Another Newbie making his attempt

[Guest BrujahPriest]

I've just started a bit ago to make a CoTF Darth Nihilus. Of course by started, I mean I've begun gathering materials. One question that I had was on the fabric choice. I see Silk Noil is a popular choice, but can a decent look be made from a standard cotton as opposed to the raw silk?

[Guest Aysel]

I'd say not really, first off your not going to get the drape or flow right, also you'll end up spending more for the cotton than the silk at this time. I really recommend going to Dharma Trading Company, you'll get a good deal on the correct fabric.

 

Katie

[Guest BrujahPriest]

Thank you!

 

I figured it would be a longshot, but never hurts to ask. Gonna place my fabric order soon.

[Nefthys]

You can't go wrong with the silk noil, it is very nice material. I've used it for other sets of robes and costumes before. For my Nihilus I ended up using a piano weave Linen. It was a little bit cheaper (but only because I found a good deal), but it ends up being a fair bit warmer to wear. The drape on the linen is really nice however it is very heavy. If you can find a good deal on a fabric that has good weight to it for nice movement and drape in the robes then pick it up. Your best option otherwise is the Silk Noil from dharma.

 

Cheers,

Nef

[Guest BrujahPriest]

Thank you for replying! I ended up ordering the Raw Silk (came in yesterday). Had to wait as Dharma was out for a while. I've picked up most of what I need for the outfit, but still need to find some UltraCal (apparently really difficult to find in my area).

 

Another question I had, for 501st approval, it seems like the boots needed for a Nihilus approval are similar to those needed for an Imperial Officer or Han Solo.(except the height). Do you think I'd be able to get away with using something that I could use in one of those outfits for this?

[Guest Aysel]

...Another question I had, for 501st approval, it seems like the boots needed for a Nihilus approval are similar to those needed for an Imperial Officer or Han Solo.(except the height). Do you think I'd be able to get away with using something that I could use in one of those outfits for this?

 

As long as they are black plain toed boot they will work, my husband goes between his RFT boots and his old combat boots (yes I know they have laces but you can't see them with all the skirts) So if you get a boot that works for an Imp Officer or Han Solo those will work just fine.

 

Katie

[Guest BrujahPriest]

Finally got back to working on my costume, spent the last month with _way_ too many health issues.

 

Anyway, I am starting from the inside out (since it was taking me a while to get the Ultracal). Any feedback would be appreciated. The gloves are not what will be for the final. I was going to modify them, but there is too much work there, so I need to hunt some more for a better pair.

 

Pardon for the grainy images, I may need to retake these in better light.

 

 

[Nefthys]

I'm guessing you still need to add the weathering to the bottom part of the tunic (the most entertaining part of the build IMO, hehe). The first thing I notice is that the obi is very wide. You'll want to bring it in a little and make it more narrow. It's easier to size the obi once you have the belt, since the width of the obi will need to correspond to the width of the belt you use.

 

You will also want to get the tunic to lay flat across the chest when closed. It's looking really good so far!

 

For gloves, I got mine off of www.leatherglovesonline.com and they were great! Search up Mens Gauntlets and they have a couple different styles. Their sizing chat is also very helpful, especially when trying to find gloves to fit my small, girly hands. Both my room mate and I have ordered from them a fair bit with no troubles so far.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Cheers,

Nef

[Guest BrujahPriest]

Thank you for the comments and the link, after looking through that, do you think the following would be acceptable, wasn't certain due to the stitch on the top of the knuckles?

 

http://www.leatherglovesonline.com/np/MensGloves-ByStyle-honor-guard-gloves-td650hp-unlined-leather-motorcycle-gauntlets.htm#page=details

 

You're right I am definitely no where near the weathering yet. I have been taking things almost painfully slow in some places.

 

As far as the Obi I was wondering about that. I tried to go with the suggested measurements, but it felt... big. I do have the belt (a 2" that I got from Tandy leather). I've got a slight issue with the posts for holding the inner belt I need to solve, that kept me from adding it to the photo or my sizing's.

[Nefthys]

Those gloves will work, they are the same ones I had for my Nihilus and I was approved. It's so hard to find gloves without stitching. I later got these ones and just cut the fringe off of them:

http://www.leatherglovesonline.com/np/M ... ge=details

They don't have the stitching on the back side, so they are more accurate.

 

As for the belt, the rivets won't hold them on alone in a lot of cases, so what I did was glue the top strip onto the bottom one with contact cement. If you got the belt blanks from Tandy Leather they also sell a good leather contact cement. Glue it on, let it dry, and then put the rivets on as "added support" but not as the main pieces for holding on the top belt blank. I have how I did my belt over on my build thread, the link is below. It's on the 1st page near the bottom, there is also a pic of how my belt turned out.

 

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2154

 

Good luck with the build! Looking forward to seeing it completed!

 

Cheers,

Nef

[Guest BrujahPriest]

Finally got some time to do some work. I decided to switch gears a little bit and begin on the mask. Is there anything glaring as an issue in my images? (other than the smoothing, and my missing nose tip... inexperience, fast paced movement, and close quarters can equal disaster for any art project).

 

 

[Nefthys]

Looking good! An excellent overall shape of the mask. One thing I'll point out (as I made this mistake) is not to go too high on the top of the mask. It should go to the top of your forehead, not the top of your head. I did this on the first mask I made and then when I went to try a fitting with the "cat-ears" hood it was waaaay to tall and didn't fit at all. Ended up having to take about an inch and a half off the top. Just want to give you a heads up so you don't have the same problem I did. If you take a close look at images of Nihilus' mask, the eye holes should sit about in the middle. There is roughly about the same distance from the top of the eyes to the top of the head as there is from the bottom of the eyes to the bottom of the mask. Hope this helps!

 

Cheers,

Nef

[Twi'lek Pam]

Nice start on the mask! In addition to the suggestions made by Nefthys, I would add that the eyes and nose openings look a bit oversized, and the "cheekbone" structure needs to be more dominant. Remember, the game version of the mask is quite flat, while the COTF version is much more sculpted.

 

 

When we sculpted Scott's mask, it was a real pain to make the eyes and nose symmetrical... but it's worth it to keep working on the details until you're happy with the results. If a family member announces that you made a creepy skull-thing, then you know that you're on the right track!

 

Pam

[Guest BrujahPriest]

Thank you both very much for the feedback. I think i have understood and worked it back in.

 

Unfortunately the amount of time I have had to work on this lately has been relatively low. But here is some of what I have gotten through so far:

 

 

 

 

A couple of things I know I still need to work on is making the lower right and lower left more symetrical. (seem to be having a real hard time with that).

 

I'm still struggling with smoothing, but I am hoping with time I will get this.

[Nefthys]

Wow! This is looking fantastic! Really excellent looking mask you have so far. Can't wait to see what this will look like when it's completed!

 

One thing to take into consideration while making your mask is how it will end up being attached to your head. When I sculpted mine I left little, tiny holes in the side where I could feed through thread to sew it to the elastic straps. Another friend of mine just used really strong glue to attach his elastic and had no holes. Up to you how you want to do it, but always a good thing to have in the back of your mind when making a mask.

 

Cheers,

Nef

[Guest BrujahPriest]

My progress has been some what limited the last few months. But I am finally getting around to making the first resin cast of the mask and of the hood "ears". The photos are a little grainy (my picture taking skills stink! The site I was using for reference has stopped working for me, so I am going off of memory and improvising a little.

 

 

 

 

[Nefthys]

Nice to see you wearing a proper breather, safety first! Looking forward to seeing how the resin casts turn out. The sculpt is looking very good. I'm interested to see how the hood and "cat ears" turn out, as this is always one of the trickier parts to this costume build.

 

Cheers,

Nef

[Guest BrujahPriest]

I really screwed up on the first pass: forgot the 'mold release' on top of making the mold from really ... really cheap stuff. I managed to at least get one flawed cast out of it though as a test run (the one on the left in the image below). The second mold came out _much_ better. Did the first cast out of it tonight. I rushed a bit and left a bit of the bottom under filled.

 

 

(second cast)

 

(first cast)

 

I have also been working on the "ears helmet". I did a secondary build up after making it too short, but screwed up the shape on one side, so I will be rebuilding that side after I work on my mask:

 

[Nefthys]

Looking good! I'm always so thrilled to see people making their own Nihilus mask! I also approve of the very awesome Nightmare Before Christmas t-shirt.

 

Cheers,

Nef

[Guest BrujahPriest]

Thank you! SW, Dr Who and Nightmare shirt collecting seems to be a bit of a habit for me. (sorry, completely missed that post back in October as we had some serious stuff going on in our lives)

 

 

I've been able to get back to my mask a handful of times in the last few months, but am running into a bit of a roadblock on getting the adornments sculpted just right. Following Pam and Scotts (ChuCrew.com) tutorial, I created a casting of the base sculpt and was attempting to build on that, but each time I really messed up the details. So far I've tried using Plasticine, Air Dry clay... even tried buying some washers and shaping and building up from there. Has anyone found an easier way of creating that detail?