Cloud Reference

Cloud: Kingdom Hearts - Armor
Worn at AnimeNEXT 2004

I thought this would be a relatively easy assignment, since all I had to create for this outfit was the armor (which, of course, turned out to be a lot more complicated than I could've ever imaged.) The toughest part of this project was the shoulder armor, which I created using a piece cut out from an oversized plastic Christmas ornament. I originally thought of sinking actual solid steel bolts into the armor, but I decided against it since the plastic might not've been able to support them without cracking. While browsing through the local hardware store, I found some jumbo-sized screwcovers which looked right (and since they were hollow, they wouldn't be nearly as heavy) so I sunk those in instead. I made the lower sections of the shoulder armor out of bands of plastic-covered foam, which I connected together with black ribbon.

Naw, now that I think of it, the hip armor was the toughest part of this project, since I had to create it out of three curved tiers of plates, and then figure out a way to attach the armor to the body (a simple pair of tapes tied around the waist solved this problem.)...... No wait. I take that back. The gloves were the toughest part of this project. To make them, I had to buy two pairs of gloves (one black, one leather) cut the fingers off (and hem them so they wouldn't unravel), then sew one glove within the other. The gold fingerplates I created out of plastic-covered foam and glued to one of the black undergloves (in much the same way I created the gauntlets for my Lady Chris outfit.) The silver studded cuffs were (like most everything else) made of foam-covered plastic. I had trouble finding studs which were the right shape for the cuffs, but I eventually figured out how to make some of my own by cutting up gluesticks into small 1/2 long sections (which I then glued onto the cuffs.)

Not pictured: A round buckle with a cross-shaped design which could be attached to a belt by way of a velcro strip. (Definitely NOT the toughest part of this project...)