ROBOT COSTUME

Violet ElliotViolet Elliot
in Fabrication
I am in the process of making a costume for a short film about a robot. The robot needs to be in the form of a costume, and worn by a child of about 12-14 yrs old. Consequently it needs to be light and comfortable while at the same time being realistic for camera.

I was considering building a frame around a protective vest - potentially from vac form plastic mouldings and then using a variety of paint techniques to achieve a metallic effect.

Does anyone have any advice on how I might build this robot?! What materials would you suggest. Any paint techniques would be hugely appreciated too.

Many thanks

Comments

  • Jared LeeJared Lee ✭✭✭
    I would go with foam. Cheap, and light, but can give you good results.
    Here is a video on how to make armor out of foam mats. With the right tweaks it could be a robot.
  • Tom StewartTom Stewart ✭✭✭
    edited April 2014
    You could also use Wonderflex to do the same. The Stan Winston School has tutorials on painting.  
  • Chris EllerbyChris Ellerby Admin
    L200 foam may be your best bet.  Check YouTube for tutorials and examples by people making Iron Man and Master Chief armor.  There is a lot of content there.

    You can also go over to The Replica Prop Forum and review threads about foam armor fabrication. The most common armor fabrication as mentioned above is either Iron Man or Master Chief from Halo.

    A lot of people are designing their custom parts in free 3D software like Google SketchUp or Autodesk 123D Design and then using papercraft techniques and the program Pepakura to print out templates to make foam armor.

    Ted Haines also has a great tutorial on foam fabrication here at the Stan Winston School.

    Hope that helps!

    /Chris
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