Crystals Crystals Crystals
What mage staff isn't complete with the perfect crystal. The perfect crystal can really bring a staff to life and transform it from walking stick to Arcane Wizard accessory. This is why we spent the most R&D time on getting this focal point just right.
The first step was to figure out the shape. The technique we landed on was whittling partially hardened clay with a knife. This allowed us to get smooth flat cuts, and was extremely fast to prototype. We spent weeks prototyping, and ended up with 2 main designs: The Arcane, and The Royale. The former being a more rugged hand chiseled vibe, and the latter being more prestine.
Once we had the shape, the next step was making what we call a first-pass-mold; we make a quick (and not perfect) silicone mold from the carved clay piece, and then do a single resin pour to produce a single resin crystal. This is because the resin version is harder, and easier to make fine adjustments such as polishing.
Once we we have the perfect crystal, we then make a better mold that can be used over and over to make all our final crystals. The mold uses silicone with high elasticity so that it can be a single piece; normally silicone molds for 3D objects are in 2 halves, but this would have left a seam in the crystal, and would not have been adequate for a Mage of any reasonable standards.
Finally we just had to decide on color. There are an abundance of resin pigments, so we are free to make a variety for every mage; from green for Forrest Dwellers, to bright red for Fire Wizards, or Blue for Ice Mages, the possibilities are endless. So we started we a royal blue and … not good enough.
The first couple crystals didn't quite look…magical enough. Crystals that draw our inspiration always have a variety of hues with some internal illumination. So after weeks of crazy ideas more prototypes, we ended up with what we call a 2 stage mold: we first pour the crystal’s core in one color (say cyan), and then we pour the outer layer in another (like deep blue). The result is a wonderful spectrum of colors that really brings out the magic.
