Wizarding Signs
Signage is apparently still an important part of the wizarding world. There are some iconic signs from Harry Potter that we wanted to create for…
Category Archives: 2016
How to Make Hogwarts’ Front Door
This year, I wanted to make the entrance to Hogwarts Castle feel extra special. Normally, I would have created a flat, painted cardboard version, but this year…
Video: Production Update 10-9-16
Here is a production update video for the first week of October. In it, I show the model of the Halloween house, the structures for…
A Model School for Witchcraft and Wizardry
Sketches and Photoshop mock ups help a great deal in planning the Halloween House. Sometimes, though, I find it hard to envision how the scene…
Cardboard Logging
Each year there is an exciting journey to find all of the cardboard that will be used to create the front yard experience. Some years,…
Visiting Harry Potter World
In April, Harry Potter World opened at Universal Studios in Southern California. That coincided with Grace’s school break, so we felt we had to go and…
The Builders of Hogwarts
“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” ― Professor Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Many…
Photoshop Planning
Prior to my career in graphic design (and just after my career in mechanical engineering), I took a class in Photoshop – a computer-based photo manipulation…
My Master List
As you can imagine, there are lots of things that go into creating a Halloween house, each of which has many steps and checkpoints. How…
Inside Hogwarts—What’s On the Porch?
In addition to providing a front yard scene where visitors can interact with costumed characters, we also like to give people the sense that they…