Sculpture
& SFX
Konstantin has been a sculptor all his life, and has been learning the art of Special FX since high school, when his dad first introduced him to mold making and casting. Since then, he’s continued to challenge himself with more ambitious sculpture work, and taught himself how to work with every material he could in the pursuit of more fantastical effects. Konstantin has always loved Halloween, and his drive to one up his own work each year has lead him to learn skills including life casting and mold making, creating latex and silicone prosthetics, and integrating Arduino-driven LEDs into his work. In recent years Konstantin has been hired to create custom SFX work for clients in stage, film, and live events.
Recluse
As part of a superhero tv pilot production titled “S.Q.U.A.D.”, Konstantin created several iterations of a makeup prosthetic for a character called “Recluse”. Initial rough sketches were created by one of the pilot’s creators, Ethan Cyr, and from there Konstantin was tasked with creating a reusable prosthetic that could be applied for multiple shoot days on set without significant application time. Konstantin created the entire prosthetic from scratch, including creating a life-cast of the actor, Ruby McCollister, sculpting the design, handcrafting the thermoplastic goggles, molding and casting the sculpt, airbrush painting the final silicone prosthetic, and applying it to the actor on set for shoot days.
Recluse’s backstory involved being severely burned and disfigured, and only surviving due to intensive back-alley surgery. Working with Ethan Cyr, Konstantin created a design that brought his initial sketches to life with realistic and unsettling detail, that would hold up on camera and allow for expression and performance from the actor underneath. As of 2023, S.Q.U.A.D. has been screened in film festivals internationally, winning several awards including “Best Make-Up” at the Milan Shorts Film Festival.
Ghost Rider
Konstantin has always had a huge love for Halloween, and it’s always served as a great opportunity for him to flex his creative muscles and challenge himself with new personal projects. In 2021 Konstantin created a reusable silicone skull as part of a Ghost Rider costume, a character he’s always wanted to to attempt. Konstantin created this entire custom headpiece from scratch, sculpting the skull design on a life-cast of his own head, molding the sculpture, casting it out of Dragon Skin silicone, and airbrush painting the final prosthetic. By topping this prosthetic with sculpted and painted polyfill, and inserting Arduino driven LEDs, Konstantin was able to create an eye-catching flaming skull effect that photographed well and lasted for hours.
Coney Island Funny Face
Konstantin designed and fabricated this SFX prosthetic for Brendan Schweda, creator, producer and host of the annual “Puppets Come Home!” series, hosted at Coney Island USA. To celebrate the history of Puppets and Coney Island, Brendan hired Konstantin to create a custom prosthetic that would capture the exaggerated, cartoonish features of the Coney Island Funny Face. Konstantin created the prosthetic entirely from scratch, including creating a lifecast of Brendan, sculpting, molding, and casting the Funny Face prosthetic, and applying the piece to Brendan on the night of the show. The final piece was designed to be flexible, expressive, and reusable for multiple performances.
Diner en Blanc
In 2022, Konstantin attended Diner en Blanc, a popup dinner event where participants wear all white and attend in a wide range of costumes. Using a variety of materials, he created this mask to compliment his wardrobe. The masked was themed around natural elements with a macabre twist, integrating skull embellishments into a floral arrangement. Drawing on Konstantin’s interests in natural elements, the mask was also inspired by the grim yet elegant silhouettes of plague doctors.
Vampire SFX Makeup
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was a big inspiration for Konstantin growing up, and one project that he has always been eager to create was the Vampire Brow makeup effect featured on the show. After an attempt several years prior, Konstantin revisited this project for Halloween in 2022, creating Dragon Skin silicone brows for himself and his partner. By creating custom sculpts off of their lifecasts, Konstantin was able to create comfortable and flexible prosthetics that lasted over 8 hours before being removed.
Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights – Deer Stiltwalkers
In 2019, Konstantin was hired to install lighting into a set of two stilt walker costumes that were used for several years at the Bronx Zoo in their annual Holiday Lights event. The costumes had already been designed, so Konstantin was tasked with planning, designing and installing electronics to retrofit the costumes with a color changing light effect. The design also had to take into consideration the movement and To create a sufficient effect while staying within the proposed budget, Konstantin installed LED strips that could be remotely controlled, were powered by rechargeable battery packs, and could also be replaced in individual sections when repairs were necessary.
Waking Sleepy Hollow — The Headless Horseman
In the Fall of 2015, Konstantin designed and helped build a life-sized puppet of the Headless Horseman and his horse for a production at Mount Holyoke College titled, "Waking Sleepy Hollow". Konstantin’s primary role on the production team was to create the structural design and concept art for the horse that would satisfy the needs of the performance. These needs included making it appear to gallop around the stage, having functional legs and a head that could be operated by the puppeteers underneath, and having a lifelike, moving horseman sitting on top of it. The piece was designed to be operated by two puppeteers, and was made mostly from aluminum and PVC framing, and covered with EVA foam to be as light as possible. From start to finish the project was completed in under seven weeks.
“Fall of Kalea” Gallery
For Konstantin’s senior thesis in college, he created a fictional museum exhibit featuring artifacts, specimens and stories recovered from an archeological expedition in a setting he created called “Kalea”. These pieces included fossilized samples of long dead creatures called “the Tolterra”, and strange glowing plants and insects that appeared to draw energy from the planet’s natural radiation. Konstantin’s artistic pursuits in college covered a wide range, including writing, sculpture, fabrication, design, illustration, and electronics, and he sought to create a thesis project that reflected his interdisciplinary approach to art. By using the world he built as an anchor, Konstantin was able to bring together his wide array of interests into a single cohesive vision, an approach that he’s continued to bring to his work to this day.
Jack-O-Lantern Carvings
Konstantin’s love of Halloween and sculpture naturally brought him to experiment in pumpkin carving, and for the last few years he’s created increasingly elaborate pumpkin carves each October. By playing with light and carving depth, he’s created pumpkins that can capture distinct detail and be visible from a distance. Konstantin mostly makes these pumpkins for his personal enjoyment, but he fulfills commissions for the Halloween season as well.
