I didn't do any brainstorming for the artwork for my final project because I found this photo while brainstorming for my previous project and wanted to use it. I didn't use it for my previous project because it would have been too complicated considering I was learning how to make the signs. But it would be perfect for a final project. It fits the final project because it uses several pieces that I will put together to make the final sign. The different pieces, the green part of Texas that I will extrude to fit the yellow and white pieces in it like a puzzle. And the Sailor Bear, and the Till I Die! letters which I will mount onto of the Texas.

Brainstorming doc:

Conor Project Plan - Google Docs 

The Adobe process was pretty hard compared to my last projects because I needed to do several different complex photos instead of just one relatively simple photo(buffs logo).

I used Vcarve for cutting my sign instead of Fusion because I wanted to get the sharp corners on the star. I got the sharp corners on the star because the drill bit I used was pointed like a V, the bit would drop into the pocket and cut it out then slowly rise out to get the sharp corners. Unlike the fusion bits which are rounded, so a star wouldn't be possible by using fusion.

Laser cutting the bear was by far the hardest part of my project. It took me 4 tries to get it right.  The first time I just had a complete brain fart and didn't paint the bear or anything, I just masked a piece of wood and laser-cut it. The second time I painted it yellow and made it and then laser cut it, I painted the laser-etched parts black. I didn't like the way that looked I did it again but this time with a completely different workflow. The process was sanding and painting the whole thing, masking it, laser cutting the mask on only the eyes, masking the eyes, laser cutting only the hat, painting the hat, removing all the masking, putting a fresh mask on, and laser cutting and etching everything. Unfortunately, that one didn't turn out well because the laser didn't cut through the wood in some places. So for my final attempt, I did that whole process again except changed some things in Adobe and it worked well. Overall, it was really tough but worth it.

I did a lot of painting and sanding for this project. For each one of my pieces, I sanded it,  painted it, and did a second coat of paint. I did that process for each one of my pieces which took a long time, towards the end of my project I was just waiting for things to dry which was annoying. But I think it was all worth it because my project turned out great. Other than sanding and painting the only other post-processing I did was putting a clear coat on everything except for the "Sik em' bears" letters.