I’ve also included more information on materials and construction of each cosplay pauldron. Just scroll past the video if you’d like to read more.
Cosplay Pauldron Construction Details
TESV: Skyrim, Ancient Nord Armor Pauldron
This was my first cosplay pauldron made back in 2014 as part of my first ever costume. I followed some of Kamui Cosplay’s earliest tutorials to learn how to use Worbla for this costumes’ armored pieces. The pauldrons consist of two separate pieces of worbla sandwiched around a 2mm layer of craft foam for added thickness and stability. Accents were them created with additional “sandwiched” worbla trips, and free formed worbla for the swirly designs on top. Faux fur, D rings, and custom sewn straps finish off the look. (And yes, I have been grave robbing.)
See the finished Ancient Nord Armor here.
Diablo 3, Armor of Akkhan Crusader Pauldron
Being a crazy person, I jumped from making simple Worbla armor in to—well—in to this BEAST of an armor set! The Armor of Akkhan still stands in my memory as one of my most difficult cosplays to date. And it is all thanks to these honking pauldrons. They use nearly every common cosplay material in the book — a cardboard silhouette base, expanding foam, slush cast resin, Paperclay, a two part epoxy shell, Worbla, EVA foam, LEDs, and acrylic paint. I could go on and on about how it took me two years to get these pauldrons just right, but lucky for you I’ve already written a post about it!
See the finished Crusader cosplay here.
Disney-Inspired Custom Design, The Snow White Knight Pauldrons
This classic Disney Princess is practically defined by her blue and red “slashed sleeves.” Taking them as my source of inspiration, I designed a one-of-a-kind cosplay pauldron to bring her to life. These pauldrons took me back to my roots with Worbla, however they needed to be more flexible than my usual “foam sandwich” method would allow. The base of these pauldrons is therefore constructed with a double layer of worbla, formed over a large plastic globe to give them their domed shape. The worbla was then cut away to create the slashes, and affixed on the underside of the openings… After attaching hundreds of red crystals, of course!
See the finished Snow White Knight here.
Dark Souls, Knight Artorias’ Pauldron
Although I didn’t get the chance to discuss this piece in the interview, it’s arguably the most iconic cosplay pauldron I’ve made. Knight Artorias’ pauldron is highly detailed, and also in a state of decay and disrepair. Once I had the base pauldron complete using three distinct layers of the “Worbla sandwich method”, I used a heat tool to cut away “slashes” through the center and around the edges. Additional details were sketched on top with sharpie, and sculpted by hand using Apoxie Sculpt.
See the finished Knight Artorias here.
Custom Design, Blue Dragon Cosplay Pauldron
This piece took my Worbla skills to the absolute limit! Looking to the high fantasy genre for inspiration, I decided I wanted to make distinct “blue dragon” scales that felt textured and realistic. Luckily, Worbla was the perfect material to give me that texture. I also wanted pauldron to be able to articulate, so I needed two separate “worbla sandwich” pieces as a base. Once both base pieces were constructed, I cut individual scales in various sizes, stacking them one by one in to a distinct scaled pattern. Each scale was cut from a double layer of Worbla.
Until next time! — Erei mu grind!