Daols, homemade

[Daïn]

Hi guys,
Because I really liked the canvas of Zoetrope (http://www.esteren.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=735) I decided to run a game with it, well , with bits of my own stuff of course.
Anyway,
As my personal thanks for his inspiring work (I'm getting brown nosed now...), I wanted to give it a try in the making of Zoetrope's idea of a map carved on the tails side.

The Daols will be about 4cm (1.6in) and be sculpted to match the symbols found in Book1.
They will be then painted according to their definition. I fancy myself a bit of painter so it shouldn't be a problem.

This is the thread where I'll post the pics. Don't hesitate to comment. Hopefully, that will give ideas to others geeks, like me.

[JohnK]

Hullo, Daïn,

Sounds like an interesting project, and I look forward to seeing the pics of how these work out.

Heck, I may even have to ask you to make me a set. (And would, of course, pay you for this.)

[Daïn]

I'm glad you like the idea

I'm going to make about 10+ Daols. Without buying more putty, I may be able to make about 20-30 of them. The material is inexpensive. Only time, sweat, patience, hard work and willingness will do. And THIS costs much
But not for you

We'll talk about shipping when the Daols are in my bare hands. Only then, as it's only speculation for now

[JohnK]

Hullo, Daïn,

I'm glad you like the idea

What? You thought I wouldn't?

I'm going to make about 10+ Daols. Without buying more putty, I may be able to make about 20-30 of them. The material is inexpensive. Only time, sweat, patience, hard work and willingness will do. And THIS costs much
But not for you

Really? Je suis content.

We'll talk about shipping when the Daols are in my bare hands. Only then, as it's only speculation for now

Deal. You can bring this up with me in PM, okay?

[Zoetrope]

Hi Dain,

Excellent idea, look forward to seeing examples of how your crafting all turns out! Based on your map work, I am expecting great results!!

And if you're taking orders for a set, please consider me as well! I'd really like to have a physical example of what the Daols look like. As with JohnK, willing to cover costs to get them to the land Down Under!!

Cheers,
Z

[Clovis]

Damn Daïn, wat can't you do? You're always surprising us with new projects and artistic works (okay, now I am getting brown-nosed).

Anyway, looking forward to seeing that; make sure to post pictures of both the process and the result!

[Daïn]

Damn Daïn, wat can't you do? You're always surprising us with new projects and artistic works (okay, now I am getting brown-nosed).
Anyway, looking forward to seeing that; make sure to post pictures of both the process and the result!

I'm quite a jack of all trades actually.

Thanks for the comments guys
Just hope it'll turn great as well. I'm really looking forward to see how it turns out

For now, the putty is still drying up. I guess 48hours is the minimum but since it's raining at the moment, it's not helping the process.
Bear in mind that using a hair dryer is not recommended, as it can create crevasses. Not good at all when it'll come to sand the whole thing (with thin sand paper)
Air dry is fine but ... takes its time

[Daïn]

Hi guys,
Finally, some pics to share

First of all, we need to make a casing to shape the dough properly. It'll also make things easier later, when we'll have to cut the sheet into triangles.

I used cork to frame a rectangle. Dimensions are 12.2cm X 8.2cm. Cork is 5mm high. That's just perfect as you'll need some room to sand/ file.
The Daols are intended to be triangles of 4cm per side. Giving the overall rectangle a bit more space leaves room to sand, cut and make adjustments.
I didn't nail the cork, but rather used screws, tiny ones. It allows you to remove them, when needed (see below). It's also more stable.


Here is the dough I used. I don't remember where I bough it. Regular art/ DIY store should have some.


White stuff, a bit sticky. You get your hands a bit dirty, but it's water based, so you can wash it off easily.


Roll out the dough until it gets all the way to the borders. Best is to use more dough than needed and cut the excess that goes out of the frame. After 1min, you get it right.


Remove one side of the frame and "peel" the fresh dough. Be careful not to break it. But don't worry too much, it's not really fragile. The only thing important is not to squeeze is too much as it may leave fingerprints and thiner the sheet of clay.


Put the fresh clay on a piece of wood. Not plastic.
Plastic doesn't absorb water, wood does. It helps the drying process quite a bit.
Leave the rectangle from 24h-72h, depending of the weather.
(My guess would be: Africa=5min, Switzerland=48h, Queensland, Oz=6month ^^)
As you remove the dough quickly after rolled it out, you can make few of them in a row. I made 4 of them, using the whole piece of clay in the package.


Forgot to take pictures of me drawing lines and cut the clay. Sorry.
Basically, I used a ruler, a pen, then cut with a razorblade.
I'll try to take some pics when I do the other pieces of clay.


Future Doals, needs to be bone-dry for further work (ie sculpt/ sand)



The pics are not the best ones I can do but I hope it'll do.
I've taken them with a smartphone and I reckon it's way easier this way.

[JohnK]

Hullo, Daïn,

Thanks for posting the photos of the process of creating the Daols, and for keeping everyone here up-to-date on how it's going with them. This looks fascinating, and I can't wait to see the finished products.

[Nelyhann]

This is so great Daïn, thanks for sharing that and take the time to do this WIP ! Can't wait to see the finished daols