Eric Pigors, Artist/Creator
of Toxic Toons
The GOBLINHAUS exclusive interview (8/7/07)
You probably know Unkle Pigors as the monster-mind behind the gloriously ghoulish Toxic Toons. Fresh off the release of a new art book and the "Unkle Pigors Spookhouse" DVD, he was gracious enough to take time and answer a few of our questions...
GOBLINHAUS: Can you walk us through the creation of an original piece of “Toxic Toons” art?
ERIC PIGORS: Sure, when I start a piece I sometimes have an idea in my head. But most of the time I just doodle on paper until I start getting a character come to me. Sometimes I have to do a few versions on the paper until I figure the character out to the way I like it. Then I start thinking of a situation for it to be in. I scan it in the computer, cut it up in photoshop and enlarge it to 11 x 14. Then I print out the rough and tape it on the back of a piece of strathmore bristol board and ink it in. Then I scan the pen and ink in photoshop and color it in.
GH: You imagine some really unique characters for Toxic Toons. Where do you think they come from?
EP: I'm not really sure, sometimes I look at my stuff and wonder how I come up with it as well! I guess it mostly comes from what I was inspired by as a kid, MAD magazine, PLOP COMICS, THE MUNSTERS, CHARLES ADDAMS, RAT FINK, ODD RODS stickers and what I enjoy to draw, vamps, ghouls, zombies, Frankenstein, freaks but I try to put my kreepy twist on them.
GH: You sell all kinds of Toxic Toons merchandise including prints, books and T-shirts. Do you ever sell the original art? If so, how can your fans get their hands on it?
EP: Well I don’t usually sell my originals, but I do have some for sale still at: www.hyaenagallery.com. I just did an art show there and there are still a few left on their website.
GH: Besides all the great art, a highlight of the Unkle Pigors Spookhouse DVD is the Halloween footage. Does this all take place at your house? When did you start doing the Halloween thing and how has it evolved since that time?
EP: Thanx. Halloween is my favorite day of the year. When Fall season comes around I get so excited and inspired. I do my spookhouses in my garage, but lately I do it at my mom’s garage. I did my 1st Haunted House there when I was a teenager. It was pretty lame looking. But the funny thing was at the end of the tour I would drop a dummy out of the rafters in front of the kids and they would start screaming and one kid started crying.
I really got back into doing them in 1987. I started buying lots of monster masks and making dummies out of them to display in the spookhouse. Then kids don’t know what’s real and what’s not. Plus it gives the room a much more creepy feeling.
The homes in my mom’s neighborhood seem to enjoy Halloween and decorating their homes more than my neighborhood where I live now. It's also where I grew up and when I go over and see her neighborhood it brings me back to when I went Trick or Treating as a kid. When I was a kid you would see at least 10 times as many kids "IN COSTUMES" running up and down the streets. Now you see very few Trick or Treaters or they all are wearing the same SCREAM costume. And then there are the teenagers that never say Trick or Treat or thanx, and it looks like they just came from school and took their pillow case.
Sometimes I wonder why I do it. But then you will get that 1 kid all dressed up in a creepy original costume that goes ape shit when they see my spookhouse.
GH: Do you have any favorite Halloween memories or stories to tell?
EP: Well there is one year that I still remember so well. I think it's what inspired me to start doing my own. There where people with Haunted Houses. One house had Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman and Mummy in fog and you couldn't have any candy unless you went past them up to the front door. One house was playing my favorite sound effects record by WALT DISNEY in their garage. I walked up to the door in pitch black, no lights on anywhere, waiting for something in the bushes to jump out. Then I rang the doorbell a few times and no one came, it scared me just wondering what was in this pitch black area. My friend and I went to every house, probably over 300 of them, and man it was a great night!!!! )
GH: So what’s up the Unkle’s sleeve? What can we expect to see from you and Toxic Toons in the future?
EP: Well this SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2007 look for the dvd ," HALLOWEEN...The Happy Haunting of America" For sale at: www.dvdhalloween.com and stores, it will have my art featured in it and other artists from the horror scene. Also interviews with Alice Cooper, Tom Savini, Robert Englund, Doug Bradley, and more horror celebs, plus lots of footage of HAUNTED HOUSES from across America. It's 2 dvds and a must have this HALLOWEEN season!
I also had a great sculpted ,"JACK THE RIPPER- BELT BUCKLE" made from www.rosemarysbillygoat.com. You can see them also on my store page.
I
will be doing some shows like the BLACK MARKET August 17-18th, it's part of
the BATS DAY IN THE FUN PARK MORE show more info at www.batsday.net/blackmarket/blackmarket.htm
This October I will be in a few art shows and be doing SCREAMFEST in Florida
OCTOBER 19-20-21ST.
New shirts all year and I will have my new ARTBOOK , "UNKLE PIGORS - CRYPTIC ART" being re-released from BABY TATTOO this August/September 2007 with lots of new art and a brand new cover added with the version I self published last year. This is the book you have to get of mine. All my newest, kreepy art people know me for! So ask for it at your book store or get a copy at my site or www.amazon.com or www.babytattoo.com.
Go to my website www.toxictoons.com and see my art, and check out the store page. We have over 30 shirts right now and so much more creepy stuff you will enjoy!
