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I Am A Special Effects Artist And Here’re Some Of My Monsters I Made For Movies
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I Am A Special Effects Artist And Here’re Some Of My Monsters I Made For Movies

I Am A Special Effects Artist And I Make Monsters For MoviesI Am A Character Designer And I Make Monsters For MoviesI Learn How To Be A Filmmaker And Make Monsters For A LivingI Am A Special Effects Artist And I Want To Share Some Monsters That I've Made For MoviesI Make Monsters For A Living And Here's Behind The Scenes Pics Of How I Do ItI Am A Special Effects Artist Who Creates Monsters For MoviesI Am A Special Effects Artist And I Make Monsters For A LivingI Am A Special Effects Artist And Here's Some Of My Monsters I Made For MoviesI Am A Special Effects Artist And Here're Some Of My Monsters I Made For MoviesI Am A Special Effects Artist And Here're Some Of My Monsters I Made For Movies
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My name is Adam Dougherty and I’m a special fx artist and filmmaker in Denver CO. I also make monsters!

I’m a special effects artist and character designer for the company StudioADI. As a day job, I help to create monsters for movies such as Orcs from the Netflix Original: Bright, Dinosaurs for Jurassic World: the Fallen Kingdom, Annabelle from the Conjuring series and Shane Blacks Predator.

In my free time, I’m trying to learn how to be a filmmaker and explore different techniques of practical effects such as stop motion and water tank puppetry while also creating stories and characters of my own.

Here is a behind-the-scenes video of what I’ve done so far. I hope you enjoy it!

More info: kreaturekid.com | Instagram | Youtube | Tiktok

Behind the Scenes by Adam Dougherty

Since the age of 12, I’ve been sculpting monsters. I was collecting all the toys I could and that eventually led to me making my own versions of the monsters. Sculpting small-scale characters and creating my own original concepts led me to move to CA at the age of 21 to work in the movie fx industry for the past 10 years.

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Working on the Jurassic World stegosaurus maquette

Some of my largest projects include Jurassic World: the Fallen Kingdom, The Predator, Malignant, Annabelle Comes Home, Godzilla King of the Monsters and many more. They were all fun and challenging in their own way but the largest for me so far is the film I’m currently working on, Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls which my new company KreatureKid is creating all the monsters for. From Ghouls to Demons, to Meat Boy monsters all the characters were designed by my company and will all be practical puppets. It has been the most challenging but also the most rewarding and fun project so far.

Mounting the 6’ tall fins on the full-size stegosaurus for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

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The Pugloo stop motion puppet from my short film ‘Pugloo from Planet P!’

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I think the most challenging part of making a monster is the design phase. Finding something new and original in a world that is overly saturated with characters and creatures is always difficult. It requires a lot of imagination and really digging deep into what used to scare you as a kid.

The best thing about being a monster maker is just that, you get paid to create something new, to tap into what you as a kid have always loved and to use your imagination to create something for others to hopefully enjoy and that will scare you or make you laugh.

Alec Gillis is not only one of the owners of StudioADI but also a main character in my films. He’s a very supportive boss

Filming the water tank ghost, this is the same technique used in the original Poltergeist film

Klaus from American Dad sculpture for the actual voice actor Dee Bradley Baker

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Something I’m very passionate about besides making monsters is actually antique collecting and restoration. I love finding things that were beautifully made and hand-crafted that have survived the test of time. Using those things to find inspiration in my storytelling. What have these items seen during their life? Who worked on them? And how did they end up where they’re at now? Endless possibilities for a story.

Mojo Jojo from the Power Puff Girls made for creator Craig McCracken

The Tooth Fairy

I will be announcing a crowd funder here soon for my next short film ‘The Jungle of Darkness’ A 1930’s jungle adventure short that will use practical fx techniques like those of Jim Henson to tell the story of a young girl learning of an evil island, a greedy adventurer, talking shrunken heads and much more to bring to life an adventure that will be filmed in my studio in Colorado! A huge task and a challenge I think everyone will love to see happen.

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You can follow all my work on almost all social media platforms under KreatureKid.

The Tooth Fairy Queen

Dance with me

Shock Monster

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The Voodoo Priest

Pugloo from Planet P

The ghost for the video was based on this sculpture I did maybe 9 years ago

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Quisp From Planet Q!

Shrunken Heads

Shrimpenstein!

Moebius Creature

The Tooth Fairy!

Witch hazel from looneytunes

Painting a dead dinosaur for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

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The finished Stegosaurus by StudioADI at 55 feet long!

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Adam Dougherty

Adam Dougherty

Author, Community member

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Aspiring filmmaker with a day job making monsters for movies.

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Adam Dougherty

Adam Dougherty

Author, Community member

Aspiring filmmaker with a day job making monsters for movies.

Gabrielė Malukaitė

Gabrielė Malukaitė

Moderator, BoredPanda staff

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Hi there! I'm Gabrielė, but you can also catch me responding to Gab, Gabi, Gabert, or Gabe – take your pick. Professionally, I'm the senior community manager over at Bored Panda, helping people share their awesome work and connecting artists with a worldwide audience. Beyond work, you'll catch me traveling, listening to vinyl and diving into movies, art exhibitions, and concerts. I'm a culture buff at heart, always eager to explore and embrace the richness of the human experience.

Read less »

Gabrielė Malukaitė

Gabrielė Malukaitė

Moderator, BoredPanda staff

Hi there! I'm Gabrielė, but you can also catch me responding to Gab, Gabi, Gabert, or Gabe – take your pick. Professionally, I'm the senior community manager over at Bored Panda, helping people share their awesome work and connecting artists with a worldwide audience. Beyond work, you'll catch me traveling, listening to vinyl and diving into movies, art exhibitions, and concerts. I'm a culture buff at heart, always eager to explore and embrace the richness of the human experience.

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Person2638
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw Pugloo from Planet P and it was so cute! I love how the story was told, and both pugs are adorable (although Pugloo slightly less). I'm too unoriginal and untalented to be a special effects artist lol

Wil Vanderheijden
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Great work! Most monsters are more adorable than scary. I'd have "the Dance with me" monsters in my living room if you could buy them.

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Person2638
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw Pugloo from Planet P and it was so cute! I love how the story was told, and both pugs are adorable (although Pugloo slightly less). I'm too unoriginal and untalented to be a special effects artist lol

Wil Vanderheijden
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Great work! Most monsters are more adorable than scary. I'd have "the Dance with me" monsters in my living room if you could buy them.

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