Birth of the Dragon

Posted on April 26, 2013 by kdfgraphics

We always wanted a mascot in the shop so we figured why not create one for this sign project. I’m a Game of Thrones fanatic so I chose a dragon. Lets see how we do it.

I went straight to sourcing a basic dragon body in 3D seeing that I’ll be scultping over it I just wanted to create a base to work with. So I’ve cut it out of precision board HDU. Once the body is complete we’ll work out the wings and tail.

Here I’m laying out the body to cut in Enroute Pro.

I’m cutting this quick so I have a base to work off – detail is not necessary.

Here is the basic form. I’ll glue him together then do some quick sanding to finish him off.

Here he is ready to sculpt! We use Abracadabra Magic Sculpt 2 part epoxy. Awesome stuff.

Here I am sculpting away – I’ll use the chicken bones when creating the wings!

Here’s our mean ole’ dragon!

Now its Brians turn, He’ll take the basic shape and weld inserts for the feet and create the long dragon tail.

Stay Tuned…

Texture on the Tree

Posted on April 25, 2013 by kdfgraphics

Yesterday we accomplished alot on the tree. Here you can see Brian finishishing up the bark texture.

Now we’ll let it sit so the cement can setup. We’ll then begin sculpting the knots and and putting the finishing touches on this part of the sign.

Stage 1 complete!

KDF Studio Sign

Posted on April 24, 2013 by kdfgraphics

Here is a fun little internal project of us creating our studio sign. We wanted something a little different than the average sign so we went with a free standing “tree on wheels”. Oh boy this is going to be interesting.

The first step is to create the structure of the tree. We’ll be applying cement as the material then carving it in place. The structure has to be pretty strong to hold all of that cement.

Brian can be seen here welding up the armature with steel rods.

Once its all welded together the structure is then covered in wire lathe to accept the cement mix.

Its a nice day out so we’ll sculpt outside. Might even get a tan.

First we have to get the cement mixed just right.

Stay tuned…

Custom Home Sign

Posted on April 19, 2013 by kdfgraphics

Seeing that we make custom signs that are built to amaze – it was only fitting that we make one up for my house. Now our Graphic Designer,Nanette, has the challenge to come up with a real cool design that will go well with the rustic surrounding of my property. I love the “steam punk” look so I asked that it had that feel. And here we go.

This is the vector file of the design.

So from here I take the file into Enroute Pro and begin making the 2D image 3D. I then put some nice textures on it to look like hammered copper and I added the rivets.

Once we settled on the final look we start cutting. – this is a double sided sign so we’ll cut two and mount them back to back.

Once cut the two signs are ready for priming. Then the fun begins making this foam sign look like old hammered copper.

All painted and ready for assembly – Brian starts by building the frame that will hold the sign. Here is Brian doing a little welding in the shop. (Cool Mask).