Making a Ragna the Bloodedge cosplay

Cutting foam

2012-02-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

It's all nice and...charged with static electricity? Anyway, now to cut that MDF, getting this to be the correct width is going be "fun"

Other parts of the costume.

2012-02-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

I'm really trying to make this look like the concept, belt buckles and all...though now that I look at it, the buckles are missing a bump in the middle of the sides :|

It's MDF!

2012-02-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

Never got that foam PVC thing, but bought some MDF instead. Got to saw that off and then think how to make it lose some weight.

Also bought "some" polyurethane insulation sheets, soon I can get sculpting!

Progress?

2012-01-24T06:05:00.000-08:00

Why yes, indeed there is. Just not anything too visible. Bought a lot of insulation foam :D and some of that bendy yogamat foam too. Also, enquired a company about that foam-PVC/Sintra stuff, still haven't heard back from them though.

Ze Core...

2011-12-10T14:46:00.001-08:00

Yup, the wood is still slightly bent and I ran into more problems when I started thinking about the process. The sword has to have a very solid spine, otherwise it'll bend and in the worst case scenario fracture itself if held incorrectly :| it should also be lighter, but that isn't my main concern.

I need to find that foam-pvc stuff (sintra) as it seems to be my best option now, then put some steel in it so it will hold its weight, maybe something like a cross running through the length of the sword...

By the way, the sword is 145 cm long, I've seen some large props in my life, but I think this is something else considering the overall volume...still, gotta look around for some tips and tricks.

Wooden core

2011-12-05T13:14:00.001-08:00

Almost like the paper version, only sturdier.

Here's where the sword is at the moment. I drew the outlines from that print onto plywood and sawed it out. It doesn't weight too much, but I still have to reinforce the spine of it if I don't want it snapping.

Also, making this out of plywood might have been a bad idea because the wood is now slightly bent after leaning to a wall for a while :| I'm trying to find some foam-pvc for a possible new core...it would also be lighter when done from that.

Trying to straighten the plywood by bending it with a weight and a pen.

Oh well, you learn from your mistakes :d

Printed cookies

2011-12-05T08:16:00.001-08:00

By the way, these first posts are a time-lapse, I completely forgot the opportunity to blog about this endeavour when I started doing this, sorry.

Here we have the printed, taped and cut lines of the sword, taken from that 3D model I made.

12 sheets of A4 taped and cut

I'm also sorry for the quality of these pictures (most are taken with an iPod), but it gets the job done.

The Sword, 3D model

2011-12-05T06:46:00.001-08:00

Did I mention that I'm a graphic artist working in the games industry? And that I specialize in 3D modelling? Well now you know.

I want to make these props well and there are no proper blueprint-like pictures of Ragnas sword anywhere...plus the design changes all the fricken time, no promopicture or even the artbook has a consistent design for this sword, something is always different so I'm going with the sword in that initial picture down below. I have an itch that the sword in the actual game is made to look a lot shorter than this though :|

Next step, check and double-check, then print the lines on multiple papers so I'll get a real-size template.

A man with a mission

2011-12-05T06:04:00.001-08:00

Hi there, first post, hopefully not last.

I have decided to make a cosplay of Ragna the Bloodedge. This'll be my first ever cosplay and already I'm obviously trying too much. I'm making Ragna purely because I like his design, though the character has an attitude not too different from my own (some could call it "being an asshole" but I digress, I'm just strict and quick to critique :d )

My primary goal : to complete this cosplay. My secondary goal : to make some kick-ass props, like that sword there. My other goals : to make the parts made of cloth, props are more important to me at the moment.

How will I make the props? Out of cardboard, duct-tape and papier-mache? Nope and here's the part where I'm trying too much : I'm making them out of hard stuff, wood, metal, fibreglass, plastic, Sculpey (I love Sculpey) with a very limited workspace. I don't have access to big powertools, so I improvise a lot. There'll be stuff that could be easily made out of wood or PVC with a lathe and a proper saw, but I'll make those out of Sculpey or some such, freehand :|

So then, let's see how odd this'll become.