Drawing on hats…

So I have one commission left to complete and it is another hand drawn hat design. I started this new idea during Lockdown 1.0 with my own logo pith helmet.

The first design was very simple and linked to the logo I already had. So, I had in fact done a design before I got to the hat.

Pre logo and partially coloured with Uni Posca markers
The finished hat, after this the photography logo was also added to the reverse of the helmet

Since then I started to do work on fancy drew based hats. These have increasingly become more complex but most of the planning has been minimal sketches.

Initial hats drawn as the mood took me!
A birthday commission – the step up in complexity

Then came a commission that needed far more planning as it pushed me outside my comfort zone into a style of art I have never done before.a Tolkien themed decoration on the client’s own pith helmet. This time a paper based design to liaise with the client and to return to and add details. The design was signed off and then drawn by hand onto the hat itself. It gave me more space than the draft allowed which meant I could add additional detail in the character pieces. Also the plan for the brim was a map that again became more extensive and detailed. I am very proud of how this hat turned out as a final piece.

Final design

The latest piece has now been designed in principle on paper, agreed with the client and I am now transferring it to the hat.

I am sure the approach will continue to develop as I have only been drawing on hats in this way for 5 months and I am very pleased with how they are developing. Some people have already mentioned possible prices to do in 2021.

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