'Walking Dead' Superfan's Crafty Project: Spot the Reedus
It’s not as if I meant to spend my vacation creating a horde of Norman Reedus (or is it Reedii?) to post around the Interwebs, but somehow that’s exactly what happened.
Reedus plays the fan-favorite Daryl Dixon on AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” and if you aren’t watching the show, put it on your binge list post-haste because the second half of the fifth season kicks off this Sunday at 9pm ET.
The highest rated show in cable television history asks “how would you survive if society completely broke down?” That, plus complicated relationships and the stress of wondering will die next, keeps the audience glued to the screen.
And zombies. Lots and lots of zombies.
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So, that’s how it all started. With the season premiere up ahead, I’ve been rewatching the show and instead of picking up any of my crochet projects to keep me occupied, I sidetracked to Twitter and into something completely … odd.
(Photo: AMC)
Friends were sharing photos of Reedus from several recent conventions wearing his new favorite wardrobe item - a cap sporting a woman with a rifle leading a pig on a leash. I amused myself and Photoshopped the hat onto my Little Person Twitter avatar, slapped it on my profile and showed a friend.
“That’s funny,” she wrote back, “you should make Norman one for his birthday, it’s in a couple of days.”
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Reedus is incredibly popular online. He gets thousands of tweets daily, with hundreds of fans sending him memes and photos. The actor himself loves to post to Instagram and tweet odd photos, selfies, music links, and random comments. His character on the show might be a moody redneck, but Reedus himself is often goofy, always nice.
(Photo: Norman Reedus, Wizard World; author)
I found a photo of a Fisher Price man online, added the cap, and sent it to my friend.
“Cool,” she responded. A minute later, “he needs a beard.”
And so I added a beard. Then it was decided he needed Ray Bans, because Reedus always wears Ray Bans. Next, bunny slippers. (Because everyone needs bunny slippers.) Then, of course, we had to include his beloved cat, Eye in the Dark.
By the time it was deemed “done” the photo had everything from chocolate walls to a cell phone, plus most of the items from his GQ 10 Essentials List. After approval from several other Reedus fans, I tweeted it out into the world.
All of the people who supervised the creation favorited it. The rest of the Internet was too busy making their own birthday surprises, and though it was unlikely Reedus would see the card with so many others shooting around, we were happy.
Fans of The Walking Dead are a crafty bunch, on and offline, and while all of the actors are bestowed with gifts, Reedus by far gets the most - taking away bagfuls from every public appearance, receiving boxes and boxes in the mail. There’s so much, he recently released a book of fan art, called “Thanks For All The Niceness.“
My friends patted me on the back and moved on. But I kept at it.
I silhouetted Norman and a friend from her own convention photo and put them together on a NYC sidewalk. “That’s cool,” she said.
I cranked out another photo of Norman and put him together with a different friend, this time on a beach.
“Thanks!”
Then I silhouetted yet another photo of Norman, but was beginning to feel a little self-conscious, so I just saved it to a newly-created “Norman Silos” folder and started another. And then another. And another.
The thing is, I love silhouetting images (cropping the figures and placing them on new backgrounds). It’s meditative. I’m not a trained graphic artist, but I’ve found my own way of using Photoshop that works for me. Zooming in 500, 700, 900x close, meticulously extracting the edges pixel-by-pixel. It’s soothing.
Why Norman? I’ll give you this:
He’s cute, he’s quirky, he’s photogenic: In one photo he’s staring you down, in the next he’s sticking out his tongue. He models for fashion photographers, but there are hundreds of photos of him wearing what he swears is not the same shirt. He is great to his fans, spending hours and hours talking to them at conventions and always gladly pausing to take a photo. And often, he’s seen cuddling his cat. A man with a cat. C’mon. What’s not to love?
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After a while I had so many Reedus silhouettes, I needed something to do with them. I honestly don’t even remember how it happened, but I began adding him to historical photos. First up: turn-of-the-century Little Italy in NYC. There he went, all the way back in the photo, the size of a pinhead.
I tweeted it to my friend. “Can you spot Norman?”
She shot back “Nooooooo!” Two hours later, “I found him! Do another!”
A few days later, I sent three Normans to a Sex Pistols concert in 1977. It was popular.
“I found him!”
“Found him.”
“Wait, there are three? I only found one”
“Now I found them!”
I put out a third image, making Norman run the NYC Marathon. No one solved it. In fact, it was so hard, people were upset.
“Make another one! I can’t find him!”
My Norman horde was 30-strong at this point, with at least a dozen potential backgrounds stashed away.
“You need a tumblr,” my friend said. Because when you’re a fan of something and you have a lot of photos, the laws of nature demands you join Tumblr.
And so, the Reedii found a home on spotthereedus.tumblr.com, where you can check out these photo manipulations along with a new Sundance Festival image, and then a visit to the Wild West. The rest of the gang are waiting their turn to hit the spotlight, so I guess I have something to keep me busy between now and Sunday night!
My strange little time-diversion ended up becoming a project that entertained a lot of people, including myself. It was definitely a lot of fun, and really great to look at. (insert winking emoji)!
p.s. Much thanks to Norman Reedus, the best sport ever.
******
WALKING DEAD CRAFTS
If you’re looking for a Daryl Dixon gift for yourself or a fellow fan, head over to Etsy, search on “Walking Dead” and keep a tight grip on your wallet!
Here are some of my favorites:
Daryl Dixon Pillow
(Photo: Telahmarie on Etsy)
The double-sided pillow is made from super soft fleece, felt and leather, stuffed with allergen-free fiberfill. Complete with a tiny birthmark and Daryl’s iconic wings on the flip side!
Creepy n Cute Daryl Dixon Doll
(Photo: Creepy n Cute Shop on Etsy)
This one-of-a-kind doll is made to order, but if that’s out of your pocketbook’s reach, the shop also has hordes of other zombies to choose from! And be sure to visit the shop’s Facebook page and check out photos of cast members receiving their own very special zombie doll.
Daryl Dixon Vinyl Record Clock
(Photo: High5Design on Etsy)
Made for the Daryl Dixon fan who is watching the clock for the next episode! Other show designs are available or made on request.
Daryl Dixon Phone Case
(Photo: Shougox on Etsy)
If you’re ever at a loss for words, just pick one of Daryl’s memorable lines from the back of this rugged rubber/plastic device case. Fits a variety of iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Samsung models.
Daryl Dixon Valentine’s Day Card
(Photo: NudeAnd LoiteringTees on Etsy)
Forget Cupid, Daryl Dixon clearly has the better bow and arrow. If you’re quick, you may be able to get in time for the big day.
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