Saturday, November 6, 2010

Raphael's Boots


Since Halloween just passed, I thought something with a bat/demon theme would be an appropriate post. This is a quick rundown of how I made Raphael Sorel's boots for my fiance when we did our Soul Calibur IV cosplays this past summer.

I started with a pair of superhero boots and chopped off the tops to create a straight line over which the fabric cuffs would fall. The cuffs themselves are stitched onto the boots with the back left open for the velcro overlap, which matches with the center back zipper.

The boots in their original form.

I then started building the armor. The toe armor is created by building a craft foam base, with each piece hot glued onto plastic styrene sheeting. Because the toe armor curves over the toe of the boot, I made sure to hold the pieces in a slightly curved position while cooling. You then hot glue the two pieces together at the join and you have a toe cap. I overcut a little bit and didn't have a nice edge, so I used PaperClay as a filler. I found that when you get it super moist it works best for filling in cracks; when it dries, you sand it down like wood, but use a super fine sandpaper so you don't damage the plastic. After spray painting (Rust-o-leum metallic works best), the armor is attached to the boot via a mix of E-6000 and hot glue.

Toe armor after adding PaperClay filler.


The instep armour was done the same way with little dots of craft foam attached with E-6000 to mimic mini-bolts. The pieces are attached onto faux-leather to created the strappings. They are also spray painted - but do this after gluing everything together, otherwise the you are only gluing to the layer of spray paint!

The pieces on the right are the instep armor. On the left are pieces for the coat.
 The most challenging part were the little demonic females (with bat wings, of course) that decorate each boot. I cut a layer of craft foam in the shape of the backing and then a second layer that was the border, which I also hot glued a layer of styrene to. Once all was attached together, I had the "frame" for my demons. I made the women and their wings completely out of PaperClay. The clay does harden when exposed to air, so I found when working on this small a scale, dipping your clay tools in a glass of water gave just enough moisture to resoften the clay and keep working. I also recommend a droplet of water right onto joins to help smooth them together, which in the end adds to stability. I built the body separate from the wings and attached them all to the "frame" with E-6000.

The torso. The arms are made as little snakes and then attached at the shoulders. Because of how small they are, the hands are left as artistic lines. The dimples on the hips are attachement points for the legs and the flatness above the head is for the hair.

The completed figure. Each layer of the hair is attached separately and then moistened together for strength. Hints of facial features are also added.
 
Each wing is made separately then placed onto the frame to dry and harden. This ensures that they maintain the curvature needed to prevent breaking.

The completed demon, pre-painting. The oval at the bottom is made of Model Magic. The foot required some re-moistening to sit within the frame at the right angle.
  
The demons after spray painting and being attached to the boots. The background texture was created by soaking the foam with the paint. Demons are attached to the boot in two ways: the top portion is hand tacked to the boot just under the raised border and the lower portion is glued to the strap which is then stitched along both sides of the zipper at back. This allows freedom of momevement which prevents cracking and any other form of damage from movement.

The completed boots.


Monday, November 1, 2010

Sorry it's been so long since I posted - work and commissions have been keeping me busy busy busy!! I will be posting some more soon!!