The New Studio and piles of cars and trucks and four wheeled terrors

I can't believe it's only been about a year since I started building for AHT, creating the city in three dimensions to help me tell my stories, it began as a graphic novel and then as a series of online models and now is going to be a series of books for print. When I look around the new studio I am stunned at how much stuff I built while painting, watching movies, hanging out in the backyard, sick in bed, I was always making something out of scrap bits of wood, popsicle sticks, tongue depressors, shish ka bob spears, coffee stirrers etc. You haven't even seen HALF of what I've made. So now that the stories are finally ready to be written, notes compiled, research photos done we will STOP building and START writing!
 I'm very excited to start banging out the first book of AHT, think Enid Blyton meets Steam Punk (or "Farm Punk") in this case with a liberal dose of Star Wars poured on top and you have the stories of Any How Town.
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

also over the next few weeks I promise I'll go back and fill in all those posts that I said I was going to fill in.

Crazy Times with Crazy Glue (cont'd)

Yep, I just can't stop gluing animal heads onto other animal bodies, this is an unfinished piece but I wanted to post it because I crack up every time I see it. I don't know what this animal is called, what is does, if it's friendly, what it eats or if it can play the trombone, but I'm sure somewhere down the line it will come mosying (sp?) into AHT.  Why ? Because there have been a few sightings of strange animals appearing down in the dark alleys of the Lower Market, here is one of the GillSpine Boys (a waterfront gang) displaying his animal and to be sure, no one knows what to make of it, not even me.
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

The Monks of Osolin Sugar Monastery

Even the toughest of the tough and the meanest of the mean clear the way when a procession of monks from the Osolin Sugar Monastery descend from the highlands outside of Any How Town and enter to sell their wares. Guarded by their well kept Marafin Shepherds (pack dogs so smart it is rumored they have their own language) the monks deliver their carved statuary or carry into town, on their backs eighty pound bags of their highly sought after Sugar which they pound by hand with their staffs (see that guy's hand). The Monastery was established almost twenty years ago after the Last Good War, the monks came to AHT and invited any veterans of the war to join them in the pursuit of peace and discipline. A life that consists of meditation and pounding cane into sugar, you should see these men and women when they remove their robes, they are as hard as the cliff they live on.

The Osolin Sugar Monastery is an important place to remember and figures prominently in the first book of Any How Town stories.

Find out more soon!

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

(and yes I know these are action figures from other films etc, I did not make them, merely using them as place holders until I get my own line of action figures going.)

Other small cities to read about

Here are a couple of cool links about giant train sets and matchbox highways that I think are great and fit in perfectly with Any How Town.
http://gizmodo.com/5813387/monstrous-metropolis-ii-cityscape-treats-matchbox-cars-to-a-true-infinite-loop

and the tragic story of this giant model train set

President of the Montreal Model Railway Club Pierre Lalanne makes an adjustment to a segment of the model at the club in Montreal, Wednesday, June 1, 2011. In a warehouse in Montreal's historic Griffintown neighbourhood, model train enthusiasts have spent 38 years engaging in a labour of love.Inch by inch, they've constructed what is believed to be Canada's largest fully operational model railway. The CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Sidhartha Banerjee

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1007279--masterpiece-of-model-railway-building-yields-to-cn

 

enjoy,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

A Typical Morning in Any How Town

                              (CLICK TO ENLARGE AND GET FULL FRAME)
Life in Any How Town starts early, most folks are up at the crack of dawn and here is a typical scene. To the left we have a railrider courier coming in from Millay or one of the other cities in the Mallory States to deliver some special cargo (more on Rail Riders later) . Beside him in the black apron is Leod of "Leods Reckoning Hook" the best butcher shop in the Upper Market (you might not want to buy meat in the Lower Market, just a warning) and he's standing with one of the most recognizable faces in AHY, Jadis Stout owner of "The Monday Hatred" the busiest bar/restaurant the Main Street has ever seen. The immediately recognizable three wheeled trucks and blue coverall wearing worker means that a suppy of Orrow Water is being delivered, either for sale at the apothecary or to be delivered to the hospital, the Orrow Water Bottling Plant employees live on site and don't mix much with the citizens of AHT. To his left that's Quatro Aucassin young leader of the Aucassin Clan coming up to the Monday Hatred to deliver a particularly HUGE lobster to Jadis Stout and supervising it all is Deputy Blackfish riding his Guard Dog, Schutzy, now there aren't often that many troubles this time of morning but the Deputy likes to make his presence known, not that anyone ever really notices him.
hope you enjoyed the tour, expect another tomorrow
cheers,
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

If there's a map, it's real.

After a year of thinking and tweaking I finally sat down yesterday on a beautiful afternoon and drew the map of the main down town core of Any How Town, it's a terrible photo and a lot of the street names haven't been decided on but this was a HUGE step in making Any How Town a much more real place for these crazy characters to run around in.
In the top photo you can see our two current main characters "Dolly" Oliver Stimson and Eaglet Rainesville and beside them the much maligned Deputy Blackfish. To the left is the current notebook where I am plotting the first FIVE books of Any How Town, that's right FIVE. I have to plot it this way as there are many mysteries, histories and menageries to deal with and knowing when to reveal the right secret is sometimes difficult. I started to actually write Book Three of Any How Town first just to find my way into the main mystery and know what I had to reveal in Book One and where we'd be by the end of Book Four.
And me being me of course I couldn't stop there and began writing the next lead in for Book Five, where an even BIGGER mystery presents itself to Olly, Eaglet and their friends.
It's a lot of work, but first and foremost it is alot of fun, and these sunny days help alot too.
I'm going to try and post almost daily as I do the work so you can see all the things that are happening in the town as I develop the map more and show you the shops, peeps and vehicles that make Any How Town such a cool place.
Eventually there will be an Any How Town exclusive email address, but for now you can ask me questions at the email below and I'll answer them here on the blog.
best,
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Eat Your Head Off, er, Heart Out Jurassic Park!

Here's a cool detail shot of a birthday dioarama I did for my nephew, check out how good these boys look in natural light! I can't wait to set up some scenes (nothing to give away the new Rule #1) but just to make some cool tableaux of scenes around A.H.T with folks you already know, and if you don't feel free to read about them in the blog listings below! And check my other blogs "the mad craft shoppe" to see my paintings and sketches and "the alphabet shoppe" to see the letters I paint for kids.
we'd love to hear from you,
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

the word of the day is "Clutch"

I've learned to never walk away from a cool dollar store purchase, I'll just inevitably end up obsessing about buying the item (or items in multiples). Yesterday I saw these great "Action Hunter" sets for a dollar each and knew I needed a couple not for the figure but for two great items. 1) the giant spiked collar which I know I'll be able to use on some animal builds and 2) EGG CLUTCHES! look at these great textured egg clutches (I told you it was the word of the day) so I quickly grabbed them and ran home to get to work painting them up. I used the same dry brush method explained in the Cliff Jumper post (see below) and ended up with these as the finished product. Now I would love to post the animal these belong too but it would be giving away too much. I made some new rules and rule #1 is Don't post anything until the story is written! That's right we are working on the Any How Town stories and hope to have one finished by the end of the summer and then I'll decide whether to publish it digitally for sale or search for a publisher. But for now you'll have to just be satisfied with hints along the way.
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com