Propnomicon

Friday, April 20, 2018

After the Bomb

Dmitri Zaitsev of Nuclear Snail Studios has made a career out of creating post-apocalyptic costuming and showing others how to do the same. His latest is this phenomonal dystopian marine costume. Just click through for the full gallery, which features some detailed closeups.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Heart How-To

Madeyewlook Twice brings us this handy tutorial on crafting a realistic human heart using clay and off the shelf makeup products. This would make a great weekend project with the kids! Heh.

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

That Which Shows the Way

This Vegvisir adorned tome comes to us from the talented Alex Libris. Featuring a hand tooled leather cover and custom hardware.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Things That Go Boom

Chris at Chunk-A-Nuke props brings us this menacing selection of explosives from Fallout: New Vegas. I particularly like the Plasma Mine and Red Glare ammo cylinder.

Monday, April 16, 2018

The Spear of Destiny

The unveiling of Dale Bigford's Immortality Box continues. Some of the latest items include a very well done take on the Spear of Destiny and a Hittite Lich Phylactery. As with the other artifacts their respective back stories are outstanding.

As an aside, my spellcheck tried to change Lich to Luchador. The thought of a millennia old Hittite sorcerer competing in the squared circle of Lucha Libre wrestling is strangely compelling.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Blade of the Dwemer

This beautiful recreation of Skyrim's Dwarven Dagger comes to us from artist Daniel O'Keefe.

Friday, April 13, 2018

Ask Not for Whom the Bell Screams...

...it screams for thee. Warhammerlarp brings us this Skaven Screaming Bell from a Russian, uh, Warhammer LARP.

What's All This?

Propnomicon focuses on horror and fantasy props of interest to fans of H. P. Lovecraft and players of the "Call of Cthulhu" role playing game. That includes items directly inspired by Lovecraft's writing, DIY information for creating your own works, printable paper props, and source materials related to the 1920's and 30's, the "classic era" of the Cthulhu Mythos. Beyond that, the proprietor of the blog also enjoys pulp action stories, classic supernatural horror, mad science, and the occasional foray into more modern interpretations of the Mythos.

All of the original material here is free for the taking under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Propnomicon is an Amazon affiliate site. That means any purchases you make from an Amazon link published here result in a small commission. It doesn't cost you anything, and helps defray the cost of the goofy stuff I buy on Amazon.

DIY Propmaking Resources

A Fun Blog- Mike J's blog of prop references and projects. Lots of movie weapons and lesser known film and media props.
Blind Squirrel Props- the home of professional propmaker Mike Iverson. Detailed build logs for media and video game props.
Cartographers' Guild- a forum for fantasy cartography. Filled with great advice, mapmaking tutorials, and a library of free symbols, textures, and fonts.
Cephalopod Productions- insanely great advice and inspiration on making "Call of Cthulhu" props. No longer updated.
Cthulhu's Treasure Box - photographs, documents, and ephemera from the classic era of the Mythos. No longer updated.
Dave Lowe Design- illustrations, cartoons, and amazingly creative low-budget prop designs.
El Dodo Albino- Spanish language site with a variety of prop projects.
Fake Believe- propmaking and photography from Purebred Photo.
Folkenstal Armory- amazing recreations of the arms and armor of the Elder Scrolls videogames.
Indy Gear- a site dedicated to Indiana Jones and the plethora of props found in all four movies. Be sure to visit the forum for advice, ready to print items, and inspiration.
MRX Designs- crafting some wonderful steampunk and horror props.
Props by Eric Hart- professional propmaker with New York City's Public Theater
Punished Props- Professional propmaker Bill Doran. Shares in-depth looks at his projects and techniques.
Seveness- prop design and photography from the gifted Florian Mellies. No longer updated.
Sicksore- incredible art and prop tutorials from Leo Dias (in Portuguese). No longer updated.
The Brass Goggles Steampunk Forum- The "Tactile" sub-board in particular is a goldmine of ideas.
The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society- the group that almost single-handedly revolutionized CoC prop creation. Free PDF's of prop documents, an amazing adventure archive, and great merchandise.
The Replica Prop Forum- heavily skewed towards reproductions of movie props, particularly "Star Wars". Still, the DIY material is priceless.
Volpin Props- video game props from Harrison Krix. Excellent craftsmanship and build logs.

Inspirational Artists

Andrea Bonazzi - Mythos influenced sculptures and photographs of particular interest to propmakers.
Cryptocurium- Wonderful Lovecraftian and horror art from artist Jason McKittrick.
Dr. Takeshi Yamada- One of the preminent gaff artists of the modern revival.
Francois Launet - an incredible Lovecraftian artist. Widely known these days for his hysterical webcomic "Unspeakable Vault (of Doom)"
Rick LaRue - a mix of rogue taxidermy style sideshow gaffs and more outre items.
Ross MacDonald - artist and propmaker behind gems like "The Book of Secrets" from the film "National Treasure"

Other Stuff

Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets- ol' skool gaming spells, magic items, and commentary.
CoastConFan- CoastCon, and some amazing Lovecraftian art and photography.
Cryptocurium- Lovecraftian chocolates and candy. Home of the gummi Cthulhu!
CthulhuWho1's Blog - Lovecraftiana and Dark Fantasy, including recordings of Lovecraft's stories.
Goomi's Unspeakable Vault- the lighter side of the Mythos.
Make - "Make" magazine's blog of DIY resources.
The Art of Darkness - a blog of horror art, and stuff.
The Skeptics Dictionary- debunking every flavor of woo-woo known to man.