A new author recently commissioned me to make a costume for him of the main character in his new book. Here's a picture of the cover, which also happens to be the best picture of the angel, as well the only one in color.
Cool outfit, right? It works from a character design and is certainly iconic. However, when I started studying it and figuring out how I was going to bring it to life I ran into several problems. Why does he have armored elbow and knee pads? How do the straps attach to the armor? Does the middle flap attach from the belt or it is part of the tunic? How many layers is he wearing? How in the heck does he put on all of those layers when he has giant wings?!!?!
It took some doing, but I finally did design something that is as close as possible to the image.
When you're making something that has never been actual cloth and three dimensions, you often have to make decisions and compromises. What you see in an image may include materials that are hard to find in real life. Patterns on cloth can also be a big issue, as stores don't make those patterns. Look closely at the material on the uniform tops in the newest Star Trek movie. There is a subtle badge design woven into the material itself. You can't go to a fabric store and pick up that material or even order it online; believe me, I've looked! It's difficult or sometimes impossible to create something that is 100% accurate to what is on the screen or page.
Here's a current commission that I'm in the design stages for, a Jedi shadow from the Knights of the Old Repulic MMORPG.
Again, how many layers is this thing? Where does the robe drape? What does the bottom shirt layer look like? How in the world does that "wrap" go around and stay up? I have ideas for how I'm going to do this, but it may not be perfectly like the images in the game.
I really have to wonder if artists put the right amount of thought into designing costumes and clothing for their characters. I know that their main focus is to have an interesting look. But I doubt that many of them have given much thought to how such clothing would work in the real world.
I am starting to have a great appreciation for the Hollywood costume designers who work on superhero movies.
I discovered this when I was into Stargate Tok'ra costuming. It looked cool on screen, but I quickly discovered that the resulting costume keeps falling apart when you actually move around in it. I thought at first maybe it was me, but later heard from a cast member...their costumes kept falling apart, too! Turns out what looks cool does not always actually work.
ReplyDeleteI admire your skill. There is no way in heck I could figure out how to make some of these drawings work in real life!
At my last job they hired an interior designer to come in and renovate our offices. The things he had looked great and ornate, but were totally inappropriate for a print room. It didn't matter how many times we told him what we needed for working, he just said his job was to make us "presentable." We had a non-binding bet going as to who would break the glass doors on our paper cabinet first, as well has how long the cabinets holding reams of paper and boxes would hold up. (We made it 6 months on the glass and 1 yr before the bookcases crashed). As for things woven into material, have you looked into embroidery machines? They're over the top cost wise, but for all the detail work you're doing it might be useful.
ReplyDelete