Project Ophidian

KikBox

Kikboxes is starting another new project. This case is another Lian Li P7 just like the case we used on the Spitfire project. I like this case for it's simple construction, light weight and wide open spaces. It's the perfect case for a Mural project such as the one we did with the Spitfire.

We have a tight timeline for this project with no more that 4 weeks to come up with an idea and execute all the mods and paintjob but we love a challenge! The Kikboxes team is accustom to tight deadlines so this should not be a problem. For this project Adam will be doing a full airbrush and I will be doing the mods.

Ophidian
So, what the hell is project Ophidian anyway? The word Ophidian means "snake like". With this project we are going after what I would describe as a gothic monster type of theme. The look will be very dark and creepy. The plan is to let Adam's fantastic paint skills and imagination run wild so my modifications will be pretty low key.

As always, we will be starting with the paint and then I will carfully apply my mods. I will be cutting out the front of the case to allow better airflow. I will also be installing a blowhole in this case and replacing all the fans inside the case. Some special lighting effects will be installed on the bottom of the case along with a unique set of wheels.

Here is our initial list of parts...

1 of these guys


3 of these dudes


1 of these beauties


4 green LEDs

2 of these


1 big sheet of 1/4" cast acrylic (clear)

and four of these


That's the parts list for now but as I said earlier we always start with the paint first. SO LETS GET TO PAINTING!

wooster241

hmmm sounds like a very unique theme. cant wait to see the air brush artwork again. the spitfire one was amazing. so you guys do this for like, a business?

KikBox

Indeed we do. Kikboxes does a custom fabrication and design in areas other than computer cases but the computer mods are our first love.

wooster241

wow, so do you start with a customer saying what they want? thenyou build it? or do you just build them and then put them up for sale?

i wishi could airbrush lol

KikBox

We do both. This is a case in which we are selling the chassis after the fact. These projects are nice because we can do whatever we want. Projects like this are generally much more creative and come together much faster because we can just run with our ideas instead of always going back to the customer.

Airmack

id like to see how it ends, also i had that same case but i had a problem with my agp slot... when the card was in the slot it would not close fully to screw in to the io slot thingy.

-[Atreyu]-

Wooooot another KikBox case :D

Grez

Awesome...glad to see a new Kikboxes project! I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of crazy paint job Adam comes up with! He definitely has a good eye...I'm good with the paint gun or can, but strickly from the paint quality standpoint. I'm not an artist...geometric stuff, and taping off flames/stripes like old custom cars I can do, but art like on the Spitfire project is beyond my painting skills.

Somewhere on there, I'm feeling a lighting effect to give you the glowing eyes of a beast...

darklord

haha this is goign to be sweet.

KikBox

I was going to wait until next week to start posting the work log but people seem interested so screw it...we're posting now!

I have seen Adam do a lot of cool stuff, all you have to do is look at our past work logs to see some examples, so I was excited to work on a project where we could finally let him set the tone. A while back we were hanging out in his studio and he showed me this piece of MDF he had painted. It was red and black and appeared to have the texture of leather...well, not exactly leather. Imagine you skinned the Devil...okay, imagine the Devil LET you skin him. Oh who am I kidding, imagine the Devil skinned YOU, turned it inside out and then let it roast on the grill for about an hour. Am I making any sense?

Anyway, we both agreed that he had come up with a crazy, totally unique finish that we were going to have to use eventually. The opportunity arrived a bit sooner than we had expected when Adam informed me that we would be using it on this project. As the project began to take shape I came to realize the Adam has some very scary things lurking inside him so I will no longer be visiting his studio after dark!

Okay I will just have to show you.

Naturally we have to start with primer. Adam used white primer on this case because we are starting with a base coat of red. We want the base coat to be really bright and vibrant so white primer is a must.



Following the primer he does the red. Now, just so we are clear, I cannot tell you what shade of red paint Adam is using because he some times mixes paints to get exactly what he wants. He has done this on many occasions but I don't know what he added to this paint cuz it hurts my eyes!



Once our red paint has dried Adam begins texturing the case with black. How he does it is his trade secret so don't ask, however I think it involves killing at least 3 chickens. Here is the end result after the texturing is finished.





TOMORROW: Building the beast
We will show you the concept drawing for our monster and the real airbrushing begins! Stay tuned!

darklord

dude thats such a nice paint job. once agian amazing

mechem

wow your last project kept me doing my happy dance. this looks kinda like the red cover of that hoobastank cd!

dont cut yourself, either on purpose or on accident, you dont wanna get too absorbed into your doomy theme.

wooster241

how did he do that? ^_^ lol jk
man that looks amazing, i can tell this will be great

TrickyStylez

nice looking good. I like the texture :)

KikBox

So let's start airbrushing! It's always good to have at least a general idea what you are going to do before you pick up that airbrush. So Adam sent me this sketch that was originally called "Troll". We talked it over and eventually decided that some kind snake or lizard dude would be cool. I guess it was the old D&D freak in me that took over!

We call him "Steve" and he is some kind of scaly guy with eyes like a snake. This character was not taken from anything specific by came right out of Adam's head.



With a concept in hand, Adam started by painting the outline of the Steve in white. The white acts as a nice base for the color he adds later and can also be left to show through for highlights as the painting develops.



After the white base come the shadows. The key is to add paint in layers enhancing the details with each application if paint.



Finally Steve starts to come together as the colors are added. Throughout the process Adam is able to nit pick his design and make subtle changes. Finally he lets the case sit over night and looks at it with a fresh eye in the morning. This is the final chance to make changes.







Don't forget the tail!





The final result is pretty stunning! Steve’s rips his way out one side of the case while his tail sticks out the other. I am always amazed at the depth Adam can create with nothing but paint!





STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK: Clear coat and polishing
Plus some more close up shots!

Joe_B_Me

holy shi...

that looks amazing, makes me feel like a complete noob paint-wise (oh wait, i still am )

wooster241

*jaw drops* that is so haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwtttttt. i wishi could airbrush like that. dang ill keep watchin this worklog, cant wait to see the final

Grez

Adam did his over-the-top job, as usual! Amazing paint...man, with that great of a paint job, you're hardly going to have to mod anything, bro! Slap those cool feet on there, and you're set! LOL...J/K...looking forward to the rest.

DF525

That looks awesome.

Andrewv|Xoxide

For those of you who never re-read the first post: