Hail Hydra! Red Skull WIP (Pic Heavy)

SMP Designs

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As some of you may know, I recently finished an original concept Captain America project. I've decided that Cap needed a companion piece so that my buddy and I can sport them both at DragonCon this year. So, who better to go with Cap than Red Skull?

For this version of the classic Cap nemesis, I wanted to go with a brand new concept and modern update to counter and complement the design of the Cap costume.

The first thing to tackle was how to address the skull itself. I didn't want it to be prosthetic and applied as make up to the face/neck/head and I wanted to make sure it didn't look like a Halloween mask. So, I decided to go in a new direction. This version of Red Skull is meant to be a high-tech costume villain. Perhaps not Johan himself, but carrying on the mantle. A cross between Darth Vader and Red Hood with some of the tech style of Starlord.

I reached out to one of my most frequent collaborators, @Graphic Jordan, and got him on board. He then put his 3D skills to work on drafting the base helmet. I took his initial shapes and marked up some decorative seam lines and details.



He then went back to the model and began interpreting my ideas.



While we were discussing the helmet, I began working on the neck piece that will go with it. I created a template by making a tape mock up on my trusty Ed Head and drew out some preliminary details.



This tape was cut apart and I made a base pattern for the piece out of Swedish tracing paper. I built up the base in red cordura and then made a working mock up in the tracing paper to design the details.



I decided I wanted the neck to have a somewhat organic feel but also look mechanical. So, I began to work up a design that would incorporate some very structured elements that followed the anatomy of the neck. I then began playing with creating these elements in my usual style of covering 2mm craft foam with materials and layering them onto the base.



Overall, I'm pleased with the direction, but there are design elements that need to be edited and cleaned up to create the effect I really want. More to come...
 
I was able to carve out some time over the weekend to make some progress on Red Skull. Picking up where I left off...

After reviewing the neck, I decided to make a few changes to the design in the front. The "Adams apple" section seemed too large and odd, so I took it down a notch and am much happier with the new version.


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With the base neck complete, I began working on the chest and torso. This costume is being made as a companion piece to my most recent Cap project, so I want to design it go align with the Cap but not be a copy.


I worked up a muslin chest pattern that would fit the neck and then began sketching out the details. Once I had the design figured out, I began building up the details using craft foam covered in cordura. I also wanted to have the harness for this costume integrate directly into the chest, so I included the buckles as well as some red piping into the chest 'armor'.


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The next step was to develop the harness that would fit onto the back of the chest piece. The harness was drafted on the form to match the shapes of the vest and an additional layer was traced out to form the 'backplate' that's still in development.


The harness base was cut from black faux leather, backed with headliner foam and the edges bound with twill bias tape. The upper straps were then added using the template for the backplate that will be the outer layer of the harness.


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Here are images of the chest and neck with the harness as it is now.


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In the meantime, the helmet from Graphic Jordan is looking awesome and I'm super excited put it with the rest of the suit.


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Next up - the rest of the torso, arms, and the helmet arrives. Stay tuned!
 

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Suit is looking amazing @SMP Designs, I cannot wait to see you wearing the helmet I made with it all. It's gonna look stellar!

Thanks! And thanks for the amazing work on the helmet. I realized this is my second piece from you and the first one was a Cap helmet. That's a perfect pairing and I have to find a way to display them together in the studio. :)
 
What a busy few weeks! DragonCon went very well and we had a blast putting RS and Cap together. I have lots of process pics still to write up, but here are some teaser shots from con. More to come!

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This project ran right up to Dragon Con last year and I never finished the write up, so I'm trying to wrap some threads up. So, where I left off last time for any who are interested...

I created a base sloper for the for the torso and marked it up to match the chest. This was then used to map out the details.


redskull-torso-7-1.jpg


The torso was built the same way as the chest. I created a base and then used 2mm craft foam and cordura to build up all the details and layered 'armor' look. There are also stretch areas at the sides and the top is all stretch under the chest for flexibility.


redskull-torso-8.jpg


Originally, there were going to be straps that went around the torso and created a kind of 'tactical bondage' look. However, after I got the whole thing together, it just was too much and so they were edited out.


The sleeves were built based on the Armor Cap pattern and featured piping on the shoulders, stripes on the outer arms and stretch sections for movement. These images show the sleeves being constructed and the assembled torso.


redskull-torso-10.jpg
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Here is the torso with the chest added.


redskull-torso-12.jpg


Next, I wanted to create some armor pieces as accessories. I made a back plate for the harness and a shoulder piece for the right arm. These were created with 6mm craft foam that was Plasti-Dipped, scratched up with a dremel and painted.


redskull-armor-1.jpg
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The Hydra logos were modeled and 3d printed by Graphic Jordan in two sizes - a large one for the chest and a smaller one for the accessories. These were then cast in resin and curved to fit the pieces.


redskull-hardware.jpg


I decided that Red Skull needed a weapon that rivaled Cap's shield, so I decided that I would outfit the entire left arm with my own 'Hydra weapon'. I began with the base shape for the upper arm. This was built from 6mm craft foam using the Winter Soldier arm template I created and heat shaped to fit the shoulder and bicep.


redskull-gun-arm-1.jpg


I then began creating the lower arm which would become the main part of the weapon. I used some cardboard tubing I had to hand to create a triple-barrel and then added some foam details. This was then added to a foam base and casing layers added on top.


redskull-gun-arm-2.jpg
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The muzzles for the barrels were made from the tops of old fabric paint bottles (seriously) and some 2mm craft foam details were cut and added to both the upper and lower arm sections.


redskull-gun-arm-4.jpg


Once all the details were done, the pieces were Plasti-Dipped, scratched up to match the other pieces and base coated with silver.


redskull-gun-arm-5.jpg


I created a connector for the two sections using some plastic garden hose parts and rubber tubing. The pieces were then detail painted and the straps added to connect them to the arm.


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Here is the finished Hydra gun arm on the costume.


redskull-gun-arm-8.jpg


And, finally, here's a shot of the whole thing in action (VFX added in Photoshop).


 
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