Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was my first, breathtaking step into the dark and dangerous world inhabited by the Belmont clan. I’d always been drawn to the series, much due to the haunting character art by Ayami Kojima. As a completionist, though, I’d struggled with a point of entry to the franchise. I wanted to start from the very beginning, and in a way Lords of Shadow afforded me this opportunity.

MercurySteam made one of the most beautiful games of this generation in Lords of Shadow, appealing immediately to the designer in me. That, coupled with the compelling array of weapons and accessories Gabriele wields, had me itching to recreate his ensemble. Easy enough – add an “LE” and enter Gabrielle Belmont.

This costume is the most ambitious and demanding design I’ve ever tackled, challenging me to combine many of the skills I’ve learned over the past eight years – leather working, armor fabrication, molding and casting, and more. As such, you’re in for a long read should you be interested in the entirety of how it came together. If you’re here for insight on a specific part of this build, however, I’ve made subheads to help you skip around to whatever piques your interest!

The Gauntlets  (Worbla)

I started with what I considered the least stressful part of the costume – the gauntlets. Having polished off a pair of Witchblade costumes in the past, as well as a gauntlet for my Princess of Persia ensemble, I wasn’t too intimidated by the thought of making a few more stabby hand accessories.

Gabrielle’s standard gauntlet was pretty easy – comprised of tiered plates of armor and simple articulated fingers. I patterned out everything in paper, transferred the pieces to Worbla, and then shaped them around various sized bottles for a slightly tapered look. I then attached the pieces to a long gardening glove with a leather hole punch and brads. Brads are great for temporarily holding items in place, although I recommend switching to rivets for extra security when you’re sure everything is where desired.

The fingertips were the most complicated, and resulted in a few burns due to the admittedly unsafe way I went about it. I started by cutting out square pieces of Worbla, sized to cover up to the first joint on each finger. I then heated it and folded the excess towards the pad of the finger, leaving the most visible area nice and clean looking. Next I heated the fingertips while on my hand and rolled the excess material against a clean, hard surface to smooth it out. After repeating this step several times, it was very difficult to see where the Worbla originally overlapped, resulting in smooth, round tips.

The Dark Gauntlet was much, much more complicated and took several weekends to polish off.  As before, I started by patterning on paper before moving to Worbla. I mostly used single sheets of Worbla on this gauntlet, although I did layer craft foam between the three outermost tiers to space them out a bit.

I created a support structure out of Worbla for the claws, layering Magic Sculpt over the top. The two-part epoxy clay is quite heavy, but resulted in a much sturdier and full looking shape than I would have gotten with Worbla alone.

The Dark Gauntlet is very ornate, and I used a combination of puff paint, rolled Worbla, and small stenciled Worbla pieces to replicate the patterns. With these touches finished off the gauntlets were complete, save for distressing and painting, which I would do in bulk at a later date.

At this point I’d spent several weekends working at Keith and Abby’s place (known as Keabtium collectively), taking advantage of their generous offer to make a massive mess in their garage. Keith regularly casts items for their costumed capers, and inspired me to give it a try again – something I hadn’t attempted in years.

Skull & Daggers (Resin Casts)

I decided to cast the skull on Gabrielle’s chest so I could pour it in a lighter and more malleable material. Under Keith’s supervision I started by replicating the original in Sculpey. Once done and baked, Keith showed me how to make a box mold out of foam core and hot glue – a very efficient and quick process.

We’d picked up a slew of materials from Douglas and Sturgess earlier in the day, and Keith recommended Smooth-On’s OOMOO 25 for the mold due to its easy mix properties and cheaper initial investment.

He next had me use a thin layer of warm clay along the bottom of the skull to create a tight seal between it and the box floor before pouring the silicone. Next, Keith had me pour a “vanity layer” of silicone over the original – a very, very thin coat drizzled from 8-10 inches high, lessening the chance of bubbles forming in the mold. Because the coat was so thin, I was able to pop any remaining bubbles with an air can before they cured. After the vanity coat dried a bit, the remainder was poured in, resulting in a nearly flawless negative.

Next up I prepared the resin for the first cast. Keith recommended Smooth-Cast 325 resin to ensure the final skull had a little bit of flexibility and so that I could color tint it easier. He had me grab some metal powder to mix in with the resin – a process called cold casting – making the final object look like real metal through and through. I was really happy with the first pull from the mold, and the success empowered me to try casting on a larger scale.

I decided to cast copies of Gabrielle’s daggers, guaranteeing all four would match perfectly. I started by sculpting the hilt of the dagger around a wooden dowel, switching to Magic Sculpt over Sculpey as it’s my preferred medium now. Bits and bobs from my scrapbook collection were added as accent pieces to make the dagger more ornate. I used Worbla for the blade to give it a crisper edge.

With the original dagger done, I went about repeating the process above, this time using Mold Star 15, which we chose for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I was on a time crunch to get the mold done and cast the daggers, and secondly, because Mold Star silicones are more durable and are great for repeated casting without the risk of tearing the mold.

Once the mold was made, casting the daggers only took a single night, each curing in about 30 minutes. Working over at Abby and Keith’s place again, I used a power sander to smooth out the blades and a Dremel tool to clean up the accent areas. This was a pretty lengthy process, but I’m elated with how they turned out. They are light and durable, too.

Combat Cross (PVC, Magic Sculpt, & Worbla)

At this point, I was doing everything in my power to avoid starting Gabrielle’s coat/jacket thingy, being totally terrified of sewing something so extravagant. I distracted myself with Gabrielle’s Combat Cross next.

I determined fairly quickly that the best way to make the base of the Combat Cross would be with PVC plumping pieces. I cut up a long PVC pipe and attached the pieces to each end of a slip cross to form the structure. I purchased a length of plastic chain from the hardware store to keep the final prop as light as possible, and attached it to the inside of cap that fit snugly on the bottom. I actually had to scrap my first attempt – which was built using 1” PVC pipe – because it wasn’t wide enough to house more than a foot of chain. I upgraded to 1.5” tube, which accommodated enough length for epic action shots.

After building up the base of the cross, I began to flesh out the shape and style. I used Magic Sculpt for the stake at the bottom of the cross, as well as the slightly less-intimidating spikes on each side. The accent pieces at the top and center are built out of pieces of Worbla with craft foam sandwiched between them.

Not going to lie – this prop was a massive pain in the butt to make. It took me two full weekends to finish, and I had several false starts trying out patterns and techniques that didn’t work early on. I’m super happy with the result, though, especially since I was able to hide nearly four feet of chain inside.

Coat (Leather & Marine Vinyl)

Unable to delay any longer, I had to start making progress on Gabrielle’s garments. I was appropriately petrified of the coat, having only sewn very simple garments in the past. While I felt more comfortable working with leather than with other materials, patterning is something I’d never tried before, and as such I decided to look for external help. Baby steps! Catherine of God Save the Queen Fashions was a lifesaver in agreeing to help me translate the design to paper. I sent along my measurements and a slew of reference material, and she returned something I was able to take to a large format printer – and during her pre-Dragon*Con crunch nonetheless. I can’t thank her enough for the help! It will be a while still before I’m able to look at a garment and deconstruct it.

Keeping in mind that I mostly make armor and props, it was overwhelming but also immensely satisfying to draft up the garment in scraps of fabric. Once wearable, I spent the evening dancing around the living room, proud of my meager accomplishment. The design didn’t require much in the way of alternations, thankfully, other than a few nips and tucks that were intuitive enough for me to make myself.

When it came time to move from mockup to the real-deal, I called on my friend Thomas Ignatius so that I could work under his supervision and use his industrial sewing machine. I had a nearly a full hide left of red leather from my Warrior Wonder Woman costume, which was thankfully the perfect color for Gabrielle.

I brought my mockup to Tom’s place for him to look over. Once he approved it I cut everything apart and created new patterns from the slightly-altered pieces. Thus began a painful seven-hour marathon of bending over a table measuring and cutting leather and gold marine vinyl for the appliqué. Thank God for sharp rotary blades.

Once everything was cut out, Thomas showed me how to top-stich the marine vinyl onto the leather –  he helped out with more than a few of the panels before I was brave enough to try it on my own. It’s pretty easy to tell what he did versus my sad attempts – most of my lines look like I had a few glasses of wine prior to manning the machine. I’m still pretty proud that I managed to attach them without any major mess-ups, though.

By far, the shoulder pieces were the hardest part, as they required top-stitching on really narrow surfaces with lots of 90 degree angles. Again, not perfect, but I’m feeling much more comfortable with the thought of sewing complex garments in the future. Massive thank you to Tom for ensuring I didn’t run all that expensive leather!

I used lots of snaps and rivets to hold everything in place. The grey hood was made out of a remnant I found at the fabric store, and the skulls on the sides of the shoulders were crafted out of foam and Worbla.

Belt (Leather)

At this point it was getting down to the wire, and I still had a considerable amount of work to do on the costume despite giving myself two months lead time. I felt pretty comfortable with the belt, having patterned, cut, dyed, and finished leather several times in the past. Each piece was topstitched to look a bit more finished, and hardware was secured in place with rivets.

The belt has a slew of stuff on it, making it quite bulky and obscuring my natural waistline more than I would have liked, but the tradeoff (being a BAMF) is worth it, in my opinion. I picked up holy water bottles online (yes, they are really for holy water), and filled them with mouthwash to get the nice blue-green hue. Minty fresh! I made the fairy jar in an hour or two out of EVA foam, PVC pipe, and Worbla, with an ornate candle toper at the apex. I’m likely going to remake it as a transparent jar so I can have a green glow emanating from inside.

Cyclone Boots (Worbla)

With three days until I left for Dragon*Con I’d barely started my Cyclone Boots. What followed was a 16-hour crafting marathon, ending at 5AM on a Monday morning only hours prior to leaving for a full work day.

It’s difficult to describe the complex construction process for these boots, but it involved a ton of patterning on paper and frequently trying the boots on while assembling them to ensure I maintained mobility.

I started with the back, layering successively smaller pieces of Worbla on to an old pair of leather boots, attaching them with brads to allow for movement as I walked. I used a similar treatment in the front even though I knew that most of it would be covered by the more ornate feather accents. I heated and bonded the multi-layered feather accents flat to each other, attaching them to a base of Worbla and craft foam. I then heated the entire thing on to a large PVC pipe to give it a perfectly cylindrical shape, before tapering it slightly by hand as it cooled.

The toe of the boot took quite a bit of time and repeated heating to round off properly, as I had to dart the Worbla to get the right fit. Everything again was attached with rivets or brads, depending on if I was able to reach far enough into the boot to use an anvil and hammer the pieces together. The very top of the boot is a cheap foam kneepad. I heated the Worbla directly over the pad, shaping and smoothing away the excess slowly.

The above is a sad explanation of something that took me so long to complete, but the WIP gallery shows much more of the process that what I’m capable of conveying with words.

Painting & Distressing

With the boots done it was time to distress and paint the props, my favorite part of costume construction. I started as I always do by burning in battle damage with a soldering iron, paying extra attention to high-friction areas such as the kneepads and the toes of the boots. I followed up with a similar treatment, this time using a rough metal file for a slightly different texture of damage.

I moved directly on to paint as I don’t bother with a primer when working on such heavily distressed items. When I do use primer, I alternate between wood glue and gesso, as endorsed by many other cosplayers.

I opted for hammered metal paint in silver for the base coat, as I’ve found it looks the most realistic and ages well. It took nearly five cans to get the right amount of coverage.

With the primary coat done, I used a charcoal grey acrylic paint to darken edges around accent pieces and make them pop. I also brushed a light silver paint into damaged areas, making the metal look raw like an open wound. The next step had me using a fine grain sanding block to dull down some of the natural shine from the metallic spay paint.

Nearly finished, I used a combination of diluted brown and black acrylic paint to stipple on dirt and grime with an old sea sponge, giving a unique texture to the finished pieces. Again, I paid special attention to areas that would have seen more use – the feet of my boots are almost entirely obscured with dirt and dust. Lastly, I sprayed select pieces with fake blood, letting it dribble and dry as if spilled long ago.

I repeated a very similar process with the coat, using a scissors to tatter the bottom edges, and then a metal file to add additional wear and tear. Instead of spray paint, I used black and brown hairspray to sully the jacket, doing my best to make it look like it had seen a battle or two. Also, more fake blood. Added bonus – my horrible topstitching is now less visible! My cosplay mantra is like that one Portlandia skit “Put a Bird on It.” Except my motto is “Throw some blood on it.”

I only vaguely remember finishing this costume and packing it up, as I was mostly brain dead from days of inhaling spray paint fumes. Luckily, everything made it out to Dragon*Con safely in my hard shell luggage.

I had the amazing fortune of shooting with several fantastic photographers at the convention, all of whom have a unique flavor in their shooting styles.

A special shout out goes to Darrell of BGZ Studios, though, who went above and beyond in his preparation by renting out Rhodes Hall for our pre-Dragon*Con photoshoot. The location looked straight out of Castlevania, complete with lanterns on the walls, stained glass, an epic spiral staircase, and a massive claw-foot chair. The photos are wonderfully moody.

Additional thanks go to Anna Cosplay Photography, Benny Lee Photography, Jason Chau Photography, and Joseph Chi Lin Photography for taking time out to shoot with me!

And thank you to Acksonl for featuring Gabrielle in the cosplay video below – twice!

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Enjoy the photos, and please let me know if you’ve got any questions! Also – keep an eye out for Lords of Shadow 2 – it’s looking incredible!

Gabrielle Belmont WIP

Gabrielle Belmont Portfolio

The second I saw Infinite Crisis’ Atomic Wonder Woman, I knew I had to fit her in my costume roster. Her look struck me as a cross between Mad Max and Dead Rising with a dash of roller derby charm. I also loved the slightly obscure Wonder Woman iconography – the swath of yellow fabric on her top, the “WW” on her license plate bracers, the massive chain where her lasso would be, and the word “Aletheia” carved into her weapon, which loosely translates to “truth” in Greek. Her short hair and Rosie the Riveter-esq bandana had me saying “I can (and should) do this!”

I fully committed to the costume a week and a half prior to SDCC, so time was of the essence. I kicked the costume off with a trip to several thrift stores, managing to scrounge up the top, ties, belt, footballs, and boots in one go. There was no need to buy anything new since I was aiming for an apocalyptic look.

Securing the ties to the belt wasn’t too difficult; neither was adding the caution tape trim (spray painted elastic) to the tube top. The football cups were slightly more challenging. Firstly, I played surgeon and moved the laces from one side of the football to the other – the original placement was next to a slew of obnoxious NFL logos I didn’t want distracting from the design. In order to get the bisected balls to fit right, I added a dart down the center, which resulted in a rounder shape. I then secured them to the top with rivets to ensure they wouldn’t move.

The armor – stop sign pauldron, license plate bracers, kneepads, and belt buckle – are all made of Worbla. If you’ve never used a thermoplastic to make armor before, starting with a project like this is a great way to get your feet wet, as imperfections only add to the character of the final piece.

When making armor, I always start out patterning on paper to ensure I’m not wasting supplies. I drafted the stop sign to size and then folded and cut up the paper to approximate how WW would have constructed the piece. I sized the bracers to my arms, using Worbla on one side and EVA foam on the other. The belt buckle is entirely Worbla, which I heated up and rolled to use as trim around the edges.

I really enjoy distressing clothing and armor. When working with Worbla I use a soldering iron to simulate battle damage, bullet ricochets, and general wear and tear – wear a mask when you do so! After this initial pass, I start with a base coat of paint – whatever primary color the object calls for. After drying and blocking in any other colors necessary, I’ll add bright silver into recessed areas that look damaged (if the item is intended to look like metal). I’ll then polish off the armor by sponging on a layer of black, brown, and grey paint to simulate dirt, oil, and other unsavory substances. Lastly, I’ll sand down all of the paint – a dull finish looks more realistic in this instance. As a final touch I’ll fleck a bit of orange on a few of the raw edges to hint at rust.

After knocking out the armor I moved on to the smaller details. I had a hard time finding a pair of blue leggings and eventually ordered white ones and dyed them. The red leather gloves were also grabbed from online, and then accented with metal spikes made from Worbla. The massive metal chain came from a costume shop online, as well as the red hair kerchief, black wig, and colored tube sock on Atomic Wonder Woman’s right arm. I aged the leggings and the tube sock by soaking them in a pot of black and brown hairspray – the same thing I use to dirty up my body before going out on the show floor.

The chainsaw spear was the most fun to make and my favorite part of the outfit. I opted to keep it as genuine as possible, picking up a metal signpost from the hardware store. The bottom was made from two cans of expandable spray foam. Once dry, I used a knife to carve up the edges before coating it with textured spray paint to mimic concrete. I then padded the metal post with sponges before wrapping them in the orange duct tape, giving myself a comfortable grip.

I found the chainsaw online and painted/distressed it to match the source material. I then used the soldering iron again to burn “Aletheia” into the blade. I was able to secure a good six inches of the post inside the back of the chainsaw, and then tied it down with the yellow rope.

Overall I’m incredibly happy with how Atomic Wonder Woman came out out, especially considering the short time frame. I can’t wait to wear it out again. Not only do I feel like a BAMF running around with a chainsaw spear – the costume is extremely comfortable.

Thank you to these incredible photographers for helping bring Atomic Wonder Woman to life: LJinto, Bitspitter, Andrew Ho, Adam Patrick Murray, and Jason Chau Photography.

Also, be sure to keep an eye on Infinite Crisis – it looks like a blast! I hope to join the Beta soon and can’t wait to kick some butt in character.

Atomic Wonder Woman WIP

Atomic Wonder Woman Portfolio

Cosplay Feature:  Steampunk Lara Croft

Inspired by my desire to realize an original design – and by my perpetual love for Lady Lara Croft – this costume has been gnawing at the back of my mind, attempting to manifest itself into reality, for years now. Most likely from the first time I heard the term “steampunk.”

This year has been a bit challenging for me in terms of cosplay. It’s been very, very difficult to find time to tackle large projects with my often-overwhelming work schedule. As such, the two major projects I finished in 2012 (aside from San, which I made entirely on my own) have been collaborative in nature – Claymore and Steampunk Lara. That being said, my personal motto always drives me to learn a new technique, or better yet skill, with each project. One of the primary reasons I wanted to tackle a steampunk interpretation of Lara was to try my hand at leatherworking, and I’m exceptionally happy with what I’ve learned so far.

This project also gave me the chance to collaborate in a way I’d wanted to for years – working with a concept artist to flesh out a costume prior to its construction. The incredibly talented Tess Fowler was my first choice for the project, and she happily agreed to the job. I brought another lovely lady onto the project early on, knowing that I’d want to commission Lara’s garments so to focus my limited time on the props and accessories. Samantha of Blasphemina’s Closet joined Tess and I, bringing her intricate knowledge of clothing design to the table. As a side note, while Sam is an incredible designer and I urge you to buy her wares, please note she only does costume commissions for a select group of friends. Her primary work dips into fashion & couture, much of which is Lolita inspired.

With the three of us assembled, the first step was to conceptualize and flesh out the character design. Knowing that Lara’s classic costume would be the most recognizable with the Steampunk twist, I began by detailing the iconic features I wanted to retain from her ensemble. Then the three of us brainstormed steampunk updates for each aspect of her look. You can check out some of the early ideation below.

• [HAIR]
  • Keep: Long, brown braid
  • Update: Victorian styling in the front
• [GLASSES]
  • Keep: Red lenses
  • Update: Transform to nose spectacles
• [TOP]
  • Keep: Color, general shape
  • Update: Transform leotard into vest, with intricate white undershirt
• [HOLSTERS]
  • Keep: Color, general shape
  • Update: Scion belt buckle, silver hardware accents
• [Gloves]
  • Keep: Color, fingerless
  • Update: Accent with lace
• [SHORTS]
  • Keep: Color, length
  • Update: Inspired by pantaloons
• [Backpack]
  • Keep: Color, general shape, and twin silver buckles
  • Update: Transform into a jetpack
• [PISTOLS]
  • Keep: Color, size
  • Update: Add steampunk accents, chains w/TRIV ankhs
• [BOOTS]
  • Keep: Color, height, red laces, white socks
  • Update: Transform into spats w/white lacy stockings
• [Other]
  • Add Dagger of Xian

Armed with the above details, Tess took a (very successful) first stab at the design, to which Sam and I provide feedback – Sam specifically in regards to keeping the design authentic to Victorian standards, and I in regards to keeping it true to Tomb Raider. With feedback in hand, Tess whipped out a second sketch in no time, and hit the nail on the head. The image on the right is the one that we referenced for the final costume.

Click to Enlarge

Time to dive into specifics! As I often do when I start a project, I made my way over to the Home Depot for inspiration. I walk up and down every isle at the beginning of a build, looking for form over function. I found myself in the plumbing section and purchased PVC pipes, plungers, an A/C vent, and several other assorted pieces of hardware with the jetpack in mind.

The first step of the jetpack was to build out the general structure. This was easy enough with a hacksaw and some PVC glue. Note to anyone using PVC glue – it is very, very permanent. I attempted to loosen and adjust the pipe shortly after applying the glue, and it was a no-go. I had to go buy new pipes as a result.

I used Craft foam, brads, and decorative tacks for the first level of detailing on the jetpack, and then sealed the craft foam with Mod Podge before spraying the entire pack with primer. I next coated it with a bright copper spray paint, before distressing the paint job by adding in bronze, gold, and even black for variation. The distressing process usually consists of layering on significantly more paint than needed, and sanding it down to a dull luster. I also often burn imperfections into my props with a soldering iron. Lastly, I added ornamental pieces such as filigree and clockwork cogs for a bit of extra flair.

It just so happens that I had two Darkwatch replica guns lying around from my Game Informer days, and they were the perfect twist on Lara’s twin pistols. I repeated the painting and distressing process (in silver this time) before adding a slew of findings, such as a keyhole, assorted valves, decorative tacks, and other ornate items. I also attached two chains capped with The Last Revelation inspired Ankhs to the very bottom of the pistols.

Two other small props topped off my workload – the Scion belt buckle and Dagger of Xian. I built the belt buckle out of wood and craft foam, sealed with Mod Podge before it was painted and distressed. The Dagger of Xian took a bit more work, as sculpting is still a skill I’m trying to develop. I used Sculpty for the head, baked onto a wooden dowel that became the hilt of the dagger. I used two loose gems for the eyes, and velvet with gold cording for the handle. I was actually pretty proud of the final result, only to have it break ten minutes into SDCC. Hence, I have very few photos of it.

With the props done and the clothing in Sam’s hands, the leather working remained the final big blip on my radar. I’d always wanted to learn the craft, and lucky enough Tess knew a local artisan who was up for providing me with some lessons. Enter Thomas Ignatius! Tom has an extensive history in theater, specializing in costume, prop, and leatherwork. His corsets in particular are incredible, and I hope to try my hands at one under his guidance soon. Tom’s help was invaluable on this aspect of the project, although I’m not sure if my wallet will ever recover after my introduction to Tandy Leather Factory.

Working under unfortunately tight time constraints, Tom and I opted to use pre-stamped belt blanks for the jetpack and holster straps, although he was nice enough to let me try out his stamp collection on scraps after learning the basics of shaping leather. We also picked up a slew of metal buckles and other ornate hardware.

Once at the workshop, we stained the jetpack straps a deep brown, and the holster pieces a solid black. We used an edge trimmer to give them a more polished look, and sealed the back with a special coat to protect the garments from the leather’s rougher side. Cutting and dying was the easiest part of the project. Engineering points of attachment was a bit more difficult and took some work to perfect.

While I helped with the staining and shaping, Tom gets most of the credit for the holsters. I had a surprise work trip pop up just prior to SDCC, and as such Tom had to finish them off them without me. Tom and I patterned out the holsters prior to my departure. After that, he used an industrial sewing machine to line the holsters with suede to avoid damaging my guns. Armed with my measurements and the pieces we cut and dyed, he polished off the holsters in little time.

As always, last-minute details consumed the weeks prior to SDCC. Finding the perfect fingerless gloves, glasses (which I had to modify with red lenses), stockings, and so on came right up to the last minute. I also had to secure a proper wig, as at that point my hair was nearly blonde.

Tomb Raider had a massive presence at SDCC this year, and as such I worked every day but Sunday. I reserved the final day of the convention to debut my Steampunk Lara Croft costume. As with every SDCC, my lovely makeup artist friend Hydred put my face on for the look, and I styled the wig just prior to leaving the hotel.

All in all, I’m very happy with the final result of the costume, although Sam and I are already working on a few tweaks to the top to ensure it stays tucked in a bit better. I was very surprised by how many people recognized me as Lady Lara even with the Steampunk twist. I was told more than once that the red glasses and laces gave it away. A few hardcore fans even noticed the little touches like the belt buckle, and appreciated it that much more.

I was really bummed out that my dagger broke ten minutes into the convention, and plan to remake and fortify it before the next outing Lara goes on. I also just dyed my hair back to brunette, which will allow me to skip the wig next time.

The bulk of the photos below come from a mini-shoot with the talented LJinto. While we were both rushed, we managed to find some fitting interior locations, and a lagoon that looked reminiscent of The Lost Valley. I also nabbed some photos with the lovely Monica Lee, who was dressed as Legend Lara for a TR cosplay gathering I organized.  Leonard and I have plans for a grander shoot at an undisclosed point in time, hopefully at a steampunk restaurant in LA he previously scouted. By then Steampunk Lara 2.0 should be ready to go!

This project came full circle when I sent Tess some of the early, high-resolution images from SDCC and she created a final polished piece based on the real-world implementation of her art. In the end, this collaboration began as life imitating art, and concluded with art imitating life! You can see the final (stunning) piece below. If you’re looking for incredible original art or character design, I highly recommend Tess.

Click to Enlarge

That’s all for now! I hope you enjoy the photos! If you have any construction questions, feel free to ask below.

Steampunk Lara Croft WIP

Steampunk Lara Croft Gallery

After nearly a year of jotting down my thoughts, I’ve finally compiled and refined a list of advice for those interested in breaking into games press or development.

Topping out at nearly 10,000 words the FAQ is quite a bit to digest, but I sincerely hope it aids you in your career pursuits.

Feel free to leave a comment here if you’d like me to amend the FAQ with a new question or approach a untouched subject.

Best of luck!