Starganderfish
Active Member
I like to create replica props from TV and Movies but it's also a blast to create stuff from some of my favourite books. There's a lot of room for interpretation when it's solely the author's descriptive text you have to rely on.
For those unfamiliar, Brandon Sanderson is a popular and prolific Sci-Fi and Fantasy author who gained a great deal of fame when he was chosen to finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series after that author's passing.
But Sanderson has produced a large array of books of his own, much of it set in his Cosmere universe of interconnected stories. One of my favourites from this are his Mistborn books, set on the world of Scadriel. One of Sanderson's gifts is his ability to create unique and interesting magic systems, and the system of Allomancy from Mistborn is no exception.
The exceedingly rare Allomancers of Scadrial are born with the ability to metabolise small amounts of certain metals and "burn" them to fuel fantastical abilities. "Tineyes" can swallow tin and use it to enhance their senses, gaining preternatural eyesight, hearing, smell and touch. "Pewterarms" (often called "Thugs) burn pewter to enhance their physical speed, strength, stamina and resistance to damage. A "Rioter" can burn Zinc to inflame the emotions of others while "Soothers" burn brass to dampen others' emotions. As the series' progress, we are introduced to new and ever more interesting metals and their associated abilities.
And of course, there's the fantastically rare Mistborn, who can burn all of the Allomantic metals.
Metals don't last long when burned, and swallowing various metals and compounds isn't great for your health so Allomancers carry around alcohol-filled glass vials filled with small flecks and shavings of their specific metals that they can quickly swallow to charge up. Mistborn of course have vials filled with all the metals.
Read the books to learn about the metals introduced so far and their abilities.
It occurred to me that the Allomancer vials are a great little prop, and really easy to make.
I picked up some small glass bottles with cork stoppers off eBay (they're also great for potions or alchemical mixes in other props).
The Cosmere being a fantasy setting (distinct from Earth and our familiar languages) I didn't want to use English on the prop, but fortunately Sanderson has created a set of glyphs known as the Steel Alphabet that features unique symbols for each of the Allomantic metals.
I used these symbols to create a label for the glass vial, printed on a parchment-looking background, roughly cut out and glued to the vial.
I found a cheap pack of various metallic glitters used for Nail Art. It has a dozen different glitters in silvers, golds and similar metallic shades. Scooped a little of each into the vial and topped it up with some Vodka.
Cheap, easy and kind of cool vial of Allomantic metals.
This vial represents the eight basic Alomantic metals from the first few books of the first Mistborn trilogy
For those unfamiliar, Brandon Sanderson is a popular and prolific Sci-Fi and Fantasy author who gained a great deal of fame when he was chosen to finish Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series after that author's passing.
But Sanderson has produced a large array of books of his own, much of it set in his Cosmere universe of interconnected stories. One of my favourites from this are his Mistborn books, set on the world of Scadriel. One of Sanderson's gifts is his ability to create unique and interesting magic systems, and the system of Allomancy from Mistborn is no exception.
The exceedingly rare Allomancers of Scadrial are born with the ability to metabolise small amounts of certain metals and "burn" them to fuel fantastical abilities. "Tineyes" can swallow tin and use it to enhance their senses, gaining preternatural eyesight, hearing, smell and touch. "Pewterarms" (often called "Thugs) burn pewter to enhance their physical speed, strength, stamina and resistance to damage. A "Rioter" can burn Zinc to inflame the emotions of others while "Soothers" burn brass to dampen others' emotions. As the series' progress, we are introduced to new and ever more interesting metals and their associated abilities.
And of course, there's the fantastically rare Mistborn, who can burn all of the Allomantic metals.
Metals don't last long when burned, and swallowing various metals and compounds isn't great for your health so Allomancers carry around alcohol-filled glass vials filled with small flecks and shavings of their specific metals that they can quickly swallow to charge up. Mistborn of course have vials filled with all the metals.
Read the books to learn about the metals introduced so far and their abilities.
It occurred to me that the Allomancer vials are a great little prop, and really easy to make.
I picked up some small glass bottles with cork stoppers off eBay (they're also great for potions or alchemical mixes in other props).
The Cosmere being a fantasy setting (distinct from Earth and our familiar languages) I didn't want to use English on the prop, but fortunately Sanderson has created a set of glyphs known as the Steel Alphabet that features unique symbols for each of the Allomantic metals.
I used these symbols to create a label for the glass vial, printed on a parchment-looking background, roughly cut out and glued to the vial.
I found a cheap pack of various metallic glitters used for Nail Art. It has a dozen different glitters in silvers, golds and similar metallic shades. Scooped a little of each into the vial and topped it up with some Vodka.
Cheap, easy and kind of cool vial of Allomantic metals.
This vial represents the eight basic Alomantic metals from the first few books of the first Mistborn trilogy
