Thursday, May 22, 2014

Blizzcon Costuming: It Begins Again

It seems that my Blizzcon cosplay choices essentially derive from whatever Triple A Cosplay dares me to do. At dinner following PAX Prime last year, Mario happened to show me the concept art for the Diablo 3 Crusader and his car door of a shield. I'd say it's more like a refrigerator door. I knew he would be my next big project.

I've started work on the Concept Crusader, starting with the shield. I feel like this is the biggest, hardest, most important piece to get right, and if it fails, I want it to fail before a lot of effort and resources are put in other areas. I'll be posting progress shots all the way up to November, and here comes the first, early batch!


It's tough to see, but this is the first drawing of the shield on brown paper. I looked at how many inches apart were some of the key details on the shield in the art, and scaled those measurements up to six feet by three feet. I drew out the left side first, then cut that and folded the paper over to ensure symmetry. Seeing the shield on this scale was daunting. I had been up late and was punchy, and I almost convinced myself that this whole thing is too big and I shouldn't bother. But then I remembered that everything on the Crusader is ridiculously oversized and that's why it's awesome. Feeling reäligned, I pressed on.


The paper shield template, with a yardstick for scale.


For ease of transfer to foam, I traced the paper template on coroplast. Cardboard would be just as good, this is just the material that I happened to have around and fit my needs for size. Utility knife for scale.


I traced the shape out onto EVA foam mats. I bought the colored ones because the black ones at Home Depot had a textured side that was too bumpy. Plus, these are more fun, right?


One layer trimmed.


Both layers trimmed. I'm also going to acquire a harder material to be the core, and these foam layers will be on the outside. I seriously considered not painting the final product. I'll be very happy knowing how colorful my shield is on the inside.


The finished shield has some interesting bends, so I built this frame to help me bend the foam. Nothing special, just pegs cut from a 3/4-inch dowel and hammered into a wooden cross. No religious significance intended. I decided I wanted a 6-inch thrust *ahem* on the highest and lowest points on the shield, and referred back to the shield's major features to determine where that should drop to a 2-inch thrust. The wings of the shield will fall on the outer arms of the cross, essentially giving them a 0-inch thrust. Hope it works...

What I've Been Playing:
  • Main Campaign: Diablo 3
  • Side Quest: Hearthstone