Gunpei
01-16-2004, 12:09 AM
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_frontlites.jpg
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_gloves.jpg
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_idlightshelmet.jpg
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_Backandside.jpg
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_sidefacelites.jpg
http://gamesfiles.giga.de/fotostories/bilderpool/74997_1072805868.jpg
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_sidefacelites.jpg
INTERVIEW with the guy who made the armor
If you checked out the Halo Armor over at Nightmare Armor then you're probably as impressed as we were. Not content with simply gaping at realistically molded, electrically wired, painted and sculpted chunks of the Master Chief's Mjolnir armor, we decided to sit down with Sid Garrand, Brian Boling and Justin Williams, just three of the hardcore Halo fans at Nightmare Armor to find out how this stuff gets built, and what drove them to it.
Frankie: How did you guys get started making these full body suits of armor?
Sid: Nightmare Armor started with [just] myself, and I've been an artist for over 20 years now. Back then I was constantly struggling to find new ways to express my artistic abilities. My passion is character design so I decided to step outside the box and challenge myself to higher limits. When I finished my first full suit (the Deepeyes Armor from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within) I found a sense of gratification that I had not felt with any of my past art attempts. When this first suit was debuted it attracted a lot of attention. I found myself surrounded by many like-minded individuals who wanted to work with me on future projects. I then weeded through this group of people and hand picked the members that make up the team today. I think this is where this turned from a hobby into a passion. I'm very grateful to work with such a talented group of guys that all share the same idea: that, first and foremost, what we do is for the sake of art. So you ask me how we got started? By not compromising the quality of creativity.
Frankie: What's the process involved in the design and manufacture?
Justin: Ok, this will be fun to explain. Let me start off by saying this process takes a good amount of time and devotion to complete an entire armor costume:
1. Inspiration - before anything something has to inspire us to want to create a masterpiece. This can come from movies, video games, or even an original idea.
2. Concept - once we decide on what subject matter we are going to do, when then research the subject. We study its architectural design, its engineering form and functionality, and its style. We basically start drawing and deciding how we're going to start sculpting the parts of the armor.
3. Sculpting - This is where Sid comes in. All the armor that you see has been hand sculpted by Sid. He starts off drawing each piece until he has it memorized. Then the piece comes from the drawing board to the various materials we use to sculpt with, which are specific to the pieces being sculpted.
4. Molding - The prototype that Sid has sculpted is then readied for the mold making process. At this point this is where most of our cost for the current project is incurred. Mold making is where our studio techniques are most applied and is also the most time consuming aspect of the project. (Due to multiple molds that require extra craftsmanship and engineering techniques. )
5. Casting - This is the first step to actually manufacturing a finished product. This involves using a number of materials depending on the shape and weight of the project. Such as: fiberglass, two-part industrial grade plastics and some machined aluminum parts.
6. Finishing - Depending on the desired look, many finishes can be applied. Anything from automotive paints, to creative air brush finishes. Mostly all the parts that are painted are finished with a high quality automotive clear coat finish. We believe that the start of a good paint job is in the prep work. And trust me...we spent hours in the studio sanding and dremeling these pieces to get them ready for paint. You'd think that the amount of time we put into the projects we'd be working for NASA.
7. Retrofitting - This is where we creatively fit the armor to the person. This can consist of any of the following: Military grade fasteners/clips, nylon straps, neoprene undersuits, underpadding (for the comfort of the wearer), gloves, boots, F/X such as LED lights, cooling fans, and other high tech gadgets.
That pretty much sums it up what we do to make this armor. It's not exactly easy, and it's very time consuming. But it's something we all love doing and want to continue doing
Frankie: What do you guys do with completed suits?
Brian: This is where we get to premier our latest work. We go to conventions such as: Dragon Con (in our hometown of Atlanta, Ga), ComicCon, Costume Con, Gen Con, Chicago Con, just to name a few. This year we're all excited about possibly making it out to E3. I mean this is the place where all the newest and greatest video games are premiered. This is where the biggest names in the industry debut their latest masterpieces. We want to be right there with everybody, and we'd love to be able to promote the Halo 2 release, or possibly have someone sponsor us so we can definitely make it out there to promote Halo 2. *winkwink*
Frankie: Why did you pick Master Chief as subject matter?
Sid: This was an easy choice. Everyone in our studio can agree that we've been into video games since the beginning. And to date, hands down, Halo has been the biggest milestone in video game history. It's inspired us as artists to push ourselves above and beyond, and devote this entire project to Halo.
Frankie: Are you guys looking forward to Halo 2, and why?
Justin: Well let me put it to you like this. No. Why? Due to the lack of jobs, lack of sleep, malnourishment, and otherwise our inability to pry ourselves away from our Xbox. In other words, we bleed black and green. We at the studio would like to tip our hats to the hard work and talent that Bungie has put into Halo 2, and as fans it has been a long wait, but it will definitely be well worth it. In this day and age there are a lot of choices for entertainment such as movies, concerts, playing paintball, racing sport bikes, but we all find ourselves drawn back to the good healthy fun of a video game.
Editors Note: After seeing the kind of passion and dedication that the guys at Nightmare Armor had put into the Halo armor project, we were too embarrassed to tell them that in Halo 2, Master Chief's costume will be made of dyed mink fur and that in scene one, we remove his helmet forever so you can see his long golden hair. And his lipstick.
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_gloves.jpg
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_idlightshelmet.jpg
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_Backandside.jpg
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_sidefacelites.jpg
http://gamesfiles.giga.de/fotostories/bilderpool/74997_1072805868.jpg
http://www.bungie.net/images/site/bnet/news_images/news_armor_sidefacelites.jpg
INTERVIEW with the guy who made the armor
If you checked out the Halo Armor over at Nightmare Armor then you're probably as impressed as we were. Not content with simply gaping at realistically molded, electrically wired, painted and sculpted chunks of the Master Chief's Mjolnir armor, we decided to sit down with Sid Garrand, Brian Boling and Justin Williams, just three of the hardcore Halo fans at Nightmare Armor to find out how this stuff gets built, and what drove them to it.
Frankie: How did you guys get started making these full body suits of armor?
Sid: Nightmare Armor started with [just] myself, and I've been an artist for over 20 years now. Back then I was constantly struggling to find new ways to express my artistic abilities. My passion is character design so I decided to step outside the box and challenge myself to higher limits. When I finished my first full suit (the Deepeyes Armor from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within) I found a sense of gratification that I had not felt with any of my past art attempts. When this first suit was debuted it attracted a lot of attention. I found myself surrounded by many like-minded individuals who wanted to work with me on future projects. I then weeded through this group of people and hand picked the members that make up the team today. I think this is where this turned from a hobby into a passion. I'm very grateful to work with such a talented group of guys that all share the same idea: that, first and foremost, what we do is for the sake of art. So you ask me how we got started? By not compromising the quality of creativity.
Frankie: What's the process involved in the design and manufacture?
Justin: Ok, this will be fun to explain. Let me start off by saying this process takes a good amount of time and devotion to complete an entire armor costume:
1. Inspiration - before anything something has to inspire us to want to create a masterpiece. This can come from movies, video games, or even an original idea.
2. Concept - once we decide on what subject matter we are going to do, when then research the subject. We study its architectural design, its engineering form and functionality, and its style. We basically start drawing and deciding how we're going to start sculpting the parts of the armor.
3. Sculpting - This is where Sid comes in. All the armor that you see has been hand sculpted by Sid. He starts off drawing each piece until he has it memorized. Then the piece comes from the drawing board to the various materials we use to sculpt with, which are specific to the pieces being sculpted.
4. Molding - The prototype that Sid has sculpted is then readied for the mold making process. At this point this is where most of our cost for the current project is incurred. Mold making is where our studio techniques are most applied and is also the most time consuming aspect of the project. (Due to multiple molds that require extra craftsmanship and engineering techniques. )
5. Casting - This is the first step to actually manufacturing a finished product. This involves using a number of materials depending on the shape and weight of the project. Such as: fiberglass, two-part industrial grade plastics and some machined aluminum parts.
6. Finishing - Depending on the desired look, many finishes can be applied. Anything from automotive paints, to creative air brush finishes. Mostly all the parts that are painted are finished with a high quality automotive clear coat finish. We believe that the start of a good paint job is in the prep work. And trust me...we spent hours in the studio sanding and dremeling these pieces to get them ready for paint. You'd think that the amount of time we put into the projects we'd be working for NASA.
7. Retrofitting - This is where we creatively fit the armor to the person. This can consist of any of the following: Military grade fasteners/clips, nylon straps, neoprene undersuits, underpadding (for the comfort of the wearer), gloves, boots, F/X such as LED lights, cooling fans, and other high tech gadgets.
That pretty much sums it up what we do to make this armor. It's not exactly easy, and it's very time consuming. But it's something we all love doing and want to continue doing
Frankie: What do you guys do with completed suits?
Brian: This is where we get to premier our latest work. We go to conventions such as: Dragon Con (in our hometown of Atlanta, Ga), ComicCon, Costume Con, Gen Con, Chicago Con, just to name a few. This year we're all excited about possibly making it out to E3. I mean this is the place where all the newest and greatest video games are premiered. This is where the biggest names in the industry debut their latest masterpieces. We want to be right there with everybody, and we'd love to be able to promote the Halo 2 release, or possibly have someone sponsor us so we can definitely make it out there to promote Halo 2. *winkwink*
Frankie: Why did you pick Master Chief as subject matter?
Sid: This was an easy choice. Everyone in our studio can agree that we've been into video games since the beginning. And to date, hands down, Halo has been the biggest milestone in video game history. It's inspired us as artists to push ourselves above and beyond, and devote this entire project to Halo.
Frankie: Are you guys looking forward to Halo 2, and why?
Justin: Well let me put it to you like this. No. Why? Due to the lack of jobs, lack of sleep, malnourishment, and otherwise our inability to pry ourselves away from our Xbox. In other words, we bleed black and green. We at the studio would like to tip our hats to the hard work and talent that Bungie has put into Halo 2, and as fans it has been a long wait, but it will definitely be well worth it. In this day and age there are a lot of choices for entertainment such as movies, concerts, playing paintball, racing sport bikes, but we all find ourselves drawn back to the good healthy fun of a video game.
Editors Note: After seeing the kind of passion and dedication that the guys at Nightmare Armor had put into the Halo armor project, we were too embarrassed to tell them that in Halo 2, Master Chief's costume will be made of dyed mink fur and that in scene one, we remove his helmet forever so you can see his long golden hair. And his lipstick.