Improving the Markings on the Bottoms

Enhancing the identification process on the bottoms of the these gnomes has been an afterthought.—a quick scratch with a putty knife to leave some sort of a personalized mark and some dots with a paintbrush to note the year. Two dots over three equals 2023.

This task has been on my to-do list for a while now: clean this part of the process up.

As this project continues , I’ve been able to refine the -recess a bit. The gnomes are cast on a specialized concrete mix. I sculpt an original model digitally in ZBrush, 3D print it and then build a mold box to create a silicone mold. With this process in mind, I wanted the identifiers on the bottom to match the quality and consistency of the rest of the gnome.

I designed a mold box in SolidWorks that I could 3d print specifically for making silicone stamps. These stamps should allow me to cast clean, precise details on the bottom of each statue. The year and a symbol—simple but clear. It’s a step up from the earlier system and makes things easier to replicate. I won’t need to wait around for the concrete to start to kick so I can time the scratching of a personalized mark on the bottom. I should be able to simply set one of these silicone stamps in the freshly poured concrete, deep enough to leave the imprint, and pop it off when the casting has set up.

This will help simplify the process and give an easy to understand reminder of when it was made. I’ll see soon enough if this will work or if it needs refinement. The concrete holds detail well so this should work. Going to be casting more of these soon so I'll have a chance to try it out.