The Dewey Lake MonsTer

My first forte into handcrafted costume design and character performing, The Dewey Lake Monster is my own original design loosely based on the legend of a cryptid that stalks the area of Southwest Michigan known as Sister Lakes.

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The mask, hands and hooves are all handcrafted using a variety of materials such as carboard, aluminum wire, old newspaper, plaster bandages, masking tape, thrifted high heels and cherry wood. The body is comprised of three pieces and is fabricated using a combination of faux fur and faux feathers from several different bird species that are native to the Sister Lakes area.

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After completion I was approached by the creators of Open Sign Entertainment located in Ft. Wayne, IN who wanted my creature design to be the main antagonist in an independent horror film project they were producing. I shot on location in Indiana for 4 days and the final film will feature The Dewey Lake Monster costume as well as my performance as the creature. I am credited in the film as a costume designer, makeup & special effects artist and the on-screen performer of the creature. (The film is currently still in post-production and hasn't been officially released yet).

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In October 2022, out of 500+ online contestants The Dewey Lake Monster won the grand prize in the Twitch Streamer Emiru's Cosplay Contest, among several other awards. At its peak, the stream had sustained over 30,000 concurrent viewers and has continued to garner 100,000s of views and interactions across Emiru's various social media pages.

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"It slowly lumbers forward. Driven only by instinct. Searching the cool, damp marsh for any signs of life. For it knows that where there is life, there is food."

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