Zercon: Introduction, and Project (Skirmisher)

[Zercon]

-highfive- Yay for January Birthdays!

A lot of the eyes I have simply thrown away >.>; sadly those may get tossed due to them being fused to the plastic container now. I will need to whack them with a hammer to get them off the holder thing, which will damage them badly. Any that are decent enough, I plan to paint the back black, and try to sell them to those making beast/animal costumes that require glassy eyes. A lot of my 'test' ones are different colors like red, purple, blue etc.

On the subject of Pheasant Feathers, my mom came up with a brilliant idea to try. She said florist spray paint may be a good option to test on some feathers. It will still allow bendability, and a light layering. But even if it makes them a bit slicker or glued together losing that softness? It will be exceptionally cheaper than getting ones that have been acid dyed.

 

[spartansonny]

-HIGHFIVE-!!

thats a good idea for the eyes and I am sure there will be people wanting/needing those who don't want to make there own.

And yes, that is a great idea, I have never used florist spray paint before so I have no idea how it would act in that case. Let me know how it works for ya

 

[JonnyMars]

*jaw dropped* for the entire of this thread. this is just amazing and very inspiring! Love how its coming along

Oh and -high five- for January birthdays! mines at the end of the month

 

[Sara]

It's awesome to see a finally see a cast from this sculpt, congrats! It looks great, I love those eyes.
The thighs are coming along well too, are you going to be shaping them further with bondo or something? This is going to look so brilliant when it's done, definitely elite material.

 

[Zercon]

Thank you for the kind words! It really does put a grin on my face and push me forward to try to get more done ASAP.

I will indeed be shaping out the armor pieces further with either Bondo, or Shell Shock plastic. I haven't decided which, but I have a feeling I will go Bondo simply because that’s what's tried and proven on this site on countless other threads. I don't look forward to its weight though, so I may sacrifice a thigh piece to attempt the shell shock to test weight comparison.

The last time I used Bondo, I made hooves for a minotaur costume that never got completed. It came out exceptionally heavy, and with me atop stilts? I worry that with multiple pieces it will make me top-heavy and easy to push over.

On the subject of the stilts I have looked into wooden poles for a staff or support, but I can't find something long enough to reach me comfortably so I can lean against it and not need to hunch like a gremlin. I think I will need to see about a shower curtain rod or other object.

Today I didn't get much done, and I see things stalled while this cold front is slipping through ((I can't afford to lose stuff due to it not curing proper)) However I purchased a few different types of paint and some feathers to experiment.

Typical spray paint fused all of it together and put a flat film over everything, eliminating the details of the feather barbs. Even glazing coats just smothered the feathers into a solid plastic spatula. So I tried using my airbrush. While it takes MANY layers to cover the original colors? It works! I even made some rainbow ones for fun since I had my airbrush out and good to go.

The feather feels like plastic, and does not have a soft quality to it, but it looks good, and has a nice mangy kind of appearance I like for a Skirmisher. I just won't want some kid running up and trying to pet the mane of feathers though as it may come off of the center barb ((I will experiment with clear coat sealers)) While it is odd to prepare for someone trying this, I know from experience from an alien costume I made awhile ago that people are odd... and will try to pet creature outfits... or smack you in the head multiple times with a light saber...

 

[spartansonny]

yeahj, this cold front is stopping me too lol, especially up north here. nice job on the feathers Zercon, they look great! As far as people trying to pet you..... if I am at a con with you we will just battle it out and put on a show everytime they try lol

 

[Zaff]

Really digging that blue feather (fourth from the left). The fiery one next to it is pretty cool, too. Any thoughts yet on what kind of coloration you'll be aiming for with the skin and armor?

 

[Dax79]

This project looks so COOL!
Great work! And thanks for the Stilt idears, I've been on youtube and will be adding hight to my new project!

 

[TheSlammerss]

Really likening ur feathers, if ur trying to make a in game looking skirmisher, I'd say try to make gray and lacked weathered looking feathers, but I think if u used the dark red ones (3rd from left and 2nd from right) with a hand full of grays long ones ud get this nice color balance, not to much red and not all gray. The red would pop a little but sence it's a dark red it blends well with the long dark gray one on top. Just my 2 cents take it or leave it looks amazing btw

 

[Zercon]

Oh I am sorry for not making this clear. The rainbow ones were just for fun, I was not planning to make a brightly colored Skirmisher haha.

I was going to aim for an all black crown of feathers like the plain little grunt skirmishers. I did not really want to do some of the higher ranked ones like the red crowned ones in the concept art, due to the higher ranks having a facemask ((I don’t want to cover my hard work D)

There is also the fact I wish to use pheasant feathers for the crown. This will mean they will bob or move slightly when my head moves, unlike goose or turkey quills which are very ridged and hard. But pheasant feathers have natural black bands in them, so if I did want to do color? It would be all messed up from these, so black I feel is the best choice.

The skin is going to be as close to in game as possible. That metal grey with fleshy bits for the gum line and around the eyes. Some nice lining to break up the flesh with the airbrush will help give a more natural depth to it like there are veins underneath or natural discoloring.

Once I get my Plasti-Paste in the mail, I will finish re-casting the top of the head, get that cast, and use them to form a clay throat and tongue for a Taxidermy Head. This entire project is costing a good deal, so I am going to 'experiment' with painting and feather placement on a few Taxidermy Mounts I will then throw up on Etsy to try to find a good home.

 

[Zercon]

Pepakura... I both hate it and love it.

The outcome is so nice, but the process is so time consuming even with the Silhouette Cameo cutter. I don't know if I am just inept, or if it always takes a VERY LONG TIME to put stuff together... but this chest piece took me three days nearly 10 hours of work each day nonstop.

Hurghh! -death sound-

 

[spartansonny]

pepping is the most time consuming part IMO, i hate the pepping part but once you get through and start to harden and detail it gets better, i promise lol. your torso looks awesome! good job on the pep work Zercon one thing that this piece proves to me is that I can do a decent unfold lol. that was my first complete unfold on a chest piece am stoked it worked out for you!

 

[Sara]

I think we all feel your pain on the pep phase :/ but keep it up, soon you'll get to the repetitive sand/bondo/sand/bondo/sand/curse/bondo/sand phase, and that's the best part! I'm probably not selling it very well, either way I'm super excited about this build, it's gonna be great

 

[Xav kitsune]

holy crap. once I sell a few sets of armor I am going to buy one of those skirmisher heads.

 

[joseugai]

That skirmisher head is freakin amazing and that eye really brings it to life.

 

[JonnyMars]

Haha I agree with what Sara said. Once you think youve finished sanding. Sand once more

This is coming along great though!

 

[Zercon]

Well today was very long, yet rather productive. I started the pep process for the hip armor, but I didn't get very far into it so I didn't bother taking any pictures.

I sculpted the tongue, but sadly didn't think to nab a picture before I poured the rubber mold over it. But I will say it looks nasty and neat, as I used a wire mesh and sandpaper to texture it. Its comparable to a cats tongue a bit, those barby... spiky taste buds in the back, with a rough abrasive pattern towards the front. Not many will see these patterns in the costume though, so I think it was more for my amusement than anything else...

However here are the pictures that everyone wanted. I poured out a test cast, ((it came out thicker than I wanted)) drilled out one eye, and primed the two parts to put them together. If you look close? You can see how I unintentionally slammed the cheek with the drill bit to puncture a hole... OH WELL... test cast you know?... not paying SUPER attention >.>

I will say the new mold had some... air bubbles... so each cast I will need to dremel and clean it up again, but I don't think I want to cast it again just for such small details. Worst case scenario they will look like warts.

 

[spartansonny]

HOLY EPICNESS BEYOND WHAT WORDS CAN SAY! my jaw just broke Zercon.

 

[Sara]

O.M.G. you're my hero, that is so beautiful. Whenever you release casts I sooooo have to get one.
Fantastic work, just brilliant!

 

[Zercon]

Eee thank you :3 Really, I just need to make the throat and then I think I have everything I need to make a full taxidermy head.

Now here is a question. Should the throat be just the alien's throat? Or should it have the pieces of neck armor on it? I can't see a 'hunter' leaving the armor on it, bothering to trim it off the main armor. But I worry it may look a bit odd without the familiar pieces XD then again without the armor I could play with skin texture, add some warty bumps and stuff at the base of the neck, all gross and textured fun.