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River Song Journal 2011

Started by Elvis Gump, Jan 09, 2011, 06:48 am

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trekkiesara

That looks great! I have a bunch of blue suede cloth from a previous project, and my goal is to figure out how to take it and turn it into a cover for my Nook that looks like River Song's journal, I just havent figured out how that's going to work yet.

Elvis Gump

What you could do is make it like a slip case that many hard-back books are slipped into. Basically a slim box with either the top or one side open. Or you could make it so it was like a velcro closure cover that the Nook stays attached to and have the cover flap sideways like a book cover to reveal the screen.

If you wanted to get really, really fancy you might even hollow out a real book after you do something like varnish the pages together and hollow them out so you leave a fringe of the pages on all three sides. That would be very, very cool.

I really hope more people will make little sketchbooks and journals like this.

nice28

I think this is an awesome recreation of the journal!
I would like to try it myself :D Thank you so much for the stencils.
How did you make the "wrap" that the book slips into? (the first picture) You said you used a cardboard gift box?

Elvis Gump

The 'wrap' is just bending some thin cardboard around the existing book cover's you are going to make the slip cover. It was one of those things we all used to do as kids with text-books in school where we'd wrap construction paper or that brown butcher paper stuff or old paper grocery bags around them.

This video shows pretty much what I mean, but instead of using paper, I used thin cardboard.


Anything will do like that thin stuff crackers or cookies or even those big frozen pizza boxes should do. i just had some cheap brown plain gift boxes which I cut out. I used hot glue instead of tape, but only use the hot glue AFTER you take the book you are slip covering OUT or else you are liable to end up with it being permanently attached by any that oozes out...

nice28

oh~ It's just a regular brown paper bag book wrap using a cardboard box! I would have never guessed :P A regular cereal box looks like it should be big enough to cover a journal that size.
I still can't get over how cool the journal looks.

Elvis Gump

It's not a hard thing to replicate on the cheap like this, just a bit of tedious cutting with an Xacto knife. Just go slow and DO NOT cut yourself. Xacto knifes are painfully sharp and you do not want stitches in your fingers!

I'd like to make it eventually in leather if I can find some pieces big enough for cheap. There are a couple more examples over on therpf.com as well to look at as well as one project one user I think is doing as a run, but I don't have the money or desire to buy stuff like that at what is for me high prices.

If you search leather-working on YouTube you can find some tutorials on how to work leather into a embossings like the cardboard build up shown here. If I was going to do leather covering though I would use something like acid-free board. My first River Song book replica is actually matte-board scraps like you use in a picture frame around prints or drawings.

There's just a ton of ways to make a prop like this that is something that is also a practical thing you can use everyday. And you can decide what you spend on it; next to nothing like this or go fancy with leather and all. Give it a shot as it's far easier than you probably are worried it is.

dawn

Sep 26, 2011, 11:36 am #21 Last Edit: Sep 26, 2011, 11:36 am by dawn
Hi - was hoping you could send me the template. Can't figure out how to personal message on here

Elvis Gump

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b549c6e/n/d11s02e04-dust-jacket.zip

is the link farther back in the thread. I guess I didn't make it clear enough. I tend to ramble, like I'm doing now. Editors hate me for that. Which probably goes back to - well, that's a whole other story...


dawn

Oct 05, 2011, 07:39 pm #24 Last Edit: Oct 05, 2011, 07:56 pm by dawn
Just got it downloaded. Thanks :)

You have to scroll down and click on the red meter (after you have logged in) and follow the instructions through

Just realised though this isn't the design in the thread. Confused. Will have a go at doing my own. Wish I had a copy of Illustrator

Elvis Gump

Oct 29, 2011, 12:44 am #25 Last Edit: Oct 29, 2011, 12:45 am by Elvis Gump
This is the layout for the first journal I made. This is closer to slze of the prop, but as both were made as slip covers to go over existing blank books you basically have to resize it slightly to make it work for whatever blank book size you are going to make one for.
LAYOUT_FOR_NOTEBOOK_2a.jpg

This is the layout I used for the second book cover I made featured here in the thread.
LAYOUT_FOR_SOPH_NOTEBOOK_2.jpg

Neither of these are centimeter by centimeter accurate to the prop as I've no way to tell it's EXACT size, but then none of the three props used in "Silence in the Library" "Time of the Angels/The Big Bang" where a different prop made it slightly less worn down and damage nor the pristine condition from "Let's Kill Hitler" when it was new likely match each other. In fact in LKH when it is shown 'new' it is missing some cover details of grooves on top and bottom of the cover.

As long as you get in the ball-park just using paint or fabric instead of leather it's going to look fine. Only sticklers for detail will even notice. Besides the whole point of this guide is to make it on the cheap, not to go all leather-working wild on it.

ssmith014

tardis.jpg
I followed your instructions except for a few minor details. i had to create the template from scratch cuz the one u posted wouldnt open for me. I also used a paper grocery bag as the base and then some cardboard from a regular box for the raised parts. then i just used elmers glue and blue spray enamel.
using the paper bad and cardboard was a lot easier for me to do than using nothing but cardboard (my first attempt didnt work out so well). I havent been able to get some decent graphite to do the shading but i think it looks good.

thanks for the help!!!:)

Elvis Gump

Quote from: ssmith014 on Feb 19, 2012, 03:07 pm
I followed your instructions except for a few minor details. i had to create the template from scratch cuz the one u posted wouldnt open for me. I also used a paper grocery bag as the base and then some cardboard from a regular box for the raised parts. then i just used elmers glue and blue spray enamel.
using the paper bad and cardboard was a lot easier for me to do than using nothing but cardboard (my first attempt didnt work out so well). I havent been able to get some decent graphite to do the shading but i think it looks good.

thanks for the help!!!:)


That's entirely a valid choice to use paper for the base and the only reason I didn't us it was for prolonged durability because the more the 'spine' flexes, the quicker the paper continually creasing will fall apart versus some cardboard. I used scrap cardboard, but even inexpensive poster board works well too. The one thing if you are going to use cardboard is to make the big fold on the 'spine' go with the grain of the board and not against it. 

The one thing I would suggest if you take another run at it is use an Xacto knife or a utility knife or even a razor box cutter tool. These are relatively cheaply found in most stores and in combination with a metal ruler or straight edge will aid you in cutting very straight pieces for the raised bits which will help you make for a more finished look.

But as an alternative method the paper-bag or craft paper it works great and is a very inexpensive way to go. If you do another, I suggest you take step-by-step photos and start your own thread for your build. It will be a great instruction for others that follow in your footsteps.

Great work!

spoonhead

          I was hoping you could give any tips on how you did the graphite detailing, because it gives it an absolutely wonderful weathered and aging effect.  I've read your walkthrough, although I've chosen to use a felt/faux leather wrap on my journal, which may have been very time consuming seeing as all I had was my architecture kit and beginner's luck, but I have you to thank for this extremely helpful guide!
     I've been doing prototypes and I recently finished the version I intended to send (made this as a gift), however I was still curious as how you managed such a naturally weathered look (suffice to say it is shaded in a way that mirrors aging), with what I assume is a graphite drawing pen or other such tool.

Thank you a thousand times over for helping me achieve something I thought was out of my range of expertise.

Elvis Gump

Quote from: spoonhead on Apr 01, 2013, 11:20 pm
          I was hoping you could give any tips on how you did the graphite detailing, because it gives it an absolutely wonderful weathered and aging effect.  I've read your walkthrough, although I've chosen to use a felt/faux leather wrap on my journal, which may have been very time consuming seeing as all I had was my architecture kit and beginner's luck, but I have you to thank for this extremely helpful guide!
     I've been doing prototypes and I recently finished the version I intended to send (made this as a gift), however I was still curious as how you managed such a naturally weathered look (suffice to say it is shaded in a way that mirrors aging), with what I assume is a graphite drawing pen or other such tool.

Thank you a thousand times over for helping me achieve something I thought was out of my range of expertise.


My technique may not work on felt because keep in mind mine was cardboard with Krylon spray paint which was a slick surface.

The graphite 'pencils' I have are probably near 25 years old and I'm not sure if they are made anymore, but they consisted of compressed graphite to the hardness of say a #2 pencil lead, but have an enamel like coating on the outside of the graphite. I'll have to dig around to see what brand they are.
These look very close to my memory of them. I haven't pulled them out in years except to do that journal one night.
http://www.utrechtart.com/Faber-Castell-PITT-Monochrome-Graphite-Pure-Woodless-Pencils--Solid-Graphite-MP32266-i1010861.utrecht

I bought a box of these things back in college and never managed to do enough pencil drawing to use them all up. Basically shaving off/back the enamel exposes the graphite and rubbing it is a way to shade in large areas in a drawing. The enamel coating keeps your hands from getting gungy from the graphite. You might have to make do with the crayon kind that only has a paper wrapper or raw sticks that fit in a holder. Any decent art supply store should have something like that.

To shade in the areas on it I rubbed it into the relief parts lightly, then rubbed it out when it looked like too much. Once I was happy with it I gave it all a clear Krylon coat to keep it from rubbing off. The reason I say it might not work for you is that felt will accept the graphite, but you won't be able to rub it back off if you over do it. If it's a vinyl like faux leather it might though. I would experiment on scraps of your cover material until your sure whatever technique you use will work and not ruin all your work at the end.

Hope that helps.