kyletheviking
New Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Your leather work is absolutely stunning!
Your leather work is absolutely stunning!
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY - COMPLETE)
- Thread starter Athanasios
- Start date
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- Tags
- assassin's creed
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Thanks man!
Thanks man!
kyletheviking
New Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
You're absolutely welcome. Now I know who to come to if I have any leather questions :lol
You're absolutely welcome. Now I know who to come to if I have any leather questions :lol
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Hahahaha sure! If there's anything I can help with, feel free to let me know
Hahahaha sure! If there's anything I can help with, feel free to let me know
Cameron1138
Well-Known Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
This is looking ridiculously amazing. Really admire your dedication and attention to detail.
This is looking ridiculously amazing. Really admire your dedication and attention to detail.
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Thank you so much Cameron! Devil's in the details, as they say. And so is the difference between me being satisfied that I made the costume to the best of my abilities, and me regretting that I didn't do a better job.
Thank you so much Cameron! Devil's in the details, as they say. And so is the difference between me being satisfied that I made the costume to the best of my abilities, and me regretting that I didn't do a better job.
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
So I've been working the past few days and I made some progress. Firstly, I finished the bottom jacket panels and I've laid it all out to test how it's coming together.
For the middle piece, I ended up ripping out all the seams on the side and re-stitching it with the double silver piping in the middle. Decided to take the extra step for accuracy. I don't regret it though, it looks really good:
Then I worked on the inner tunic. To this I will attach the sleeves, ruffled collar, and all the main panels that form the bottom half of his robes.
Then, I began the ruffles.
God, but those are tricky b@stards. A pain in the hindquarter region doesn't even begin to cover it. I'm using the flowery material, which, while it looks incredible and is extremely close to the reference, it refuses to sit properly unless you really sew it exactly how you want to it fall.
This is the fabric:
So in order to make the ruffles for half the collar, I had to cut out a strip that was 2 meters long. And in the end it compressed to something barely over 40 centimeters.
Once I cut out the strip I double-folded all the edges and stitched across them so that the fabric won't open on me. Then I marked out every 1.5 centimeters, as that was the ruffle size I needed:
Then began the torture. Since the fabric refused to stay in place even when I sewed in between each ruffle, I ended up having to hand sew each ruffle in place, in the style of a Victorian ruffled neck collar. I had to do it an all three sides of the ruffles before it finally sat in place enough so that I'll be able to sew it onto the collar and it'll sit properly.
It took me over 3 hours to make this. And this is only half the ruffles I need. Now I have to sit and make the second half. Another three hours. God.
At least it looks awesome. Hopefully I won't mess anything up when I sew it onto the black fabric to make the collar.... wish me luck!
They look really good with the texture fabric. Much better than on the previous costume, where I used ribbon.
So I've been working the past few days and I made some progress. Firstly, I finished the bottom jacket panels and I've laid it all out to test how it's coming together.
For the middle piece, I ended up ripping out all the seams on the side and re-stitching it with the double silver piping in the middle. Decided to take the extra step for accuracy. I don't regret it though, it looks really good:
Then I worked on the inner tunic. To this I will attach the sleeves, ruffled collar, and all the main panels that form the bottom half of his robes.
Then, I began the ruffles.
God, but those are tricky b@stards. A pain in the hindquarter region doesn't even begin to cover it. I'm using the flowery material, which, while it looks incredible and is extremely close to the reference, it refuses to sit properly unless you really sew it exactly how you want to it fall.
This is the fabric:
So in order to make the ruffles for half the collar, I had to cut out a strip that was 2 meters long. And in the end it compressed to something barely over 40 centimeters.
Once I cut out the strip I double-folded all the edges and stitched across them so that the fabric won't open on me. Then I marked out every 1.5 centimeters, as that was the ruffle size I needed:
Then began the torture. Since the fabric refused to stay in place even when I sewed in between each ruffle, I ended up having to hand sew each ruffle in place, in the style of a Victorian ruffled neck collar. I had to do it an all three sides of the ruffles before it finally sat in place enough so that I'll be able to sew it onto the collar and it'll sit properly.
It took me over 3 hours to make this. And this is only half the ruffles I need. Now I have to sit and make the second half. Another three hours. God.
At least it looks awesome. Hopefully I won't mess anything up when I sew it onto the black fabric to make the collar.... wish me luck!
They look really good with the texture fabric. Much better than on the previous costume, where I used ribbon.
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
YEEEESS! Finally finished making all the ruffles. Now I just need to make the collar........
I spent the entire day making ruffles :O
It's like "hey, what did you do today?" "Oh, you know. I woke up, did some errands, went out with some friends, cooked lunch, visited with a neighbor, played some volley, worked out, and had dinner at a restaurant down the road. You?" "I spent the day making ruffles."
-_-
Such is the life of one who makes things.
YEEEESS! Finally finished making all the ruffles. Now I just need to make the collar........
I spent the entire day making ruffles :O
It's like "hey, what did you do today?" "Oh, you know. I woke up, did some errands, went out with some friends, cooked lunch, visited with a neighbor, played some volley, worked out, and had dinner at a restaurant down the road. You?" "I spent the day making ruffles."
-_-
Such is the life of one who makes things.
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
I finished the collar! Finally. It's not perfect, but it looks pretty good. I also added the buttons and did a test-fit of the inner tunic. I still need to attach the sleeves, hem the bottom and attach the ten robe flaps on the bottom, but we're getting there.
I finished the collar! Finally. It's not perfect, but it looks pretty good. I also added the buttons and did a test-fit of the inner tunic. I still need to attach the sleeves, hem the bottom and attach the ten robe flaps on the bottom, but we're getting there.
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
I'm gonna copy-paste from my Facebook Page because I'm feeling lazy right now
Today I have progress on the cape to show you guys! I attached the straps to it and now I just need to stitch two pieces of black leather on top to cover the ugly rivets and sections of the strap that show.
To make the strap, I cut out four strips of leather and one piece that goes over the shoulder.I beveled and dyed all the pieces. For the straps, I also weathered and battle-damaged them. The shoulder piece didn't get the treatment because it is under the shoulder spaulder, and the spaulder is what's exposed to the elements.
Next I attached the buckles using a piece of thinner leather, and I also punches holes in the straps. I decided to add eyelets to the strap holes because it just makes the strap look so much more AWESOME, even though it isn't accurate.
I then riveted the straps to the shoulder piece.
Next, I laid the shoulder piece out on top of the cape and planned where I would rivet the two pieces together. I punched holes through everything and then put the rivet bases through. Before I attached the caps, I cut out little pieces of thin leather to go under the rivet cap but on top of the cloth section of the cape for better grip, and to make sure the fabric doesn't tear and accidentally slide out and around the rivet cap. Basically it serves as reinforcement.
Finally I pressed all the rivets and cut out the two black pieces. My machine can't handle sewing through the thick leather, so I'll have to take it down town, because a friend of mine has the machine needed to complete this task.The completed strap assembly:
3/4 pieces for the straps:
The process for attaching eyelets. The tool in the floating boxes is a press, which can be used to set rivets, eyelets, and snaps, punch holes, and practically do whatever you might need to do that involves downward pressure. The full-size picture is enormous in case any of you have difficulty viewing what's going on.
A close-up of the buckle assembly. I really love the eyelets, they make everything look so heavy-duty.
The strap assembly:
Laying out the strap next to the cape to plan the placement:
Rivets:
The pieces of leather I was talking about. By spreading out the force applied on the cape by the rivets over a larger surface area, I reduce the tension on the holes around the rivets and thus lessen the likelihood of the cape ripping and coming loose.
Underside:
These are the pieces I'll use to cover all the ugly rivets and exposed un-dyed leather.
More progress soon!
I'm gonna copy-paste from my Facebook Page because I'm feeling lazy right now
Today I have progress on the cape to show you guys! I attached the straps to it and now I just need to stitch two pieces of black leather on top to cover the ugly rivets and sections of the strap that show.
To make the strap, I cut out four strips of leather and one piece that goes over the shoulder.I beveled and dyed all the pieces. For the straps, I also weathered and battle-damaged them. The shoulder piece didn't get the treatment because it is under the shoulder spaulder, and the spaulder is what's exposed to the elements.
Next I attached the buckles using a piece of thinner leather, and I also punches holes in the straps. I decided to add eyelets to the strap holes because it just makes the strap look so much more AWESOME, even though it isn't accurate.
I then riveted the straps to the shoulder piece.
Next, I laid the shoulder piece out on top of the cape and planned where I would rivet the two pieces together. I punched holes through everything and then put the rivet bases through. Before I attached the caps, I cut out little pieces of thin leather to go under the rivet cap but on top of the cloth section of the cape for better grip, and to make sure the fabric doesn't tear and accidentally slide out and around the rivet cap. Basically it serves as reinforcement.
Finally I pressed all the rivets and cut out the two black pieces. My machine can't handle sewing through the thick leather, so I'll have to take it down town, because a friend of mine has the machine needed to complete this task.The completed strap assembly:
3/4 pieces for the straps:
The process for attaching eyelets. The tool in the floating boxes is a press, which can be used to set rivets, eyelets, and snaps, punch holes, and practically do whatever you might need to do that involves downward pressure. The full-size picture is enormous in case any of you have difficulty viewing what's going on.
A close-up of the buckle assembly. I really love the eyelets, they make everything look so heavy-duty.
The strap assembly:
Laying out the strap next to the cape to plan the placement:
Rivets:
The pieces of leather I was talking about. By spreading out the force applied on the cape by the rivets over a larger surface area, I reduce the tension on the holes around the rivets and thus lessen the likelihood of the cape ripping and coming loose.
Underside:
These are the pieces I'll use to cover all the ugly rivets and exposed un-dyed leather.
More progress soon!
Last edited by a moderator:
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
More updates! Today I worked on the secondary belt, which holds the thigh armor plates and the sword sheath.
First I made the thigh plates by cutting out and beveling two almost semi-circles. I tooled a rim around the edge to create a space for the line of rivets. I dyed the pieces and burnished the edges, first with dye and then with wax.
I also took the opportunity to battle-damage them.
Then I made the belt by cutting a strip of leather, beveling the edges, burnishing all the edges, fastening the buckle assembly, and finally punching holes and inserting eyelets for a more awesome look.
Then I made the little belt loops for the thigh plates:
and then I riveted everything together:
Next I started working on the sheath. First I cut out the strips and leveled them:
Then I dyed everything, burnished all the edges, and weathered/battle-damaged them. The weathering was done in layers. I gave the leather a basic coat of dye, then I began building up scratches. Once I was done I sandpapered all the edges, and then applied another coat of dye. While that was drying I continued to weather the leather using a groover and sandpaper. Once the final layer of dye was dry, I burnished all the edges, cleaning everything up. Then I re-sandpapered the edges. Then I applied a layer of cream, which waterproofs, softens, and protects the leather. Finally, once that was all dry, I sandpapered (more sparsely this time) the edges and it was finished.
I cut out and went through the same procedure with all the other pieces, albeit with significantly less weathering. The straps would logically be more messed up since Ezio would be sheathing his sword all the time, resulting in many scratches and marks. The pieces that hold these straps, however, wouldn't be as messed up. Nevertheless, I will go over and weather all the pieces once the entire costume is finished.
Then I started the riveting. Not shown in the picture above are the two steel pieces i prepared. I riveted the various leather parts together (I'll let the pics do the talking), and when most of the pieces were assembled I riveted the metal pieces on.
I then riveted the one final piece I seem to have neglected to photograph, and mounted it on the belt.
Secondary belt is finished!
On to other things! Gotta finish this thing, it's driving me crazy. Taking waaay longer than I anticipated.
More updates! Today I worked on the secondary belt, which holds the thigh armor plates and the sword sheath.
First I made the thigh plates by cutting out and beveling two almost semi-circles. I tooled a rim around the edge to create a space for the line of rivets. I dyed the pieces and burnished the edges, first with dye and then with wax.
I also took the opportunity to battle-damage them.
Then I made the belt by cutting a strip of leather, beveling the edges, burnishing all the edges, fastening the buckle assembly, and finally punching holes and inserting eyelets for a more awesome look.
Then I made the little belt loops for the thigh plates:
and then I riveted everything together:
Next I started working on the sheath. First I cut out the strips and leveled them:
Then I dyed everything, burnished all the edges, and weathered/battle-damaged them. The weathering was done in layers. I gave the leather a basic coat of dye, then I began building up scratches. Once I was done I sandpapered all the edges, and then applied another coat of dye. While that was drying I continued to weather the leather using a groover and sandpaper. Once the final layer of dye was dry, I burnished all the edges, cleaning everything up. Then I re-sandpapered the edges. Then I applied a layer of cream, which waterproofs, softens, and protects the leather. Finally, once that was all dry, I sandpapered (more sparsely this time) the edges and it was finished.
I cut out and went through the same procedure with all the other pieces, albeit with significantly less weathering. The straps would logically be more messed up since Ezio would be sheathing his sword all the time, resulting in many scratches and marks. The pieces that hold these straps, however, wouldn't be as messed up. Nevertheless, I will go over and weather all the pieces once the entire costume is finished.
Then I started the riveting. Not shown in the picture above are the two steel pieces i prepared. I riveted the various leather parts together (I'll let the pics do the talking), and when most of the pieces were assembled I riveted the metal pieces on.
I then riveted the one final piece I seem to have neglected to photograph, and mounted it on the belt.
Secondary belt is finished!
On to other things! Gotta finish this thing, it's driving me crazy. Taking waaay longer than I anticipated.
Nibenon
Well-Known Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Yet again, I'm subscribing to your thread... I was already impressed with your old build, all inaccuracies aside, and now that you're pouring detail into quality I think it's going to turn out great!
Yet again, I'm subscribing to your thread... I was already impressed with your old build, all inaccuracies aside, and now that you're pouring detail into quality I think it's going to turn out great!
AssassinForte
New Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Man its like Im watching one of my favorite shows and want to see what happens next....... Im a huge fan of AC and you doing Ezio proud my friend.
Man its like Im watching one of my favorite shows and want to see what happens next....... Im a huge fan of AC and you doing Ezio proud my friend.
trooper150
Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Apisteuti douleia filaraki.poly kalo to kostoumi.oi tehnikes sto derma einai apisteytes.
Apisteuti douleia filaraki.poly kalo to kostoumi.oi tehnikes sto derma einai apisteytes.
TheMeerkat
New Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Annnnd subscribed!
Serious inspiration here :thumbsup
Annnnd subscribed!
Serious inspiration here :thumbsup
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Wow, I haven't checked this thread in ages, and it's so awesome to see all this amazing feedback! Thank you guys all very much. Ki'esena, filaraki, s'euxaristw polu
Okay, when I get back home I'll continue to post all my progress pictures, and explain the rest of what I've done. I can say the suit is finished now, and I'm quite pleased with it. I didn't have time to make hidden blades, but maybe one day I'll get around to it.
Stay tuned for some looong posts as I go over everything I did to finish it, and show you guys the final suit!
Wow, I haven't checked this thread in ages, and it's so awesome to see all this amazing feedback! Thank you guys all very much. Ki'esena, filaraki, s'euxaristw polu
Okay, when I get back home I'll continue to post all my progress pictures, and explain the rest of what I've done. I can say the suit is finished now, and I'm quite pleased with it. I didn't have time to make hidden blades, but maybe one day I'll get around to it.
Stay tuned for some looong posts as I go over everything I did to finish it, and show you guys the final suit!
Athanasios
Active Member
Re: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Ezio Auditore - Version 2 (PIC HEAVY)
Before I go over the elements of the build I haven't covered yet, here are some pictures of the final thing. These were taken at the EuroCosplay championships in London, on the day of the competition, by N8e Photography.
You can find him on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/N8e.cosplay.photography
And you can find the album I posted on my page here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1552830001600806.1073741841.1472559226294551&type=1
Within the next couple of weeks I'll have completed a photoshoot in a much better location (really, the side of a modern balcony is NOT the right setting for a Renaissance Assassin), and so hopefully soon I'll have some excellent pictures ready to showcase the final piece.
You guys can click on these for the full size.
Up next: the Insignia!
Before I go over the elements of the build I haven't covered yet, here are some pictures of the final thing. These were taken at the EuroCosplay championships in London, on the day of the competition, by N8e Photography.
You can find him on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/N8e.cosplay.photography
And you can find the album I posted on my page here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1552830001600806.1073741841.1472559226294551&type=1
Within the next couple of weeks I'll have completed a photoshoot in a much better location (really, the side of a modern balcony is NOT the right setting for a Renaissance Assassin), and so hopefully soon I'll have some excellent pictures ready to showcase the final piece.
You guys can click on these for the full size.
Up next: the Insignia!
Athanasios
Active Member
Okay, so. Moving on to the Insignia!
Insignia
I decided not to go with metal for this build. In the reference, the insignia can be assumed to be made of metal, as indicated by the texture. Most costumes of Ezio I've seen include an insignia sculpted with clay, and then cast in resin + painted/weathered. I've even seen an insignia made of wood.
I think both of those options make no practical sense, and are completely ridiculous. We're talking about a parkour assassin here. The guy jumps off buildings, rolls around, performs flips... Every time he bent his abdomen he would be stabbing himself in the chest with the tip of the insignia. This is definitely not at all productive, and could in fact lead to injury.
Ubisoft designers have no idea what they're doing, practically speaking. Design-wise, their stuff looks ******** awesome. Practically speaking, their design for Ezio sucks.
And this has been proven to me over and over again, especially upon studying closely the model. Belt buckles in many instances make NO SENSE. Think the boots, the insignia buckles, and many other places. The design for Ezio's main robe has no closure. It's solid, like a shirt. Not only that, it's form-fitting. It would be impossible for Ezio to wear his robes without using stretchy fabric. Or having some way to open his robes, like a jacket. And stretchy fabric didn't exist during the time of the renaissance. So that's a pretty major flaw. Also, in the super-detailed hyper-realistic reference images, Ezio's robes appear to be made out of leather. LEATHER. Are these people insane? Do they have ANY IDEA how incredibly hot Ezio would be wearing multiple layers of leather? Not to mention his lack of flexibility in combat. He'd be dead before he encountered his second enemy.
In general Ezio's getup was not designed with reality in mind. It was not designed to be practical, comfortable, or stealthy. It was designed to look cool.
Moving on from my rant, I decided to go for a more practical approach with the insignia. I decided to make it out of leather. Since leather armor seems to be a rather major theme in Ezio's design, and since leather is a flexible material, the impracticality of the enormous belt insignia can be somewhat combated.
To make it I first cut out a basic piece of leather as a foundation, to which I would stitch all the remaining pieces.
Looking at the reference image I determined which leaves I would have to cut out individually, and worked out an order for them as far as layering was concerned. For the leaves at the very bottom I cut out larger pieces of thin leather, with groups of leaves, which would serve as a base for the individual leaves.
I painted all the leaves silver.
Next I stitched to the backplate the four base leaf pieces. I used the stitching simultaneously functionally and decoratively, the latter because I was able to use the stitching placement to form the midrib.
Working up from there, I began to stitch each individual leaf to the backplate separately, slowly creating an overlapping network of leaves in the middle of which would go the two central pieces, the upper "crown"-like section with the jewel, and the lower "A" symbol.
Each individual leaf was stitched separately, by hand.
To create these two central pieces I cut them out of thick leather (3+ mm) to give me maximum carving depth. After marking the designs on the pieces I used a swivel knife to cut out the lines and a beveler to tool them. Next I painted the entire piece silver. Using black, bronze, and grey I weathered the pieces, giving them some depth and bringing out the detail. Now I'm not a fan of painting leather silver. Especially carved leather. I think it's a pity, because the silver really kind of ruins the beautiful look natural/dyed leather has. In any case, using the secondary paints really improved the overall effect.
For the Assassin symbol section, which is 3D, in other words it has a raised center, I needed to mold it a little bit. As before I cut out the main piece, carved out the design, and tooled it. However this time, before I painted it, I wet the main sections with water and molded it so that it would retain a 3D shape. Also, to prevent it from collapsing once it was put together and pressure was applied to it (for example if I lay on my stomach), I reinforced the back with pieces of leather which acted as fillers.
I also prepared the inner piece, and stitched everything together. The jewel was sewn through the backplate, after a hole was punched in the"crown" section, which in turn was riveted to the backplate with three nickel-plated rivets. Finally the other two pieces were stitched on, and the basic insignia was finished.
Insignia
I decided not to go with metal for this build. In the reference, the insignia can be assumed to be made of metal, as indicated by the texture. Most costumes of Ezio I've seen include an insignia sculpted with clay, and then cast in resin + painted/weathered. I've even seen an insignia made of wood.
I think both of those options make no practical sense, and are completely ridiculous. We're talking about a parkour assassin here. The guy jumps off buildings, rolls around, performs flips... Every time he bent his abdomen he would be stabbing himself in the chest with the tip of the insignia. This is definitely not at all productive, and could in fact lead to injury.
Ubisoft designers have no idea what they're doing, practically speaking. Design-wise, their stuff looks ******** awesome. Practically speaking, their design for Ezio sucks.
And this has been proven to me over and over again, especially upon studying closely the model. Belt buckles in many instances make NO SENSE. Think the boots, the insignia buckles, and many other places. The design for Ezio's main robe has no closure. It's solid, like a shirt. Not only that, it's form-fitting. It would be impossible for Ezio to wear his robes without using stretchy fabric. Or having some way to open his robes, like a jacket. And stretchy fabric didn't exist during the time of the renaissance. So that's a pretty major flaw. Also, in the super-detailed hyper-realistic reference images, Ezio's robes appear to be made out of leather. LEATHER. Are these people insane? Do they have ANY IDEA how incredibly hot Ezio would be wearing multiple layers of leather? Not to mention his lack of flexibility in combat. He'd be dead before he encountered his second enemy.
In general Ezio's getup was not designed with reality in mind. It was not designed to be practical, comfortable, or stealthy. It was designed to look cool.
Moving on from my rant, I decided to go for a more practical approach with the insignia. I decided to make it out of leather. Since leather armor seems to be a rather major theme in Ezio's design, and since leather is a flexible material, the impracticality of the enormous belt insignia can be somewhat combated.
To make it I first cut out a basic piece of leather as a foundation, to which I would stitch all the remaining pieces.
Looking at the reference image I determined which leaves I would have to cut out individually, and worked out an order for them as far as layering was concerned. For the leaves at the very bottom I cut out larger pieces of thin leather, with groups of leaves, which would serve as a base for the individual leaves.
I painted all the leaves silver.
Next I stitched to the backplate the four base leaf pieces. I used the stitching simultaneously functionally and decoratively, the latter because I was able to use the stitching placement to form the midrib.
Working up from there, I began to stitch each individual leaf to the backplate separately, slowly creating an overlapping network of leaves in the middle of which would go the two central pieces, the upper "crown"-like section with the jewel, and the lower "A" symbol.
Each individual leaf was stitched separately, by hand.
To create these two central pieces I cut them out of thick leather (3+ mm) to give me maximum carving depth. After marking the designs on the pieces I used a swivel knife to cut out the lines and a beveler to tool them. Next I painted the entire piece silver. Using black, bronze, and grey I weathered the pieces, giving them some depth and bringing out the detail. Now I'm not a fan of painting leather silver. Especially carved leather. I think it's a pity, because the silver really kind of ruins the beautiful look natural/dyed leather has. In any case, using the secondary paints really improved the overall effect.
For the Assassin symbol section, which is 3D, in other words it has a raised center, I needed to mold it a little bit. As before I cut out the main piece, carved out the design, and tooled it. However this time, before I painted it, I wet the main sections with water and molded it so that it would retain a 3D shape. Also, to prevent it from collapsing once it was put together and pressure was applied to it (for example if I lay on my stomach), I reinforced the back with pieces of leather which acted as fillers.
I also prepared the inner piece, and stitched everything together. The jewel was sewn through the backplate, after a hole was punched in the"crown" section, which in turn was riveted to the backplate with three nickel-plated rivets. Finally the other two pieces were stitched on, and the basic insignia was finished.
