Rorschach: The Definitive Thread

Neon Sentry

Sr Member
Just like Ledger's Joker last season, Rorschach looks to be this year's default costuming choice. There's currently no single thread containing all of the available info on the guy, so I thought I'd help alleviate this problem.

The OP will be updated as often as I am able with the latest info, covering every costume related aspect of everyone's favorite Keane Act violating vigilante.

This is a work in progress, please keep that in mind. We will have false positives and misleading photos probably for, well, ever. But having everything set out in front of us has historically made this game a lot less fun, like God Mode in a video game.

If anyone objects to the use of their photos, simply post or PM me for removal.

With some luck we'll have this thing nailed before Halloween. ;)



The Mask



Custom.

The mask is a 4-way stretch lycra with a screen-printed cloth texture with an additional 3-dimensional cloth texture added on top (flocking?) according to the video journals released during production and post-production.

Most of the masks had no inkblot, just green tracking markers for the CGI team to use, but four of the "hero blots" were screened onto the masks for use. The blot-less masks had varying eyeholes depending on use, with the stunt masks having a single opening to maximize visibility.




There was also a separate stunt mask for Rorschach's fall as seen on pg.2, but it's not pretty and looks to be entirely different than the others. Best not to gum up the OP with another image.

The inkblot mask eyes were a separate figure-8 piece sewn in with mesh circles for vision, as can be seen in this photo:



The pattern appears to be simple. There are seams running up from behind the ears over the top of the head with two darts coming from that seam down to above the brow. Another seam comes straight down the back of the head. There is a seam running up the neck to the chin, separating into two small darts coming to the corners of the chin. The scarf, hat and ears all cover up the seams well, with CGI handling the rest.







No word on whether or not there's a shell underneath to help keep the shape, but it's looking like a no on that front.


The Hat



Found.

The hat has been identified as coming from this company, Texas Hatters. There are two versions available: dress weight and western weight. The western weight is a heavier duty felt and what was used in the film.

The hats were produced in the proper color (pecan) according to Texas Hatters, with only the ribbon (possibly) replaced. Awaiting additional info, but if that's the case then we'll have to track down the appropriate size ribbon. It seems it is actually brown, which matches up with some production illustrations. We may still have to dye the hat felt, though, to match the screen-seen coloring, much like Kirk's velour.





Dress weight is $200 and western weight is $300. I'll update if an alternative hat is found for the more strictly budgeted aficionados.

Email Texas Hatters for ordering, ask for Rorschach's hat: texashatters@sbcglobal.net

bendingoak has a repro available via his site, Penman Hats. Rabbit felt is $200, beaver felt runs you $250.


The Trench Coat



Custom.

Photos of prototype coat (it's cool to see what the collar looks like when down) and a clean coat:




Made in brown waxed cotton for waterproofing, it is a 3/4 length trench coat ending above the knees. Double breasted and with a flipped up epaulet, it is heavily weathered. The button on the top right (his right) is undone, not broken, for easier access to his journal and grapple gun.




Despite looking broken as well, the left epaulet still has it's button for anchoring, and the button hole appears to be intact.

epaulet2.png





Indy Magnoli is working on a repro of the trench coat.

I am currently working on a pattern to be posted here for making your own.

I need a source for the buttons... the ones on the sleeves are slightly smaller, can anyone eyeball the diameter of these suckers?





The Scarf



Custom.

The scarf is off white and darker than the mask... it's closer in color under studio lights but quite a different shade under normal conditions.



The edge is unhemmed and coming apart, as can be seen both photos here.

Still working on the length... it's difficult to tell due to it being tucked in all the time.

Suspected to be hemp french terry knit with a distressed weave. Awaiting confirmation from a member. Can anyone identify the fabric or corroborate?



The Gloves

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Unidentified. Probably found.

They appear to be a dark brown leather as seen in various photos.



Higher res reference for stitching detail:




Please post any findings, the sooner we find out if these were found or custom the better off we will be!



The Boots



Unidentified. Probably found.

They appear to be dark brown high-top Chelsea boots with a large single piece gore on the inside and outside nearing the bottom of the heel. Lighter colored stitching. Heavily weathered. A very nice cache of flickr photos has given us some great reference:





As you can see, these things have been to hell and back. I thought the toe was pointed, but we can see now that it is rounded. I've seen Chelsea boots with rounded toes, but they're certainly not as common as the long pointy ones. The rounded ones I've seen were European, though, which may make our search more difficult or more easy. We'll see how it pans out.

Please post any findings!



The Suit

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Unidentified.

Purple with wide (1"?) pinstriping. No pleats on the pants, but there appears to be a waist tab in videos, though it's difficult to screencap. I have yet to see any reference material of the suit coat, only that it merely exists as can be seen here and above and thanks to an absolutely tiny background photo of Haley on a board in one of the video journals:



suit.png


Currently unknown if the jacket is single or double-breasted, but neckline and fit suggest single-breasted; the comic version was double breasted:



As per the comic, the pants and coat are a matching set, in color and pattern.

Bonus pic of some swatches:

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Examining the pinstriping in the above pic, it seems that the production dyed a found material and the pinstripes took a lot of that coloring. Perhaps it was originally charcoal grey? At least we know they used a purple dye: if they had used another shade such as red with the idea that the combo would create purple, the pinstripes would be an entirely different color.

The material has been weathered but it looks like the pinstriping took the brunt of that abuse, being picked apart specifically to better sell the suit's age and condition.

The shirt is white with a single pocket on the left breast. It can be seen in these stills from the video journals, along with the lack of pleating on the pants:




As you can see, Haley is still wearing the pants from his costume, leading to the obvious assumption that the tucked in dress shirt is part of his outfit.

It'd be nice if we could find a matching shirt or one close enough to customize. Please post any reference material you may have!
 
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Been thinking about the funky epaulet. It might be cool to insert a thin piece of wire to "shape" it into that distinct wave.
 
Very nice! Thanks for tracking down all this info! This will definitely come in handy for everyone dying to be Rorschach this year! I personally like the Comedian's costume more, but Rorschach is considerably easier seeing as the costume is composed of soft parts (...clothes).
 
I did see somewhere that the mask did have a shell underneath to make sure the ears, nose, and chin had the correct crisp shapes seen at all times. I think it's in the production diary videos on the watchmen blog.
 
Good job, about time we had one.

I have heard that the scarf is a hemp fabric with the weave picked to appear more like terry towel.

I've found a chisel toe harness ankle boot that looks really close. Waiting to see up close how they look with the harness removed.
 
Thanks everyone, I do what I can for the hobby, and Watchmen is something near and dear to me.

I've added a couple of pics to the OP for his trench coat.

I did see somewhere that the mask did have a shell underneath to make sure the ears, nose, and chin had the correct crisp shapes seen at all times. I think it's in the production diary videos on the watchmen blog.

Face shells seem to be the rule rather than the exception when it comes to cloth masks in film. Do have a link to the vid? I can't seem to access all of them from my comp.

I have heard that the scarf is a hemp fabric with the weave picked to appear more like terry towel.

I've found a chisel toe harness ankle boot that looks really close. Waiting to see up close how they look with the harness removed.

Cool on both accounts, let's see if we can find a source for the scarf info. Good luck on the boots, so far we only have the hat ID'd, it'd be nice to track down the other parts.
 
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I heard somewhere that the trenchcoat could have possibly been made by Jonathan A Logan (hes the guy who made the leather jackets for Fight Club, minority report, Mummy: Dragon emperor)
 
I can't say for sure without better pics, but it looks like the suit jacket is most likely single breasted. Just because of how low the neckline is and because double breasts also tend to be a bit shorter in length.
 
Awesome thread, will be keeping an eye on this one. Definitely an informative one, good work on collating all the information known.
 
Added some extra info to the OP: the epaulet isn't broken, just sticking up. Both the button and button hole are still intact, and I provided pics as well.

The pic posted by Rock Bottom also clearly shows a seam on the boot, that's been added to the OP, too.

Just a quick thought: in the tiny screencap of Haley wearing the purple suit, is it possible that he's wearing a three-piece, with the jacket open and the vest giving us a false neckline?

Without evidence, I can't say for sure that he is/isn't wearing a face shell, but his cheekbones and the cheekbones present when the mask is worn don't appear to match up. Regardless, for any of us doing Rorschach it's probably advisable to use a face shell. His face in the film has some very strong lines and the mask has a tendency to look a bit silly when relatively formless.
 
Ooooo....I'm going to have to experiment with my fabric a bit for my heat reactive mask run. I don't like the idea of the dart under the chin because it is very visible when not "on camera". The mask will obviously have the seams running up the sides, but I might be able to get away without the two seams running to the forehead line. Those wont matter as much seeing as they are covered by the fedora. Hmmmm, these pictures are interesting. Thanks!
 

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