Ikras
Active Member
So, having completed my iron man I've been bitten by the bug. Throughout my build I had far too many ideas going around in my head and I've finally managed to come to a conclusion. I really enjoyed playing through Dark Souls and throughout it there were two bosses that stood out in my mind as the most memorable. Ornstein and Smough (particularly Ornstein) and Artorias. After a long think I decided to go with Ornstein (Artorias maybe at a later date).
So, new project in mind I've started to think about how best to go about all the parts. I've collected a bunch of images of the armour set, both images of the boss and of players in the armour and have been trying to look at it from as many different angles as I can. I'm planning to stick with foam for the construction. I'd come across an incredible looking Artorias costume online (http://imgur.com/a/3TgJs) and managed to get in touch with the creator and got a lot of advice from him which was a huge help.
The current plan begins with getting round to making a duct tape dummy so I can start putting together some templates properly. At this point I plan to start with a 10 mm or 6 mm basis for the parts. I've been working on a lot of sketches to try and pin down the basic shapes and how the parts will all fit together. Ideas (and sketches where I have them) are as follows.
Head: After a long chat with someone I met at MCM Scotland I have a basic idea of how to do this. Firstly, it will not be a helmet in the traditional sense as I will not be behind the face. My plan is to set it up more like a hat with my vision coming through the teeth and the front neck area removable for ventilation and refueling. There'll be a foam hat framework in the center which will hold it on my head and then I'm going to build the structure up around this. I'd initially been thinking of using upholstery foam but more recently the idea of using pink insulation foam has come to mind. I still need to do more research into this.
For the plume at the back I've got a weft of hair from Coscraft to roll up and use. I'm thinking of gluing one end around a small section of a post to give it the initial height and strength then just let it go loose from there.
Body/Shoulders: I'm planning to do these parts linked I think. I don't see any good way to mount the vertical sections of the shoulders otherwise so I think they'll be permanently attached with maybe the dipping parts attached by straps if I feel it would limit my motion too much to have it all as one solid piece. I'm going to try and make use of layering foam as much as I possibly can to get all the pattern across it. The smaller embellishments I'm aiming to do in 2 mm foam and then the larger parts probably in 6 mm to give them a bit more presence. That may turn out to be too thick so I need to do some tests to decide for sure.
I'm not sure yet but I'm thinking of making a base shell in 10 mm foam and then layering all the other parts over it. I'm not sure if this would end up too thick though so I may do away with the backing idea and just try assembling entirely with the layered 6 mm sections. Again, I think I'll need to make some test parts.
Thighs/Biceps/Elbow: For both parts I have a similar ideas in mind. Basic structure in 6 mm foam with the detail probably in a combo of 6 mm and 2 mm foam. I'll mold the sections to my body and then have straps round the back to hold them in place. I'm thinking either buckles or velcro and probably some elastic strapping to allow some give. I'm not sure where best to connect the elbows but I'll probably look into some strapping from the bicep to hold the height but allow some movement.
Shins/Forearms: I'm most likely looking at 6 mm foam for these, possibly a little 10 mm in the shins for part of the raised detail. These parts will fully enclose the respective sections and I'm looking at having a removable backing with velcro down the sides to hold it together.
Sides of legs (Not sure what best to call them): For this part I'm looking at probably 10 mm foam just so they have the strength to retain the curve by themselves, could possibly be done in 6 mm with a lot of backing structure but I feel the 10 mm might be the better call. I'm planning to have individual layered sections all held together by some strapping down the back of them. They'll be connected overall to a belt that I'll hide behind the chest plate.
Combined with this part I'll also have a fabric backing. Most likely I'm going to use some red linen. Managed to find something that looks a reasonable colour in a local shop. Based from the advice of the Artorias builder I plan to weather this with some sandpaper at the edges of the fabric and test out a combination of bleach dye to give an approximation of fading and tattered edges.
Also attached to the belt I'm making myself some chainmail. I've done the most work on this so far and worked through a fair amount of reference detail. I'm working with some 1.6 mm wire I got from Screwfix (16 gauge in other terms I think) and I'm using 1/2" rings due to the availability of a wooden spoon with that diameter handle. I've given a test of two chainmail patterns so far, European 4 in 1 and also 6 in 1 and I think I'm going to stick with the 4 in 1. The rings will definitely be larger than they look in the game model but I think it would be a nightmare to try and work with smaller rings and I have a lot of respect for people working with 1/4" or anything similar.
Spear: The haft I plan to make of some wood doweling, exact diameter to be determined when I come to it. There's a shop near me that does a lot of wood so I might have a good look round there when I start to think about it more seriously. In the end I aim to have it split in two near the centre, probably with some kind of screw to connect the parts in the middle. The spear head itself I've been planning to do in pink insulation foam but it's just occurred to me that expanding foam might be worth looking into. In either case I need to work out how best to finish it off.
Overall I'm thinking of doing a full thin resin coat to give it a nice smooth finish, something I planned for iron man but ran out of time to properly perfect the coating. Gold paint and some weathering as well. Maybe have the eyes light up red for a bit of fun but at the moment this is the plan.
Currently need to get a duct tape dummy done so I can start to work out some templates for the sections. I also need to work out a source of foam with no pattern on either side. In the meantime I have plenty of chainmail to be making.
As always, any comments or advice is welcome.
Hope it's been an interesting read.
P.S. I've been playing with my image uploading. I've got larger images available now but if anyone knows how to make the larger image available without linking externally please let me know.
So, new project in mind I've started to think about how best to go about all the parts. I've collected a bunch of images of the armour set, both images of the boss and of players in the armour and have been trying to look at it from as many different angles as I can. I'm planning to stick with foam for the construction. I'd come across an incredible looking Artorias costume online (http://imgur.com/a/3TgJs) and managed to get in touch with the creator and got a lot of advice from him which was a huge help.
The current plan begins with getting round to making a duct tape dummy so I can start putting together some templates properly. At this point I plan to start with a 10 mm or 6 mm basis for the parts. I've been working on a lot of sketches to try and pin down the basic shapes and how the parts will all fit together. Ideas (and sketches where I have them) are as follows.
Head: After a long chat with someone I met at MCM Scotland I have a basic idea of how to do this. Firstly, it will not be a helmet in the traditional sense as I will not be behind the face. My plan is to set it up more like a hat with my vision coming through the teeth and the front neck area removable for ventilation and refueling. There'll be a foam hat framework in the center which will hold it on my head and then I'm going to build the structure up around this. I'd initially been thinking of using upholstery foam but more recently the idea of using pink insulation foam has come to mind. I still need to do more research into this.
For the plume at the back I've got a weft of hair from Coscraft to roll up and use. I'm thinking of gluing one end around a small section of a post to give it the initial height and strength then just let it go loose from there.
Body/Shoulders: I'm planning to do these parts linked I think. I don't see any good way to mount the vertical sections of the shoulders otherwise so I think they'll be permanently attached with maybe the dipping parts attached by straps if I feel it would limit my motion too much to have it all as one solid piece. I'm going to try and make use of layering foam as much as I possibly can to get all the pattern across it. The smaller embellishments I'm aiming to do in 2 mm foam and then the larger parts probably in 6 mm to give them a bit more presence. That may turn out to be too thick so I need to do some tests to decide for sure.
I'm not sure yet but I'm thinking of making a base shell in 10 mm foam and then layering all the other parts over it. I'm not sure if this would end up too thick though so I may do away with the backing idea and just try assembling entirely with the layered 6 mm sections. Again, I think I'll need to make some test parts.
Thighs/Biceps/Elbow: For both parts I have a similar ideas in mind. Basic structure in 6 mm foam with the detail probably in a combo of 6 mm and 2 mm foam. I'll mold the sections to my body and then have straps round the back to hold them in place. I'm thinking either buckles or velcro and probably some elastic strapping to allow some give. I'm not sure where best to connect the elbows but I'll probably look into some strapping from the bicep to hold the height but allow some movement.
Shins/Forearms: I'm most likely looking at 6 mm foam for these, possibly a little 10 mm in the shins for part of the raised detail. These parts will fully enclose the respective sections and I'm looking at having a removable backing with velcro down the sides to hold it together.
Sides of legs (Not sure what best to call them): For this part I'm looking at probably 10 mm foam just so they have the strength to retain the curve by themselves, could possibly be done in 6 mm with a lot of backing structure but I feel the 10 mm might be the better call. I'm planning to have individual layered sections all held together by some strapping down the back of them. They'll be connected overall to a belt that I'll hide behind the chest plate.
Combined with this part I'll also have a fabric backing. Most likely I'm going to use some red linen. Managed to find something that looks a reasonable colour in a local shop. Based from the advice of the Artorias builder I plan to weather this with some sandpaper at the edges of the fabric and test out a combination of bleach dye to give an approximation of fading and tattered edges.
Also attached to the belt I'm making myself some chainmail. I've done the most work on this so far and worked through a fair amount of reference detail. I'm working with some 1.6 mm wire I got from Screwfix (16 gauge in other terms I think) and I'm using 1/2" rings due to the availability of a wooden spoon with that diameter handle. I've given a test of two chainmail patterns so far, European 4 in 1 and also 6 in 1 and I think I'm going to stick with the 4 in 1. The rings will definitely be larger than they look in the game model but I think it would be a nightmare to try and work with smaller rings and I have a lot of respect for people working with 1/4" or anything similar.
Spear: The haft I plan to make of some wood doweling, exact diameter to be determined when I come to it. There's a shop near me that does a lot of wood so I might have a good look round there when I start to think about it more seriously. In the end I aim to have it split in two near the centre, probably with some kind of screw to connect the parts in the middle. The spear head itself I've been planning to do in pink insulation foam but it's just occurred to me that expanding foam might be worth looking into. In either case I need to work out how best to finish it off.
Overall I'm thinking of doing a full thin resin coat to give it a nice smooth finish, something I planned for iron man but ran out of time to properly perfect the coating. Gold paint and some weathering as well. Maybe have the eyes light up red for a bit of fun but at the moment this is the plan.
Currently need to get a duct tape dummy done so I can start to work out some templates for the sections. I also need to work out a source of foam with no pattern on either side. In the meantime I have plenty of chainmail to be making.
As always, any comments or advice is welcome.
Hope it's been an interesting read.
P.S. I've been playing with my image uploading. I've got larger images available now but if anyone knows how to make the larger image available without linking externally please let me know.
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