Living Hindu Idol Evolution - a New Stage

Gregg Stockdale, amazing Witch House concept artist, has done something that adds a new stage to the

LIVING HINDU IDOL EVOLUTION

Stage One

Rough Design

The first rough design.

Stage Two

Original Design

The original, finished design: the first Michal sent to me.

Original Design Movements

The tentacles move in and out like tongues in a rolling movement. In a embryo-like position, it sits until disturbs when all limbs fan out and ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stage Three

Distorted Incarnation

The second incarnation. KingOvRats believes its MUCH better in terms of form (i.e., the melting shape and the tentacles) and detail (the eyes, the head, etc.). I would personally prefer a combination of both from a directing standpoint...

Update Movement

Instead of fluently rolling the tentacles, Michal would like a more convulsive movement, similar to this.

Stage Four

Gregg Stockdale Combo

The stunning concept artist Gregg Stockdale is at it again! Since he could not make a Photoshopped image, he did the next best thing. He "cherry picked the best bits" from the two drawings - the tentacles and mouth of the first incarnation, and the underarms, body, and mouth of the second. Michal still has some doubts, but I think its looking good.

What do you think?

Test Animation from Daniel Lenneér

Daniel Lenneér sent me a message yesterday.

In essence, he wrote that the animation he used for monsters was 2D cutout animation.

An example of 2D cutout animation from Daniel's own work: Cthulhu arrives on Earth to fight against the Elder Things in his Terror from the Abyss, a comedic adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness.

Then he wrote that 2D cutouts were NOT the way to do these creatures. He said this because he had done test animations of the Bubble Congeries (using pictures from the Internet) and the Polyhedron (using a drawing he made based on the design). While they had a slight charm about them, they weren't horrifying. They were good, but they were NOT menacing in the slightest. They were strange, but not scary at all. The Bubble Congeries didn't do much justice to the design (but it was still strange) and the Polyhedron looked "funny" (I disagree: I liked the look of it, but it still isn't right for a horror movie). He said that if the Arabesque was done in his style, it would look AWFUL.

Now I can't show you the actual animations. They're tests. But I can show you some screenshots.

The Bubble Congeries, drifting through outer space/the sky with a rainbow cloud hanging about it like some sort of gas. It does look strange, but it certainly isn't scary and does not do justice to the design.

The Polyhedron, floating in a room which Daniel presumably meant to be a room in the Witch House or whatnot. Daniel says it looks "funny", but I disagree. I really like it, and I like the Bubbles too. But again, it wouldn't work in a horror film.

He used the Bubble Congeries screenshot and put some effects and filters on it. In his opinion, it helps a lot for the mood and feeling of the clip.

Dirty stains are seen below the Bubbles, and there is a black-and-white filter.

Beams (tentacles?) of light emerge from the Bubble Congeries. The black-and-white filter is still present.

I wanted to do my own versions of these screenshots, so I played around in Picasa.

The Bubble Congeries in a bright shade of pinkish-violet. I tinted the picture that color, then added a focal black and white effect. The glowing effect was added afterwards.

I think the Polyhedron turned out much better than my attempt with the Bubble Congeries. I went much darker, and tinted the Polyhedron a dark shade of violet/purple. Then I increased the shadows so only a very subtle violet light and a few vague shapes can be seen in the background.

I went to KingOvRats to see what he thought. He personally agreed with Daniel that they were not right for our project, but preferred the Polyhedron Creature.

I'm going to close off this post with a quote from a message from Daniel. It was some important advice. Grammatical edits by me.

If I were to give any advice; don't put to much focus on the creatures in the project. Lovecraft himself always hide them in fog and smoke and darkness, playing with the fears of the reader. Put focus on the rest, deliver a good story and let the creatures be the topping of the cake.

Cool Stuff Coming...

Along with some major changes to the design of this website, something really cool is going to come from a member of the  (possibly tomorrow). It isn't a puppet, of course, but its pretty good and comes close. I can tell you it relates to the Living Hindu Idol.

The major changes to the site will take longer, but it'll be worth it.

The Photography in the Witch House - Effects, Part Four: The Seal of Nyarlathotep in the Angled Room (and a Violet Mark Foster)

Going back to an old idea, the fantastic, devoted artist Gregg Stockdale has done some work in the Angled Room.

The original Angled Room.

The original idea for it was that there would be purple/violet, esoteric rays of light forming into orbs.

Expanding on the idea, he changed the shade of the image to a vivid fuchsia-pink, made the back window a maddening arrangement of fuchsia, blue, and green, added a glowing Seal of Nyarlathotep, and defined the lines and angles. The Kamea of Mercury (seen emerging from the window in the original) has been heavily faded and is almost gone, but if you look hard, you can see it.

A LOVELY piece of work has been done here.

Gregg, at my request, put the Mark Foster into a shade of pinkish-violet.

While its very good, it was not QUITE what I was looking for. So I did some experimenting of my own in Picasa. Excuse the poor picture quality.

It has been darkened, so you'll note that some areas are now pitch black where they were not before: in particular, above the heads of Brown Jenkin and Keziah. The text I did not do such a good job with, but there it is.

Gregg and I are going to call it a day. It's all over, at least for now. We thank him for his top-notch work for the film. He did some truly stunning work.

[Note that these images are supersized. YAY!]

The Temple of the Crawling Chaos

In the story The Dreams in the Witch House, Walter Gilman meets the Black Man Nyarlathotep and signs the Book of Azathoth in the sealed loft above the attic. Well, we've decided to jazz things up a bit and set it at a great temple in deep space...the Temple of the Crawling Chaos.

And, without further adieu, I present Michal 'Majqello' Knapik's designs for it.

THE BLOOD GARGOYLE AND THE BLOOD SPHINXES

Above a great altar in the Temple where Nyarlathotep reigns, there is a gargoyle depicting the Haunter of the Dark. It is littered with the skulls of sacrificial offerings and vomits blood into a pool of sacrifice.

Lining the pathway up to the altar are sphinx-like gargoyles that depict Hunting Horrors (see "CREATURES"). Their three-lobed eyes, like the gargoyle above, are aflame and serve as torches. These daemons also puke blood into a stream that flows into pools of sacrifice and occasionally move. These represent how blood flows from every corner of space and time to appease the gnawing hunger of Nyarlathotep.

"Hunting Horror Blood Gargoyle Sphinx (could be title of a death metal song)"

CREATURES

The Hunting Horror off which the sphinx-gargoyles are based. It is supposedly related to the Haunter of the Dark.

Amorphous flute players accompany the Crawling Chaos at his altar: the Moon Beasts.

White, slippery and hideous are these creatures. Instead of faces they have short pink tentacles like those of a sea anemone, which writhe constantly while maddening notes erupt from their flutes.

More of an ornamental symbol throughout the temple, this is inspired by the traditional Wadjet Cobra: thusly, the Nyarlathotep Wadjet Cobra.

FORMS OF NYARLATHOTEP

The hooved Black Man, an incarnation of Satan (from The Dreams in the Witch House).

The Black Pharaoh Nephren-Ka, with tentacled imagery in his dress (from Nyarlathotep - a prose poem and a poem; The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath; and The Haunter of the Dark).

The Mad Faceless God (from The Rats in the Walls): an Azathoth-like shape that howls at Earth's center. Note the rats and the Moon Beast flute players.

The Haunter of the Dark (from The Haunter of the Dark). It is vaguely shaped as it cannot exist in light. The Three-Lobed Burning Eye can be seen on its "head".

Note: there will be another form of Nyarlathotep animated: the Howler in the Dark/Red Tentacle/God of the Bloody Tongue. KingOvRats has not drawn this.

THE ANKHS

Nyarlathotep is the Taker of Life and the Master of Death. The two Ankhs represent these. On the left is the inverted Ankh of Death, made of bones and corpses. On the right is the upright Ankh of Life, made of writhing tentacles.

THE EYES

The Eye of Nyarlathotep is a decoration around the Temple. It is designed like the Eye of Horus.

The Three-Lobed Burning Eye is that of the Haunter of the Dark. It burns on the altar, flaming, and evil. It is inspired by the "All-Seeing Eye" - a definitive symbol of the Illuminati.

THE POOLS OF SACRIFICE AND THE IDOLS OF BONE

 The rivers of blood that the Hunting Horror gargoyles/sphinxes puke flow into pools of sacrifice. In the pools are isles - platforms - made of bones and corpses. On the isles there is a bone idol of Nyarlathotep.

"Bone statue of Nyarlathotep in pool of BLOOD"

Well! That's the Temple of the Crawling Chaos for you! While Lovecraft didn't create this (and I'm not quite sure if he had this in mind when creating Nyarlathotep), I like it and I hope he would've liked it too.

I'll close off with a quote from the script: wherein Gilman reads a passage about Nyarlathotep in the Necronomicon. While it is of my own writing and is inspired by a certain passage from The Dunwich Horror which the true Lovecraft fan will know, the lore of the blood flowing towards Nyarlathotep from all corners of the universe and the Ankhs were completely based on Michal's ideas. Goodnight, everybody.

Nyarlathotep reigns beside Azathoth at the Throne of Chaos, and at the great Temple of the Crawling Chaos deep in space. His Sigils be the greatest of all, for he alone knoweth the secrets and powers of Life and Death. There are two Ankhs, one upright, the other, inverted, that represent the powers of the Crawling Chaos. The upright Ankh represents Life: constructed of tentacles, writhing and alive: the endless vital energies of Nyarlathotep symbolized, the heads of the Hydra ever growing. The inverted Ankh is one of Death, built of the bones of thousands and the screams of millions. The entire universe is in his grip. Blood from every corner of space and time floweth to him for his sake…the deaths of every single creature poured into a pool of sacrifice. He is the apocalypse, and when the time has come for the universe, he shall stand in that revolting graveyard and he shall laugh. He is Hell embodied into one being. Iä! Shub-Niggurath! The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young! Thou shalt fear the Crawling Chaos, for he watches through the angles of reality. He is the Taker of Life and the Master of Death.

Gregg Stockdale Takes a Swing at Mark Foster, Part Two (and an edited Sigil)

Gregg Stockdale, the devoted Witch House artist, has done a version of the Mark Foster poster art with a starfield. He's not fond of it, and I can't say I am either, but here it is.

The background is just too busy.

Also, he sent me a new version of the Sigil based on a suggestion by our very own KingOvRats: the outer ring is now empty, the word Nyarlathotep being white/black. This kind of makes more sense as a) these symbols are meant to be drawn and b) it kind of cleans things up in a graphic design sense.

It looks similar to some other occult symbols, such as the Seal of Astaroth in Satanism.

There will be updates tomorrow with new KingOvRats designs...for an added scene...what shall be what the film is remembered for...THE TEMPLE OF THE CRAWLING CHAOS!

Some Updates

Hey guys! Back from Ireland! I'm putting the polish on some filmed sequences and they're looking good.

Some updates: Gregg and Michal have done some new pieces.

While working on the Elder City and the Temple of the Crawling Chaos (more about this soon), Michal decided to update the Living Hindu Idol. I've put together the Hindu Idol Evolution process.

LIVING HINDU IDOL EVOLUTION

Stage One

Rough Design

The first rough design.

Stage Two

Original Design

The original, finished design: the first Michal sent to me.

Original Design Movements

The tentacles move in and out like tongues in a rolling movement. In a embryo-like position, it sits until disturbs when all limbs fan out and ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stage Three

Update

The latest incarnation. KingOvRats thinks its MUCH better in terms of form (i.e., the melting shape and the tentacles) and detail (the eyes, the head, etc.). I would personally prefer a combination of both from a directing standpoint...

Update Movement

Instead of fluently rolling the tentacles, Michal now would like a more convulsive movement, similar to this.

While my feelings about this update are mainly positive, they are mixed, and I will be using both.

Gregg Stockdale has finished the grimoire page.

Note some extra symbols (including the Sigil of Nyarlathotep at the bottom) and pseudo-Arabic reading "Nyarlathotep watches through the angles of reality".

Exciting times for The Dreams in the Witch House. Stay tuned!

 - BRIAN