Beauties Beasts

A Nice Bedtime Story
over 7 years ago – Wed, Aug 17, 2016 at 07:25:07 AM

"This will give them a bit of a shock, something to write home about. A nice bedtime story for the kids, too..." - Dr. Jack Griffin aka The Invisible Man (Claude Rains) in "The Invisible Man" (1933) Universal Pictures

We've been keeping something special under wraps, but now it's time to bust out the details and reveal the perks of our $30,000 stretch goal. Elvira has been asked to write a foreword to the Beauties Beasts book, and she has graciously accepted the invitation! What could be more fitting than having the Mistress of the Dark (an undisputed expert in things both beautiful and beastly) introduce our cavalcade of dream girls and freakish fiends? We will also be including Olivia's classic painted portrait of Elvria in the book.

Of course, bonus content means we've got to push up the page count; so, we're thrilled to announce that 8 more pages will be added to the tome. Size does matter, and this specimen is now going boast over 100 pages. Here's to some epic girl-watching and monster-spotting, everyone!

We'd like to take a moment to spotlight a rare opportunity (or four) to add unique treasures to your collection. A quartet of custom painted Jordu Schell mini busts will be paired with gorgeous 8"x10" Olivia companion prints, and these one-of-a-kind sets will be part of the Beauties Beasts museum show. By backing any of the remaining $800 custom painted bust rewards, you will earn your place in art history (with a certificate establishing museum provenance to prove it), and you'll be making a very real contribution to the quality and scope of both the museum exhibition and the art book.

Thanks again to all of the generous enthusiasts who are cheering us on to the finish line. We are in the final week of this campaign, and we are dangerously close to having more than 500 bakers! Extra big thanks to Elvira for bringing her massive talents to the party! Once upon a time this whole thing was just a dream... now it's a dream come true.

Do Not Touch My Mask
over 7 years ago – Wed, Aug 10, 2016 at 05:37:56 PM

"You are in no peril as long as you do not touch my mask." - The Phantom (Lon Chaney) in "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925) Universal Pictures

Olivia just completed another new work of art as an exclusive Kickstarter reward! It's even bigger (10 3/8" x 14 3/8") and bolder than her previous original art reward, and it's a first-of-its-kind representation of the complimentary coupling of one of her empowered women with one of Jordu's formidable frighteners.

A few of months ago, Olivia and Jordu Schell had never met. It wan't until Bob Self of Baby Tattoo Books suggested the idea of the "Beauties/Beasts" presentation at the Oceanside Museum of Art that the two renowned artist crossed paths. The forthcoming exhibition and book represent the first time Olivia's ladies and Jordu's monstrosities have ever been seen together in the same place at the same time; and to help usher the association to the next level, Olivia decided to experiment with the idea of pairing one of her pinup models (Gia Genevieve) with one of Jordu's menacing monsters (Mecha-Cyclops) together in the same painting... kind of like an artistic blind date.

And it looks like the hookup is working out quite well.

This mixed media study has been added to the campaign rewards to be acquired by the first passionate backer who wants to embrace it.

Additional Thrill
over 7 years ago – Fri, Aug 05, 2016 at 08:12:36 AM

"Don't you think I've had enough excitement for one evening, without the additional thrill of a strange man making love to me?" - Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann) in "The Mummy" (1932) Universal Pictures

We're officially closer to the tail end of this campaign than we are to to the beginning. There are 14 days to go, and everyone behind the scenes is working their asses off to wrangle the beauties and the beasts to the book printer on time. Yesterday, Olivia painted a fantastic 8"x11" mixed media "Wolf at the Back Door" study as an exclusive Kickstarter reward. Who is going to be the generous backer to get their butt in gear and claim this piece (of art) as their own?

Amazing Phenomena
over 7 years ago – Thu, Aug 04, 2016 at 12:12:32 AM

"A moment ago, I stumbled upon a most amazing phenomena. Something so incredible, I mistrust my own judgement. Look." - Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) in "Dracula" (1931) Universal Pictures

Backer generosity and enthusiasm know no bounds! Thanks to you, we burst through the second stretch goal less than 24 hours after we roared past the first! This thing is out of control in the best possible way! So... let's celebrate our runaway success by bulking up (and prettying up) a bit!

We're going to add 8 bonus pages to both the paperback and hardcover versions of the book, which means more monsters and more pinups under the covers (as well as in the museum exhibition in Oceanside, California this fall). And speaking of covers, we're also going to perform a bit of a makeover to both versions of the book, adding spot varnish and an embossed title to make the face of this beauty more drool-worthy.

And we may not be done tinkering with the elements yet! After all, there's still plenty of time to dream big and reach for the $30,000 stretch goal... a milestone which will allow us to bust out a big surprise!

In order to keep feeding/funding the beast, and in response to the popularity of the "Beauty and the Bust" tiers we added to the campaign in our last update, we're proud to announce the availability of more his-and-hers pairings of Jordu and Olivia's work . Both "Three's a Crowd" and "Opposites Attract" mini-bust and framed print sets are available  as one-of-a-kind, custom painted rewards that will be part of the historic Beauties/Beasts museum exhibition, or as solid gray editions of 5.

On behalf of Olivia, Jordu, and everyone at Team Baby Tattoo (including the ladies and the monsters)... thank you.

Filled With Monsters
over 7 years ago – Tue, Aug 02, 2016 at 10:07:46 PM

"It's a perfect night for mystery and horror. The air itself is filled with monsters." - Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester) in "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935) Universal Pictures

Can you feel the electricity? We've surged past the $15,000 stretch goal threshold, and (with the powerful momentum generated by our backers) the buzz of $20,000 has grown loud indeed!

To herald our first breakout milestone, we've upgraded the Beauties / Beasts postcard set to include 3 new cards (for a total of 13), and we've augmented the size of the cards from a pleasant 4"x6" to an intimidating 5"x7". After all, in the realm of Kickstarter, more is more!

And we've got sooooo much more in store for you at the $20,000 and $30,000 stretch goal levels! To supercharge the process of getting to our final destination, we've added a handful of epic rewards to the campaign...

Two separate Beauty and the Bust sets ($300 tiers) present a handsome gray sculptural  mini bust by Jordu Schell with a matched (or is it mismatched?) framed pinup print by Olivia, along with the limited edition hardcover Beauties / Beasts book reward and a personalized commemorative bookplate/certificate. (There is also a one-of-a-kind, hand painted version of each of these busts sets available at $800 reward tiers.)

The Beautiful/Beastly Art Book Trio ($100 tier) grafts two additional art books (The Art of Sketch Theatre and Karen Hsiao: Rubber Duck) onto the limited edition hardcover Beauties / Beasts book reward.

So please let your most fiendish friends and your most eclectic extended family members know about our campaign, and feel free to upgrade your own reward selection if you're in a monstrously generous state-of-mind. At the time of this update, $20K is just a breath away... and we'll be prettying up the book quite a bit more when we hit that magic number!