Reach female armor fitting - need advice!

[KaeSpoon]

I hope I am posting in the right fourm, if I am not please direct me where I need to go.

This is going to be a big worded mess, as I'm not really sure how to explain my situation: Other ladies who have pulled this off gorgeously, tell me your ways!

Making Reach armor is a project I have wanted to do for years, but now that I've stared I have run into a few problems. I have been trying to fit armor to myself in Armorsmith for what feels like months now, and I have constantly run into the same issue. I have been having trouble with fitting the hips, I had to go rip and make my own pepikura file from the hip armor of the actual Reach model, as the other hip female file already pre-made made won't even fit me. Even the new pattern tends to clips through the leg pretty easily like the other file unless I make the hip armor huge, and there is already a big gap between the cod and armor as there is. The references I've looked at with other ladies in their Reach armor have seemed to be able to pull off a look with hip armor following their body shape- not going far off them without a ton of padding, but I have no clue how they manage it and continue to make it look so well against the rest of their armor. Its been pretty discouraging to realize I might not be able to fit in spartan armor, so if anyone has tips or reccomendations please let me know. I would be happy to throw you my armorsmith file.

Here are a few photos, please note I'm somewhat back to square one so other areas of the armor not specified here are not adjusted. I am "trying" to keep things proportionate but I have also run into problems with the arm armor as well.

Thank you, cheers!

 

[Cadet]

This might be an area where unfortunately, the all digital nature of the assets don't match up to Real Life very well. Armorsmith is definitely a great tool in combating this. but as you are unfortunately experiencing here, some times these digital costumes just don't work well in real life.

For example, if you look carefully at of the original Halo:CE renders and screen shots, there is a lot of clipping that happens. Shoulders and biceps go through the chest constantly, and the shins and thighs clip through each other whenever Chief walks or crouches. It's one of the hardest things about recreating a costume that was produced digitally and the designers did not have to actually worry about the constraints of human anatomy and would "cheat" whenever they had too.

I would recommend reviewing Halo Reach Build by whereisdanielle as it sets a great standard for this style of build and she provides a lot of information and documentation:

Danielles Halo Reach Build (Pic Heavy)

This has been YEARS in the making. _____________________________________________ [this space is reserved for images of the completed suit] CURRENT PROGRESS: >Armour ---- done >Undersuit - detailing in progress Additional weapons/props/armour >Magnun ------------ Built >Assault Riffle...

www.405th.com

She has not been active on the Forums here since January, but I understand she has an active Instagram(?) and might be able to answer some questions.

I guess my only other suggestion might be to see how the "Male" Reach Thighs work for you in Armorsmith?

 

[KaeSpoon]

This might be an area where unfortunately, the all digital nature of the assets don't match up to Real Life very well. Armorsmith is definitely a great tool in combating this. but as you are unfortunately experiencing here, some times these digital costumes just don't work well in real life.

For example, if you look carefully at of the original Halo:CE renders and screen shots, there is a lot of clipping that happens. Shoulders and biceps go through the chest constantly, and the shins and thighs clip through each other whenever Chief walks or crouches. It's one of the hardest things about recreating a costume that was produced digitally and the designers did not have to actually worry about the constraints of human anatomy and would "cheat" whenever they had too.

I would recommend reviewing Halo Reach Build by whereisdanielle as it sets a great standard for this style of build and she provides a lot of information and documentation:

Danielles Halo Reach Build (Pic Heavy)

This has been YEARS in the making. _____________________________________________ [this space is reserved for images of the completed suit] CURRENT PROGRESS: >Armour ---- done >Undersuit - detailing in progress Additional weapons/props/armour >Magnun ------------ Built >Assault Riffle...

www.405th.com

She has not been active on the Forums here since January, but I understand she has an active Instagram(?) and might be able to answer some questions.

I guess my only other suggestion might be to see how the "Male" Reach Thighs work for you in Armorsmith?

Thank you so much for the response! I was speaking with a few others today about the issue, and we all agreed that testing it in person is the best way to go- unfortunately that means making a lot of test peices out of foam which can take a lot of time (my enemy) and eventually more money than id like to spend. If its what I have to do though, I will do it! I have briefly spoken to Danielle (As her work and others have left me awestruck for years) as she was kind enough to respond to me, just like others she could not give me a ton of advice besides for experimenting and that padding will be needed regardless. The male hips I tend to run into the same issue, but it might be an illusion Armorsmith is giving me because they model is essentially made out of spheres.

Once I tackle the Hip issue everything else should be scaled with a bit more ease, overall I wish there was an easier way to do this but it does not seem to exist at this time. Thank you once again Cadet.

 

[Dirtdives2424]

Hey KaeSpoon, don’t be discouraged......everyone here has been in the same exact situation you are in right now. You need to make a square peg fit into a round hole.....difficult but not impossible. Take your time, there is no rush despite the fact that time is your enemy.....there is a story in that statement and I’ll get it out of you yet......regardless, as Cadet said these digital templates are not realistic. No one can build these w/o a bit of alterations to fit their body type. Don’t be disheartened.....be determined. Your suit, your timeframe, your pace. We’ll be here to help if you need and to cheer you on.

 

[KaeSpoon]

Hey KaeSpoon, don’t be discouraged......everyone here has been in the same exact situation you are in right now. You need to make a square peg fit into a round hole.....difficult but not impossible. Take your time, there is no rush despite the fact that time is your enemy.....there is a story in that statement and I’ll get it out of you yet......regardless, as Cadet said these digital templates are not realistic. No one can build these w/o a bit of alterations to fit their body type. Don’t be disheartened.....be determined. Your suit, your timeframe, your pace. We’ll be here to help if you need and to cheer you on.

Thank you for the encouraging words! Things have gotten a bit easier to scale but I am still working on it. I tend to have a bit of issue with proportions I've noticed so that is probably my issue. I know I have all the time in the world but I'd love to get this project rolling!

 

[Electraknite]

KaeSpoon i read your post in my thread and though id try to help you in yours haha.
not sure you want to go through a ton of pages but in page 2 of my thread I mention having a lot of trouble with thighs too..
ive never used armorsmith. the way I scaled mine was by measuring the length of my thigh and scaling the pep to that. (also rather than use foam id test the scale in paper first, less for the landfill potentially yknow?) then to adjust the circumference? just add or take away material from the inner part. or wherever there is no detail to interfere with.
you can also use masking tape to make irl adjustments to wherever you might need them.

for ref I used the male thighs in my build. and foam is a little more forgiving than paper is.

hopefully that helps?? lol i dunno..

 

[Emp Frosty]

Not sure if it'll help any but if I understand your problem correctly you could try using the free form deformation tool in armor smith to move the various portions inward or outward as needed without scaling the whole part. I had to do this for my build I'm currently working on though I'm 3d printing mine so it was easier to test the scale of different sections. Hope it helps and if it doesn't make sense I'll try to explain it better.