Asuka
New Member
Never having worked with EVA foam mats, contact cement, LEDs, acrylic, Transpa, never built armor and/or weapons, etc...what better way to kick things off with PROJECT: Leona from League of Legends!
REFERENCES
I'm pretty far into the build as it is, so I'll break down what I've done by section/piece, and what I will be doing moving forward. I should note that all of my templates (aside from the sword and shield) were made from scratch; I used pep files for the sword and shield (I'll get the reference when I get home tonight).
HELMET
This was one of the pieces I was dreading, because it incorporated a LOT of materials. For the pattern, I followed Kamui Cosplay's patternmaking tutorials and jigsawed together a bunch of pieces with contact cement. The side fins are detachable thanks to neodymium magnets for easier transportation. Once the helmet base was done, I covered it with both 2mm and 5mm craft foam to hide the seams/give it a smooth surface. The visor is Transpa covered in both yellow vinyl and mirror finish vinyl (so it conceals my eyes while still letting me see through it). I intentionally let ridges and lines appear in the mirror vinyl to give it a pseudo-cracked appearance (as I want Leona's armor to be dirty and well-used in appearance). The black edging and detailing on the visor is just scrap craft foam I had around. Lastly, I added detailing using an Xacto knife, dremel, and scrapbooking brads and painted/weathered it.
SHOULDERS
Although different in appearance, they were built roughly the same way. I measured out my shoulder/arm width and guesstimated with EVA shoulder bases until I made something that worked. After that, I built up the shoulders with thick/thin foam and detailed with craft foam and brads. For the light-up parts, the left shoulder used Transpa, the right used acrylic, and both were covered with yellow vinyl on the outside and toilet paper on the inside (Transpa's much easier to make curves with than acrylic). The lights themselves were mini-LEDs either wrapped around the battery pack (left) or glued together to simulate one big LED (right). For the left shoulder, the battery and LEDs fit snugly between the slot on the shoulder itself and the cylinder cap made of various kinds of foam. For the right shoulder, the battery pack is strapped onto the underside of the piece (it's almost entirely hollow on the inside).
I should also note that the ridged design on the right shoulder (above the light) was an early concept on the P:L splash art that was eventually changed. Personally, I liked the ridges a lot better, so I went with that version.
CHEST
After making the template using myself, duct tape, and marker, I put the pieces together with contact cement. Raised details were made with 5mm craft foam and scrapbooking brads. The chest light is mini-LEDs diffused with two sheets of single-ply toilet paper (yes, toilet paper makes a great inexpensive LED diffuser). The LEDs are housed behind clear acrylic covered in yellow vinyl, and the battery pack is (quite literally) strapped on the inside, right above my cleavage. To attach the chest piece, I used an elastic strap that connects the bottom corners of the piece, as well as magnets to connect the back half of the neck collar and back shoulder blade piece.
FOREARMS
Again, different in appearance with similar construction. The templates were made by wrapping cling wrap and painter's tape around my forearm and drawing the rough pattern. The base of the pieces is EVA foam mat, with details using craft foam and brads. While the right forearm is one piece, the left forearm has a built-in zipper covered by craft foam to help getting it on-off.
More to come when I get home!
REFERENCES
I'm pretty far into the build as it is, so I'll break down what I've done by section/piece, and what I will be doing moving forward. I should note that all of my templates (aside from the sword and shield) were made from scratch; I used pep files for the sword and shield (I'll get the reference when I get home tonight).
HELMET
This was one of the pieces I was dreading, because it incorporated a LOT of materials. For the pattern, I followed Kamui Cosplay's patternmaking tutorials and jigsawed together a bunch of pieces with contact cement. The side fins are detachable thanks to neodymium magnets for easier transportation. Once the helmet base was done, I covered it with both 2mm and 5mm craft foam to hide the seams/give it a smooth surface. The visor is Transpa covered in both yellow vinyl and mirror finish vinyl (so it conceals my eyes while still letting me see through it). I intentionally let ridges and lines appear in the mirror vinyl to give it a pseudo-cracked appearance (as I want Leona's armor to be dirty and well-used in appearance). The black edging and detailing on the visor is just scrap craft foam I had around. Lastly, I added detailing using an Xacto knife, dremel, and scrapbooking brads and painted/weathered it.
SHOULDERS
Although different in appearance, they were built roughly the same way. I measured out my shoulder/arm width and guesstimated with EVA shoulder bases until I made something that worked. After that, I built up the shoulders with thick/thin foam and detailed with craft foam and brads. For the light-up parts, the left shoulder used Transpa, the right used acrylic, and both were covered with yellow vinyl on the outside and toilet paper on the inside (Transpa's much easier to make curves with than acrylic). The lights themselves were mini-LEDs either wrapped around the battery pack (left) or glued together to simulate one big LED (right). For the left shoulder, the battery and LEDs fit snugly between the slot on the shoulder itself and the cylinder cap made of various kinds of foam. For the right shoulder, the battery pack is strapped onto the underside of the piece (it's almost entirely hollow on the inside).
I should also note that the ridged design on the right shoulder (above the light) was an early concept on the P:L splash art that was eventually changed. Personally, I liked the ridges a lot better, so I went with that version.
CHEST
After making the template using myself, duct tape, and marker, I put the pieces together with contact cement. Raised details were made with 5mm craft foam and scrapbooking brads. The chest light is mini-LEDs diffused with two sheets of single-ply toilet paper (yes, toilet paper makes a great inexpensive LED diffuser). The LEDs are housed behind clear acrylic covered in yellow vinyl, and the battery pack is (quite literally) strapped on the inside, right above my cleavage. To attach the chest piece, I used an elastic strap that connects the bottom corners of the piece, as well as magnets to connect the back half of the neck collar and back shoulder blade piece.
FOREARMS
Again, different in appearance with similar construction. The templates were made by wrapping cling wrap and painter's tape around my forearm and drawing the rough pattern. The base of the pieces is EVA foam mat, with details using craft foam and brads. While the right forearm is one piece, the left forearm has a built-in zipper covered by craft foam to help getting it on-off.
More to come when I get home!
