[of brass, bronze, and bone]

08-20-2010

2010-08-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

guys I know I haven't posted in like forever but I'm still alive. will be taking some detail shots of various parts of the armour and eventually I'm going to have some decent shots of it on me but I've got to get some lighting set up first, and that could be awhile.

I need more photos of these things, they're pretty keen

04-30-2010

2010-04-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

okay okay I finally sat down and picked out some pics from the senior show to mess around with in PS. here's the best so far:

oh god lazy eye is lazy. hahaha

cheers, bitches.

04-11-2010

2010-04-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

I have 4 pieces of bronze left to cut, two pieces of fabric, 7 buckles to make, a belt and a helmet to assemble, and 6 pieces left to etch. one gauntlet is done. I'm out of the copper tubing I've been riveting with, and I need to pick up buckles and drill bits as well.

the amulets are drying in their molds, they'll be fully cured tomorrow. I hope to have everything else done and ready to accept the amulets by tomorrow morning.

then, I will be done. and I'm going to spend an entire day playing Team Fortress 2. yeah, that's right, suckers.

~§~

just got back from the shop, I've shaped and treated the main piece of the helmet. however, I forgot that I still have to solder on the bezel for the amulet. this means that I'll have to destroy the current finish. rats!

04-07-2010

2010-04-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

alright, let's make a list of the official pieces in this project:

SCALE SHIRT

5,500-ish scales (done)
11,000-ish split rings (woven)
3 large brass zippers (done)
2 kinds of black leather (done)
300-ish large brass rings (done)
300-ish brass grommets (done)
2 zipper stop endplates (one needs to be riveted on)
3 plates on the back (finished, but need to be attached correctly with lobster clasps)
1 deer spine (well, part of one. done, but needs to be attached)
*probably need to add another row or so of scales in the front
*would like to add material to elbows if I can get to it
*many brass rings need repair

GAUNTLETS

24 finger segments (finished)
4 thumb segments (need etching, treatment, attachment)
6 hand segments (2 need to be cut, 1 is etched, the rest in asphaltum, all needing attachment and treatment)
2 leather straps on gauntlets (need to be made)
2 wonderful, long black leather gloves (have)

PAULDRONS

4 main segments, fluted, riveted, etched, treated (done)
6 small lames (all ready for acid, need treatment and attaching)
4 larger leather straps to attach to the mantle (I guess I'll rivet it all together?)
4 long, thin straps to attach all lames to main pieces (will make when lames are done)
2 lobster-clasp hooks at the bottoms of the lames? depends on how they lay

MANTLE

2 large halves that wrap around from the back (have asphaltum on them, need to be welded together)
1 connection piece (needs to be cut yet)
4 attachment points, riveted to leather from the pauldrons

HELMET

3 pieces (main piece is cut and filed, need to cut the top piece and back bronze strap)
1 small spine riveted on (oh gosh I don't know if I'll get to this grrr)
1 leather strap with buckle to go behind and under the head (still need to make/buy buckle)
1 glass amulet (wax positive is ready for casting)

BELT

4 bronze pieces (need to be mocked up and cut yet)
1 large leather strap (have)
1 large glass amulet (wax positive is ready for casting)
2 loincloth/banner pieces (have fabric, needs cutting and hemming)

ETC

*still waiting on faux leather leggings to ship from Hong Kong
*need to get some plain black leather heel-less boots
*finally have a mannequin that fits (thanks mom!)
*black turtleneck looks great, might add fabric ribbon around neck from the loincloth fabric

so I think that's it! that's the whole costume. not TOO much left but still quite a bit, really. really worried about the amulets and the leggings. we'll see what happens.

3-30-2010

2010-03-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

ohai!

I started shaping the pauldrons and got one of them ready to rivet together, when I realised I would need to somehow attach a leather strap (which connects them to the mantle). so, I quickly made up a bracket out of scrap bronze before I could attach the two pieces of pauldron together and make it exponentially harder to attach a strap later.

whew!

I also just barely had time to rivet one of the pauldron sets together before the shop closed. unfortunately, it closes at 11 on week days, which is just so terrible! *sniff* I won't be adding the liver of sulphur to these to blacken them until I'm completely satisfied with the fit (just in case I have to solder or anything like that).

aaaand propped up on the scale shirt, with mannequin-too-big-to-be-wearing-it:

do you remember a similar shot where this was just paper?

3-29-2010

2010-03-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

well, hello there.

I've been sick for the last week or so, hence the lack of updates. I'm almost unsick now, so here's an update!

all four of the main pauldron pieces are cut, filed, fluted, and etched. I took the asphaltum off the upper right piece, but it's not been treated with the liver of sulphur yet, which is why it's still so bright. as always, I rather enjoy the look of the asphaltum with scratched away accents before I go and etch it all and have to strip the metal again. the asphaltum has this really neat quality of being partly transparent, so it does this weird satin-y shimmer when you move it around in the light.

it's also kind of a tarry, gross mess. here's where a thick part of it had a hard time drying before I mushed it around with my etching needle:

I also finally put the fingers on the left gauntlet.

hurrah!

03-21-2010

2010-03-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've been fighting off a cold/flu/whatever since Wed, but here's what I've done since the last post. I cut and filed the edges of the four main pieces for my pauldrons:

I think they look like space invaders.

today, I added some flutes to one of the pieces, but I didn't get a chance to get a good photo of my terrible flutes yet.

also, Ravon requested some shots from the scale suit, here's the inside of the collar:

and the underside of the 45 degree shoulder seams:

that scale that is conveniently reflecting my red curtains happens to be right at the top point of the shoulder. there is a seam running straight down and another running to the right. I tried to make the vertical seam as clear as I could in this image.

03-15-2010

2010-03-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

I had a visitor today!

he seems to approve of my gauntlets.

03-14-2010

2010-03-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

oh boy! time for pie!

my mom visited today and we went to see the butterflies at the Frederick Meijer Gardens. they imported 6000 chrysalises as well as a few atlas moth cocoons (the moths hadn't hatched yet) and we brought along our cameras for the ride : )

here's one very bright shot:

here's a slightly less colourful but much more intense flutterer:

I also found some weird tropical plants:

a strange, scaley plant:

some tiny red flowers:

some bright cactus flowers:

and even a pitcher plant!

all in all, it was a rather fun trip! I look forward to getting back into the shop again tomorrow, though.

cheers!

03-12-2010

2010-03-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

I was able to sneak into the shop yesterday and got some work done on the left hand. here's how the finish came out, which is actually much more attractive than that on the right fingers:

experimenting with different shooting styles. I took this photo almost in the dark. no data loss in the highlights, but it's a bit dark overall!

I also riveted two fingers onto strips of leather and ordered a 12x24 sheet of bronze for the pauldrons. won't be able to do more work until Monday, when the shop is open again.

it was so nice out yesterday that I just had to go wander around in the woods with my camera : ) here's what I think the best shot was:

cheers!

03-08-2009

2010-03-09T02:02:00.000-08:00

I have acquired new photo equipment, including a tripod and head. thus, I have been doing some test photos.

I'm still figuring out what to do with white balance. I'm still losing a significant amount of data in my highlights, even though I've set it custom with a white sheet of paper and I'm shooting raw. not even Lightroom can save me! well, I'll figure it out eventually.

cheers

03-02-2010

2010-03-03T21:26:00.000-08:00

I've riveted the right hand finger segments onto 4 strips of leather.

after this, I superglued leather to leather to attach them to the gloves. superglue holds suprisingly well between two leather surfaces! here's how the fingers look glued on:

and by the way, dragging the tips of the fingers across the wall DOES leave marks. *grin*

can you guess what fruit this is?

02-26-2010

2010-02-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

I decided to cut off the little tabs on the knuckleplates. they didn't sit very well on the back of the hands.

this also allows for a better transition from convex curves to concave flutes on the back of the hand.

I also finished treating the fingers on the left hand. here are the segments before I took steel wool to the finish:

they look so silky! don't worry, they shined up nice like the right hand : ) I'll be riveting the segments onto leather strips today with copper tube rivets. so far, all is well! I think these gauntlets are going to turn out rather nicely.

02-22-2010

2010-02-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

that's a lot of 2s in the date today.

I've been working on the gauntlets. I mocked up the back of the hands and the knuckles with some paper, and I'm finishing up the fingers. here's what it looks like all taped onto the glove:

for reference, I took that with the 50mm lens on my new Canon 450D. I also got a 60mm macro lens to get some nice close shots. here's some scales:

and finally, the closest macro I could get of the middle segment on the pointer finger:

these shots could have been sharper if I was shooting remotely and not having the pulse in my hands wiggle the camera just oh-so-slightly.

something I love about my new setup is that I don't have to colour-adjust in Photoshop anymore. all the shots on my old Rebel (think: the first ever Digital Rebel) had either a red or yellow overcast, depending on the glass. now it seems like those colour-adjusting days are over! woohoo!

02-17-2010

2010-02-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

I've been working on getting the gauntlets done this week. so far, all 4 fingers on the right hand have been cut, shaped, sanded, and 3 of them are etched. I treated the pinky today, and this will be the final finish:

tomorrow, I'll finish the other fingers and rivet them onto strips of leather. hurrah!

02-13-2010

2010-02-14T00:46:00.000-08:00

I started work on my gauntlets today. in only a few hours, I got 3 finger segments cut, shaped, and mostly sanded. daaaang!

and just for reference, here's where the plate sits on the scale shirt (which is worn by a mannequin that is too large for it). the lower part of the plate sticks up off the shirt about 3 inches.

here's the inside of the collar, because I think it looks neato:

pip pip! that's all for now!

02-12-2010

2010-02-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

well I ended up mounting the back plates quite significantly too high (if I were to follow the curvature I gave them). they end up needing a mounting much lower than I wanted, but I'm going to try it anyway and see how it looks on. i could have shown you pictures a week ago, but I was upset. anyway, here they are now!

finished vertebrae-on-a-strip-of-bronze:

so you can see a little bit of really bad scrimshaw on these guys. I had to get them damp to be able to scratch lines in with an exacto knife. after that, I piled them all into a bowl full of hot, cheap puerh tea. I decided to add some spices too, and boy I'm glad I did! they don't smell like gross old bones anymore, but instead, smell of cinnamon with a touch of cardimom. the tea stained the bones to an orangy-brown, and illuminated the incised lines rather handsomely.

the final treatment to the plates (I had to re-treat them on account of forgetting to solder on 6 hooks):

as soon as I figure out my curve and position on the shirt, the two will be married with copper rivets. how sweet!

02-04-2010

2010-02-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

sawing bones is rather fun...

I had to saw off the bottoms of all the vertebrae so that they would rest flat when I join them to the strip of bronze with silver tube rivets. I also spent some time shaping the main plate and I think I'm going to leave the two peripheral scapula plates flat.

I'm experimenting with scrimshaw on the bones, hence the pencil marks on the smallest vert. it's actually proving more difficult than I expected, so I may just not do it. either way, I'm still going to dye the bones with tea tomorrow before I rivet them onto the bronze.

spiney!

02-02-2010

2010-02-02T23:47:00.000-08:00

okay, so I found the remote for my camera, so I grabbed a few shots of the (99.9%) finished scale shirt. enjoy!

muahahahahahahaha!

01-30-2010

2010-01-30T22:27:00.000-08:00

I've been etching the back plates today, and I left my mineral spirits in my studio, which is now locked. so I spent the last half hour scrubbing away the asphaltum with some steel wool and a chunk of sandpaper! I have one piece clean, but it hasn't been blackened yet (I'll do that tomorrow).

this is one of the plates that fit over the scapula and is hinge-riveted to the main spinal plate. you can see a sketch in the last post.

I started with the acid in the shop but it's so weak that after 4 hours, the acid barely bit! therefore, I've been finding creative ways to fit the large plate in my casserole dish... hopefully it comes out alright!

01-26-2010

2010-01-27T00:26:00.000-08:00

hi again!

I've gotten the back plates cut out and ready for acid. I spent much of today scratching out the design onto this piece and I think it turned out rather nicely. here's how it started, and a few sketch designs next to it:

I ended up modifying the plans to come up with this:

right now, it's just the bronze with the asphaltum and scratched lines. tomorrow I'm going to make a run to the shop and use their acid bath (my casserole dish is just a tad too small for this one!). after the etching is done, I'll be able to do the shaping. the bones will be riveted with silver tubes onto a strip of bronze one inch wide and 12 inches long (it's basically a ruler, yeah). now... where to get something like that in a hurry... hmm. we'll see!

I wanted to add some lines to the bones to mimic the designs on the bronze but so far, I haven't been able to come up with a usable method. I think I may just have to stick with dipping them in tea and calling it good.

01-21-2010

2010-01-22T01:50:00.000-08:00

hello again!

I'm going to continue working on the armour again this weekend. my first sheet of bronze came in so I'm going to start with the floating plates that hook directly to the scale shirt. not only will the plates be etched upon and aged like the zipper stops (which doubled as test pieces for me), but the center unit will be adorned with 6 interlocking deer vertebrae, riveted onto another strip of bronze and then to the plate with silver tube rivets. only 3 of them actually interlock, so I'm going to have to haxxor them to fit.

some of them need a wee bit of cleaning too. I feel the need to treat the bones somehow, and I wanted to put lines on them to mimic the etched lines on the rest of the outfit, but I hear that bones combust when heated (the original thought was to use a wood burning tool). I also don't want to paint lines on because that would be cheesy. *shrugs*

also, I wanted to show you my new spice rack my little brother made me for Christmas. it fits just right, bro! look!

thank you so much, my kitchen is much cleaner now : )

01-18-2010

2010-01-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

hey guys! it's been a long break, I know!

but now it's 2010 and we're in the future, where people say "twenty-_____". shnazzy.

I've been very busy, but not on my armour. since I haven't updated in awhile I wanted to at least post some cat pictures. this is Camus, and he is very indifferent.

the Camus does not care.

he sure is cute though. <3

most of what has been keeping me busy lately has been Second Life work. first, I finished the new Dravyn V2. then I had to recolour it in 6 colours (I'm on colour 5 right now). then I had to make some rocks for an SL presentation area in a desert, and then I had to make an alien texture for AI rabbits (it ended up with 6 eyes that blinked from the bottom and 3 pupils in each). here's the Dravyn colours:

so far it's been a record month for sales : ) I also got a new 50mm prime lense over the holidays, hence the better-than-normal image quality for my photos. next time I get my suit on, I'll have to get a photo!

cheers!

12-17-2009

2009-12-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

it's dooooone

well okay, there are some bugs to fix on it. firstly, it's a bit too tight in some areas and I keep popping brass rings. first, I'm going to swap out all the 16 gauge rings for 14 gauge (eventually), and then I'm going to add more scales. where? I'm not entirely sure yet.

here's the finished collar!

I didn't get a chance to grab a photo of the completely finished shirt while it was on me... as I can no longer put the shirt on myself, I am now totally reliant on having someone else suit me up. blargh, how annoying. we'll see if I can't grab some good images tomorrow or something.

now it's on to the next step: bronze plate. I'll be taking a break for Christmas, and I'll only update the blog from now until January 11 if I did something in my spare time (or if I get good photos of the final product of the shirt).

cheers!

12-15-2009

2009-12-15T23:25:00.000-08:00

my final final exam is tomorrow at noon.

I think I have a solid solution for the armpits.

and I have enough milk for a tea party.

\o/

12-14-2009

2009-12-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

so!

I finished replacing the first half of the collar with the corrected piece of leather. it's so wonderful. however, I have exams to focus on tonight, so I'll save photos for later!

g'night~

12-13-2009

2009-12-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

ugh my main machine contracted a terrible virus. looks like that Windows 7 update was due to come earlier than expected... blargh. writing this post from the laptop!

anyway, after a good period of hacking away chunks of leather and lots of superglue, I got the first pieces of collar leather to the right shape and made a pattern for its replacement, as well as for the other half. I also got to install that second half today and it's PERFECT, let me tell you. ohhh it's so nice to have something work for a change!

it didn't come out as close to the neck as I'd have liked, but hey, I'm not complaining. I hope to have the collar completely finished tomorrow, and I might even take another stab at the underarms. I'm in the final stages, finally!

12-12-2009

2009-12-13T00:52:00.000-08:00

the drill press worked! I got all my holes done in record time.

however, the leather was the wrong shape. I'm trying to cut it up and superglue it in hopes not of salvaging the leather but of creating the correct shape for a pattern. eeeesh this is such a hassle. tomorrow, I will have the correct shape and I'll finish the collar and that's final.

>: O

12-11-2009

2009-12-12T01:54:00.000-08:00

so I've spent the day adding the collar.

I had no idea how difficult it is to punch holes in heavy leather @_@ I broke my tool after 10 holes, and I have so many more to do! tomorrow, I'm going to try the drill press. if that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to find another tool. I'm running out of time!

well at least the scales on the collar are done, and I'm pretty sure the leather is the right shape this time. whew!

12-10-2009

2009-12-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

WOOOO SNOWDAY

mostly, I went home and took a nap. however, I also cut up half a dozen sheets of paper trying to figure out the right shape for the underarm leather (since I already wasted some leather on it, it's very scary @_@). I decided I didn't like any of the shapes I came up with so I worked some on the collar scales.

I added two more rows to each half after I took this photo and I think I'm happy with this 3 inch height. I'm going to cut and grommet leather for underneath it tomorrow and put off the underarms another day.

the best kind of procrastination is the kind where you get other things done too!

12-9-2009

2009-12-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

I got the scales under the arms done. now I have just the collar to finish and a few rows more to do on the bottom of the front! I estimate about 300 scales left. man that's not much!

all that work and I'm still having fun!

12-8-2009

2009-12-09T00:09:00.000-08:00

so I think I've solved my underarms problem. I've scaled up the sides and removed the leather except for the part on the arm, which will connect with a sort of web shape to the body. this will allow it to fold lower down and wrinkle up less. woohoo! I'm almost done : D

I'm redoing the right underarm still, which is why it's not on my arm. the other one is good though!

wait, where did that come from?

12-7-2009

2009-12-08T00:40:00.000-08:00

I think I've figured out what to do about the armpit. it requires more scales and less leather. I may or may not have a photo tomorrow... so many things due in classes x_x

bloody hell! it's so frustrating to be so close to finishing and yet so very far away... but at least the cheese and broccoli soup was good. that helps : )

12-6-2009

2009-12-07T00:10:00.001-08:00

ARMPITS ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE.

12-5-2009

2009-12-06T00:22:00.000-08:00

wooo! scales are so close to being done... I estimate about 400 more to do (and I already have 120 waiting for acid). and on schedule, I did both underarms with leather. just the arm parts though, not the little bits that also run up the sides of the body! grommets total: 104. leather dimensions: 12" x 3" x 6" (there was a taper). they look pretty classy! now I've just got to figure out how I'm going to darken the grommets without ruining the leather...

leather, brass grommets, steel anvil. hah!

in celebration of being nearly done with scales, I made a paper mock-up of the pauldron/spaulders (which word is which, anyway?). dang I'm so excited I could just drop all my classes!

...

okay I promise I won't do that. but... it's tempting *_*

12-4-2009

2009-12-05T00:29:00.000-08:00

today, I wove 80 scales and scratched on 60. I'm thinking I'll need another batch or so to finish everything I want to on the scales. tomorrow, I'm going to start measuring for the leather. I spent the rest of the day finishing a paper, so I didn't have time to take any photos. tomorrow I'll make a point to!

g'night!

12-3-2009

2009-12-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

once again, no pictures... I'm finishing up a paper that's due tomorrow, so I'm going to be boring and tell you I didn't do much more on the shirt besides rivet one of the zipper stops on (ended up taking a lot longer than I thought it would and some of the cloth slipped out from between the plates of bronze so I'm mad at it). just a teeny tab of fabric slipped out. I got the other two rivets to pierce the fabric just fine but this one, the outside corner, decided that I didn't give it enough room on the edge and slipped right out.

now how am I supposed to fix that?

12-2-2009

2009-12-02T23:43:00.000-08:00

hey! today was full of homework. however, I got about 50 more scales woven into one more row on the front and sides (but not the back) of the shirt, gaining another quarter of an inch. ideally, I'd add another inch, but we'll see how much time I have. I'm not going to add too much more under the arms, and come Saturday, I'll begin measuring for the leather. joy!

12-1-2009

2009-12-02T01:16:00.000-08:00

no work on the shirt today... I really had to take a break from yesterday @_@

however, I did do some stuff in Second Life. I've been creating several varieties of reef plants for the island-y ground level of my sim. so far I've made 4 different species of things.

here, a seadryke examines a colony of gill coral. prawnweed decorate the sandy floor.

11-30-2009

2009-11-30T22:18:00.000-08:00

yeesh, November is over! well at least I've made very good progress.

today, I wove about 35 scales and I designed, cut, etched, and treated a zipper stopper for the main zipper down the back. it was a lot of work and I ruined a shirt doing it all!

first, after I sawed out my shapes (which was very noisy in my room, since the desk seemed to amplify the sound of the blade against the metal), I painted them with asphaltum:

second, I used my needle tool to scratch away the design I had in my notebook:

and then I put the pieces into the ferric chloride. I waited 3 hours, and the etch was barely biting. I went to a 3 hour class and came back, and there was no difference. my ferric is just plain spent! also, it looks pretty nasty and has the look of a broken sludge ice flow and some curious orange lumps.

yech.

so I moved the pieces over to the metals shop to use their ferric for an hour. after cleaning and treatment, this is how they came out:

as you can see, all that moving around got the asphaltum loose and some of the acid got underneath it. that's okay! looks kinda cool that way.

after this, I finally got to treating the rest of the main zipper. however, because it was attached (at the top) to the rest of the shirt, it was rather messy! this was where I got ferric all over everything and frantically attempted to clean it off. I thought all that was left on it was water, which muddied the designs a little, but I wasn't too upset about it. however, when it dried, much to my surprise, the watered down ferric turned large portions of the shirt green.

well I freaked out a little! and then I decided I liked it!

it's as if I pulled it out from some sea foam : )

11-29-2009

2009-11-29T16:27:00.000-08:00

okay, camera batteries went dead last night.

I got the front and back done, although I may add another inch or so to the front later. next step: filling in the sides. this is going to be tricky!

well, not as tricky as I thought, actually. however, now the mannequin doesn't hold the shirt very well... the curvature of the back (or lack thereof) makes it buckle up all funny. thankfully, it looks fine on me.

I expect to be ready for the leather next weekend.

and someday, it will all be done.

11-27-2009

2009-11-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

hey guys! happy thanksgiving!

over the last two days, I finished the back of the shirt. yesterday, I wove 200 of my huge pile of 800 ready scales, and today I wove probably around 150 or so. I ended up shortening the back by 2.5 inches so that the end of the zipper lined up with the end of the tail bone, and I've designed a 2 inch long bronze two-piece ending for the zipper. however, lacking a scanner, I cannot show you the sketches until I get back to my apartment on Sunday. pity!

tomorrow I'll take some shots of the finished back. right now, I'm just trying to avoid some people upstairs @_@

11-25-2009

2009-11-26T01:52:00.000-08:00

today I wove 120 scales, but I didn't etch anything, because I'm sick of it. I did dip another 120 though, so it's not like it was a waste or anything @_@

I have some very thick leather I'm going to be using for the lining of the collar. I wanted to make sure the grommets would work, so I spent half an hour trying to put a hole in it with a test piece before applying the grommet, which BARELY fit. thank goodness!

oh wait, I guess I did treat all the scales I did yesterday and I etched the last 100. gosh, it seems like so long ago! well here's what 900 finished scales looks like (before I forget I did them again):

groovy!

11-24-2009

2009-11-25T01:59:00.000-08:00

well! today was...

hmm.

I got 330 scales dipped and scratched, with 100 scales waiting for the acid in the morning. the shop closes at 4:30, so I plan on getting up, putting those last 100 in acid for 2 hours, probably sleeping during that, and then taking 420 etched scales to the shop to treat with various chemicals. I also left my crock pot there on account of Turkey Day and swedish meatballs. hopefully I can grab that too! I have to stop leaving my cooking items everywhere...

11-23-2009

2009-11-24T00:33:00.000-08:00

woo!

scratched on 120 scales, dipped 120 scales, treated 210 scales. I'm trying to get another batch in by 4:30 on Wednesday before the shop closes. I think I'm in good shape!

also, I finished a concept for a new creature today, not that it has anything to do with the metalworking.

I think he's pretty cute : 3

the arms are legs, and the legs are arms (tucked underneath the chest).

11-22-2009

2009-11-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

well, I scratched on my 30 scales for the day... today was too busy to do any extra, sadly. as promised, here's a shot of the two riveted rings on the zipper:

they were fun : )

11-21-2009

2009-11-22T00:20:00.000-08:00

why hello!

320 scales were treated with ferric chloride, 180 scales were dipped in asphaltum, and 160 were scratched on. I also completed a full batch of 210 scales for weaving, and wove 40 scales. I finished adding grommets and brass rings to the main zipper, which I will treat tomorrow. a very good day.

11-20-2009

2009-11-21T00:17:00.000-08:00

hey guyz

I dipped 120 scales and scratched on 90. that puts me at my week end 210 2 days early! I also wove 40 scales and finished adding grommets to the main zipper. tomorrow, I will cut more rings and hopefully finish treating the grommets and rings as well. I also plan to treat my batch for the week and scratch MORE scales. so fun.

that's me gettin' shtuff done!

hi mom!

11-19-2009

2009-11-20T01:03:00.000-08:00

hello!

I finally riveted the second rivet today. there were two attempts at using a center punch to make the holes in the rings that had failed before I finally decided to use the jewelry drill press.

the center punch squished the brass out from the center of the hole, and I had to keep trying to hammer from one side and then the other many times. these are the two rings to the left. they ended up rather mangled. the ring on the far right has the hole drilled with a tiny drill bit.

besides the riveted ring, I also dipped and scratched on 60 scales today.

11-18-2009

2009-11-18T23:21:00.001-08:00

hey guyz

that is all.

11-17-2009

2009-11-17T21:55:00.000-08:00

today I did my 30 scales and wove 20. I also went grocery shopping and had lots of classes! want to know what 310 treated scales look like?

bam! that's what!

also, I used some of my orange chicken today, which has been soaking overnight. here's how it looked:

it was rather tasty. forgot to add the cashews, I will for sure next time! om nom nom.

11-16-2009

2009-11-16T23:43:00.001-08:00

hey there. wove 80 scales on the back today, but not much else. just couldn't find the time to get that second riveted link together! oh well, there's always tomorrow : ) g'night!

11-15-2009

2009-11-15T18:34:00.000-08:00

holy crap it worked. it took me 3 tries, but it worked.

for future reference, center punches do NOT work for teeny rivet holes in bitty rings. I used a tiny drill instead, and it worked! what a challenge! what fun!

okay the picture's not the greatest but I'll take more when I get the other one done.

dang I'm excited! : D

I also dipped 120 scales, scratched 90, and treated 310, putting me a week ahead of schedule! hurrah! today was a very successful day indeed.

11-14-2009

2009-11-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

today's the day my chicken expires, so I put it in the freezer. I will make something with it tomorrow!

I dipped 150 scales today and scratched on 90. I also put a half batch of 110 into the acid and will complete the second half tomorrow, and treat a full batch. no weaving today because I used up all my finished scales yesterday.

the heavy rings seem to be not heavy enough.

do you see that? the top right brass ring! the closure is slipping open! do you know what that means? I have a real excuse to do riveted rings, that's what it means! *cackle*

11-13-2009

2009-11-14T00:55:00.000-08:00

so! I treated 110 scales and wove 8x15 scales to *gasp* FINALLY fill in either side on the front! oh happy day! so now, each row on the front and the back are both 20 scales wide. well, alternating 20 and 21 on the front... or maybe it's 20 and 19...

man I just wish these photos would come out better. camera seems to do well with close-ups, but I really need to get my hands on a proper tripod for the farther away ones.

11-12-2009

2009-11-12T23:15:00.000-08:00

another day gone by...

I got my 30 scales finished for the day. tomorrow, I'll be treating another batch and working on a research paper or two. then, I'll weave some more scales and work on a poster project for one of my other classes. after that, I have to revise some of my other papers for another class. finally, I have a lot of reading to do. but I've got the weekend to do it, I guess.

anyway, here's a photo of the back of an arm where I had to add two expansions (I had to connect a row with 11 scales across to a row with 13 scales across).

pretty confusing, right? I don't know how many times I had to redo it.

11-11-2009

2009-11-11T21:39:00.000-08:00

whew, I did a lot of weaving today!

after I write this post, I'm going to scratch on 30 scales. I think I did 30 earlier today, too, but I can't remember anymore. most of my work on the shirt went into weaving though, and I can't remember how many I wove, either. oh well.

I have 104 scales left to fill in the sides of the front. this isn't the final length, though. I still have about six inches beyond the long sheet in the middle to fill in. I also put another half an inch onto the back, but it pretty much looks the same. I've decided to go ahead and finish the front and back, going straight down, before I fill in the sides. that way, I can keep laying it flat to work on it as long as possible! that also means that I'll have to wait to put in the leather armpits.

...I guess I can wait...

@_@

11-10-2009

2009-11-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

'lo

just been scratching on scales lately, but I grabbed a shot of the heavier rings I put in last night. they seem to hold really well, which is slightly disappointing, because I really wanted to rivet them. oh well.

hurrah! now I have to blacken them to match.

11-9-2009

2009-11-10T00:07:00.000-08:00

hey! I made some heavier rings for the zipper in the back out of 14 gauge brass. they hold much better! I still want to rivet them later, just for the sake of overkill.

just did 30 scales today, not much else to talk about. g'night!

11-8-2009

2009-11-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

hey there!

I dipped and scratched on 60 more scales, completed treating the second half of the last batch of finished scales (100 scales), wove 40 scales onto the back, and added more grommets to the zipper. it won't be long until I can add the leather under the arms! doing some sketches to figure that bit out.

to bed on time! woohoo!

11-7-2009

2009-11-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

hello there.

I finished the right arm last night. I also etched another 90 scales and treated 210 of my batch yesterday. today, I scratched on 30 more scales for the day and began adding contractions on the front of the shirt/jacket.

however, I've encountered some trouble! the brass rings connecting the zipper to the scale sheets have a tendency to pop open when bearing the weight of the suit.

I'll need to grab some (much) heavier wire and make some heavy-duty connectors. I've been flirting with the idea of flattening the ends and drilling tiny holes in them to rivet them, since the possibility of soldering is out of the question.

11-5-2009

2009-11-05T23:17:00.000-08:00

remember, remember... today's the fifth!

I just finished assembling the left sleeve. oh happy day! I also got my new leather in today. it's about twice as thick as the first sheet I got, so I think it'll be good! this new leather will cover a significant section under the armpit and along the side of the shirt. I think I'm going to mock up the shape out of paper before I cut into any fabric or leather *_*

fun, huh?

the zipper ended up right under my elbow so I couldn't bend my arm at first. I removed a few connections from the zipper, and then it was fine. I'm going to add some extra heavy leather right at that elbow to make it a little more comfortable and durable. going to try to make the right arm match tomorrow : )

11-4-2009

2009-11-04T22:59:00.000-08:00

ohai!

I was pretty far behind this morning, but I did a 180. literally! I dipped and scratched on 180 new scales in one day. that's 6 days' worth, and now I'm back to being ahead.

that's the sight of 300 scales. I actually did 30 more after I took this picture.

in the last few weeks, I've been taking scales out of one of two bags. one is full, and one always looks like it has about 200 scales in it. or does it? I keep removing scales from this bag and it just never seems to get any less full. it's an endless bag of scales!

doesn't that look like 200 scales? yeah, it looked like that 3 weeks ago, too.

also, here's the last of my butter chicken from the recent half batch:

om nom nom.

11-3-2009

2009-11-03T21:47:00.001-08:00

I got 30 scales done today, and finished all my homework @_@ now that's a feat in itself! no pictures again this time, just didn't get to it today. g'night!

11-2-2009

2009-11-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

today was spent mainly doing class things. I've finally made some decent progress on a new website, which I'll link here (and link this blog on the website) when I'm done. as for scales, I've dipped and scratched on 60 of them. I figure you've seen enough of the black-clad little stacks so no pictures tonight!

woohoo getting to bed on time for once. : D

11-1-2009

2009-11-01T23:16:00.000-08:00

ohai!

I spent most of the morning adding grommets to the zipper on the back of the shirt. yesterday, I had only just started, so it was a lot of work today! I also ordered more black leather and I'm hoping it will be the correct thickness this time. the shirt is ever approaching accepting armpit leather : ) exciting! I went to the shop to blacken the grommets and brass rings that connect to the zipper and I wanted to buy more brass wire for the rings, but the cabinet was locked so I'll have to do that tomorrow. making rings is hard work!

that's that! g'night.

10-31-2009

2009-10-31T23:12:00.000-07:00

happy halloween! guess what I did today?? hmmmm?

hurrah!

both the shoulders are now fixed and contain one contraction each. the contractions only helped a little bit, but they helped, so the taking apart and putting back together was worth it. I started putting the zipper on the back today. I'll treat it and take some photos of that part tomorrow. I also added an inch to each arm and half an inch to the front. and I scratched my 30 scales today, dipped 60 more in asphaltum. well, I guess I got a lot done today! too bad I can't say the same for my homework x_x

10-30-2009

2009-10-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

I have been making something in my kitchen.

I wonder what this could be? it's rather green. I hope it's not rancid.

finally, I've redone the shoulders. it took many hours of disassembling and redoing many scales. I ruined a lot of connecting rings. I even got black stuff all over my back because I had an itch. was it worth it? heck yes!

this picture only shows the one but I did both. it doesn't hang as well on the mannequin anymore, but that's okay, because I'm not making it for her anyway. imposter!

green cheesecake? hmmmm. I'll have to think about that.

10-28-2009

2009-10-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

a holy food exists. its name:

meatloaf. made with oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs, bbq sauce instead of ketchup. mmmmmm.

as for scales, I connected my little strip of scales to the back of the shirt and added another row. woohoo!

10-27-2009

2009-10-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

hey!

even though today was my long day of classes, I managed to weave 50 scales. how did I do it? I snuck them into class and wove them behind my laptop.

*cackle*

10-26-2009

2009-10-27T01:29:00.000-07:00

oh boy! another blog post!

I treated the last batch of scales today, and am at 730 scales for the month. not as productive as last month, but then again, I've had a lot on my plate! here's the entire batch after I rinsed them off from the acid bath, and although it doesn't look it, there are 210 scales in between those lovely bright blue strips of tape:

you ever get that one inflamed taste bud at the tip of your tongue from eating too much oily food? I've got one and I can't stop rubbing it on my lip because the bump feels neat. I wonder if people with piercings in their tongues ever get bored of this feeling.

I also made late-night meatloaf tonight. use oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs, it turns out much tastier and more healthy to boot! made mine with oatmeal and mmm : ) can't wait to make some mashed potatoes tomorrow too!

cheers!

10-25-2009

2009-10-25T22:34:00.000-07:00

hello again.

I finished my batch in the acid.

cute, huh? I bought this casserole dish and as an added bonus, it came with a lid. I don't even have to drain the acid back into the bottle after batches, it just stays put, always ready.

here was my workspace yesterday:

so I got my laundry done too... and there were people waiting after me o.O I don't know why laundry is so popular right now.

10-24-2009

2009-10-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

well, photoshop isn't cooperating with me today, so looks like I won't get any photos up.

finished my 210 scales for the week. bathing them in acid tomorrow. as far as homework goes, I've got about halfway done with my 3D assignment, the one with the leg extenders. I'll just finish that up tomorrow while I wait for people to stop using the bloody drier so I can get my bloody clothes dry because people have been using it nonstop and it's 3am and I STILL CAN'T DRY MY BLOODY CLOTHES.

g'night!

10-23-2009

2009-10-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

ohai

scratched 90 scales, wove 80. the front and back of the shirt are now even (with the shorter parts of the front). going to redo the shoulders at some point, I like the current ones less and less. wow look at all those scales!

that's what it looks like on the back. I have to work with them flipped over like this to be able to weave them.

here's how far I've gotten down the back:

shnazzy! see you tomorrow!

10-22-2009

2009-10-22T23:04:00.000-07:00

oh hey guys

120 scales dipped. 60 scratched on. 40 woven.

also, here's what 100 scales looks like:

keen!

not only have I been doing a lot of work with the scales today, but I also finished another colour for my Dravyn hatchling. just in time for halloween, it's the lava hatchling!

doesn't he look like he's having fun? now excuse me while I finish my chicken noodle soup :V

10-21-2009

2009-10-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

I've had the hiccups all day today. make it stop!

today I finished up treating the last batch of scales and also got my cheesecake pan back! apparently, it all got eaten by the next day and was cleaned and neatly placed in the cupboard until Bev put it in her office. whew, I feel much better about it. not only did it all get eaten, but it was out of the way and didn't get thrown out or anything!

I made some orange honey cashew chicken tonight and I have to admit that it was quite a departure from my recent Indian endevours and made me quite nervous. however, it turned out excellent after a minor bit of tweaking involving some cayenne pepper and more cashews. will certainly enjoy eating it tomorrow too.

this weekend i must catch back up with my scales! thank goodness I only have one class tomorrow.

10-20-2009

2009-10-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

once again, not much done for scales... had class 2:30-11 pm today. I'm starting to get a design together for metal extended legs in one of my other classes that I want to make with real materials. if it works, I may even integrate it with the armour somehow. here's the sketch, no idea if it will actually work though:

I think I'm going to remove the stopper arms that come down from the hinges and just have really strong springs. we'll see how it goes : ) making a paper mock-up tonight!

10-19-2009

2009-10-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

I wove another row onto the shirt, but didn't do too much else on it today. I had some homework and studying to do for tomorrow. didn't have time to snap any pictures tonight! I have an exam in the morning so I'm going to head on off to bed. it was a solid day of school : )

10-18-2009

2009-10-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

today I put 210 scales into the acid but didn't have time to get to the shop before closing for the remaining treatment. I still have some scales left over to weave yet from the last batch, so that's okay. here's a few stacks that are ready for acid:

it's fun to take pictures of these. they tend to sort of march off into space...

I'm trying to come up with a new zipper pull design for the sleeves and back. here's what it looks like right now:

as you can see, it doesn't quite match the feel of the rest of the sleeve. I'm also going to need to find a way to finish the fabric ends after I cut off the excess. kind of annoying. but anyway, yeah, that's pretty much all I did today.

10-17-2009

2009-10-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

I've cleaned up 3 more pictures from the iron pour. two of them aren't the clearest, but I thought they looked pretty cool anyway. here they are:

Burning Life also started today. lots and lots of people have been visiting 30 sims' worth of resident-built camps and 3 huge stages hosting musical guests and DJs. my stage is the Berlin stage!

I also caught up today on my scales and I should be dipping them in the acid tomorrow. a good day!

10-16-2009

2009-10-17T01:59:00.000-07:00

another busy day! I hope tomorrow will be a nice, peaceful day.

I made butter chicken for the potluck (finally!) and it was really good. so was all the other food! then we went to the iron pour and I brought my camera. got some good shots. it was an amazing experience! after that, I finished the Second Life stage I've been working on for awhile now. so, tomorrow I get to take a breather and get back to work on scales. woohoo!

here's a few of the images I got:

smokin'!

10-15-2009

2009-10-16T00:48:00.000-07:00

hello there!

I have been working like crazy today! I finished my essay for my writing class, wove another inch or so on my shirt, and then spent the rest of the day building like crazy for the Burning Life event in Second Life @_@

I'm in charge of the Berlin stage, which is basically a giant Giger-style insect. I hope it doesn't scare anyone off! opening for the event is scheduled for the 17th, which is Saturday. I'll be done tomorrow though. here's what it looks like right now... it's very nearly done.

if you sit on the pod things, your avatar dances inside them.

10-13-2009

2009-10-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

I'm glad to be going to bed now... most of the day was spent on classes and much of the remaining time I used to work on the stage in SL. as the deadline approaches, I'm feeling more comfortable because things are getting done! haha.

didn't get a chance to do much in terms of scales, but I did weave a row onto the shirt.

wow, my hand looks veiny!

10-12-2009

2009-10-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

so busy so busy *_*

I've been doing reading and other homework in my work time and modeling in Second Life in my spare time (which has been delegated as work time since I have a deadline on the 17th and lots of work to do yet). any of the rest of my time goes to scales, and gosh, I'm pooped! a bit too much on my plate this week...

here was my workspace this morning. still going at it.

10-11-2009

2009-10-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

ohai

wove a little, etched a little, worked on Second Life insectoid stage most of the day. I also had some reading homework and a few other things to do so it was a busy day, despite my terrible stomach ache. also, strawberries and bananas make AMAZING smoothies.

I wove four new rows (one inch) of scales on the left side of the shirt, just to see how much a difference it made. it looks like quite a bit!

when making scales, I end up with a large variety of colours. the most interesting colouration happens when I treat them with fresh liver of sulphur, rinse lightly, and dunk in HOT water. we're talking nearly boiling. then, I take the scales and basically squelch them in cool water, rinsing off any remaining liver. it produces a peacocking of colours and is just wonderful! it's lovely to mix these in with the more boring black-and-brass scales.

so cool.

10-10-2009

2009-10-11T02:49:00.000-07:00

@_@ it's so late...

well, I finished treatment of this week's batch of scales. I'll have photos tomorrow, it's too late to upload anything right now. it's been a long day... been working on homework and a public build in Second Life all day, along with the scales. argh.

my chair keeps ripping. I tried to fix it.

10-9-2009

2009-10-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

today I finished my week's batch of scales! half of them went into the acid but there are still half to go tomorrow. it's exciting every time there are more scales to weave! there is no other step more enjoyable than the weaving... it will be sad when the project is finished. I think I will have to start another one to keep myself from going into shock *_*

after some mail delivery shenanigans, I finally got my new glasses today. they're shnazzy. I really needed them, because my old ones were falling apart and scratch to heck and held together with wire.

hurrah!

10-8-2009

2009-10-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

got through those 60 last night and another 60 today, with another 60 tomorrow I will have 210 and will do the acid. and then I get to weave, which is the best part.

I also made a new colour version of the Dravyn hatchling creature for Second Life.

d'awww so cute.

10-7-2009

2009-10-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

today was productive! I got 120 scales dipped in the asphaltum and now have them sitting in stacks on my desk. I'll try to get through at least half of them tonight.

I set up a chair in the bathroom and put a board on it to support two copper branches. they're in the bathroom because it has an exhaust fan and a door to close to keep the fumes away. the cardboard beneath them is there to catch the dripping of asphaltum. it's getting rather black by now, as it gets approximately 1.5 drips per scale and I have been using it since the beginning of September.

10-6-2009

2009-10-07T01:10:00.000-07:00

today was a long day. I had lots of school things to do so I didn't get much done on scales. I did, however, make a superhero outfit for one of my creatures in Second Life. *runs away*

modeled in Maya, textured in Photoshop.

10-5-2009

2009-10-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

so lately I've been a little bit unhappy with the task of etching scales. every day, I have to move my chair into the bathroom, set up the little copper twig on a board on the chair over a piece of cardboard to catch the asphaltum drips. I have to put the fan on and open windows (if it's not too cold out) and then, after dipping, I have to wait bloody 3 hours for them to dry before I can do the relatively quick step of actually scratching away the design. the acid takes another hour and a half per batch, and it takes forever to get all those scales onto strips of tape. but enough about that, I did my thirty for the day.

I balanced the camera on the ladder leading up to my lofted bed for a much cleaner shot tonight. this is the left shoulder seam. it fought me very hard while I tried to put 3 rings into each scale and took well over two hours for just 28 connections. afterwards, i found a better way to do the shoulder seams, but I won't think about that right now.

I wanted to show as little of the stainless steel split rings as possible, so it was unfortunate that these seams show so much stainless. however, I found that if I tried hard enough, I could add yet another scale to those poor rings to form a single row of scales that cover the rings nicely (though they have a tendency to move around a bit). these are the four rings at the bottom of the seam there. however, why am I worrying about this at all? the shoulders will be completely hidden by the bronze plate armour anyway.

10-4-2009

2009-10-05T00:27:00.000-07:00

got up late today and wove another inch down the back of the shirt. an inch is 4 rows, and each row contains 20 scales, so that inch contains a total of 80 scales. whew!

ceiling lights make it look super shiny! *squints* you can also see the start of the sleeves on either side there... I'll get more detail shots when I find a tripod of sorts.

10-3-2009

2009-10-04T01:38:00.000-07:00

oh no, I stayed up too late! I found the blog for Maru the cat and got distracted for many hours.

http://sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com/

today I wove 4 rows of scales onto the back and added one contraction to each side. plus, my new camera came today! I don't really know how to work it very well yet, but I took some pictures today after a long time without new images. how exciting! I promise to take more soon!

this is an image of the back of the mannequin. you can see I used a large safety pin to hold it together. the space in the middle is where the zipper will be grommeted into place. there is enough length now for eight grommets! but I will wait until I have more done before I add the zipper because it would look silly with so few connections.

this photo shows the scales moving over the right shoulder from the back. you can see the lines left on the scales from my steel wool but I promise that the scales are very smooth to touch!

I made more butter chicken today. it's very good, but I think my last batch was better. I will add more spices tomorrow. I also remembered to check the refrigerator in the metals studio today but there was no cheesecake! I couldn't even find the pan. I hope it didn't get thrown out!

10-2-2009

2009-10-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

I just finished processing 210 new scales and they're ready for weaving. besides this, it's been a lazy Friday for me... I just played games and went grocery shopping. tomorrow though, I get to weave, so it'll be a solid day of work. it's late, I'm going to bed!

10-1-2009

2009-10-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

wow, October already? goodness!

well, I've got another batch of 210 scales ready for the acid tomorrow... 2 days early : ) now that feels good! hopefully, I'll remember my cheesecake tin when I go in this time. I hope it got eaten and it's not just getting moldy in the fridge back at the metals shop.

my shirt is finally turning into a wearable object. there's enough weight in the back to keep it from tugging forward too heavily, though it still requires a safety pin to keep it on. pretty soon, I'll start adding contractions to the back and maybe by next week, the front and back will be long enough to add scales across the sides (depending on where I want the leather to end under the armpits). I have to really start thinking about that leather; it's really thin. I'm not sure if I want to risk it wearing out prematurely and getting holes in it. I may buy another thicker sheet of leather from eBay, just to be sure. will also be buying boning for the collar soon. whew, what an expensive project!

9-30-2009

2009-09-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

still waiting on that camera, should be coming in the mail soon...

I have now officially done over 1000 scales in under a month. excellent. now I've just got to keep it up! all I did today was work on getting more scales coated and ready for acid, as well as a project in Second Life involving a giant bug stage. here I have it sitting out on one of my islands.

crikey!

9-29-2009

2009-09-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

today was my heavy day for classes, so I didn't get too much done on the scale shirt. did my 30 scales for the day, my 9 or so hours of classes, all my homework, and I'm ready to go to bed. whew, I am tired! I bought a blender and some mangoes so tomorrow I'm going to try to make some mango lassi. the blender is super cute.

9-28-2009

2009-09-28T23:36:00.000-07:00

so I sat down and calculated my rate of scale creation and weaving is. I lost a few days in the beginning of the month waiting for asphaltum to come in, but since today, I've incorporated 900 new scales into the shirt. I have 60 more to add to that, and by tomorrow I'll have 90, so that means I'll have done nearly 1000 scales in a month. whew! with just 2000 left to do, I'll be done in 2 months, which is early!

so cool : )

after this project, I want to make my own scales. it won't be during this or next semester, but during the summer, I want to build another scale shirt out of copper. instead of buying scales and rings I want to have the freedom to design my own shapes, sizes, and further complicate the design on the scales. to do this, I'm going to have another 6000 scales or so laser cut and etched in one pass (which will save me about 3/4 of my total work time). laser cutting means I can do some crazy things with the design of the scales, like serrate the edges (not that I will) or pierce the tiny little things into a latticework of holes. not only that, but I can make the etched design ridiculously complicated. this makes me very excited. I'm surely going to come up with some insane sketches for this one.

I did a set of 4 scales with my logo on them awhile back. this is what got me thinking about the laser cutting, as modifying existing scales was very time-consuming and awkward.

the etching wasn't any different, but cutting just those two little triangular shapes out of either side was just full of headaches.

9-27-2009

2009-09-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

well the battery is finally dead on my camera and I can't find the bloody charger so no new images today. however, I do have some images of my paper mockup from a few months back so I'll put up one of those images for you. this is my mockup for the helmet and the mantle, which will be done in bronze after I finish the scales.

I got about half of my homework done today but that's okay because I only have two classes tomorrow. I went to Artprize this morning in Grand Rapids and the city was all abuzz! it was really exciting. most of the pieces I didn't care for but there was a giant foam Loch Ness monster in the river that I took a few photos of on my crappy cellphone camera that I may upload later if they came out halfway decent. when we got back, I worked more on my scales (of course) and I finally got the first sheet of scales I made to look like the rest of them. you see, after a lot of wear on it, the colour ended up much more brassy than any of the other batches of scales. I also believe I didn't understand the technique as well when I started off and didn't get much copper into the finish, but now that it's fixed, I added the sheet (in two halves) to both shoulders so now I have some scales running down the upper arms. woohoo!

I may have made the chest slightly too wide and the scales lining the front of the armpits have a tendancy to fold, but if I pat the scales down just right, it doesn't. I may have to remove some scales and add a contraction (shiver) but we'll see how it moves when I get some more scales added.

as a side note, the mocha frappuccino drink thing at McDonalds is surprisingly tasty!

9-26-2009

2009-09-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

today, I finished my 210 scales for the week (3 days early) and treated them. now I"m weaving and the back is finally getting far enough along to where I can drape it over my shoulders and lean back and it stays on. how exciting! I'm really tired but I think I want to do one more row of weaving because I'm too excited to wait : x and okay yeah who was I kidding, I barely got any homework done. *sigh*

I'm looking into sources for 18 or 16 gauge bronze sheet for my armour. so far, I found a place online that sells for $35/yard, which is not too shabby! this project has cost me well over $700 so far in materials so an extra $70-$100 will be a drop in the bucket. hah.

as a test piece, I made some finger armour a few months back, which seems to not fit anymore over the thin black leather glove I purchased to go underneath it so I may end up not using it. oh well... it only took a few days to make anyway. man I love shaping metal *_*

getting ever closer to finishing!