spacedog Report post Posted July 2, 2018 This is a wide "belt" for a costume I have been working on. The pictures I have carved on it come from a computer game I really enjoy called Darkest Dungeon. The art work in the game is amazing. I sketched the various characters on paper until I was happy with them, and then put them on the leather. It was challenging as there are many shadows that I had to figure out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacedog Report post Posted July 2, 2018 The other problem I had was not thinking far enough ahead to figure out how I would transition from one figure to the next. The boat wreck kind of got a bit overworked, but it's one of the bigger scenes I've ever done. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacedog Report post Posted July 2, 2018 When marking this character on the leather I was worried about making the scene too busy again, so I didn't put much background behind it. Then rather than cut the leather for the columns in the back, I just beveled them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garypl Report post Posted July 2, 2018 Looks very good - look forward to seeing the completed project! Gary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ABHandmade Report post Posted July 2, 2018 I join the opinion of Gary. Looks very cool. I especially liked the Siren Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prusty Report post Posted July 2, 2018 Blimey, that is a lot of detail! Really beautiful, especially that shipwreck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacedog Report post Posted July 4, 2018 On 7/2/2018 at 12:09 PM, garypl said: Looks very good - look forward to seeing the completed project! Gary Thanks! I've finished with the tooling and have started dying it. I'll get some pics on the weekend. On 7/2/2018 at 1:16 PM, ABHandmade said: I join the opinion of Gary. Looks very cool. I especially liked the Siren Ha! Thanks. There is something fishy about the way she turned out. On 7/2/2018 at 1:32 PM, Prusty said: Blimey, that is a lot of detail! Really beautiful, especially that shipwreck. Thanks. It was tricky trying to differentiate between shadows, and make the wood, rocks and sail cloth look distinct from each other. The back wall of the cavern also puzzled me, trying to show perspective. Anyways, I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the comment. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joseph1836 Report post Posted July 4, 2018 What's kind of buckle you going to use Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacedog Report post Posted July 4, 2018 6 minutes ago, Joseph1836 said: What's kind of buckle you going to use I was thinking about using a double pronged buckle, like a weight lifting belt, but I'm not sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
farns005 Report post Posted July 4, 2018 Very cool! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plinkercases Report post Posted July 4, 2018 You are an artist in both mediums! Looking forward to the finished piece. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacedog Report post Posted July 4, 2018 9 hours ago, farns005 said: Very cool! Thanks! 7 hours ago, plinkercases said: You are an artist in both mediums! Looking forward to the finished piece. Ha! Thank you. I'm curious to see it too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacedog Report post Posted July 5, 2018 (edited) This was a bit chancy. I've dyed the belt with dark brown or "bison" brown eco-flow from Tandy mixed with a little water. This is not normal, I know. I'm making a costume piece that isn't supposed to look new, so I need the colour to look streaky and inconsistent. It took two passes to get it where I wanted it. After it had dried a bit I took a damp cloth and rubbed some of the dye off. Once it was fully dried I covered it with two layers of satin shene and then used a black antique gel mixed with a little black dye. It didn't photograph very well, but I'm fairly happy with it. I just have to sew the backing and belting and probably a couple D rings. Edited July 5, 2018 by spacedog Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacedog Report post Posted July 8, 2018 I have finished all the sewing and glued the edges together. Then I put black edge dressing along all the edges. When it came to the buckle and strap I couldn't find anything I liked, so I made a simple thinner strap and put holes to tie it with a lace. I should probably say again this is a costume piece that isn't supposed to look new, because I decided to take some 1000 grit sandpaper and rough the colour off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacedog Report post Posted July 8, 2018 I'm honestly just making this as I go. I don't have much experience and don't recommend what I'm doing to anyone. Ha! In fact if anyone has any advice, please feel free to pass it on to me. I am self taught on tooling and dying leather and all of the things I make are the first attempts. I have a lot to learn and the things I see on this site amaze me, for their quality and skill. Anyways, after sanding the colour off the high points all along the belt, I took some light brown eco-flo and mixed it with tan antique gel and a little water. I used a brush and painted this mixture on in sections before using a lightly damp cloth to wipe it off. I did this the whole length twice. Here are the results at this point I am pretty close to finished. Thanks for following along. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riem Report post Posted July 8, 2018 Joh, joh... Incredible detail! You say you don't have much experience doing stuff like this? Well, you clearly have an abundance of talent to ride on until 'experience' comes along... No need to "fake it until you make it". Congratulations - well done! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwican Report post Posted July 11, 2018 Great looking belt! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spacedog Report post Posted July 13, 2018 (edited) On 2018-07-08 at 12:32 PM, Riem said: Joh, joh... Incredible detail! You say you don't have much experience doing stuff like this? Well, you clearly have an abundance of talent to ride on until 'experience' comes along... No need to "fake it until you make it". Congratulations - well done! Thanks. I really need to get better at dying and edging. My tooling is coming along, but the finishing stuff is not there yet. On 2018-07-11 at 2:43 PM, kiwican said: Great looking belt! Thank you. Here are a couple more pics. Edited July 13, 2018 by spacedog Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plinkercases Report post Posted July 13, 2018 Very cool. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites