Male Nightingale Armor Skyrim - WIP

[PerniciousDuke]

Hello everyone!

Thank you for having me here. I started off by posting a question about weathering leather, but since you guys have actually active members I thought I would maintain a build log here for those interested in following along!

My background is mostly in Tandy leather kits (wallets, guitar straps, purses, holsters etc) Years of experience, but all self taught which means I could probably improve A LOT!

I have a (2) hide sides that are 7-9oz veg tanned tooling leather that have been collecting dust for too long, combined with a new found love for cosplaying, have inspired me to build a set of leather armor from a video game.

Here is a link to my original build log from my native land. For leatherworker.net I will focus on the leather crafting aspect and not so much on the costume part.

Here are a couple images of the suit I am trying to make. It is from a video game which means that to create it in the real world there will be sacrifices, but the goal is to get as close as possible.
(in game)            (action figure)

First I took the 3d model from the game and used a program called pepakura to unfold it flat so that I could print it out on paper. Then I taped the paper to a dummy with the wearer's exact dimensions.

 

 

Before I start cutting out the pieces I wanted to have a game plan for the tooling and dying.
My first concern was how to add that detail. Here is a close up.

It looks like they are just hammered down with something like a pear stamp (is that the correct term?)
But if I were to do that does it pop enough for my liking? So I thought about cutting the detail in and fading out a background tool around them.

Even though less accurate, we are leaning towards #2 just because it would look cooler.

 

Then comes the dye, weathered black. The action figure is pure black and he looks cool. The game model is almost gray (and oddly enough black on the arms). I think we're hoping for something in between.
Here is my color test that I've done. All of the samples have been scuffed on one side with 150grit and the other side with a little 60grit sandpaper.

 

1. Two coats of Antique Gel - Smoke
2. One coat of regular black dye
3. One coat of Antique Gel - Smoke
4. thin coat of regular black dye (making sure not to dye crevices), then one coat antique gel - smoke.
5. one coat Satin Sheen, then two coats regular black dye
6. one coat brown dye, then one coat antique gel - smoke


I'm curious to hear what you all think and looking forward to showing more progress down the line. (first showing scheduled for April)

Cheers!
-PD

 

Edited January 11, 2019 by PerniciousDuke

[DJole]

Ah, the puzzle becomes clearer now!
First thing that comes to my mind is the decorative designs on the armor -- it seems to me that to get that same effect on actual leather, they would not be tooled on the surface, either with a pear shader tool or with a beveller tool. 
I think that modeling those lines from behind in an embossing effect, perhaps even wet-forming them over some kind of rigid mold, is the way to get those deep ridges.
As for the black (which is your original question) -- hopefully some color and finish experts (not me!) can help you out here. 

[PerniciousDuke]

2 minutes ago, DJole said:

Ah, the puzzle becomes clearer now!
First thing that comes to my mind is the decorative designs on the armor -- it seems to me that to get that same effect on actual leather, they would not be tooled on the surface, either with a pear shader tool or with a beveller tool. 
I think that modeling those lines from behind in an embossing effect, perhaps even wet-forming them over some kind of rigid mold, is the way to get those deep ridges.
As for the black (which is your original question) -- hopefully some color and finish experts (not me!) can help you out here. 

I like the insight there. Yes, that does seem to make sense. Though I don't think I'm set up to create a rigid mold for wet-forming. I will look into the process more to see if time and money will allow. I believe the result would look more professional. Thank you.

[Aven]

Its doesn't have to be wood.  You can make a rigid mold from scrap leather.  Build up layers with glue in the basic shape, then carve/shape them.  It just has to not fall apart if it gets damp/wet and not compress much.

[HaloJones]

You could wet form the ridges in a thin leather & then attach the shaped piece to a thicker leather to make it thicker & longer lasting.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Thank you for the suggestions. I've looked into wet forming more and I don't believe I would have the time or resources.

It would look more accurate, but I believe cutting and tooling those lines will still look cool. And looking cool is the ultimate goal.

Not wasted though. I probably will take the time to form the six straps at the top. The mold will be simple and only needs one. Thanks everyone! 

[DJole]

Keep the build-in-progress reports coming--  you never know when somebody else will want to do the same thing and find your experiences valuable. 
Let's see the coolness happen, step by step!

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Roger that. I just wish it had bigger file sharing capacity. A single picture from my phone camera exceeds the size capacity.

 

Today I've been cutting out my pieces. Normally I like to use leather scissors, on such thick and large pieces I went with a regular box cutter and I've been having good luck. Only halfway through and I'm at 3 knife changes. 

[PerniciousDuke]

I've managed to cut all the armor pieces!(minus a couple accents)

 

Next up, I will take a small piece (one hand guard), pattern it, stamp it, form it, dye it and finally weather it. This will give me a chance to try different things before ruining any of the larger pieces. 

 

[ScoobyNewbie]

Very cool! I prefer daidric. No hope for me doing it though.