Halloween and Beyond: The Thorn Rebuild Project


 Fall Greetings, 

The seasons have officially changed and we are now plowing headlong into the Fall season. This year for Halloween, I want to do something different from previous years. In the past, I've developed entries in the long-running story of the Faceless Summoner. While I don't intend to abandon that project, this year will be the start of something I haven't attempted before.

Long ago, when I first started creating Papier Mache monsters, one of the first I ever posted anywhere was a gremlin-like creature named Thorn. He was a full-sized monster covered in spikes and lived in my work office for a while. When I moved in 2018, I packed up all of my sculptures, dragon heads, masks, and full-sized pieces and took them along. Many of them are in storage with the dragon heads hanging in my garage. The move was not kind to Thorn, however and the following pictures shows his current state:



It might be tough to make out in the pictures but most of his spikes were broken and his overall position sort of sagged down to the ground. For comparison, here is what Thorn looked like when I made him:


As part of an experiment, I plan on "rebuilding" Thorn. I will be completely revamping his spike concept in addition to adjusting his position. The plan is to reinforce his body and limbs, add new details, and then re-skin him entirely. Finally, this will result in a brand new coat of paint. Unlike the original, the idea this time is to incorporate the blackwashing effect to give some better shadows.

While this project is officially launching this month, I don't know if it will be completed by Halloween. I plan on capturing all the phases of the rebuild and will compile them into a full video for Youtube. This format tends to be better than smaller sporadic updates so the next time I post here should be with the finished piece. 

I don't plan on going back to rebuild all my old works but this project will be a good test to see how effective it ends up being. 

Stay tuned!

~Zan

The Summer Update Post

 









Greetings,

It's nearing the end of Summer. I live in the states on the west coast and while it's been warm, I feel for people in other parts of the country that are experiencing scorching temperatures right now.

Updates have been slow here on the studio's main site. A couple of large-scale papier mache projects I hope to complete have been delayed due to some real-life obligations. I am still working on things though and plan on posting a different type of project by Halloween. While the activity on the main site has been slow, I continue to post regular content on Deviant Art, Youtube, and stream on Twitch

I was recently asked why I create content on the internet. Specifically, why I choose to create things on the main platforms listed above. While I do not consider myself a high-profile content creator and do not actively make money from any platforms aside from our Redbubble store, I have always been driven by the desire to make things. Things like profit or fame have never motivated me. I just have ideas that I want to get out into the world. This ends up resulting in me experimenting with many different mediums for creating things which can be a double-edged sword. I sometimes think I've taken on too many hobbies.

That being said, Drakenwrath Designs is the face of my content creation brand. Even though activity may slow or become sporadic, I don't intend to ever stop. The only thing that will stop me from creating content is when I no longer enjoy it. Once I feel it's become a job, I will probably move on to something else. 

To date, I have posted on this site for over a decade with the first entry being in 2012. Things have evolved from a mere art blog to a collaborative place with other artists, to multi-media creation on many different platforms. It's been an interesting ride so far and I thank everyone who's come along with us so far.

So, what's next? I plan to continue the regular posts on the usual platforms but I also want to push some new updates to our Redbubble store. There are many designs that have been posted but not included in the store, including the recent Hunting Fleet series based on Monster Hunter. I also want to do another Redbubble product test with some of the more recent designs so that may also be coming in the future. As far as why I don't post Let's Plays or commentary video on Youtube any more, it started to become difficult to manage the volume of recording, editing, and posting of that content. I don't know if they'll ever make a return though I wouldn't mind picking up on the Drawing Commentary series at some point.

I think that will do it for this somewhat lengthy update. Things will continue here and I hope you'll join us for the ride.

Thanks for visiting,

~Zan

Taking a Content Break This Month

 







 

 

Greetings,

With Winter winding down, we're already headed into Spring. While I haven't had a ton of updates lately, I did want to confirm that I'm still creating content, mostly in the form of videos on Youtube and streaming art on Twitch.

Starting on March 17th, I will be taking a break from creating content for about 3 weeks. When I return, the regular content will resume and I plan on bringing back the somewhat frequent Papier Mache projects. I've got a couple interesting ideas lined up that I will be posting.

Thanks for stopping by!


~Zan

Halloween 2022: The Void Guardians

 

Hello,

It's Halloween once again and like years past, I have prepared another papier mache project. This one is a new entry in the tale of the Faceless Summoner and continues the travels of Ardelrius with some more lore:

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The Faceless Summoner and I continued our travels across the realm to the far northern continent. We made a few stops along the way but something seemed to call my odd traveler friend onward. There were very little conversations and I could do nothing but follow, resigning myself to the journey as some sort of observer.


We arrived at the fringe territory of Taeruth outside the borders of some towns just shy of the northern tundras. Our target was apparently another temple built into the face of a sloping cliff side. We managed the treacherous path easily enough and the two of us found ourselves standing at the mouth of the temple. It was crafted from pure obsidian and extended into the mountain. Upon entering the seemingly vacant temple, Ardelrius made its way to a central altar at the heart of the structure. The spire-like piece was constructed out of bone and bore runic seals around its base on the floor of the temple.


“This seal binds the gate of the Void so that none shall escape.”


Those were the words written in an ancient tongue and scrawled around the seal. Invoking energies from the Tree of Souls once again, Ardelrius conjured an otherworldly force and the altar began to resonate with the same arcane light.
 

“Those that stand before the gate must pass the challenges of its guardians,” a hollow voice growled from the shadows.


“The Umbral Crested bird and the sorceress of the Scattered Tides protect this place.”


Two glittering jewels appeared at the base of the altar. One gold and one deep blue, they shined with magical power, seemingly waiting for our next move.


“What are we doing here?” I asked the Faceless Summoner.


“To combat the threat to this world, we must dive into the banished void in search of power,” my companion answered. “Defeating these guardians will grant us passage.


With that, Ardelrius knelt and reached towards the jewels. I knew a fight was approaching. This was the way things always happened and I knew my friend’s power would be tested once again.

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The two masks represent the guardians, Umbral Crest Valdamos and Scattered Tide Mierkharesha. A summary video of the entire process along with the final results is up on Youtube:

This year's project was an interesting return to form. I'd like to continue the Summoner's story and will be thinking about the next steps for future entries. There should be some new mache things coming in the next couple months.

Thanks for visiting!

~Zan




 

End of Summer Update


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings,

 

Summer is nearly over and it's been quite some time since the last update on the main site here. I understand the content posts in general from me have been a bit more spread out and sparse lately. The Design videos are still continuing with one to two uploads a week and I consistently post new sprites over on DA every Wednesday.

On the Youtube side, I'm not sure what I want to do with my channel. It's become difficult to manage the recording, editing, and planning of Let's Plays due to a bunch of other competing priorities. While I can't promise that the LPs will return soon, I definitely want to finish what I've started. 

Even if the content posts have been less, I am still working on some larger projects. I've been slowly working on the next Halloween project which will mark the return and continuation of the Summoner's lore. There should be more news on that front as we get into the Fall.

That's it for now. I just wanted to get a small news post up to let the world know that this site isn't dead. The primary sources for content will remain on YT and DA for now. 

Thanks for stopping by,


-Zan

Halloween Project 2021: Sunderbrand Beast Ganthrios


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Happy Halloween!

 

The year's project is a mache miniature sculpture representing the Sundered Idol. Check out the spotlight video here:

 


Unfortunately the construction and skin phase footage of for this project was lost. I had an archive with images from my old phone but I couldn't find them when I was putting this project together. As a result, the spotlight video includes some recently-taken still shots along with a video highlighting the piece.

I created this sculpture using the same mache techniques as my other pieces. The main body and frame was constructed using paper, masking tape and papier mache pieces. After getting the body and limbs attached, I added the round glass stones, clay spikes/horns, and eyes. The final part of the pre-paint process was the application of skin. I used torn up sheets soaked in white glue as usual but due to the smaller model size, I had to work with much smaller cloth bits. That was a bit of a challenge. Finally, after the skin was completely dry, I painted Ganthrios using latex paint and applied a blackwash layer once the first coat had dried.

Overall, this was a fun project to work on. The miniatures are definitely a different scale than some of my larger sculptures or wearables. I have a couple others that are in development and hope to post them in the future. For now, this entry is going to bridge the lore gap and lead into the next chapter of the Summoner's story. Once I have the next pieces done, I'll be posing some prologue lore articles that will kick the chapter off.

Thanks for stopping by!


~Zan


Halloween Project Prologue: The Search for the Sundered Idol

 







 

 

Greetings,

Halloween is upon us once again and it's time to look at a short piece of lore for this year's project! I'm trying out something different this year to break up the past few wearable pieces. This year's Halloween piece is going to be a miniature sculpture that connects to the Faceless Summoner's lore. In fact, this entry is going to tie into the next major chapter of the Summoner's travels. Here's the prologue to the piece which should get posted tomorrow.

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The Search For the Sundered Idol

 My travels with the Faceless Summoner took is across the realm to places I never dreamed of. The mysterious wanderer always moved with purpose, seldom talking but always watchful. After acquiring the Soulsealer Aegis and leaving it with some allies in one of the remote kingdoms, our travels directed us south. Another vast mountain range bordered with desolate sandy wastes was to be our target. I asked my companion of our goal in this bleak place and was met with a single response:

“We seek the Sundered Idol.”

I remember hearing tales of this artifact whispered among the elders of our village. Legends tell of a powerful creature that walked the realm centuries ago. An ancient beast said to be born from the molten depths, it knew no master and simply wandered about aimlessly. It was said that this creature brought fiery wrath upon those that angered it but it was never confirmed whether it was good or evil. Still, with such uncontrolled power roaming the lands, a collective of mages managed to seal its spirit in a stone idol. Records of the relic’s location were lost to time, the mages having died out long ago. It must be the target of the Summoner. What sort of terrifying power will we find? Will my companion be able to control it?

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 That's it for the short intro lore piece. The rest will be posted tomorrow!


~Zan