Making Sol Invictus: Red Resin Picks & Solar Inspiration

I had been holding onto this red-orange resin sheet for years before it finally became the Sol Invictus guitar picks. The material always felt like it needed the right idea, it had translucent spots, a fiery attitude, and what looked like darker pearlescent clouds under the surface. All of this hinted at something solar.

It also reminded me loosely of the sun's photosphere and solar granulation effect, something I'd probably seen many years ago in science class. From there, it all clicked together and the goal was to keep the pick simple, substantial, and focused: a solar-themed pick with enough restraint to let the material do most of the talking.

An Orange Sheet from the Back of the Shop

This material did not start as a planned release. It was a roughly 6x6" experimental resin sheet I received from Justin of Kaotic Artworks years ago, probably sometime around 2017-2018, and it had been sitting around ever since. I knew it was special, but I did not really know what I wanted to do with it yet.

Over the years, it moved with me through a few different chapters: El Paso, San Antonio, the covid mess of 2020, other projects, big  wholesales, and the general chaos of keeping things afloat. I had always kept it in the back of my mind as something worth saving for the right pick, but that also meant it kept getting pushed aside every time something new popped up.

The moment finally came while I was in my garage, consolidating materials and taking inventory before a trip at the end of May. I found the sheet sitting in an old dusty box, and since I had not released many new picks this year, I figured this should probably be the next one. It was not some dramatic “aha” moment, but it did feel like the material had waited long enough... more like "enough is enough".

Well, once I surfaced the sheet on the CNC, more of its true character started to show. That is often the case with these resin materials: the outer face only tells part of the story, and the true internal pattern does not fully reveal itself until the top millimeter or two is removed. In this case, the planing exposed more of the turbulent vibe, darker internal clouds, and translucence that eventually pushed the project toward a solar direction rather than just an orange pick.

A Solar Direction Starts to Form

The first thing that really caught my attention was the way the material seemed to have movement inside it. Some areas looked more uniform, especially closer to the outer edges of the sheet, but the center had these darker clouds, orange-red swirls, and almost cellular textures that reminded me of solar granulation and photosphere imagery.

That became the spark, but I did not want to make the whole pick literally about solar granulation. The material was inspired by that visual language, not a perfect representation of it. Going too far into the science side also felt a little outside of what Iron Age usually does anyway.

That is where Sol Invictus started to make sense. The name means “The Unconquered Sun,” and it fit the reddish translucent material, the coming spring/summer timing I originally had in mind, and the Roman symbolism already present in the Iron Age sword and laurel mark. The whole idea seemed to come together.

Letting the Material Lead

Once the solar direction was set, the next question was how much design the pick actually needed. I considered a few extra details, including more engraving around the flanks and even a composite playing tip like the MMXXVI picks, but that started to feel like too much for this material.

The sheet already had its own visual energy, so the goal became simple: build around it without burying it with more stuff. I went with a standard-inspired shape, somewhat close to the Minerva picks, but made this version slightly smaller and more compact so it would feel a little more agile without turning into a Jazz-style pick.

The final picks landed at about 4.75mm thick, which felt right for the material. I could have gone thinner, maybe around 4mm, but the extra thickness helped make the pick feel more substantial and showed off more of the red-orange body. The point stayed medium-sharp rather than overly aggressive, partly because the material is relatively soft compared to acrylic and partly because Sol Invictus needed to feel refined, not overbuilt or extreme.

Engraving, Cutting, and the First Real Blanks

The sheet itself was only about 6x6 inches, so there was not much room for waste. That is one reason I ruled out tripick shapes early; they use more material, take more work to finish, and would have reduced the total yield from an already limited sheet.

After the material was surfaced, I moved into the engraving and cutting stages on the CNC. The design stayed focused: the ☉ sun symbol, a small field of rays, and the Iron Age sword and laurel mark. The engraved lines were then filled with black paint to give the artwork enough contrast against the red-orange body.

The sun rays came out a little heavier than expected. They were supposed to sharpen and taper outward, but it goes to show that even the machine has its limitations. The result was a much bolder engraving but still felt like it was on track overall.

From that small sheet, I was able to get 24 picks total, with 20 planned for release and the rest held back in case of lost orders or other issues.

The Satin Finish and the Final Glow

Once the CNC work was done, the picks still had to become finished objects by hand. Cutting and engraving gets the form most of the way there, but the bevels, taper, surface texture, and final feel are where the pick actually starts to become playable instead of just being a slab.

I finished these in a full satin texture rather than a high gloss polish in order to leave behind a subtle grippy surface. Around this time I also noticed that the picks were more translucent than anticipated and seemed to glow under certain lighting. What started out as an orange sheet with swirls was starting to feel much more layered than I expected.

One of the most satisfying moments came after the first pick was fully finished. Before wax, the satin surface looked a little chalky, which is normal after sanding and washing away any dust. But after adding a small dab of wax, the color and pigment suddenly came back to life. The surface stayed satin, but the fiery colors were back on full display.

In Closing

In the end, Sol Invictus was not a difficult rescue project or an overly complicated build. It was more about restraint: taking a material I had saved for years, giving it a solar theme, and letting the final pick feel substantial, playable, and visually alive.

The release came out to 20 available picks, with each one showing a slightly different piece of that fiery figure. That's one of the things I like most about working with materials like this. You can have a plan going in, but the final character of the piece does not really show itself until the sheet has been surfaced, cut, engraved, finished, and brought into the light.

Available Friday July 10th, 12pm

>Sol Invictus Red Resin Guitar Picks<

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