Designing DEAD gODS - Tubal-Cain

The first blacksmith.

If you'd like to support this project:

More links:

Music:
"Shadows" by Stray Theories
"Nightstate" by Stray Theories
"Raqsa" by Bytheway-May

[CheerfuEntropy]

hello, blacksmith here, i suggest looking up the blacksmithing tool called the "third hand" or a "holdfast". they are hook shaped bars of metal that fit in a hole in an anvil or bench and they hook downward. they clamp workpieces down with a hammer tap. Ive seen some designed to end in a pointing hand, so that it appears like a hand is holding down the workpiece with one finger. seems to fit your motif

[moriskurth]

I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but the idea of Tubal-Cain, the first blacksmith, having a disfigured, and slightly disabled face from his years of learning the forge kinda parallels the Greek Myth of Hephaestus, the God of the Forge, who himself was disfigured or disabled when he was thrown down from Mount Olympus.

Perhaps, in your timeline, an echo of who Tubal-Cain was, and what he did, somehow survived, just as it did with the Watchers, where Shamsiel and your Electric Watcher might have had some faint memories carry over to Egypt and the Norse (and possibly a little Greek, with Zeus' lightning bolts) respectively.

[theelementalstation]

Honestly I love the idea of him casually making gorgeous works of art just to warm up or test the quality of a delivered ore shipment before getting down to the “actually important” task of making the sharpest sticks one can poke with.

[FrostWolfPack]

Something of that slight smile on his face gave me feel of a man how really enjoys his work.

[gabeguidry]

The idea of Tubal smiling and praising a new apprentice’s work doesn’t feel out of place given his kind smirk underneath his mask.

[Lurklen]

The graphite skin is "chef's kiss" that perfect alien element that ties it all together. This is a man who is in _love_ with the craft, and as it is the age of excess so great it had to be washed away to start over, of course it's become a practically erotic element of his court and culture.

He seems to bear an artist's madness. The obsessive artistry of someone who cannot stop tinkering, picking, and making, and who has been forged through the crucible of discovery into someone who makes beauty and death, and who is aware of his own imperfections, but feels he can improve upon them. You can tell, that if he could, he would make flesh into iron and metal, and see it as an improvement.

Really great work.

[SethKotta]

I can picture him shaping hot metal with his gloved hands, as if he were working clay.

[patrykmaksymowicz]

I love what you did with the Tubal-Cain ( the first blacksmith ). Since you made "The Hunter" a nephilim, I was kind of afraid that the aspect of "transformation" of the human body in span of centuries to fit a specific profession was dropped. It's good to see that you still hold to your original ideas. I can't wait to see other "human" gods.

[RexAresius]

Tubal-Cain, the perfect fusion of Ferrus Manus, Perturabo and Vulkan

[Zeliek]

Since Hephaestus name was mentioned a lot in the comments I would like to add that blacksmithing in the bronze age was carcinogenic. The skin especially the skin of the hands of blacksmiths turned off-white. The paint might be there to hide it but it would be a strong statement of status like the burned face of mastery to show that. Maybe only him and his true blacksmithing apprentices have different colored hands.

[garrettmasters]

I like this growing idea that man's hubris and pride has gone so far from what The Creator envisioned in The Garden, that the greatest of men begin to see themselves as being on the same level as the fallen angels (I.E. spiritual beings being deserving of admiration and praise). This totally parallels the Serpent's fall from the Heavenly Throne room


Keep it up sir. I am so excited to continue to see where this goes

[CedarloreForge]

Love it Matt! As a fulltime Swordsmith I’d love to help you literally forge some of these designs in real steel and bronze, maybe as perks for your Patrons? These would be so fun to forge.

We should talk! Thanks for blessing the world with this series and your awesome talents. 🙏

[glasslaughter]

Would love a short of a young tubal Cain going to the gates of eden, and pestering the angel at the gate not for entry to the garden but about the sword it weilded.

[NightyN-eye-t]

This is one of the best world building series ever!!

[riverhall-geib]

I'm not big on biblical lore, so I'm not sure if this concept has enough backing it up, but I'd love to see a sort of "master butcher character, " I feel like a person who spent centuries perfecting how to deconstruct a body down to its basest elements would be a pretty terrifying adversary, and I think there's a lot of potential for some really cool character design.

[pabloantoniomendozamartine]

really like this character!
I can imagine how Tubal-Cain would serve as inspiration for other mythological blacksmiths, like Hephaestus.

[CooperMarchese-dziv]

I’m surprised u didn’t ad the mark of Cain to the design given its what gave his grandfather his painful immortality

[genericuser]

blacksmith characters are a favorite of mine, i always find them interesting and seeing how the world's setting affects the craft of smithing is fun!

[Knight]

I love fantasy blacksmiths and this does not disappoint. I love the clothes that he and his followers wear.

[atronachh]

The way this project combines real mythology, paleontology and history to create a version of what might have been makes it really special. Somewhat similar to how Tolkien crafted middle earth. This stands out nowadays when every 20 something year old art student thinks they can make up a world from scratch because they played a few fantasy games