Making props: Mass Effect Arc Pistol!
So, as many of you know, I am a Mass Effect fan. I am also really into costuming. So I thought: why not do a ME-themed shoot while I'm in the US? Costuming I can handle. That's a cinch. But what I wanted, what I really wanted, was one of the guns. The sniper rifles, while I do love them, are something of a hassle to mod or make. But my Shepard did love her heavy sidearms, which are much more do-able.
So I made an Arc Pistol for about $5, using a neon orange watergun from the dollar store.
I basically went from this (not the actual gun used, just the same neon color scheme):
to this:
and I'm pretty proud of it, especially for a first-timer.
For those of you who are interested in how I did it, I tried to remember to take pictures along the way!
The first thing I did was spray it all over with a healthy coat of white spray paint. You can still see the yellow, orange, and green pretty clearly, but covering it wasn't the goal. See, the problem with plastic is that it doesn't hold paint well or evenly, so we wanted to have a paint-able surface. I didn't even bother to coat it perfectly - just enough to hold the other layers would do.
Second layer: a thick coating of gray paint. Housepaint, essentially. I got a little can of it and was generous with all the areas that I wanted to be gray. The end result would be silver, but if I just went straight to the silver spray paint, it would look too glittery. With a dark gray base coat, we get a little closer to gunmetal.
The dried gray coat. It's got a plastic-y sheen, but that's irrelevant for our next bit. Notice that there's no black on this yet? On purpose.
A quick, single-layer coat of silver spray paint from a distance. Notice that it's not an even coating - the slightly lighter and darker areas are a bit more realistic.
DON'T PAINT DETAILS BEFORE SPRAYING. Otherwise you'll have silvery glitter fallout all over your grip and adjustments.
After adding a little tarnish. This tutorial is a good starting reference for how to make fake metal look worn and used, and it basically involves a dry paintbrush and some stippling/smudging.
I just made sure that the edges looked a bit ragged and darkened up creases between different instruments to give it some depth and wear.
More wear, this time going over the details in black. I definitely wanted black grips and muzzles, and the accent pieces were added on as I went.
The (almost) end result! Just a few more touches, and then I'll go over it with a clear varnish to keep the paint from chipping or flaking.
So while it was a fairly simple repaint, and not a build-it-from-the-ground-up project, I still feel like it was enough of a challenge to make me happy. And I do like how it turned out - I can't wait to see how it photographs!
Now to make the rest of the outfit.
So I made an Arc Pistol for about $5, using a neon orange watergun from the dollar store.
I basically went from this (not the actual gun used, just the same neon color scheme):
to this:
and I'm pretty proud of it, especially for a first-timer.
For those of you who are interested in how I did it, I tried to remember to take pictures along the way!
The first thing I did was spray it all over with a healthy coat of white spray paint. You can still see the yellow, orange, and green pretty clearly, but covering it wasn't the goal. See, the problem with plastic is that it doesn't hold paint well or evenly, so we wanted to have a paint-able surface. I didn't even bother to coat it perfectly - just enough to hold the other layers would do.
Second layer: a thick coating of gray paint. Housepaint, essentially. I got a little can of it and was generous with all the areas that I wanted to be gray. The end result would be silver, but if I just went straight to the silver spray paint, it would look too glittery. With a dark gray base coat, we get a little closer to gunmetal.
The dried gray coat. It's got a plastic-y sheen, but that's irrelevant for our next bit. Notice that there's no black on this yet? On purpose.
A quick, single-layer coat of silver spray paint from a distance. Notice that it's not an even coating - the slightly lighter and darker areas are a bit more realistic.
DON'T PAINT DETAILS BEFORE SPRAYING. Otherwise you'll have silvery glitter fallout all over your grip and adjustments.
After adding a little tarnish. This tutorial is a good starting reference for how to make fake metal look worn and used, and it basically involves a dry paintbrush and some stippling/smudging.
I just made sure that the edges looked a bit ragged and darkened up creases between different instruments to give it some depth and wear.
More wear, this time going over the details in black. I definitely wanted black grips and muzzles, and the accent pieces were added on as I went.
The (almost) end result! Just a few more touches, and then I'll go over it with a clear varnish to keep the paint from chipping or flaking.
So while it was a fairly simple repaint, and not a build-it-from-the-ground-up project, I still feel like it was enough of a challenge to make me happy. And I do like how it turned out - I can't wait to see how it photographs!
Now to make the rest of the outfit.