New on Etsy - Keep Calm and Check the Carpet

A fun take on the original propaganda posters from WWII, using the classic little brick in the carpet drawing on the inside of every Lego instruction booklet.

Prints now available in the Deeply Dapper Etsy Shoppe!

Private Comission - Manay the Shrunken Head

 Meet Manay, a commissioned sculpture of a beautiful shrunken head. Carefully sculpted, with almost a dozen layers of paint and sealant, Manay currently resides in a private collection in Belgium. For your own little piece of madness, book cover, designs and more, contact us or visit our Etsy shoppe!

Morbid Messages

 

New items on Deeply Dapper!

First up is a line we like to call Morbid Messages

 

Delicately cast resin skulls sporting assorted paint jobs, all with a portion dedicated to chalk board paint, allowing you to leave messages, make notes or just doodle on them. They're also nice pieces in their own right.

 Check them out here, on the Deeply Dapper Shoppe!

WIP - Private Comission

Specimen #3

Fine Art Prints - Now Available!

We're proud to announce the availablity of a series of fine art prints, now on the Deeply Dapper Etsy Shoppe!

These are gorgeous, professionally developed prints, each a limited edition and signed by the photographer. We will feature a wide range of subjects, from nature and landscape, to stark gothic subjects, with a dash of the unknown and Lego thrown in.

So check out our shop, where you can also find beasties in jars, Sasquatch stickers, classy library supplies and more!

IT's coming.

The Deeply Dapper Etsy shoppe is back up and running, my Shrunken Head commission is FINALLY almost finished and new items coming soon! Undulate in pleasure!

Sorry about the delays, everyone - I've been dealing with a moving problem that is eating all of my time that isn't spent at work, and Kraken is neck deep in a couple of book cover commissions that he can't talk about...

One Thousand Words, Abridged #3 - Spongebob Squarepants!

WIP - Shrunken Head Private Commission

Here's some more photos of my current Work In Progress, a private commission currently titled simply "Shrunken Head II"

This is the final couple of layers of paint, what ended up being between 8-12 different applications to get that right impression of being skin that had been stripped away, stretched, then charred over a low flame until it had shrunken and blackened, then rubbed with ash and charcoal. Making shrunken heads is fun!

All that really remains is the details now, sealing, decorations, the hair...

For your own private commission, email me -  Kraken@deeplydapper.com!

Book Cover - The Whispering Ferns - Out Now!

 It's always an exciting day when I can announce that one of the books that I've designed a cover for is available for purchase!

 From Barnes & Noble -

Eleven-year-old James "Smith" Campbell usually avoids adventure and thrills, but when he is forced to visit his troublemaking cousins in the tiny fishing village of Moonstone Bay, he is thrown into secret passages, ghosts, pranks, tall tales, and the disappearance of his new friend, Noelle.

Convinced the townspeople are following the wrong leads, Smith sets out to prove she took off on her own to search for a mysterious ghostly shape. Ignoring his fears and a fast approaching storm, he enters the dreaded forest alone.

And a note from the author -

A kids book about ghosts, new friends, bravery, hidden passages, big spooky houses, the awesome state of Washington, the Whispering Ferns is a book in the grand tradition of John Bellairs, Encyclopedia Brown, The Hardy Boys and all of those awesome adventure novels we loved as kids. If that sounds like your idea of a fun time, check it out. It's available in various formats on Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and will be coming soon to the Kobo, iPad and most good electronic booksellers. And it's only $2.99!

Other Fish - YETIS!

(Other Fish In The Sea - Cool blogs and sites around the web that have caught our eye)

 

Did someone say they wanted a collection of awesome Yeti artwork? Who wouldn't want that???

Checking In

It's been a while, we've been caught up in outside life and madness, but more stuff is coming soon, including new eBook covers, stickers, sculptures and maybe some jewelry too.

For now, here's some progress photos on a private commission...

One Thousand Words, Abridged #2 - Metronomicon

METRONOMICON

See more of the Metronomicon and some other cool stuff by artist Alexandereev HERE. 

Facing Front - A BAD SPELL IN YURT by C. Dale Brittain

A Bad Spell In Yurt is a fun little fantasy novel, written in 1991, featuring a somewhat bumbling magician trying to solve a magical mystery in his charming new kingdom.

The cover is a little typical of the time, well painted with some great imagery, with just enough "Get some butts in the seats" changes to the story to annoy avid fans. (The projection of the image from the telephone for the most part) But the painting fits the story well and I'm a big fan of the font they used for the title.

4/5

Cover Art - A Taste Of Honey by Lindsay Kiernan

A TASTE OF HONEY is a light historical romance about a girl named Katherine Wellings in London with her twin sister. She's the ward of Mrs. Brentley, a famous "husband hunter" and is trying to find a man that fits her mothers definition of what a good husband should be - that means rich and titled, not much else. But Katherine wants someone she can love too. Enter Garrett, Mrs. Brentley's son. He likes what he sees in the impetuous but sheltered Katherine and is determined to show her that love can win all.

This is the second cover I've done for Miss Kiernan, though this will be her first released of the two. Like her first novel, Lindsay wanted a lighter feel to her cover, with a modern animated flair. It was a lot of fun drawing and designing it and look forward to the next two in the series she has written! I believe A TASTE OF HONEY is scheduled to be released as an eBook on March 22nd, learn more about it on her website, www.lindsaykiernan.com.

For more information about commissioning your own book cover, contact us! More examples of our cover work can be found here.

(Note that the description of Ms. Kiernan's book was written by me after reading it, and should in no way be interpreted as a definitive description of the plot.... I just design the covers, folks! hahah)

WIP - Shrunken Head Private Commission

 Working on a new private commission, another shrunken head. This guys quite a bit bigger, and sports a nice head of hair. He's in his final skin detailing right now before adding the rear of the head and neck.

One Thousand Words, Abridged #1

The Yeti Crab

Found in the waters off the coast of Easter Island, this 6-inch, blind crab was discovered as part of the Census Of Marine Life. And is totally awesome.

More Head Shrinking

 Smitty has his first layer of base paint laid in, with the final sculpt mostly finished. He looks a little lonely without the stitches in his mouth and eyes.

Here's the back of the head, where you can see the stitches and puckered, shrunken skin where the natives extracted the skull, filling the skin with hot sand.

 

And here's a new work, a private commission. This guy's about twice the size of Smitty and has 20 inches of luxurious hair.

Track Your Stuff In Style

Now available in the Deeply Dapper Etsy Shoppe, Due Date Library Pockets and Inserts!

Based directly off of actual Date Due cards from the 1940's, these are made out of heavy paper and hand assembled for that perfect way to track your lending library, DVDs or just a unique bookplate. Use them to track who borrows your books or stamp them every time you read a tome. The pockets are available in Cream and White and the inserts in a retro-tastic selection of colors.

Custom bookplate design and fonts are also available!

New Items!

"May you live in interesting times."

It's been a busy week here at Deeply Dapper. New items in the Etsy shoppe, including Library Date Due cards and Baby Bigfoot stickers.

Chompy finally made his debut there too, on sale for less than $15.


I'm still working on Smitty the shrunken head, too - I made his left ear last night while I watched the truly abyssmal Cabin Fever 2 (my review is here)

And I've got some book covers too, that I'll filter in throughout the month here.


And though it just leads you here for now, www.deeplydapper.com is officially live! We've gone legit, ladies and gents! (Or as legit as people selling humbugs and bugaboos for a living can get, anyway...)

Book Cover - Reluctantly In Love by Lindsay Kiernan

It's my honor to share my cover for Lindsay Kiernan's debut historical romance, 

RELUCTANTLY IN LOVE!

This cover was a lot of fun to work on, as we tried different things to give it a classic feel with some modern touches. And I wanted it to look great in thumbnails when it is released on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble February 15th! 

As always, I am available for commissions, email me at DeeplyDapper(at)Yahoo.com for details or a price quote.

WIP - Smitty The Shrunken Head

 Today, Smitty gets some ears!

Facing Front - THE SENTRY by Robert Crais

 The Sentry is the latest from thriller author Crais, featuring Cole and Pike, a team of do-gooders/detectives in the Los Angeles area. I really like Crais' books, but I've never really liked his covers. Take this one, the US cover. It has a photo of a freeway, a sunset and some palm trees, all layered with varying opacity with the trademark "New York Times Bestseller" block capitals. I do like the layers of oranges though, so it gets bumped a notch.

3/5

I think this is the UK cover, but I'm not 100% sure. It's a little more creative, but I actually like it less. The figure in the foreground looks nothing like the character of Joe Pike (For one thing, he never seems to wear anything with sleeves) and so far in the novel, a bridge hasn't featured once. The weird pointy middle prong of that E bothers me too.

2/5

Irith The Flyer

Just a quick drawing for the Third Rail Design Lab's weekly art jam. The theme this week was "Flyers" so I couldn;t resist drawing Irith The Flyer, from Lawrence Watt-Evans fantasy novel TAKING FLIGHT. It tells the story of a boy out to earn his fortune who meets up with an enchanting and enchanted young girl. I tried to convey some of her attitude in the drawing and stick pretty close to Watt-Evans' description of the character. Then I tacked a background and some simple text on top for fun.

Enjoy!

Coming Soon - Smitty the Shrunken Head!

 A new project - A shrunken head!

It's been an interesting challenge trying to get the texture of the skin just right for this little guy. Plus, I get to play with textures and add-ons like hair and rope. Cool!