Blessings of the Light
No Crusader build is complete without an off-hand crusader shield. Used for more than just protection, a crusader shield is a partner in the darkness. So, once the Armor of Akkhan was finished, the forging of a shield was necessary to round out my cosplay “build,” too.
In Diablo 3, “Akarat’s Awakening” has a chance to reduce the cooldown of your other skills upon a successful block. I use Akarat’s Awakening with my thorns crusader. Since I have a high block chance stat as part of the build, there is an increased likelihood of having reduced cooldowns trigger. The front of the shield depicts the profit, Akarat, receiving a holy vision of “the light,” from Yaerius. I interpreted this as an angel at the top of the shield, but a high resolution version of the art can be seen on the ground within the Zakarum Cathedral in Act V.
“Our enemies may think we journey alone, but they are mistaken.”
– Exerpt from a Crusader Proverb
What’s it Made Of?
The majority of the shield is made of EVA foam from CosplayShop.be. The wood detail on the back is actually the foam itself! I hand cut each wood grain pattern, and hit with a heat tool to create melted gaps. The “metal” plates supporting the back are Worbla “foam sandwiches,” and the rivets were kept a consistent size by using googly eyes. The front relief is sculpted using lightweight Paperclay, which needed a a layer of newspaper paper mache in order to adhere to the foam beneath. Other materials included gift wrapping tubes, Epsilon resin, barge cement, spray paint, and hand painted acrylics.
The final Crusader Shield was debuted at MegaCon 2017, where I won “Best in Show” at the annual costume contest!
