ABOUT GRENDEL'S DEN DESIGN STUDIO

Grendel's Den Design Studio specializes in web design and development, branding and graphic design - web sites, web hosting, logos, t-shirts, flyers, posters, interior illustration, book and magazine covers, media design and commissioned fine art. Primarily it caters to (but is not limited to) the Speculative Fiction (Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy) industries, Gothic and Alternative scenes, Halloween related, Haunt industries and other related fields. Other industries and fields have included professional miniature model designers, historical reproduction jewelry manufacturers, Medieval reenactment groups, special effects designers and various service industries (restaurants, clubs, bars, etc).

Providing topnotch service and expertise is only half of what Grendel's Den Design Studio provides. We take great pride in taking the time to listen to our clients to better understand their wants and needs. As opposed to simply telling our clients what they should do we work directly with them in creating something that fully represents them and they can be proud of showing off.

No matter what our clients' needs Grendel's Den Design Studio strives to provide the best of service, expertise and passion to give our clients a product that is uniquely theirs.

ABOUT D.E. CHRISTMAN

D.E. Christman is an artist that simply wants to scare the hell out of you. And he takes great pleasure in doing so. He has been creating his darkened images for as long as he can remember. Monsters, goblins, spirits and other things that go "bump" in the night have always filled his imagination. His Lovecraftian inspired work has been described as "Twisted, demented and wonderfully creepy" (The Horror-Web), a description he takes great pride in.

Throughout his lifetime D.E. Christman has pursued a long list of artistic endeavors, striving to learn all he can from each and every one. Taking from each discipline what best suited him and his creativity he built a unique style that is definitively his. Today he works exclusively in the Digital Media melding photography, archived textures and digital painting techniques to create striking and haunting images.

He makes his living through his company Grendel's Den Design Studio, producing art and design for print and web. Grendel's Den came to life on December 12th, 2000 originally as a place to showcase his artwork. At its inception he had no idea that in just a short time the site would become the full-fledged design studio it is today.

Today he lives in Philadelphia, PA with his lovely wife Stephanie, his son Andrew and the monkey on his back called coffee. He is also regarded as one of Philadelphia's premier zombie experts and has given various interviews and lectures regarding his knowledge of both the Living Dead and slaves of the famous Voodoo curse.

F.A.Q.

Q: Why is your artwork so dark and creepy?
A: I just love all things dark and creepy. Always have and always will. I know that's a pretty damn simple answer but in all that just about sums it up.

Q: Where do you get your ideas from for your artwork?
A: Anywhere and everywhere. Movies, books, art, ghost stories, folklore, dreams, real life occurrences... you name it. I don't limit myself as to what and where I find ideas for my work, which opens the doors to a flood of prospects.

Q: Who are your inspirations and influences?
A: Who: Basil Gogos, Gustav Klimpt, H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker. What: folklore, mythology, comics, Japanese grotesques, Hammer Films, Heavy Metal Magazine, horror films from the 60s and 70s and macabre humor.

Q: Do you have any formal training?
A: Nope, not one bit. I've taught myself every step of the way and take great pride in that. With that said I know that if the opportunity to have had formal training was available to me years ago I probably would have gotten to the point I am at now much sooner.

Q: How did you get started?
A: I've been creating art in one form or another all my life. Which makes it kind of hard to nail down an exact time I began my artistic endeavors. Now if you are asking when I began my professional career as an artist I would have to say almost a decade ago. That is when I made a conscious decision to make a living off of my work by creating Grendel's Den.

Q: What equipment do you use to create your art?
A: I use PhotoShop, a Canon PowerShot G6 camera, Poser, a Wacom tablet, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, ImageReady, InDesign, Quark, a Dell XPS 400, a scanner and lots of coffee.

Q: Can I model for you?
A: Maybe. If you really want to get onto my radar best bet is to follow the directions found on the Models page.

Q: Can I use one of your images, graphics, etc. for free?
A: I have a pretty good idea that you already know what the answer is to that question, but since you asked- The answer is no. My artwork and design are how I make a living. Obviously I have to make money in order to pay the bills. So if I gave my work away I wouldn't make any money, thusly I wouldn't be able to pay the bills. Now I know what you're thinking "But come on dude, I can just take the image." Sure you could but I'm confident that you aren't a jackass and wouldn't do such a thing. Cause you know, I needs me the money to pay da bills.

Q: Would you make me a piece of artwork, image, graphic, web site, etc. for free?
A: Again, you probably already know the answer to that but here you go- No. Remember that money and bill paying thing I mentioned above? Well it's the same answer to this question as well. I need to get paid for my work so as to be able to pay my bills.

Q: Can I hotlink to one of your images, graphics, etc.?
A: No you can not link directly to any of my images, graphics or artwork. It takes up bandwidth on my server and is in all intents and purposes bad netiquette. Besides I know you're not such a twit.

Q: If I purchase your artwork can I reproduce it, publish it, post it on the web, etc?
A: No. You may own the piece of art but I own the rights to the image itself.

Q: What do I do if I find someone using your art, images, graphics, etc.?
A: Contact me. Be sure to give me the web address to where you found it.

Q: Why do you go by D.E. Christman?
A: Laziness. In all honesty it's a lot easier to write that out than my whole name which is David Edward Christman.

Q: Was this web site named after the monster Grendel from the epic poem Beowulf or Matt Wagner's comicbook series Grendel?
A: A little from column A and a little from column B. Being a fan of mythology and folklore Beowulf has always been one of my favorite tales. Also being a fan of comics I have always loved Wagner's antihero Hunter Rose.

Q: Are you really a zombie expert?
A: I've always been a big fan of the Living Dead and the Voodoo legend since I was a kid. And I actually do have a pretty vast knowledge of such things because of that. Besides, that's what the news papers say. And we all know the news is never wrong.

Q: What is Zombie Monkey Projects and who is Dave Ghoul?
A: Zombie Monkey Projects began life around 2000, being a promotional and information site for Philadelphia DJ Dave Ghoul (D.E. Christman of Grendel’s Den Design Studio fame). Zombie Monkey Projects ran under this guise very successfully for 6 strong years - organizing nightclub events, live shows and online radio webcasting, as well as promoting its founder Dave Ghoul. As time went by Dave’s professional business took off and eventually demanded his full attention, this meaning he had to give up devoting his spare time to event promoting. But instead of simply casting the Zombie Monkey Projects brand aside he decided to reinvent it. Which brings us to the here-and-now. Dave decided to morph ZMP into a blog that will cover all of the things he loves - horror, scifi, art, music, coffee and other assorted odd things.

NAVIGATE SITE

SITE MENU Home SERVICES Services Main Web Hosting Web Design Logo Design Print Design PORTFOLIO Portfolio Main Client List Models Testimonials ART & ILLUSTRATION Gallery ABOUT About Grendel's Den F.A.Q. Privacy CONTACT Contact Form SHOP Grendel's Den Store CafePress darkARTStore LINKS Links Link to Grendel's Den OTHER PLACES deviantART LiveJournal ModelMayhem MySpace Visit ZMP

APPEARANCES

OTHER PLACES TO FIND ME

•del.icio.us •deviantART •digg •FaceBook •HauntSpace •HauntUniverse •LiveJournal •LinkedIn

•ModelMayhem •MySpace •Renderosity •SinisterSpace •Tribe •Twitter •ZombieFriends •ZMP

INTERVIEWS

• Philadelphia Weekly
• Planet Lovecraft
• Skull Ring
• The Trishcast

PHOTOS

• Convergence 10
• World Horror Convention, 05
• Halloween Opera, 05
• Pirate Cruise, 05
• Philly Zombie Crawl, April, 05

SUBSCRIBE TO UPDATES

Via Feeds:
 

Via Email:



Provided by FeedBurner

SEARCH

Enter your search terms Enter Search Query: Submit search form

Web   Grendel's Den

ZMP   Horror-Web