Chief and Cortana

[J3S51C4]

Warning: This is my first time doing all of this stuff, so if you're looking for help, don't look here. I'm just going to document my progress through a suit of Mark VI and a Cortana outfit. I'll post whenever I get more done worth picture-taking or talking about. I like pictures though, so I'll generally try to include those.

My original goal was to make a suit of Mark VI for my sister and myself, but considering we're doing one, not two, for two people, I got started on the idea of making a Cortana outfit to match. I haven't seen any methods on here for designing the outfit the way I'm planning on doing it, so I figured I'd be a good student and show my work, and if it helps anyone, or if anyone has any help for me, please feel free to comment.

I got the idea from an eighth grade art project my class did on enlarging. All you really need to start is a picture of whatever you want to enlarge and something to enlarge it on, in this case, the bodysuit. I couldn't find a good full-body front picture of Cortana (I'm going for a Halo 3 look), so I compiled a bunch and sketched from there.

This is the front, I got the body outline by searching google images, it's from http://printablecolouringpages.co.uk/?s=body outline originally (I had to cheat because I can't draw a human body worth crap lol). I came up with the design from the knees down as pictures of Cortana's legs are generally small. Tell me what you think, I'm open to changing them.

As for the bodysuit, I ordered it on eBay and am planning on altering it to fit better once it gets here. It's supposed to come in sometime in October.... Unfortunately, this involves lots of waiting, but will force me to scale my armor somewhere in there lol.

I'll post sometime this weekend or next week with the back and next step in enlarging the design. I'm pretty busy this weekend, but I might force time in somewhere, I can't wait to finish this drawing.

That's all for now. Tell me what you think!

 

[Excallibacca]

The design looks nice. I'm interested in what methods you will use to actually get the pattern onto the body suit. Will it be dye, some sort of sewing, etc.?

 

[J3S51C4]

Well, I made time to finish my drawing lol.

Here's the back... (outline from http://www.openclipart.org/detail/14565/female-body-silhouette---back-by-nicubunu as again, I can't draw a human body and I need this to scale)

Here are both together...

And here's a quick sketch I did of the right hand.

Once my suit comes in, I can do more. The next step for the method I'm trying is going to be to draw a grid over my drawings and then do a grid over the suit. I'm planning on using needles in cardboard with string between them for that one. Then, I just try to match grid for grid with the drawing and the suit. However, the suit needs to arrive and I need to make any alterations first. As for getting the designs on the suit, my plan is to sketch it on there with some kind of fabric pencil, try it on and make any alterations in the location of the lines, then use fabric paint. I'm thinking a couple of different blue shades for the lighter and darker parts of Cortana, and then some kind of metallic blue for the data lines.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to do any of that until October. I guess the next step now is to look for shoes (I like the way clear heels look with the Cortanas I've seen) and a wig (I was planning on cutting my hair and dying it for my first convention in this, but I'm not going to want to do that all the time), and really start work on my Mark VI.

 

[skullmeat]

Sweet! Another Cortana! There needs to be more :]
Good luck with your Mark VI, I can't wait to see that either. Are you going to be using the pepakura method?

 

[J3S51C4]

Yes, I am going to be using pepakura to make my Mark VI. Funny story...

So, my boyfriend helped me figure out how the scaling stuff worked Monday (I'm not good with math and numbers at all lol). Tuesday, after I had closed the pepakura software, I printed it off. Last night I spent a TV show and a movie and a half (over four hours) cutting, folding, and finally gluing. Here's my finished product (it's the left bicep):

For a first time pepping, I feel like it turned out pretty decently. Only one problem...

It's just a little bit massive.

This picture shows it even more. (Sorry for the crappy pictures, by the way, everyone else had already gone to bed so I had to try to take pictures with an iPad in a mirror because I no longer have a good working camera.)

My guess is that when I opened it again Tuesday, the software reverted itself to the original scale. I did not notice, and now have an overly large bicep piece. Oh well. You live and learn. Hopefully I'll have enough time this weekend (especially with labor day) to try again

 

[kerbyg]

Yes, I am going to be using pepakura to make my Mark VI. Funny story...

So, my boyfriend helped me figure out how the scaling stuff worked Monday (I'm not good with math and numbers at all lol). Tuesday, after I had closed the pepakura software, I printed it off. Last night I spent a TV show and a movie and a half (over four hours) cutting, folding, and finally gluing. Here's my finished product (it's the left bicep):

For a first time pepping, I feel like it turned out pretty decently. Only one problem...

It's just a little bit massive.

This picture shows it even more. (Sorry for the crappy pictures, by the way, eveone else had already gone to bed so I had to try to take pictures with an iPad in a mirror because I no longer have a good working camera.)

My guess is that when I opened it again Tuesday, the software reverted itself to the original scale. I did not notice, and now have an overly large bicep piece. Oh well. You live and learn. Hopefully I'll have enough time this weekend (especially with labor day) to try again

This is a great start! The scaling was a problem when I tried to tackle my reach forearm as well. Lookin forward to seeing this one done

 

[evanmcorleytv]

LOOKING GREAT!! hope to see more!

 

[Hyperballistik]

Yup it looks a little large gonna have to scale it down a bit, otherwise your peping looks good, don't worry I did the same thing when I was building my suit I did the shoulder the thigh the shins all the wrong sizes, so your not the first to have this happen, but you'll get the hang of it and scalling willl be alot easier to figure out

 

[abrant3]

That's awesome! Pretty clean pep work!

Try my "Proportionate Ratio Equation" for your Mark VI. Just search for it and it should pop up close to the top. It uses your height to calculate the proper size (height) for each armor piece. Your using medium definition models, but it should still work. It'll save you from assembling a WHOLE other piece to find it's too big/small.

 

[J3S51C4]

That's awesome! Pretty clean pep work!

Try my "Proportionate Ratio Equation" for your Mark VI. Just search for it and it should pop up close to the top. It uses your height to calculate the proper size (height) for each armor piece. Your using medium definition models, but it should still work. It'll save you from assembling a WHOLE other piece to find it's too big/small.

Thank you so much, I rescaled my shoulder according to your equation, and it looks like it's going to be a lot better. I reprinted the pages, but I didn't have time to really begin pepping tonight. Hopefully I'll have time Monday and I can get some more pictures up too

 

[J3S51C4]

It worked! Thanks to abrant3's scaling equation, I was able to get it scaled properly. Here are some pictures:

I've been scouring the site for advice on the next step. I'm planning on making all the armor parts and then moving on. My understanding so far is that I coat the outside in resin, then put fiberglass cloth on the inside and cover that in resin. Does anyone have any advice past that? I'm obviously very new at all of this, and any advice helps

Thank you so much for all of your comments!

 

[CPO mendez]

 

[abrant3]

It worked! Thanks to abrant3's scaling equation, I was able to get it scaled properly.
I've been scouring the site for advice on the next step. I'm planning on making all the armor parts and then moving on. My understanding so far is that I coat the outside in resin, then put fiberglass cloth on the inside and cover that in resin. Does anyone have any advice past that? I'm obviously very new at all of this, and any advice helps

Thank you so much for all of your comments!

Check out my tutorials on YouTube for the next steps. It covers resining/fiberglassing, painting, detailing, as well as pepakura assembly tips and tricks that will help you through the rest of your build. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[M071]

A Master chief and Coretana ? This is the first ! Your prep work looks clean and glad to see you figured out how to size it right . My only recommendation would be to use the bicep piece that was to big as an experiment in the resin and fiberglass stage so you don’t ruin the right one . If you can keep the piece from warping or distorting during the next phase it will save you hours and hours of sanding later.

Then when you get around to working on Coretana here is my very good friend Izy and she is full of advice but anyways here’s her thread.

http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/33262-My-Cortana-Costume-*FINISHED!-LOT-O-PICS

Keep up the work looks good

 

[Cinderblock]

nice, maybe its just the pics, but that shoulder still seems big, cuz your arm looks tiny inside that thing haha. the fiberglass can be done a few ways, and im not sure how abrant shows it, but i usually like to use a slow cure resin that you brush on the inside of that part, (after the outside has been hardened) and let the resin get tacky, then stick strips/pieces/etc. of fiberglass to it, and let it sit, then go back and resin over the cloth that stuck to the part. probably more confusing than helpful -.- on second thought, just watch videos haha

 

[J3S51C4]

Thanks for all the advice, guys! M-071, I wish I could say I had thought of practicing on the extra piece lol. I'm glad I saved it, I'll definitely do that. Also, the thread you linked me to, her Cortana is one of the first ones I saw when I was looking for other Cortanas, and hers really inspired me to do this. It looks phenomenal.

In other news, I got my chest piece finished! Here are some pics:

The front...

The back...

There are two concerns I have though. One of them is easiest to see here, and it's that the piece is a little big on the inside, which is the opposite of what I was expecting. It fits well length-wise, it was too *small* to fit my head through lol (I shaved off about a centimeter and it fits now), but it's just a little big depth-wise. Hopefully it won't be a problem. I'm more concerned about...

This. I couldn't get it to show up well in pictures, but I think this one shows it best. It's a little uneven in back. If I have time, I'll try to play around redoing the glue and see if I can't even it out, but I'm not sure if that's possible. Other than that, however, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out

Again, thanks for all of your advice

 

[Excallibacca]

Glue some popsicle sticks in that sucker to even it out. I'm going to use them instead of the struts. Maybe build an entire support structure with them for added stability.

 

[skullmeat]

Are you planning on using rondo or fiberglass or both? if so, there's a number of different things you can do to even out that back once you rondo/fiberglass it.
I'm building Emile right now, and am going through some of the same issues, if you need any help feel free to send me a message or ask on here, I'm definitely going to be checking back to see your progress! This looks like it'll be a great project! Awesome job so far!

 

[J3S51C4]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! Excallibacca, I may have to try popsicle sticks and see what I can get to work. skullmeat, I'm currently planning on using fiberglass/resin method because that's what I've read most about on this site. I honestly don't know how the whole rondo thing works or even what rondo really is lol. Good luck with your Emile! I'm curious, how are you planning to do the helmet/faceplate?

 

[J3S51C4]

Well, it's been a couple weeks since I updated, but it's been crazy busy around here. I've been working pretty much every moment I'm not tearing my hair out though, and I'm happy to say I've gotten at least *some* work done.

Two hand plates...

A right forearm...

And a left forearm.

Except for the helmet and right bicep, I'm done pepping the upper half of my armor. I'm saving the helmet for last so I can get as much experience as possible first, and my sister is working on the right bicep. I also purchased a pair of combat boots to shape the boots and shins around.

And what I'm most excited about, my bodysuit for Cortana came in earlier than expected!

As you can see, it doesn't fit as well as I would like it to. I know a woman that does alterations, so I'm going to take it to her. I'd try to do it, but I'd like it to look as professional as possible. Also, the color is a little darker than I wanted, so I need to do some research into finding a way to lighten it. I saw at least one person used spray paint on theirs, but I've never used spray paint and I'm terrified I would screw something up beyond repair lol. So I'll look into that, I'd like to dye it (or do whatever I need to do to it) before it gets altered. Hopefully I can find something soon.

Another thought that I had was about the biceps. They're good length-wise, but around, the one I have is still pretty massive. I've been considering cutting a panel out and gluing the two edges together like so:

It's still a little big after that, but it fits much better. I wasn't sure how much space the fiberglass/resin would take up though, and wanted to make sure it wouldn't be too small. I'll probably wait until I fiberglass & resin the other pieces and then decide if I'll have enough space to cut out a panel or not.

Any thoughts? Hopefully I can get some more pepping done soon, but October is going to be very hectic. This helps keep me sane, though, so if I can't find time, I'll make some lol