Cowl: X
Steer Horn Neck sling: X
Fingerless Gloves: X
Shoulder piece: X
(The rest of this suit is not listed for sale due to minor cosmetic imperfections that were byproducts of the process of still learning how to armorsmith. I don't feel comfortable selling these items publicly due to that, if you're absolutely in love with something on this suit that isn't for sale on etsy, throw me a message and I would love to work something out!)
(The rest of this suit is not listed for sale due to minor cosmetic imperfections that were byproducts of the process of still learning how to armorsmith. I don't feel comfortable selling these items publicly due to that, if you're absolutely in love with something on this suit that isn't for sale on etsy, throw me a message and I would love to work something out!)
Second installation to the Zodiac Project! This time I looked to the Taurus in my life for inspiration, the second operator to Armored girl, my boyfriend Vartan. It was very important that he be a part every step of the way. I initially would propose many options, and bounce ideas off of him so that the suit would reflect his taste and personality, but still be the original design I wanted from the beginning. The things I desired first and foremost for this suit was to have it resemble the silhouette of a Minotaur, with a large chest/head and broad shoulders. The chest HAD to be bare, as most Minotaurs in classical illustration have bare chests, as well as covering the waist, forearms and feet to resemble the areas that would be loaded with fur if he were a Minotaur. The second thing I wanted was Vartan's middle eastern heritage, so I'd have to say that was why I chose a large cowl and harem pants, as well as to shoot this outfit in the desert.
The construction:
This suit took a lonnnnng ass time, much longer than I had hoped (yaknow, the one suit per month thing.). Not even two months in did I have any sort of base finished due to the amount of dreadlock (my main income) orders I had to finish to fund this project. About a year later I'm glad I took my time, because it actually turned out pretty okay.
All metal pieces are aluminum. I decided to utilize the aluminum when I wanted to create the helmet, but needed something to keep it's shape, as I hadn't tried wetforming leather at this point. It bends to make the helmet adjustable, but also provides more of a mixed media feel. I then used the aluminum throughout the outfit, for a sense of consistency. The cowl that blocked out the face was a special burn-out fabric I bought to also use as the loin cloth, It took about 8 hours to "shred" it by hand, meaning picking apart small fibers and leaving others untouched for a torn effect without actually fraying. Bracers, and belt were made from scratch, 8 to 9 oz veg tanned leather hand stained/dyed. A lot of time was taken for the belt due to a full lining stitched in by hand. Because I wanted to go with a post apocalyptic theme, it was important I make a lot of the components from stuff I already had on deck. For example, the gloves are old weightlifting gloves, the straps of the shoulder piece is some weird mesh, and the shin guards are part of a motocross ensemble. If you guessed the shoulder piece was made from car mats, you guessed correctly. All in all, the tedious hand stitching, stamping,poking holes and such, although time consuming was worth watching it come to life. I learned so many new techniques making this suit, I just KNOW the next one will be even better.
Behind the scenes:
When taking these pictures we went to the Salton Sea as per recommended by a friend. It's a "sea" that was really run off onto the salt flats from the Hoover dam in the 20s, and was once filled with wildlife as well as tourists. Now it's almost like a modern pocket of wasteland in a all too uptight world from the erratic flooding it did over the city's levys.
So about 8 am in the morning we hop in the car with our two friends, Summer, her boyfriend Josh and her paralyzed pug Kitty, to go on a wonderful adventure. When we arrive to the town we were shooting at, we searched among the grid-like area for the perfect little abandoned spot in the run down trailer park to begin shooting. Right away we pick the first lot that had two buildings, each one with it's own beautiful trademark art.
Before we arrived we had already pre-dispersed (is that even a word?) the responsibilities of everyone in the group. Vartan would be the model, I would shoot, Summer would work with my new awesome light reflector thing to manipulate the natural light, and Josh would do the behind the scenes photographer. Boy did all that shift! I'll admit, it's always great to come with a plan, but it's even better to go with the flow. Once we all rotated into our natural roles, Vartan was still the model, I was now the light diffuser worker/idea giver, and Josh scouted locations/moved the car when needed/helped with reflector thing when I was too stupid to do so/pushed kitty around in her cute stroller/all around helper outer.
This combination worked much better, since It actually turns out I cannot take photos LOL, shocker?
We took the majority of our body shots within the first location before heading off to another location which was just clearly desert. There we were able to get two or so shots, but not the best, so we decided to find some shelter in another abandoned home from all the direct sun, AND THEN, AMAZING SHIT ENSUED. Low and behold, an abandoned TV, chair, and mattress were all that was needed to make the most badass photos I've ever been involved in.
After the shoot, tired and hungry, we all decided to pack up the car and head to the actual beach part of the infamous bombay beach. I bet you thought the post apoco vibe stopped at the abandoned trailer park right? Nope, because they're abandoned for a reason. Apparently the sea itself was too volatile to actually live/interact with due to the salt flats it sits on. Anything that lived within it's waters ended up dying and washing ashore, creating a white beach of weathered bones almost akin to sand. It was common to see dried carcasses, bones, and feathers. The smell that permeated the air was about the same as walking into a yeasty, fish filled trash bin, Which got worse the closer you put your nose to the ground or sea by the way.
It was such a fun experience to spend with great people, and I can't wait to go at the process again with a new suit <3
The next suit on the list for the project was supposed to be Gemini, but I will actually put that on the back burner to do the suit for our Armored Girl mascot. After the Armored Girl suit, we'll be right back to continuing the Zodiac Project! Thanks for reading!
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- Dev
