Simply Artakha (Bionicle Canon Contest #2: Meet the Maker)

Jathru_Cranli · October 31, 2020, 3:55am

Well, it was in the nick of time, but here we go:

Please look in the comments below for further description:

The side and top views of the mask do not have the runes written completely on them. I will try to correct this as fast as possible.

Update:
The mods have allowed me to correct the detailing on the side and top views of the mask to be better consistent with the front view, and I have done so.

MaskMaker · October 31, 2020, 4:10am

Very interesting take on the runes!

Jathru_Cranli · October 31, 2020, 4:40am

Thanks, @MaskMaker!

ShonenBag · October 31, 2020, 5:31am

Dang! I get real LOTR vibes. The perspective is perfect too! A very different feel than what I went for but super impressive - I love how accurate all the line work is!

Jathru_Cranli · October 31, 2020, 7:27am

Thanks!

Abacus777 · November 2, 2020, 4:44am

Awesome job, @Jathru_Cranli!

This rocks!

Jathru_Cranli · November 2, 2020, 4:45am

Thanks!

Now onto the further-detailed description of the Artwork:

KhingK’s design was so awesomely close to perfect, but there were 2 aspects that, when added, could make it even better:

Angular and pointed eye slits (KhingK’s eye slits were more round in design than the mask’s in-story description).
The mask of creation is described in-story as “arranged in intricate patterns and designs, each reflecting one of the many cultures that flourished in the universe”, so, inspired by @Toa-of-Snow’s marvelous artwork here (you should go check it out,- it’s jam-packed with great easter eggs ) I added in several symbols representing those different cultures.
-ish: (One more thing I added was giving the mask 7 crown spires, incorporating a reference to other Mask of Creation designs such as these in Pictures 1 & 2 below (the aspect of the mask having 7 crown spires also has some other meanings as well, which are mentioned in Picture 3)):

Pic 1:

Pic 2:

Pic 3 - Symbols and features added to the mask’s design:

The eye slits were inspired by the ones in this Mask of Creation design by Vendor Scarabax Forgeries on Shapeways:

Additionally, the runes on the mask now spell the names of several different cultures in the Matoran Universe, as shown here in Pic 4:

I tried to include names of species wherever possible, and when not as able to do so, I used the names of different lands in the MU, as cultures can take the names of either the places in which they exist or the people who are members of them.

(I did not include the words “Toa” and “Turaga” since they are essentially extensions of the Matoran race/culture (similar to how both Mutants and Humans in the MARVEL Universe, both being genetically-related natives of the planet Earth, both count as “Terrans” as far the grander scale of the cosmos is concerned).)
In hindsight, I recognize that the diagram I’ve concocted might be a little confusing, so here’s a list of the words the mask’s runes spell and their locations on the mask:

Going from left to right, the words on the crown points are:

Karda Nui
Stelt
Destral
Matoran
Nynrah
Daxia
Tren Krom

After that, the words on the lower half of the face (again going left to right) are:

Artakha
Skakdi
Vortixx
Karzahni

Now for the runes on Artakha himself (in hindsight, I’ve noticed that the shade of silver I’ve used can get somewhat less easy to read up against a sand green background, so I’ve highlighted those runes in a lighter shade in Pic 5 right below):
Pic 5:

Some the runes on Artakha’s armor were inspired by those of the Danish (it wouldn’t be the first reference Bionicle has made to the land of the company that created it), and in the areas circled in blue, you can see some runes inspired by the ancient writing on both Takua’s torso and Vakama’s welding goggles. This writing seems to be in an older language than that of Matoran, possibly something that the great beings themselves carved on the first Matoran they ever built, and might be something we can link with crafting and the forge because of this and how it also shows up on the safety gear Vakama uses when carving kanohi, also, this writing is seen having to do with characters whose destinies are tied to masks of legendary status (one of those masks being one forged by Artakha himself, and the other being the final part of the complete set of the 3 Legendary Masks,- a set of which Artakha’s own Mask of Creation is a part), and thus, it seems appropriate to include these symbols on Artakha’s chest armor and forge hammer, a hammer which, in this entry, he is using to craft the mask that Takua’s destiny is tied to.

Also, some of the runes are formed by actual pieces of the MOC’s build,
as seen here.

Pic 6:
On another note, instead of an anvil like we use on Earth, Artakha is using something from his own universe,- a smithing table designed to be a larger, elevated version of the one Vakama uses in Legends of Metru Nui.

Pic 7:
Some artists in this contest have made comic book panels out of their entry artwork, and I am joining in.
While others’ aim in this practice has been to capture the pure drama of the first time he stepped outside his island in centuries, this pic is about Artakha saying a dad joke to himself as he crafts (he is the “Father of The Toa Mata”, after all. )