Stephen Downie's "The Vampire's Wand"
- Thread starter sparrowhawk
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Thanks for the kind words, everyone, and especially Sparrowhawk for the commission! It was a really enjoyable build and I invented some new masking techniques along the way which is always a plus.
I have a Dracula and I'm jealous. I am with shaintiques on this one. We are going to need more pics. Love that tamper too it's like that movie where the spirits were comming out of their mouth and just looks cool. Think the movie was haunting in Connecticut.
Stephen has done a phenomenal job, far beyond what I could imagine. In fact, I was counting on his artistic intuition to make my poor design much more than I drew. I'm afraid now he will want to keep it and not send it to me! By the way, the pipe has no rustication: it is entirely sandblast around my line drawings, which I didn't realize at the time would be extraordinarily difficult, and so Stephen had to experiment with different methods to sandblast and retain the sharp forms of the bats. My regret is that all you poor gentlemen won't be able to actually see and hold this remarkable work of gothic art. But I will, hahahah! 
Wow, that is flipping amazing! Like a Pete Drac's older and wiser brother...
+1 on more pics when you get it!
+1 on more pics when you get it!
I'm not sure what you mean. Are you referring to its smoking quality? I'm sure it will match the work Stephen has done for the rest of the pipe. But the aesthetics, from my knowledge of what I required of Stephen, will differ slightly from the photos. The stain, for instance, is black, not the chocolate brown that the camera captured. The lighting I assume is bright to visibly show the features of the pipe, and if not for that the details would be invisible, the effect being more tactile and visible to the naked eye rather than a photo. You'll see when I post my photos. By the way, Stephen's nomenclature is equally spectacular: It reads "Downie The Vampire's Wand" and is rendered in red with the black background to make it really pop out. I wanted this: The creator of this pipe should be clearly visible. The tamper was an extra surprise: I gave Stephen full rein to do with the tamper as he wished with only a minor suggestion that he consider the pipe, "Smoke," but not as a requirement. I wanted him to do as he wished with the tamper, confident that it would be equally spectacular. And so it is, I think.
To answer big van's question: a pipe is rather stick shaped, like a wand, hence the name that came to me instantly, "Vampire's Wand."
I have the same problem, big van, so don't kick yourself about it. I can tell you one reason the pipe was designed was to act as inspiration for my own vampire novel. To hell with these wimpy modern vampire movies and stories that make vampires cute and cuddly and romantic.
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