This is what they call a hat plaque. It's a piece of fiber board with another toilet seat shaped bit on one side. Drill Instructors use them to keep the brim of their smokey hats flat. During boot camp, they'll go around asking who's good at art, and if you're brave enough to make the claim, they'll test you out and potentially make you the "artist recruit". I was that poor *******, so I spent my nights staying up drawing **** like this instead of sleeping like the other recruits. My 3rd hat despised the notion that I was the artist recruit (I later found out that it was because he was pissed that I wasn't doing a hat plaque for him, but for his boss, the Heavy Hat), so he ****ed me up all the time. So I guess it was a thankless role, but after being discharged he contacted me and asked that I do one for him. I agreed since he offered to pay me.

So over the last few months, I've been working on this:



This, gentle readers, is the plain side of a hat plaque. I used spray gesso on it because I just wanted to work on a white surface instead of the normal brown.



Some line work. I basically copied this verbatim from an image I found on Google Image Search. No one ever said I was actually creative.



Some early color.



Most of the color is finished at this point.

I don't know if I've reached some kind of limit for attachments or something, but it's not letting me do any more. I'll try on a new post.

Ok, I don't know why it attached that first image to the end as well, and I really don't care at this point. Moving on:



Basic color is finished... now it's time to move on to the background. It took me a little while to figure out what I wanted to do with it, then I said to hell with it, I'm sure DI's love lightning and ****. Basically if it looks like it might belong on a Dio album they'll probably love it.



So there's the line work of a pretty severe lightning storm.



Plus color and clearcoat. Side one finished.

On to side two:



Line work and some basic color on side two.

This is the side they actually put their hat in. Of all of the ones I've done, I've always chose this side to put the Drill Instructor's name on, as well as particulars about the Battalion, Company, and Platoon. I wasn't sure what to put on this side, until I was watching The Terminator the other night, and at the part when Kyle Reese says "Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead." I laughed because that's how we talked about our 3rd hat when he wasn't around. So I figured that was as good as anything else.

To be honest, I hate this thing. I think it's god awful, and I honestly want to just sand the ****ing thing off and re-do it, but my 3rd hat likes it so far, and he's paying me some decent money to do this, so I'm just going to deal with the fact that it's terrible.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS


​ART IN DA SHOWCAAAAAAAAAAASE

I will post a better response later

I like the first side, but I think you'd get a lot by adding highlights and shadows to the demon that take into account the setting, because otherwise it looks pretty wicked. I don't think the other side works well on white, and I also think you could have gone for more of a stylized look to the terminator head that didn't look so busy and flat. I'm just happy to know now that there is a device like this, and the whole business about art recruits.

Yeah, I know I hosed the lighting and shadow on side 1. That's why I hate it.

side two isn't finished. It won't look so flat when it is.

That's really cool! First time I hear of this "hat-holding" device, but the art's really sweet. Didn't know you drew. Rock on!

Did some more work on it today. Long way to go, though.

Oh wow, you were absolutely right. I think I might end up liking this side even more than the other.

I'm going to say this bit is tentatively done. I might do some minor things here and there to the terminator, but otherwise I'm moving on to the background and such.

Man, how cool would it be if you could put in red lamps for the Terminator's eyes. D.I. Sgt. Arriaga would have to keep his hat-holder plugged in, but it'd be worth it. Great job, btw!

Two LEDs and a watch battery.

Yeah I don't know about drilling holes in it and using LEDs. File it under: Would be neat, but impossible to do logistically.

Looks like **** hipsters would buy.

On second thought, you're not even worth getting pissed off at. Go away you tiny, tiny troll.