furtech: (Cornell)
furtech ([personal profile] furtech) wrote2006-06-02 05:31 pm

Back to Costuming...

There was a (for me) costume at the con that just blew me away. I am so impressed I'm giving him his own entry!
(A no-prize for whoever can identify the character!)

head


I get complimented on my costume work and (being mostly human) that flattery can go to my head. All it takes is seeing something like this suit to bring me down to earth! And he's a great guy, too: we had long, excited talks about creature costuming and geeking out on each other's work.

Llamaguy

His costume utilized a LOT of electronics, from the guns on his wrists to lights all over the cybernetic parts (like the cybernetic eye). The jaw was animatronic, and worked off of sensors connected to his own mouth. He did a hilarious routine backstage with the Llama singing, "On The Road Again". His legs are an amazing bit of enginering: they were professionally built by the same company that did the legs for the werewolves of "Underworld". He could walk, jump, dodge and once even hopped off the stage (to the horror of the masquerade director). His documentation for the building of the costume was fantastic.

foot

Even the ears worked, set on a random actuator:

ears

Some of you may already know him: he had the cool white goat-man costume (with similar, but shorter) jack-legs at Further Confusion. The only downside is that the costume may be too fragile to transport, so he may not be able to bring it to FC 2007. We're staying in touch: we both fed off of the other's ideas and techniques, inspired to do new projects.

Llamas get all the babes...

babes&beast

[identity profile] neogeen.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
Wow, those legs! Running, jumping, everything! WOW! Does he have a website for the documentation of this costume? I'm so imspressed. <3 <3 Creature costuming!

[identity profile] spotweld.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
Serisously impressive, but he shins must be so sore at the end of the day,

[identity profile] furtech.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 06:58 am (UTC)(link)
They're precision-fitted: the leg-mechanism was created by a company that makes real prosthetics. They made a leg-cast of his own legs in the "digitigrade" position, then the brace was sculpted onto that. Apparently quite comfortable.

[identity profile] iisaw.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
Awesome! I'd really like to know how he did the legs.

[identity profile] furtech.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 07:00 am (UTC)(link)
See above: these are amazingly precision devices. rotating ball sockets for the ankle/foot connection to give him some flexibility. Built out of aircraft-grade aluminum and carbon-fiber materials.

[identity profile] punmasta.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
He is my hero. A llama?! Great.

[identity profile] mythos-amante.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I remember the goat guy! COOL!

[identity profile] lacy.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
That is a awesome costume, I love seeing animatronics in costumes, the effect is usually pretty cool. This guy is just awesome all around. :) *envy!*

[identity profile] karisu-sama.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
You have no idea how pleased I was :p that he was still in Journeyman class this year. :p :p

Next year we're in trouble.... XD

[identity profile] furtech.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 07:00 am (UTC)(link)
That's what makes it so fun!

[identity profile] latinvixen02.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
Wow simply amazing!

[identity profile] diadexxus.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
Holy .... one word: WOW

I havent been that impressed in YEARS... Those legs are AMAZING

-J

[identity profile] thakur.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
The only comment i would make is that the Llama's I saw in South America were all white or light coloured but that is still an amazing piece of work.
I havent had any luck talking to others about their costumes at all, especially the time I was at AC....enuf said.

[identity profile] furtech.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 07:01 am (UTC)(link)
That's because the character is based on a design from a computer game, not a real llama. I'm surprised no one has figured it out-- I thought for sure at least Iisaw would have recognized him.

[identity profile] skiefire.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
Legs done like that are always awesome.

A guy I know did the Elite from Halo using the same technique, and it looked fantastic: http://www.planetdawnofwar.com/gallery/elite/

[identity profile] furtech.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 07:02 am (UTC)(link)
Saw that at SDCC last year-- very impressive.

[identity profile] shadowolf.livejournal.com 2006-06-03 06:29 pm (UTC)(link)
I got a call from him right after the convention, he was *very* amped by the reception his costume received! Can't wait to see it in person at AC :)

[identity profile] spunkywulf.livejournal.com 2006-06-04 03:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Hoooly crap. Like all the posters above said, those legs are awesome!!! I imagine even with the precision fitting, it still probably gets tiring afterwhile :O