Definitive Ant-Man 2015 Costume Thread

The Prop Lord

The Prop Lord

Well-Known Member
Well guys, I've looked around and have not seen a thread yet for Marvel's Ant-Man, so I figured I go ahead and start one for those of us who would like to start their Ant-Man build.

This thread is devoted to finding materials and details about the costume.

Here are a few pics from around the web.

With Helmet on
OvbZCrH.png

Without Helmet
oIW7DwX.png

Partial Back/Side shot
huaWwUz.jpg

Since I do not work for Marvel I'm going to make some assumptions about the material used.

Pipe:
The metal appearing "Pipe" is made from one of these 3 things:

1. Metallic Rubber Cord
2. Metallic Rubber Tubing
3. Metallic Rubber Cord or Tubing from Urethane Rubber

I have found both Cord and Tubing in "Silver" but the thickest I have seen was 3 mm. I believe the Pipe on the suit to be at least 1/4" / 6mm~ thick.
Choice 3 would most likely have to be custom made, which they may have done.


Fabric:
There are multiple types of fabric used in this costume.

I'm going to assume that the "non-ribbed" Black fabric is a soft/stretchy faux leather or Black "textured" Spandex/Lycra
2.jpg

The other Black Fabric, I do not know what could have been used. They either used a Fabric that was designed that way, or it was bunched up as it was sewn to the other part of the Black Fabric
3.jpg


The Red fabric is harder to distinguish because of the texture. If I were going about replicating this, I would use Red Soft/Stretchy Faux Leather and Airbrush an almost checkerboard type of visual texture. However, I do not know if this is what they did, or if it is a completely custom made fabric. Then again close up shots from the 3rd Ant-Man picture (bathroom) I posted would indeed suggest a checkerboard airbrush.
1.jpg
 
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That said, we sure the ribbed material wouldn't be some kind of rubbery material?

I'd've assumed it'd've been a fine ribbed non-slip floormat kind of material.

Like comfortable_Anti_slip_Fine_Ribbed_Rubber_flooring.jpg
 
Kix said:
That said, we sure the ribbed material wouldn't be some kind of rubbery material?

I'd've assumed it'd've been a fine ribbed non-slip floormat kind of material.

Like View attachment 431708
Click to expand...


Man, I literally lol'd.

Ok, it's quite possible they used something like that. It would have to be extremely soft/stretchy though. I couldn't imagine having something like that on the joint areas being that close to my skin. I would image that it would pinch the daylights out of wherever it was on the suit.

Concerning the Red fabric, unless someone steps out and says otherwise about having a first or second hand view of the fabric, upon further research I believe it is indeed Red Faux Leather with a checkerboard airbrushing.

Actually, I posted this and saw a pic of The Amazing Spider-Man's first costume pop up on RPF's Banner .. I'm afraid it is more similar to that process than simply airbrushes squares. :cry

The bathroom shot of the costume shows it draping much "lighter" than faux leather would. I am now inclined to believe that it is actually Spandex. There are still squares, yes, but they aren't airbrushed. They are either a silicone rubber "print" much like the Man of Steel Superman costume, or for those of us without Hollywood fabric contacts: almost black, red puff paint |OR| Deep red fabric and (not almost black) Red Puff paint.

I'm in the process of making a TASM2 Spider-Man suit from scratch and did not have the print done. However, for this suit, I may suggest having the red sections printed because hand painting without a printed guide is extremely hard to keep clean.

I added pics of TASM1+2 Spideys to show the comparison of Ant-Man's textured fabric.

1.pngnew-spider-man-suit-02252013-110643.jpg

See how the lighter sections shimmer? This should indicate that the lighter color is the "Puff Paint."
 
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With Marvel's budget, it's a safe bet that 99.9% of this costume is custom made.

From the bigger picture I found, I can see no spandex in the suit. That's not to say that there isn't spandex in there, and it would make sense to aid in mobility and flexibility, I just can't see it.
The black "ribbed" fabric is ribbed leather.
The "red" fabric looks like textured black leather, with a raised pattern, that appears to have been painted. You can see where the paint seems to have rubbed off.
From the folds and creases, the gray part is leather, too.

Ant-Man_Suit_Trailer_01.png

Wes
 
Okay, yeah, it's definitely leather from how it sits in the folded up photo... from the standing photos, with how it rested/folded at his knees, reminded me of light rubber. But if it is ribbed leather, it'd have a lot more body to it anyway, which would explain how it sets in place on his knees like they do.

Still not sure the gray tubing is leather, though.

And I think if the red was made to be spandex prints of that material, it'd probably be more than fine-- but I agree that looks ot have a lot more body from the fold than spandex would allow.
 
I agree, the piping is probably rubber, molded at the same angle needed to cover a particular part of the suit.
There may be spandex panels in the suit, but there is no spandex comprising any major component of this suit.
 
I can tell you that every part of the 'mechanical' aspects of this suit (ie: the piping) are cast pieces. Sort of like the webs on Spidey.

As for the ribbed areas, I can't speak to this costume, but but for X-Men Last Stand there were similar ribbed areas. Those were created by stretching something like jumbo spandex, then laying a thin rubbery material on top and stitching in rows about 1" apart. Then, when released, the stretch fabric retracts and pulls the thin rubbery fabric into ribs. This allows for the rib effect, a lightweight and flexible piece and a minimum of restriction to mobility.
 
Ok, I am in agreement with the fabric being textured faux leather. With that being said I spent a few hours combing the web for a similar fabric. Two simple words: Basket Weave.

Basketweave-Discount-inteiror-design-Vinyl-upholstery-and-drapery-Fabric-Black.jpg

All we have to do is find a soft/semi stretchy faux leather that fits this visual requirement. So far, I have only found this in Upholstery, which in my opinion, is not good to use in costumes.

So far as the ribbed section, I found this:
http://www.habermanfabrics.com/fashion-fabrics/faux-leather?product_id=7281
CC233-500x500.jpg
I have no idea what the "line count" per inch is though. There is also a "mini rib" version on their website.
A positive aspect of this particular fabric is that the company says it is "slightly stretchy."
 
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The Prop Lord said:
Ok, I am in agreement with the fabric being textured faux leather. With that being said I spent a few hours combing the web for a similar fabric. Two simple words: Basket Weave. .
Click to expand...

No. The material is real leather, not faux. I don't understand why you keep insisting it is. And where do you get basket weave from? There is nothing basket weave on this costume.
.

The Prop Lord said:
So far as the ribbed section, I found this:
http://www.habermanfabrics.com/fashion-fabrics/faux-leather?product_id=7281

I have no idea what the "line count" per inch is though. There is also a "mini rib" version on their website.
A positive aspect of this particular fabric is that the company says it is "slightly stretchy."
Click to expand...

I don't think you will find a pre-made part for this that will work. The best solution will be to make it, like SMP described.
 
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Jango Wes said:
The "red" fabric looks like textured black leather, with a raised pattern, that appears to have been painted. You can see where the paint seems to have rubbed off.
From the folds and creases, the gray part is leather, too.

Wes
Click to expand...

When you mentioned that you thought it was a textured fabric, I investigated the possibilities. Raised pattern means that the fabric has a tangible texture. I say it's faux leather because of the process involved in producing textured leather. Hot vinyl runs through a convener belt and is pressed by a heavy roll with the pattern on it.

So far as the Basket Weave. What I am referring to is not a true weave, it's pressed like that.

There is definitely a square pattern going on. It's either a silicone print, or pressed leather/faux leather.

I insist that it is faux leather because the leather I have worked with, is always "stiff," no matter the weight. Yeah, you can make it thin, but that doesn't give it "stretch." I couldn't imagine them using something like that in a skin tight suit. Some faux leather on the other hand is mixed with other materials, producing a softer/stretchy fabric.
 
The Prop Lord said:
When you mentioned that you thought it was a textured fabric, I investigated the possibilities. Raised pattern means that the fabric has a tangible texture. I say it's faux leather because of the process involved in producing textured leather. Hot vinyl runs through a convener belt and is pressed by a heavy roll with the pattern on it.

So far as the Basket Weave. What I am referring to is not a true weave, it's pressed like that.

There is definitely a square pattern going on. It's either a silicone print, or pressed leather/faux leather.

I insist that it is faux leather because the leather I have worked with, is always "stiff," no matter the weight. Yeah, you can make it thin, but that doesn't give it "stretch." I couldn't imagine them using something like that in a skin tight suit. Some faux leather on the other hand is mixed with other materials, producing a softer/stretchy fabric.
Click to expand...

As mentioned earlier, Marvel would have a crazy budget for this film – and any film for that matter.
Textured leather is becoming a very big thing in suits. DC/CW has been doing a LOT of leather work with their TV costumes.
I'm not going to definitively say it is genuine leather, nor am I going to definitively say it is faux leather, however, I would say that if I had the money to choose between the two, I would produce a suit primarily of genuine leather. A faux leather suit like that would be absolute murder to work IN.

Faux leather will definitely be a cosplay go-to choice for it though. Textured leather jackets are out of most of our budgets. Or at least out of mine!

Texturing and raised patterns in leather only takes time and money – and Marvel's plenty of both.
 
Alright then, all leather.

Is there a way we can replicate the indented texture? Perhaps a custom press? A leather stamp?

I assume the texture was applied via a checkered leather stamp. I've searched the web and cannot find one. I've found so many beautiful patterns and designs, but no squares.
 
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I can't go into details, but I can tell you that the red parts of the suit are actually made of about 6 different materials that are layered and treated to get the effect. So, the thing to do here is try to pick something that will give the effect and go with that.

One technique I've been toying with is using a small dot stencil (could be any pattern really, as long as it's pretty small) and PlastiDip on glissennette and different types of spandex to create a rubberized texture that can stretch and move with the fabric and not break. Using an ombré spandex or milliskin with this type of application in a metallic PlastiDip and layered onto another spandex for added weight and structure could work quite well.
 
joostin said:
As mentioned earlier, Marvel would have a crazy budget for this film – and any film for that matter.
Textured leather is becoming a very big thing in suits. DC/CW has been doing a LOT of leather work with their TV costumes.
I'm not going to definitively say it is genuine leather, nor am I going to definitively say it is faux leather, however, I would say that if I had the money to choose between the two, I would produce a suit primarily of genuine leather. A faux leather suit like that would be absolute murder to work IN.

Faux leather will definitely be a cosplay go-to choice for it though. Textured leather jackets are out of most of our budgets. Or at least out of mine!

Texturing and raised patterns in leather only takes time and money – and Marvel's plenty of both.
Click to expand...

I agree, real leather in infinitely more breathable than faux leather.Also given the importance of a supeheroe's costume to believability,
marketing, toys etc,it stands to reason that a company as large and financially endowed as Disney/Marvel would not skimp
on the materials used.
 
I'm about to take on this costume, I do believe.

Currently my idea is to hammer the pattern into the red leather pieces with a tooling tool. Might make a custom one with a big surface area (2"x2" or so?) to make it easier to line up consistently and not have too much human error variation. Maybe paint in the indents and high points to emphasize the shapes.
 
detenten said:
I'm about to take on this costume, I do believe.

Currently my idea is to hammer the pattern into the red leather pieces with a tooling tool. Might make a custom one with a big surface area (2"x2" or so?) to make it easier to line up consistently and not have too much human error variation. Maybe paint in the indents and high points to emphasize the shapes.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I plan to do since I don't have access to Hollywood level equipment. I've looked around for weeks on where we could get a custom leather pressing tool.
 
The Prop Lord said:
That's pretty much what I plan to do since I don't have access to Hollywood level equipment. I've looked around for weeks on where we could get a custom leather pressing tool.
Click to expand...

The only idea I've had so far is to sculpt and cast one myself, probably in TASK 11 resin which was "Originally developed for high impact tooling."

http://www.reynoldsam.com/product/task-11/

If I do that I'm happy to cast two!
 
detenten said:
The only idea I've had so far is to sculpt and cast one myself, probably in TASK 11 resin which was "Originally developed for high impact tooling."

http://www.reynoldsam.com/product/task-11/

If I do that I'm happy to cast two!
Click to expand...

That would be awesome!

I'm playing with the idea of screen printing either Vytaflex 40 or Dragon Skin onto a spandex type material, as SMP Designs suggested. He says it's multiple layers, but I think the effect can be achieved with screen printed spandex.
 
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