Costume reference library

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LawEnforcer98

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I was wondering if there is some costume reference library resource similar to the 501st legion. i.e. some guidelines for costume builds for registration to be a deployed member?
Regards
 
Hi Law, we have a repository of files available to all members under the tab The Armory!
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found here! As for deployment you can read the rules for that here!
I'm excited to see what you make!
 
You can also take a look at the Membership and Deployment FAQs:
 
What there ISNT currently is any resource outlining the standard or requirements a costume has to meet to be accepted at any given tier. I have suggested such a resource to the forum gods, but given the complexity of the task and our general attitude of acceptance, it may not become a thing. One of the things that sets this group apart from the star wars groups (as far as I can tell- I'm not a part of any other groups) is that you can join before you have a costume. Also our tier system for deployment means that even with a not great or canonically inaccurate suit you can still be part of the fun - you simply deploy at a lower tier. Another main issue with specific requirements for each tier is that you can make a suit that's tier 3 quality, but if you miss some small detail in one small piece, it becomes tier 2 or 1 automatically thus devaluing the rest of your work on a somewhat subjective basis. The system we currently have is vague enough to avoid this...beurocratic devaluing... I guess is what you could call that. I still think such a system would be useful but I understand if it never becomes a thing.
 
What there ISNT currently is any resource outlining the standard or requirements a costume has to meet to be accepted at any given tier. I have suggested such a resource to the forum gods, but given the complexity of the task and our general attitude of acceptance, it may not become a thing. One of the things that sets this group apart from the star wars groups (as far as I can tell- I'm not a part of any other groups) is that you can join before you have a costume. Also our tier system for deployment means that even with a not great or canonically inaccurate suit you can still be part of the fun - you simply deploy at a lower tier. Another main issue with specific requirements for each tier is that you can make a suit that's tier 3 quality, but if you miss some small detail in one small piece, it becomes tier 2 or 1 automatically thus devaluing the rest of your work on a somewhat subjective basis. The system we currently have is vague enough to avoid this...beurocratic devaluing... I guess is what you could call that. I still think such a system would be useful but I understand if it never becomes a thing.
A standardized list of Requirements and Items that are required by a costume to reach a certain Tier is in fact "A thing." Currently it exists as an internal document used by the Deployment Grading Team. However, members of CS have been working for Months on a Public Facing Version of this Document. However, like you said, there are a great many complexities involved in the entire process in balancing maintaining the Independent an Custom nature of so many of our Builders embrace while laying out out guidelines for "Canon" or Screen Matched costumes, while maintaining the "Fun", to documenting all possible variations of a Costume (Such as the Reach Armor System or Logo and Color Placement in Multiplayer), and one of the hardest, securing the necessary images to make such a document useful to the general membership.

For example, there are three items that are used in the sorting rubic for Deployment: Accuracy, Fit, and Finishing. A costume can have all details present and be finished to a cinema quality level, but if the armor pieces are too larger and hanging off the member to the point they are "Swimming" in the armor, or the pieces are too small and leave massive gaps, then what would technically be a "Tier 3" set of armor, if judged just by itself, would suddenly become a Tier 2 or maybe even a Tier 1 suit depending on how off the scaling is. Capturing that adequately in an image is difficult as we first have to have a member who has a Tier 3 suit, who then has an acquaintance or family member who is of a different build who is willing to done the costume, and then willing to have their picture taken and used in a public facing document on Tier standards.


For right now, the best way to put it is:
There are three main criteria for a deployable costume:

1. Is it a costume from the Official Halo Universe?
In order to be deployed, a costume must be from an official Microsoft or 343i source. While this is primarily the games, Graphic Novels, Live Action Productions, Animated Projects, and even some concept art from Official published; Art Books can be considered. Additionally, the 405th recognizes the partnership with Bungie and later 343 Industries that Rooster Teeth’s Red vs Blue series has had. As such, some variants seen in Red vs Blue but not seen in game, such as Insurrectionist ODSTs, Project Freelancer members and other world characters may be considered for Deployment. Fan art and even art from known Concept Artists that has not been published in an official source or publication is not a basis for deployment. Any concept art must be published by an official source either through Halo media, or on the artists profile on Artstation.

2. The costume must have a visual reference to be compared to and judged against.
One of the primary aims of Deployment is to celebrate a member’s recreation of a Halo Universe costume. As such, there must be something to compare the finished costume to when determining the accuracy of someone’s build. The visual reference should be of sufficient detail and clarity to accomplish this. This can be achieved via sources such as games, Live action/Animated projects, Graphic novels, and concept art from Novels/Art books. Additionally, keep in mind that UNSC, Covenant, Forerunner and civilian costumes are eligible for Deployment. Each costume has it's own categories.

3. It must be a completed costume.
In order for a costume to be eligible for Deployment, it must be complete. Partial costumes or costumes missing components or pieces seen in the visual reference will not be considered for Deployment.

When it comes to Tiers:
Tier 1 is for those that have successfully completed a Halo Universe costume, but might have inaccuracies or have some fitting errors.
Tier 2 is for those costumes that have achieved a superior level of fit and accuracy, but might still be missing some details.
Tier 3 is for those costumes that have achieved a level of accuracy and fit that they appear to have stepped right out of the game.
 
A standardized list of Requirements and Items that are required by a costume to reach a certain Tier is in fact "A thing." Currently it exists as an internal document used by the Deployment Grading Team. However, members of CS have been working for Months on a Public Facing Version of this Document. However, like you said, there are a great many complexities involved in the entire process in balancing maintaining the Independent an Custom nature of so many of our Builders embrace while laying out out guidelines for "Canon" or Screen Matched costumes, while maintaining the "Fun", to documenting all possible variations of a Costume (Such as the Reach Armor System or Logo and Color Placement in Multiplayer), and one of the hardest, securing the necessary images to make such a document useful to the general membership.

For example, there are three items that are used in the sorting rubic for Deployment: Accuracy, Fit, and Finishing. A costume can have all details present and be finished to a cinema quality level, but if the armor pieces are too larger and hanging off the member to the point they are "Swimming" in the armor, or the pieces are too small and leave massive gaps, then what would technically be a "Tier 3" set of armor, if judged just by itself, would suddenly become a Tier 2 or maybe even a Tier 1 suit depending on how off the scaling is. Capturing that adequately in an image is difficult as we first have to have a member who has a Tier 3 suit, who then has an acquaintance or family member who is of a different build who is willing to done the costume, and then willing to have their picture taken and used in a public facing document on Tier standards.


For right now, the best way to put it is:
There are three main criteria for a deployable costume:

1. Is it a costume from the Official Halo Universe?
In order to be deployed, a costume must be from an official Microsoft or 343i source. While this is primarily the games, Graphic Novels, Live Action Productions, Animated Projects, and even some concept art from Official published; Art Books can be considered. Additionally, the 405th recognizes the partnership with Bungie and later 343 Industries that Rooster Teeth’s Red vs Blue series has had. As such, some variants seen in Red vs Blue but not seen in game, such as Insurrectionist ODSTs, Project Freelancer members and other world characters may be considered for Deployment. Fan art and even art from known Concept Artists that has not been published in an official source or publication is not a basis for deployment. Any concept art must be published by an official source either through Halo media, or on the artists profile on Artstation.

2. The costume must have a visual reference to be compared to and judged against.
One of the primary aims of Deployment is to celebrate a member’s recreation of a Halo Universe costume. As such, there must be something to compare the finished costume to when determining the accuracy of someone’s build. The visual reference should be of sufficient detail and clarity to accomplish this. This can be achieved via sources such as games, Live action/Animated projects, Graphic novels, and concept art from Novels/Art books. Additionally, keep in mind that UNSC, Covenant, Forerunner and civilian costumes are eligible for Deployment. Each costume has it's own categories.

3. It must be a completed costume.
In order for a costume to be eligible for Deployment, it must be complete. Partial costumes or costumes missing components or pieces seen in the visual reference will not be considered for Deployment.

When it comes to Tiers:
Tier 1 is for those that have successfully completed a Halo Universe costume, but might have inaccuracies or have some fitting errors.
Tier 2 is for those costumes that have achieved a superior level of fit and accuracy, but might still be missing some details.
Tier 3 is for those costumes that have achieved a level of accuracy and fit that they appear to have stepped right out of the game.
This is interesting. Thanks for clarifying!
 
Thanks for the clarity, but I get the feeling that one needs to know how to 3d print or at least have a 3d printed component of a Halo costume to enlist for deployment.
 
Thanks for the clarity, but I get the feeling that one needs to know how to 3d print or at least have a 3d printed component of a Halo costume to enlist for deployment.
I wouldn't say that. Certainly having a printer is a relatively easy way to get super detailed pieces and hit all the fine details (like weirdly shaped buckles), but I have seen plenty of people on this forum do some amazing things with pep and eva foam. I have seen tier 3 armors that are all eva foam.

Using the pep method is basically just 3d printing with paper instead of a printer. If done properly, you can make just about anything.

Don't let a lack of access to a printer discourage you. Check out some builds that don't involve 3d printing and get inspired! That's what I did.
 
Thanks for the clarity, but I get the feeling that one needs to know how to 3d print or at least have a 3d printed component of a Halo costume to enlist for deployment.
Have a look at RandomRanger 's Reach Spartan build thread. He made his cosplay from foam, reached Tier 3, and is now making a Youtube series on how to build it!

Also, pep is short for Pepakura, or "Paper craft". It's when one takes an unfolded pattern of a 3D file, cuts it out, then folds the edges and glues them together to make a 3D shape. For armour making, this is then typically covered in resin, filler-puttied to smooth it out and sometimes fibreglassed for strength.
 
... I get the feeling that one needs to know how to 3d print or at least have a 3d printed component of a Halo costume to enlist for deployment.

First off, I think it's extremely important to remind you (and everyone) that deployment is a completely optional process meant more to get feedback and celebrate the work that you've put into building your suit (or other Halo universe costume). No one is required to submit a build for deployment in order to engage with the community.

With that out of the way, having something 3d printed is also not a requirement in any way. It's a common pitfall to think that because printers replicate detail fairly well and because there are so many great, detailed models out there nowadays that 3d printing is the fastest, easiest, or best method to getting a good or great suit. That's simply not true in and of itself. 3d printers are tools and nothing more. The inactive build time is a great plus since you can leave a printer going for hours (recognizing things can fail and catastrophic errors CAN occur), but it's expensive especially factoring in failed prints and finding out what you thought was scaled right actually wasn't.

My advice:
  • Choose the method that you have the ability to do right now. If you don't have/can't afford a 3d printer pick a different method
  • Focus on fit/scale first and level of detail second. It doesn't matter if the details of a suit are 100% game accurate, if the scaling is wildly off and/or the thing doesn't fit well it's highly unlikely (if not impossible) to get a tier 3 rating
  • Going for deployment can be good motivation, but (especially if it's a first build situation) it's not for everyone. If not getting a specific tier is likely to make an individual upset and/or kill their motivation or enjoyment of this hobby then it's probably not worth it for that individual.
  • If you decide that your goal is something like tier 3 putting that in the thread title and updating the even before a particular part is "done" can be helpful. It lets everyone who views your thread know that you're looking for extreme accuracy, and they can give you feedback accordingly.
  • Constantly look for feedback. Whether it's updating your build thread, posting and asking questions in the Discord, or hopping on video in voice chat on Discord and asking for input always be looking for more feedback on where to improve. Ask for specific, actionable input.
 
Thanks for the clarity, but I get the feeling that one needs to know how to 3d print or at least have a 3d printed component of a Halo costume to enlist for deployment.

I can tell you right now that all of our currently Deployed Tier 3 (the highest level awarded) costumes are either EVA Foam Builds or Pepakura and Fiberglass builds. In fact, I don't think we actually have anyone who has gone through the Deployment Process with a Fully 3D printed suit yet...
 
I don't think we actually have anyone who has gone through the Deployment Process with a Fully 3D printed suit yet...

Does that mean that I could possibly be the first one when I deploy later this year?
 
Does that mean that I could possibly be the first one when I deploy later this year?
I'd have to go back through the Apps and double check and make sure I'm not talking out the side of my mouth here, but it is very possible. I know we have had suits with 3-D printed components but I can't recall an entirely 3D printed suit that has also elected to go through the Deployment program.
 
Cadet my T3 Reach SPARTAN is a hybrid foam/fabric/3D print build and Daisy-023 is minimal foam but only T2. I honestly can't recall a fully printed T3 suit (definitely gunning for it with my new ODST though ;))
 
MDBDesigns suit that went through deployment is also 3d printed. That being said, with the suits we're seeing, it won't be long now before we have a fully 3d-printed suit going through deployment!
 
well I had access to a 3D printer until the pandemic shut down my university library's 3D printing room and I've been waiting for months to use it. And my cutting skills with foam are sub-par.
 
This is the right place to be to learn how to improve your foamsmithing and find other ways to make armor!
 
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