Making DEATH…with Kitten

The Discworld team wanted to show the ‘human element’ of Death, so they briefed me to make him standing, face to face with . . . a kitten. Death likes kittens, kittens are nice.

So, with this in mind, I began with – as I always do with my character pieces – the face, or in this case, the skull. And it took a while to get right, as the Reaper Man needed to appear warm yet grim. Once his semi smile was cracked and his perceived likeness was placed on top of his wire frame, I began pressing wax onto the ‘Alas, poor Yorick’ pose to give him bones.

Next, came the figure-hugging appearance of his clothing. The draping of the robes gathered at the waist and proud positioning of the upper torso and ribs. The addition of a cloak billowing from his shoulders gave the extra chance to create some elegant gothic lines and elevation to the piece. A bend at the knee and hips to remind us of all that is (or isn’t) under his robes. A little fine scraping here and there to add further elegance, a skull pommelled sword, an omega embellishment, the placing of a tiny kitten in Death’s gentle bony hand and, the piece was complete, ready to be cast in polished bronze resin.

The finished piece is available at www.discworldemporium.com