Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Midna's Helm

 
 
Midna is an interesting character. You don't want to like her, but as the game progresses, you can't help but find yourself drawn to the little imp. Her helm is a particularly interesting piece of sculpture, one of four pieces of the "Fused Shadow" that you're sent to collect in the beginning stages of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Since this is a helmet, it had to be light enough to not fatigue the wearer if used for 4+ hours. I decided on making it out of insulation foam. The initial parts were angled pieces of foam that were made to fit around the client's head. After that, I heated 2 pieces and bent them around the circumference of the piece, forming a flat surface to work with.



The "horns" were flat pieces of foam, glued to this structure. A raised edge was built up between them to form the front of the helmet. Recessed runes and patterns were carved into the foam using a soldering iron, while the raised portions were made using hot glue.

Unfortunately, there are only three process photos of this project that exist, as I was in a time crunch and the entire thing needed to be produced in four days. Despite the rush job, I believe the finished product came out very well. Other materials used were Crayola Model Magic (I will never use this again,) expanding insulation foam, ABS glue, and several different types of paint. The helm comes in weighing just over 3 pounds.





11 comments:

CobaltBlueTony™ said...

This is an awesome piece, and I love that you maintained the subtle cartoony aspects of it. So I hate to be picky, but I have to point out that, while I don't know the character, the left eye looks as if it is part of the helm, whereas the two sharp pieces jutting horizontally off the back seem to be part of the character's body/hair(?), in that the coloring and accents in the image of her match the rest of her body.

Just my thoughts. overall, it's truly skilled work! I'm adding your blog to my Blogger feed as I hope to see more cool stuff like this!

Anonymous said...

Incredible. Great work you are very talented.

Unknown said...

Wow, beautiful work! :) You are truly skilled-- Midna's helm is indeed a piece of work, and easily the most daunting part of the character. You have tackled this problem wonderfully.

@CobaltBlueTony: I think the things you're talking about are Midna's ears. It looks as if the artist has included them in the helm because... well, it just makes sense for them not to be a separate piece! :)

Unknown said...

Isn't the covered eye piece suppose to be on the left eye?

Harrison Krix said...

@ Jeff:

No, not really. The Gamecube versions and Wii versions are mirror-images of the same game. This is why Link is left-handed in one and right-handed in the other. In one version Midna's left eye is covered; in the other it's her right. Technically, both are canon.

Dixie Software Ninja said...

I saw your Big Daddy costume at DragonCon - once in the hamster tube between the Marriott and Peachtree Plaza. Excellent job.

I have a question about the curving of the pink foam - what is the process? I am interested in trying a similar technique for a mask.

Unknown said...

Nice

Susa said...

Hey Guy, i want to know if we can buy this master piece?!

It's so a great work!

Unknown said...

Can you post step-by-step instructions?
This headpiece is incredible?

reinamarquez said...

YOU ARE AWESOME

Unknown said...

Uh, is there any way that I can buy this from you?

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