A prosthetic robot sculpt for my friend (Make-Up Effects Legend) Neill Gorton. Most of my work in film & tv thru the years has been sculpting monsters, fantasy creatures, animals and for sure a lot of blood & gore, most of these characters and effects were organic in nature and much of my reference materials, tools and workflow centered around flesh in all it’s variations. On the movie Battleship working for Jose and the amazing crew at Ironhead Studios I got the job to sculpt an aliens arm for an autopsy sequince. the design had aspects of armor, something like a futuristic gauntlet mounted to an arm band, hinged to an epaulette, I was concerned as the design was very heavy metal, machined & futuristic, Plus some panels in the gear were open revealing interior mechanisms and alien electronics. This was new territory for me but exciting! I stayed very close to the concept art an found along the way a variety of sculpting tools more squared (like miniature trowels and strait edges) that gave me machined planes, bevels, more of the anatomy one would see in the hard surfaces of droids, cyborgs, robots and the like. That was it! I had the fever - Something new in the sculpture kit, from that day to this anytime I get to sculpt a robot, armor… I’m happy🌟 a few years after this experience I had the honor to be key sculptor for the Lost In Space: Robot(Netflix/Spectral Motion) and develop the skill set & tools even further. My thanks to the awesome crew at Millennium FX for giving me the opportunity to once more adventure into the land of the robot #gortonstudio #donlanning #prosthetics #robot #doctorwho
🍀 Join us for an all new adventure in sculpture. We’ve added two New Classes coming to Burbank, CA: MARCH 23-27 2026 & APRIL 20-24 2026 - MAKING MONSTERS 101 with Don Lanning - (Located at the Puppet Studio) Our 40 hour sculpture class is a unique adventure in character design from brainstorming an original concept (or reproduction) thru to the creation of a FULL-SIZE CHARACTER SCULPTURE - The class (now in it’s 15th year, having served over 300 artists) is designed for both the professional and new artists to be met at their skill level and given new techniques an tools that move your ideas, your art to the next level of quality in fabrication and achievement. Our class runs Mon-Fri. 9am-5pm. We are about 15 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood close to a wide variety Hotels, Restaurants & Car Rentals. I’m looking forward to a rewarding class. and will be eager to share my techniques (hands on) with you. The week will be fun, productive, and great for networking. Most important, on the Friday at the close of class, you will have your “full-Size” Character Head as a wonderful memory of lessons experienced in class, reflecting your newly refined skills: For Information (Class overview) Email: [email protected] #specialeffectsmakeup #makeup #makeupartist #makingmonsters101donlanning #donlanning
This is one of my favorite “Mash-Ups” The Frankenstein/ Alien By Georgia Olive…Just Brilliant (Gorton/Lanning) 🍀 Join Us for an all new adventure in sculpture. We’ve added two New Classes coming to Burbank, CA: MARCH 23-27 2026 & APRIL 20-24 2026 - MAKING MONSTERS 101 with Don Lanning - (Located at the Puppet Studio) Our 40 hour sculpture class is a unique adventure in character design from brainstorming an original concept (or reproduction) thru to the creation of a FULL-SIZE CHARACTER SCULPTURE - The class (now in it’s 15th year, having served over 300 artists) is designed for both the professional and new artists to be met at their skill level and given new techniques an tools that move your ideas, your art to the next level of quality in fabrication and achievement. Our class runs Mon-Fri. 9am-5pm. We are about 15 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood close to a wide variety Hotels, Restaurants & Car Rentals. I’m looking forward to a rewarding class. and will be eager to share my techniques (hands on) with you. The week will be fun, productive, and great for networking. Most important, on the Friday at the close of class, you will have your “full-Size” Character Head as a wonderful memory of lessons experienced in class, reflecting your newly refined skills: For Information (Class overview) Email: [email protected] #donlanning #makingmonsters101 #characterdesign #specialeffectsmakeup #gortonstudio
Anthony created this ingenious Evil Space Commander - Character Design in about 38 hours of sculpting. The design was so strong one could not help speculating on potential paint schemes, vacuum formed clear faceplates, the potential of tubes & mechanical components that if dressed in could take the character even deeper into coolness! An absolute pleasure to watch this threat to the cosmos arrive in our class…Thank you Anthony for an amazing week of sculpture! (Gorton/Lanning) 🍀We’ve added two New Classes coming to Burbank, CA: MARCH 23-27 2026 & APRIL 20-24 2026 reserve your spot for MAKING MONSTERS 101 with Don Lanning - Located in Burbank,CA (Puppet Studio) Our 40 hour sculpture class is a unique adventure in character design from brainstorming an original concept (or reproduction) thru to the creation of a FULL-SIZE CHARACTER SCULPTURE - The class (now in it’s 15th year, having served over 300 artists) is designed for both the professional and new artists to be met at their skill level and given new techniques an tools that move your ideas, your art to the next level of quality in fabrication and achievement. Our class runs Mon-Fri. 9am-5pm. We are about 15 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood close to a wide variety Hotels, Restaurants & Car Rentals. I’m looking forward to a rewarding class. and will be eager to share my techniques (hands on) with you. The week will be fun, productive, and great for networking. Most important, on the Friday at the close of class, you will have your “full-Size” Character Head as a wonderful memory of lessons experienced in class, reflecting your newly refined skills: For Information (Class overview) Email: [email protected] #donlanning #makingmonsters101 #gortonstudio #makeupartist #characterdesign
“As Charly’s Ghost Sculpture began to materialize I noticed a deep curiosity in our attending Artists/Sculptors, I along with them realized as the sculpture progressed something profound & beautiful was manifesting, I feel confident in speaking for our class to say Charly’s Ghost Mother & Ghost Child render was joyous to watch as it wondered from from clay… to the sublime” - Don Lanning (Gorton/Lanning) Join Us for an all new adventure in sculpture. We’ve added two New Classes coming to Burbank, CA: MARCH 23-27 2026 & APRIL 20-24 2026 - MAKING MONSTERS 101 with Don Lanning - (Located at the Puppet Studio) Our 40 hour sculpture class is a unique adventure in character design from brainstorming an original concept (or reproduction) thru to the creation of a FULL-SIZE CHARACTER SCULPTURE - The class (now in it’s 15th year, having served over 300 artists) is designed for both the professional and new artists to be met at their skill level and given new techniques an tools that move your ideas, your art to the next level of quality in fabrication and achievement. Our class runs Mon-Fri. 9am-5pm. We are about 15 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood close to a wide variety Hotels, Restaurants & Car Rentals. I’m looking forward to a rewarding class. and will be eager to share my techniques (hands on) with you. The week will be fun, productive, and great for networking. Most important, on the Friday at the close of class, you will have your “full-Size” Character Head as a wonderful memory of lessons experienced in class, reflecting your newly refined skills: For Information (Class overview) Email: [email protected] #donlanningclasses #makeuptutorial #characterdesign #specialeffectsmakeup #donlanninggortonstudio
Come Join Us February 23-27 2026 for MAKING MONSTERS 101 with Don Lanning - Location: THE PUPPET STUDIO Located in Burbank, CA. Our 40 hour sculpture class is a unique adventure in character design from brainstorming an original concept (or reproduction) thru to the creation of a FULL-SIZE CHARACTER SCULPTURE - The class (now in it’s 15th year having served over 300 artists) is designed for both the professional and new artists to be met at their skill level and given new techniques an tools that move your ideas, your art to the next level of quality in fabrication and achievement. Our class runs Mon-Fri. 9am-5pm. We are about 15 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood close to a wide variety Hotels, Restaurants & Car Rentals. I’m looking forward to a rewarding class. and will be eager to share my techniques (hands on) with you. The week will be fun, productive, and great for networking. Most important, on the Friday at the close of class, you will have your “full-Size” Character Head as a wonderful memory of lessons experienced in class, reflecting your newly refined skills: For Information (Class overview) Email: [email protected] #makeuptutorial #fxmakeup #donlanning #donlanningmakingmonsters101
Sean Skube’s Awesome take on The Stockman-Fly AKA Baxter Stockman from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…Thank You Sean for an amazing week of sculpture! A+. #skube3d Sculpture created in Making Monsters 101 Class of January 2026. New Class Coming Soon, Come Join Us February 23-27 2026 for MAKING MONSTERS 101 with Don Lanning - Location: THE PUPPET STUDIO Located in Burbank, CA. Our 40 hour sculpture class is a unique adventure in character design from brainstorming an original concept (or reproduction) thru to the creation of a FULL-SIZE CHARACTER SCULPTURE - The class (now in it’s 15th year having served over 300 artists) is designed for both the professional and new artists to be met at their skill level and given new techniques an tools that move your ideas, your art to the next level of quality in fabrication and achievement. Our class runs Mon-Fri. 9am-5pm. We are about 15 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood close to a wide variety Hotels, Restaurants & Car Rentals. I’m looking forward to a rewarding class. and will be eager to share my techniques (hands on) with you. The week will be fun, productive, and great for networking. Most important, on the Friday at the close of class, you will have your “full-Size” Character Head as a wonderful memory of lessons experienced in class, reflecting your newly refined skills: For Information (Class overview) Email: [email protected] #teenagemutantninjaturtles #baxterstockman #donlanning #donlanningmakingmonsters101
Bringing Your Alien To Life - Don Lanning’s Tribute to Kirk Brady (Part 1) #donlanning #kirkbrady “My first sculpture was the face of Alfred Hitchcock. I was 10 years old, while my memories of Hitch have dimmed into still moments and shadows I can still remember going back and forth on the mass of his features trying to get him to look just right... from that point on sculpting became part of my daily life, It was just that way...my Father recorded guitar music on a Sony reel to reel in the den, my Mother painted in both oil and water color and my Sister was a natural singer and danced. In the rooms of my childhood everyone seemed to be making or creating something or other, I fit right in with these people, my people. By 1980 (14 years old)... I asked my parents if I could take over one wall of the garage so I could build a shop to continue to build make-ups and monsters that had recently started to overrun my bedroom. In trying to convince them that this would be a good idea I showed them my new issue of CINEMAGIC Magazine Issue #6 the magazine featured an article by artist Kirk Brady who had written really the first full description of how to sculpt, mold and paint a latex mask(that I was aware of) This was a magic time of life for me setting up my first shop, an adventure that would lead to a lifetime of making monsters and characters for film and tv. This Sculpture & Video is in Tribute to the Artist Kirk Brady” - Don Lanning
The Time Traveler triggers the devise an jumps from 1980 to 2026 now aged 86 earth years the Alien, This Ultimate Alien is not phased by the journey as his average lifespan is well over 340 years.
Wishing you and your family health, peace, and wonderful times now and in the new year, Sincerely, Don🍀 #merrycristmas #happyhanukkah #donlanning #friends #family featured clip (a throwback thursday) sculpt and makeup for Universal’s Grinchmas
Merry Christmas! Had great fun sculpting this… Toothy Who prosthetic for Universal Studios Hollywood - Make Up Applied by Robyn Rebbe. I want to invite you January 26-30 2026 to MAKING MONSTERS 101 with Don Lanning - Location: THE PUPPET STUDIO Located in Burbank, CA. Our 40 hour sculpture class is a unique adventure in character design from brainstorming an original concept (or reproduction) thru to the creation of a FULL-SIZE CHARACTER SCULPTURE - The class (now in it’s 16th year having served over 300 artists) is designed for both the professional and new artists to be met at their skill level and given new techniques an tools that move your ideas, your art to the next level of quality in fabrication and achievement. Our class runs Mon-Fri. 9am-5pm. We are about 15 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood close to a wide variety Hotels, Restaurants & Car Rentals. I’m looking forward to a rewarding class. and will be eager to share my techniques (hands on) with you. The week will be fun, productive, and great for networking. Most important, on the Friday at the close of class, you will have your “full-Size” Character Head as a wonderful memory of lessons experienced in class, reflecting your newly refined skills: For Information (Class overview) Email: [email protected] #donlanningclass #makingmonsters101 #makeupartist #prosthetics
Join Us January 26-30 2026 for MAKING MONSTERS 101 with Don Lanning - Location: THE PUPPET STUDIO Located in Burbank, CA. Our 40 hour sculpture class is a unique adventure in character design from brainstorming an original concept (or reproduction) thru to the creation of a FULL-SIZE CHARACTER SCULPTURE - The class (now in it’s 15th year having served over 300 artists) is designed for both the professional and new artists to be met at their skill level and given new techniques an tools that move your ideas, your art to the next level of quality in fabrication and achievement. Our class runs Mon-Fri. 9am-5pm. We are about 15 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood close to a wide variety Hotels, Restaurants & Car Rentals. I’m looking forward to a rewarding class. and will be eager to share my techniques (hands on) with you. The week will be fun, productive, and great for networking. Most important, on the Friday at the close of class, you will have your “full-Size” Character Head as a wonderful memory of lessons experienced in class, reflecting your newly refined skills: For Information (Class overview) Email: [email protected] #donlanning #fxmakeup #makingmonsters101 #specialeffectsmakeup
Happy Holidays Everyone…Great to be back! Let’s continue with more Student Sculptures created in our Making Monsters 101 Sculpture Class. While themed & fixed formats provide a focused experience I love that most of the classes past, present and future are staged with an “Open Format” this over the years has become a real benefit for our artists in attendance as when one artist is sculpting a full head and another is sculpting a full figure at 20 inches both artists can hear and observe each others experience… I like there to be this communal sharing in the class as I often find artists rooting for and enjoying the accomplishments of there classmates and by turn receiving same. Wonderful Artist Suzi Hale creates a special pose and moment for her original Triceratops Creature (Maquette Format) #donlanning #makingmonsters101 @lastlooksbysuzi #characterdesign #studentsculptures #maquette 🍀New Making Monsters 101 Sculpture Class is coming to Los Angeles CA January 26-30 2026 ~ February 23-27 2026 ~ For Information & Reservations Email: [email protected]
