JamesThurman

This belt buckle is the second one in my "Morality Series," titled Morality Belt Buckle: Greed. It features Dead Man's Chest (03518 sculpted by Kevin Williams). I had fun playing a bit with metallic paints on this one--the paint job is a little "grungy" but I wanted it to feel aged. This design is completely wearable since the miniature is protected by the spun and hammered aluminum ring. The lathe-turned disk is made of "Thurmanite", a composite material I developed made of recycled paper (maps in this case) bonded together by plant-based resins. Everything is held together with microhardware and tubeset synthetic stones. Many thanks to TradeMarek Photography for their great work shooting it. I really appreciated everyone's feedback on the first belt buckle I posted and the additional comments on Facebook too. I'm planning to do more functional/wearable pieces like this where to miniature is protected but visible.

Yes, this piece was designed for display only but I'm working on the next belt buckle that has a mini only on the front and protected by the spun exterior ring. Really appreciating the feedback...

I haven't posted here before and I'm very curious to hear what everyone thinks. I'm a metalsmith who also enjoys painting miniatures. I finally decided to combine them and this is my first piece in that series, a belt buckle about envy titled "Oceanic Nazar Boncugu". On the side is the Sea Creature of Blood Reef (50168) and on the back are two of the Aquatic Familiars (03612). I know this Forum is focused on painting but I'm interested in any comments, criticism, or feedback on any part of this piece. I'm working on more pieces combining metalsmithing & miniatures and I'm looking forward to sharing more in the future...