posted
I couldn't resist putting the final touches on the sign this morning... and then setting the sign up for a photo shoot. I had welded up the steel post last spring for the home show we entered and it has sat outside gathering a beautiful rust patina since... now it has the perfect finish for this sign.
The sub sign will now permanently live indoors in my studio. It's been a while since I have had a new display piece near my desk.
For those curious the sign was done in bits and pieces over the last seven or eight months and was done as a sample/display piece for my studio. The submarine shape was routed from Precision Board then coated with Abracadabra Sculpt. Some of the sculpting was done when fellow letterhead Gerald Lauze was visiting over a series of weeks. He worked on a small plane he had designed.
The design for the project only took about an hour to accomplish. The CNC routing took a couple of hours. Gluing the various pieces took another hour or so.
Sculpting the sub took around five hours but this was spread out over many months and was done a little bit at a time.
Fabricating the bracket took a couple of hours. It was finicky to bend and then trim the steel and fit it together. Welding went quick once I had the pieces fitting right. Add another hour to fabricate the post - even though it was done almost a year ago.
Adding the Abracadabra Sculpt to the sign bracket went pretty quick and looks a lot more tedious and detailed than it really is... add another hour or so at most.
Priming and painting took another four hours in total spread out over a couple of days. I spent a couple more hours setting up, lighting shooting plenty of pics and tweaking the photos to make everything perfect.
There's not a lot in materials in this project... a little more than half a sheet of 1.5" 30 lb Precision Board. I would estimate that there were about 6-7 lbs of Abracadabra Sculpt used at most. The steel involved was all shorts from the scrap pile - no piece more than 4 feet long. The paint used was minimal... and all came from stock I had on hand. In materials there is a little more than a few hundred dollars. All the materials were leftovers and offcuts from other projects with the exception of four chain links which cost $1.65 each.
Added up, the total is about 17 hours labor plus maybe $400 worth of materials including the delicious pizza Gerald & I enjoyed when he was here. But the time and materials were a good investment as I have a one of a kind display piece for both in my studio and when I do the next trade shows. Hopefully it will bring some new business down the road. Best of all I had a ton of fun creating an idea that had lived in my head for a long, long time.
Now I'm ready to get to the next cool idea on the long list in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
[ December 16, 2009, 06:47 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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posted
AWESOME ! as usual of course..... Love the Starfish and the barnacles....and the Sub is just too cool !
[ December 16, 2009, 07:41 PM: Message edited by: Jim Moser ]
-------------------- Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain ! Jim Moser Design 13342 C Grass Valley Ave. Grass Valley, Ca. 95945 530-273-7615 jwmoser@att.net Posts: 488 | From: Grass Valley, Ca. | Registered: May 2006
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posted
It's just great Dan...Hey, I think I know that BG...Gosh going to look good on that back deck...Did you use gold on the compus part of the main circle and then glaze?
-------------------- Pat Welter Masterhand Signs and Designs Unity, Saskatchewan.Canada Posts: 1304 | From: Unity, Saskatchewan.Canada | Registered: May 1999
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In the end I ended up not using gold leaf at all on the project. All the colors are mixed using various bottles of Modern Masters metallic acrylic paint - applied with a brush. The copper paint on the submarine was mixed down with a little gold paint. On the compass ring I mixed gold and a bit of copper to make a warm bronze color. The outer border blue was a metallic paint from Sophisticated Finishes. All were toned down using a glaze made of chocolate colored acrylic paint, metallic plum (Modern Masters) and a clear base. For the faux rust I just sponged various mixed shades of brown, black and orange.
I had a ton of fun doing the project!
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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What a God given talent you have as well as your willingness to share it with all.
You wake up the creative juices in all that see your work.
Thank you for your posts and dedication too your trade.
-------------------- Len Mort Signmaker1.com 11 Juniper Drive Millbury, MA 508-865-2382 "A Good Business Sign, is A Sign of Good Business"(1957) Posts: 811 | From: Millbury, Ma | Registered: Dec 2006
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-------------------- Dirk Rampling Far South Design South Pambula NSW Posts: 39 | From: South Pambula NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
As I own a couple of reef aquariums, I have to commend you on the addition and placement of the starfish and barnacles. They took a magnificent piece to a "Whole-nother" level!
Outstanding as usual Dan.
-------------------- David Thompson Pro-Line Graphics Martinsville, NJ
I'm not this dumb, it's just the paint fumes talkin' Posts: 396 | From: Martinsville, NJ | Registered: Oct 2001
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Grandpa Dan does it again, fantastic design and the futuristic creation. I nominate you our most creative Letterhead. Bill
-------------------- Bill Riedel Riedel Sign Co., Inc. 15 Warren Street Little Ferry, N.J. 07643 billsr@riedelsignco.com Posts: 2953 | From: Little Ferry, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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Love the Starfish and the barnacles....and the Sub is just too cool !
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