I'd love to have your finishing/painting skills. Do you have any videos on Youtube or other tutorials posted somewhere? They look great by the way?
LOL. No videos out there for my finishing techniques, all just trial and error. I have to give all the credit to my wife for the painting on the signs. She has a much steadier hand and a LOT more patience, plus I think she kind of enjoys it (not me).
Aspire software has given me the ability to create some unique backgrounds for my signs from clip art found on the web. I haven't scratched the surface as to what Aspire is capable of. I think I paint my signs like most people, first thing to do after carving is to seal the wood (I use shellac), so the paint doesn't bleed where you don't want it. Then stain areas that you want stained (don't seal the areas you are going to stain) vs painted. Then after painting, topcoat with your favorite finish coat.
Not sure why my Hawkeye sign crackled. I spray painted the background using a Rustoleum black paint and then I sealed with a Rustoleum clear spray. The black paint had dried for over 24 hours. Not sure if I put the clear on too heavy, but it started to crack almost instantly. My heart sank and a few choice words may have come out of my mouth before I realized that it looked kinda neat. Didn't have time to make another one, so I went with it and everyone liked it and was none the wiser...
Dave