Every so often a request comes in that isn't a product, it's a story. This one started with a simple ask from a client: she wanted one piece that would stand out on her ofrenda, her Día de los Muertos altar. Something that would catch the eye the moment you walked into the room and still hold up to a close look.
We're building the altar itself for her too, so this skull had to be the centerpiece everything else is arranged around.
Step 1: The print
The calavera was printed in a single bone-tone filament. It's packed with raised detail: scrollwork across the crown, flowers set into the eye sockets, carved cheekbones, and a full set of teeth. Detail like that hangs over open air, so it prints with a forest of tree supports holding it up.
Step 2: Cleanup
Supports come off by hand, one at a time, so none of the relief gets damaged. Then the surface gets cleaned up so the paint lays down smooth and the carved edges stay crisp.
Step 3: Hand painting
This is where it comes alive. The color story is built from traditional ofrenda colors:
- Marigold orange for the cempasúchil flowers on the forehead and in each eye. Marigolds are the flower of the ofrenda, said to guide loved ones home.
- Deep purple for the scrollwork framing the eyes, crown, and jaw.
- Mint and turquoise accents to lift the purple and keep it festive.
- Gold on the cross, the nose, the trim, and every single tooth, so it catches candlelight on the altar.
The result
From a plain bone-colored print to a centerpiece built for one family's altar. The altar is next, and we'll share it here once it's done.
Want one of your own?
Commissions are one-of-one: you tell us the idea, the colors, and where it's going, and we forge it. Altar pieces, memorial pieces, gifts, collectibles: if you can picture it, let's talk.