Cristian Carlone

@cristiancarlone

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Project Summary

This project draws on two passages from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, both describing humans transformed into trees — not as illustration, but as inspiration for a scene in its own right. The discovery of a beautiful piece of bark during a mountain hike with my wife provided the ideal starting point. The kit I chose is a vintage Zaku II in 1/144 scale.

The first of the two passages is from Book I, where the nymph Daphne, fleeing Apollo, begs her father Peneus to change her form:

“….. A filmy rind about her body grows; Her hair to leaves, her arms extend to boughs: The nymph is all into a lawrel gone;…...”

The second passage comes from Book VIII, where the elderly Baucis and Philemon are transformed together at the moment of death — bark sealing their final words to one another:

“Old Baucis is by old Philemon seen Sprouting with sudden leaves of spritely green: ……., And saw his lengthen’d arms a sprouting wood: New roots their fasten’d feet begin to bind, Their bodies stiffen in a rising rind: Then, ere the bark above their shoulders grew,…..”

This diorama imagines a Zaku II, mid-patrol, seized by a sudden and rapid metamorphosis into bark. The cause is deliberately left untold — the scene is concerned only with the fact that it is happening, not why. The mecha shows only minor wear and tear: this is not an abandoned machine reclaimed slowly by time, but an active one undergoing an unexpected transformation.

Its legs have already been absorbed into the tree — only two broken fragments of a leg’s connecting cable remain, snapped off and emerging from the bark. The skirt armor has started its transformation, shards of bark protruding between the skirt gaps. The shield at its side is more advanced in the transformation, the wood having taken over it’s lower part. Vines emerge from the bark and slither along and over the Zaku’s arms and upper body, pinning it down the way roots seal over anything in their path. The shoulders are also covered, like vegetation hands holding it down. The mecha cannot pull free; it is being covered, so the transformation can continue. Still, in a futile attempt, one arm tries to lift what’s left of the body; the other reaches out, its hand open, fingers spread, in a call for help that will go unanswered.

Using natural bark, moss, and lichen, this piece is inspired by Ovid but also pays a small homage to a recurring theme in Tomino’s Gundam saga: nature reclaiming what humanity has taken from it.

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Metamorphosis, week 7, ep. 43 - Do over test 1 - What do you think? 1

Metamorphosis, week 7, ep. 43 - Do over test 1 - What do you think? 2

Metamorphosis, week 7, ep. 43 - Do over test 1 - What do you think? 3

Metamorphosis, week 7, ep. 43 - Do over test 1 - What do you think? 4

Metamorphosis, week 7, ep. 43 - Do over test 1 - What do you think? 5

Metamorphosis, week 7, ep. 43 - Do over test 1 - What do you think? 6

Sci-Fi

96 days ago

Cristian Carlone

@cristiancarlone | Sci-Fi

Metamorphosis, week 7, ep. 43 - Do over test 1 - What do you think?

Ciao! The do over has begun.

I’m using clay again spreading it much more on the edges to thin it to a smooth and blending finish.

Then i use a piece of the bark I cut from the side of the base and use it to imprint the actual bark texture on the clay.

During the process some pieces of bark remained trapped in the clay. I keep them there for additional roughness.

I did less than half to see how it will look once the clay dries. What do you think? To my eyes it looks a lot better, more natural and better blended, but I’m not objective, so I leave it to this amazing community to judge.

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STUDIO93545 days ago
Great work with the clay :p
- CC
  Cristian Carlone45 days ago
  Replying to STUDIO935
  @studio935, thank you!
MC
Marcio Chuang95 days ago
that looks very nice
- CC
  Cristian Carlone95 days ago
  Replying to Marcio Chuang
  @marciochuang , thank you!
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MechaPainter96 days ago
Looks way better. Some matte coats will really seal it.
- CC
  Cristian Carlone96 days ago
  Replying to MechaPainter
  @mechapainter, thank you again so much for your earlier comments identifying the problems with the initial layer! In the photos is depicted the “raw” clay layer. It will be painted, weathered and then sealed with matt varnish. I still ned to do the second half of the new layer though.
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gekoch96 days ago
Just missing some insects . Great piece
- CC
  Cristian Carlone96 days ago
  Replying to gekoch
  @gekoch , that’s an interesting point of view. It’s intriguing….. are you suggesting insects because they normally are found on barks? Thank you for the comment!
KB
King Bob!96 days ago
Looks very realistic
- CC
  Cristian Carlone96 days ago
  Replying to King Bob!
  @King Bob! Thank you for appreciating it.
CC
Cristian Carlone96 days ago
@Athe3D , thanks! I appreciate your comment,
CC
Cristian Carlone96 days ago
@Gandamus_rex, thank you for liking it too!
CC
Cristian Carlone96 days ago
@Christopher Koch, thanks you for liking it!
CC
Cristian Carlone96 days ago
@Arvin Quezada , thanks a lot! Coming from you it means a lot.

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