About Us

Creative Skull Productions is an entertainment, design, and creative company based in both Los Angeles and San Diego.  The Company was founded by two modest artists, Steven De Luna and Joey Garcia, who had a strong desire to bring their contrasting voices and genres of expression together. The company’s projects are driven by a simple sentiment: to produce affective and conscientious story telling.

Creative Skull Productions is currently:

In production on the stop-motion animated television series The Wonderful Woods.

STEVEN DE LUNA - Writer/Producer/Director

I began my writing career when I was six years old.  I spent most of my childhood on the floor with my Thundercats action figures creating adventures and stories since the Rankin/Bass series was only being produced once a week.  Unfortunately, without a proper agent none of my episodes were ever to see the light of day.  This sent my six year old self down the typical Hollywood downward spiral of depression at an unrelentless speed. 

With much love and support from my family, I was able to recover and finish school, earning a degree in Psychology and Theater, from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills.  After a few years as a teacher, I decided to return to my love for storytelling.  The Wonderful Woods is the very organic culmination of all my experience and interest: writing, education, and of course playing with those figures.

JOEY GARCIA - Art Director

I have been living in Los Angeles, CA my whole life. Most of my work deals with social aspects of life. I use medias such as acrylic, oil, enamel, ink and graphic design into my works. My thoughts range from being a parent to ideas of being an activist for my community.

I use art as my voice. Relaying my messages in order for people to understand my thoughts and social aspects that surround us all. I want my art to make people both think and feel. I want the audience to understand the events and situations that happen amongst us and how to be positive about life.

www.j-garcia.com

KATRINA CARRICK - Director of Photography

I am quite fond of a thing called Tableaux Photography. By Tableaux Photography, I mean photographing inanimate objects. As an admirer of Disneyland, Tim Burton, and the overall theme of disturbing jocularity, I create my sick and twisted photos! I enjoy romantic walks on top of a mountain & fashion (who doesn’t?), and constantly craving Milk and M&M cookies. Enough about me….

Steven approached me about working together on a stop motion animation project: How could I say no? The idea of photographing miniatures while taking a whack at one of the most unique forms of animation….need I say more? This was the first opportunity I had to bring someone else’s idea to life and I am honored to have been a part of such a process.

http://theredwhisker.blogspot.com/

Animated Storyboard

The Wonderful Woods.  Coming to life…

The storyboard for the Wonderful Woods came about through true passion for art and collaboration.  Film writer and teacher Steven De Luna developed and wrote the concept of the show. Without the right artist to bring the story to life visually, however, the Wonderful Woods would have remained only a dream.  Luckily this is when Joey Garcia, a painter and graphic designer, came in as art director.  His unique artistic style brings a fresh design to children’s programming.  The characters used storyboard went from sketches to figures in only a few days.

To shoot the project, Steven, who was working in San Diego while Joey was in Los Angeles, needed assistance animating and planning the technical stop motion camera work.  Katrina Carrick from Red Whisker Photography, shot for fashion blogs and specialized in shooting stills on miniature sets, was completely new to the stop motion world.  But with her strong passion and eager to learn attitude made her the perfect missing piece of the puzzle to begin shooting.  Katrina came in as an assistant/intern role, but very quickly became the Director of Photography as well as the second animator.

The storyboard was produced with great economy in mind and was shot in only thirteen days, and for under $200.  The storyboard was animated completely blind, meaning that the animators had no way to view what they were animating until after the shots were completed and could not be altered. This was the same practice of how things were done in the original heyday of stop motion. 

The set used was built using only paper, cardboard, gift wrap, toothpicks and spray paint.

To learn more about the concept and feel of the Wonderful Woods please contact Steven by email or phone.