I’ve changed the site around a little bit, in an effort to try out different things for another project I am working on. Let me know what yall think of it, and don’t be shy about ordering/buying stuff.
New Site!
Over the past couple of days, I’ve been hard at work(not really, I enjoy it) building a new site for all of my life’s work. It currently has a small section for disc dyes, as well as most of my other stuff. It is still a work in progress, but I will continue at it. Eventually, it will overtake this site, and I will have it as the target of my URL forwarding. For now though, it is only a sub-domain of mine. I am also working on something a little bit different, web wise, but it won’t come out any time soon. In the mean time, you can head over to the new place and check it out. Let me know what you think too!
Graphic Design
So, a big part of my branding is graphic arts. I briefly mention it in the “About us” section, but don’t really go into much detail. Anyways, You can check out my endeavors in trying to become a professional graphic artist on another site. Check it out at http://dsplayname.co.cc
I am trying out a few new(new to me at least) ideas, and hope that everything goes well, and that I am able to make a living of it. Fear not though, I continue to work on dyeing discs, and am always thinking about new ideas. Hopefully, the two will go hand-in-hand. I guess only time and financial evolution will tell though.
TIE Pilot’s Helmet
So, I took some commission work for a trade a little while back, and have the first of two discs dyed. It was a kinda unique one, and I actually had to do a little bit of graphic work for it, and a lot of figuring things out. The latest thing is that my camera is no longer of any use, as I can’t move it’s pictures to my computer. I ended up having to install “Cheese” and take the pictures with the built-in webcam. So, sorry for that. The other thing, relating to my last post, is that I had to bring the desk out into the living room and make a real work space for drawing and cutting. Now, onto the pictures.
Here is what the client said he wanted:
I couldn’t actually make this into a workable stencil, and couldn’t find any other shots of the design on Google, so I had to become the slightest bit creative and make my own stencil from a sketch. This dye(not my work) wasn’t clean enough, or detailed enough, for my taste(and I know the client is quite a Star Wars fan too). So, I used this photo to look at and draw a sketch based on:
This photo, while detailed and accurate, was a bit too dark and glossy to make a line drawing from, so I had to freehand most of it. I do a different technique for sketches than most other people. What I do is draw a lot of different/optional lines, and try to see everything all at once, so that I can figure out the best look before I start cutting and change my mind. So, here is the initial sketch that I drew up:
As you can see, I’m not the greatest sketch artist. But, I don’t need to be. It is just a stencil for dyeing, so I get another opportunity to clean everything up as I cut it out. I was to dye this onto a Buzzz FLX, and wanted to do the Imperial insignia in the background a different color. I opted for a blue, as it is what I usually see when the logo is shown in color. The client wanted the helmet in red, so everything had to be remasked after the first dip in blue dye.
Here is what it looked like after I cut the first mask, dyed the blue parts, and remasked. I had to use the materials that I had on hand, and that was a different kind of non-vinyl laminating plastic. It felt similar to packaging tape, but it works fine. It just has a different feel to it, and takes the dye differently as well. This photo is mid-weeding of the vinyl. You can start to see the natural color of the disc beneath the two colors of vinyl. I love that part, because you get to see the design in a slightly different colorscheme, and I really liked the tri-tone blue look like this:
Anyways, as I said, the helmet was to be dyed with red, so I dyed it with Rit Scarlett. I don’t have any iDye Poly in red yet, but I’m sure it would be a bit more vibrant. At least, at first it would. FLX plastic usually gets that fuzzy look relatively quick, and then it fades a little. So, I went dark and crisp with it, and tried to keep the lines separated by enough space to not all bleed together in a few months. I try to re-work any graphic so that when the haze sets in, it doesn’t ruin the design. Some dyes actually look even better when they start to fade. That’s probably not going to be the case with this one though. And here is the final result. It has some frost on it from the post-dyeing cryo-stasis that I do for most discs. This is what it ended up as:
And again, sorry for the crappy webcam photos. I don’t know when I’ll get another camera, or when my photographer girlfriend will actually start taking some pictures for me. I don’t know, but I hope you like this disc dye, and enjoyed seeing a little bit of how it all goes down.
Slow progress
Right now, I have 4 dyes that I am working on, 2 web sites, and some other software. It seems like the dyes are going the slowest, and that is probably true. Here’s why-
Since my girlfriend re-arranged the living room, There isn’t a light that shines directly onto any particular area. It’s always too dim to get any work done. I can’t see the lines to cut vinyl with any real detail. We need a dedicated workspace for our projects. Websites and software are easy because it’s all my my laptop with it’s nice, bright, HD screen. For dyes though, I draw and cut everything by hand. I can get by without a proper light-box, but I still need enough direct lighting to see the lines and cuts in the vinyl masks. My girlfriend also does some graphic design, and has been talking about getting a desk to put in the living room. It would help greatly for my projects, and would probably help her focus on her homework too. Ideally, I’d like to get a decent drafting table; possibly even a clear surfaced one, so that it would double as a functional light table. Something like this:
We don’t have the money to buy one though, and it might be tricky to actually fit something like that into our tiny, cramped apartment. It sure would be nice though. If anyone would like to donate any type of drafting table, please feel free to contact me. That’s about all I have for now, and it’s time to get back to work on this damn dye.
