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Warrior of Light - Pauldron Tutorial

Added 2021-05-12 19:27:30 +0000 UTC

Materials and Tools

So for me pauldrons are a really weird shape to pattern so I start off by wrapping my arm in seran wrap and then layering tape atop of it, thankfully I have a friend around to make this process easier. If they’re able, have them draw the basic outline shape of the pauldron to make it easier later.

Once you are done safely cut yourself out of it or have your friend safely do it. With curved shapes like this you want to split the pattern in two down the middle to create a smoother curve atop.

Now that the patterns are cut out you can go ahead and transfer it onto 2mm foam, I use thinner foam for this part because I don’t want the armor to look too bulky. For the under layer piece I roughly sketch it out based off the armor on the other armor to add some similarities between the two.

Now connect the two pieces together with your preferred glue (I used super glue), you will be covering this in worbla so stability with this doesn’t matter too much since the worbla will be holding it together.

On the armor pauldron there is a circlet shaped raised piece so in order to get that correct shape I put the pauldron down and traced the edge of the pauldron.

Theres a layer atop of the circlet piece that has holes in it so all you have to do is retrace what you just cut out and draw out where the holes will be, cut them out and then glue the two together!

This piece sits atop a small layer as well so I quickly sketch it out, transfer it to worbla only because its a thin layer and doesn't need the extra depth foam would give it and then attach it to the pauldron.

I 3D printed out some details for the pauldron but this is optional of course and there are many other ways to obtain this result so don’t feel like you have to have 3D printed parts! After wrapping the foam in worbla I glued down the 3D printed parts and googly eyes that I use for rivets onto the pauldron using super glue.

Onto the construction of other pauldron, this one is not as curved so I did not need to make a pattern the same way. For this I sketched out the general shape onto printer paper and drew just one sider, then I folder it over and cut it out, that way the pieces would be symmetrical.

Now take your patterns and transfer it over to 2mm craft foam, I used super glue to glue the pieces together.

Next up was covering it in worbla, you’re simply just heating it up and layering it atop the piece you just made. While its still warm I place it on my arm and hold it down, that way it will keep the proper curve I need for the armor.

I add on the 3D printed pieces I made and some googly eyes for rivets using super glue to adhere it. Super glue works rather well on worbla because it heats up as it dries which also heat the worbla, adding a bit of more adhesion overall.

Make sure to now prime your armor with mod podge, I use two layers personally. This helps get rid of the grainy texture that worbla has, depending on how smooth you want it you can layer on more but I liked how it looked with two layers personally.

Time to paint! Spray an even coat of your choice of silver spray paint, I am using Rustoleums spray in Dark Steel for this.

Once your coat of paint is dry its time to detail paint everything, for the gold I use Rub N Buff (Gold Leaf) and use some black acrylic paint to dry brush it to give it a more worn look since the armor isn’t supposed to look brand new.

For the shadows across the pauldrons I do the same method I did to make the gold paint look worn, take black acrylic paint, paint a line down and with my finger rub and blur out the paint to give to shadow and dimension to everything. I do this in all the seam lines and parts of the edges.

For the highlights, I take Rub N Buff (Silver leaf) and lightly paint it on any raised bits and parts of the edges. This helps define the armor and makes it so its not consumed by all the shadow shading.

With the detail painting done I sprayed down the armor with a layer of sealer to make sure the paint wouldn’t come off.

One of the pauldrons has a strap on it with a belt buckle, for this I used a small leather belt strap I had (You can make this out of 2mm craft foam if you need to but if you wanna use belts check back at this guide I made on belts!), 3D printed out the buckle and painted both it and the google eye silver and glued them down to the strap using super glue.