A few of my humble Lovecraftian creations (photo heavy)

[Herbert West]

A moment of silence please for the Thing in a Jar, Mandrake, and fang in a box which have finally been passed on to my best friends whom I made them for originally. The place feels so quiet and lonely without my children around.

 I suppose I'll just have to make more.

[The Inventor]

Wow... Simply wow.
Those are horrible and amazing.

You should start a thread on how to make some of those monsters

[Lt. Thomas Corvidae]

I tend to agree with Mr. The Inventor. I dearly love the containers for the beasties and their various bits.

[Gunslinger67]

Beautiful work there , very realistic.

[Professor Arcana]

You inspire me, good sir. I am in awe.

[Herbert West]

So would there really be that much intrest in a detailed 'How to' ?

And again, thanks for the kind words everyone. Here's a preview at my next project.





I was hoping to fill the etched area on top with some metallic copper material, then sanding it smooth. Tried metallic colored skulpy, but it won't stick to the wood, and metallic paint and filling it with resin seems like it'd look too modern. Plus I'm not sure you can sand resin.

Any ideas?

[architect]

actually you can and are supposed to sand cold cast which is a resin with lots of metal in it. not sure if going with aluminum and tainting the resin a copper color is best or if a copper metal powder would be better for that as the powder of copper would age too, so you could get an authentic look to it. another way would be to cut sheet of proper thickness and then press it into that groove.(and that would be my method. I have even been known to hammer a shape into brass so it could be used on a head sculpture of a wooden dagger. )

[Herbert West]

Thank you sir. I actually did just that witht he center circle. Cut out a disk of sheet copper and pressed it into the center. It took a bit of puttying to fill some of the gaps, and more stain to get it to blend with the wood, but its coming along. While I decide where to go from here, I need to finish etching the runes along the sides of the box.

 Of course, a box needs an inhabitant, right? So heres a preview.



 Its Super Skulpy over a foil base, with tiny Hematite beads for eyes.  Here it is all ready to pop into the oven to bake. Once he's cooled, I'll sand down the surface a little to get rid of fingerprints an the like, then add more detail.

[Dr Insidious T BoneHammer]

That might make for a interesting a cod piece.

[Professor Griffiths]

That might make for a interesting a cod piece.

How odd a choice.

[Dr Insidious T BoneHammer]

That's what happens when you're in grade school and a band like KISS comes along.

[Herbert West]

Well heres my first attempt at tome making. Its taken many months, but its finally done.

 It started out life as an old drawing pad. The paper was cut to size, stained with a mixture of steel wool and vinegar, then stictched and bound between two plywood boards. It was then covered in leather scraps, stitched together with hemp cord for that ragged, primitive look.







Seems like the cover could use more detailing though. But nothing obvious comes to mind. Any suggestions?

[Captain Shipton Bellinger]

... parts of tattoos? 

[DrArclight]

... parts of tattoos? 

Yeah, tattoo the leather.  I've loved this idea since reading about Harry Dresden tattooing wards into his duster.

[Lady Ashgrove]

or maybe just random dates on each scrap

let the viewer make up their own story as to how they got there.

cause I just did and it gave me the shivers

[Dr von Zarkov]

If the cover were made of human skin, one would not be surprised to find tattoos on it.

[Herbert West]

Well, its actually meant to be standard animal leather. The whole Evil Dead 'bound in human skin' thing has been way overdone. I'm just tryign to come up with metal, or additional leather enhancements.

Anyway, heres another box for the pile. It was made much like the previous one. I decided to go with the standard dark wood etching with this one, saving the metallic look for a later project, although I did add a copper disk to the center (witht he help of a lot of wood putty which was a pain to hide. The runes were given a thin wash of black acrylic before the whole thing was stained. Haven't decided if the eaten away areas need a black wash as well. or whether leaving them their former rust color would be best though. What say you?

The hinges were brushed with my usual liquid rust mixture.

I've gotten bored with my standard brown, tan, and green creature, so I went for red. Looks a bit like a sentient blood clot don't you think?

I think for my next one I'll fill the box with the skulpy entity, then bake the entire thing. Turns out wooden boxes can handle 230 degrees for 20 minutes or so without any negative effects.












I also think in future I'll skip the clear resin 'slime coat'. It tends to conceal the fleshlike texturing I worked so hard to get. I'll also fill the underside of the lid with goop as well. The little slimeling ended up looking kinda cute. Not exactly the mood I was going for.

[The Traveller]

Sublime work sir, makes me want to break out into a rousing chorus of "Ia Ia Cthulhu Fthagn".

[Micki]

I love them all, they're really well made & inspirational! Do you have a deviantART account or a flickr where you upload all your photographs? I'd love to see more!

[Lt. Thomas Corvidae]

Mr. West! I have been thinking about the boxes in which house your wonderful creatures and I had a thought: Have you ever tried veneer or inlay? Would probably take a bit of extra time, but would definitely give a refined edge to the containers that would be a neat juxtaposition to the little nasties inside. "Horrors for the Rich and Prosperous!"

I mean no offense towards the objects or you, dear sir. I quite like the boxes myself and have been meaning to go to Michaels to procure some for myself. You have inspired me!

[Herbert West]

Thank you both. Hmmmm, DeviantArt sounds like a fine idea. Might even garner a bit of extra attention.

 Veneer and inlay eh? That sounds like an idea worth pursuing. Though I confess that neatness and precision aren't exactly my best skills. Making then look like they've been rotting in a tomb for the past 200 years is so much easier.

Right now my problem is mainly a shortage of time and resources. Though a friend has just offered me a hefty commission. So getting art supplies may not be a problem for much longer.

But I'd definately love to expand my efforts.

[The Traveller]

I have no doubt you could find a ready market among discerning collectors.

[Micki]

If you decide to get a dA account, I'd love to get a link to it!

[rhylla]

oooooooo! just oooooooooooooooo! 

my hubby has just told me my mouth was hanging open as I was looking through your thread hehehe
I dabble in modelling and am in awe of your creations, mine tend towards the cute *sigh*

people seem to think we have odd and interesting things in our living room, i would LOVE to see their faces if they lifted a box lid to find a creature!!!!
sadly with an MA in play therapy to complete i have little spare time... but trust me, you've inspired me to note creature making as an essential pass time for the future!

*dips a curtsey* thank you for sharing 
-Rhylla-

[Mercury Wells]

Mr. West. you spoil us with you creations. 

Just a idea on how to make your next "thing in the box" even more scary     
 
Have you thought of using a wet look material (maybe painted/dyed vellium?) for the skin, a little clockwork motor attatched to pullies (with clear sewing thread) to slowly open & close random sets of eyelids, something to do a random pulsating/movement/breathing effect from below the "skin", having the thing faintly glowing from underneath would be a nice touch too.