'Sheikh suleiman' (Clash of the Titans)

Soulsearcher

This has been a labour of love for me after seeing the film "Clash of the Titans" and the stunning character 'Sheikh Suleiman', I first started by creating a fibreglass under skull that was taken from a head cast of myself and then proceeded to create the foreboding face of this character. For this stage of the costume build I decided to go with actual wood for the facial structure, This process took me over nine months to complete and used over 750 pieces of individually handcarved tree bark that was then soaked in clear resin and placed in an oven to bake and harden. Each piece was then placed by hand onto the fibreglass underskull.amd jaw, This was a time consuming process but it was worth it with the overall effect I was hoping to achieve! Once done I then hand painted each piece and then Weathered it for effect with a sandwash and then clear coated.

The next stage was to start on the arms and hands, I create a WED clay sculpt for these oieces which were then moulded and cast in Latex and painted in and Weathered to match the face of this costume. For the 'Talismans' I used Ram, Antelope and Deer antlers bought online and carefully matched in shape, Length and looks, Also using 'Horse' hair for the belt 'wafts' as seen in the images, There over over 80 differing 'Talismans' on the costume and was tedious to replicate, But again worth every minute! 

The 'Staff' again is an actual tree branch that took ages to find and various trips to our local woods, Once found I then stripped the bark,  Dried and then proceeded to stain using Oak, Mahogany wood stains and building up the layers of stain. The top of the staff I used more individual tree branches, Again dried, Stained and Weathered and a single Deer antler as seen in the film and imaged. For the materials of the costume I've used Monks cloth, Muslin, Chesse cloth and basket weave, There are over six layers of cloth that make up the materials layers and are each hand stiched as I didn't want a modern stitch pattern when viewed and also a authentic look and feel as again I wished to achieve a 'Ancient' look to this replica.

For the 'Back lit 'eyes I've used two ultra bright 'Blue' LED's that are powered by a 9v battery and then placed two sapphire blue crystals to replicate his foreboding and glaring stare as seen in the film!

The rear and shoulder 'Shells' I sculpted in WED clay and took a mould of each piece which was then cast in fibreglass and resin, Sanded down and then primer filled, Wet sanded and three coats of grey primer before being wet sanded again and then the base layers of light grey, Mid brown paints and then using light, Medium amd dark brown boots polishes for the weathering process that I also used on the face, Arms and hands.

The 'Scythe' is also made of resin and fibreglass.and then painted, Aged and Weathered using the above painting technics and methods that I love using for my costume builds.. 

In total this replica costume has taken  over ten years to complete with various stages of modifications, Alterations, Re-working different areas as my skills grew and also my confidence and to where the costume now stands and also where I am.happy with the results! 

I really hope that you like what I've achieved with this costume creation and is a very unique and one off creation that I absolutely love!