UFO Abduction Custom Leather Dog Collar
The idea behind this UFO alien abduction leather dog collar was the thought - "if aliens came to earth to research the most valuable living species, the dog." As all of our dog collar designs do, this started as a sketch. Well, many sketches. We played around with the idea of an alien design for weeks. We liked the up close shot of the space craft with the dog front and center being lifted up by a bright and glowing beam. The desert background seemed like the classic choice to balance this alternative design.
One challenge we faced was that I was Set on having a beautiful gradient background. I wanted it to look glowing and to do that, you have to transition from light to dark and on a very small space. This is incredibly difficult with acrylic leather paints, they dry so quickly there is no time for blending. So I pulled out our airbrush machine that I had chucked away, intimidated by all the challenges I was having with it. I had never been able to use it successfully. I spent several nights up late watching YouTube videos, deconstructing the airbrush, and attempting to fix the issues. Eventually, I got it to work and started to become comfortable using it, cleaning it, and fixing it when needed. This tool was Perfect for giving that beautiful gradient that makes this collar so special and unique!
Another very special feature to this collar is the glow and the dark paint! The beams and stars glow at night which is just such a neat and appropriate effect for this design!
Side note: We took a trip to the desert and photographed this collar with Coyote's famous flying saucers! We had the fortune of Coyote being there during our trip and spent time talking with him and he helped us get the winning shot! He was a real character and made the trip memorable. ;)
One challenge we faced was that I was Set on having a beautiful gradient background. I wanted it to look glowing and to do that, you have to transition from light to dark and on a very small space. This is incredibly difficult with acrylic leather paints, they dry so quickly there is no time for blending. So I pulled out our airbrush machine that I had chucked away, intimidated by all the challenges I was having with it. I had never been able to use it successfully. I spent several nights up late watching YouTube videos, deconstructing the airbrush, and attempting to fix the issues. Eventually, I got it to work and started to become comfortable using it, cleaning it, and fixing it when needed. This tool was Perfect for giving that beautiful gradient that makes this collar so special and unique!
Another very special feature to this collar is the glow and the dark paint! The beams and stars glow at night which is just such a neat and appropriate effect for this design!
Side note: We took a trip to the desert and photographed this collar with Coyote's famous flying saucers! We had the fortune of Coyote being there during our trip and spent time talking with him and he helped us get the winning shot! He was a real character and made the trip memorable. ;)
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