Laser Engraved Safari Dice Commission
While exhibiting my portfolio of laser engraved work at the 2015 Derby Mini Maker Faire, I was commissioned to recreate an old dice game. My client had moved to the UK from Kenya in her late teens and during this move all of the family’s childhood memorabilia was left behind. My client had vivid memories of playing this Safari Dice game with her brother during their childhood years and had done her best to find a set as a present for him but so far, to no avail. After months of searching all that was found was an entry of the ‘Safari Dice’ on BoardGameGeek.com.
Having seen my bespoke and intricate work, the client realised that laser engraving would be a far superior option than hand-carving the designs onto some wooden dice she had bought.
Using GIMP on Ubuntu I prepared the 6 designs (Giraffe, Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo, Lion & Hunter) my client had provided and I was able to then translate into vectors in Inkscape, ready for line engraving onto the dice. I developed a custom jig to hold the dice in place to ensure each image was perfectly central. To minimise the scorching and any smoke discolouration I applied “application tape” (aka masking tape) prior to engraving.
My client was delighted and couldn’t wait to see her brother’s face when he opened this unique Christmas present.
