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Single episode Clone Wars classic outfit- WIP


Guest i.Chimaera

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Guest i.Chimaera

Kia ora all :) I was mdb here, I may have deleted my profile or it may have gone unused for too long :) Either way I am back with my new website and renuewed enthusiasm after the whole EU reshuffle :)

 

I've always loved the classic version of Asajj and I have to admit my all time favourite costume is the current CRL concept model- seriously in love with the fit and the pleated skirt and the proportions, stunning work.) However I have so many costumes I have made for my own satisfaction that I wanted to make sure this time I'd have a costume that I loved but that would also fit in with the current Canon- and be recognised by kids who are after all the future of the franchaise, and the people we tend to raise awareness and charity for. And while I decide if I want to put clay to headcast for the bounty hunter variant of Asajj (so reminiscent of the very Old Republic era) I wanted a project I could do with current supplies.

So here we are. At the one and only TCW version of the classic black and white ensemble.

 

I've put all my references on my site and have been blogging about it over there too. However:

http://www.arrayedindreams.com/media-costumes/star-wars/asajj-ventress/

 

Ventress-SWE-300x270.jpg 12290d588b6529c9e842c141c6725f7f0b57ef27 sm_Screenshot-2015-03-13-12.26.02-151x30 sm_Screenshot-2015-03-13-12.27.51-300x26

 

These work as a start.

 

Edited by i.Chimaera
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Guest i.Chimaera
 

 

So far:

 

 

wpid-dsc_5002.jpg

I started with the bodysuit. As there is no seam for a zip and no obvious shoulder fastenings I am making this in two parts. The leggings and the bodysuit, the bodysuit will fasten underneath and snap to the leggings to be apparently seamless.So I will either cut next to the white panel or at lower hip where it will be hidden by the hip belts.

wpid-dsc_5012.jpg wpid-dsc_5010.jpg

I did a fair amount of reshaping of the body! The fabric I used is a sports type, and is very comfortable to wear in different climates. But it is four way stretch so requires regular refitting as I work. And the lower part is not at all fitted yet as my mannequin doesn't have legs.

 

wpid-dsc_5066-1.jpg

 

The skirt is repurposed from a cloak I made as a stand by general purpose "sith" covering. And then I decided I actually want the cloak Talon wears at the end of War so decided to start anew  ;) The fabric is a knit but has a low sheen satin surface. This combination makes it ideal as it blends in well with the very textured bodysuit fabric.

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So now I have finally got my references sorted I went armour templating tonight. 

 

wpid-dsc_5690-1.jpg

Collar. I have the template open at the front purely for fitting purposes. I have since cut it off and have the pieces ready for the next stage of drafting. Which should be interesting as there is no means of getting in to the thing.

 

Speaking of which. To get the full shaping out of my waist piece I have had to template with multiple panels. This is mainly as a guide for a potential inner support as I hope to purchase some russet and wet form the main part. Leather is fantastic but will stretch with time and wear so I'll need to line it in some way to keep it stable. 

wpid-dsc_5688.jpg

 

I forgot to do the hip belts, well I did at least also template the greaves and bracers:

 

wpid-dsc_5686-1.jpg

 

I have not been able to pinpoint the cut edges for either of these so as with the rest I'll be trying to hide where possible. I have extensive experience with playing "hey lady turn around" with historic gear and the general rule is if you can't see it then it is right where you can't see it not that it doesn't exist. So I'll be trying to find all the viewpoints and put the joins where the costume is least seen. Even if I were to cast these pieces there is no way to get them over hands, feet and head as they are depicted!

 

Sorry for the multiple replies, apparently I had too many images for a single post :)

 

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wpid-dsc_5695.jpg

And leather cut. Well some of it :) I want to line the pieces and also glue the layers well so instead of trying to do it all today (possible in peak health, not right now) I'm aiming for next weekend. Very sensible.

 

Safety goggles included! Though I was using a self healing cutting mat I am fully aware of how the blades of these knives can nick a guide and shatter. So I try and keep these in photos as a reminder. The materials may be safe but the tools are not always.

Edited by i.Chimaera
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I guess my only question is (as someone who's also creating a costume from the pivotal episode of the Clone Wars), since the canon version of this costume is brown and beige, not black and white...

 

Are you making this as a personal adaptation? or for approval?

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In the same way I have not yet put the horizontal seams nor topstitching nor shade work on the leather, it's important to get the colour blocks shaped before surface treatments. This is all going to be airbrushed.

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Let's see if I can do this.. two days ago I got to be an actual model for professional and hobby photographers and I used to it test a very light application of the base make up I want to use for Asajj. 

11233256_730607703750844_421587105298191

It looks fairly subtle here but I used a mix of white and foundation my tone to flatten the base.

 

But with a little pushing it goes incredibly ghoulish:

12189969_10206778974945713_1750492858025

 

Or very vibrant:

12052542_10153438235339442_2453501149875

 

You may also see the wig seemed to change colour too ;) It's a super pale ash blonde with negligible yellow tones. So a lot of what winds up captured in an image just isn't there. When I colour match I aim for not only the colour in "real life" but try to make sure the material behaves the same way under different lighting conditions. To this end I have people tell me my Leia metal bikini skirts are very grape in real life. Yes, but under flash or certain lights it goes violet and under others it goes wine red. Like the original (if you look at exhibition photos you can see the fabric do the same thing.)

 

So for Asajj's skin I want a product that is some what translucent to reflect off not only the paint surface but my skin and any layers of poder or pigment over that. I want to counter the effects of flash but also work well bright sunshine.

 

I hope to be able to do a proper make up guide including baldcap- a quick look at my signature image will show how often I have had to apply bald caps and prosthetics! But for now I'm trying to budget for some russet to get the main parts of the body ready. 

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In the same way I have not yet put the horizontal seams nor topstitching nor shade work on the leather, it's important to get the colour blocks shaped before surface treatments. This is all going to be airbrushed.

 

That's actually... quite brilliant. 

 

I'm looking forward to see how it all comes out. :D

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wpid-dsc_5728-11.jpg

Yep, russet. There is method to this madness, in part it was to use scrap ;) Now to stretch some more leather for her waist piece which is annoyingly one piece.

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wpid-dsc_5730.jpg

Because there are no seams on the waist I have stretched russet over my dress form for a perfectly fitted and shaped element ready for lining.

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wpid-dsc_5741.jpg

The waist really is one piece :) If I can do this in a day with hands that simply are no longer whole (I am missing at least one if not one and a half or two bones in each hand) then it's definitely doable by anyone! You need 2square feet of 1.5mm russet and water and a few hours :) It's incredibly small space and "allergic to nearly everything" people. Ehem.

This will be laminated with a woven layer to prevent it from stretching with wear. Leather goes extremely soft with wear in the same way it warps and goes super rigid when wet.

 

wpid-dsc_5742.jpg

And I'll find the most even parts of this to cut the sabers from before a final heat shape to smooth. I have blades I just really need to make any emitters able to be removed. And figure out U shape covertec style clips because of course the cartoon makes a change to make it look completely unreal (just like most costume designers do not use fabrics from major chain retailers- it ruins the illusion if you have seen the same product on your windows or in your bathroom...

 

Also noted a few things about the saber in an epic fail with the official site (I am far away from the nearest exchange and of cource am at the end of the Pacific cable so the website is incredibly slow. But, I grabbed a few shots of the saber to show the emitter and pommel.

Edited by i.Chimaera
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wpid-dsc_5743.jpg

The grey still looks not at all grey in this photo, in reality even with this light the grey is more obvious (it's a fine marled on a pebbled surface) so the airbrushing and stitch details are going to be super important. Right now it's really hard to see what it will be! *I* know, but I don't have any markers on each layer yet. 

 

I cold wetformed the waist, as already illustrated so yesterday I poured boiling water all over it. This is an important note when working with russet: Boiling water warped and distorts the hide. You need to have it already stretch on a form or are extremely fast with water proof gloves (leather gloves will just burn you) as it only takes a very brief time for it too cool down and shrink.

So I prefer to soak an unworked piece in cold water for several hours, stretch to shape and then heat shock it. I'll get close up photos to show where the warping happens (most notably along cut edges,so again use an excess waste edge so you can avoid issues with warping.

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Screenshot-2015-11-02-23.16.39-820x461.p

Whoops. I installed SketchUp yesterday, I usually am a manual reader from start to finish but honestly it's a bit confusing so I just tested everything and it seems to be working. Regardless of the medium I am hand sculpting my sabers. I will be attempting to finish these in the next day or so and start printing soon after. If they work I'll be sharing them on a platform for TCW style Ventresses. That rectangular cutaway was a bit of a PITA to create tbh! Tubes would have been faster. Or hand modeling in my usual manner. But I have created two more Rheumatoid nodules and I suspect it was the addess immune stress of an allergy on top of the autoimmune thing. 

 

Anyway. I love to learn new skills and this is definitely that! a mix of old school technical drawing with annoying mouse curser thing.

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Thank you :) I finally got the hilt just so:

Screenshot-2015-11-05-00.43.56-820x461.p

So, hooray! Now to redo the emitter, find some way to make the pommel work as an end cap, and eventually split this in to sensible print options!

 

Also I will happily share this file once I have brute tested in in print :)

 

I also for got that while my hips a bit smaller than the mannequin my ribcage is not, so I am redoing the waist piece :) But might also then attempt to make the collar out of one of my stretchy pleathers. It needs to be thin enough to sew with an invisible zip but solid enough to form those ridges. I do have a cunning plan but it relies on very careful trimming. I do have some super thin leather too but I think I want to make use of stretch  materials to get the whole CGI fabric works like skin thing ;)

 

 

So thins means I have a lovely thin but firm waist piece :) It might wind up being an inner support to glue the fabric support to. Hmm... That is an idea.

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Screenshot-2015-11-06-11.15.27-820x461.p

file 5.

 

And I nearly deleted my most precise version in an effort to clear the workspace! But here we have the image I used, plus my schematic of it (I printed then drew on the reverse and then used PS to make the line art- so this really is using a mix of hand and digital processes!) Super happy, aside from one tiny issue that basically warped the emitter. But I know exactly what happened and I've not only corrected it but used it to tidy the internals of the model to make it ready for printing :)

Oh and yes, I have the sweepy greeblie on the emitter in place and have modeled all the buttons (aside from the side bars, I'll probably by some tod and bend them in place as I can get brass and other narrow rods very easily from an art store.

I may be a tiny bit off schedule but this is going to be a good investment once finished :) So I'm going to have to have a health bread today then do a bit of aowrk tonight and see if I can do the whole "make it printable" tomorrow :)

 

I will offer the files, but once I know they will just print and that if there are any issues it's a case of calibrating the printer to the right speed/temp/cooling/nozel distance stuff. Yeah, that's going to hopefully not be too much of an issue with a machine that gets a proper service :)

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wpid-dsc_5766-1-1.jpg

No idea why there is a white line nearly perfectly in line with the side seam, but it's not permanent anyway :) I did though topstitch the seams down the princess lines and around the armscye. I used a triple stitch so it shows up pretty well though I may be tempted to do this again with a heavier thread.

I've since marked the horizontal lines, they are indeed only on the centre front and back of the bodysuit but do go the entire length as seen in the middle two reference images here.

 

And or course the leather is not yet cut to shape. Just trying to resolve issues between Asajjs posture and actual lengths.

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Screenshot-2015-11-10-16.51.05-820x461.p

This appears to work.. just updating my various forum threads before going in and orienting all the parts to print properly. But I also grabbed a photo of my bodysuit:

wpid-dsc_5777.jpg

I need to go over it to make sure it holds up to the tinting and airbrusing and also maintain proportion. Right now the stark white throws off the actual balance, and the thread is way too disturbed by the texture of the fabric. It's a sports fabric so not at all shiny and designed to wick moisture away I just need to make sure details are balanced with it.

you can see there is a really subtle hirizontal line in the fabric- it's purely a colourway change, no weave which makes it ideal for use as a guide to adding details and then fade it in to the airbrush details :)

I also took time and tooled the edge of the new waist wrap so the curves are even and it's now ready for dyeing and sealing.

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wpid-dsc_5784-1.jpg

I took a tin of Ados and various backing materials and spent the day in the fumes. Well not really, I'm not really silly. But in order for the leather to not buckle I wrapped everything around forms to make sure they maintain shape. Even the front of the greaves. I have nearly perfect boots to wear under these but I am going to see if I can find any better (the least number of seams possible.

But it appears my hilts will take a full working week to print so I am back to the PVC pipe to make sure I have a set of hilts sooner rather than later.

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Oh gosh, after a day of good luck in shopping (found fabric ink and fabric paint medium, and acrylic ink in black, and even some E6000) I had a day where my health crashed, as did multiple plans for the next few months! It was a bad day and I admit to have gotten a little overemotional.

Another issue was it was going to cost $210 to print my hilts via Shapeways.

So Sunday night I was given a wonder line to pursue in finding local 3D print enthusiasts and voila! my hilts are printing now. And I have even been able to end files for buckles and I just sent the actual real for sure file now. Which has the four knobs and just the square "buckles" as soon as all my prints are in hand I'll be sharing the files someway or another :) But it's been a bit of a balancing act so I actually am not 100% sure of the print outcome.

 

My leather also got wet as rain fell over night and the balcony was not quite as covered as I thought, so all the leather parts are drying in the hot water cylinder cupboard!

 

wpid-dsc_5791.jpg

This was pinned yesterday and then I realised my clear ruler would work more effectively so I wound up drawing line details on the section and today put the fabric ink pen to use drawing the lines and then brushing the shading on.

wpid-dsc_5808-11.jpg

This is in full daylight, it's all been washed with the ink. I've copied from my website for how I did this :)

 

After topstitching in a heavy thread parallel to the edge, I started by pencilling using my ruler as a guide.

wpid-dsc_5805.jpg

This happens to be nearly perfect for my torso length.
Then I used the ink pen to trace over. I made the decision to do this over the mannequin but the adjustable areas made the pen move in unintended ways so I’d recommend not doing that and instead following the next step.
I then cut a piece of foamcore to fit inside the shoulders and started to paint the ink.
The ink was soaked overnight in Isopropyl alcohol, about 1/2 cup, and I strained in before transfering to a narrow bottle.
I then put a shallow dish of IA out and a smaller dish of ink out. I used a mop like brush to paint IA over each section before using just the end of a flat synthetic to sweep the ink on in strokes parallel to the marked lines.

wpid-dsc_5806.jpg

I did this on the front then turned the piece with foamcore to work on the back.
I then soaked the sleeves in very thinned ink and left it out to dry.
I used IA to speed the drying time and avoid transfering ink as could happen with just water. However I recommend that method if you have time and space.

 

Also, the pink did not stain through but I'd really recommend doing this with white board! the paper/card coating absorbs just enough ink to hold the piece in place as you work too.

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I have sent off all my hardware files for printing :) I've even modeled the covertec clips. 

Screenshot-2015-11-17-17.48.01-300x165.p Screenshot-2015-11-17-17.48.25-300x201.p

And the final hilt file:

Screenshot-2015-11-17-17.51.36-300x218.p

 

I have pulled out the remnants of a fairly special fabric for the collar. It has a good stretch to allow for neck movement and good dimension to create the highlighted/hammered look to the edge of each ring.I cannot avoid a form of fastening in the collar however. Fabric would have to be knitted in the round and happen to match, and there are limits to latex and silicon and the like. 

I have several small cheap latex baldcaps to wear closest to my scalp. From experience with Talon, Shaak Ti, and Liara I know full well how sweat will make a cap a one time only material (i've had them tear on my head) and am unwilling to add even more cost to bodypainting (thin bald caps are at least $44 here and they are indeed one time only. However the Glatzen and latex caps are the same price so I'm more inclined to purchase one of those given the edges can be blended out as opposed to filled in.There are caps half the price but given all the sites I have seen use images that clearly do not match I am loathe to trust them. Superbaldies is not available here and Glatzen has only recently popped up in my searches. We are totally surrounded by sea and the nearest country is a 3 hour flight away.

 

My plan is to stipple the chap caps with red so that the thinner caps over the top do not need it and I can airbrush the grey-white mix on and paint the tattoos on the back so as to avoid needing another artist paint the designs on. 

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Waiting for the wonders of modern medicine to kick in so here is an attempt to get my instagram-blogging added.
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The model is tiny but I needed to see how much I had to take off the waist brace, it really is a brace, not a belt! It is now trimmed and the hooks added. My circular buckle will vlecro over to allow for the hooks to be moved in or out as needed. But I was overenthusiastic with the glue so that needs tidying first.


And this morning my ink arrived smile.gif
http://www.airbrushedtattoos.co.nz/
$22.50 a bottle and the bottles are 50ml each. With care I can do my neck, bald cap, stipple to hide the cape and then hands. It's very white so I may need to tone with a tiny bit of lilac-grey.

So these are all the parts I modeled (yes from stratch there are no files that are useful out there yet. I spotted a booboo that manes I can't use a 15mm blade as it so I really am looking at finding different red acrylid tubing to stack and fit inside each other smile.gif
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Also I did not share all the sanding and acetone washes but my hands are covered in the stuff smile.gif


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Ventress hip swathes, these are so funky and weird. Laminated to leather i had in storage for years smile.gif

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Ventress armour curing outside. With a big as palm spathe (leaf like cover for the flowers) it's slightly taller than me. I forsee a few photoshoots with it

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22535658293_de4fbe3eb5_n.jpg
Orignal boots. Perfect heel, perfect chunky front. Luminara's boots are very tall so it was fun watching the scene when she posed as Ventress, no girl, Ventress doesn't do boots like that. Shaak Ti, Luminara and Aayla all do.. coincidence??
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Argh, the side zips were functional so look at the love lovely big side missing. Well contact cement will fix that.
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Ventress boots new cover. All one piece so very annoying to glue. Currently needs top and zip area trimmed and glued. Then a collar of more faux leather at the top.

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23160247715_17a8f6919b_n.jpg
Ventress collar cut. Live-gramming to keep myself motivated- swollen glands after a week of disease activity so i need to stay positive.

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Ventress collar pinned to press. Might now have to start gluing the seam allowances back as tge fabric still wants to curl.

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Ventress collar pressing. E6000 behind the seam allowances and tapes closed, now being weighted until the glue goes tacky. 

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Ventress collar pinned. 

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Ventress collar test, yep, still a giraffe neck.

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