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April 15, 2010
the whisperer in darkness - big news!
by sven at 10:55 pm
Two big news items. First, there's a new trailer for The Whisperer in Darkness:
Second: I've just finished a top secret project for the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society!
I've got some beautiful photos — but can't share them yet. For now, all I can do is tease you with process pics, impressions and interesting numbers…
The HPLHS contacted me on May 5, 2009 about making armatures for Whisperer. On Apr 5 — eleven months later to the day — they opened a box I'd sent them.
Between those dates, I put in 675 hours of hardcore research, development, and fabrication.
The first email described what they needed as "fiendishly complex." The message upon receipt of my package described the contents as "a thing of terrifying beauty."
I compiled some statistics before sending off this armature. It's assembled from 239 parts:
- 101 screws
- 132 hand-crafted parts
- 6 wire segments
And it has a total of 63 joints:
- 41 hinges
- 16 ball joints
- 6 swivels
The strangest part for me, experientially, was seeing that galaxy of atoms finally condense down into a single object.
It was unnerving putting 11 months of my life into a box and entrusting it to the US Postal Service. In the first day or so after letting go of it, my thoughts were mostly consumed with how I could make the joints better, worrying that they could somehow not be up to snuff. But after the glowing receipt — and catching some sleep — I hit a state of giddy elation. …Kind of like I've won.
And now? Doing laundry or dishes — doing anything other than machining — it just seems like the most wonderful treat!