Shield teaser

Here is first draft of the Bulwark of Smoldering Steel, the shield to accompany my paladin's sanctified lightsworn garb.  This will be the very base layer, with about 4-5 more layers on top for the detailing.  The entire thing is 27"x21" and will weigh probably about 10lbs or less.  I have to be able to carry it one handed without straining.  If everything goes well I also want to be able to attach it to my back like it works in game.  I also would love to have it lit for it to be more impressive.

 I can't say I am fully happy with how it turned out.  I made a few mistakes but since foamcore is so cheap I can afford to mess up a few.  I really wish I could find pregridded things, thats always something I have had problems with when transposing a reference image.

EDIT:  I know the skull is too small.  That will be fixed.

Edit2: Got the shield cut out this morning and just about passed out, too sleepy to get anything done.  Also scrapping the first piece of the expanding foamed armour.  Ill come back and make a better form, thats the big thing I didnt do.

Pally work PHOTOFLOOD

WThis post will be updated all day.  Let me start off saying that I took a trip out to Michaels today with a huge coupon and walked out with close to $50 in stuff for less than $20!  Here was what I walked out with:

  Thats a $30 box of sculpey (3 rolls of it, rolls usually going around $10), a small bag of paperclay (which Ive been wanting to try out ever since I heard of it), and some bloons.  NOT PICTURED: clearance candy that I ate on the way home.

I have been saying I wanted to show my thought process. well here are a few images to show kinda what goes on in my planning:

 

My last image for now is a mockup of how the piece will fit on my shoulder.  I feel like it looks too small.  I know it will be much bulkier when its filled and such, but until then Im just going to have to worry about it.  The best part of working with cardboard is definitely not getting attached to the pieces,  I am working with the thought in mind that I will most likely ruin a few pieces before I get one worth anything.  This is something I want to work on with myself, because I tend to get frustrated when things don't go exactly as I planned them.  Ill often just give up on projects that stump me like that (see: laharl, lightning, dragoon).  I have rambled long enough, here is the pic.

 Note: this post will be updated as much as I can today. 

Update: feel like awful, taking a quick nap.

Final update:  I slept too long.  I got a few more slats cut out.  Id like to get a skeleton build for each side, then get the lobe into place with its backing (basically taking a concave orb on the outside, then with a convex one on the inside to keep it closed up.  That way ill have a little place to run in wires to light this sucker up.  I feel a little better about the size.  Id get the last few images up but my camera shit out and Im too lazy to go get another battery for it.  That will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Pally ref pics

Click for bigger, I put the Lightsworn Garb on in the Wowhead.com model and just capped the pics. Overall my first project will be the mace and shield. Then the shoulders and other armour. I also plan to leave the helm for last (seeing as I have NO idea how to do it) and possibly leave the chest off (just make my bloodknight tabard). I could make another set of weapons for prot and ret, but that will come later. I realize he isnt wearing shoes... Ill fix that.


Late edit:
I HAVE CREATED

A BRICK. Having some second thoughts about how this is going, I dunno if the scale is right, ill take some looks back at my plans and see, maybe its just that the skulls are so bulky.