The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Wall Art

Finished product first of course.

Inspired by these posts: https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/4w4mn8/my_girlfriend_like_pineapples_so_for_her_birthday/

https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/5j4au6/my_girlfriend_loves_giraffes_so_i_made_her_one/

I had been looking for a small DIY project to work on over Christmas, and things spiraled into this. I had never done anything like this before but there's a YouTube video or Google search for literally every situation, so after a bit of research, I jumped into this.

If I was insane enough to repeat this project, there's several things I would have changed, but overall it was a great way to keep myself busy over a few weeks and learn more for going forward.

The iconic Blondie. Roughly cut out on MS Paint, I'm ashamed to say...

Then I used this program http://www.conceptfarm.ca/2013/portfolio/image-triangulator/ to create 108 (I think) individual triangles. I labelled each triangle on Paint and printed a separate copy which I hand labelled. I can't remember why, it just seemed like something I should be doing.

Mapping each triangle.

Intending to buy a scroll saw, I accidentally bought a small table saw instead. No major problem, but I did decide to scale everything up to deal with the larger blade. I probably would have done this anyway, but I wanted to justify my error to myself.

Tracing the triangles onto pine. My technique was simple-punch holes in each corner and connect them with a straight line, in this case a debit card. I bought 2 large boards and cut them into strips to manage them easier on the saw. So much waste... I numbered each triangle on the front, which would later be erased before painting.

More tracing.

My makeshift workshop. Weather permitting, I also set up on the rooftop of my apartment building. I definitely looked like cracked to the neighbors.

For the backboard I wanted a western, rustic look so I took some more pine and cut it to size. Then gouged the edges with a knife, beat it with a sock of nails, threw it around a bit, roughly sanded, stained, and abused it a bit more.

The knife gouges in the middle boards looked unnatural, but they ended up being covered by Clint.

I don't own any clamps, so I glued the boards as best I could, then braced them.

All the triangles cut out, fitting everything together for peace of mind. I had to re cut a few pieces, but nothing too drastic.

The paint station. I hadn't painted since 5th grade so I trawled through some basic YouTube videos on wood paint/blending etc. I had Blondie, Angel Eyes and Tuco on in the background, it seemed fitting.

What a trilogy.

Drying/sealing station. Before painting each piece, I erased the number on the front and rewrote it on the back in marker.

Slowly but surely.

Checking the color before gluing-I'm kicking myself now for not going back and fixing the color of his hand as it rests over the holster. Sure look.

Some lighter entertainment while gluing.

Success! Definitely thrilled with the result. Not perfect from a technical standpoint whatsoever, but very therapeutic and something I really enjoyed working on. On to the next one!