That is gonna be fierce
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Congrats to the worthy winner.
Looking forward to see what sort of mask designs people suggest to complement this build.
Remember that this is a chance to be creative! (And remember that the mask’s description doesn’t actually mention runes, just elaborate carving, so don’t feel obliged to follow the orthodoxy!)
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That’s a good point. I see lots of discussion about making the mask gold to stand out, but that doesn’t matter if the mask is covered in runes to match Artakha anyways.
To truly make the mask stand out, it should be gold, and have no runes.
Runes are Artakha’s thing. There is no reason for the mask to have them, since it was not made for him, just like there is no reason for the colour to match him.
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Welp, that’s a sigh of half relief and half disappointment (so a sigh of indifference, I guess 
).
@Connor_Hoffman’s mocs have never been my cup of tea (mostly because of an overuse of system) and I’m especially turned away by system-heavy mocs that are entries for a canon contest. But with this, I really think he struck the absolute perfect balance of constraction and system so that it’s at the very least acceptable to all parties. For me, it’s plenty acceptable for being the canon depiction of Artakha and an overall great moc.
Nice job!
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You missed Hydraxon, the one set that have the same finger that this figure but have 4 of them.
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This may not have been the entry that was legally required to win in most jurisdictions outside the West Sahara, nor the one that was mathematically bound to win because its proportions and dimensions had direct ties to the equation that would prove the grand unification theory, nor was it my first choice (it was my second), but congratulations nonetheless! This guy definitely has what it takes to be Artakha.
Runes are the mask’s thing too:
His mask was the most ornate anyone had ever seen – more than just a Kanohi, it was a true work of art. The metallic protodermis from which it was forged was arranged in intricate patterns and designs, each reflecting one of the many cultures that flourished in the universe. The eye slits were angular and pointed, giving him an air of both wisdom and a vague sense of menace.
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I don’t really think that those spikes on brutaka’s hands are supposed to be additional fingers and I don’t really consider the movie dedigns canon but I get that the finger number is kinda vague, but since they started with the hand pieces with fingers I still believe that 4 fingers should be sorta the norm
That quote makes no mention of runes.
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Not “runes,” but certainly ornate carvings representative of many cultures, and given the level of detail achievable in a MOC/artwork, runes are acceptable.
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Rune: Letter of an alphabet.
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Design: A decorative pattern
The armour is covered in ancient (Spherus Magna?) writing. The mask is an elaborate shape, but nowhere is it stated to have writing on it.
If anything, the explicit mention of runes on the armour but not on the mask suggests the mask shouldn’t bear runes, or they would have been mentioned.
Having runes on the mask works fine imo, especially since it won’t prevent the mask from being “arranged in intricate patterns and designs.”
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There is also no mention of carvings. What is mentioned is intricate shapes and patterns.
Could the mask have runes or carvings? Yes. That would be completely acceptable.
But not having runes would further differentiate the mask from Artakha, just like making it gold.
The design for the Mask of Creation should be completely independent of anything on Artakha, since it was forged completely independent of Artakha.
Saying that the mask should have runes because Artakha has runes is a pointless statement.
Just ask yourself: Would this work on Karzahni?
Canonically, the mask can totally have runes. Canonically, the mask can also not have runes.
Just like how, canonically, the mask can be any colour.
But, I am of the mind that the Mask should take no design cues from Artakha, since the Mask was not designed with Artakha in mind.
Given that no other creation of the Great Beings has carvings or runes on it/them, I see no reason for this Mask to have them.
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Reign of Shadows, Chapter 10:
He stood at least 10 feet tall. His armor was gray-green and covered in runes carved at the beginning of time. His mask was the most ornate anyone had ever seen – more than just a Kanohi, it was a true work of art. The metallic protodermis from which it was forged was arranged in intricate patterns and designs, each reflecting one of the many cultures that flourished in the universe. The eye slits were angular and pointed, giving him an air of both wisdom and a vague sense of menace.
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The mask I designed had no Artakha envisioned because the mask design came before the canonization contest even existed. When I designed the mask, I figured it would need to be compatible with every Artakha MOC possible if the MOC was ever to exist (even when I had no idea what Artakha looks like). From there, a lot of people decided to give that mask a body when the canonization contest came around. I am glad the mask was used often throughout the contest because it shows how compatible the mask is to basically every Artakha MOC out there. In a sense, I basically played the role of Heremus lol.
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Just chiming in to say I finally have gotten around to posting the results of the poll over in the topic! You can find a link to that post here.
Congratulations to the finalists and to @Connor_Hoffman for taking the top spot! We’ll see you guys soon for the artwork portion.
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You’re not necessarily wrong, but your very literalist interpretation of the passage does not hold absolute truth any more than my liberal interpretation. I agree with @Kodiak that one does not necessarily preclude the other.
I knew you would take that phrase and use it to say that carvings are mentioned nowhere, and therefore they don’t need to be present. However, consider that Kanohi are not very large objects – shapes and patterns can only go so far to represent many cultures in the MU, whereas engraved (or not carved, but otherwise shaped) details would allow for many depictions of different species and cultures throughout the MU. I would prefer the mask to be gold and to stand separately from Artakha, but I never said it should have runes because Artakha does.
Conversely, Artakha’s armor may have myriad runes because his mask does, and he shaped his armor to reflect his Kanohi. Any of these options are equally canon.
This part is just also… false. The Ignika itself has the image of the Mata Nui robot embossed on its face, representing its purpose of reviving and rebooting the robot. The Mask of Creation likewise may have the images of many cultures and species on its surface, representing its task of creating tools for the various species in the MU who each have a unique role in keeping the robot functioning.
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I think we are saying the same thing here. There is absolutely no evidence to support the claim that the mask does or does not have runes. There are plenty of good theories that go both ways, but nothing conclusive. The inclusion, or lack thereof, should not be mandatory.
I want it to not have [Artakha-style] runes, to better stand alone, but that is purely personal preference.
That is an interesting theory about Artakha’s armour though. It certainly could be true.
You also have a good point about the symbolism on the Ignika.
EDIT: I have thought about it a bit more, and I have come up with a more clarified position:
You make a good point about runes/carvings possibly being necessary to convey all the cultures of the universe. So I can accept that runes may be necessary.
However, I still think that the runes should be completely separate in meaning and appearance from the runes on Artakha himself, since these runes would have different origins. Just like how the carving on the Ignika is separate from the runes on Artakha.
To summarize: I am not necessarily anti-rune, but I am anti-Artakha-style-rune, in terms of the mask.
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I completely agree.
Semi-related, I’m going over-the-top here, but the Great Beings also created:
- The Great Telescope, which features specific carvings to relate to observers different stages of Mata Nui’s awakening process
- The Kini-Nui, which has a carving of a massive Toa head and statues of the six Toa Mata (sans Kanohi)
- The Great Sundial, which… doesn’t really count, but look, it has carvings.
- The box containing the prototype robot’s power source, which had detailing, even if it has no apparent meaning
- The Valley of the Maze, which admittedly is a case of chicken-or-the-egg: did the Rock Tribe insignia come first, or the maze? (The latter is more likely imo)
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Those examples actually help elaborate on the point being made:
Each of those sets of carvings was unique, since they were created for different reasons.
Just like how the Mask of Creation and Artakha were created for different purposes, so the carvings on them should be different.
Side topic time: What do the runes on Artakha even mean? My theory is that they’re just notes and equations he made about various creations.
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