I started making Halloween costumes when I was all of seven years old - Dad helped me make a turtle out of a cardboard box. Since then my Halloween costumes have all been largely homemade.
2005 saw a major upgrade to my armor-making skills. I saw a tutorial on how to make a set of Master Chief armor from Halo 2, which had released the previous year. I was into making paper models to go with my Star Wars miniatures at the time, and found a Pepakura pattern for a Mjolnir Mk VI helmet. I looked more seriously into how to work with fiberglass, and I had most of the rest of the armor finished for that 'Halo'ween. The next few years saw multiple ugrades and remakes of that armor, as well as a few pieces for friends.
Taking off as a business avenue started in 2011 with the release of Skyrim. I found my first Dragonpriest mask in game and decided I had to have one for myself - and while I was at it, maybe I could sell a few! I made good friends with the people at Reynolds Advanced Materials, and they helped me make a mold and cast copies. I sold my first one early in 2012, and lots more since then, sent to all corners of the globe!
Every project starts with inspiration from a video game or movie. I see an item I love, check to see if anyone else has made one, then if not I get to work! Lots of video game items can just be extracted from the game files - but those are never high enough quality to just use. I'll pull them into Blender and either reduce quality so I can make it with Pepakura or increase the quality and add details I can have it 3d printed.
Movie items start with gathering information - views of the item as close to straight-on from front, side, and back views as I can get. Then I draw it up in Blender using the images as a canvas so I can be as accurate as possible.
Then it's on to making the master! I build Pepakura patterns with the tabs to the outside so I can use it as a mold. Then I liberally spray mold release and slush layers of Smooth-cast 65D until I've got at least 1/4" (6mm) of material. I'll then reinforce with fiberglass before removing the paper. I developed this process because sanding through paper just doesn't work well. Then I have to sand away the lines created by the paper, add additional details with Free-Form Air or greebles, then make a mold.
3d prints are a lot more expensive but typically require a lot less work - generally just filling print lines and sanding. I use Free-Form Air to fill big gaps, XTC-3D to fill larger print lines, automotive glazing putty to fill finer print lines, and high-build filler primer for final smoothing.
All my masks and most of my helmets are one-piece jacket molds made from Rebound 25. One piece means no seams to sand or worries about mold halves misaligning. Rebound 25 has superior stretchiness compared to Rebound 40, so it allows me to cast helmets with surprisingly deep undercuts.
I use Free-form air for mother molds. It's more expensive than fiberglass, but much less messy and doesn't run the risk of slicing me as I cast copies.
I then typically cast duplicates in Smooth-cast 65D reinforced with fiberglass and Apoxamite. Lots of my designs have areas inside that benefit from being filled/smoothed with Free-Form Air between slushing the resin and laying the fiberglass.
I use fiberglass because of coming from Phoenix - props and armor made purely from resin have a tendency to warp over time in even moderate heat, which fiberglass all but completely eliminates. It also gives, in my experience, superior damage resistance.
Last but far from least is paint! A good paint job can save a bad prop, and a bad paint job can ruin a great prop. I am switching from rattle cans to automotive enamels.
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