The Cthulhu sculpt that I recently made was a demo for a class (
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=14023.0 )- the first half of which focuses on characters design, the last half on environmental design. As a companion to the monster, I decided to make a matching environment.
The premise comes loosely from an old John Wayne movie,
Wake of the Red Witch, in which islanders prove their transition to manhood by diving for pearls into an underwater cave wherein dwells a large, vicious octopus. I thought I'd do something similar, but tie it in to the Cthulhu cult stuff. I'm going to line the entrance with scattered human bones, I think. The cave, or cavern, or whatever it might, is purportedly full of pearls, and unwary or unscrupulous adventurers eager to get them – or the giant pearl that adorns the statue – might encounter some fish men, or an entrance to the underwater city where the giant Cthulhu sleeps, or something.
I’m going to surround the cave, upon completion, with Tikis I got from Barnes and Noble – the reason I decided to go the South Seas route rather than some other environment. Thanks for the suggestion, Mancha!
(http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=14003.0)I started by doing the "relief" style carving of Cthulhu.
It's connected to the wooden back via aluminum armature wire running through a hole.
I used a pasta maker to lay down strips of sculpy on top of aluminum foil. I also cut out the wings and claws from flat pieces to give it a more primitive sculpture quality.
I picked up the "Making of
Papa Nui" book at a used bookstore on the way home today, and glanced at some of the tattoos to get an idea as to the types of patterns South Sea Islanders might carve on a Cthulhu idol.
You can also see the top of the cave, part of what's supposed to be a rock from which the sculpture was carved, hollowing it out. It’s made of strips of basswood, superglued together.
The rest of the outside of the cave, including the bottom (seen here), is covered in foil and a thin layer of sculpy.
I went in with three different sized tools and make an arrangement of little jabs and holes, trying to emulate the look of old ocean rock. I was lighter on the monster statue itself so as to not lose too much detail. Also, in case it wasn’t noticed earlier, one of his wings, claws, and tentacles are damaged to infer age. The broken away parts are jabbed with lots of tiny holes to show weathering.
This is the final piece, ready to go into the oven. I’ve removed the wooden ball – I’m trying to decide whether or not it should be removable after painting. It’s going to be a giant pearl.
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April 27, 2024, 06:28:34 AM
August 26, 2008, 03:49:56 AM