Thursday, June 7, 2012

Darkness Rising

Luthien Thye brings us this wonderful tome. One detail I'm particularly impressed by is the central embossment formed from two found jewelry stampings, one over the other.  As a trip to Etsy will demonstrate that approach usually looks atrocious, but Ms. Thye was able to pull it off by unifying to two with red detailing and a weathering wash.

Inspired by the concept of the Sinsar Dubh in Karen Marie Moning’s Fever Series, “Darkness Rising” is a Book of Shadows, of sinister nature. The central motif was derived from a pair of wings which the “King” in the book was said to have possessed. The wings were then stylized and made into the motif you see, and then hand-sculpted with clay to achieve a 3D effect. 2 pieces of beautifully ornate filigrees are added to complete the central motif. The metal gates on top and below the central motif are a combination of patina-ed brass and rusted galvanized zinc, assembled to symbolize the “Jaws of Death”.






5 comments:

Phil said...

That really is impressive. I love all the little details.
Certainly puts my tomes to shame.

Anonymous said...

Eventually I'd like to reach this level of awesomeness with my bookbinding. I think my next book attempt has to be a tome now.

Propnomicon said...

@ Phil

I know I sound like a broken record, but just keep plugging away at it. Every time you create a tome, no matter what the final result, you get a little bit better.

@ Mrs. Dethe

I look forward to seeing it.

Phil said...

I do appreciate the kind words Props. I just uploaded some pics to my DeviantArt page. http://herbertw.deviantart.com/

I need to learn to take my own advice about being too self critical.

Anonymous said...

Well, I don't think anything I make at this stage in my ability will be anything worth looking at but I'll try my best!