Experimentation

In order to properly deduce which materials would be best to construct my garment from, and to produce more accurate designs, I created samples to work from and guide my decision.

Using a mixture of natural and semi-natural materials, I distressed, burned and painted over them using various methods - attacking them with a scalpel, tearing them, singing the edges with a lighter, using acrylics and oil paints to apply splashes of colour, all to find out which combination would product the most striking result. I am not necessarily aiming for realism, but plausibility in this situation.

I also created paper patterns for my props - this was especially important for the shield as I needed to figure out the curvature of each piece that would create a dome, and a paper sword pattern would help me determine size. I first assembled the shield pattern in 1/10th scale to ensure my idea would work on a larger scale, then made a scaled up pattern using its measurements. Similarly, I made a rudimentary pattern for the circlet from paper.

In the end, I settled on the following:

- Sword dimensions: 72 x 15 cm, 3cm depth

- Shield dimensions: 50cm x 50cm

- Fabric: Black polycotton sheeting, torn with scalpel and signed with lighter - must be sealed with PVA or similar adhesive to prevent ash falling off

- Paint: Acrylic paint marker - Layered - sky blue on dark blue.