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M0AI — Gnarly Nyarly
Published: 2010-04-11 21:07:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 18603; Favourites: 453; Downloads: 406
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Description
This is one of the characters I did for my last freelance job. They appear in Kobold Quarterly 13, which is out now! They are members of the cults of various gods from the Lovecraft mythos, but they must also function as possible player characters, so they couldn't be totally nasty and occult.This last guy is a worshiper of Nyarlathotep. Nyarlathotep is a trickster god of many different forms who delights in corrupting, misleading, and revealing secrets that aren't good for the mental health of mortals. One of his most notable forms in the literature is a being called the Dark Pharaoh, so I went with a loose Egyptian theme. He wears a blank mask that can extrude a deadly tentacle, reserved for the highest priests of Nyarlathotep. I also made it so that the dark slimy stuff of the tentacle drooled down his body to his arms, where they formed claws. I also drew a claw-free version; I don't know which version was used in the magazine.
The motifs I used in the design are meant to symbolize Nyarlathotep's various names and forms. The tumbling spirals represent the Crawling Chaos. The hourglass like symbol is a very abstract symbol of the Lurker in the Dark. The zigzag lines on his collar represent the facets of the Shining Dodecahedron, a strange crystalline shape that appears in one of his stories.
There may be some proportion issues in this one.
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Comments: 20
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YES, THE FACELESS GOD!! Or one of his servants, at least. The blank white mask is entirely appropriate here...love it. He also appears to be emulating his master's "Howler in the Dark" pose, complete with outstretched oral tentacle! My initial impression on the "black slime" was actually that it was flowing through his veins and had transformed his hands into grappling claws...Maybe that's not what KQ was looking for, but I happen to like that interpretation, and it's totally consistent with possession by Nyarlarthotep (supposedly those who summon him may find themselves serving as unwitting hosts, leaving their bodies unfortunately and permananently transformed after he departs).
Hmm, I'm not sure I'm seeing any proportion problems here, at least none noticeable enough that they would distract from appreciation of the figure. Maybe the legs look a little "compressed"? I'd be willing to put that down to preternatural body distortion, though, if it's even a factor. Plus, come on, he's half covered in robes!
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Hah! I like your enthusiasm, Tapes! And thank you!
As for the black slime/veins, that and the claws were entirely my own invention, not an idea of the art director or part of the brief. In fact, I don't even know if they made it into the magazine, since I also sent in a clawless version. I really like the vein idea, though! It does work well with the possession aspect, as you said.
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The lower legs look a bit short and the hips too narrow. I'm not sure the black slime oozing down the body and the arms to make the claws reads too well. But overall damn that's a cool character! I love the costume design and the concept of a possessed mask.
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Thanks for the compliments and critique, Salamander! I don't think the hips are too narrow (they're partially obscured by shadow, which may make them seem thinner than they actually are), but I think people are definitely right about the lower legs. Perhaps I could have emphasized the dripping slime a bit more.
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Yeah I had another look and you are right about the shadow throwing me off.
Still awesome though
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The Mask works so well with everything else in the painting. The richness of his clothing, the contrast of the dark tongue, everything.
I especially am amused by the black veins!
Overall, a very lovely character.
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Thanks so much, Marty! I'm glad you like it.
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Dude, I love this guy, it's like a mythical Kabuki/Voldemort/Pale man. You should create a sort of pantheon of hindu-god inspired characters. The whole Cobra hood/cape thing [link] is awesome if I do say so myself.
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Thanks, man! That's actually kinda sorta what I'm doing with my deities [link] . I'm also planning a series of characters loosely based on Japanese folklore and mythology.
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Theses are friggin awesome! What about some sort of deity with another one living within it like bizarre conjoined twins, the one inside is normally only seen as some serpentine tongue. Oh and the imagery of some sort of crown/halo of skulled birds would be rather interesting....
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That's a pretty cool idea, and the idea of a halo of bird skulls is right up my alley!
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