World of Warcraft :Deathwing the Destroyer

Part of me wanted to wait with this topic...the other part of me is way too stoked about this project. Smaug was okay, and I was proud, but looking back I wasn't entirely satisfied with the build. So many things I wanted to do, I couldn't do due to time constraints and...well...trying out all kinds of materials. I'm starting my Prop making & special effects course in a few weeks but I can't wait. Sitting in my room doing nothing is not good for me. My hands were itching and I have been mulling over the costumes I wanted to make for a while. First thing I'll do when I start school is work on Khan's 'Spacejump' Helmet in my spare time. The suit can be sewn (though I have no sewing machine at the moment...) After that, I'll be working on a Game of Thrones costume, which should be not too hard, except the leather work, though my courseleader already told me he could teach me. But in between that, I wanted to start on a big project again. And I've been wanting to go to Blizzcon for a while (the European one though.) I've thought of several characters and NPC's, but I always return to Deathwing. For a while I toyed with Onyxia, but I wasn't passionate about her. She's the son of Neltharion(aka Deathwing), but her backstory is minimal in the game. I thought of my own characters, but they fluctuate too much and ugh.. Then I went outside WoW to see if there was a blizzard character I'd like to cosplay. But I know that if I don't know the character, or am not passionate about it, the costume will end up in a corner, half-made. So I returned to Deathwing.



He has been done countless of times, male, female..but almost always in his 'human form'. Well... I did Smaug, surely I can do another dragon? And do it better than Smaug? Because I have learnt from the past right?



Hell yes! this train is underway! I gave in and started sketching (this is 1:1 scale over my head. I traced my head on paper)



And a sketch on my own body, taking stilts into account. The arms and chest should be bulkier.



So when I start sketching, and I know I still have a buttload of materials under my bed, I couldn't resist trying some things out. Cut out some scales from black foam, textured them and started layering paints.




This is the end result. I like the texture, I like the way the paint affects the scales, but the orange glow should be a lot stronger. This might be my fault for not sealing the foam before painting!



I also tried another method. It's a worbla-like material. Or more like wonderflex, and using reverse drybrushing. It's safe to say it didn't exactly work... It costs me twice the paint and it has half the detail. Not happy.



SO I went ahead with foam...





As Deathwing doesn't really have defined scales until his biceps, the lower arms are mostly wrinkled skin, with some deep grooves that will be filled with orange glow. The bracers will be asymmetrical. One will have more spikes than the other. The other has an extra metal plate or two.





Sealing it.



And on me, as a person. Imagining the bicep and shoulder on top of it, I should be nearing the kind of bulkiness that I crave. In this case, being a woman has its chesty perks. :lol







And for ****s and giggles:



Curse of the worgen or a monster is coming??

pfew I did more in a day than I thought. See you next round.... Mortals!

Another day, another piece of work. Mostly painting. I made claws yesterday.







Waiting for orange gloves to attach the claws to.

then on to painting.

First a coat of grey drybrushed, and then some detailing.













Now it's a bit of waiting before I can move on.

Question: do you use textile glue to glue foam to spandex? Or something else?

Contact adhesive is what I've always used to glue foam to fabric, and I always glue on the body so things liine up. Just make sure to have a plastic barrier on underneath the spandex.

Amazing work so far, love those claws especiallly!

You have everything planned well. I like were this is going!

omg this is awesome!!!! I'll be following this for sure

that paint is amazing! can't wait for more

Thanks! I have a textile glue that resembles latex in a way. In another topic I heard that could work?

kialna said:

Thanks! I have a textile glue that resembles latex in a way. In another topic I heard that could work?

Click to expand...

It might do, no experience with textile glues myself but a small test should clear up any uncertainty

So... I tried the upholstery foam route:





But it got too big, too quickly. So right now this is mostly desk-decoration at school. I'm debating whether to go the gundam-route, aka- make a base of my crown and work from there, use a pepfile for the head and use foam, or get a facecast or headshape and sculpt on top of that.

The crown method is fun, but might end up wasting a lot of materials.
The pepfile is rather safe and it has an 'instant' result so to speak. Also pretty easy. Only problem is that it doesn't really look organic.
The facecast + sculpt will look the best, but takes the most time and money to do. Especially as I'm not certain what I'd eventually cast it in.

Taking into account that I want the horns to be removable...

I'm going to sit on this for a while.

I still have the pep file of the head if you decide you want it

Sure, it's always nice to have it as either a reference or backup.

no worries, pm me your email and I will send it over.

Amazing Detail on the arm!!! cant wait to see more:thumbsup.

You're in luck, I just finished those today. At least, the lower arms & claws.

Interested in seeing how this turns out, looks good already.

So this weekend I want to start on the construction of the biceps. I prepared my patterns by printing an Iron Man bicep pepfile, and construct it. Then I roughly drew on the scales (for scale) and decided where I'd cut the pattern. Now I have a pattern I can flip back and forth (mirroring!) and create biceps from. I will make a base and the scales will be done separately. Before glueing anything, I want to to have the biceps look bright orange. Either I line it with orange fabric, foam or paper, or I paint it. Problem with paint is that the scales won't adhere to the base with glue. Tomorrow I'll be modeling in Brighton for a life drawing session, earning me some money, which I might be able to use to get some orange foam. Maybe I'll be able to save the black foam just for the scales and this the problem is solved. We'll see!

Here are some pics!

Pattern cut out


Inside


outside


Biceps base done!





I've cut out the scale patterns, which I'll be cutting out tomorrow from black foam. I won't be gluing them on, because they need to be painted first. It's going to be an intricate process, but worth it. Not sure if I'll leave the non-scale areas open so you can see the 'lava' below (aka orange foam), or glue on some black parts and scar them a bit. At the moment I'm thinking of the latter.

I went f--- all and glued them on anyway because they need to be textured all together, sealed all together and I figured I can find a way to paint things properly anyway. Even if it means masking off scales bit by bit. It's also a lot easier to transport, and to figure out the puzzle of scales was a hellish job in its own so...















They are massive but they're supposed to be. I do think it'll be much better looking if Deathwing's head will be elevated above mine with a mechanism. But we'll see. Right now, the shoulders are most likely going to be blocking my head and jaw movement if I'd keep it in the same proportions. I can also make the biceps a little smaller with simple incisions (I refuse to restart entirely for small fixes) They're also not held in place yet by padding, so they look extra wobbly.

armour pieces are looking great love all the etched lines and the scales

So I cut in an incision to make them a little smaller, as combined with the bracers, the biceps were rather large. If I'm unfortunate, I might need to take them in even more. Either way, They're at school now, and that means I can do a lot more things than at home. At this moment, I want to take as LESS WORK into home as possible, as my tenancy will be ended as of December 13th due to their daughter in law getting pregnant and thus they are going to move back home and I need to move somewhere else. It's easier to work on it at school anyway. (so if anyone knows people in Worthing with a spare room...... thanks! )

Moving on: TEXTURING. YES!


Remember the babysmoothness of them...




Textured vs smooth


Again texture vs smooth. Don't mind the white stuff. It's dust from plaster, as I had to do it in the 'plaster room'




Can you see my love for random scars? Yes? good. Deathwing is falling apart and I believe you should show that. He's not pristine.


Sealing them



Tomorrow another layer of sealing. Most likely during lunch. I'll be doing metalwork for classes...