Ancient clay tablet tutorial?

Sandman0077

Sr Member

• Aug 27, 2014

• #1

Hey all. I'm looking to recreated some of the images from the Legend of Zelda: Windwaker intro movie into an aged clay tablets.

The images I'm using look like this:


And the effect I want to go for is like this:



Obviously, I can just get a clay slab and carve the design, but I'm wondering how to get it to look like there is an underside to the tablet. To me, it looks like the tablets have a stone center and the clay was put on top of it, giving it the two-layered effect.

I plan to possibly use a darker toned clay for the under clay, then a lighter toned clay for the actual inscribing. That way it will crack and flake off easier and give it that look.

Has anyone done this effect before or aged clay?


-The Truth is Out There-

 

division 6

Master Member

• Aug 27, 2014

• #2

Cuneiform, from the Latin cuneus, meaning "wedge," is the term applied to a mode of writing which used a wedge-shaped stylus to make impressions on a clay surface, and also on stone, metal, and wax. Most of the clay tablets were sun-baked, making surviving tablets very fragile. This technique originated in ancient southern Mesopotamia and the earliest texts in cuneiform script are about 5000 years old.


Googling Cuneiform should yield the information you need.

 

Sandman0077

Sr Member

• Aug 27, 2014

• #3

I googled that already, but I couldn't find anything confirming the clay-over-stone theory I have, or how to accurately age clay. All I could find was child-related activities and techniques if how to write in the cuneiform style.


-The Truth is Out There-

 

division 6

Master Member

• Aug 27, 2014

• #4

All the references I looked at only say clay, nothing about clay over stone.
Wouldn't work anyhow since the clay would shrink, crack and break off of a stone as it dried.

 

Sandman0077

Sr Member

• Aug 27, 2014

• #5

division 6 said:

All the references I looked at only say clay, nothing about clay over stone.
Wouldn't work anyhow since the clay would shrink, crack and break off of a stone as it dried.

Click to expand...

I'm thinking of drying a slab until leather hard, then slipping the broke/cracked detailed layer on top of the slab and fusing them. Then start roughing it up and shaping the overall shape i.e. broken/missing corners, etc.


-The Truth is Out There-

 

Sandman0077

Sr Member

• Aug 31, 2014

• #6

Bump for knowledge.


-The Truth is Out There-

 

Chaank

Sr Member

• Sep 1, 2014

• #7

Just as a thought, I think what you might be seeing is just the weird, irregular way natural clay can break. Being softer and taking on moister can make the outer layer crack or break up more than the middle and the middle to break in larger, stronger pieces. That's what I've experienced anyway. Are you going to use air dry clay? Seems like the best choice. I think what you said could be the go. A thin surface to detail and once dry block out the back a little. I use broken rocks to stamp a nice stone texture and washes. There are a few tutorials on youtube that might help too but nothing you probably haven't thought about. :cheers

 

The Schlitzie

Sr Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Sep 1, 2014

• #8

Why not just bake a sheet of darker clay and then put a thin layer of lighter clay over it, sculpt, bake and then bust it up and begin washing colors and dusting etc.?

 

Sandman0077

Sr Member

• Sep 1, 2014

• #9

The Schlitzie said:

Why not just bake a sheet of darker clay and then put a thin layer of lighter clay over it, sculpt, bake and then bust it up and begin washing colors and dusting etc.?

Click to expand...

I would have to bake them together at the same time. I'm considering making a master with whatever way I find best, then making a plaster mold and slip casting it.

I will most likely just be air drying the tablets, both for authenticity and because I do not have a kiln at my house lol.


-The Truth is Out There-

 

Mike J.

Master Member

• Sep 1, 2014

• #10

You could throw it in a fire. Many clay tablets were accidentally preserved when their libraries were burned down, unintentionally firing the clay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_tablet

 

Sandman0077

Sr Member

• Sep 1, 2014

• #11

Mike J. said:

You could throw it in a fire. Many clay tablets were accidentally preserved when their libraries were burned down, unintentionally firing the clay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_tablet

Click to expand...

Very true. I might just cast a bunch and set them near a fire for awhile.


-The Truth is Out There-

 

Mike J.

Master Member

• Sep 1, 2014

• #12

Or put them on your BBQ grill

Conversely, what you may be seeing are the remains of clay envelopes with a clay tablet inside. This might explain the apparent difference in materials, color, etc.


-MJ