Long Lost Friend Studio

Digital illustration of Jack Frost that Vince Dorse drew. This illustration depicts an elfen Jack Frost riding in on the ice floes of a frozen river toward the snowy banks getting ready to battle a menacing six-armed snowman.

Clay sculpt of Jack Frost that Vince Dorse sculpted. This sculpture depicts an elfen Jack Frost riding in on the ice floes of a frozen river toward the snowy banks getting ready to battle a menacing six-armed snowman.

Digital illustration that Vince Dorse drew. This illustration depicts menacing six-armed snow man ready to battle Jack Frost.

Needle felted sculpture of a menacing six-armed snow man with carrot horns and ice teeth battling a clay sculpture of Jack Frost. Snowman needle felted by Michelle Miller. Jack Frost sculpted by Vince Dorse.

We had another Sculpt-Off-Throwdown-Showdown. This time things got cold in the studio. Watch our process here: youtu.be/OXoCr_qdweI

Thanks! And, yes, the figures are mostly needle felted, and the bases are wood and foam.

81 years ago, on this date, Universal released House of Frankenstein. It featured The Wolfman, Count Dracula, and Frankenstein’s Monster. The Endgame of monster crossovers. In tonight’s performance, the part of Daniel, the mad scientist’s assistant, will be played by Quasimodo.

#monster

small wire armature partially covered in core wool, awaiting some black wool to be needled in.

Phantom of the opera needle felted miniature figure in progress. Still no hands or head, but the black tuxedo and red cumber bun are completed.

The disembodied, needle felted head of the Phantom of the Opera. His eyes are bulging, and ringed in darkness. His teeth tilt jaggedly in his screaming mouth.

The finished Phantom of the Opera needle felted mini monster, with full outfit and cape, mounted on a wooden stand and perched within a miniature gothic courtyard.

We each added two new mini monsters to our little Universal Dark Universe this week. That's ten total!
It's a Halloween Leftover.
youtu.be/mkoyqw5mQT4

#Halloween #monster #needlefelt

Constructing the Great Pumpkin. White plastic pumpkin with foam clay modifications (warts, lips) being sculpted with sculpting tools

The plastic pumpkin gets a base coat of orange, unifying all of the modifications.

Fully painted Great Pumpkin, eyes glowing red, mouth wide with jagged teeth, creeps up behind sculptures of Linus and Sally, sitting unawares in the pumpkin patch.

Final Great Pumpkin diorama. The Great Pumpkin sits on a bed of rich earth, surrounded by massive vines, his eyes glowing red. A smaller diorama of Linus and Sally in a smaller pumpkin patch sit just inside the Great Pumpkin's mouth.

Linus finally gets a visit from The Great Pumpkin. We had a lot of fun making this. Happy Halloween!
#Halloween #GreatPumpkin #diorama

Sally sculpture in progress. Just her head, in polymer clay, on a rod of armature wire

Sally Brown, sculpt completed and baked, but unpainted.

Sally Brown figure, fully painted, an acrylic marker dots her blue dress with black polka dots

Linus and Sally in a Pumpkin Patch. Linus and Sally and the pumpkins are all polymer clay, while Linus' "Welcome Great Pumpkin" sign is made of wood.

Sally has once again been suckered into the Pumpkin Patch to miss Tricks or Treats this Halloween. When will she learn?
youtu.be/bWSVr1UtF1I

#Halloween #art #GreatPumpkin

A nine-square grid featuring 8 different depictions of the Frankenstein Monster, some illustrated, some sculpted, with a photo of Mary Shelley in the center square.

Happy Birthday, Mary Shelley. A couple repeats from last year, but we’re still churning out monsters.
#MaryShelley #Frankenstein

Diorama of Mindy, the girl in Tremors, bouncing down the street on a pogo stick while a Graboid bursts through the street behind her in pursuit.

close up of a needle felted figure being felted. the body is wire armature, covered in colored wool, with a felting needle matting the fibers into place.

close up of unfinished pogo stick in progress. the stick is comprised of a wooden dowel, with a bamboo skewer drilled through the top perpendicularly, and a metal rod drilled into the bottom.

Finished needle felted figure of Mindy, the girl from Tremors, on a pogo stick. The walkman is made of foam, the headphone frame is made of watercolor paper.

"Mindy! Get off the pogo stick!"
#Tremors #diorama

Patreon Summer Horror Challenge in this week's video. We went with Tremors.

man wearing a homemade Ben Grimm Thing mask, along with trench coat, fedora, and a shirt made to look like The Thing's rocky torso

woman wearing a homemade Ben Grimm Thing mask, along with orange t-shirt, brandishing her fist like The Thing does in the comics

Next week the Fantastic Four movie premieres...
This week we made a Ben Grimm Thing Mask!
Who wore it better?
youtu.be/Q8UGf9K4iLI

#FantasticFour #BenGrimm

Wood carving of a sheet ghost in process. Using the Dremel and a coarse burr to carve out eye.

The finished wooden sheet ghost after carving and staining.

This week's video, another in our Never Done It series, we carved a couple of monsters out of wood. This little sheet ghost was up first.

Check out the video here: youtu.be/VtWI8Uf7lrI

#ghost #woodcarving

Mini needle felted Dracula figure out if wool.

Happy World Dracula Day to all who celebrate. #WorldDraculaDay #needlefelting

pencil sketch of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. A pencil and erasers sit on the paper, framing the Creature.

Beginning inks on the Creature from the Black Lagoon sketch. The ink lines, texture, and shadow are being brushed in as the creature takes shape.

Finished Creature from the Black Lagoon ink illustration depicts the monster floating menacingly in the murky water, bubbles emanating from the gills on his head. Around him, leafy pondweeds grow vertically from the bottom of the lagoon.

We watched Revenge of the Creature while inking this and had a blast. Our movie review (and ink process) is this week's video.
youtu.be/pYdpapMGAjQ

#monstermovie #universalstudios

This looks amazing. Nice work.

Needle feting Yoshi's body. Using poly fill as the core wool and needle felting with a 42t needle.

Split screen showing all the different colors of the Rit Dye More Dye on the top of the screen. The finished dye poly fill in all the different colors are on the bottom of the screen.

The finished needle felted Yoshi sculpture. Yoshi is in his crafted world with yellow paper flowers on one side of him and a white paper fence is on the other. He is standing on a yellow paper "road". Yoshi is needle felted by Michelle Miller.

Tried an experiment! I'd never dyed or felted fiber fill, but I sculpted this Yoshi for this week's video and he turned out pretty good.
#needlefelt #art #yoshi

We needle felted Yoshi
#needlefelting #nintendo #art

Illustration of Steamboat Willie and Runaway Brain Mickey. Steamboat Willie is inked with a dip pen. Runaway Brain Mickey is inked with brush pen, finalizers, and painted with watercolor. Art by Vince Dorse.

Having some fun this past Quickie Mickey Day with Steamboat Willie and Runaway Brain Mickey #QuickieMickey #art

#art #supermario #needlefelting

#psycho #art

pencilled design sketches for a Super Mario diorama, drawings of Mario running and jumping, different visual suggestions for how to mount the character on a base

detail of the Mario needle felted head having his red hat felted on with a needle, the head is resting on a wool pad

image of the Super Mario base inside the bed of a laser engraver, the design - based on the terrain in the video game - is being cut from wood by a laser

Finished Super Mario diorama - The Plumber. A needle-felted Mario, sporting the colors of his 1985 design, is suspended above a dark orange cube of laser cut terrain, similar to the ground he runs over in the video game. Mario's left hand is raised in a fist and is punching a wooden mystery cube adorned with question marks, as it is in the video game.

Our process on the Super Mario diorama for the Gallery1988 show, Back To 1985. Show's up now. And so is our process video: youtu.be/_N4sbhSRSso

#videogames #diorama #mario #needlefelting

How To: My Essential Needle Felting Tools & Materials YouTube video by Long Lost Friend Studio

For anyone looking to try needle felting, I broke down all my favorite tools, materials, and tips in this week’s video. Have fun!
#needlefelting #needlefelt #howto #bunny

youtu.be/vgsdej3ZVRc

rough pencils for comic panel showing toy monkey at the bottom of a well clapping its cymbals together

digital inks for comic panel showing toy monkey at the bottom of a well clapping its cymbals together

full color illustration for comic panel showing toy monkey at the bottom of a well clapping its cymbals together. text box above the monkey's head reads "It struck the bottom with a thud, and that must have jogged its clockwork. Suddenly, the cymbals did begin to beat." sound effects text reads "jang-jang, jang-jang, jang-jang"

We used part of Stephen King's The Monkey to practice making horror comics this week. And we got voice actor @owenmccuen.bsky.social to add some drama to the mix.

Process video and Owen's dramatic reading here at the link:
youtu.be/eQqIkaBmPag

#StephenKing #TheMonkey #comics #art

Work in process of Scooby Doo villain Ghost of Mr. Hyde, painted by Vince Dorse in watercolor.

Close up of the candle the Headless Spectre is holding in this portrait. Watercolor is painted by Vince Dorse.

Watercolor portrait of The Mummy from Scooby Doo. Painted by Vince Dorse. An action figure of Shaggy is standing and looking at the portrait.

Watercolor portrait of The Snow Ghost from Scooby Doo. The portrait hangs on the wall of a gallery diorama and is surrounded by cobwebs. An action figure of Shaggy is looking at the portrait. Watercolor is painted by Vince Dorse.

Four new portraits are hanging askew in the Scooby Doo Haunted Gallery. Our favorite ongoing commission. See the process video here: youtu.be/-5LtaTpVb04

#scoobydoo #art #hannabarbera #monstermonday

We love Phil. Here's a link to the video of him inking the Grinch, the one he made for our winter monster challenge.

Thank you! 😃

9-grid square for art vs artist. clockwise from top right: Winter Warlock and Topper diorama, Psycho mother in fruit cellar diorama, The Fly diorama, Milo from the Mask sculpture, Kermit the Frog at his desk diorama, Flexenstein Monster diorama, needle felted Usagi Yojimbo and Jei, needle felted Fozzie Bear on stage with microphone. Center Square is Vince Dorse and Michelle Miller attending Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in goofy homemade N95 ape masks

We really had a lot of fun sculpting, felting, and building these goofballs this year. #artvsartist #artvsartist2024

Our take on the Winter Warlock from Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. An art doll with sculpted head and hands, and a glittery silver robe and hat. HIs jaw is hinged, so in the photo I'm adjusting his mouth to show more teeth. Winter Warlock made by Vince Dorse.

Our finished Winter Warlock Diorama. Winter Warlock art doll is made of clay with long white hair and beard, and a glittery robe and long wizard's hat. He is standing on a snowy base made of foam and has two bare, snow-covered trees behind him made from wire and glue.

Another angle of the Winter Warlock standing on his snowy diorama base.

Our finished Winter Warlock art doll and diorama. Winter Warlock is standing in front of two bare, snow-covered trees. Standing in front of Winter Warlock is a needle felted penguin wearing a black and yellow striped scarf -- our version of Topper, from the Rankin/Bass classic, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town.

Ringing in the holidays with a Winter Warlock diorama (and rewatching hours of Rankin/Bass specials to set the mood). Winter's got posable arms, a movable mouth, and an icy heart that melts when you give him a Choo-choo. youtu.be/5YENK6gXdCk

Hey, glad you're here!

Needle felted Muppet characters by @runredrun.bsky.social Emmet Otter and Ma, standing in a pine forest diorama

Needle felted Fozzie Bear character doing standup comedy felted figure by @runredrun.bsky.social base and microphone created by @vincedorse.bsky.social

Needle felted Kermit the Frog sitting at his cluttered desk backstage Felted Kermit by @runredrun.bsky.social Miniature desk diorama by @vincedorse.bsky.social

Needle felted Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear Muppets diorama, inspired by Episode 3 of The Muppets, "Bear Left Then Write." Fozzie felt by @runredrun.bsky.social Kermit sculpt by @vincedorse.bsky.social

Some of my favorite projects in the studio feature @runredrun.bsky.social and her needle felted muppets.
I'm constantly pushing for more Muppet dioramas.

#Muppets #needlefelt #sculpture

Work in progress polymer clay of a bird.

Work in progress of unpainted polymer clay pumpkins and gourds.

Work in progress of a polymer clay jack o' lantern.

Finished piece of a Sleepy Hollow sign diorama. There is a black bird sitting on top of a sign post. The sign posts has a sign of Sleepy Hollow pointed one way and Tarry Town pointed the other way. Surrounding the bottom of the sign post are various plants and fall foliage. There is a dirt path with horseshoe prints in the path. There are pumpkins, gourds, and a jack o' lantern in front of the plants.

Did a bit of sculpting for this latest project, a Sleepy Hollow signpost diorama.
Our process video: youtu.be/jfgR4EDrOdk
Thanks to @owenmccuen.bsky.social for the voice over work.
#sculpting #sculpture #diorama #miniature

Kermit the Frog mixed media diorama. Kermit is needle felted and is sitting at his desk. The desk and stage floor are made of wood. The telephone and mug are made of clay. There are various papers and books on the desk. Diorama made by Vince Dorse and Michelle Miller of Long Lost Friend Studio.

Close up of the needle felted Kermit the Frog sitting at his desk looking over his paperwork for the show. Mixed media diorama made by Vince Dorse and Michelle Miller of Long Lost Friend Studio

We were thrilled to be a part of the Raised by Rainbows: Puppet Pals show at Gallery1988. This is our piece, Running The Show featuring Kermit the Frog at his desk backstage at The Muppet Show. See the show here nineteeneightyeight.com/collections/...

#muppets #diorama #needlefelt #sculpture