(Photo courtesy of Kevon Ward)
Written by Colleen Bement, Editor
If you were at the Colorado Festival of Horror Sep. 13-15, 2024 you probably met Kevon Ward. His booth filled with stunning works of horror art was very popular. Kevon is a full-time artist well-known in the Denver area for his FX makeup, creature design/fabrication, fine art, and graphic design. He was also a two-time competitor on the hit SYFY reality competition show “Face Off.” Horror fans had the opportunity to see and take home his amazing work, grab an autograph, and attend a workshop for a peek into how the magic is created.
Kevon has also been working on the development of multiple film studios here in Denver, under LFX FilmWorks, in order to expand Colorado’s film scene. Kevon Ward is the creator of the dark horror comedy web series “Bored as Hell”, starring local talent Heath Heine, out now on YouTube. Get to know this talented and inspiring artist and hear a great story from the set of his web series.
Colleen Bement: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule here at the Colorado Festival of Horror. Your artist booth is nothing short of amazing. First question, what type of clients do you generally work with?
Kevon Ward: That’s a good question. Seems like what I’ve been hired to do mostly recently is scenic work. People that do events. So, either event organizers, event planners, or people who are business owners who like doing theming. There’s a bar in Colorado Springs that I’ve done quite a bit of work for. They change up the theme all of the time. They’ve done Lord of the Rings, they’ve done The Grinch, they’ve done Friends. That’s what I’ve been getting hired for lately. The most recurring clients I get are indie filmmakers.
CB: Do you focus on Denver area filmmaking or will you travel out of state?
KW: I do travel for work too. A lot of it comes from Denver just because word of mouth here in Denver comes back to me more easily. People locally know me. The further away you get, they might now know who I am. Around Christmas, people want paintings of the animals.
CB: What type of projects do you specialize in?
KW: I think I specialize in creature design because when I call myself a makeup artist you have to be a little bit careful because somebody might interpret that differently from how you mean it. I don’t do camera-ready makeup. I mean, that’s when you’re just ready to go on to the news and deliver a story, and you have to make sure your acne is not showing. That’s not really what I get hired to do. I get hired to make people look worse–not better.
CB: Do you have a project coming up that you’re working on that you’re allowed to tell us about?
KW: I’m working on a werewolf film that’s been in development for four years now because it’s hard to do things by yourself when you don’t have big funding. I just wrapped on the werewolf, in fact, just a few days ago I had to wear the werewolf suit to get some shots.
CB: Do you have to do that often?
KW: Sometimes. Yeah, I do creature acting. I’m also working on a film called “Chappelbone.” I’m making a few monsters for that. The other film I’m working on right now is about a gang–a railroad gang. It’s just a movie where people beat each other up a lot. It’s black eyes, it’s cuts, and stuff like that. I think that’s probably what I get hired for the most because those are the kinds of scripts that are easy for people to write. A lot of indie filmmakers are hesitant to write an elaborate monster for their script because they’re not sure who can do it, but I get calls all the time from people who need trauma makeup. Someone gets shot or stabbed. Those are common.
CB: Would you ever consider moving to another state for work, like Atlanta?
KW: Atlanta is where I’d like to be. The reason I want to work there is because I want to work on things that are higher profile. There’s a lot of indie stuff that’s shot here, but I’d like to work on projects that are bigger. Things that actually make it to Netflix.
CB: Would you have to go to Atlanta or LA or Vancouver to work on projects like that?
KW: I think so. There’s not a Netflix studio here. A lot of productions require that locals be hired. Then especially if you want union status. The higher up the ladder you get in film, the more unionized it gets. The reason I have my sights on other places is because–It’s not that I’m doing poorly here. I’m doing very well. I’m very sustained here. But I know if I go someplace else, it’ll challenge me more and the projects will be bigger.
CB: What would be your dream collaboration?
KW: So when I look at what I want my own footprint to be in this industry, it’s not so much that I have to be – I’ll take an example for each. One of the biggest giants in makeup is Rick Baker. “Harry and the Hendersons,” “Men in Black,” “Star Wars,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” I don’t ever expect to have a body of work like his. That’s amazing. Actors: Pick one. You’ve got Johnny Depp, Leo DiCaprio, same thing. I don’t need that kind of status. What I would like is to look back on at the end of my career is to have worked on a few major hits. Makeup-wise and acting-wise. A show that was a really big hit people will never forget about, or a film that was a really big hit that you’ll see at conventions like this. I think that’s just what I want. I want my name on a few things that just go down in the legacy of TV and cinema.
CB: Well it sounds like you’re headed that way.
KW: I hope so.
CB: Do you have any ambitions of making your own project–Writing, acting, directing, ETC?
KW: I do. There was a project I started years ago called “Bored As Hell.” It’s a web series and you can find it on YouTube if you type “Bored As Hell.” You might have to include Kevon Ward with it. It’s kind of the SNL formula because the skits are only like 10 or 15 minutes. It’s a “Southpark” style of humor. It’s really funny and I wouldn’t mind revisiting that and making it something that’s more popular–something that people know about. I think a good dark comedy series would be something I’d love to do. Filmwise, I would love to do a really good horror film that becomes celebrated, like at this convention. You walk by booths now and you’re going to see Freddy and Michael Myers, and now Art the Clown from “Terrifier” is right up there. I think contributing to something like that would be a really cool thing to leave behind.
CB: Last question. Do you have any stories from the set?
KW: This one’s actually kind of funny. Back to the series I was working on, “Bored As Hell,” it starts with my friend in full Satan makeup: Face, horns, everything. I used to live in Montbello and we’d shoot at my apartment for a lot of this. He’d get hot in that suit and go out on the balcony and the neighbor kids would see him. What’s good about him is when he was around adults, he’d be raunchy as you can imagine, but around kids, he’d tone it down. He started interacting with the kids in Montbello and I remember this one time, we were filming in the hall and this family gets off the elevator carrying their child– very young– maybe two or three. The parents didn’t see Satan because they were too busy, but the little boy saw him. Satan waved at him and the boy said mama, Diablo! Satan disappeared, and the parents looked back and there was nothing there. Then Satan would reappear and only the child would see it. So I pictured this kid telling his parents that he literally saw Satan and he’s telling the truth, and they’re not going to believe it. I thought it was funny.
KW: There was another time some older kids were watching us, they were probably early middle school, and they were very enamored. First, they saw Satan on the balcony and first, they asked what’s your name, and he’d say Lucifer. He’d interact but then would have to go back inside to film. These kids would say Lucifer, come outside, and we went outside to film a few scenes and the kids followed us around. I didn’t mind because it’s a neighborhood where you could tell there wasn’t a lot of opportunity there and you don’t know which path these kids are going to take. The fact that they’re just watching us create something, and I thought you know, if they want to watch, they can watch. They followed us around outside and back inside the apartment lobby and we said OK, we’ve gotta go. These kids all took the stairs, fifth floor, and they were in the hall because they wanted to keep watching. By the time we were ready to go into my apartment, I had to tell them you guys cannot come in here.
Also, I remember that I was dressed in drag that day because my character was called The Sleazy Ouija, so I was dressed like this fortune teller. Picture me, I’m wearing a dress, I’m with Satan, and we have a bunch of cameras with us. I’m not bringing a bunch of kids in–everything about that sounds wrong! You’re not coming into my apartment and telling your parents that Satan and this man dressed in drag took you into his apartment with a bunch of cameras. Thanks. Stay in school!
Keep up with Kevon:
Instagram: @KevonWard
Facebook: @KevonWard
Youtube: @666boredashell7
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