Year of the Monkey Main Lantern - Traditional Style: Sun Wukong and the Golden Cudgel

Design the main lantern of a Taiwanese Lantern Festival for the Year of the Monkey, about 15 metres tall, in the traditional craft manner, drawing on the classical Monkey King. Build a standing figure in a heroic pose on a hand-bent bamboo and steel frame skinned in hand-painted silk, one arm raised holding a long staff with gold banded ends. Paint the face in the manner of traditional opera makeup — a red heart-shaped mask with strong black outlining and gold accents around the eyes. Dress the figure in painted silk armour with a tiger-skin kilt, a yellow tunic and a red cape rendered in flowing painted folds, with applied metallic trim and tassels. Light entirely from within so the silk glows and the bamboo structure shows through. Set it on a carved stone platform with cloud relief and corner posts of red palace lanterns. Add hanging calligraphic banners and lantern strings. Show a warm night with dense crowds. Photorealistic, theatrical, ornate and warm, low eye-level view.