Carrion
I "fake-swapped" (i.e., worked on a themed project without actually exchanging it with anyone) this figure for Craftster's Monster Swap Round 6. The object of said challenge was to make some creature-themed artwork, which is pretty much all that I churn out 90% of the time anyway.
This unpleasant-looking thing is a "Carrion". They're malicious roadkill (that are still alive and very dangerous, despite their broken bodies) which can be encountered in Konami's 2007 Silent Hill: Origins video game (said software was originally titled as Silent Hill: Zero in Japan, because, chronologically, it's a prequel to the first Silent Hill). Carrions come in two sizes, large and gigantic, although both version behave the same.
The supernatural forces that hold sway over the cursed town of Silent Hill like to take an individual's emotional baggage and manifest those feelings and ideas as twisted creatures. The Carrion represents Travis Grady's (the game's protagonist) revulsion and guilt over the many animals that he has seen killed along the roadside, and run over himself, during his career as a trucker. Although the consequences of their attacks on Travis are all too real (i.e., if a Carrion kills him, he really dies), these creatures don't truly exist, as they're phantasmal constructs that generally only Travis can see and interact with--if you or I were in Silent Hill at the same time as Travis, we might observe him assaulting or fleeing from what appeared to be thin air, or, worse, we might see an all together different monstrosity based on our own psychological hang-ups!
Walking up to a huge, violent creature and whacking it with a shovel always ends well . . .
Provided that he keeps his distance, Carrions will often ignore Travis, content to just sluggishly, and mindlessly, drag/push their mangled bodies about (this pitiful means of locomotion is probably a direct result of multiple bone fractures and/or partial paralysis). However, if Travis does draw near, the Carrion's memories of its death under the wheels of human drivers will awaken, and, enraged, the beast will vigorously attack, seeking revenge. As you can probably guess, trying to engage one of these abominations in close quarters combat isn't the best idea, as they can move very swiftly when they want to and have the size and power to toss Travis around like a rag doll (that said, turning off your flashlight, sneaking up behind one, and striking at its' defenseless posterior is a tactic that can work well). It's wiser to just avoid them altogether in wide open spaces, but, if you have to engage a Carrion (and you will, as they sometimes block narrow passages through which you must travel), it's better to use firearms, or other projectile weapons, to hit them from a distance, rather than provoking a direct confrontation in which you will likely suffer injury.
Carrion anatomy is somewhat ambiguous, but it's definitely a mammal, and most likely a canine of some sort.
Instead of feelings of fear or revulsion, these monsters just make me sad--I've seen far too many dead animals smeared across the asphalt in my life. I've never driven over an animal myself (not because I'm some kind of awesome motorist or anything, I just don't drive), but, I still have the misfortune of seeing the results of those mishaps on a regular basis, as I do a lot of walking/hiking along the local roads and highways every week. That waste of life is always a depressing, and often disturbing, sight, but, short of never leaving the house, those gory discoveries are inevitable. I understand that hitting an animal is often unavoidable, and that attempting to swerve around them can be dangerous to both you and other drivers in crowded traffic, but, on the other hand, I've also known individuals that purposely and gleefully run over animals whenever the opportunity arises, even swerving out of their way to hit and kill them, and proudly boast of it after the fact. I daresay that meeting a Carrion in a dark alley would be exactly what that kind of person deserves.
This Carrion figure came together relatively quickly and easily for me. Only the four appendages have wire reinforcement inside, but, as they're lying on the ground anyway, the front legs really didn't need that support anyway (although it did help with posing said limbs). Here's how the Carrion looked at the end of the first day of work:
And this is the figure on the second day, with the first two coats of paint applied (ignoring the white teeth and red maw, this mottled gray coloration makes the creature look like it was petrified by Medusa to me). It took a lot of subsequent washes and dry brushing to get the sickly look of the damaged and rotted flesh right. I also managed to lose the tiny tongue on the carpet at one point, which was difficult to locate again (I intentionally created that element as a separate piece because it'd have made painting the teeth and interior of the mouth difficult if it had been attached).
Here's the final result. I'm not sure why I wanted to craft a figure depicting roadkill--I had sat down at my desk planning to make a Dryad from either Wizardry: Staff of Restoration or Princess Minerva, but, as often happens, I ended up creating something entirely different instead. I also hadn't modeled any new Silent Hill monstrosities in a little over five years (and this is my twenty-sixth one, believe it or not), so, maybe it was just overdue.
Materials:
Newsprint, tissue paper, wire twist ties, white glue, and acrylic paint.
Dimensions:
3.2 cm (1.3") wide x 5.7 cm (2.2") long x 2.7 cm (1.1") high.
Time:
Two days; June 18th and 19th, 2016.
REFERENCES:
Google Silent Hill: Origins Carrion image search.
GameFAQs.com various Silent Hill: Origins guides/walkthroughs.
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Any and all copyrighted imagery, terminology, etc., depicted on this page belongs to its respective holders/owners, namely Konami.
The repeating background image of rusted grating comes from the "Otherworld" of Silent Hill 1.
The midi music playing is an acoustic version of Silent Hill 2's "Promise" theme.
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