Dan Baines

Fairy Rings and Monstrous Things

Filtering by Tag: Krampus

The Krampus Returns Part III

The expansion for Krampusnacht is finally complete!

Originally the Krampus face was going to be permanently fixed to the wallet but I had visions of broken horns and damage to the exposed face so I decide to give it some occult functionality as a pendulum. The Krampus fizog comes in two finishes, traditional hand painted or cold cast bronze, mounted on a black snowflake and trimmed with fur. When not divining for naughty children it also makes a devilish decoration for your tree.

I've also included a festive fireside tale that has a truly disturbing climax that will chill even the warmest Yuletide night. The traditional stories of the Krampus are scary for children but not quite enough to get most adults quaking in their boots so I set about crafting one for the 'olds'.

'Windows to the Soul' tells the sad tale of a bullied German boy who freezes to death one snowy Christmas night and how the Krampus hunts down his tormentors. Rather than giving the kids a generous whipping with his bundle of birch twigs the Krampus not only collected the souls of the guilty but also their eyes as punishment.

The full expansion for Krampusnacht is available here and the Christmas tree decoration is available here. The Krampus tree decoration is limited to 100 pieces and each is signed and numbered.


The Krampus Returns Part II

I've had an usually creative week to the point where I feel the true spirit of the Krampus has taken hold of my hands and finished the job subconsciously!​

Gruss Vom Krampus! 

Gruss Vom Krampus! 

Since the last post I completed the sculpey master, created a mould and successfully cast and painted the first Krampus head.  As the horns are delicate I decided to make a 3 part casting (1x head and 2x horns) and it all came out rather nicely.  I'm also going to make a copper cast of the Krampus to allow for a few options on the final pieces. 

Master sculpt, resin cast and painted final

Master sculpt, resin cast and painted final

 

The wallet has been designed to accommodate the full Krampusnacht box as this has enough room for the additional routine photos that will come with the wallet.  When it came to the colour there was only really one option, blood red!  Once dry is was buffed and dirtied to give it an aged look.

The Krampus head is mounted on a 3D printed snowflake to retain the festive feel and to give me something more durable than resin as a backing piece.

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Each of the wallets will be numbered and limited to 100 to compliment the original print run of the cards.  An additional photo card will also be included in the package showing a group school photo to illustrate a cautionary tale of school bullies and the dire consequences, especially around Christmas....

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The next stage is to cast the bronze version and also look at some real fur trim to give the Krampus his signature beastial look.  

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The stud fastener may also be replaced with a more ornate version.  In the meantime I may knock myself up a Krampus tree ornament or transfer his face onto an 'Elf on the Shelf' to create the more terrifying 'Devil on the Level'! 

Embossed back

Embossed back

The Krampus Returns...

Since the huge success of Krampusnacht over Christmas I have received numerous e-mails from customers requesting something befitting to store their cards in. Although the red box I supplied was perfectly adequate there has been a demand for demonic bling, a satanic sheath that will protect your Krampus cards from do-gooders until next Christmas.

Krampus_1

I originally started to create a leather embossing plate of the Krampus but I wanted something with greater visual impact that would compliment the cards. I grabbed some sculpey from the studio shelf, cranked up some Bauhaus and 2 hours later I ended up with a face I definitely recognised.

The idea is to create a leather wallet which will be embossed with 'Krampusnacht' and possibly more devilry on the back but the front will be graced with a cast Krampus head plaque. I'm going to experiment with finishes but expect at least two which will be bronze cast and traditional hand painted with real fur trim.

Krampus_2

After a few hours of losing myself in sculpting the face I've got the sudden desire to complete the head and possibly even create a bust. Watch this space...





© Dan Baines 2016