Update # 9-ish
Good evening fellow night owls, Psquiddy here with the next update. So not much happened here today, actually everything in this update is about one piece of the suit, so this isn't really an update... it's update-ish
The main piece I worked on updating today is the shin-protectors. No, not the drop-leg pouches you see in this picture, but the armor plates that are right above the knee-pads:
Well, these are what I was working on today, and along with the pictures of them (and several re-sizings) I have sort of a mini-tutorial on copying symmetrical items. Not much, but just enough to help with those things you need to duplicate.
First off, construction pictures:
So, say you have to make a symmetrical piece, now, that's easy if it's just a rectangular cover, but say you have some sort of wild curve in there? What do you do now? Well here's
An Idiot's Guide to Symmetrical Cutting of Foam:
First, you need to create a template.. I don't have pictures of that exact step, but you get the idea, basically draw a life-size image of what you need to cut out (pencil), then size it correctly, making sure you scale it correctly. Now people have different ways of doing this. For pieces with noticeable curves in it, I tend to draw one half of the template... You'll find out why in a second.
So here you are, you have your template (or half template) and your hot knife. The first thing is to make sure you can fit the entire template on the foam. This is why I save every scrap that is bigger then 5 inches. After you're sure it fits, trace the template onto the foam (carefully) and cut it out. For this one, I only used half a template so that when I had the first half (with half a curve) and I traced it, the curve would be the same. It's more accurate than just folding the template in half, and it prevents warping of the template.. oh yeah, that can happen
After you have your now
Perfectly Symmetrical piece, the next step is to find another piece of foam, and carefully trace the finished one onto the foam. Make sure not to move the foam, as you will want to cut on the
Inside of the sharpie outline, and after carefully cutting it out (take your time), you should now have a more or less perfect match
Now shape the pieces on your body, and make any appropriate changes to the pieces, making sure to trace the changes onto the opposite piece:
...Add any minor details...
And
Viola! You now have two perfect pieces for your costume, here they are (Sorry for the picture quality, couldn't use the big mirror, had to improvise
(sorry for the blur on this one^)
Thanks for tuning in to these updates... Heck, thanks for just clicking on that link to go here. I need me some "Z"s, so goodnight folks, see you tomorrow, and remember, just have fun with it!
