Ember Celica Tutorial - By SMD Creations
Hello! As I’ve had several people ask about the creation process and construction of the Ember Celica commission I did for a friend, I thought i’d share this tutorial with you. I also sell these in KIT Form on my Etsy store linked, click here. So without further ado, lets get started!
Step 1 - Foam Construction.
I started by drawing around my hand and arm on some card and then drew the base shape and design of the gauntlet. I then carefully cut it out and used it as a template to draw around onto the Plastazote Foam (I used different thickness to build up the shape/form) which I then glued onto a thick card tube which I had cut in half. I did the same with the Cuff section using the other half of the card tube.
Test fit to see how well it fit and to make sure that overall size and shape was correct.
For the top plate sections of the gauntlets I used craft foam and Worbla to make the base shape and formed them over the fibreglass casts I had made so they had the same level of curvature as the main body of the gauntlets so they sat nicely when placed on top. I then glued a layer of foam to them, and used masking tape to act as guide when using a sharp knife to carve the edges so both pieces would look the same.
Step 2 - Moulding the Foam Pieces.
Once I was happy with the foam sculpt, I then embed the pieces onto a bed of clay, gave the foam and card a coating of bees wax, then built a wall using more clay that was taller than the foam pieces, and then mixed up a bucket of plaster and poured it onto the pieces making sure it got into all the cuts and recesses pf the foam pieces and then left it to fully set. Once the plaster had gone off I removed the clay walls and carefully pulled out the foam pieces from the plaster mould and cleaned it out making sure to get rid of the clay. I glued on some little off cuts of plastic to bridge the spaces where the mould protruded so it would be easier when it came to walling the plaster moulds with clay.
I also used a dremel/rotary tool to sharpen and redefine some of the edges which had lost some definition during the sanding process. Once I was happy with how they looked I then used a drill to drill a series of holes all the way through the casts along the edges and in the grooves so when being used any trapped air will be sucked out allowing for a better forming with the plastic
Step 3 - Bullets and Gun Barrels.
To make the bullets I used some thin off cuts of plastic which I glued a piece of craft foam in between and then carefully bent to shape so it had a curve that matched the fibreglass mould of the Cuff section. I then glued a piece of PVC pipe that I had cut in half into the section I had previously cut out of the top layer of plastic. The next step was to fill the edges with Bondo and sand back, then I used a needle file to file a groove line along the top to add some detail. For the Gun Barrel I Cut off a small section of PVC pipe, then glued on a strip of Styrene Plastic which I then sanded into shape and again added a groove around the barrel as I did with the bullet cartridge. I taped the bottom end of the piece up with some duct tape and then filled the inside of the barrel up to the groove line with some resin so it wouldn't be hollow, then cut the base of the barrel into an angle that mean it would sit straight and be in line when attached to the gauntlet.
I gave both pieces a few light coats of grey plastic primer spray paint and lightly sanded them with some superfine grade sanding pads to make sure they were nice and smooth before moulding. I glued both pieces onto a plastic board and then used a mixing cup with the bottom cut away as a wall which I glued onto the plastic base with a hot glue gun making sure that it was secure and didn't have any gaps/holes which the silicone could leak out from. The next step was to mix up a cup of RTV silicone and slowly pour it into the Mould, making sure not to let any air bubbles form or get trapped on the Bullet and Barrel. Once the Silicone had fully set I removed it from the base and carefully removed the plastic cup wall and the Bullet and Barrel from the silicone making sure not to rip it. The next step was to mix up some resin and pour it into the silicone mould and leave it to fully harden before removing the pieces and repeating the process again until I had 10 Bullets and 2 Barrels made from Resin.
Step 4 - Vacuum Forming.
Once I had all the moulds finished and ready to use I placed them in the Vacforming machine and used sheets of 2.5mm ABS Plastic which was heated up in the machine and then formed over the Fibreglass moulds when the plastic was hot enough. When the Formings had cooled down a hardened I cut them out and down to size, then used a sanding block to make sure the edges of the cuff sections were nice and straight that the cuffs matched up to the appropriate gauntlet. I then sanded down the rest of the edges making sure they were smooth and free from any rough edges.
I tapped the pieces of one of the gauntlets together to see how well they fitted and if I needed to trim back any sections a little more.
Step 5 - Painting.
The first part was to give all the pieces a few light coats of White Plastic Primer spray paint, then when fully dried I gave the pieces a few light coats of Yellow spray paint, and allowed each layer to fully dry before adding the next layer. The next step was to use masking tape and newspaper to mask off the gauntlets and top plates leaving only the raised beading sections exposed and then coated with a few layers of black spray paint and left to fully dry.
To weather the pieces I painted on some silver enamel using a fine paint brush along some of the raised sections and corners to look like wear and tear from use in combat. I also brushed/rubbled some watered down black acrylic paint into the grooves and edges to help add some depth as well as to help with the weathering. Once I was happy with the weathering I sprayed all the pieces with a few coats of Clear Lacquer spray paint to seal all the paint and stop it from chipping easily.
For the Gun Barrels I sprayed them with a black base coat instead of white, then placed some blu-tac inside them before spraying them silver so once dried and the blu-tac was removed the inside of the barrels were still black. While for the Bullet Cartridges I painted them the same way as I did with the Main Gauntlets, and used a red spray paint for the shotgun shell sections after I had masked them all off with masking tape.
When it came to weathering these pieces I did it the sameway as the main Gauntlets and again sealed the paint job with a few layers of Clear Lacquer spray paint.
Step 6 - Assembly
The first part was to drill a small hole into both the Gun Barrels sections on the Gauntlets, then mark and drill a hole into the base of the Barrels themselves and glue them onto the gauntlets making sure the holes line up and use a small screw to make sure the piece is secure and won't snap off. For the Top Plates and Main Gauntlets I cut out some 10mm thick pieces of foam and angled the edges so they would sit nicely/flush when glued inside these sections with Contact Adhesive/Cement.
To attach the cuffs to the Gauntlets I first made some 'teeth' using some thin off cuts of plastic and superglued them onto both pieces, this is so they line up and lock into place when closed. I then measured out and cut a strip of silver leather which I then onto the one side of the gauntlet but only about the with of one of the bullets, then did the same with the cuff, making sure to only glue it in the centre. This is to allow enough movement in the leather so when the bullets are glued on that the cuffs don't lock into place and cant come undone without possibly breaking. To stop these sections that had been glued from possibly peeling back and coming off I drilled some small holes and sewed some thread through them to reinforce them (3rd Pic/Bottom Left). I sewed on a one side of a small metal snap button onto the end of the the leather strip and the other onto a smaller piece of silver leather which was then glued onto the other side of the gauntlet so when closed the cuffs can be fastened.
To attach the straps I made 4 little squares of leather and sewed on some black webbing with Plastic D-Rings on, then glued them onto both sides of the gauntlets using Contact Adhesive/Cement, then placed my arm in them and measured the length I would need for the Elastic Straps and then reduced that length by an inch or two so the strap would be comfortable tightness, then sewed the straps on over the plastic D-Rings. The Elastic Strap for the wrist was sewn onto a square path of leather and then glued onto a strip of foam, which was then glued into the gauntlet. The foam strip is long enough to wrap around the wrist but also allowing the cuff to shut properly without getting in the way. This strip of foam helps to make the gauntlet fit better and feel more secure (if you have large wrists you may not need to have this strip of foam). The final step was to glue the Top Plates onto the Gauntlets using Contact Adhesive/Cement, and super-gluing 5 bullets onto each gauntlet with an equal distance between each one.
I hope this tutorial has been of some help to all you, and if you have any questions please feel to contact me on my facebook page at Sketch McDraw Creations