Cameo Creeps Are Disturbingly Delightful Pieces of Art

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Some tables that make you do a double take when you’re walking the floor at cons. It could be distinctive artwork, unique packaging, or it could be a very stately monster looking at you with a noble majestic stare. Cameo Creeps have all three of these elements, and they’ll keep you coming back for more. What started as a quick painting exercise and a way to study classical painting suddenly took on a life of its own when Chris Seaman started turned his hobby into Cameo Creeps. The paintings are his own creation of a world where his unique and distinguished monsters and creatures live.

Seaman has an illustration and painting background. As a fantasy illustrator in hobby games for the last 17 years, he’s worked on Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, Skylanders, Hearthstone, and Harry Potter. His artwork has been nominated for a Chesley award—the highest award in fantasy illustration—and is shown in museums and galleries around the country.

His paintings are highly detailed and each one starts as a small original acrylic painting 2.5 inches wide by 3 inches high. What makes these miniature masterpieces stand out is not only Seaman’s skilled artwork, but the classic tiny frames that accompany each reproduction. Finding ornate frames on such a small scale wasn’t easy. After many trials, Seaman eventually launched a Kickstarter to raise funds to start his own business to begin production including the art and affordable frames. It’s this eye catching packaging that makes these collectibles so unique.

While all monsters are equally stunning, it was Lady Miriam Lillithad that caught my eye and she just happens to be the most popular among Cameo Creep fans. Seaman describes her allure as, “A little bit lady Cthulhu meets squid-girl, with a touch of beauty.”

Along with the distinctive packaging, the names are also a characteristic part of these collectibles. “Growing up in the 80’s I was a huge fan of Garbage Pail Kids, TMNT, Star Wars, He-Man, and Thundercats. The best part of these characters was their names. They were self explanatory. You could read a character’s name and know if he was good or bad, even maybe a little about his/her personality.” Seaman used this childhood memory as inspiration when creating his portraits, “Each name for a Creep represents their character. They can be a bit ‘on-the-nose’ but that’s what makes them fun and breathes life into their existence.”

Cameo Creeps are being collected around the world and Seaman is currently co-authoring a book with full color illustrations about what it’s like to live in the world of the Cameo Creeps. “The world is a spooky place inhabited by noble monsters like zombies, vampire, demons, mutants, sea creatures, ghosts all in the setting of the over the top elegant Elizabethan era. Each group is vying for the crown to rule the land. It’s dark and gloomy but with a touch of whimsy. Each Cameo Creep that I’ve released plays a part in the world and I can’t wait to share the stories, family connections and spooky fun I’ve been writing for fans to sink their teeth into.”

Check out our favorite Cameo Creeps in the gallery below and get your own at Cameo Creeps website. For more artwork check out @ChrisSeamanArt on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.