# Eldritch Terrors Galour! (Now With 25% More Eeriness For Your Viewing Satisfaction.)



## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 11, 2007)

A while back, some of you expressed an interest in seeing some of my original Lovecraftian conceptual designs. 

The following images are culled from one of my many sketchbooks that I keep at hand during the course of the day. These are my ideas of what Lovecraft's critters would look like if I actually encountered them in our day-to-day world.

One sketchbook is devoted solely to architectural and environmental elements (R'yleh, Innsmouth, Arkham, Miskatonic University, etc.), while others are geared towards organic (?) lifeforms. All the designs contained within are based upon a theme and variation foundation. What you see here are only one of dozens of designs for each particular character.

Scanning in and formatting these images are a bit labour intensive, so please excuse the fact that more aren't posted. As time allows I'll update and add more images to this thread. Until then, I hope all of you enjoy these dark profferings and perverse peregrinations:








The Dreaming God, Great Cthulhu.






A Deep One - Tertiary and Final Stage.






A Night Gaunt.


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## Pyan (Oct 11, 2007)

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_*Three *_eyes, Curt? Do you have a source for that, or is it artistic licence?


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 11, 2007)

*Re: Eldritch Terrors Galour! (Now With 25% More Eeriness For Your Viewing Satisfactio*



pyan said:


> _*Three *_eyes, Curt? Do you have a source for that, or is it artistic licence?



Well, as you know, good old H.P. left a wide berth for visual interpretation in his works. Although there is no documentation to support me giving Cthulhu a set of three eyes, nor is there any to refute it either. Pure, plain and simple, this is a bit of creative license on my part to be certain . . . . but with a consistent and underlying logic to it. 

In almost all cases, terrestrial morphology has appendages, limbs, fins, eyes, teeth, etc. grouped in even-numbered pairs. Since Lovecraft's creations were a distinct violation of the laws of nature as we know them, I thought asymmetry and uneven pairings were the right way to go in my interpretations to achieve the proper sense of strangeness and disruption of the natural order on this plane of existence.


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## Pyan (Oct 11, 2007)

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I see where you're going there...and, of course, _Slither the Shoggoth _bears this out.........


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 11, 2007)

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What a, er . . . . _cute_ little fellow! Can he be housebroken and, if so, can he be trained to fetch balls and small children without engulfing them? 

But seriously though, is that your sketch?


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## HardScienceFan (Oct 12, 2007)

*Re: Eldritch Terrors Galour! (Now With 25% More Eeriness For Your Viewing Satisfactio*

brilliant ,Curt


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 12, 2007)

*Re: Eldritch Terrors Galour! (Now With 25% More Eeriness For Your Viewing Satisfactio*

Thanks Ben!


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## Allegra (Oct 12, 2007)

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Awesome sketches, Curt! I especially like The Dreaming God - gruesome and erotic. These images will no doubt provide valuable visual effect for my ambitious Lovecraft reading in the near future!


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## Pyan (Oct 12, 2007)

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Curt Chiarelli said:


> But seriously though, is that your sketch?


Alas no, Curt, much as I'd like to take the credit....I'll try and find the artist's name for you.


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## Talysia (Oct 12, 2007)

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Those are absolutely brilliant, Curt.  Nicely done!


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## Allegra (Oct 12, 2007)

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Py's cutie is really cute. I wouldn't mind to adopt one as long as it doesn't bark or mimic telephone ringing.


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## HoopyFrood (Oct 12, 2007)

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Wow, Curt, those are amazing! (Really puts to shame my lame attempts at drawings of Cthulhu ) I especially like the Deep One skulking along there. And that's a unusual but brilliant variation of Cthulhu; of all the many pictures of seen of the Dreaming One, I've never seen one quite like that! But as you say, there's a lot of room for individual interpretation in Lovecraft's stories. Awesome. I eagerly look forward to any other pictures that you post in the future!


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 13, 2007)

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Allegra said:


> Awesome sketches, Curt! I especially like The Dreaming God - gruesome and erotic. These images will no doubt provide valuable visual effect for my ambitious Lovecraft reading in the near future!



Thanks again Lily! The Freudian _vagina dentata_ is a disturbing visual motiv in and of itself, but here it has a special significance as I'm keying off of Lovecraft's own Victorian sexual neurosis. The combination of that, the morphological asymmetry and those dead, obsidian orbs - eyes without any residual trace of empathy - seemed so correct for this character. Now imagine the owner of that face towering two hundred feet above you. The overall visual impact, its sheer _gestalt_, would be so overwhelming as to unhinge even the most calloused amongst us. And I believe that's how Lovecraft would have wanted it.


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 13, 2007)

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Talysia and Hoopy: Thanks so much for the kind words! Well, interpreting a beloved author's work is a dangerous affair - everyone has strong opinions about how the characters should look. So, when I posted these sketches it was not without some trepidation, but I'm relieved that they're finding acceptance here at the _Chronic!_


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## j d worthington (Oct 13, 2007)

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Well, as we've discussed some of your interpretations before, Curt, as a purist, I don't always _agree_ with your interpretation, but that's simply me being a stick-in-the-mud..... They are impressive pieces, and really do deserve to be out there as valid interpretations... and preferably either available in book form themselves, or as the artwork in set of Lovecraftian graphic adaptations/original tales....


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## Pyan (Oct 13, 2007)

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That was a surprise, Curt: didn't realise you were a Deviantart!


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 13, 2007)

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j. d. worthington said:


> Well, as we've discussed some of your interpretations before, Curt, as a purist, I don't always _agree_ with your interpretation, but that's simply me being a stick-in-the-mud..... They are impressive pieces, and really do deserve to be out there as valid interpretations... and preferably either available in book form themselves, or as the artwork in set of Lovecraftian graphic adaptations/original tales....



Thanks J.D.! I was just weary of seeing the same old hoary squidheads cavorting across book covers or - the ultimate cop-out - pigment smudged or clay slapped on and swirled around indiscriminately without rhyme or reason, thinking that this created a "Lovecraftian mood". I still think Michael Whelan and John Jude Palencar are the best Lovecraftian interpreters operating today!


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 13, 2007)

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pyan said:


> That was a surprise, Curt: didn't realise you were a Deviantart!



Well, it seemed like a natural choice, all things considered. I'm a deviant and an artist, so, it's comforting to know I'm in good company on that site!


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## j d worthington (Oct 14, 2007)

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Curt Chiarelli said:


> I still think Michael Whelan and John Jude Palencar are the best Lovecraftian interpreters operating today!


 
I'd certainly put them well up there; though I've not kept up with so many of the artists doing Lovecraftian work, that I'd be reluctant to make a list of "the best", just because of my sheer lack of knowledge. And, though he wasn't an _interpreter_ of HPL, strictly speaking, Giger was certainly influenced by in some ways, and a lot of his work remains high on my list of things evoking a Lovecraftian mood....


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 20, 2007)

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Here's an original autograph sketch by Lovecraft himself dated 11 May, 1934 and inscribed to R.H. Barlow in which we can see a profile of Old Squidface with _a set of three eyes per side_, six altogether. Although my version is short three peepers and centered no less, the theme of uneven pairings is clearly communicated through this rough drawing.


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## Pyan (Oct 20, 2007)

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Just as well HPL stuck mainly to writing....never really visualised  the Sleeping God being quite so *tubby*.......



			
				The Interpreter said:
			
		

> the theme of uneven pairings is clearly communicated through this rough drawing.


Three each side is six, though: slightly unusual, but mirrored in spiders, etc - but an odd number in _total_ still seems odd to me...


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 20, 2007)

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*Quoth The Interpreter:*

You draw 'em your way, and I'll draw 'em mine.


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## j d worthington (Oct 21, 2007)

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pyan said:


> Just as well HPL stuck mainly to writing....never really visualised the Sleeping God being quite so *tubby*.......


 
You should see some of his own self-portraits! Or the picture he did after he had been robbed of most of his clothing when living in Red Hook -- clothed in long hair and beard, standing outside a clothier's window.....


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## Curt Chiarelli (Oct 21, 2007)

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I agree on both counts; decidedly unflattering! (Still, slumbering in R'lyeh for aeons can cause you to pack on those unwanted pounds!)







The script under his self-portrait reads: "H.P. Lovecraft - On his 41st Birthday - Aug. 20, 1931 (as long as he's able, if at all, by the look.)"


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