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Nimba Creations was contacted by a client working on promotions for NCSoft, a software company based in the US. NCSoft were about to attend Gamescom, a large scale expo held in Cologne, and NCSoft were attending to promote their online role player game, Guild Wars. |
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| The idea was to bring to life Rytlock (a character from the game known as a 'Charr') in the form of a costume to allow a performer to walk through the expo and draw attention to the Guild Wars stand and to generally promote the brand, which meant that the costume not only had to be lightweight and safe to wear around the public, but also had to be imposing and eye catching to draw the attention of the 250,000 visitors at the expo. |
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Nimba Creations did not have a face to face meeting with the clients prior to the project getting a green light, as they were based in various locations in the UK and the US; the project was realised via phone and email contact. |
| A rough maquette (a scaled down 'sketch' of the design sculpted in clay) was created using various reference materials, and photographs were sent to the clients for amendments and approvals. This 30cm model was then used as a template to produce the full size sculptures produced to create Rytlock. |
| The torso, arms and leg armour were all sculpted, full size in 'wet clay'. Using this material allowed for fast production of these large sections and also allowed us to give the armour the weathered look it required by adding dents and scratches into the sculpture itself. |
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| The head and various adornments such as belt buckles and additional armour plates were also sculpted in clay not only to replicate the maquette, but also to add extra detail to the full size costume wherever it was needed. |
| Photographs were taken of every section of the sculpt and forwarded to the client once again for amendments and approvals. When the sculpts had been signed off, moulds and castings were taken of each piece in lightweight foam inside a skin of rubber. This meant that the pieces were durable but also flexible; spikes and sharp edges posed no threat to any members of the public around the performer, and the costume itself weighed a fraction of what a suit in a rigid material would have weighed. |
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Each of the castings is trimmed, cleaned and assembled before final painting. To add realism, copies are taken from real cow and water buffalo horns for the head of the creature. They are cast in a lightweight foam, for safety and for the comfort of the performer. |
| An antique Indonesian plate, hand sculpted in coconut shell is added as a belt adornment to bring more hand crafted detail to the finished costume. It is unique touches like these which will transform the costume into a very 'real world' character in a way that it is difficult to factor into the initial design stages. |
| The armour is painted to replicate weathered bronze, the head is painted and has a full mane applied, and a heavy drape is added to the torso armour in the style of a scottish 'great kilt'. Once again, drawing on real world elements is a good way to bring character and a back story to the finished piece. |
| To ensure that each piece arrives safely and intact, the costume is delivered by hand to the client, first for a meeting in Central England, then to the fitting day in Brighton on the South coast. |
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| We take the performer and the client through all elements of the costume in detail; how to get into and out of the suit, how to wear the mask and various care instructions. Any final tweaks are addressed at this time - in this case, the suit weighed a little too heavily on the performers shoulders, and so using the range of tools and materials brought along to the fitting day, foam blocks were constructed to relieve any discomfort and also to allow to better airflow inside the suit itself. |
| The client was then provided with a kit list to allow for any running repairs to be made on site, and a full set of instructions are provided to keep the whole costume in perfect condition. |
| The completed costume is photographed, and based on the artwork in the book The Art of Guild Wars, Nimba Creations produces some composite images showing the performer in the suit in dramatic landscapes with cinematic backdrops. These images will be used at Gamescom to show the costume at its finest, and create a real blurring of the line between the prescence of the character at the show and the extensive, dream like universe experienced in Guild Wars. |
| Via email and phone calls, this project bought Rytlock to life in spectacular fashion in a great project which culminated in a meeting between us and the clients over two days. Drawing on experience and knowledge of a wide range of materials and techniques, Nimba Creations produced an eye catching display that came in on time and on budget to massive approval and appreciation from everyone involved. |
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