CCEE 2011 - The RECAP Part 2

At the one-month anniversary of this year's Expo, I guess we're due for Part 2 of that recap, eh?

Soooo, picking up from this post, we got down to the Con around 11, dropped our stuff at Jesse's booth, and then popped over to confirm our registration for the costume contest.



















Then it was time to make the rounds.

The place was as crowded as anticipated so getting around, especially with the hood up, presented a bit of a challenge. There was the usual swamp of photo requests, lots of high fives, and tonnes of enthusiasm. As predicted, everyone and I mean EVERYONE thought I was Ezio but they were so enthused, I didn't have the heart to correct them. Deez was totally recognizable in her stellar La Volpe gear, so between the two of us, we were totally workin' the AC: II thing (there's Jesse in the back there as Hellboy!Rasputin. He got the glove signed by Mike Mignola).












My brother and his girlfriend stopped in along with a couple of their friends, so I went with them for a quick lunch in a very packed burger joint across the rode, then booked it back over for 3:30, which was the costume contest line-up. As expected, it was a loooong wait. The three of us didn't hit the stage until closer to 7 - I think we were #39 out of 50.

The nerves, oh jaysus, the nerves... I'm no stranger to theatre but the ol' heart was earning its keep that day. We had anticipated a side-entrance to the stage (based on videos from years previous) but this stage was only accessible from the center back through a rather elaborate curtain system operated by very kind tech hands. As the group before us finished up, the three of us fist-bumped, told each other we were going to school dat shit, yo, and it began. Cole, our non-descript civilian wandered out first (to "No Ticket" courtesy of John Williams and the soundtrack to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), Deez followed as La Volpe, and I waited in the rear. She swiped his money pouch while he strolled about, completely oblivious, then I parted the curtains and crept up behind him, thinking "Lordy, there must be over 4000 people watching this right now. He was dead after a swift application of the wristblade to his back and I set about looting his body for anything of use. Pulling a brown bag off his belt, I felt around inside. The first thing to come out was a giant plastic salmon (had it since I was 8 and it usually keeps my door propped open). I dropped this on the stage where it landed with an echoing THUD that sparked a very out-of-character grin. Next was a tomato, still on the vine (see AC: Brotherhood). And lastly was a very lacy, very pink, very skimpy pair of women's underwear. The crowd turned into a porridge of catcalls and laughing shouts of approval.

Where was the money? This wasn't bene at all! A whistle came from behind. I turned to see La Volpe tossing the coin pouch and grinning. That was fine. I picked up the tomato, gave it a squeeze for its ripeness, then linked arms with that foxy theif and off we strolled. Cole followed us shortly afterwards. Only watching the video took by Deez's boyfriend (coming soon, I hope!), we saw that he did this terrifically hilarious zombie rise-from-the-dead type thing, picked up the stuff we left, and lurched off the stage after us.

Man, talk about a rush! After reading so much about major costume contests online from the peeps at deviantArt, nothing compares to the actual experience. Deez and Cole were much more collected about the whole thing but I took another half hour before the flail stopped in any great amount. We sat in to watch the rest of the show, then the judges went away to deliberate.

Nerves! Nervesnervesnervesnerves.

They were back by 8 pm and the various categories began. Best Youth, Best Novice, Novie Runner-Up, Most Original, Judges Choice, Audience Favourite, Journeyman, etc. There weren't enough registrations in the journeymen and master categories so they had to combine the two. The other costumes were utterly stellar so we didn't really think we would have any luck. Best in Show came up last. It required a bit of explanation for there was a fancy trophy, a giant cheque for $100, passes for next year, VIP passes for this year, etc. We were shifting ourselves by that point, figuring we'd head back to the booth, and see about rounding up some dinner. Then came the words "The Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo 2011 Costume Contest Best in Show award goes to the Assassin's Creed II group."

At first we were stunned. I thought "Holy shit, you've got to be kidding." I looked over at Cole and Deez and they looked back at me. "That's us! Holy shit!"By that time, I was picking my way down over those precarious folding stadium seats with all the grace of a water buffalo. We struggled down to the floor, cameras tracking us as we came up to the stage. I took the stairs two at a time, nearly tripping for Giovanni's boots don't flex that well, and then it was a giant round of hand-shakes and grins and congratulations. I think we posed for a picture at one point. And then it was over and we were back stage. A couple of the costume contest volunteers came up again and told us how happy they were. We were still over the moon. I know there was very undignified flailing on my part, including a sink-to-the-knees with fists pumping. I don't think Sidney Crosby could have been more elated when he scored the game-winning goal for Canadian men's hockey at the 2010 Olympics.

I know it's always going to be one of the highlights of my life. Couldn't have done it without Deez and Cole either. So now we've got the giant cheque on our wall with the lacy, pink underwear next to it. The trophy sits next to the PS3 and looks on as we play Brotherhood.

Gah, sorry to rant. But seriously. Still having a bit of flail.

We went out for a celebratory dinner, got rained on, then headed home to do it all again the next day.

Sunday, 19 June 2011

I had thought to wear Marius for part of the last day but the change would have been too much work, so Giovanni it was again. Contest aside, it was pretty much the same as Saturday. We did the usual wander, bought some swag, talked to old friends, posed for photos, etc. Cameron Stewart was there from Ubisoft. He's one of the authors/illustrators for Assassin's Creed: The Fall (and damn handsome to boot!) and we chatted with him for a bit about the franchise. He told us he knew what the next AC game (after Revelations) was about too and laughed at our consternation when he couldn't say more.

Then we hit up Kate Beaton's booth where she signed our copies of her book. She was also awesome enough to do sketches of us inside the front cover. There would be evidence but the scanner is in Calgary. Sooon though. It was awesome.

The evening was pretty tame. Off to dinner with some webcomic peeps known intimately by the Nerd Posse but less intimately by yours truly and then it was a somewhat reluctant return home to shed the nose, the five pounds of makeup, and the duds.

Thus, CCEE 2011 came to an end.

Unless I can scrounge up another, it's going to be a looooong wait until the next local Con in November.

Giovanni: The Current State of Affairs

Have an update! Quick! Like a glove!

I give you the following:


















It's sitting at 95% done right now. Just have to make the weapons sheaths and figure out those damnable cords (orly?). You can see the vambrace sitting on the boots over by the sewing machine. The boots turned out perfectly, so my initial misgivings were completely unfounded.

Can't believe I'm nearing the end with this. I've never worked on a costume for such an extended period of time; typically, they're shorter projects packed into a month or two of uber-intense, stressful work. But Gio's been ongoing since late December now and the prospect of wrapping him up is a little... sad. But still exhilirating.

Con starts the day after tomorrow. It'll be Marius Friday night and then Gio Saturday and Sunday. Holyshitisthisreallyhappening...

And I just got word from my brilliant roomie (aka La Volpe) and she's snagging me some gold tooth enamel from her work so the good Elector Count can have a gold tooth for Friday night's festivities. Because he's a classy dude like that. Still have to find a snuff box...

Giovanni: The Home Stretch

Apologies for the lack of updates but as you've probably guessed, it's crunch-time. The CCEE 2011 starts the night of 17 June and today's 8 June. Stressful? Yup.

So here's the Epic List of Stuff Left to Do:

Attach lapel decorations
Tack down right doublet shoulder-guard
Add silver scrollwork to leather shoulder guard
Attach cords to leather shoulder-guard
Attach belt-plate to belt
Attach D-rings to belt for cords
Iron out the red stripes more on the doublet
Weather doublet
Make weaponry sheaths
Cast vambrace decoration
Buy temporary "switch blade" for the hidden blade
Attach rope clips
Finish edging on boots
Attach boot straps

I wonder if it would be overly schwein-like of me to ask for a couple of personal days off work this coming week? Let's see how the weekend goes.

Speaking of the boots, they are coming very well! After Con, I will write up a complete tutorial for them. I was super-glad I took the extra time to make sure they fit properly.


















They are in various stages of completion here. The leather suede covering has been added to both except for the tops. The one on my left leg has been cut down to its final size - compared to the one on the right, there's about 7 cm off the top and 3cm off the side. Now it's a matter of finishing up the rolled edges (yeah baby, over 460 cm of rolled edges...) and adding the straps.

I think the Captain digs it so far:

Giovanni: Crisis Averted

Got half the stuff cast last night, aided by the mad skills of my sculptor friend Jesse, who knows all about this sort of thing.

The process was simple but surprisingly intricate:
1. Sculpt the originals out of Super Sculpey
2. Pour the silicone mold with Oomoo 30, available from Smooth-On.
3. Brush in silver powder (also available from Smooth-On)
4. Pour the positives using Smooth Cast 321 after first adding a few drops of black dye to the casting liquid.

And this is what you end up with!















The colour inconsistencies are due to the amount of dye added to the liquid. I opted for the lighter silver last night but now I wish I had kept things darker. But this is how you learn!

Here is how it looks on the belt:











Next week, the flexible stuff will be done, including the vambrace and lapel decorations.

This weekend is going to be insanely busy; I shouldn't even be writing this, given the sheer amounts of stuff to do. Have to tidy up the sword belt and vambrace this morning AND make the pattern (at least for the tails) then head out to the 'rents for my brother's grad party. THEN back into the city at some unholy hour tomorrow morning to wear Marius at the Lilac Festival with the re-enactment peeps THEN back out to the 'rents for a minor road-trip out east to pick up The Captain.

Yeah, holy shit, kids! I'm gettin' a dog!



















His name is Nemo aka The Captain and yes, he is a weiner dog. The ultimate weiner dog! With the arrival of spring here, I love getting out for walks in the evening (when I'm not losing my mind over costumes) and what better walking companion than a dog! He's a rescue dog, seven years old, trim, utterly proud, and hilarious.

You probably think I'm daft for taking this on three weeks before Con and I concur absolutely. But this was one of those things where you think about it, you plan it, and you do it. Just like that. I'm stoked.

But enough of this! Things need to be made! Onwards ho.

Giovanni: There's Always a Catch

The Sculpey is progressing apace - only have to do the cord clips and the lapel decorations - but I've hit a snag with the casting materials. Turns out they're going to be nearly $150 more expensive than anticipated. Guess that's what I get for being Canadian. The initial estimate was already in the ballpark of $250 so do the math there.












So I've had to rethink the game-plan. In the worst-case scenario, I can sand, paint, and attach the Sculpey without casting anything. But this isn't going to work for the bracer where the decorations must be bent around the piece. And there's the very good chance that things will break.

I don't mind spending hundreds of dollars on leather-working tools because they are multi-use items and I know I CAN use them. I'm less enthused about dropping loads of money on buckets of rubber when I'm not even comfortable using the stuff.

I'll leave you with my To Do list for today because the stress is starting to set in and I need to get my shit together:

Attach straps/buckles to vambrace
Pattern the doublet tails
Finish the sword belt

Giovanni: Test Run

A bit premature but I got all the bits together and on me for the first time tonight. There's a lot left to go but MAN, it does what it's supposed to! Especially with the hood up. And once I've got the makeup down + contact lenses which I ordered tonight.... adfjjdalkja omg.

I've been getting the gym on fairly regularly for the last month and it's starting to show on my face, which is really going to help with the lean and hungry look Gio has. Only problem is, the doublet pattern was made back in January, season of Post-Christmas Fatness. So it's a little big. But too big is ALWAYS better than too small.

There would be pictures but I want to get further along before that. And it's nearly midnight.

Sword belt is 99% done. More Sculpey tomorrow. Will start the shoulder-guard cording VERY soon because I'm sick of the damned thing always slipping off my shoulder when I'm testing stuff out.

Later, dudes.

Giovanni: Michelangeloing

Things I Learned Recently: Sculpey sculpting takes a lot. of. time. I initially thought this would be a minimal, vaguely jokish task compared to bigger things like... oh... making the hood or something.

Nope. Nope, it definitely is not.

But it's the main project for this weekend and things are going well so far.

To get the size right, I printed off images in 1:1 scale from the reproduction gear at Museum Replicas (which is really terrible, btw) and then sculpted over top.














Greaseh Sculpey is greaseh. The vambrace isn't done but the belt-plate is. Have some Before-and-After shots:


























The baking was a bit over-zealous but hey! It works! Only have to sand off a bit of the rough bits and then we're good.

I did up the vambrace and under-bracer last weekend.












The under-bracer goes on first with the lacing at the top of the arm. The hidden blade is laced to this on the bottom of the arm. Then the vambrace goes over top. I've yet to add the buckles to the vambrace but the rivets went on Friday with minimal mishap. Ideally, they would be smaller and more abundant but these do the trick nicely. The rolled edge on the under-bracer went together exactly the same as the belt and the shoulder guard. I cut it out of a rather ratty piece of 4 oz veg-tan leather but once the antiquing gel went on, it turned that roughness into something quite beautiful. The red/mahogony colour isn't so red in actuality.













We're on-schedule with this but with three weeks left, the work can't stop! There was a lot of slacking off last week due to the successes of the weekend before but the weeks to come are going to be full. Once the Sculpey is finished, it all needs to be cast with silicone molds, positives painted, and then applied. In the words of the talented Veshy: "Holy tits!"

And so upcoming this week includes:

Patterning the boots
Making the doublet tails
Buying casting materials (I can hear my wallet screaming already...)
Sword belt

In non-costuming news, we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides last Friday. Initial reaction? Boring. Second reaction? Blackbeard was massively, MASSIVELY under-written. I'll admit it - Ian McShane* is the entire reason I went to see it but Good God, Mr. Director! WTF! You've got this dude on-hand who is capable of playing the most excellently terrifying villians yet you give him nothing to do? Money back please. And my brother summed up my thoughts on Mr. Depp's performance perfectly over supper tonight:

"It's like they call up the Jack Sparrow guy when they're going to make another one and he goes 'Okay, sweet. I'll stand there and do this the entire time.'" And he waved his hands in circles.

Before I get on with the evening here, I've got to give a shout out to all my real-life friends reading this - your interest and support have been a HUGE inspiration to me over the last couple of months. I heart you guys!!

*I'll save my Ian McShane rant for the next Marius post because the two are, in fact, related.

Giovanni: Lunch Break

Just a quick update to get my head wrapped about the stuff that's left to do. We've been working at fever pitch (thanks to Marius for the phrase) but we can't slack off yet!

Und so:

Sculpt and cast all embellishments
Sew together and attach the white tails to the doublet
DONE - Make a hood pattern that doesn't totally suck and make the hood
DONE - Finish and weather the doublet
Make the sword belt
Make the boots
Make the scabbards for the boot-knife and the throwing knives
JUST ABOUT DONE - Make the under-bracer and the vambrace for the hidden blade
DONE - Finish the details on the shirt
DONE - Make the cloak
Finish the cloak cording

Getting twitchy to work on Marius again too...

Giovanni: The Big Stuff

It seems I've grown incapable of sleeping past 7:21 AM, so here we are, showered and ready to go and it's barely past 9 on a Sunday morning. Useful but incredibly lame.

Yesterday met with the best of success. The hood and the cloak came together with minimal mishap and I even squeezed in two geektastic outings with Chels and her debonair husband, Peter.

But this is how things looked by the end of the day:


















I really enjoy making this big "easy" stuff because you can do a couple of pieces in a day and it really feels like you're getting somewhere.

I was worried about the hood from the start but once I did the final press, pinned it to the doublet, and drew it up over my head, there was some serious Happy Costumer Flail. It's pretty near spot-on without being overly anal about the details.















































It's made with 100% Linen, hence the myriad of wrinkles which I've yet to iron out, and lined with the same red polyester seen everywhere else on this.

The cloak was a piece of cake. Because Gio's is shorter in the front and longer in the back, I could cut it as a right-angle triangle:












The right angle has been cut diagonally so this butts up nicely under the lapel and the shoulder guard. After doing a quick mock-up out of muslin, I cut the actual piece out of a brown wool/viscose blend* I've had in the stash for some five years and the ubiquitous red poly as the lining. It went together without a hitch. Yet I have a feeling the brown is going to sag a bit over time. This typically happens when heavier outer fabrics are attached to lighter linings and left to hang. It can be avoided by pinning the pieces together, weighting them, and letting them hang for a couple of months before you sew them together but time is of the essence here.

This is how it looked last night:














And this is how it looks this morning:
















As I expected. So I left the diagonal corner seam unsewn so I can pull the outer fabric up as need be.

Going to head to the 'rents place this afternoon to get out of the city and clear my brain a bit with some riding, though I'll bring the leather with me and get a start on the bracers.

Before I sign off, I've got to introduce the newest member of the team:


















Meet Daniel Craig, the Betta. He's here for moral support and aesthetic pleasure.

And before I forget, there's been developments on the Marius front but I'm so deep into Giovanni, the Elector Count won't be making an appearance for a few days.

*This brown wool has served me most nobly in the past as a back-drop for various photoshoots and as a welcome source of warmth during the night we took the Copernicus shots amid -30C temperatures.

Giovanni: In Da Hood

So this weekend, I have to do the following:

Swordbelt
Cloak
Hood

Last weekend, I put together a rough pattern for the hood but didn't go further with it since I didn't have a hand-held mirror to check the back of it (and it didn't occur to me to use the camera). But checking things this morning in preparation for the day's labours, it wasn't such a rough pattern afterall!

Have a squint.


















It doesn't hang exactly like Gio's does in the films but I like this look better, so I'm stickin' to it! Having it tacked down at the front and center-back really stretches it nicely over top of the head.


















There are a few things to change - I have to extend the front points so they come down past the edges of the shoulder guards as well as widen the peak, as thus:















Then it should be good to go. (Note to Self: Practise looking murderously predatory...)

Observant readers might have noticed too that the banding is done around the lapels. Yes, indeed this does mean the rest of the hem is completed AND the straps are added across the front. O, happy day. Now I only have to weather it. Awww, yisss.

Onwards!

Giovanni: It's All About the Awl

I was going to finish the roll hem on the doublet tonight but I do owe you guys serious postage. (It's also a method of clearing my mind which is rapidly becoming overwhelmed)

The main leather components were last week's biggest triumph. Those include the belt and the shoulder guard Giovanni wears on the left side over top of his cloak.

The process here was pretty simple. Taking the poster-board pattern I made up previously, I cut the guard and the belt out of 6 oz and 9 oz leather respectively. These formed the base of the pieces over which I could add the brown garment weight leather.

The shoulder guard was first. Here you can (sort of) see the base and the brown leather pattern pieces cut out and ready to go:














These were sewn together with the Herculean labours of my sewing machine since I was in a hurry (never be, btw) and didn't want to do it by hand. Then they were glued to the base with contact cement. Contact cement and leather, by the way, is like hockey and beer - they were meant to be together. Next up, the roll hem!

First you lay a strip of leather down, right-side to ride-side, and sew along the end about 1.5 cm in, as thus:














Do this all the way around, making sure the corners are stitched extra-tight. Mind the gap here too - watch where your cut ends meet. If possible, put them someplace un-obvious rather than right at the front like the clever person here did. Once this is done, roll these strips tightly to the underside of the piece. Make sure they're tight here otherwise you'll get an uneven, crappy-looking roll. Now grab your contact cement again and glue them down underneath. You should have something that looks like this:














Stylin'! One step left. Get your initial pattern and trace out one more piece on the brown leather but cut it in about 1.5 cm all around. Glue this to the underside here so the bottom of the blank is covered up. I'm sure there's a much more professional way of finishing this but I'm not that smart yet. I'll let you know when I find out.

The belt went together exactly the same as this but there wasn't time to take pictures amidst the curses and the bleeding fingers. This picture, however, WAS taken with a specific purpose:














See those needles there? This is why we invest in quality tools, kids. By all means, if you can afford it, buy yourself the proper gear - a good pair of fabric-cutting scissors, a decent awl, non-shitty needles, etc. It will save you a thousand head-aches in the future.

But boots and sword-belt aside, most of the leather-work for Gio is now done. I feel I can see the light at this stage but just for laughs, let's make The List of Things to Finish:

Scuplt and cast all embellishments
Sew together and attach the white tails to the doublet
Make a hood pattern that doesn't totally suck and make the hood
Finish and weather the doublet
Make the sword belt
Make the boots
Make the scabbards for the boot-knife and the throwing knives
Make the under-bracer and the vambrace for the hidden blade
Finish the details on the shirt
Make the cloak
Finish the cloak cording
Cry

And soooo.... let's go see how Marius is doing...

PS Not sure why this turned into a "Make Your Own Belt and Shoulder Guard Post."

Giovanni: As Promised

Hmmm... methinks think I can see the semblance of an assassin here!

















And on that note, it's 12:14 AM and I am going to bed. Deets tomorrow, kids!

Giovanni Day 4: Doublet Adventures

I've come to realize that these 'day-by-day' updates are a tad misleading. It is Post #4 for Gio but he's been in the works off and on since late January. I don't want to give the impression that all of this work is accomplished in only four days yet simultaneously, I don't want to write "Giovanni Day 63" because that would remind me what an embarrassingly narrow life I lead.

Regardless, this is the progress of the last few days. The stripes went on Saturday morning in the midst of experiments with Super Sculpey (more on THAT later...) and failed attempts at shoulder guard patterns. The rest of the day was spent on a supply run since the Sculpey did what it was supposed to. I also picked up the fabric for Supah Sekrit Cohsteuwm Nubah 3, which will be completed if:

A: Giovanni and Marius are done with time to spare (HA) or;
B: Giovanni takes too long and I need something simpler than Marius (who grows more complicated by the day).

And so Sunday was devoted to patterning up the sash, the belt, and the large leather shoulder guard.

.
















These were delightfully straightforward and went together in a number of minutes. The outer doublet panels consumed the rest of the day and the rest of the weekend. Below you can see the shell panels pinned roughly over the base:


















This is to get the effect seen here:












These stripes throw ACII costumers for the proverbial loop time and time again. With Ezio in the game (and all of the action figures), it's hard to tell what's going on with the white fabric alongside those red stripes. Most assume it's narrow bands of lace but Giovanni has clearly got some epic fraying action going on here. This is where things got "fun" this weekend. Earlier, I had assumed I could simply cut the outer shell in those panels, lay the pieces over those red stripes and fray the sides a bit. No, no banana, nein, nie, non, and all of the above. This is how it looked when I tried my initial plan

:











Can we say "epic fail"? So I grabbed two of my initial fray test pieces (from a ripped salvage end of the outer fabric) and laid them under this travesty.













Now that's what I'm talkin' about. But there was a catch. As seen in the initial attempt, cut edges of fabric do not fray well whereas the ripped ones did beautifully. So I set about ripping off five 1.5" bands from my extra outer fabric and after picking mournfully at the weave with a sewing awl and hating life for an hour, I realized I could fray them very quickly by standing on one end, working a couple of threads loose, and stripping these off down the length of the strip.* And thus we got the following:


















Each red stripe requires two frayed lengths on either side to get the amount Giovanni seems to have on his. This is going to add considerable work to the doublet but it will be absolutely worth it in the long-run. Never settle, kids!

Stay tuned for another update soonest! (Probably tonight or tomorrow) But for now, I have a sneaking suspicion my oranges congealed into a cat.**

















*Un-necessary detail, probably, but I considered this discovery such a triumph since it saved me four or five hours of agony.
**I'm not actually a huge fan of cats. It's just that we have three of them and they're always doing stupid things.

Giovanni Day 3: Doublet

!!!


















It's not airbrush-related but have some doublet! The red stripes are obnoxiously huge here but half of those widths are getting covered by the outer panels. Confused? Pictures to follow. (Also, my stripes are slightly closer together than the doublet seen in the Lineage films since there's a bit more Romano Orzari than there is yours truly. Also, also, PLEASE come to CCEE 2011, Mr. Orzari. I can guarantee at least one person will be out of their mind with joy).

You can see the shirt there too. It took four tries to get the collar right (1970s Renaissance, much?). There's over four metres of white quilting cotton in that so far because the front and back panels had to be double-layered. I grossly underestimated the amount needed and now require a THIRD trip back to F-land before I can finish the sleeves.

Rules of Thumb for Sewing:

1. Buy twice what you need in fabric.
2. Assume everything will take at least three times longer than planned.

And lo, bed beckoned. And verily I went forth and laid upon that bed and did sleep after first stressing for two and a half hours about costume deadlines.

Giovanni: Day 1

I've ranted at length on Facebook and LJ about the newest project but it's time to get the show on the road.

Let me introduce you to Giovanni Auditore from Assassin's Creed II. When costuming ACII stuff, most people chose Ezio but after seeing the Lineage films and losing some sleep due to the sheer awesomeness of Giovanni, I knew he was going to be my main project for the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo 2011.

Raided Fabricland on Christmas Eve and came up with the following (the colours look infinitely better IRL):

Today, I started the muslin mock-up for his doublet and - by sheer luck - managed to design the shirt pattern as well. I hate collars with a passion and the prospect of his lapels had me pretty freaked out until I laid my basic doublet pattern over top of my 1810s tailcoat and eyeballed how they might go. The initial attempt looked like this after I cut them down a bit.

Right off the bat, that's pretty much how how his shirt looks so I marked out the doublet lapels with red pencil. Then it was a matter of draping another scrap piece over that area and tracing out the proper shape as such. When I recut the muslin, I simply cut the first crappy lapel off and added this.













The final product is on the right there. I tucked the shirt pattern inside so I could see how the collar would overlap the doublet lapels. It's not too obvious but I knew I had it when I compared it with the image at the top of this entry.

Make-upwise, I whipped out the rigid collodion this morning and drew a nice, curvy scar on the left side of my face à la Romano Orzari:

His, unfortunately, is natural (I would love to know how he got it...) but the collodion produced something vaguely similar by drying and contracting the skin. But it has to be used in small, specific quantities, otherwise it looks a little like... your nose dripped on your cheek and it dried there. Hot.




From Here: Test out the red hair tint tonight. Finalize the muslin mock-up this week. More details on the shirt in the next post. I am STOKED, dudes! Have a picture of my stupid cat in celebration of today's success: