Steampunk Skull Muscles

Whew! The final image of the Making of Frahnknshtyne's face is finally done.  It is now a completed Triptych. This middle image shows the crafting of the leather straps and support structure that will drive the final skin to move. Like all things Vyctor does, he is obsessive in the detail and art of it even though it will not be seen. I've been enjoying the ironic nature of these images in the sense that they are a form of "still life" and chronicle one brilliant man's attempt at making a new receptacle for life.
More to come in the book.  Cheers, Kevin

Steampunk Skull Muscles

Steampunk skull triptych

And a fun video so you can see how the face builds up layer by layer.

Steampunk Frankenstein's face

Finally, I've gotten to a face for Frahnknshtyne's creation that is delivering the narrative I was striving for. The mechanical man in my story is not about gore or re-animating dead flesh. It is the result of an obsessive labor to create an artful receptacle worthy of holding the minds of the immortals.

Months ago I posted the highly detailed metallic skull (I've reposted it in this post so you can see the finished product on the same bench and in the same position).

The completed head is made from finely tooled soft leather. Each hair has been stitched into place by hand and the leather face is connected to an intricate series of tiny pulleys and leather straps that act like muscles to drive expression and movement. My next painting is the middle image in this Steampunk Tryptych. It will be the image showing the muscles and controls being built on the face. Can't wait to get to it.

For this painting I wanted a mad and complicated sense of Vyctor, bringing all his artisan skills and victorian technology to bear on making this creation of great and subtle intricacy.

I can't tell you any more as I'd like you to read it in the book (which is coming along very nicely).  I hope you enjoy these ongoing glimpses into the world of Frahnknshtyne.

Be sure to see the just completed middle stage of the making of the Frahnknshtyne head. It's the crafting of the muscle structure you can find here.
cheers, Kevin

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne leather face

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne's metal skull

Steampunk Skull becomes the book cover

The first of the triptych images of the building of the monster's/hero's head is done.  I think it is likely to be the cover for the book.  It has the kind of iconic feel I was looking for.  Just like in the Darth image I did, if you look closely into the reflection in the loupe over the empty eye socket you can see the outline of the good doctor himself.  I felt strongly that the monster has a kind of painstaking artisan beauty to everything about him.  He is only a monster in that he is brought to life but is not human.  I'm also trying something new with this post.  Since this art is complete, I'm adding an MOV file to the post that shows step by step the drawing and painting of the image.  I'd like to know if you find this interesting so if you do, drop me a comment and I'll post more like this as I go.

Check out what the completed mechanical man's face with the tooled leather skin Here and the middle stage of building the creature, the crafting of the muscles and controls Here!

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne cover

 

Steampunk Skull

Well, this is "in-progress" and it's finally the first image getting a look at the making of the monster/hero.  I'm doing this as a triptych showing the underlying beautiful handcrafted structure and then adding the leather straps that act as muscles and finally the hand-tooled leather face.

"If sheer artistic application of will and mad obsession alone could bring the device to life, the Doctor Frahnknshtyne's marvelous clockwork being would have sprung from the table the moment its form was completed.  It's hand crafted beauty and subtlety of construction await only two final elements.  The power source, its heart, that will prove to the world that the terrible commerce of Aether can at last come to an end, and a brain that will live forever within this being of perfect craftmanship."

The former of these missing elements is still under desperate development and yet defies reproduction.  It is little more than a curiosity if there is but one.  The latter element will be supplied simply by choosing a worthy, kind and scholarly person whom has been recently deceased.  little does the good doctor know, he will make a far greater contribution to this being's rising than he ever intended.

Stay tuned for completing these images.  I Just replaced the first image with one that I'm under way with the background and the clamping mechanism that holds it on the workbench.  tools to add and other juicy detail coming soon.
PS - I really liked putting the mechanical eye in Darth Vader so I'm doing a very different version of it.

See the finished illustration Here and check out what the completed mechanical man's face looks like Here and take a look at the completed middle image showing the building of the facial muscles made of leather Here!

Steampunk Skull for Frankenstein in progress V2

Steampunk Skull for Frankenstein in progress V1