Board

Be sure to get this issue (Part 2) scheduled for November 30th release and Part 1 this month for a September 30th release.

Illustrations & Sculpts © J. Anthony Kosar.
Comic Book © Moonstone Entertainment, Inc.

Behind-The-Scenes of The Spider: Judgement Knight #1...

Here are some of the Behind the Scenes pictures at how my artwork for Moonstone's The Spider: Judgement Knight #1 was made. After the concept stage, it was time to get some photo references. While getting models for the characters is easy, getting the right locations is not. Being a hyper-realist, every shadow counts. Therefore, combining my skills as an FX artist as well as my love for film, I built several miniature sets to enhance the realism of the world in which the Spider fights. Really, they are nothing more than paper-cube crates and paper-cylinder barrels I designed and printed off my computer,... then after much folding and taping, I constructed the sets to fit my compositions. Click images to view larger:

Shooting at Shadows 12x5.75 Gouache on Illustration Board

Above is the first image of the story where the thugs are shooting into the darkness of the warehouse. I had to put my hand in the photo reference so that the camera had something to focus on.

Blood of the Innocent 12x5.75 Gouache on Illustration Board

Above was for the second illustration. Here the Spider reflects on what the thugs have done. To build a bank vault, I just used two pieces of foam core and four action figures. I actually sculpted a 40s NYC Police hat out of kneaded eraser for the extra bit of realism.

The Hunt 12x5.75 Gouache on Illustration Board

Above was the third in the series. Once again, I just used the same paper cubes, set up in a different way.

The Showdown 12x5.75 Gouache on Illustration Board

Above was the sixth painting, and again, I just used the same paper crates and barrels.

Overall, this one was a fun project to work on, and I know that the extra work paid off. See all 10 illustrations HERE

Details on how to purchase this signed issue will be posted soon. If you would like to order one before store is finished, please contact me HERE

Illustrations & Sculpts © J. Anthony Kosar.
Comic Book © Moonstone Entertainment, Inc.

Art for Part 2 of Buckaroo Banzai Comic...

Battle on the Barge 7.3" x 10.85" Gouache on Illustration Board

Here it is,... my second comic book cover for Moonstone Books.

This painting is the Cover for . . .

Buckaroo Banzai: Hardest of the Hard
The Ballad of Lady G (Part 2 of 2)

. . . scheduled to hit comic shops and book stores in November 2009.

Here is the entire painting without the logo and some details of the painting (click images to view larger):

Art and Details can also be seen on my website: HERE

I will be posting some "behind the scenes" of this painting soon which will include props built and creature maquettes sculpted for perfect reference.

Story: Earl Mac Rauch

Art: Jesus Antonio Hernandez
Colors: James Brown
Covers: J. Anthony Kosar (Above Images); Malcolm McClinton (Below Image)

Moonstone Books - 32pgs, color, $3.99
Release Date: November 2009

What was she like, before this exquisite & bad ass bass player joined the Hong Kong Cavaliers, and how did she join up? What is her hush-hush all-seeing connection with the World Crime League? Was it a love connection at first sight with Perfect Tommy and Lady G? How do you choose between plucking a bass guitar and plucking a chicken? And remember, as always, the watermelon is optional.

Here is the other cover by Malcolm McClinton.

Top Illustrations © J. Anthony Kosar.

Blue Cover Illustration © Malcolm McClinton.
Comic Book © Moonstone Entertainment, Inc.

Get Ready for Wizard World Chicago 2009...

Check out the Wizard World website, I have just been listed as a Wizard World Guest as a Comic Creator!
I will be in Artist's Alley.

My table number is 5110.

The show will be August 6th through the 9th at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Anyway, check out their guests page HERE or go straight to my listing HERE.

Wizard Logo © Wizard Entertainment.
Headshot & Art © J. Anthony Kosar.

Blog gets a Facelift...

Hey Everyone, How do you like the new look? I have been working hard customizing this blog. I have also been working on an online store where you can purchase signed prints, Halloween masks, publications I have worked on, and more. The store will hopefully be up and running in the next week or so, so keep posted.

P.S. As the links section is continuously growing too big for the sidebar, I added a section for all my artist friends' blogs under BLOG LINKS in the above menu, which I will continue adding to as time goes on.

Caricature of "Yours Truly" by Richard Wilson-Leigh (aka Mack)...

Yup, that's me! This is a caricature of "Yours Truly" by Richard Wilson-Leigh, better known as Mack. Mack is a friend, colleague, and classmate from the American Academy of Art. He's a very talented artist and all around nice guy.

Here's what he said:

"Here is a quick sketch I did of a fellow artist Anthony Kosar.
He is one of the most talented individuals I have ever met,
and have had the privilege to spend 4 years of college
learning from and with him. Hope you enjoy it."
~ Richard Wilson-Leigh

Thanks Mack! You can see more of Richard Wilson-Leigh's work on his blog: Infinite Possibilities.

Caricature © Richard Wilson-Leigh.

Cover Art for Buckaroo Banzai Comic...

Hardest of the Hard 7.3" x 10.85" Gouache on Illustration Board

Here it is,... my first comic book cover for Moonstone Books.

This painting is the Variant Cover for . . .

Buckaroo Banzai: Hardest of the Hard
The Ballad of Lady G (Part 1 of 2)

. . . scheduled to hit comic shops and book stores in September 2009.

Here is the entire painting without the logo and some details of the painting (click images to view larger):

Art and Details can also be seen on my website: HERE

Story: Earl Mac Rauch

Art: Shawn Van Briessen, Mark Stegbauer
Colors: James Brown
Covers: J. Anthony Kosar (Above Images); David Easterly (Below Image)

Moonstone Books - 32pgs, color, $3.99
Release Date: September 2009

"In this wild and wooly rockin’ adventure, find out the secrets of the woman who likes all things that are pointy. What was she like before this exquisite and bad ass bass player joined the Hong Kong Cavaliers, and how did she join up? Join Buckaroo as he uses stealth, a Gatling gun, Reno’s head, and some squishy mutates to extricate her from her trouble, as well as mop up a sloppy mess! What is her hush-hush all-seeing connection with the World Crime League? Was it a love connection at first sight with Perfect Tommy and Lady G? And remember, as always, the watermelon is optional. RETAILER INCENTIVE: if you order 5 copies or more, you receive one FREE variant J. Anthony Kosar cover edition! One variant per store limit." ~ popculturezoo.com

Here is the other cover by David Easterly.

Top Illustrations © J. Anthony Kosar.

Blue Cover Illustration © David Easterly.
Comic Book © Moonstone Entertainment, Inc.

SATANIC PANIC Mask Production Line...

While I was at Zagone Studios a couple weeks ago pitching concepts for their 2010 line, which I have begun sculpting, I took some pictures of my SATANIC PANIC Mask as they are being produced, . . . I still love seeing this process! Look for the SATANIC PANIC Mask this Halloween at your local costume shops! I'm not sure which shops around the country will be selling them, so keep your eyes on the lookout!! Here is some press on the mask:

"The mask, which you can see in all its badass glory . . .
was sculpted by J. Anthony Kosar, a young kid who's got
a helluva lot of promise if his website’s any indication."
~ Johnny Butane (DreadCentral.com)

Read the entire article from DreadCentral.com - HERE
Read another article from Fangoria.com - HERE
Read another article from TheHMA.net - HERE

Click HERE to see the Mask Making Process.

Mask © J. Anthony Kosar & Zagone Studios, LLC.