AGUILAR HIDDEN BLADE AND GAUNTLET PROP MAKEOVER – PART 2
In this second Prop Makeover we continue to improve the appearance of the Ubiworkshop Aguilar Gauntlet (from the Assassin’s Creed Movie) by adding more weathering and battle damage. You can find the Aguilar Hidden Blade and Gauntlet on Amazon and eBay. Additional resources can be found below.
Note: With many of the plastic hidden blade replicas, I have found that after some time there several knockoff options available. While they may look and function the same, be aware that it may not actually be produced by Ubiworkshop.
Thanks to the feedback we got from our first Prop Makeover, we are expanding the information into two additional videos. In this video we focus on additional weathering techniques and how to add battle damage to the gauntlet.
As with any prop build, this process requires some consideration into the character you are portraying. Understanding who they are, and how they will use the particular object is very important to understanding what you should do to the prop to make it look more realistic.
For this prop, we can look at the Assassin’s Creed movie to learn more about Aguilar. He is a Spanish Assassin, who is a proficient free-runner and archer. His main weapons are his hidden blades, but what does that mean for our prop?
Well, it gives us an idea of what type of weathering we should expect. As a free-runner, the hands would be used a lot. Therefore the hand straps would have a lot of wear and tear. This would also provide a lot of stretching near the hand protector. Jumping from rooftops, you would expect he would tuck and roll quite a bit. Therefore the sides of the gauntlets would be scrapped. Then using his hidden blades as his main weapons, Aguilar will likely have fended off his fair share of wild sword or dagger strikes. So we can expect to see cuts and scraps from such encounters.
So, knowing all of this will inform our painting process. But looking at real world examples of worn leather is another great idea. For this project, I brought out my grandfather’s old camera case. It dates to the 1940s and shows good examples of wear. Examples of stretchered, scuffed, and cracked leather can be found all over the case. In each area, the natural color of the leather stands in contrast to the original leather dye on the case. Using this as a reference we can begin painting.
Using multiple colors, I create a paint that is designed to look like a base leather. I then use a sponge brush to place a thick layer on the back of the hand strap. Wiping a majority of it away with a paper towel, I am to replicate the stretchered leather look found on the camera case. I also haphazardly dab the paint onto the hand guard, to replicate some scuff marks.
When satisfied, I employ a different technique. I crumple up a ball of tinfoil, until it forms a small sphere. This provides a lot of texture options, with which I intend to stamp on the cracked effect of leather. Unfortunately I was looking more like mud splatters than cracking, mostly due to how much paint I was trying to add at once. I then worked on dispersing that with a paper towel.
At this point I realized, I was getting a much more dusty effect on the gauntlet. As if it was pulled straight out of the wagon chase scene in the Assassin’s Creed movie. And I loved the look. It really gives the gauntlet character – so I decided to alter my initial plan and follow what had been started.
I then went on to actually scuffing up the gauntlet, replicating what would happen in the real world when leather rubs up against rough surfaces enough. I found that running a rounded file left to right (or right to left) while pushing or pulling the file against the rubber, provided me with the best results. It not only exposed the original color of the prop, but it provided the scuffed texture as well. I then attacked all the areas that I thought would get the most abuse with this technique.
If you are not comfortable with filing away at your gauntlet, you can always use a stiff bristle brush to apply a thin layer of “leather colored” paint to the edges you would have filed. Dragging the brush gently across those edges will provide a similar result to the file, but it will not put in the texture of the scraping.
I went back and forth with the paint and the file until I was content with the look I had given the gauntlet. I would encourage anyone doing the same process, to go slow and take your time. Build up the weathering in “layers.” This will give you the most control over the outcome of the process. When I was happy with the look of the weathering, it was time to add some sweet battle damage!
I wanted to try three different techniques with this gauntlet, so I prepared a utility knife (box cutter), a multi-saw, and a hack saw. In the end however, the hack saw with its 18 TPI (teeth per inch) blade gave me the cleanest and most direct cut. Like the weathering process, this is another one that benefits from taking it slowly. One you are working with sharp tools, so you want to be safe. But two, you don’t want to go overboard and add too many cuts. Just think about it – if Aguilar had a ton of cuts on his vambrace – you might think he would be missing a hand at that point. You also don’t want to be criss crossing too many lines. Just think how you would try to “safely” block a knife or re-direct a sword strike – and use that mental image to dictate where your cuts will go.
If you do use the hack saw, you will find that the raw rubber is exposed again. If you do not like that color, simply paint over those lines with the paint we mixed up earlier. I would suggest a stiff bristled brush for maximum control. This will give you a cut that looks fresh from a battle. However, if you would prefer an old looking scar on the gauntlet, first use black acrylic paint to paint inside the cut, then use the leather colored paint to hit the rough edges of the cut. This will give the illusion that the cut has dirt and grim in it, and suggest the cut is much older than it is.
And that wraps up the weathering and battle damage.
The materials I used for this project be found here:
Brown Paint: Amazon
Red Paint – Amazon
White Paint – Amazon
Additional Colors (Lemon Yellow and Vermillion) – Amazon
Round File – Amazon
Hack Saw – Amazon
18TPI Blade – Amazon
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