Armor Chest Piece

[Icarus]

I've been a lurker here on the forums for a bit and wanted to post my most recent creation.

My original inspiration was "Son of Neptune," a bit of a "What a demigod might wear" type setup.

Constructive Criticism is welcome. I'm happy to answer questions.

I found that my image files were too big so I linked them through Imgur I hope that's okay.

Front

Back

Detail Shots

[RavenAus]

Gorgeous!

[Basically Bob]

Love it!

[MonicaJacobson]

Super cool!

[the gafer]

wow stunning i would love to give this ago but tbh i don't think i would be able to sell it

[Eddie1968]

really killer stuff!

[Greg528it]

cool

[snubbyfan]

Very nice.

[Grey Drakkon]

First off let me say that I'd snatch that sucker up and be running the instant you took eyes off it. The scales are awesome for a watery theme, and the storm over the ocean carving is fantastic. I really like the grooved lines in the abdominal plate, it reminds me of charting lines on a map. I'd like to see that taken onto the back, probably in the spot that's about the same height where you have scaling. (obviously you're not going to change it now, but it's something to keep in mind)

The thing I'm not a huge fan of is the twisted rope. While rope is obviously a nautical thing, it's also a celtic thing and it doesn't quite mesh like the rest of it. If you have thinned it out and made it kelp-like, or maybe added in rope texture (way more work of course for both of those) then it would really gel with your theme. Last quibble is the head of your sea serpent. It doesn't quite fit in with how ornate the rest of the emblem is, it's almost blank looking. I'm not sure if putting some texture on it would help, or just rounding out the shape of it.

Like everyone is saying though, incredible work!

(edited to add, I think it would be even more awesome if you added in some silver leaf to the lightning bolts, but I'd carve a practice piece with that to test that out first)

Edited November 11, 2014 by Grey Drakkon

[bdunne]

I'm speechless mate! Love the work! Keep it up and post more pics!

[Icarus]

Thanks everyone for your support!

First off let me say that I'd snatch that sucker up and be running the instant you took eyes off it. The scales are awesome for a watery theme, and the storm over the ocean carving is fantastic. I really like the grooved lines in the abdominal plate, it reminds me of charting lines on a map. I'd like to see that taken onto the back, probably in the spot that's about the same height where you have scaling. (obviously you're not going to change it now, but it's something to keep in mind)

The thing I'm not a huge fan of is the twisted rope. While rope is obviously a nautical thing, it's also a celtic thing and it doesn't quite mesh like the rest of it. If you have thinned it out and made it kelp-like, or maybe added in rope texture (way more work of course for both of those) then it would really gel with your theme. Last quibble is the head of your sea serpent. It doesn't quite fit in with how ornate the rest of the emblem is, it's almost blank looking. I'm not sure if putting some texture on it would help, or just rounding out the shape of it.

Like everyone is saying though, incredible work!

(edited to add, I think it would be even more awesome if you added in some silver leaf to the lightning bolts, but I'd carve a practice piece with that to test that out first)

Thanks for the constructive criticism I appreciate it. There's definitely pieces that I would do differently. This is actually the second set of armor I've made and I made some improvements on it in this one. It's funny because the rope braid part is actually one of my favorite parts haha. It definitely has some celtic feel to it (the braid that is) which made me hesitant when I first thought of it, but then I actually found it was a common theme in roman tile work/art which is why I used it. (Ex: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/86/3d/47/863d47f51a5867a740169ba3d4d4245a.jpg) So that's kind of the inspiration behind the rope.

The sea serpent I was proud of on paper. Then I put it on the leather and wasn't as happy with it, but mostly because that's one of the few parts I drew out entirely by hand and it felt cartoony to me. I'm not at all a drawer of any skill so I use templates for a lot of stuff. That being said now that I look at it I would definitely like to have put more fine detail on the serpent, perhaps putting some scales on the body.

I thought about putting some color on it and actually debated over it back and forth for probably almost a full month. I just couldn't find any color that I could live with. I really like the color of my dye and I didn't want to brighten the piece up too much with color. If I could have figured out a good way of doing it I definitely would have put some highlights on like you mentioned and even perhaps on the trident on the chest.

I do have it up for sale if anyone's interested or knows someone that is. I can post a link here or can message it to anyone that's interested.

Thank you all again for the positive support. I do this at the kitchen table in my apartment and don't hear much feedback except from family so it's nice to hear from others what they think.

[Grey Drakkon]

Thanks everyone for your support!

Thanks for the constructive criticism I appreciate it. There's definitely pieces that I would do differently. This is actually the second set of armor I've made and I made some improvements on it in this one. It's funny because the rope braid part is actually one of my favorite parts haha. It definitely has some celtic feel to it (the braid that is) which made me hesitant when I first thought of it, but then I actually found it was a common theme in roman tile work/art which is why I used it. (Ex: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/86/3d/47/863d47f51a5867a740169ba3d4d4245a.jpg) So that's kind of the inspiration behind the rope.

The sea serpent I was proud of on paper. Then I put it on the leather and wasn't as happy with it, but mostly because that's one of the few parts I drew out entirely by hand and it felt cartoony to me. I'm not at all a drawer of any skill so I use templates for a lot of stuff. That being said now that I look at it I would definitely like to have put more fine detail on the serpent, perhaps putting some scales on the body.

I thought about putting some color on it and actually debated over it back and forth for probably almost a full month. I just couldn't find any color that I could live with. I really like the color of my dye and I didn't want to brighten the piece up too much with color. If I could have figured out a good way of doing it I definitely would have put some highlights on like you mentioned and even perhaps on the trident on the chest.

I do have it up for sale if anyone's interested or knows someone that is. I can post a link here or can message it to anyone that's interested.

Thank you all again for the positive support. I do this at the kitchen table in my apartment and don't hear much feedback except from family so it's nice to hear from others what they think.

Hah! That just goes to show you how different people will grab onto different things. I think what set me against the twisted rope was when you used Neptune, if it had been a greek key pattern I'd have been all over that. That's part of what I like in the waves, they look like old school Mediterranean stylized waves. Like I said though, they aren't bad at all, just not what I was thinking of.

I can't blame you for not wanting to go with anything but that dye, it looks beautiful. With silver leaf, you use sizing (a type of glue specifically for metal leaf) paint it on where you want the color to be, let it set, then carefully-while-holding-your-breath put tiny pieces of leaf over the sizing, rub it with a scrap of silk and then brush away the excess with a small paint brush. So it could be done over your dye in only key spots, but I'd definitely test it out on something like a key fob or whatever just to see if you like how it looks.

That's exactly it with the sea serpent, it looks almost Anime instead of old style simplistic. It's a hard thing to nail though so I wouldn't kick yourself over it, just try carving out some more to see if you can figure out what you need to push. The problem with putting a few scales on is the temptation to cover it completely in scales, and then it ends up looking too busy for the entire thing.

If you don't have a Deviant Art account you might want to think of setting one up and putting your armor up on it, there will be tons of "Oh I wish I had the money for it!" but there's also a fair amount of convention/renfaire goers on DA that have money to spend on things they really like, and I bet this would be snatched up eventually. Plus, DA is free and you don't have to keep re-posting it like some sites.

[Icarus]

Thanks for the advice. I did have to hold off on some things to keep it from being too much.

I'll look into the deviant art account. I've currently got it up on Etsy right now. I had success selling my last set there so we'll see how it goes. Here's a link to the Etsy page:Check out this item in my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/208503594/hand-crafted-leather-chest-piece

[Kracker]

Wow just Wow I would love to get the pattern you used for that

[MonicaJacobson]

I like the first set you sold even better.

[tboyce]

This is amazing. My kids are always telling me I ought to start designing armor. Maybe I'll give it a go. I've been playing with a pattern for a skyrim helm.

[jshill]

Really nice like it a lot great theme.