[Malaclypse]

Perhaps a bit premature since the Jaghut Huntress effort is ongoing, but I'm going to do it anyway. Same deal as the Huntress - a copy of the 10th anniversary edition of gardens with a personalized signature by SE for the one judged the best

I think the following quote is the best description from the books:

Quote

Virtually hairless everywhere barring the brown, almost black mane sweeping down past his broad shoulders. In the days since they had come to this strange realm, a beard had begun, thin along Onrack’s jaw line and above his mouth, the bristles wide-spaced and black as a boar’s; but not growing at all on the cheeks, nor the neck. The features of the face were broad and flat, dominated by a flaring nose with a pronounced bridge, like a knuckle-bone between the wide-spaced, deeply-inset eyes. The heavy ridge over those eyes was made all the more robust by the sparseness of the eyebrows.
Although not particularly tall, Onrack nevertheless seemed huge. Ropy muscles bound to thick bone, the arms elongated, the hands wide but the fingers stubby. The legs were disproportionately short, bowed so that the knees were almost as far out to the sides as his hips. Yet Onrack moved with lithe stealth, furtive as prey, eyes flicking in every direction, head tilting, nostrils flaring as he picked up scents on the wind. Prey, yet now he needed to satsify a prodigious appetite, and when Onrack hunted, it was with discipline, a singlemindedness that was fierce to witness.

Imass are undoubtedly Malazan analogues for Neandertals but I would discourage people from using modern reconstructions of Neandertals as I feel most of them are rubbish - at least take them with a grain of salt. Here's one that I think illustrates the cranial characteristics faithfully:

 picture-comparing-cranium-of-a-modern-man-to-neanderthal-man.jpg (57.77K)
Number of downloads: 66

Good luck!

This post has been edited by Malaclypse: 15 January 2010 - 11:06 AM

[Merlkir]

Oh goodness, a contest with an actual awesome prize?! Is there a deadline? I'd love to participate in at least one of the two once my exams are over. (next week-ish)

[Hetan]

If you want to participate in either competition, we're not in a hurry, so go ahead when you can

[Merlkir]

Ok then.

For more knowledgeable people - what would Onrack be wearing in this scene? Or would he be naked?

[Sindriss]

As I recall, this is in the jungle, so probably very little, maybe a loincloth to cover critical areas

[Gothos]

Is that passage from their trip through Tellan? Or from the pocket realm with the gate to SD?

[Malaclypse]

Sindriss, on 17 January 2010 - 03:21 PM, said:

As I recall, this is in the jungle, so probably very little, maybe a loincloth to cover critical areas

not jungle. tundra at first, giving way to plains and some woodland.

Gothos, on 17 January 2010 - 07:37 PM, said:

Is that passage from their trip through Tellan? Or from the pocket realm with the gate to SD?

Tellann.

As far as what he's wearing, SE doesn't go into specifics but the Imass wear clothing made from skins, with moccasins or simple hide wrappings on the feet. I'd suggest you improvise here, just nothing too tailored

It doesn't necessarily need to be Onrack - this is just a good description of a mortal Imass.

[Merlkir]

Nah, actually, that scene where he becomes "fleshy" in the tundra is exactly where I finished reading the book before my dad took it. I haven't read anything past that yet.

So I'll be using that I think.

This post has been edited by Merlkir: 18 January 2010 - 02:53 PM

[Gothos]

could go with furst there actually. Also, remember that at this point, whatever Onrack was wearing is over 300,000 thousand years old. more like tattered strips and cured ropes than proper clothing.

[Malaclypse]

Yeah, we're looking for more of a typical Imass before the ritual rather than a specific character or scene. I searched for some mention of Onrack's clothing as the group progressed through Tellann but I didn't find anything useful regarding his clothing, but there is mention of his expanding toolkit, bags, pigments (body paint would not be inappropriate btw), etc. so he would have been renewing his wardrobe as well - I'll have another look...

edit: might as well include everythign I can find that might be helpful:

Quote

Onrack had disappeared into the forest again and again in the first week of their wandering. Each time he reappeared his tool-kit had expanded. A wooden shaft, the point of which he hardened in the fire of their camp; vines and reeds from which he fashioned snares, and nets that he then attached to the other end of the spear, displaying impressive skill at trapping birds on the wing.
From the small mammals his nightly snares caught he assembled skins and gut. With the stomachs and intestines of hares he made floats for the weighted nets he strung across streams, and from the grayling and sturgeon harvested he gathered numerous spines which he then used to sew together the hides, fashioning a bag. He collected charcoal and tree-sap, lichens, mosses, tubers, feathers and small pouches of animal fat, all of which went into the hide bag.
But all of these things were as nothing when compared with the burgeoning of the man himself. A face Trull had known only as dried skin taut over shattered bone was now animate with expression, and it was if Trull had been blind to his friend in the time before, when even vocal inflection had been flat and lifeless.
Onrack now smiled. A sudden alighting of genuine pleasure
...

The previous evening he had returned from a sojourn into the forest with a sheath of bark in his hands. On it were nuggets of crumbly yellow ochre. Later, beside the fire while Quick Ben cooked the remaining meat from a small deer Onrack had killed in the forest two days previously, the Imass ground the nuggets into powder. Then, using spit and grease, he made a yellow paste.
...
as Onrack began applying the paint to his face, neck and arms,
...
When the last daub of paint marked his amber skin
...
Onrack then rose and faced them, his spear in one hand, sword in the other
...

He doesn't wear the emlava skin, but with a bit of artistic license I think it would look cool:

Quote

The creature hulking into view, blinking sleep from its charcoal eyes, was the size of a plains brown bear. Its enormous upper canines projected down past its lower jaw, long as a huntsman’s knife and polished the hue of amber. The head was broad and flat, the ears small and set far back. Short-necked, the emlava’s shoulders were hunched, forming a kind of muscled hump. Its fur was striped, black barbs on deep grey, although its throat revealed a flash of white.

Ha! Found a description of Rud Elalle's clothing:

Quote

. He wore a cloak of ranag hide, deep brown and amber-tipped the fur. Beneath that was a supple leather shirt of deerskin. His leggings were of thicker, tougher allish hide. On his feet were ranag leather moccasins that reached to just below his knees.

ranag=muskox

edit: allish = caribou

This post has been edited by Malaclypse: 18 January 2010 - 06:59 PM

[Merlkir]

OK, I started on this. Onrack has a darker skin which probably couldn't be described as "amber", but it fits my lighting set. :/ maybe I'll amberize it more further in the process. I'm not sure, maybe I'll finish this tonight. Either way, I'll post it here soon.

edit: ok, here goes. It's 1 AM and I'm quite tired.




(His skin didn't end up more "amber", I know. This is just how I imagine the Imass. )

This post has been edited by Merlkir: 21 January 2010 - 12:19 AM

[Malaclypse]

Great work Merlkir!

This is exactly the kind of image we are looking for

[Hetan]

I think that is fantastic Merlkir - I love it that he's holding a flower - it seems so appropriate from what we know of Onrack. Very well done and thank you for posting it.

[Spindrift]

merlkir: Nice!

[Merlkir]

Thanks guys, I had a lot of fun painting it. (I haven't painted anything in a while so it was good to start with something I felt so good about)

Is there a special purpose behind these challenges? Are the images going to be used for something?

[Malaclypse]

Merlkir, on 21 January 2010 - 12:02 PM, said:

Is there a special purpose behind these challenges? Are the images going to be used for something?

Generally, we're trying to generate some images of subjects that have not been represented much or at all thusfar. Specifically, we're working on a Malazan Encyclopedia, putting together a proposal for the publisher and images like these are useful in that regard. Worry not, credit will be given where it is due and if any such image is used in a commercial project, monetary recompense will be forthcoming

[Merlkir]

Ah, coolness! When I started reading Reaper's Gale during Christmas, I was thinking about how awesome it would be to illustrate a guide or encyclopedia about everything in these books. (oh yes, all the various warrior cultures and powerful characters, I would love to do that. )

[Malaclypse]

Merlkir, on 21 January 2010 - 01:17 PM, said:

Ah, coolness! When I started reading Reaper's Gale during Christmas, I was thinking about how awesome it would be to illustrate a guide or encyclopedia about everything in these books. (oh yes, all the various warrior cultures and powerful characters, I would love to do that. )

If I could pay you, I'd sign you up immediately. Alas, for the time being, we must make do. If and when things come to fruition though, I'll definitely put in a good word for several of the artists here

edit: this is now my desktop image btw

This post has been edited by Malaclypse: 21 January 2010 - 04:32 PM

[Hetan]

I know Mal has already said it, but I should add that any art-work that is submitted from this forum will be fully credited.
We really appreciate the time and effort you guys put into these competitions.

[Malaclypse]

Another test for the homepage rotation. Tell me what you think:
 760_Imass_test.jpg (251.66K)
Number of downloads: 30

it's such a nice moment, which SE clearly meant to convey through numerous scenes, so I'm officially sold

I would like to now encourage other prospective artists and stress that they ought not to be discouraged by this warm and fuzzy interpretation, as excellent as it is. Martial, angry scenes featuring pre-Ritual Imass are not only in the minority, they are non-existent. Please...

This post has been edited by Malaclypse: 21 January 2010 - 08:57 PM