Charke Report post Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) This is an armor commision I worked on, for a fellow LARPer, this winter 2011. It's constructed from 16oz vegi-tan leather with 8oz straps. I'm not water hardening this leather. It's really heavy leather as-is. The suit consists of a breastplate (front and back), shoulder guards, leg guards, bracers and a gorge. The latter two haven't been started yet. It represents a lot of firsts for me; My first 'female' armor (including princess seams). My first use of D-rings for articulation. My first use of lacing for critical joints. My first anime inspired design with tripple shoulder guards and flaring hips. The blue leather dye turned a brilliant purple on me. After testing some fixes, I resorted to accylic paints to fix it. Acrylics have worked out in the past for me and are very common on masks, but for a suit of armor, I'm worried about how they will stand up to rigorous use. (Any advice for a top coating? I'm using leather balm and mink oil but I am thinking about an acrylic sealer of some kind.) The pictures from this post are design notes primarially. Mark Charke Edited January 8, 2012 by Charke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Charke Report post Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) After creating a mock-up in cardboard (which looks hillarious because it's from old pop-can containers) I set about remaking it in leather. Only one side was done in cardboard and the templates flipped for drawing on the leather. The armor at this point isn't finished. Most of the coloring and cutting is done but I'm still connecting peices and figuring out how things are going to fit together. The lady who commissioned the armor moved a long ways away so I'm trying to make everything as adjustable as possible in case any of the measurements are wrong. Mark Charke Edited January 8, 2012 by Charke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
