Further Leather Experiments

After having discovered that I could emboss leather with lino plates I paid attention to these possibilities when sketching.  Then based on the Uenuku costume sketch I have done some further tests with lino and leather.

First I tries to make a Reptilian skin texture, which I am very happy with.  

 Here I added some black to add extra detail and make it look more realistic.

Another detail in my costume was the use of teeth.  I'm sure whether I will sculpt these and add them into the leather or just make them out of leather.  When I initially embossed this tooth into the leather, I left the leather in the water for far too long which not only made it harder to print but also it didn't emboss very well.

 It does look a lot better after having been painted though :)

Here's another comparison between painted and unpainted.

The story having a Maori background, I really wanted to include weaving so I decided to weave strips of leather to create panels for the costume.  I first of all made a panel with green and brown leather as drawn in my sketch.  It's certainly a quick and easy way of creating an effective panel.

While doing my research on costume design, I read that a good way of aging leather is to use sandpaper.  I had never done this before so I really wanted to give it a try.

First I sanded the edges of the individual strips and then once woven I rubs the paper lightly over the top to hit hit the natural wear-and-tear spots.

I am very happy with all of these experiments and they give me the confidence that I will be able to pull off a full-detailed embossed suit of leather armour :)