Episodes

  • Dark Rides and Haunted Houses with Animation Artist, Reed Randolph

    Dark Rides and Haunted Houses with Animation Artist, Reed Randolph
    Nov 19 2024
    Reed Randolph is an animation artist, most recently working as a character designer on Exposing Kittens.
    This week Ben's chatting with Reed about how he went from working as a teenage Scare Artist in the famous steel factory-turned haunted house, Sloss Fright Furnace to designing for an indie Dark Ride.
    In between he worked with Jim Henson Company, desiged concept art for Blippi’s Treehouse and went to Ringling College of Art (not necessarily in that order!) The guys talk about going to art school and whether its still recommended for young artists these days. What’s it like to pitch a "dark ride" to IAAPA? (The Global Association for the Attractions Industry) What's the best paint for black-light artwork? Reed has stories about that too!
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    If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts.

    You can now call and leave a voicemail about whatever you want! Do you have art/career questions? want to recommend a movie? Do you have memories of a "Lost Movie" you need help tracking down? Tell Ben about it at-
    speakpipe.com/cheapchills

    Do you draw digitally and like FREE stuff? Ben's new brush pack Build a Goth Boy is available free at his Buymeacoffee.
    If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too!
    buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills

    More brushes, T-shirts, stickers and stuff at the Cheap Chills Etsy shop.
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    Music for the Cheap Chills Podcast by Badger Meyer.
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    54 mins
  • Time-Sucks! Dealing with Procrastination and Distractions : Doomed Megalopolis the Last Megalopolis

    Time-Sucks! Dealing with Procrastination and Distractions : Doomed Megalopolis the Last Megalopolis
    Nov 5 2024
    This week, Illustrator, Creator (and your host) Ben Walker-Storey talks about his two big time-sucks: Procrastination and Distractions, what could be at the root of these problems and some thoughts, tricks and tips on working around them.
    Then its time to talk about monsters! We need to talk about the 1988 film, Doomed Megalopolis the Last Megalopolis (or Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis) from Director, Akio Jissôji
    Ben does his best to avoid big, clinical words or armchair diagnosis but (spoiler) this episode is monstly about mental health issues like Anxiety, Depression and ADHD.
    Regardless of any neurodivergence (dammit! a big clinical word) you may or may not have, Ben has some tips that have helped him stay more productive in recent years and get back into what was so fun about art before adulthood and money was involved. If nothing else let's remember to go easy on ourselves.
    This episode is brought to you by the Cheap Chills Etsy shop. Ben’s designed a bunch of T-shirts and prints for people who love spooky weird stuff, custom art brushes for Clip Studio Paint and there's even some vintage toys and clothes for you to check out.
    Use PROMO CODE: GREENFIFTEEN for 15% off your order
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    38 mins
  • Found Footage Festival's Nick Prueher on Carpenter's The Thing

    Found Footage Festival's Nick Prueher on Carpenter's The Thing
    Oct 22 2024
    Welcome to Cheap Chills on Art and Monsters. I probably need a new intro but I do love the announcer I snagged for the original cheap chills podcast.
    This week's guest is Nick Prueher, best known as being half of the Found Footage Festival team along with his childhood friend, Joe Pickett.
    Nick is also a film producer writer having writen for The Onion and Late Night with David Letterman.
    We came together to talk about his favorite monster, John Carpenter's The Thing, but of course we got into what it's like being the funny, creative weirdo in your small town, irrational fears that could make a good horror movie, some of the movies that horrified us as kids and how hot Dianne Franklin is in Better Off Dead.

    Find more from Nick at foundfootagefest.com
    on Instagram @chimplips, @foundfootagefestival
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Bride of Frankenstein with Isabel Samaras

    Bride of Frankenstein with Isabel Samaras
    Oct 9 2024
    I am so thrilled to bring you the conversation for this episode! I got a chance to catch up with my friend, world renown painter, Isabel Samaras. Years before we ever met I discovered her work through art magazines like Juxtapoz and Hi Fructose. I was blown away by Isabel’s work because she’s not just an incredible painter but she’s someone who has a take on popular culture, romance and humor that is all her own.
    There's literally too much to go over with Isabel as far as monsters and pop culture characters. But we get into our love for The Bride of Frankenstein and how we as artists can use imagery to add to popular stories and even give our beloved fictitious characters a more fulfilling life.
    Apologies to A24, the movie we were talking about is The Hole in the Ground, not A Hole in the Woods or whatever Ben said.
    Here's some heady subjects for you artists: Are you making art you think an audience wants or creating what excites you and bringing people along for the ride? And do you have “Kulaks” in your portfolio?
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    This is episode is brought to you by Ben's Shadowplay digital brushes and the Cheap Chills Etsy shop.
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    If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too!
    buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills
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    Music for the Cheap Chills Podcast by Badger Meyer.


    **Also discussed word dump:
    Shirley Jackson, Kathryn Bigelow, Ana Lily Amirpour, a girl walks home alone at night, Batman's love life
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Horror Movies by The Bollock Brothers

    Horror Movies by The Bollock Brothers
    Sep 24 2024
    Welcome to the Cheap Chills podcast, where artists can talk, mostly about monsters.
    This week, Ben breaks down one major bit of inspiration from his past: The Bollock Brothers song, Horror Movies.
    How many of the movies mentioned in this song have we seen?
    Then, in a very special “Let’s Check in with Ben” Ben talks about stress and burnout in what amounts to an explanation for why this podcast is going bi-weekly.
    The episode wraps up with a segment about Ben’s process for illustration work and how he’s using it to make artwork for #MonsterFunkMonday. Yeah, we’re making monsters and posting them on Instagram, Mondays.
    This is episode is brought to you by the Cheap Chills shop on Etsy. Ben’s designed a bunch of T-shirts and prints for people who love spooky weird stuff. There’s new stickers and prints coming and even some of the vintage toys and clothes for you to check out.
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    28 mins
  • What We’ve Learned from Ed Wood and Large Marge, with David DeGrand

    What We’ve Learned from Ed Wood and Large Marge, with David DeGrand
    Sep 10 2024
    I think you’re really like this episode. I Got to chat with cartoonist, David DeGrand. His art is mixes elements of silly, cute and gross in a way that really gets me excited to draw.
    We also came in with an agenda; to talk about our shared all-time favorite movies, Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Ed Wood.
    But we also get into David’s background and influences and his wildly cool list of clients. Mad Magazine, comic book treatments of SpongeBob, The Simpsons, Garfield, Adventure Time, Uncle Grandpa, and his work appears in the newest video for Weird Al Yankovic!

    Oh and we warm up by talking about our experiences with folks who are worried about things like vaccines magnetizing them and the coming apocalypse.
    See more of David DeGrand:
    degrandland.com
    David on Instagram


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    You may notice the Cheap Chills podcast is has no commercials. If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too!
    buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills

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    Music for the Cheap Chills Podcast by Badger Meyer.


    **Also discussed word dump:
    The Zombie Chasers, 70s Horror, Godman, Godzilla Minus 1
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    1 hr
  • Black Metal / Black Toner with Dr. Wolfenbergen

    Black Metal / Black Toner with Dr. Wolfenbergen
    Sep 3 2024
    This week I’m joined by Art Director, Justin Moll, who is known as Dr. Wolfenbergen by night (and likely weekends). His personal art (and upcoming zine) is stripped down, simple yet gritty...and kinda dark. So I love it. We talk about the hot rod scene, making zines, the lost art of making band flyers at the 24 hour photocopy shop and then we really get into the nitty, grits of making low-fi digital art and the power of squinting.
    We also get into comparing notes on musical inspiration (Mortician or Skinny Puppy? Is Iron Maiden relaxing?) and tell about the times we were kinda scared to buy an album but totally did.
    In a very special “Let’s Check in with Ben” I talk about the new drawing club I’m starting on Instagram and reflect on the rebooted podcast.
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    Follow Justin on Instagram: @Dr.Wolfenbergen

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    If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too!
    buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills

    *****
    Music for the Cheap Chills Podcast by Badger Meyer.


    **Also discussed word dump: Return of the Living Dead, the Art of Friend Prices, True Grit brush collection, High Tide Recordings, The CSA Charles S Anderson Catalog, Evil on Paramount+
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    1 hr
  • Talking 'Toons Creator of The Cuphead Show, Dave Wasson

    Talking 'Toons Creator of The Cuphead Show, Dave Wasson
    Aug 27 2024
    Welcome to the Cheap Chills podcast, where artists and creators who love spooky, weird stuff can get together and talk spooky weird art ….talk.
    A few months ago, I was alone in bed watching The Cup Head show. It’s something I had tried to put on for our son when it came out but it was too creepy for him and he went back to watching something about trains with eyes.
    Anyway, I was blown away by just how good this cartoon was! It’s very very inspired by animation from the 1930s but looks better than studios like Fliescher could manage back then. The animation, the jokes, holy craps the backgrounds. The second episode came on and I paid more attention to the credits. Created by Dave Wasson.
    It was one of those moments where I thought, man if I can get back into podcasting, maybe I could talk to people like this. A few months and a few Instagram DMs later and here we are.
    You’ve seen his work on the Mickey Mouse shorts on Disney+, Time Squad, Star vs the Forces of Evil, oh Yeah cartoons and The Cuphead Show. Here it is, my conversation with animation Writer and Director, Dave Wasson.

    We discuss the Cuphead game developed by Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, advice for indie animators, The most inspiring music for making 1930s-style animation (Check out the playlist below!), jazz album covers of the 50s, Popeye, Betty Boop, Roger Ramjet, Rocky and Bulwinkle, and those amazing 3-dimensional backgrounds they incorporated into Fleischer brothers cartoons.

    Plus a new segment! Join Roman Candelabrä for Roman Candelabrä's Mystery Moment as he explores the strange connection between Betty Boop and The Smiths.

    Follow Dave Wasson on Instagram: @arkansassugarpants

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    You may notice the Cheap Chills podcast is has no commercials. If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too! I literally have no money. Is anyone reading this?
    buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills

    *****
    Music and editing for the Cheap Chills Podcast by Ben Walker-Storey.
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    1 hr and 9 mins