Hi all! As your Wiki Manager, I want to make you aware of an upcoming change on Fandom that will affect all its communities, this one included, and I wanted to make sure things will go down as smoothly as possibly here. I shared this with the admin before, but it's important that everyone is aware and has the opportunity to give feedback and ask questions.
While this will undoubtedly be a change that will require some getting used to, Discussions has recently received a wave of interface improvements to make the feature more comfortable for Forums users, which was based on the feedback received from forum communities (although these enhancements are not on the Fandom app for Android and iOS). In the end, it's mainly the platform that will change, as people can continue to discuss the franchise on Discussions as frequently as they did here on the forums.
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I know this may be a change that you didn't ask for, but it is a Fandom site-wide change, and we are here to try to make this transition as easy and smoothly as possible. As such, you can check this archived thread for some frequently asked questions, but otherwise don't hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or comments you may have about this.
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the announcement of Goosebumps Gold (which is next month), I figured I'd reach out to Tim Jacobus for further comments about the series. Here's what I learned:
Unlike Tim's previous work on the Goosebumps series, the Gold covers were created digitally.
Scholastic commissioned Tim to create covers for the series "maybe 6 months" after his work on Series 2000 concluded.
The Slappy head that was featured on Tim's website on the Goosebumps Gold page was "just a random sketch" and had nothing to do with Slappy New Year.
Tim does not recall any other books besides the first 3.
Tim was never officially notified about the series cancellation. After the October 2000 release date came and went, he changed the date to "2001" on his website because he thought the series was still going to release.
The full artwork that's available on the wiki are somewhat incomplete versions, as they have some subtle changes from the covers.The Haunted Mask Lives! artwork was made on January 12, 2000, while Happy Holidays from Dead House was made on January 28.
Notice how I said "covers"? An autographed cover mock-up of The Haunted Mask Lives! surfaced on eBay in October 2018. Hmm... It sure would be nice to have an HD version of it along with a cover for Happy Holidays from Dead House... That would be nice...
Well, me and Tim have got you covered! (no pun intended)
Aren't they beautiful? They're pretty unique cover designs, I must say, with the contrasting colors and all. These mock-up covers added a mysterious mist to both artworks and they were created on January 31, 2000. Interestingly enough, Tim also created the cover design and logo. So everything on the covers are 100% made by him, which I think is pretty cool. I asked Tim if he made these covers just for fun, to which he replied "I’m pretty sure I was commissioned for the logo and mock up."
So there you have it. Some new insight about the covers + the official mock-up covers released for the first time. Hope you enjoyed!
That's right, folks, today marks the 10 year anniversary of the first edit to the Goosebumps Wiki! (While the namespace for this wiki was claimed on the 22nd of February 2008, it didn't have any content until the 23rd.)
@RL_Stine I heard that there was going to be a 26th "Goosebumps Series 2000" book about shrinking, but it was never made. In 2001 [2000], you released a book called "The Adventures of Shrinkman". Did the cancelled book turn into the latter? Thanks for any response. :)
I am very pleased to present to you, an interview with former Give Yourself Goosebumps artist Mark Nagata. Mr. Nagata was kind enough to provide answers and some never-before-seen concept art!
Interview
1. If you can remember, how did you become interested in art? Can you recall your first paid commission?
I've been drawing since about the age of 3. My mother was a big influence as she did art as a hobby, so I grew up seeing her draw or make clay vases. I guess my first paid art was not till early college: a pen and ink shark for a sales presentation about not taking "No' for an answer! I think I was paid $25 for it!
I had an artists representative in New York called George & Peter Lott. A father and son team that would take my portfolio around and get me commercial work from advertising, design, and publishing agencies. Goosebumps was already a popular series, so this spin off series was to expand the series. I actually had to paint a sample cover to audition for the assignment. Luckily, it was good enough to get the job. I started on the cover for issue 2 of Give Yourself Goosebumps.
3. What was your process for creating each cover? How long did it take to create each cover?
I would get a fax (yes, a fax before email!) with an outline of what the book was about. Sometimes, the art director would have a general idea or direction they wanted me to go in. Like 'we want a vampire woman' or 'we want ghosts on a roller coaster'... Towards the end of my run on the series, they let me come up with more of my own ideas. I would submit 3 sketches, and from there they would pick one to go to the final painting.
4. Which of your Give Yourself Goosebumps covers is your favorite?
5. Which of your Give Yourself Goosebumps covers is your least favorite?
Ah! I think my least favorite were the ones where too many people added their opinions or ideas into it. The Granny one is one i didn't care for. The over all layout is very boring (to me), and I think my painting is pretty poor now that I look at it!
6. Did you ever run into any trouble while creating a cover? (As an example: Did you ever have a super short period of time to create a cover? Did Scholastic ever request changes after the cover was finished?)
The turn around times were usually a week for sketches and 2 weeks for the finished painting. Usually, there weren't any changes... or, if any, very minor ones. You have to remember we had no email and faxes did not show photos very well, so basically I had to send the painting to New York (from San Francisco where I live) and wait a few days to get any reaction (good or bad) from a phone call. If any changes were needed they would send it back to me and I'd have one day to fix it, then send it back. This was typical of all my jobs back in those days.
7. Did any of your covers for this series take inspiration from other artists or other pieces of media?
Of course, Scholastic wanted the feel to be like Tim Jacobus, since his art set the tone of the series. But, I would try to slowly tweek the covers to fit my style as well. It was a balancing act to keep it in the same feel, but also not just having me replicate his style fully. Later, I was able to use my style on the Graveyard School book covers, so it was nice to be able to do both series at the same time.
8. Have you ever read any of the "Goosebumps" or "Give Yourself Goosebumps" books? If so, did you enjoy them?
Many years ago, I read them to get a feel of what they were about, but I was older and not the target audience so to be honest I didn't read them after that!
OH! I didn't see the film sorry to say... But ya', that scene looks pretty close to the book cover.
9. Do you still own the original paintings from this series?
Yes, I was able to keep all of the paintings I did for that and other series. Unlike digital art nowadays, I have the original and only paintings for these covers. To be honest, I have no plans to ever sell them. They will all go to my son (who's in art college now!), he can do with them what he likes... Haha ...
10. What kind of art have you been creating lately?
After about 13 years of being a freelance artist, slowly digital art & Photoshop took my work away from me, so at that point I had to decide to convert to 100% digital or find a new direction to go in. As you know, I was replaced by a digital artist on the series who, by the way, did a great job on those covers. But you know digital is just not something that interests me. I prefer to put a real pencil or paint to paper. Anyways, I've collected Japanese toys pretty much my whole life, so I decided to turn that interest into my next venture. I published a magazine about vintage Japanese monster toys and from there started to design and make my own toy figures. The last 13 years I've owned and run Max Toy Company (named after my son, Max). In a way, it's perfect because not only do I make my own toys in Japan, but I can make my own art for the packaging. So, I'm still painting and drawing, plus I've also expanded to painting on toys (called customs). I'll have a museum exhibit in September 2018 at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, that will be about my Japanese toy collection and my art that I'm prepping for now. It will be a nice over view of art and toys that have influenced my whole life really.
11. Any words of advice to aspiring artists?
If you chose to do art as a career, it's really one of the hardest roads to follow. You have to be all in and keep creating even if others are against you. You have to create your own destiny and not wait around for something to happen or someone to help you. I've been fortunate to have had a few people (like my family or my agents) help, but I had to make the trip to New York and knock on their door to show them my portfolio. Even in art school, I had some teachers say my use of the airbrush was too commercial and would give me a lower grade for using it in my assignments. I knew better, haha, so i persisted and just followed my own path. Be flexible; when one door closes be able and willing to adjust and move forward in a new direction. But remember to have fun along the way!
Recently, I was able to get in contact with artist (and former Give Yourself Goosebumps illustrator) Craig White! Mr. White was gracious enough to answer a few questions and provide us with some of his art.
INTERVIEW
1) How did you become involved with the series Give Yourself Goosebumps?
In the mid 1990’s I did a bunch of Marvel trading cards for Fleer (which is how I met my current agent, Peter Lott), and one of Peter’s clients at the time was Scholastic. He suggested me for the job and they liked the sample I did for them. I think I ended up doing GYGB 25-43 and SE 1-8
2) Did you have a formal education in art prior to making these covers?
I graduated from the Art Institute of Houston with an Associates degree in Visual Communication. I was an Art Director for 7 years before I started freelancing illustration full time in the early 1990’s.
3) Since your covers were created digitally, what programs and tools did you use to create your art?
At the time I mainly used Painter and Photoshop. I don’t use Painter anymore. The work I do now is all done in Photoshop, Illustrator and some 3-D done in Cinema 4-D.
4) How long did it take you to create each piece of cover art?
From sketch to final was usually about 10-12 hours I believe. I remember not having a ton of time to do the covers. Sometimes I wish I could have spent more time on them by adding more details— especially to some of the backgrounds.
5) Which of your Give Yourself Goosebumps covers is your favorite?
6) Which of your Give Yourself Goosebumps covers is your least favorite?
I really wasn’t fond of how #34 (the elevator one) came out… I wish I could have spent more time on it.
7) If you can recall, were there any covers that were particularly difficult to create?
That same one, #34, I think was more difficult. I think I didn’t really like the idea and couldn’t really wrap my head around how to make it work and not look too goofy, I think I missed the mark a bit.
8) Some covers seem to incorporate 3D generated objects (such as the claw on the cover of Revenge of the Body Squeezers); is this true?
That was actually just drawn and painted in Painter and Photoshop. I would make paths of the objects and then use them like frisket. I used to do a lot of airbrush art before the Macintosh came into being. The brick wall was done with an emboss filter and lighting effects. The buildings are from a photo I took of a downtown area at night. The fence and barbed wire are all painted.
9) What were some of your inspirations for the individual covers?
Definitely movies that were out at the time or movies I had seen and liked affected my imagination. The Body Squeezers image has a bit of Alien and the Elevator one has a tiny bit of Doc from Back To The Future
10) Did you ever include any "easter eggs" or allusions in your art?
Not really easter eggs. I would try and incorporate my signature into the art and I would try and put tiny details in the covers when I had time. The art sheet I would get for the covers would have a description of a scene and some details about the characters, but usually I was allowed to let my imagination run wild. I never really received the manuscripts or specific details about the stories.
11) Were you ever asked by Scholastic to make edits to a piece of artwork after submitting it?
Oh, I’m sure. I can’t think of anything off the top of my head though. Usually, the art was accepted without much comment, which I guess is good. ;-)
12) If you could say one thing to the aspiring artists of the world, what would it be?
My daughter is 11 and is an aspiring artist and I always encourage her to draw, which she does. Draw all the time if you can. Fill up those sketchbooks! Draw out of your imagination, but also draw real objects and scenes. I don’t draw as much as I should these days and it takes me a while to get happy with my drawing when I do. I do believe drawing is the foundation for the visual arts. If you can draw well, you’ll also be able to paint and sculpt, most anything. Also, don’t get discouraged. EVERY artist has bad days when they feel like they just can’t do what’s in their imagination. The ones that become artists are the ones that except this as NORMAL and keep trying. Maybe just put it away for a while, but then come back to it. If you realize this, you will always be successful (in anything you do). Don’t give up. Think of your artistic development as an outline, or graph of just the left side of a mountain. It will start low on the left and as it moves right it will go up at an angle. There will be little dips (bad days) on the graph, but it will always eventually go up if you stick with it. What was that Disney quote from Meet The Robinsons? "…keep moving forward…" that’s a good one.
NEW INFORMATION
13) Quick question: You said that you created covers 25-43, but the series only made it to #42. For clarifications sake, was this just a typo?
That’s interesting… I didn’t know that. The last cover I did was #43. It had three angry penguins on the cover, but I don’t have the title. I didn’t realize it was never published.
In a podcast/interview, I heard Tim Jacobus say that he had created a cover for The Incredible Shrinking Fifth Grader, and he never released it. This really peaked my interest, so I figured I would contact him and ask him a few questions. To my luck, Mr. Jacobus sent me this:
After talking with Jacobus, I theorized that R.L. Stine actually did publish the book The Incredible Shrinking Fifth Grader as a one-off book in 2001. The book was titled "The Adventures of Shrinkman" - and the intro to the book says it was partially inspired by the movie "The Incredible Shrinking Man". I am uncertain if the stories are the same, but it is very, very, likely that Stine re-used the outline for The Incredible Shrinking Fifth Grader for the book The Adventures of Shrinkman.
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My adoption request for this wiki recently got approved, so I am now the head admin of this site. I have made some big changes so far, so I would like to share them.
The wiki now has a chat!
The wiki now has forums!
The wiki now has achievements (aka badges)!
The background has been updated.
The homepage has been updated.
The Goosebumps (Television Series) page has been unlocked, so non-admins can now edit it. It needs a lot of work, so try to help us improve the page!
A special template was created to have exclusively on admin profiles.
Stay tuned for more changes to come, such as an improved version of the List of Goosebumps Books page. But that's all I got for now. Let's keep moving the wiki forward, and continue to make this place great. See you all on the spooky side.
(Edited by GodzillaFan1)
Welcome to the community!
The wiki about the Goosebumps books that anyone can edit (except R.L. Stine)!
Goosebumps is a series of children's horror fiction novels written by American author R. L. Stine and first published by Scholastic Publishing.[1][2] It is a collection of stories that feature semi-homogenous plot structures, with fictional children being involved in scary situations. Themes in the series include horror, humor and the supernatural.
Wiki Manager, I want to make you aware of an upcoming change on Fandom that will affect all its communities, this one included, and I wanted to make sure things will go down as smoothly as possibly here. I shared this with the admin before, but it's important that everyone is aware and has the opportunity to give feedback and ask questions.
.jpg "The Haunted Mask Lives! (Official Mock-Up Cover).jpg (2.05 MB)")
.jpg "Happy Holidays from Dead House (Official Mock-Up Cover).jpg (3.46 MB)")
.jpg "Tick Tock, You're Dead! (Full Art).jpg (120 KB)")
.jpg "The Twisted Tale of Tiki Island (Full Art).jpg (1.28 MB)")
.jpg "Zapped in Space (Full Art).jpg (67 KB)")
_-_Concept_A.jpg "Shop Till You Drop...Dead (The Bizarre Bazaar) - Concept A.jpg (288 KB)")
_-_Concept_B.jpg "Shop Till You Drop...Dead (The Bizarre Bazaar) - Concept B.jpg (316 KB)")
_-_Concept_C.jpg "Shop Till You Drop...Dead (The Bizarre Bazaar) - Concept C.jpg (272 KB)")
_-_Concept_D.jpg "Shop Till You Drop...Dead (The Bizarre Bazaar) - Concept D.jpg (306 KB)")
