tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71510995955434331332024-03-14T02:13:19.816-07:00Silver Wing CreationsView the creation of cosplay props in progress and learn some interesting techniques to help with your own.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-82296599769370176032020-05-27T09:51:00.000-07:002011-01-23T18:45:59.284-08:00Silver Wing Creations: Commissions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/demyx37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/demyx37.jpg" width="136" /></a></div><br />
Are you looking for a unique cosplay prop that will complete your costume? You've come to the right place. I specialize in larger props that many fear to tackle, but also do ones of absolutely any size. No matter the difficulity or impossibility, I'll take on a commission.<br />
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I spend many hours a month learning methods of prop creation when I'm not working on a prop, including testing new products, new techniques, and new tools. Every prop commission I get is done with excitement, as I adore the challenge of design, and made with a careful hand. I am a stickler for detail and photographs (oh, and how I do so love to photograph the entire creation process) and contacting my clients with constant updates. I'm usually as or more excited about each step than they are of the creation process!<br />
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Each prop is hand designed, carefully done in proportion to the client's body to match their measurements. I create each prop from scratch without any templates, done in raw materials. Each prop takes many hours to create, and I am working a full time job along with my prop creations. All props require at least a month of time before the date they need to be shippped out, so keep that in mind.<br />
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Prices are based on the materials required to produce the prop, the level of difficulty of the prop, and the amount of time required to finish the prop. Please remember that what you are paying for is not just materials (which may cost more than you expect in some cases), but someone's knowledge, mastery of technique, and time. Also please note that the price of the prop never includes shipping.<br />
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Payment is always the same - [(half of the prop's price)+(3.9%+.30cents)] up front, and (second half of the prop's price+shipping)+(3.9%+.30cents)] before the prop is shipped. The 3.9%+.30 is the fee that paypal charges to use their services. Shipping is always done with a tracking number and insurance equal to the prop's price. I will ship anywhere in the world, no matter the size of the prop. Be forewarned that shipping for a prop can be pricey - if you provide a zip code in your asking of the price of the prop, I can give you a <b>general </b>idea of the shipping price.<br />
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If you want a prop commissioned, just let me know in the comments below!Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-20939776599470432642016-08-08T06:26:00.003-07:002016-08-08T06:26:59.377-07:00Harry Potter-style Magischola Wands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For a change, I was involved in a Harry Potter-esque (but not that
world) LARP in which everyone needed a wand to play, so I made my own
and two of my friends wands. I received the two sketches below for their wands and decided this should be do-able. I haven't
done too much lathe work, but I felt confident I could manage! :3</div>
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So my first problem was a frustrating one. The wood that was chosen for B's wand was Olive Wood and this is AWFUL to work with. It was so dense that it took hours and hours to lathe and sand. Below you can see the beginning test of the lathe on the olive wood. I will have nightmares about it for years to come, I'm sure. </div>
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Here is the finished lathe on the olive wood wand. Considering that this started out as a 2x2 piece of wood, I'm pleased with the diameter I got on the final cut. The bulb at the end fit nicely in my hand, as requested by B. It was light and a little flexible, very nice. <br /></div>
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The second wand ended up being apple wood and this was a DREAM to work with. It was very easy to lathe and while B's wand took roughly 10 hours to lathe and sand, J's wand took 3 in total plus the whole shop smelled vaguely of apple vinegar as I cut the wood. I don't have any in-the-middle shots of the apple wood wand because once I got down to business I just went at it, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.</div>
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Originally, the wand was supposed to also have a bulb at the end but we had an issue. J ordered the blank in the exact length she wanted her wand, but since you need some dead-space on either side of the blank for the lathe to grip into, it was going to hurt the final length. I had an idea to go out and buy a wooden ball and attach it separately to keep the length, which J approved of. However! While at Lowes to pick up screws, I noticed drawer handles and got an idea. I sent her several that I thought matched her character concept and BAM - she fell in love with the blue glass flower. This ended up becoming the new end to her wand and fit her character perfectly. </div>
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While looking at the wands, I had an idea for both of them which ended up working out for all three wands, funny enough. J's original design had the spiral cut into the wood of the handle but I have yet to discover how to successfully do this, so I offered an alternative. If you remember my last prop, I did a silver wrap on the hilt for Javert's sword and I thought it would work really well. I used silver cord I had to wrap the length of the handle, then went back over it with gold cord on top to re-create not only that look, but tie together the gold cuffs she wanted. What I will note, specifically, is that it took several layers of varnish directly onto the hilt to 1) make sure it wouldn't fray with use and 2) that gold cord wouldn't move.</div>
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For B's wand, he wanted gold cuffs on either end of the hilt, but it seemed to blend in so much with the wood that it didn't pop as you can see in the first two below. After a bit of a thought, I suggested a similar wrap to J's wand to make the whole thing have a little more <i>unf, </i>and when he saw the third picture of a test wrap, he ended up liking it quite a bit. Several layers of varnish made sure that thread wasn't going anywhere.</div>
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Here is the final picture of the olive wood wand with the wood oiled which brought out the lovely color of the olive wood, which made an even more striking contrast on the gold cuffs and hilt. </div>
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I suggested that coloring the ball in the middle of J's wand might bring the whole thing together, tying the blue of the pommel into the rest of the wand In the end, the whole thing really works well for her character and I'm pleased with how it ended up. A good solid grip of a wand with a bit of weight to it!</div>
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My own wand ended up being a bit of a hysterical thing. A few weeks before this, I had done some yard work and ended up with several thick holly branches from the bush in my front yard after a heavy cut back. I had left them to dry in my basement and didn't think anything else on it until I realized I had no idea what I wanted to do for my wand. My character was a werewolf, and I wanted to reflect that in a more 'natural' style of wand. I spotted the dried holly branches and an idea was born!</div>
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After a few failed attempts, I realized that all of the branches were curved too much to lathe, so I did what I do best - improvise! I discovered quickly that with my belt sander, the holly wood was very easy to sand and removing the bark with the sander created a very neat effect of coloring. Even better when the wood beneath was bone white! So I decided the whole thing would look very bone-like, kept the natural curve and made it look a bit like bone or a fang. With a leather wrap, it kept the whole thing very wand-like despite its natural state and gave me a good grip on otherwise surprisingly smooth wood.</div>
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For a bit of additional fun, I went and had my neighbors dog bite down hard on the wand once it was sanded, but before I varnished it, giving it the impression that a canine had carried the wand in its teeth at some point. :3</div>
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Here are all three wands put together after their last varnishing. I'm really happy with how the lot of these turned out. They proved to handle four days of running around like idiots very well, and the each very much reflect the character it was built for. A magical toy maker, a werewolf who studies animals, and a professor of ethics - going left to right. </div>
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Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-58358285836452359202014-08-16T19:35:00.001-07:002014-08-16T19:37:00.281-07:00Javert's Sword - Les Mis 2012 MovieHello! It's been quite some time since I've posted. There's a lot that's happened between my last update and this one, but hey, here's something new! Javert's sword from the 2012 Les Mis Movie! This presented an interesting challenge as to get the level of detail, wood seemed the easiest option, but it was a chance to finally get into lathe work!<br />
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Here are the initial drawing from the imagery I was given to start with. I found soft but knot-free wood to work with, doodled, my usual beginnings! <br />
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This was my very first attempt to create the hilt with the lathe. I ended up thinning down the handle itself quite a bit over time, but for a first attempt at all with a lathe, I was pleased! </div>
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This was my 'pattern' to carve out the detail in the pommel of the sword.<br />
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You can see my idea which is to use the bottom of the hilt to sit in the center of the guard to give everything support. My other idea was to have a metal shaft go through up into the hilt, through the guard, and into the sword.<br />
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Detail of the carving of the pommel. </div>
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Carved out the hand-guard! This... took at least six tries to get the shape and the carve correct and that bit at the top! So frustrating, that bit! It had to sit against the pommel and neatly curve down to the bottom.<br />
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Which you can see here! I leveled it out with the band that would sit on top of the guard at the base of the hilt.</div>
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Now the guard is carved out along with the base of the guard... <br />
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Let me tell you - that blade. It proved to be a bigger challenge than expected. I originally wanted to make it out of plastic (Sintra) but the attempts were... terrible. So it ended up being out of wood as well. Cut a square wooden dowel at an angle and ground forever until it was properly sized, then sanded the whole thing down to a point and so the edges weren't sharp (or ugly). <br />
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So this wire! Well, cord. It's metallic cord. It took some serious hunting to find this. There's two ways the sword itself could be wrapped and from all available photos, it could be either - silver wire wrapped or silver cord wrapped. I went with cord as it's easier on the hand in the end and this particularly one looked so wire like I was quite pleased! <br />
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So this is a dual picture... it shows the very carefully done hilt wrapping process - glue smeared over the wood then very slowly and carefully wind it up, pushing down to keep the pressure and tension up. My hands were super sore by the end but I'm super pleased with the result!<br />
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...The 'dual' part is that this spray paint. Let me tell you something - there was nothing on the cap that indicated this would be a sparkly spray paint. NOTHING. It wasn't sparkly when wet, either. ...It's now jokingly called 'Cullen Killer' because it sparkles like a twilight vampire. Grumble. So... everything required a second coat of spray paint. Why spray paint? Because it's a more even coating and there's no brush strokes left behind. <br />
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Another mention is that I used a two part epoxy for this glueing and I'm REALLY pleased with the results. It dries painfully quickly but the bond is solid as a rock in only about two minutes! I shall be using in the future!<br />
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(Drying...!)<br />
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Here is the final product. Please ignore the disaster my basement is - I snapped the final pictures after staring to rip everything apart to clean from all the wood dust! I'm quite pleased with the end of it all. I wish I could have found a different color of spray paint (again) but nothing seemed to be the white-silver shade of silver I needed, and I should have weathered it properly, but still, pleased. Always feel like there's something left at the very end I wanted to do more of but I think no matter what it would always be like that.<br />
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Thanks for checking this out! <br />
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<br />Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-21017606757250855302012-10-21T20:09:00.002-07:002012-10-21T20:09:48.235-07:00Travis' Beam Katana: Part 2When we last left off, I had several pieces put together and crafted and... not much looking like a katana.<br />
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You can see the sides of the trigger-box I made. I wish I had more shots than just this one because this little box was <i>hell. </i>To get it to that incredibly strange shape of the curved smooth edge of the metal cup, along the flat of the metal piece under it, then along the ridges of the part that should screw into something else was insane. It took many, many hours of carefully carving, recarving, some clay, baking it in the oven, recarving, then more clay and it was just insane. It turned out beautiful though in my opinion - you'll see it better later.<br />
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I realized that I had to put a notch in the metal cup or the wires to the trigger couldn't get into the box for the trigger. Little work with a dremel later (and managing not to set anything on fire with all the sparks) I had this notch. Very sharp edged though - I had to use heat shrink rubber to protect the wires so they didn't get cut through over time.<br />
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Here where all of the pieces after being painted for a first layer. I found a white-pearl-metallic paint that replicated what I was seeing in the picture of the prop, and I was quite pleased. What sucked was that in the end every piece needed MANY coats of this stuff to get them properly coated and matching each other.<br />
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Here is the entire lot of 'stuff' that it took to make the katana. You can see the battery pack (now with longer wires to make it up through the hilt), the rods that go along the outside, and some internal pieces that blocked the original saber from going up or down further than it should.<br />
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Here was the hilt being put together - just after all of the electronics were, with incredible difficultly, managed to be put in the small part of the hilt between the bottom of the lower metal cup and the thinnest part in the middle of the hilt. It wasn't easy. It just BARELY fits. Very, very barely.</div>
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The top and bottom of the katana - attached, finished, and painted... and here are the whole pictures.<br />
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This was after a bit more paint touching up - making sure the paint was as perfect as possible. Specially the red circles around the top of the katana - they were tough! I finally went at them with a paintbrush only a few hairs wide!<br />
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As always - I give a wrap up. Honestly? I'm super pleased with this prop. The only small faults I have are that it isn't smooth everywhere as metal should be but considering this is all hand cut, somehow managed together, and painted up as it never should have been? I think it turned out very well. It can be waved around quite successfully even though it looks very delicate. I mean it isn't going to survive hitting someone, but it can survive a con I'm fairly sure.<br />
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The client - who lives close enough to have watched it all come together - is incredibly happy with it. I'll be posting a shot of her with the katana soon - in fact I have two other clients who were kind enough to send me shots of them and their props while they were in full costume! I'll do a little non-tutorial post for them.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-23418302924550310982012-09-19T19:49:00.000-07:002012-09-19T20:09:02.873-07:00Travis' Beam Katana: Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First off, I'm not gone from the world of prop making. I started a new job and moved a few hours from where I used to live and am in a smaller place, so my projects will be smaller until I get myself a new place! So now that I'm more settled in, I have something new to show you all.</div>
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A close friend of mine asked for a commission of Travis' Beam Katana, Tsubaki form, from the game No More Heroes. Almost instantly I could see this would be an interesting challenge. I have very little experience with electronics, but this has to light up and handle some swinging around. I don't have a lathe, damn, to do that middle part. So I had to improvise. :3</div>
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Please excuse my kitten. He's a nosey bugger. So, a very particular light saber became my base prop. They run about $30 dollars and finding the blue ones are annoying. This one was definitely my choice as the 'blade' is exactly what I need. Now let me tell you something. There are about 8000 screws holding that damn hilt together and if you mess up, you are going to pull a connection out. No, seriously. The wiring job on this saber is bullshit. It's such crap that it will just fall apart.</div>
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If you get the hilt apart successfully, this is what you'll find. Those green wires went to the sound box but since it wasn't needed, I just got rid of it. You can see the black wire and orange wire going to the battery pack. First issue discovered: no way was this original battery pack going to work. I was going to have to hook in something smaller. Quick trip to my local radio shack found this:</div>
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A quad of triple AAA batteries became the new power pack - awesome. Even so, it just barely fit into a decent sized hilt which is a little thick but will have to do. So like I said, with no lathe, I had to make do. I went to the nearest hardware store and two hours later and a lot of futzing, I had the following pile: (And the hilt is PVC I cut). </div>
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Most of it is plumbing or electric pieces. The black caps I found in the hardware section. So I began to piece things together:</div>
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This was the first attempt at the hilt. It wasn't perfect and a lot of work needed to be done, but most importantly of all, the whole thing had to be hollow. Wires need to run up into the blade and down into the PVC hilt where the battery pack will sit. The battery pack must be accessible. The button to turn the light saber on must be accessible. </div>
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You can see here the plastic piece I used to make the 'holders' on each end of the two bars that run the length of the blade. I used a nail heated on the stove to punch the initial holes then drilled straight through the soft plastic - the fit was <i>perfect. </i>No wiggling.</div>
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Here you can see that I rounded the edges of the plastic bit so they'll sit snug against the silver cup it rests against. Also you can see the 'H' I had to build. These are two steel bracers and a piece of the cut rods - there's an H at either end of the rods. I think they're meant to be bracing the rods but instead they are really just annoying - but if you've been following this blog at all you know I try to get pieces as accurate as possible.</div>
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One of the two cups that cup the bottom and top of the blade. These are some sort of plumbing piece cut with bolt cutters and bent inward. Now my first problem came up that 1) the spaces that stuck up had to be big enough to look right with the plastic pieces I bought and 2) look the right size with the trigger piece I would be making. Thus I think I ended up one short - 4 instead of 5 - but I'm pleased with the sizing.</div>
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These are the two bars with their plastic end caps and H spaces. I'm quiet pleased with it. You can see how they sit against the Cups in the next pic:</div>
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I have to clean up some of the glue on the H bracket, and you can see the Hilt... more of it in the next shot.</div>
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Here you can see the whole hilt built up. The entire thing is hollow and has inner support from how it links together. There is also a whole hidden bit inside that cups the bottom of the plastic saber so it sits at the right depth. The screw-piece in the middle (the thinnest part) had to be shortened some from its original length. Try to imagine everything painted the same color instead of looking so different!</div>
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Here is just the beginning of the trigger for the blade. Let me tell you something - I spent <i>three hours </i>between three different stores trying to find something that matched that gold button in the middle. See, here's the issue. There is a very specific triggering mechanism attached to all the wiring for the blade. The gold button you see is designed to hit that trigger perfectly. It's also about the right size and shape to match the trigger in the picture but a little bigger - oh well. So I had to find something to be the casing for it. In the end - I had to build it myself. I'm still in the process - a lot of time hand carving this wood to be the right shape to 1) curve 2) fit the button 3) fit against the metal underneath it.<br />
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And the last picture for now, the top of the katana. It's a recycled umbrella tip. Now someone's going to say the picture at the beginning of this is really pointy so the tip here isn't right. No, it's not. The problem is simple - it has to be con safe. If it was metal and had that super pointy tip, con safety would never let it slide. If it's anything but metal, it could snap or break if any weight gets put on the tip. So I spoke with my client and we agreed this would work best.<br />
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So there's all the work so far. There's still a <i>lot </i>to do. The casing for the trigger has to finished being made and the button has to sit right. All the wiring has to be gone over to make sure its going to hold up. Wiring has to be run through the hilt and glued into place. Have to cut a hole in the bottom cup and soften the metal edges so the wires can run through it and not be cut over time. Get the trigger installed fully. The hilt has to be glued/sodered/melded/etc together so it's one solid piece with the wiring as it should be - the battery pack will sit in the bottom of the hilt on the end cap. The plastic bits on the rod have to be secured to the upper cup first, make sure it's all balanced right on the top of the saber, then glue the top of the saber into place inside the upper cup and finally, get the bottom plastic bit glued onto the metal cup.<br />
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Oh yea, nothing much. -.-<br />
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Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-55273083625478753292012-03-29T06:42:00.000-07:002012-03-29T06:42:18.235-07:00Fortune's Railgun: Part 2Thus began one of the longest times I have ever spent carving out a prop, ever.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun15.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun18.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
This next one is the gun completely carved out and wearing its first layer of gesso. The hours spent carving to this point aren't even on my radar anymore, but it was a lot over quite a period of time. Over all, the hardest part was keeping the 'layers' of the gun working and making sure it would hold up as it was. Since the gun was made smaller than the actual gun would have been, some things I had to fiddle with to make them work and look good.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun22.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Here was my first work with the scope. It is a piece of foam that I went through with a wide drill bit until a piece of PVC pipe fit into it perfectly. This would give a perfect, clean look through the scope as well as giving it internal support.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Also, you can see the piece of metal I eventually had to cut to work as the rest for the scope.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun28.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>This is the first layer of a resin called "Crystal Sheen" I decided to try for this gun. Light, protective, though not as protective as resin with fiberglass cloth beneath it! It was very thick, and at times hard to work with, but no more than any other kind of resin. I 100% approve of Crystal Sheen, which you can only get online. The 1 to 1 ratio of it was quite nice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The somewhat hilarious trigger, designed to take abuse from someone holding it with their finger wrapped around the trigger. I screwed it in only when the resin was done in that area so that it would have a very firm base.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun30.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
The very first layer of paint. I chose to do the first layer as pure silver, then realized it definitely needed to be a darker color of silver, thus began the infinitely hilarious amounts of time I spent hunting down proper silver paint, mixing it with black, and painting.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun31.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>As you can see, the second (third?fourth? by this point?) layer of paint came out darker.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun34.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Then began layering the paint. I wanted to give it more depth, and give it the proper look the gun actually had, so I used darker layers of paint in certain areas to do just that. It matched the look of the gun I had working with the 3D model, so I was determined to make it work. (Definitely looks better and less strange after weathering!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun36.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Here was the final gun. There were some issues on timing of when this was to be sent I won't get into, but as always, I will give a wrap up discussion on the gun.<br />
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I am pleased with my attempt to 'weather' the gun. I wanted to make the paint job look like this has been a gun that has been around a while, suffered through a lot. A gun with a perfect paint job, without the look of weathering, just looked... kind of dull, actually. Like something was wrong with it. Hard to explain, maybe, but I hope my thought is coming through. XD<br />
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I realized I somehow didn't take a picture of the scope when it was 100% complete. You can't see it from the final angle, but there are actually pieces of orange plastic carefully mounted in the front and back of the barrel of the scope so you get the real feel of looking through a scope! (Let me tell you, it was a hysterical attempt trying to find that bright orange plastic. I finally located a weird bottle of orange cleaner at Wal-Mart that I cut up, leaked everywhere on the way home, made everything smell like orange-disgusting...! Still have it though! :3) <br />
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What I am unhappy with was my inability to get certain parts of it 100% flat. I wish I could have my awesome client ship it back, give me a month or two with it, as now I'm sure I know how to fix that problem. Other than that, which still makes me frown, I'm quite pleased with it. (I also would have loved to install glass over the computer-y parts, but that was extra time and money.)<br />
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My client was pleased, and I am as well.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-76558627765686984972011-05-15T16:25:00.000-07:002011-05-15T16:25:08.725-07:00FFXI Ark Angel Hume Swords: Part 1This particular project is for a good friend of mine. He is my height, so I began the project by realizing something right off the bat - the character holding these swords is very, very tall. So using a sword I have in my home (a real one!) I decided to work between the measurement of that sword (36" from pommel to tip) and what I thought the real swords were (I think about six feet long, yeeesh!) and ended up 46 inches. It seemed to be perfect as far as my height went.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> As my cat Xem watched on, I began with a template of the sword's pommel I sketched up and cut out (which you can see in the upper left corner). I figured out about how wide I thought the swords were (I guessed 10 inches), which are insanely wide in the area of the guard and have more of an 'axe-blade' type of blade, and began sketching from there.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>These are the variations on the sketches I started, until we settled on the last one. I also realized the swords needed to be wider than 10 inches, hence why it goes outside of the sketch-assigned area.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/arkswords/arkswords6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This was the blade cut out (and upside down in this picture, excuse me for that.<br />
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And tada! The swords cut out via three methods: bandsaw (general shape), jigsaw (the curved shapes, which bandsaws don't do well), and scrollsaw (the holes in the center). Next up will be the beginning of sanding.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-71805683081969127132011-05-15T15:53:00.000-07:002011-05-15T15:53:49.692-07:00Fortune's Railgun: Part 1Those of you who know me know how I love big props, so when a client asked me to take on a several foot long railgun... I was all ready for it! First, one of my friends, upon hearing that I would be doing this from Metal Gear Solid 2, was awesome enough to loan me a PS2 CD that has all the character sketches and 3D models on it. How I needed this, as the reference pictures I could find were generally terrible! So sitting for several hours in front of my TV, I built this full sized paper replica of the gun.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It is 5 feet long, 22 inches tall, and 2 inches wide. I decided that it would be built out of foam insulation for lightness topped with resin for strength (and several dozen layers of gesso between them!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Here was the gun mostly cut out of foam. The scope is not going to be out of foam - it will be metal and PVC pipe, but it is currently remaining there so I can sketch things out to proportions. Speaking of proportions, the proportions of the gun are slightly off. The actual gun is easily six feet long, but for the size of my client it had to be reduced in places to make it work. I believe it will be next to unnoticeable in the final product. <br />
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Now one thing you might notice are the red lines on the paper gun. Originally I thought I was going to include a wooden skeleton for stability on the inside of the foam, but realized that this solution would not work and instead resin would be used to strength the gun.<br />
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Here is the gun completely cut out. A drill and my jigsaw finished what the bandsaw was unable to.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/railgun/railgun8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here the gun has been sketched onto the foam. The wiggly lines indicate where the gun needs to be carved into while the clean areas are the most up-raised parts. I am really excited about this project. Next up is carving all of those details into the gun.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-38903551098425977182011-05-15T15:40:00.000-07:002011-05-15T15:40:39.373-07:00Darker Than Black MaskI started this project off much like I had Tobi's mask - with Crayola Model Magic.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Unfortunately, I rapidly discovered two things about this mask. One is that this was going to need to be much thinner than I first expected, and second was that the eyes of the mask, in a screen shot of the anime, are further apart than actual human eyes. I needed to remedy both of these problems.<br />
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So my first step was to work out a new design for the mask. I began by making a basic shape on paper of what I thought the mask looked like. In some images of the mask, the chin is more rounded and in others, it is quite pointy. The rounded but slightly pointy chin was a mix of the two. I also discovered a new material to work with at this point while searching for a material that would be a cheaper substitute than wonderflex. It is called Sintra, which is used in sign making, and is heat moldable. Unlike wonderflex, it is smooth on both sides, comes in many different thicknesses, but does not stick to itself. It is also quite cheap (a 4'x8' sheet was 40 dollars from a local place) so I was pleased to give it a shot.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here you can see three variants on the mask in one shot. The farthest right is the paper mask I worked out with eyeholes. The one on the far left is the previous attempt with model magic, and the one in the middle is my first experiment with the Sintra. I discovered that using a heat gun, as I did with wonderflex in the past, worked but it could 1) burn the Sintra leaving scorch marks and 2) did not heat it evenly enough to get a smooth flow.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This was my first real attempt of the mask. I discovered that by putting the Sintra in the oven at 200 degrees, it turned as flexible as paper. I only had to gently hold it in the position I want for about a minute in my hands, and it stayed perfectly in that shape. I also quickly drilled the eyeholes so I could start to see what I was doing.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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It was about this point, as I sketched on the eyes, that I realized I needed the mask to be flat to cut out the eyeholes instead of curved. I also realized the mask was too long and would not fit properly under a wig. So I made a second mask and this first mask became a 'test mask' so to speak.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here is another set of multiple stages. The top-far-right is the test mask, and the center-top was the newly cut and curved mask.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>You can see from this incredibly silly picture how I look through the corner of the eyes more than the center - this gives the appearance of the eyes being further apart than they really are. For any question of it - I could see perfectly through the holes with only a very faint mark directly in the center that didn't bother me at all. It also shows how the mask fits easily enough under a wig to give the right illusion it requires.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask12.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask11.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
The eye holes were 'hidden' in the screen shots, so I improvised. From a left over pair of pantyhose from my Deadmau5 head, I used a sharpie to color them black and hot glued pieces of it stretched over the eyeholes. The pantyhose all but melted into the hot glue, which I quickly realized was a requirement to keep the hose from running. The illusion worked very well in a quick test with a camera and flash. I could see well enough through the eyeholes to not be concerned and they could not see my eyes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask14.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I used black paint around the edges of the eyes to help further the illusion of the hidden eyes, and covered the mask in white gesso. The Sintra is easily damaged by nearly anything, and this hid any marks from sanding. It looks perfect in pictures, so I was pleased.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask17.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbmask/dtbmask15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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I cut templates for the lightning bolt over the eye as well as the mouth. Again, some compromise had to be made with the mouth. In some images it is 'smiling' and in some it is 'flat'. We went with this. The over all mask highly pleases me. The simple solution of the eyeholes turned out to be a very positive one, and the material choice has led me to believe I will be making all further masks with Sintra. I still have mounds of it left over, eep!Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-54080912378497003442011-02-27T15:41:00.000-08:002011-02-27T15:41:05.975-08:00Deadmau5 Head: Part 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau26.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>After several tries, this is the final shape I ended up with for the ears. It fits the curve of the head where the ear sits. I missed snapping a picture in here, but I doodled on the head where I wanted the ears positioned and drilled out some 1/4 inch holes.<br />
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With that complete, thus began the epic attempt at getting this fabric on the head. Definitely, definitely, definitely get some super stretchy material. In the original deadmau5 head, it looked like some lightly fuzzy material so I went with a rather pricey stretch velvet that blends pretty well into itself.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau35.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau36.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I used some 1/4 inch weather stripping with glue on one side to add the additional lip that's needed. The part of trying to get that fabric on, there was no way I could stop and take pictures. I used spray glue to help hold the fabric in place while I stretched and contorted it, and hot glue to actually hold the fabric inside the head. There ended up being a single crease at the lip of the head, but I think if I did this again I would try a different method as this method ended up with some wrinkles at the corner of the mouth I couldn't get rid of. Still, the client was happy so I moved onto the next part.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau39.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I worked on the ears next. I had some stretchy red scrap material which I tried first. After trying to use spray glue and laying it over, instead I sewed a very basic bag shape inside out and pulled it down over the ear. This worked really well, so I went ahead and made the bag out of the black.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau43.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here, you can see the rebar I used to hold on the ears. This required some decent cutters to get through, but could be bent with pliers. I bent the rebar and used hot glue to secure the rebar through the holes I drilled earlier. While this worked for this project, I think I would chose to do a different method in the future. This would have worked well for the more commonly used hard-foam ears, but for the soft foam it tended to tear as I pulled the ears over the metal. Unfortunately since this was a commission, if the hard foam inside broke I couldn't repair it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2deHvmnqi8w/TWre7wwPRNI/AAAAAAAAACY/_5EAWv-6ziY/s1600/deadmau44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2deHvmnqi8w/TWre7wwPRNI/AAAAAAAAACY/_5EAWv-6ziY/s320/deadmau44.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since my face looked terrible in this picture... here's the head on me! Almost finished!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau45.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau46.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
With the ears both attached and all ready, I snipped the fabric over the eye, cut a hole into it, and pulled it back like I had everywhere else. I reopened the hole I drilled earlier to keep the eyes in, and carefully pulled the light-trigger out of the socket it sat in and glued it elsewhere so it would be accessible once the eye was in. I reattached the eye. You can see both eyes in and lit up here!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau47.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I slowly used a dremel to cut the edges of the bigger light domes off and then glued them to the head.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau48.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I then used some leftover foam to get the helmet inside the head to the right level and glued everything in, including the helmet to the foam.<br />
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And then finally, I used screen mesh (like used for windows screen in a dull black/gray color) and if you can believe it, pantyhose! Yep, cut up panty hose. I glued the pantyhose covered mesh to the inside of the head and... tada! The head is complete, and here is me wearing it. You can see well enough out of it that I was taking pictures of the head with it on! Also, you can see how bright the eyes look in dimmer light and how they look really lit up. I love the effect.<br />
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Over all, there's some things I'd change about the whole head, but I'm fairly pleased with the final effect of it. My client is very pleased with the pictures, and it'll be shipped off very soon! I'm hoping my client will send me a picture with them wearing it as they DJ.<br />
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</div>Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-61256052683171200902011-01-31T08:01:00.000-08:002011-01-31T08:01:45.065-08:00Deadmau5 Head: Part 3Eyes, ears, and more eyes!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Started off by plotting out the eyes a little more. The client decided he liked the LED of the smaller lights, but liked the size of the bigger eyes more. So I made a double-pattern. One was the cut out for the size of the smaller lights with the domes removed, and one was where the bigger eyes would sit.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>You can see how the bigger eyes will look. They're just taped on here for reference for my client.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I cut out the inner eyes, practically disembowled the LED lights, and set them in by reversing the screws. I will do more screws when everything's set to go on permenantly - I discovered the toggle switch can be moved, so I moved it to a better location for the client to click the lights on, but unfortunately I need to figure out a better way to set the switch so the eyes won't break at some point. That's in the works.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>How the eyes look with the LEDs on and the bigger lights over them. They are VERY bright and easily light up the whole room with the lights dimmed or off.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau25.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This is the cardboard backed ear - but I'm not particularly happy with the cardboard, so I am going to try a different method involving very long screws. I'll be picking those up today from Lowes. Once I have the holes set for the ears, I need to get the 1/4 inch thick lip on the inside of the head, then start attaching all the fabric! After the fabric, it will be the mesh that covers the mouth, finalize the position of the helmet inside, and this project will be ready to ship off to the client!Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-69342664522718394252011-01-23T13:49:00.000-08:002011-01-23T13:49:04.032-08:00Deadmau5 Head: Part 2I started cutting out the ears, leaving some space at the bottom to get it into the head.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTyeIpv6JxI/AAAAAAAAAB0/MAOnturGFQs/s1600/deadmau9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTyeIpv6JxI/AAAAAAAAAB0/MAOnturGFQs/s320/deadmau9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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You can see the basic circle I worked with in the middle and the rough cut out first ear. The ears are 13 inches x 13 inches in a circle.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTyfnPNiQtI/AAAAAAAAAB4/JKAidINQDZ8/s1600/deadmau10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTyfnPNiQtI/AAAAAAAAAB4/JKAidINQDZ8/s320/deadmau10.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here's the one ear softened out. Funny enough, sand paper worked nicely to smooth out the rough edges even in foam. I'll be putting cardboard behind the ears I decided to make sure they hold their shape all the time instead of trying to work a wire or something into the foam.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTyf0MDz3tI/AAAAAAAAAB8/KQZS6gU3IKw/s1600/deadmau11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTyf0MDz3tI/AAAAAAAAAB8/KQZS6gU3IKw/s320/deadmau11.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Just a little reference shot, but wow is that hard to do without another set of hands! You can sort of see how big the ears are compared to the head.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTygAG0-HcI/AAAAAAAAACA/icf0jH0BMpY/s1600/deadmau12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTygAG0-HcI/AAAAAAAAACA/icf0jH0BMpY/s320/deadmau12.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Oh good, I look like an idiot. I have a balaclava on because my hair kept annoying me as I was trying to get the head on and off. You can see the helmet's temporary installation. There's two inches of foam above it supporting the helmet and putting it in proper place. It gives me enough room to get the lights in where they have to sit, and puts the face in a nice place in the space of the mouth. The helmet's a nice comfortable fit and keeps the head off the shoulders for added wearer comfort.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTygx_lk6lI/AAAAAAAAACE/mDVVOyOidUw/s1600/deadmau13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTygx_lk6lI/AAAAAAAAACE/mDVVOyOidUw/s320/deadmau13.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
After some doodling on the head itself - sharpies are the only thing that works on it, but actually can be erased with some serious rubbing. Dry erase markers don't stay very well but are good for temporary marking. The eyes are five inches apart, and I used the dome lights from the tap light I'll be using to make those little paper circles. Some temporary adhesive to attach the eyes and make sure it looked good. That's where the cuts will be. The lights will tap by pressing them on from the underside before putting the head on I think.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTyhm97Zn7I/AAAAAAAAACI/rLNfsoRL30E/s1600/deadmau14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTyhm97Zn7I/AAAAAAAAACI/rLNfsoRL30E/s320/deadmau14.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>You can see the dome put on (using some of the stickiness of the temporary adhesive to hold it there long enough to snap the picture) at the site of the paper circle. That's exactly what it'll look like sticking out from black cloth I'll be using to cover this. That's all for now! Eye cutting will be next I think.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-7671259045369008902011-01-18T07:51:00.000-08:002011-01-18T07:51:29.310-08:00Deadmau5 Head: Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://remixify.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Deadmau5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://remixify.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Deadmau5.png" width="320" /></a></div>This, basically, is what I'm making. Every time I look at it, I have to giggle. What an odd prop to be creating! This, my friends, is the head-piece that Deadmau5 wears. For those unknowing as I was, he is a DJ and music producer. This is the head piece he wears when he is DJing, from what I gather.<br />
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So my search began. What on earth could I use to make something so hard? For reference, a person's face is supposed to be centered in the mouth. Eep! One of my other fellow prop-makers actually came to my rescue with an idea. Get ready, it's a funny -- the head is actually the acrylic globe of a street lamp. Yep. A 14 inch diameter, 5 inch opening lamp globe. So! First things first, the opening was too small to get one's head through. So I began by cutting into the opening to make it 8 inches wide.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau1.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One fast cut with the dremel later, I had a perfect opening.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Here, you can see a few things. One, I bought two different styles and sizes of lights to go into the head. The client ended up chosing the smaller but brighter light, on the left. With the lights out, it lit up the entire room with just one! In this picture, you can also see the lines I've drawn on the globe. They mark the center going around in all directions, including where the top of the mouth would be.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's the mouth cut out. It looks so big on the head, but the cut out piece looks smaller. Odd!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hi? This is me with the helmet on. My head and the client's head are almost exactly the same size, so I was showing him where the head sat on me. You can see my face is nicely framed in this really blurry picture I tried to get with no flash.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After some quick research, I discovered that the material used in mascot's eyes is called Buckram. It's a very densely weaved material that, as we discovered at the craft store, only hints at the outline of the face behind it and lets me see through. The picture above is the shot in a dim room through the buckram. My client will be DJing with this head on, so I wanted to show what he would be dealing with as far as visibility, and offered that there was a second material of a less dense weave that would show his face more, but offer more visibility. He went with option A, the buckram.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is the helmet I picked up at Walmart. I removed the outer shell and am going to be working with the hard inner shell. Once on my head, the whole big head no longer tipped forward (due to the slant of the human shoulders) and sat with my face perfectly frammed in the mouth without me having to hold it. I'll be soon attaching the helmet to the inside of the head so that the head sits comfortably at all times and doesn't move too much.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/deadmau/deadmau8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last picture for this update - a simple shot of the beginning of one of the ears. The ears are a somewhat large oval shape, 13 inches wide and 13 inches tall. I'll be cutting these out and attaching them helmet probably on Wednesday. I noted that I'll need to insert something into the ears to make sure they stand upright instead of bending over... I'll need to ponder that over today and tomorrow!</div>Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-68315236284344503402011-01-18T07:12:00.000-08:002011-01-18T07:12:54.804-08:00Hei's Daggers - Darker Than Black: Part 4You might wonder how these daggers turned out. Unfortunately, the person who commissioned me never paid their final payment, and thus I ended up sitting around waiting to see how it would resolve before I did my final post on them. I never did end up getting paid, so these daggers are going up for sale.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWp3DIwjDI/AAAAAAAAAA8/OHykGGSk3Bc/s1600/daggers25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWp3DIwjDI/AAAAAAAAAA8/OHykGGSk3Bc/s320/daggers25.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWqR5i83hI/AAAAAAAAABA/dp_WsoeGJOw/s1600/daggers26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWqR5i83hI/AAAAAAAAABA/dp_WsoeGJOw/s320/daggers26.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWqbn-xDpI/AAAAAAAAABE/Uiks9L-YXyY/s1600/daggers27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWqbn-xDpI/AAAAAAAAABE/Uiks9L-YXyY/s320/daggers27.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWqhj6C-MI/AAAAAAAAABI/nOh9EvGLKZI/s1600/daggers28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWqhj6C-MI/AAAAAAAAABI/nOh9EvGLKZI/s320/daggers28.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
This is the dagger from the previous mold out of the sander. With my client wanting the blades as thin as they were, I was coming up against a few major problems. Mostly, my cast was not perfect mirror image of itself, and I was having to handle that. I continued sanding it down, and gave them a fast coat of some boring black matte paint just so I could see the imperfections of the blades.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWqxaadL2I/AAAAAAAAABM/CB3Bql_c-Qs/s1600/daggers29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWqxaadL2I/AAAAAAAAABM/CB3Bql_c-Qs/s320/daggers29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Clearly not perfected yet, but I showed them to the client. He was unhappy with them, so I offered to recast them and give it another shot. I also wanted to try a different method of putting the blades together, hoping for a smoother make.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWrNEltEYI/AAAAAAAAABQ/p407MQJk7tc/s1600/daggers30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWrNEltEYI/AAAAAAAAABQ/p407MQJk7tc/s320/daggers30.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>You can see here the top blade is put together using a very strong adhesive, and sanded, while the bottom is the same adhesive, not sanded. So, after more sanding, I was finally happy enough with them to give them their first spray coat.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWrfmhNGsI/AAAAAAAAABU/9sWTnfNEK8o/s1600/daggers31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWrfmhNGsI/AAAAAAAAABU/9sWTnfNEK8o/s320/daggers31.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Problem: the spray coat bubbled. Oi, seriously? So, while the daggers looked better, I had to strip off most of the coat and go at it again.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWr5ZYmXyI/AAAAAAAAABY/q7c-Xk0ael4/s1600/daggers32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWr5ZYmXyI/AAAAAAAAABY/q7c-Xk0ael4/s320/daggers32.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>The stripped coating and reapply turned out better. I started to edge them in silver.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWsGuqU75I/AAAAAAAAABo/dJhKQmJ9Tvk/s1600/daggers33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWsGuqU75I/AAAAAAAAABo/dJhKQmJ9Tvk/s320/daggers33.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWsLtG8ycI/AAAAAAAAABs/2fRo8pQQhjI/s1600/daggers34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWsLtG8ycI/AAAAAAAAABs/2fRo8pQQhjI/s320/daggers34.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWsPK4TkuI/AAAAAAAAABw/exvR7hxFHbM/s1600/daggers35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_csPgqMqSopg/TTWsPK4TkuI/AAAAAAAAABw/exvR7hxFHbM/s320/daggers35.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Here are the basic final daggers. They're sitting sullenly waiting for an owner now, due to my commisioner not paying for the final payment. They've been sitting for about four months now, so I plan to touch them up. You can see how thin the blades turned out in the end, but I think that was part of what made this all so difficult to do. With a thicker blade, a little less accurate, I think it would have been easier to work with. In fact, I actually made FIVE daggers. One broke because the blade was so thin. You can see the difference between the final pair (on top) and the first pair (bottom). Final pair has the proper paint and final sanding while the bottom pair does not.<br />
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As always, I put my thoughts on the pieces. Well, first thought, is I would not do these out of resin if I did them again. I would do them out of wood like I had originally desired to. It was an interesting experience to go down though. Resin molding definitely has its advantages, but I think in other circumstances than what I tried to do with it. I think the biggest problem was the thinness of the blades the client wanted. It made for quite a few difficulities. I also think I would go at it more with a detail sander than the belt sander. All in all, the daggers look good in photographs, they have an excellent weight, and myself and everyone who's come into contact with them loves posing and playing around with them.<br />
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If you wish to purchase them, please email me at the email above and we'll come to a price. I'm willing to go fairly good on the price as these aren't made to anyone's specific needs and I'm only trying to get back what was lost due to lack of payment from the client. I'd also be willing to sell the first pair, but I would need to finish them off (final sanding and painting). They are a little thicker, a little heavier, and a little more sturdy than the final pair.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-26223258069280609702010-08-17T06:50:00.000-07:002010-08-17T06:50:22.538-07:00Hei's Daggers - Darker Than Black: Part 3After all of those painful setbacks with the daggers, I was actually going into this part with a heavy and concerned heart. After using a product with the Smooth-On company before, I decided to give them a call and see what they suggested. They suggested their OOMOO 25 product, and so would I.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>It's a really, really simple mixture. Take container A, add matching amount from container B, pour into mold. I built a mold out of some cheap thin wood I had lying around and hot glue, proving you can make a basic mold from anything. I put my dagger I built from the foam board/clay and poured this mixture over it. Low and behold, I ended up with the mold above.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Tis floppy, no? It picks up every little detail and texture, even the wood it was poured into! Its durable stuff.<br />
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Now, the problem came that their casting resin? Is 150 dollars a gallon. Mind you, I didn't charge my client nearly enough money to buy their resin. So, it got me thinking. I spent my lunch break hunting down some more fiberglass resin since Lowes decided to stop carrying it, and I lugged home a gallon of it for 35 bucks. Mind you, I didn't have any sort of releasing agent or anything for this. Now, after the problem with 'resin dissolves foam', I decided to do a wee test batch. I took a piece of the mold and cut it off, cut that piece in two, then submerged half of one piece into a cap full of resin and slathered a bunch of resin on the other piece.<br />
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Much to my joy, the resin didn't eat the mold material at all! Even MORE of a surprise, when I gave a light tug on the piece I had half-submerged? It slipped right out! No damage to mold or resin.... PERFECT.<br />
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So, I mixed up a match of resin, realized quickly after pouring it I made way too much, and hoped.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers19.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Very quick note: I discovered that for some reason or another, the resin will stay where you pour it. Meaning if you pour it thick in the tips, instead of evening out like, say, water... it'll stay real thick at the tips. Oh well, lesson learned... the instructions for fiberglass resin says to add 'a few drops' to it - screw that. I always had 'a hefty squirt' to it. It dries faster and, if you screwed up and didn't add enough hardener, you won't accidently have half-dry-but-unable-to-finish-drying resin like I had once. >.><br />
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One hour later...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I had this beauty. It slipped RIGHT out of the mold without any problems or damage to mold or dagger. It is PERFECT. It took to every detail like a charm. The dagger is going to need some facetime with Mr. Belt Sander and Mr. Dremel though, but I call it a huge success.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>How thick it ended up being - thicker than required but that's what a belt sander is for.<br />
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Detail shots. You can see how the angles turned out beautifully.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers23.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers24.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I actually poured a second one right after this. I will have to play with the pouring to get an even thickness, but produce four or forty of these will be no problem. I need to do two more tonight, hit the under sides with the belt sander to get an even thickness, glue them together, then belt sander+dremel v. 2.0 to get the daggers even and flat all around. Then its gesso, painting, aging, and... SHIPPING! On schedule for Sept. 1st delivery date.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-16419403209039463342010-08-02T07:04:00.000-07:002010-08-02T07:04:53.209-07:00Hei's Daggers - Darker Than Black: Part 2It probably seems like I forgot about this prop, but I haven't. Actually, it turned into a complete nightmare. First, if you remember, I laid out the pattern on cardboard. Then, I cut it out.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Either I need a new knife or this particular cardboard was crap - it was so hard to cut evenly. But, it gave me and my client a perspective on the 3D design of it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>After some consultation on the length and width and such, we cropped it down to this.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So my original plan was to make it out of foam, sand it, then put a layer of clear resin over the foam to be able to make it into a mold for, well, molding.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>While this started out as a success, and I was very pleased with my brand new jigsaw, there quickly became a problem I had never had before making props - it snapped, clean in half. I think I stared for a solid minute at the broken blade before I sighed and realized this wasn't going to work. Due to the double-bladed design of the daggers, I couldn't get in along the edges properly without the foam snapping. So, I ended up trying something new.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Don't laugh! I used this when I was in college. It's called foam board - two layers of thick paper with foam between them. First was the trick of finding this stuff in a new location since I didn't have a huge art supplies store (actually I had two) in Philly. Once I found it - surprisingly on sale which got me a lot for five bucks - I laid out my design on it. Now, building that cardboard cut out before? Came into amazing amounts of help. The foamboard version turned out nicer and was easier to cut.<br />
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Now there's a trick to it. To use foamboard like this, I had to layer it. You can see it in the picture above. The other problem was that this has very slight angles on the edges for the blade, which is quite thin, so I couldn't build on it. After some pondering, I carefully cut 1/8th of an inch from the edge into the paper and removed the first layer, then sanded the foam beneath to give me a sloped edge!<br />
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Now, all of this was very rough, not smooth, and clearly doesn't have the beveled edges the dagger should. So, that process began with an old friend of mine - Sculpy Clay!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers14.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Here's the final. I used my heat gun I have for paint stripping+wonderflex melting and baked the clay right onto the dagger as I was going. It's a nice, smooth look - not perfect, but I'll have to do some sanding on the resin when its molded. This is one half of the dagger - they're symmeterical, so I'll make four copies and glue two halves together. I am pleased how this is coming out after some serious agony about what was going on with it. I give a huge <b>thank you</b> to J-F, who is another builder and my good friend, who gave me some encouragement to keep going after the foam-snapping incident. (And after the clay-gourd 'frankengourd' incident, too.)Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-4352036290201070012010-06-21T06:52:00.000-07:002010-06-21T06:52:16.745-07:00Gaara's Gourd - Naruto: Shippuden (Part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd6.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Two important things in one picture. First is the gourd itself - here it is in its completed resin state. The entire gourd has two layers of resin soaked fiberglass cloth on it. It is nigh-on indestructable in this state as I can well testify to, it can survive anything I've accidently done to it so far!<br />
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The small green ball on top of the gourd is actually a replica in a sense. It is also a plastic-rubber ball wrapped in fiberglass and resin, albeit only one layer. It was to do a very important test.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I had to make sure that the resin had not chemically bonded to the plastic-rubber ball inside, as was my fear, and that only two layers would survive losing its internal base.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
One knife stab later, we had proof that indeed the gourd would survive the ball popping. So, the two interior balls were popped and carefully removed along with most of the clay that had been supporting the two balls together.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd10.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Here is the gourd after it has not only been popped (you can see through it slightly) but sanded as well. Sanding took probably a good two hours with an electric sander, sand paper, and a dremel.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd11.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
After some experience with the spray paint I chose to do the sand-texture and final color, I knew that painting the gourd before hand would be a huge time and money saver. So I went to my local hardware store and for 9 bucks picked up a hand-picked can of colored paint. I would go with a darker/more orange color next time, but it turned out good enough!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd12.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Unfortunately, I missed a picture here so I will explain. The first painting is never the final one. Painting brings out every single defect in the resin surface - a hole here, a missed drop here, a rough spot there. So some plaster was required to fill in the rough spots. Tiny holes were filled in, gaps between places where the resin ran, edges that weren't quite smooth. Then, a final layer of paint was put on to cover the plaster and that is what you see above.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd13.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Here, in my very messy cosplay room, you can see the final spray painting job on the v.2 gourd as compared to the v.1 gourd. With the layer undercoat, the gourd turned out slightly less orange in color, plus I did a spritz of a secondary textured sand color to give it some black flecks in it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd14.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
And here, the final picture of the completed gourd. It has the large cork in the top, the MWM symbols painted on (there are four of them) and the white wrappings + temporary harness wrapped around its middle.<br />
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All in all, pleased with the project. Have some ways to save money now, and a definite on just how quickly I can make one. There's no way to save time on how long it took - I did it in record time and other than problems with the weather there was nothing I could have done to take less time. Next time a darker/orange underpaint will be used to enhance the color.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-69980299734041549872010-06-07T07:12:00.000-07:002010-06-07T07:12:54.689-07:00Gaara's Gourd - Naruto: ShippudenThis project is one special to my heart. I created the first Gourd back in 08 when I had almost no idea what I was doing, simply giving something new a shot when I was in a cosplay funk. It became a difficult, aching project that both worked beautifully... and was a failure... in the same shot. It looks absolutely perfect, and I'm pleased for that, but it is very large and heavy - and impossible to carry on my back. So, I always wanted to redo the whole project.<br />
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So here I am, two years later, with a similar but different attempt at the same project - this time, keeping careful track of time and money spent.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>My apologies that the pictures all end up on their side. Here's the first attempt at getting things started. It was 5 dollars for the two large bouncy balls. Between them is a 1/4 of a $20 dollar box of model magic that'll form the neck of the gourd. On the bottom isn't a base, just a large bowl I use for resin work.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This is the neck between the two balls, the top ball, and the ring of clay that'll be the opening of the gourd with its comically large cork inserted. Yep, it's a real cork that huge!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The very first batch of resin work. That'll be that lovely brown-yellow stain on the green ball. I started with the neck between them as it needs the most support and will keep me from cursing every time the two balls fall apart. I was glad to quickly remember some of my resin-ing skills from two years ago. I also learned that I needed at least two layers of cloth/resin to make the ball hard enough you could no longer press inwards/the ball was squishy.<br />
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Beside it is the original gourd. You can see the size difference in the two like this. They're actually just about the same height!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Addition of more resin - the gourd is upside down to let the newly formed clay base dry. You can also see the fiberglass cloth that I didn't have enough resin to lay down but was already stuck to the gourd - that'd be the white along the side.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/gaara/gourdrd/gourdrd5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>One weekend's worth of fiberglass+resin. The bottom ball is pretty much done - I'll be double checking it tonight for any 'weak' (squishy) spots and laying over patches if needed. 50% of the top ball has its first layer of resin+fiberglass and 25% has two layers (closer to the neck) so I'll be doing that next.<br />
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This gourd is far, far lighter than the original gourd even with the clay and balls still in it. Keep an eye out for further developments!Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-89905016451108209082010-05-27T07:04:00.000-07:002010-08-02T07:04:40.264-07:00Hei's Daggers - Darker Than Black: Part 1Using two (<a href="http://media.animevice.com/uploads/0/6224/183091-10_hei_by_kai_yasuyuki_super.jpg">1</a>, <a href="http://nyannyan.animeblogger.net/Images/DarkerThanBlack/Episode01/03.jpg">2</a>) reference pictures I discovered, I came across the achingly familiar problem with cosplay prop design: no two stills are ever alike. The proportions change, the shape changes, the design changes, the color changes, <i>everything </i>changes depending on the creator's flight of fancy and level of detail needed for the scene. So as usual, it came down to eyeballing things. In this case, I realized that the daggers must be slightly longer than the character's arm from inner elbow to his fingertips. Having gotten that length from my client's arm, I had something to work with.<br />
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The basic proportions, have some almost painful work, ended up being roughly that the blade was 3/4 again as long as the hilt+guard. So Hilt+Guard = 7.5in, Blade = 12.5 for a 20 inch dagger. The proportions were not fun to do and took me a few hours to manage. Oh who am I kidding, I love figuring out the math. What I do not like doing is trying to measure things from an image on my screen. I also went about measuring the broadsword I have in my closet to find out the width of a comfortable hilt as well as the proportion of the blade to the hilt. You can tell from the pictures that the hilt is thinner than the blades, but thicker than the gap between them, and the guard is wider than the blades. I am pleased with the way the design ended up coming out.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/dtbdaggers/daggers3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Next up is cutting out the design from the cardboard (got client approval for the design late last night) and tracing it out onto foam. Then begins the part of prop design that always ends with aching hands and sore wrists... <span style="color: red;">cutting and sanding.</span>Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-77858176714781160552009-09-01T09:45:00.000-07:002010-08-04T10:02:42.636-07:00Snow Leopard MaskThis is a real simple post. I love making masks, though I have no real idea why. Originally this was going to be part of an original costume that never came together, but the mask itself turned out wonderfully. (Original costume was going to be a Snow Leopard Goddess, btw.)<br />
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I had a bunch of pale-gray leather left over from Gaara's armor, and it's been sitting in a bin doing nothing. So, I cut out a very, very basic piece of leather on someone's idea. I cut some poor eyeholes into it, tied it not so good to my head after soaking it in water for a few hours, and slept with it on. This was, supposedly, going to mold it to my face.<br />
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...This idea didn't work so well. Fell off in the middle of the night, got squished, ruined.<br />
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So, I tried again. I bought something very simple from A.C.Moore's. Looks like this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thumb18.shutterstock.com.edgesuite.net/display_pic_with_logo/147544/147544,1219275005,5/stock-photo-white-plastic-masqurade-mask-on-an-orange-feather-boa-against-a-black-background-16364344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://thumb18.shutterstock.com.edgesuite.net/display_pic_with_logo/147544/147544,1219275005,5/stock-photo-white-plastic-masqurade-mask-on-an-orange-feather-boa-against-a-black-background-16364344.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I cut the piece of leather into a more accurate shape, cut the eye holes better. I soaked it for about two hours in warm water, then carefully clipped it to this plastic mask (I went with the slightly more expensive but sturdier mask of the two I found at the store).... now, I have a very strange device at my house which is basically one of those fancy "sit under and pull over your head" hair dryers from a beauty salon. I propped up a laundry basket, some pillows, and whatever until this mask was sitting inside the dryer and turned it on for 30 minutes. I bet you could do it with a very low temperature oven maybe or a very long time with a hand dryer.<br />
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The end result was this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/snowleopard/mask1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/snowleopard/mask1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
It fit the curves of my face nicely like this. I was incredibly pleased. Now, my original design was that the mask was actually going to be over black/white/gray/blue makeup to make for a very striking face. So I went at the mask with three dry paint brushes, building up layers. White went on first, followed by black, followed by more white.<br />
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In the end, I had this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/snowleopard/mask2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/snowleopard/mask2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-33093215282596164362009-02-28T08:11:00.000-08:002010-07-30T08:22:36.722-07:00Blood+ Coffin Cello Case: Part 5I am still awake from yesterday. I hurt so badly from repetitive motion and being bent over, but... it's done.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin23.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin24.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin25.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin26.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin27.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin28.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin29.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin30.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin30.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
What would I do differently...<br />
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My favorite part of finishing and looking back is to figure out what I would have done differently. First, I would have used a thinner wood instead of the thick stuff I did use. Two, I would have figured out a better method of attaching the shoulder straps. Three, thicker clear coat on the final foam. Four, finer sand paper on the foam near the end.<br />
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Otherwise, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Very true to life, and size. I believe this falls under the category of one of those anime props that's difficult to deal with IRL because of physics. So many things in anime are physically impossible, improbable, or would just be really clumsy (weapons in particular).Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-53361067280368443732009-02-17T23:21:00.000-08:002010-07-30T08:11:22.512-07:00Blood+ Coffin Cello Case: Part 4My arms hurt, my cosplay room is a pink nightmare. I still have more to go. @_@<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin20.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin21.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-81257257098483361262009-02-04T08:05:00.000-08:002010-07-30T08:09:23.908-07:00Blood+ Coffin Cello Case: Part 3Basically, it is sanded. That sounds really small, but this wood is really hard to sand. So yea that look a lot. All of the edges are nice and neat, lined up with each other, smooth to the touch. My current issue is that somehow the angles got messed up between the base and the lid, and the lid is SMALLER then the base. <br />
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Basically I have to cut off large amounts of the sides of the base to get it so the whole thing is even. There are goods and bads about this. Obviously the bad is time. I'm gonna have to buy a bloody hand saw and just... go at it. Carefully saw off the parts I don't want, then sand them smooth again. Then I'll have to make sure everything lines up. Then I'll need to use wood glue to fill in any gaps in the wood between pieces and get that smooth. Oh um, the good part is that it'll cut off some of the weight. Not a lot, though, but some.<br />
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The hardest part will be over, I think, once the coffin is all the same size. <br />
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I'm going to work on the top 'domed/curved' part of the coffin between today and tomorrow. It's going to take two layers of foam sanded down into position and carved out. They I'm gonna have to gesso the foam, and then put the liquid plastic on top of the domed-foam part. I'm really nervous about this stuff, as its very difficult to use. I hope I have enough of it... a gallon looks very small compared to a 5 foot long coffin.<br />
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After that? Its ALL detail and painting. Going to carefully add molding to the edges of the case where lid and base meet. Have to sand the base's bottom to make it curve inwards a bit. Add the nail/screw/circles to the top. Add hinges and handles. Paint it black where needed, grey in others, metallic in others. After all of that (ha, shoot me)... it'll be done. Sigh.<br />
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Whew! I almost freaked out when the base and lid ended up two sizes. And in the process of trying to fix it, I managed to crack one of the ends. I DID freak out then, but I tried to figure out what to do. Purely by accident... a chisel and hammer came into play. Finally I had a way to make the coffin lid and base the same size! So that's why you see white stuff all over the base - its spackle, smoothing out any damage left behind by the chisel.<br />
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A ton of sanding and chiseling later, top and bottom are the same size! I am going to spend Wednesday night dealing with the foam top, making sure it has all the measurements marked into it so I can get it cut after work on Thursday. I can have the part of the wood I cracked re-done since I have leftover wood and I can get it into shape properly while I'm cutting the foam. I'll be having surgery on Friday, so I will be doing pretty much nothing this weekend because well I'll be drugged up against the pain. <br />
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I'm going to carve out the design on the top of the foam between Tuesday and Wednesday, then glue it on and gesso it. Hopefully I will have enough time on Wedneday night to put on the liquid plastic. If not, it'll be done the Sunday I arrive home.<br />
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Tuesday'll be sanding down any issues with the plastic and giving everything its first layer of spray paint. Detailing on Wednesday and Thursday. Any final touch ups on Friday and packaging. It'll go out Saturday in the mail, with every intention of arriving by the 26th.<br />
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As far as shipping goes. I am going to be hunting down boxes large enough to send this sucker in all week during my lunch hours. Its mostly based on the size of the box, so I'll make sure it isn't too big. Like I said when we'd started... this is gonna be a pricey ship due to the weight and sheer size of it. Its the biggest prop I've had to send to date. <br />
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Here are the pictures! ^_^<br />
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Views of the Coffin: (Note the dust in the air)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin19.jpg" id="link_17"></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin19.jpg" id="link_17"></a>Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-15040051817519815632009-01-18T12:01:00.000-08:002010-07-30T08:06:40.688-07:00Blood+ Coffin Cello Case: Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's the lid of the coffin cut out:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin7.jpg" width="320" /></div><br />
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Getting the sides of the lid glued and screwed down:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Lid is almost done!:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Whew! Lid is done!:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
The bottom is done... as my youngest siblings offered to show:<br />
<a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin11.jpg" id="link_22"></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Better picture of it being complete:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And what's left...<br />
<br />
Lots and lots. This thing is like... indestructible as promised. In fact... it got slammed going up the flight of steps into my apartment without even a scratch. (Whew, getting something almost 5 feet long into an upstairs apartment = tough!) The only down side that I see is exactly what I warned you about when it started: It weighs a LOT. From what I can tell, it's sitting at a whooping 26.5 pounds. I mean, I can lift it easily enough (I can't wait until it has handles though... its hard to lift because of its bulky size.)<br />
<br />
So, the plan.<br />
<br />
The top of the coffin is going to have to be foam to keep it from weighing more then 30 pounds. I will coat the foam in a special liquid-plastic I have (it hardens to plastic) so its less capable of being damaged but it wouldn't be able to be banged around like the rest of it. But luckily the foam is way less painful to carve then wood so I can get right to work on it. About a million hours of sanding should get the wooden part of the coffin completely finished. XD It needs to be severely sanded to make parts of it flat, make it evened up all the way around.Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7151099595543433133.post-33762695517960061882009-01-05T11:00:00.000-08:002010-07-30T08:01:17.540-07:00Blood+ Coffin Cello Case: Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/Coffin/Coffin1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Looks simple, I know. But...<br />
<br />
That is exactly proportional in scale to the whole thing.<br />
<br />
4'8" = 56 inches.<br />
<br />
16 inches (the length of that piece in the image) x 3.5 = 56 inches. Basically every written measurement of that cardboard, if you multiple it by 3.5, will come out to the proper scale of the coffin itself.<br />
<br />
The width of the coffin at either end is 10 inches.<br />
<br />
The widest part is 25 inches (2.5 times the size of the top and bottom width. and slightly less then half of the total size of the coffin.)<br />
<br />
If you pull out a tape measure and look at the inches, you'll get a better idea of the final product. And look at the cardboard, you'll see how it measured up.<br />
<br />
I figured the widest part of the coffin is between 1/3 and 1/4 the total length of the coffin... so I went between. XD 1/3 = 18.66667 inches and 1/4 was 14... so I made it 16 inches. I worked carefully with the images you sent me to get all all of these measurements. Only thing that is tricky is that all props are tough to do from images because every image you look at of something in an anime ends up being a little different since, well... its a drawing. XD<br />
<br />
P.S. - I know its a cello case, but for some reason... my brain is just thinking 'coffin' when I look at it so hence the name. XD)<br />
<br />
My measurements I came up:<br />
<br />
56 inches in length<br />
25 inches wide<br />
12 inches tall<br />
<br />
Actual real cello case:<br />
<br />
53.5 inches in length<br />
20 inches wide<br />
13 inches tall<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/coffin/Coffin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/coffin/Coffin2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/coffin/Coffin5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://shadow-tigress.com/cosplay/coffin/Coffin5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Silver Wing Creationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13424569961581420343noreply@blogger.com0