Galdran Armour
November 2020 – August 2021
Initial Pattern
This suit of armour was inspired by a character in the first fantasy book I wrote. In the story, one character wears a magnificent blue and gold suit of armour into battle, much like the one I have created here. I began by creating paper templates for each component, planning the geometric patterns that would define the armour's distinctive appearance, then transferring these patterns to leather and cutting out the individual pieces. The leather pieces that would become the breastplate are shown here.
Tooling and Details
Once each piece is cut from the raw leather hide, I tool and stamp the edges to create a decorative border fit for a royal suit of armour. This image shows a close-up of the initial tooling, including a knot work stamp along the edge and a background texture stamp to add depth to the edge and transition into the central parts of each component. This main design is used throughout each piece of this suit of armour, as can be seen below, allowing for the full suit to present a uniform appearance of blue and gold.
Leather Construction
Before fully assembling each piece, I often construct a "test fit" using brads, as can be seen by this image, which displays an temporarily assembled tasset (hip armour). The main inspiration behind the design for much of this suit of armour was Steve Argyle's artwork for the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson, which depicts a number of elegantly themed suits of full armour called "Shardplate". In the creation of my project, I often drew upon elements of texture or shape from these suits of armour.
Detailed Straps
To connect each piece of armour, I built a number of leather straps and buckles, all subtly detailed with the same texture stamp used on the main suit of armour. This increases the armour's size flexibility, allowing the fit to be changed to fit the wearer (within reason). This image shows the straps in the middle of being oiled, which prevents cracking and ensures long-term durability. These straps would eventually be dyed blue, then attached to the armour using either rivets or chicago screws.
Dyeing and Colouring
This armour has a distinct blue and gold theme. To create this, I first dye each pieces entirely blue, as can be seen with this image of the gorget (neck armour). From here, I paint the borders gold using metallic acrylics, as can be seen in the helmet below. After dyeing and painting, I apply an antique (a dark gel) to each piece to deepen shadows and emphasise the texturing elements. Finally, every armour piece is sealed with a topcoat that resists dirt, water, etc, ensuring that the leather will hold up in the long term.
Complete Assembly
This was the first full suit of leather armour I built, complete with every possible armour component between the helmet and the sabatons (armour for the shoes). The project took about 8 months to complete as I worked through each individual armour piece, learning and improving throughout the process. This suit of armour gave me my first challenge in attempting to physically express a suit of armour that existed only in my mind using skills and tools that I was actively developing.