Monday, August 6, 2012

Commander Shepard Cosplay





Notes

Follow me on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/crystalcosfx
Costume made by me, sponsored by http://www.firefallthegame.com/

Photos from http://www.facebook.com/BigWhiteBazooka
and Entertainment Weekly
Omniblade commissioned from http://alexandertoy.com/
Carnifex pistol loaned from http://www.facebook.com/

wmarmory



Resources

HD References http://troodon80.deviantart.com/
Narayas' ME2 Armor Patterns http://www.julianbeek.nl/blog/
Volpin Props' ME2 Armor Build http://www.volpinprops.com/n7-armor-dragoncon-2010-recap/
Evil FX's ME2 Armor Build http://bioweapons.wordpress.com/tag/n7-armor/

Armor Construction



Note: Closeups were mostly done after wearing it, so there's a bit of crazing!

First of all, I had to have patterns to work from.  Narayas' patterns were based off of ME2, but came with an amazing sizing guide, so I used those as a starting point.  While some pieces are too different between games and have to be scratch patterned, most of the pattern pieces still use the basic shape.  I just redrew all of the details onto the base patterns I was using, and added taped extra paper onto pattern pieces that needed to have their proportions changed.

Most of my technique I learned from the many N7 armor builders before me, especially Volpin and EvilFX, linked above.  Their builds are very helpful.  I used a mix of .5" EVA foam floor mats (available at Lowe's/Home Depot), 6mm EVA foam (from Michael's), and craft foam (also from Michael's).  In addition, I used a large sheet of 6mm EVA foam that I got online for the calf armor and shoes, but it was crappy so I won't link it here.  When using the foam floor mats, I never used the textured side. In addition, to make the armor more flattering, I only used the thickest foam on the back/front piece, the bicep armor, the thighs, and the elbow and partial knee armor.

After cutting out the foam shapes for the armor, I used a heat gun to shape the foam.  You can use a form to shape it, but I found I got the best results just curving it in as much as I could.  To adhere pieces together, I used super glue and hot glue.  Despite my typical aversion to hot glue, it worked pretty fantastically, especially when two edges of the foam have to meet.  Areas with flanges were carefully dremeled down to reduce thickness, and a layer of craft foam was laid on top for smoothness.  All of the detail grooves were done with a dremel cutting tool.



The one piece of my armor that wasn't foam was the breastplate.  I tried using Evil FX's method, and while his looks great, it wasn't working right for me.  Instead, I sculpted the bust in Monster Clay, used gelcoat and fiberglass to mold it, and did the final pull in shore grade 60 urethane rubber.  I also added a few layers of fiberglass cloth into the cast for rigidity.

Armor Painting



While I'm really happy with my painting technique, it's certainly very expensive and kind of complicated.  First off, everything got coated with Plastidip to seal it.  I had black nails for weeks!



Then everything was painted silver.  I then masked off the "smooth" parts of the armor so that only the areas that had that reflective texture showed.  I placed a screen on top and painted it black. Then everything was unmasked and coated in a thin layer of black.  Finally, I got to the weathering!  I used black acrylics in the grooves, seams, and edges, and then wiped them partially off.  I also added "dirt streaks" with the black and damp paper towels.  I then grabbed some silver paint and did all the highlights on the raised portions and edges, along with some damage streaks. In my opinion, it's better to exaggerate a bit on the painting.  In a full body photo, everything tends to get blended together and washed out.  It's the same concept as makeup for photos!


One note I'd like to make is that URETHANE IS TERRIBLE TO PAINT.  I had to do the same method on the urethane bust for uniformity, but the paint just kept peeling off when I removed the masking tape.  In the end I was just sure to be VERY careful when handling the bust, and it wasn't damaged during wear, thank goodness.

Armor Assembling



Pretty much everything is held together with buckles and Velcro.  The entire costume is modular, which makes it pretty easy to get on and off.  Even the stomach plate and back plate attach to the other pieces with Velcro!  The only exception is the calf armor, which closes with zippers.  When gluing straps and Velcro to the foam, I had the best luck with hot glue; super glue and contact cement didn't work out for me this time.  I hear barge is best, but I've yet to get some.

The fabric between the upper and lower thigh armor is a thick corduroy, and the thigh armor was mounted onto neoprene.

Undersuit



The undersuit was made from custom printed lycra.  I pulled the design right from a game model and made it repeatable.  Expensive, but worth it!  Construction wise, it's a simple front-zip bodysuit with a black collar closed with Velcro.  The fact that the upper chest was easy to open was great when I was feeling hot!  The bum armor plates were simply glued in place with contact cement, while I was wearing the suit.  This was a very special experience.



For my first full suit of armor, I'm really satisfied with it.  Shepard is one of my favorite female video game characters: she's strong, she's badass, and she's sexy, all while being fully armored head to toe!

17 comments:

  1. A gorgeous build! Using screens for texturing in paint is genius. I'd love to build a femshep someday. Any chance we can get a peek at the repeatable pattern you created for the undersuit?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes thank you so much.

    Just wondering if you would be happy sharing your variations on the Narayas' ME2 Armor Patterns.

    I'm currently working on making my femshep so I'm looking at modifying Narayas' patterns as well.

    Cheers
    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  3. またまた凄いコスですね...。

    ReplyDelete
  4. You were awasome, I will follow your tips and have a try...thanks for sharting

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love to see your progress pictures, it's so inspirering! It really did turn out amazing. So many thumbs up from here <3

    ReplyDelete
  6. ery beautiful coplay pictures. I like coplay. Everyone has their own characteristics.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So when are you appearing on "Face Off"?

    ReplyDelete
  8. your cosplay are fantanstic, i am also a cosplay fans, lots things to learn here for me

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love cosplay? Then you'll love www.galaxorstore.com!
    Amazing collection of costumes, masks, wigs and accessories. Check it out. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have so many friends who wanted to try making something similar to this. The pictures I'm sure don't do it justice but you look fantastic and it's been well worth the effort.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Create your look by putting in various cloth pieces together. You just need to remember that purchasing the right character costume that suits you is of utmost importance.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi! I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite CosPlay on the internets!

    Seriously professional work. On a professional model to pull it all off. Very impressive and rare - would that I had costume or skill of that quality! You have a fan.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Really Great share, But it's hard to make personally. I like to buy online including cosplay costume on www.eshopcos.com it is a great site...

    ReplyDelete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  15. There are a few places that are very unique and famous for the cosplay. If you are more curious about cosplay hero visit at this site.

    ReplyDelete