Skyrim Daedric Armor (WIP)

[inblackandlace]

This is my very first attempt at armor, so go easy on me! There are a lot about making armor that people don't mention in tutorials. For example, I chose Kobracast as a medium, but since it is a thermoplastic, it has to get hot to form. Therefore, putting it directly on my body probably wouldn't be the greatest idea. Instead, I made a mannequin out of rolled up towels, paper towels, and masking tape. Meet Darla!



Besides making me intimately aware that I need to go on a diet, Darla took the heat off me while I thermoformed the Kobracast (hrr hrr hrr). This is also my first time working with Kobracast. Once I got used to it, it was a decent medium. My biggest gripe is that it sticks to itself about 50% of the time. I had to go back over it a few times with the heat gun (which I burned the **** out of myself with by the way, but I'm pretty sure that's a prop maker's right of passage). Despite going back over it, there were still ridges all over the place. I decided to do the details in EVA foam. Also, the boobs came out lumpy as hell, so I went over it with Instamorph. Then I ran out before I could finish. So I went over it with spot putty. It didn't help that much. Lastly, I used air dry clay. I held off on using that until last because it's expensive and I wasn't sure if it would work, but it ended up giving the best results by far.



I realize that this is a really ambitious project for a first attempt. I really hope it turns out! If anyone has any pointers for an armor noob, I'd love to hear it! Thanks in advance!

Also, I won't keep it this way, but I love the rainbow colors <3

 

[GilliGen]

I have the feeling that this is gona be a epic build

 

[inblackandlace]

Thank you! I hope so!

 

[NoxRocks]

Good luck!

I'm also doing something rather crazy from Skyrim for my first set of armor, so I completely understand the uneasiness. Best thing to do is always test things on scraps!

 

[inblackandlace]

I decided to take a break on the cuirass to work on the pauldrons. I was originally going to do these in pepakura, but my printer just couldn't take the cardstock and broke ... so I decided that instead of making my armor perfectly accurate, I would add my own spin on it and incorporate elements from Oblivion as well. I think I will have more fun making my armor if I go about it that way. Anyway, I just started messing around with EVA foam and ended up with this:



I added a few more spikes on the sides after I took this picture. Here's what the back looks like:



I'm super happy with how they're turning out! I think tomorrow, after I finish the back of the second pauldron, I'm going to work on the back of my cuirass.

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***BTW, you'll see a lot of that grey shirt in this tutorial. It's my "I don't care if I get super glue on this" shirt. I swear I do change clothes regularly!

 

[GilliGen]

This looks epic, i mean who doesn't like Skyrim daedric armor, it's looks epic, i myself am thinking about doing the iron armor, we'll see

 

[inblackandlace]

FINALLY finished the pauldrons, front and back, and added a few details (I admit, I was thinking it would only take me a day).



I removed the orange umm... thingies, sticking out of the torso. I think I will retry those later. The ones on the actual Skyrim armor aren't that (uneven) noticeable. Also, I don't really like the shape.

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This looks epic, i mean who doesn't like Skyrim daedric armor, it's looks epic, i myself am thinking about doing the iron armor, we'll see

Do it!

 

[GilliGen]

I shall, but need to finish Fallout NCR helmet

 

[Sedulous Studios]

Cool! I rather like your current rainbow effect, hah. Are you planning to incorporate any of the lighting effects? EVA foam would be my way to go for a good portion of this armor, too--a rigid material would mean being worried about stabbing people's eyes out all the time!

 

[inblackandlace]

Cool! I rather like your current rainbow effect, hah. Are you planning to incorporate any of the lighting effects? EVA foam would be my way to go for a good portion of this armor, too--a rigid material would mean being worried about stabbing people's eyes out all the time!

I like the rainbows too! It reminds me of Rainbow Dash. I'm considering leaving the colors, but I'll have to see how it looks when it's done. I don't know anything at all about LEDs so I'll probably forgo that for now.

 

[inblackandlace]

I've been obsessing over these boobs and every time I look at them, I see another area that's too pitted and needs to be bulked up. Well now they're FREAKING GINORMOUS. At least it makes my waist look smaller! Also, I decided that I didn't like how uneven the bodice parts were, so I ripped it all off.



Aaand started from scratch:



This took a lot out of me. I like it better because it's actually even (woohoo!!) and it's a lot more accurate. However, It took me approximately 10,000,000,000 times longer to do. My neck is in knots right now from hovering over my table for hours and hours. Ughh.. I think I'm going to go take a bath.

 

[inblackandlace]

This may not look like I did all that much, but it took FREAKING FOREVER. The chest plate thing isn't on the original, but I like the idea. Also, I'm definitely redoing the plate thingies coming off of the pauldrons. They refuse to lay flat on one side, plus they're the wrong shape anyway.

I'm concerned about the collar part. I think it might be too tight. I can squeeze it on, but getting out of it is a nightmare. I'm concerned that once it's painted, I'll end up getting my head stuck in it and I'll have to cut my way out. I really like how it looks though and I'm not sure how I can go about making it wider

 

[WindPhoenix]

Your dog looks quite intrigued by the armor haha

For the fit, I'm not familiar with the armor but what about cutting the breastplate in several parts that can then be reconnected with straps, snaps or else? For example, you could have 4 part: front plate, back plate, and 2 pauldrons. The seams at the shoulders will be covered by the pauldrons and the seams running down on the side will be covered by your arms. If the armors is gonna be painted dark it will be even less noticeable.

On my build (dwarf armor), because there are no visible straps to hold the breastplate together the front and back will be connected by really strong miniature magnets that will be drilled in and glued in the thickness of the foam. Once joined it will give the appearance of one solid piece.

 

[inblackandlace]

Awesome! I had considered that, but I was concerned about gaps showing. Now I know that that won't be an issue, that's the route I'll take. Haha yeah, Samus (my dog) was very underwhelmed. Maybe I'll hide treats in the lining to keep get interested

 

[inblackandlace]

Finished one gauntlet today! I decided to wait on the back of the cuirass because I ordered a tabletop stand for my mannequin. That should make working on the cuirass a lot more bearable.

As for the gauntlets, I'm really pleased with how this one came out, but for some reason the spikes aren't sticking up like they used to. Oh well. Yay for a lot of pictures of the same thing!









I used velcro so that I can get the spiky fingers through without tearing them. The other gauntlet should be done soon. All the pieces are cut out, I just have to assemble them.

 

[GilliGen]

:thumbsup This looks amazing
Can't wait to see the finished project

 

[inblackandlace]

:thumbsup This looks amazing
Can't wait to see the finished project

Thank you! I'm excited to see it when it's done too

 

[inblackandlace]

Second gauntlet finished! This took a while, mostly because I'm an idiot and made 2 right hand gauntlets :/ ... The only thing I replaced was the top piece, but since I had already glued it, it made some gouges in the back. I'm hoping the Epsilon will smooth that out, and if it doesn't, I'll just work it in like it's wear and tear. Greaves next!

 

[inblackandlace]

Greaves done!

 

[GilliGen]

Wow, just wow...