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.

Frahnknshtyne's weaponized arm

It's been a bit since the last post as I have been writing the book.  I'm well into it and decided to take a break to add some more development art to the site to share with you.  This image shows Frahnknshtyne's arm after he decides to build a weapon into it.  It's exploding out of his woolen cape sleeve and the mechanical mounts (they look like small metal animal hands) have just thrown it forward to be caught by Wyctor in his gloved hand. There's a big surprise in this gun (beyond the fact that it's up his sleeve and it assembles as it ejects) that I'll hold off sharing for the book.
I'll be posting the "making of" video over the next week or so as well.
Cheers, Kevin

And a closer shot of the gun

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne's hand final

Well, I decided that adding another emotive object into the shot would take away from the singular narrative moment of seeing through Wyctor's eyes the raised hand that isn't your own.  I completed the victorian etching on the metal and pivots and knuckle joints and I think this one is ready for its place in the story.

Steampunk Frahnknsthyne's hand

And here is the "making of" video that briefly covers the steps and thinking to make this painting.

Untitled from kevin mowrer on Vimeo.

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne's hand

I have been busy structuring and writing the story but wanted to post a new image of one of the moments in the narrative.  The first thing our hero sees when he wakes up with his consciousness inside of his own clockwork creation.
I wanted the hand to be a mechanically sophisticated and beautiful object made of steel, brass, bronze and copper with tendons of leather. I also wanted the moment to have a strange church-like victorian operating theater quality to it (with the horror of the moment as well). I'm considering adding a piece of broken mirror or perhaps the locket with his love's image in it  being held between the thumb and fingers  so this may evolve over the next week. I've already reposted the hand itself with changes to the hand mechanism and finger joints.  I will be posting the "making of" video in the next few days so check back for it.

Steampunk Frahnknshtyne hand

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