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Hello my little turtle and welcome to a new Cosplay Tutorial! Today I’ll show you how I made the Dragonborn armor from the video game The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. But before we dive into the action, I want to tell you right away that if you absolutely don’t want to waste days, months, or years making your own patterns, you can download MINE using this link. This will surely save you a lot of time, effort… and probably a few curses too. But let’s start from the beginning…
THE HELMET
First, take our Patterns already cut from a 5 mm thick foam sheet and start gluing the various pieces of the horns (1, 2, 3). Basically, these horns can be very rough since we will cover them with Foam Clay, so you don’t need to be perfectly precise (4). I should add that you would get nicer shapes and more precise gluing using low-density foam, but if, like me, you already have high-density foam scraps set aside waiting to be used, don’t worry—use them too: we avoid wasting material.
Let’s add some raised lines by gluing 1 mm foam strips on each horn (5). Now we cover everything with Foam Clay and hide all the imperfections left under the horns (6). I use water and any pencil or pen to create six grooves.
We also cut and assemble all the other parts of the helmet (7). I glue the horns to the helmet, making sure everything is symmetrical: it looks easy, but it’s not at all. I also glue the horn bases, also made from 5 mm foam (8). Then I glue horizontal and vertical bands on the helmet and decorative strips along the edges of the bands. I also add some small circles to simulate the joint rivets (9).
I use sealant to close all the gaps that remained open (10), and I also cut and glue the decorative patterns on the top parts of the helmet (11). I create a rough texture using a Dremel on the entire surface of the helmet (12).
Let’s not forget the battle damage with the pyrograph, after all this helmet definitely can’t be smooth and clean if we’re supposed to fight dragons (13).
We repeat the same steps for the shoulder pad: glue the two halves together (14), apply sealant, and glue the decorative patterns on the top part (15).
THE ARMOR
Okay, let’s say that in this Cosplay Tutorial it’s not really a proper armor, but I had no idea what else to call it!
We follow the same steps as before for the various medallions and the arms (16). As for the greaves, we need to make spikes, so we cut the pattern out of foam—which, I remind you, you can easily find in the PDF—and we try to create grooves at the joints of the various triangles. This will help us during the folding phase (17, 18, 19).
We fold everything and glue the joints (20). We have completed the first spike; we repeat this operation five more times. We smooth the sharp edges and glue the spikes onto the greaves (21).
We cover the imperfections with acrylic sealant, once again.
Back to us, once we have completed each piece of armor, we can coat everything with Flexi Paint, diluted with water—make sure to apply about three to four layers (22). Once everything is dry, we cover the horns and paint everything with a glossy black base (23), and then with a chrome-colored spray (24).
Now let’s proceed with aging each piece. If you want to learn more about this topic, leave me a comment (25).
Regarding the small sewing parts, I modified the patterns of a jacket and transferred them onto this amazing faux leather (26), basted everything, and applied water-mixed paint to age the fabric and make everything look rougher.
Once all the pieces were sewn, I used the blanket stitch to finish—or rather, to not really finish—all the edges (27).
I make belts from the faux leather and attach studs to them.
I’d say we’re done!
COSPLAY TUTORIAL: THE FINAL RESULT
This cosplay didn’t require much effort and is one of the most comfortable I have in my wardrobe: no wigs or contact lenses needed! Just don’t forget to use the right amount of makeup!
Here you can find the second video dedicated to the steel sword, a prop that will surely enhance your new costume.
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Now I ask you: which part of the process was the most interesting? Which topic would you like to explore further? Leave me a comment with your answer. We’ll catch up in another article! Bye!
VIDEO TUTORIAL: DRAGONBORN – THE ELDER SCROLLS: SKYRIM [PART 1]
Not a fan of reading the Cosplay Tutorial article? Here’s the Video version of what’s covered on this page! I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful!
Cover photo of Michele Righetti’s Cosplay Tutorial.