Kenobibale's 2013 Halloween contest entry (proof pic added to first post)

kenobibale

Well-Known Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
hey everyone, so i am starting my man of steel costume. i have purchased carl9149's file, and have requested some samples from a few companies her in the uk. the first sample arrived today from citrus rain. i know carl has some experience with them.
here are some sample photos, the first without flash


the second with flash


overall its not bad, but not great. it actually looks ok in photographs but in real life the print seems overly dark, the shadows are almost black and really washes out the chainmail effect to the point were it is all blurred together and has a bit of a red hue and the detail on the \s/ is almost invisible. i doubt this is a fault of carls file. its very detailed and looks very good, and the photos of his print show up the detail pretty well. so i think it might just be a bad test print. still waiting on another sample, they said it would probably be mid January before it is ready.
my plan is to puff paint the suit and maybe use some sort of silicon for the raised waist, wrist and leg sections. MCL34N used something similar on his amazing spider-man suit and on a test batman beyond suit and it looked awesome so if anyone knows how he did it or of the man himself wants to chime in please do. i have an idea of something i want to try from smooth on having used it in the past but its whether or not it will react well to the fabric remains to be seen. i will keep you all updated.

apart from work on the suit i am also planning on working on my body. there has been alot of great work by guys working on their fitness for tasm suits here on the forum and it has been a big inspiration so i figured i would keep track of my progress here in my thread and maybe even start a blog about it were others can see how im coming along and maybe inspire and share tips on how to achieve a man of steel body for others wanting to look just as good as henry cavill in the suit.

so please chime in and let me know what you all think about the test print and any fitness stuff.
my basic routine will be following a modified p90x routine, i really like the p90x program and i have gotten good results with it in the past, plus working out at home saves time and money. along with that some gym jones inspired functional lifting and circuit stuff in my local gym as well as some stuff to correct my posture. no point getting big and strong if your foundation is poor.

diet wise i follow an intermittent fasting lifestyle. check out brad pilons "eat stop eat" or martin berkhan on "leangains.com" for more information on it. i follow a leangains protocol myself typically fasting 16 hours a day with an 8 hour eating window. it has help shave a couple of inches of my waist and keep it off and thats with minimal exercise. so i imagine when i step up the activity i should see even better results. my overall goal body wise is to increase the muscle mass on my shoulders and arms as well as build a strong back. i have been plague with back injuries for years, some quite serious and it pretty much all came from poor posture and a focus on training "mirror muscles" in college. one of the reasons i like the p90x program so much. it is quite well balanced in terms of training and places alot of focus on pull ups and back exercises, couple that with my the routines i have come up with for the gym as well as correcting my posture and i should be able to build a strong and powerful looking physique and hopefully fill the suit out pretty well.

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RPF Halloween costume contest addition
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I have decided to enter this costume into the RPF halloween costume contest, so as per the guidelines i am editing my first post to include some details. i have always been a lurker here on the rpf. never had the patience or skills to build something in the same league as some of the stuff on this site. aside from a diy superman returns costume i have never really done something from scratch. when i first got the file of carl,i was blown away, and from it came the samples you can see here in the first post. soon he produce the mkII version of the suit and it was this one that i modified. we spent a lot of time going back and forth over different things to try in order to achieve what i wanted. carl was so cool throughout the whole thing, never once telling me no.i told him my intentions of submitting this suit for the contest and he gave me his blessing. even though i spent alot of time in photoshop working on tweaking the file and then painting it all for days and days, none of it would be possible without the awesome file carl made.

as far as what i did to the suit, the first thing i did was add some shadow effects to the shield, to help sell the 3d illusion. then after some difficulty trying to puff paint the samples i realised that i would have to not only create a chainmail that contrasted the rest of the suit so i could see it and therefore puff paint it but also enhance the muscle shading on the suit so that it could be seen once the paint was applied. once i was finally happy with the paintable chainmail and the muscle shading i decided to modify the suit so a zipper could be added to the crotch, while perhaps not entirely screen accurate it will make things a hell of a lot easier.

after that it was only a matter of painting the suit. i want to thank mcl34n for his inspiration with his tasm suits and for taking the time to answer my questions. i didn't get a chance to use your silicone method for this as we originally talked about. unfortunately i ran out of time and funds. there is always the next time, superman/batman hits in 2015


IMG_20131008_150407.jpg


more progress pics to follow

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as i said before guys please chime in and contribute to the fitness stuff and any comments on the test prints

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contest proof pic...
PB040062.JPG
 
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Re: man of steel costume and physique

FYI you can't really gain mass while simultaneously losing mass... It's a matter of physics.

I suggest you get your foundation straight, balance your muscles (for every 3 push sets do 4 sets) and then worry about adding muscle.

Also, those fasting diets are always a little wonky! Eat clean, healthy meals. People like Hugh jackman and Dwayne Johnson have eaten all there carbs by 3PM; none of which came from bleached sources. Keep your macros up (40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fats 40/40/20 ~ 200g pro(800 cals),200g carbs(800 cals) and 45g fat(400 cals)) and see how it goes.
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

thanks for the advice, thats what this thread is all about.
as far as the fasting goes, i have been doing it for a good while now, couldnt put an exact time on it but i would say about 9 maybe 10 months. but not as strict as i should have been. by that i mean not 100% clean. i tried the 6 meals a day thing, really clean and saw some good results but it made me miserable beyond belief. i was restricting myself and being less social when it came to eating out with friends and family and in the end just wasn't worth it. i gained weight on that diet too. and found it difficult to get my macros. but on the fasts i can eat bigger meals leaving me more satisfied and i find it much easier to hit the marcos and its all food i like. and if i go out to dinner i dont feel so bad about it the next day, i just fast a little while longer. i understand its not everyones cup of tea but it suits my lifestyle and has helped me lose a number of inches in the past few months.

with regard to balancing my body, i take it you meant to say for every 3 push sets do 4 pull? if thats what you mean i agree. people spend so much time on the wrong muscles and im guilty of it and it cost me. a few years ago i would be bench pressing and curling and doing shoulder presses and that was the bulk of my upper body workouts. throw in the odd dumb bell row and tricep push downs and that was about it. and legs was almost non existent. but now i have become alot smarter because i paid the price with a back injury. and p90x was a big part in helping me see how to balance a program, but p90x isnt perfect but what workout routine is?

but anyway i can now do pull ups and back workouts are now my favourite and since i have started developing my triceps my arms are bigger. its all common sense yet it gets lost because of things like mens health and fancy routines that promise abs in 3 weeks and stuff like that, that gets pushed down our throats and over time can lead to a good looking but poor functioning body.

anyway rant over. im hitting the gym tonight to try a circuit routine i threw together so i will let you know how that goes.


also got some cape fabric samples today, will try and post pics later. and ordered my paint, should be here next week so stay tuned for pics of the sample being painted

as far as the test print, spent last night messaging carl9149 to help figure out what went wrong. he really is a top man, he answered all my questions and even discussed possibly doing a file designed for painting similar to some tasm files. and his new file is looking amazing, the detail on the \s/ looks so good. i cant thank carl enough he is so helpful.
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

As a guy who deals with loads of dye sub printing work, I can tell you first hand that what you see on the computer won't necessarily be what you get. The gradients of shading within a colour block (like the texture of the red part of the shield) will be difficult to bring out unless there's a clear defined pixel edge in the pattern. That said I've not seen Carl's file, so can't say for sure if it's his work or the printer.

It's smart of you to test out different printers too, since each one will offer varying quality on the same product.

I'm doing a test print of my own pattern to see if I can get it any closer.
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

Learn the deadlift from a good! coach and do it about once a week, and do the same with squats. These both use very large muscle groups so the body's hormonal response will be as big as possible. However, both can lead to injuries if you're not doing them properly. Like, make sure to go deep in the squats so that your hips go below your knees; and keep your back strait during the deadlifts.

Crossfit coaches would be a good idea. I think Henry Cavill was training at Gym Jones and they're on a Crossfit derivative program, using similar exercises but a different programming. It's also where the actors in 300 were preparing, and we all know how good the results were - don't believe the idiots talking about CG enhancements, it was the real deal.

Another possible approach is kettlebells, there you can have a continous change in body composition. Loosing fat and gaining muscle at the same time is possible, although it's easier on overweight people and less radical under, say, 15-20% body fat. It's also more efficient than body building workouts and requires smaller space and less equipment. But it's a bit harder to get large muscle mass, although it's a question of programming, really.

But the best way to gain mass is with the heavy lifting, there's no question about that. Learn the proper technique and use free weights as much as possible. Oh and I'd be careful with the bench press, it can kill your shoulders pretty quickly.
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

Yes to deadliest, yes to squats no to crossfit. More injuries happen during crossfit then in sports. It's the reason why Mark Twight (Gym Jones) has gotten so far away from those types of workouts!
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

yeah i love deadlifts, perhaps my favourite exercise. but deadlifts really made me look at my posture. i noticed that even with really strict form, and i mean strict, i am so careful because of my previous back problems that i am so strict about form, but anyway i was noticing that even though my back was straight etc. my body was twisted. i thought maybe it was to do with using alternate grips but i wasnt sure and thats when i started to analyze my posture. quite shocking when i took photos of myself so i could see how i was standing. so at the moment traditional deadlifts are off the table. i have been doing hyper extensions to isolate the lower back. its pretty good. and i tried some trap bar deadlifts the other night. my legs are still paying for it. they aren't quite a deadlift, somewhere between a squat and a deadlift. but they are much easier on my posture and on my lower back. i always find because i have such long legs the start of the deadlift was my weakest point but the trap bar solves the problem.

as far as crossfit is concerned, it has an appeal to me. i like that they are focused on fuction etc but i agree that their injury rate is high and the whole "for time" aspect doesnt appeal to me. i have seen videos where they do Olympic lifts for time and form just goes out the window. maybe some crossfitters on here can chime in seeing as i have never tried it and its not fair to talk down about it.

was at the gym last night actually with a buddy of mine. he has asked me to help him get in shape seeing as i have had results in the past. so we decided last night was gonna be a circuit routine. i came up with a simple routine of pyramiding exercies of 30 seconds of effort separated by a rest period of the time it took to take 8 deep controlled breaths with a 28kg kettlebell placed on your ribcage. the routine went as follows

kettlebell squat to upright row
rest
kettlebell squat to upright row
ball slams (slammed overhead off the wall then slammed on the floor)
rest
kettlebell squat to upright row
ball slams
battling ropes
rest
kettlebell squat to upright row
ball slams
battling ropes
burpees
rest

then back down the pyramid.
holy balls it was tough. felt i was gonna pass out at one point. and i am so sore today. this week was about cleaning out the cob webs not having worked out seriously in about 6 months but as off monday with any luck i will be starting full time working out on monday. wish me luck
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

Yes to deadliest, yes to squats no to crossfit. More injuries happen during crossfit then in sports.

Yeah Crossfit has gotten far too competitive and performance oriented instead of the goal of just getting healthy and strong. Mind you when I was doing it for about 6 months it was quite different, and my coaches had a different view of it too - they're not happy with its direction either.

However the coaches who get qualification are probably better than what you'd get in an average gym, a guy who'd tell you to use the machines and leave him alone ;)
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

holy balls it was tough. felt i was gonna pass out at one point. and i am so sore today.

Looks like you don't need much advice or motivation :)

Although I'd look into learning kettlebell swings and snatches from a proper certified RKC instructor. You would really like those exercises :D
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

Looks like you don't need much advice or motivation :)

Although I'd look into learning kettlebell swings and snatches from a proper certified RKC instructor. You would really like those exercises :D

i wouldnt say that, you can never learn everything and there are so much more experienced people out there than me, thats the whole purpose of this thread. there were so many great tips and encouraging comments on the tasm thread so hoping we get something similar going here. and you can never have enough motivation. some days you just dont feel like doing it and thats when you need that little push from somebody else.

i think there is a certified instructor in the next town over. i remember going to his kettlebell gym a few times for what he called "cave man" sessions. 45 minute circuit with 10 stations, cant remember all of them but there was water bag, keg, various kettle bell exercies, turkish sandbag? think that was it and my personal favourite farmers walks. they make your arms look huge as you carry the kettle bell. there were other things like battling ropes and basic curls and french presses but man was it intense. well it ws as tough as you make it i suppose but travel and cost of the class sort of ruled it out. i would love to go back someday.

keep the tips and motivation coming by all means and im happy to answer any questions i can.

suit update: my fabric paint arrived today, so over the next few days im gonna paint up the sample and see how it looks, cant wait!!!
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

Since you said you had health issues from bad training in the past, check out a certified physical therapist at least once to make sure you are good for this. Once you get the OK, meet with a trainer to set up a plan to match your goals. Go with a series of short and achievable goals instead of one big Gonna get Superman costume physique. Right now, I am working on 100 miles in 30 days. A challenge, but no where near impossible. Keep it fun, keep it challenging, and keep it varied. Good luck,
Kohiisan
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

hey everybody,
sorry i havent had any updates in a few days. didnt work out much this week, still getting over a breakup and i have just been in such a low mood this week that i just cant be bothered getting out of bed. i did manage to drag myself to the gym last night and that was good. felt like a good workout. i also got some of the suit sample painted. its not the tidiest job but it looks pretty good. i will post a pic tomorrow. also hoping to hear from the other printer sometime this week to see when their sample will be ready. its a much bigger sample, 50x50cm so i will have plenty to paint. ill try and keep the updates coming and ill try and keep the workouts coming too
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

Keep going man!! Breakups can be draining but just stay positive, and when your at the end and buffed like a train and you'll have your pick!
Stay positive and stay focused on the goal your going for, as it's an inspiration to others!!
Looking forward to the new test prints ya got coming through!
All the best mate.
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

hey carl,
thanks man. i dont want to use my thread as a dumping ground for my personal problems but i need all the encouragement i can get. im trying to stay focused on the suit. the little bit i have test painted looks so cool when it catches the light that i cant help but picture the end result and thats what is keeping me going. i just gotta keep picturing that. ill keep you up to date on the next sample. citrus rain emailed me back the other day and requested a photo of the sample as they dont think any thing was wrong with it when it printed. i havent heard back from them, it took a few day to get the first reply. rasmart who are doing the next sample seem pretty good, they called me up to discuss the print quality and fabric choices and stuff so their service has been top quality.
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

sorry for the delay in updates my friends its been a slow week.
i did a bit more painting on the test print. it looks ok. im gonna wait until the other test print comes in to see if it is any better in quality, dont want to waste my paint on a bad sample.
my gold tulip paint arrived also but since the chain mail is barely visible on the shield due to the printers i had to bluff my way though a few links just to see what it looks like. i think it will look ok. probably better than a standard yellow paint would look anyway



also got my cape fabric samples, the one on the left is a faux suede fabric, t tad on the stiff side but has a good texture. due to the lack of good images of the fabric its hard to tell what it is. my first guess would be the same electrostatically flocked method of tdk cape. the second sample, the one on the right is a velvet like material, a stretch velvet. it has a better drape and a deeper colour but doesnt really look right to me compared to what i have seen of the cape.



thoughts?

also, while i wait on the further tests and eventually full print i thought i would practice on something, a little tease of what is to come

 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

bit of a slow news day for the suit. waiting to hear from the printers about the sample this week. rasmart emailed on friday to explain they have been having difficulties with their fabric and the stretch of it. they think it might be the printer as they have tried it several times and were getting problems each time so they said they will try a different printer and let me know. i have to say their customer service has been top notch. i was thinking of asking fabric on demand for a sample too. i have a quote from them but living in the uk means it will possibly more expensive seeing as i will likely have to pay import and duty, thank you HM revenue and customs.
so while i wait for more updates on the samples i have started to chronicle my fitness routine. i have done a few workouts the past 2 weeks to clear the cob webs so to speak. it has been ok but finding the daily motivation has been tough. but after stuffing myself with junk food all weekend and seeing myself in the mirror i decided when i woke up today i would workout first thing and eat clean. and if i can do that today maybe i can do it tomorrow.

the routine consisted of a light warmup, jogging on the spot, jumping jacks that sort of thing. then i moved onto some foam rolling, starting with my legs, then my back. finishing up with my chest and shoulders but i used a tennis ball for that. then i did my stretches. i like to use spider-man like poses to stretch my legs, might look silly but damn it works really well.

then onto the workout, the goal was to hit chest back and legs today and then again on friday, so i was gonna keep the reps low and avoid failure. im also hitting the gym tomorrow to do some heavy trap bar deadlifts and monkey bars etc. todays workout was done at home.

i decided to follow a similar style to the crossfit workout "cindy" i downloaded an app for my nexus 7 which has all the wods on it. so i would do 5 pull ups, 10 push ups and 15 reps on the legs. and each group of 3 would be a different exercise. the only time i didnt do the set number of reps was on calf raises which were 15 reps for each variation (toes outward, toes forward, toes inward) wall squats which was 30 seconds a round. and on ring dips, could only manage 5 of them, they are tough. also on the switch grip pull ups i did 10 reps so to hit each of the 2 grips with 5 reps each. by the end of the 2 rounds i had done 50 pull ups, 60 push ups and 150 leg reps!!

this routine is basically a combination of p90x chest/back and back/legs

it is as follows
pull ups
standard push ups
balance lunge

chin ups
military push ups
super skater

close grip pull ups
wide fly push ups
wall squats

switch grip pull ups
ring dips
calf raises

a few hours later i did some more foam rolling and myofascial release.
tomorrow i am hoping to maybe do a tabata routine maybe using another crossfit wod than i can do at home, then tomorrow eveing hitting the gym to do some heavy work.
if i get a chance a might start a blog for my fitness and hopefully eventual body transformation that way i dont clog up the thread here on the forums.

hope others can work on their fitness along with me so we all look awesome in our mos suits or whatever costume we wear.
 
Re: man of steel costume and physique

Hello everyone,

If you allow me I would contribute here a little. First of all, excuse my english in this matters, workout language in english is kinda unknown for me.

I have been training for many years, having stopped for 6 and back again for the last 3. I am 38 now, and I am pretty big (43cm bicep as an example) but not oversized, and I have learned some things through all this time.

Eating 5-6 times a day works well, but if that interferes with your lifestyle, then just dont'. When it comes to diet, it becomes very simple. Low the carbs as much as you can, having in mind how many do you need to survive through the day.
A mailman who walks miles every day does not consume the same as the one who drives to a chair work and then goes back to his couch, even if they both workout hard.

So it's about trial and error, until you find the amount of carbs you need every day. And then live in the edge lowering those as much as you can. A dietist can help a lot here.

Hugh says "many calories, but not the fun calories", so be careful with that too.

Then proteins. Muscles eat proteins, so feed them. If you workout hard, you make micro-injuries on your muscle fibers, and muscles try to repair those, and they need proteins to make that. Then they reinforce those micro-injuries and the surround area. So then you add muscle cells. It has been said that you need a gram per kilo, so if you wheight 80kg, you need 80gr of protein a day.
Meh. If you workout hard, you need some more. And this is the most important: Feed your muscle every 3-4 hours with protein. If not with food protein, with shake. If you take too much protein, it becomes fat too! So take shakes, they don't. You pee the excess of them.
This avoids cell catabolism. This is the grail for muscle growth.

Working out with a good diet like this will make you lose fat and gain muscle, of course.
How old are you? Do you need to lose fat? This might change depending on your body, why don't you post a pic?

Then the workout:

If you want muscles, build them.
Crossfit and things like that are damn good, sure, but besides the body building.
Here I can help the most.
Go to the basics. Back, legs, arms, chest and shoulders. Train each group and every part of it. IE, biceps and triceps have two and three "heads" each. Thay must be trained differently each.
Chest has many parts. They must be trained each and every part too. Not to say your back. I spend just one day for the back only.
I learned when I was 15 from the Arnold's Enclyclopedia and still works nowadays. Yes, there are better machines and exercises today for every muscular group, which is even better.
But the principals are the same.
4 reps for strenght gain
7/8 for mass gain
12 for muscle definition.
Don't combine them in the same week or in the same day, but combine them through the month, surprise your muscles, change routine every month or two.
And sacrifice. It hurts. It does not hurt for the weight you use, that is fool. 100 kg in bench press is nonsense. You have to reach the little pain by contraction of the muscle fibers, and there is the secret. BE strict. Make every rep perfect, forget the weight you are using. You have to use the perfect amount of weight to make 7 reps and not a single one more!! If you have to make 7, but you make 10, add a LITTLE weight, but still be strict!
Forget the weight you use, this is a common mistake. Focus on those perfect and strict reps to make those 7. That 7th painful rep is your best friend. Then you are training right.

You don't make muscle at gim. Zero. You destroy muscle cells there. You build mass eating and suplementing. And resting. Usually if you train hard (and remember, by hard I'm not saying with a lot of weight), you train each muscular group once a week. The best would the each group every 5 days. If you can do that, that would be perfect.

I'm sorry for the long post, I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.

Remember, we are talking about Superman. Make that suit worth it! Hehe

Any question, just ask, I'd do my best to help. It's good to see a thread regarding what is inside the suit. I'm producing a short film and I have to fit in a sort of catsuit. I'm working out for the last three years for that. NO muscle suits! Hahaha
 
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