Devil's Backbone!

Real Ale's Devil's Backbone has been bottled and is now headed to stores in Texas, which means you can see the artwork I did for the packaging. If you are so inclined, feel free to scroll down to the posts where I documented the painting progress. This brew is now going to be released all year long, so the brewery decided to revamp the packaging for this (in case you're familiar with the previous packaging.) Please support your local brewery and artists!

Tablets, goats and tentacles

Here are a few more things I've made in the last couple of weeks. Up first is a goat head bead I made for my girlfriend's dreadlocks. It's carved from an elk antler:

Next is a case for a second generation Ipad. The client uses one of those magnetic covers and the case is sized to take that into account. I wanted to keep this free of metal hardware to minimize the possibility of damage to the tablet, so it has a closure inspired by reusable office envelopes:

This is a wrist strap for a previously created tentacle wallet, which can be seen here:

Pocket knife mod

I've become really infatuated with knives with orange handles lately, but couldn't find just the right knife that was also available in this color of scale. There are plenty of knives in my possession, so I decided to buy some blank scales in the appropriate color and modify one of my own - a Spyderco Ambitious.

 This model is assembled with all threaded parts, so breaking it down was a snap.

Cutting out the rough shape with a scroll saw:

First and only casualty of the project was the blade. Luckily I had spares:

The rough shapes after cutting. I left some extra material around the lines I'd marked to give me some wiggle room with lining everything up.

Drilling the holes:

Making sure everything fits together:

And here's a cleaned up version.

This was too plain for my tastes though, and I'd also scorched the material in a couple of places. Also, the material is thicker than the original black G10, so I took everything apart and did some further shaping. Here's the final outcome:

I screwed up the heads of the screws that held the pocket clip in place, so hopefully replacements can be found. Now that it's complete, I've realized that I drilled nine holes more than was really necessary. They exist so you can move the pocket clip around to another position if you like, but I always keep it in the same place.

Recent leather work

Here are a few things I've been working on in the last couple of months. First up is my current belt, which features the buckle I made and is reversible:

Mini wallets. A couple of slots for cards on one side and one larger, expandable pocket on the other. I tried these out in a few different leathers, veg tanned, chrome tanned and ostrich, but the ostrich is too thin to be practical:

This next card wallet was originally a commission but the client flaked out on me. I liked the design enough that I made it anyway:

 This last bifold is from a design I drew up months ago, just for fun, and is an octopus-rose. The interior is a shiny navy blue calf skin, and I'm very curious to see how it's going to hold up. It may be that this particular leather will only be suitable for lining, as I'm not sure how tough it is.

Done!

...pending approval, that is:

Finished?

OK, not quite. I see a couple of things that need tweaking.

It will be done today

So close to being finished!

Starting the devil

Home stretch! Common sense would dictate that the hardest part of the painting be done first, but I've approached it backwards. My lack of painting for the last couple of years made me think that I should use the less finicky portions of the painting to get warmed up, and only paint the elements that are to be the focus after I'd gotten warmed up.

Apply paint to palette, mix, repeat

More progress:

Eyes. Bulging.

Humming along on this painting, and man, I need to remember to take more frequent breaks and give my eyes a rest! Here is what's waiting for me this morning:

Painting

Progress:

New painting!

I was recently approached by a local brewery about creating an illustration for one of their seasonal brews. This brewery, and especially this particular beer, are some of my favorites, so I jumped at the opportunity to create some art for packaging. I thought it would be a good idea to take some progress photos of the work, and due to the fast-approaching deadline, it's also a good way for the art director to see that I'm not slacking. It's been a couple of years since I've painted anything, and it feels good to have a brush in my fingers again.

Disclaimer - posting of photos is not necessarily an indication that the particular step is complete, and colors are not true to life.

Full-size drawing taped to the board:

The temporary painting space. It's been so long since i painted that I never bothered to set up a space in my house for it:

Transferred drawing on the board.

Outlined in black, just to keep shapes visible and so I can erase all that graphite:

 Progress on the night sky:

Behold, the capybara trilobite!

Finally got around to making the capybara trilobite wallet. It's a design I've had drawn for a while now, but it's been unused...till now.

I've also been playing around with some ideas for multipurpose cases, and here's one that holds a smartphone and doubles as a wallet: