DimitriDesign

Work in Progress: Rune Armor

The global idea for this costume emerged about two years ago. I was aiming to play something Wood Elf-like. For that, I needed something feral but elegant at the same time. Comfortable to wear, with mobility in mind. So chainmail, platesteel or thick layers of wool or fur weren't what I was looking for - Which was good, because they are both expensive and a pain to wear. So I started out with several quick designs untill I finally settled for the one in the little picture on the left.

Flexible leather plates would guarentee flexability without sacrificing too much protection, while the skirt of shin leather scales would give it a 'foresty' appearance. making the skirt proved to be lots and lots of work, cutting each individual scale and sewing it onto a leather combat skirt. After that, the project fell dead for about 17 months or so, untill I recently decited to pick it up again. I had found a really nice leather chest- and shoulderpiece that I figured would suit my needs. Leatherworking is definitely not my strongest skill, so making it myself wouldn't be by best option anyway.

So, now I've got something that looks like this. Quite nice, but a little too basic for my taste. I figured I could add a cape, either made of thick fur or the same scaly structure as the combat skirt. This would add some complexity to it. Making an impressive costume is all about adding layers, layers and more layers. Still, that wouldn't make it stand out enough to my taste. Then it struck me!
Glow-in-the-dark Runes or Symbols!