Supporting the front!

Here is some news regarding the Animated shorts for Project: Valkyria.

as many fans are aware of, SEGA is not planning to release Valkyria Chronicles 3 outside of japan, something that have upset alot of fans in the west and europe. I myself are one of many who supports The Gallian Liberation Front, a group of fans who work for convncing SEGA west to localize the 3rd game in our beloved franchise!. So i felt the need of annauncing this here, aswell as doing something myself for the cause.

please visit the Lieration Front's Facebook page and sign their Petition!

As for my plans, we all know each character will star in one animated short each, but before i do any of these i will make a special one starring our three nameless. Riela, Gisele and Kurt. this short will be related to our cause, and be themed around the localization.

the more who joins in the better our chances are, and Project: Valkyria now gives the cause it's full support!. Unrecorded Gisele detachment, Moving Out!

Some new pics and Project information!

 First of, the squad in a group shot!, i call it the Unrecorded Gisele detachment!.

Right, what will be the next step in this project now? weapons!. The next thing i will do is indeed weapons for all the characters. Rifles for Alicia and Riela. Machine guns for Edy, Anisette and Gisele. and of course, lance and shield for Aliasse. i will not do those for Alicia and Riela just yet, i might do that later but i'm unsure if i do so in this first project run.

 After the weapons are done i will work on the sets, nothing too complex but a few trenches and sandbags etc, some kind of battlefield area such as naggiar fields. a  interior room for briefing scenes or whatever, somewhere inside the base at least. also a few miniature background sets to screen in to make the feel that the field is big.

Plans for animation is as such: I will make a animated short (about a min or two long) per character, both serious ones and funny ones where the jokes or plot is based around each characters habits or the like. there will also be shorts with mixed characters and purpose. I will also most importantly make clips for testing effects and stuff, this is the most important bit of this project.

When all this is done, is it the end?, well it might not be. Since i got the inspiration and motivation to do this when i played through Valkyria Chronicles (i had already played vc2 at that time), there is no saying i won't get a new motivation to expand this once vc3 is finaly localized (if it is, but i have my hopes up). there are still characters left that i feel i would have wanted to make, those are for example Isara, Cosette and Shin (and my friend Mario over at the imperial front who are making Kurt and Selvaria is also interested in doing Imca). But i feel that for now i need to move on and continue the project. but "Project: Valkyria EXTEND" might be a go later next year or so. EXTEND will, if done, include new shorts for the new characters aswell as new clips. and might feature Alicia and Riela valkyrur transformation scenes if i'm not making those extra heads and weapons for them in the current project run.

 Here are a full Cosplay sheet for all the characters, using each head with all bodies.

Number 26 ready for battle! - Gisele Fleming Finished!

Alright, gisele Fleming, the 6th and for now last puppet for Project: Valkyria is done!. i will write about the continued plans for the project in my next post, i will not steal this post from Gisele ;)

 Here she is, the pyromaniac girl from the 3rd game. it's the character out of my six puppets that i know least about, so it will be interesting to know more about her. the uniform itself was similar to Edy's. the new stuff was her different bag design and all her belt straps. she was really fun to do as she was similar yet different from the other uniforms, and i have found that i really enjoy working with the nameless outfits. Gisele have ended up as one of my fave puppets.

Here is a simple progress pics of each step she went through.

"I'll show you what a star can do!" - Anisette Nelson puppet finished!

Nelson detachment, move out!. here we go, Anisette Nelson is finally done and ready for battle....well, not until i give them all some weapons haha.

I said about everything about the Lanseal uniform in my last post about Anisette so there is not much to add about that. The hair was similar to Edy's so that's another reason why it was good to make them the same day. The uniform and armour are based on the in-game Veteran shocktrooper look as oposed to the regular un-upgraded version.

 Both Nelsons together!

Uniform change!. Edy in the Lanseal uniform is indeed how she look in VC2 when unlocked!

"A few bullets for my fans!" - Edy Nelson puppet Finished!

The star of squad 7 is finally done!, and her sister is on the way too!. there is not too much to add except that i'm happy to finally have her head finished and added to her body instead of the Gisele Fleming head that used her body while waiting. The process have been pretty much similar to Alicia but with a few differences, but i have already explained these details in earlier posts. So for now, enjoy Edy and I'm soon back with Anisette!

The girl who befriended fire - Gisele Fleming joins the squad!

 That's right folks, Gisele Fleming will be my 6th and final puppet (for now). I have actually already made her Armature. the reason i made her armature was that she, aswell as both nelsons was exactly the same height so i made them beside eachother to get exact dimensions. And also the fact that she is similar to Edy in many aspects (shocktrooper, similar uniform, twintails) and that made me give her the nickname "The black Edy". and this is probably one of my reasons to like her alot due to her likeness to Edy and my taste for twintails. Now, she was a hard nut to crack though as there was very little reference pics but i menaged to find her in full view on the squad 422 picture, and through a gameplay video i saw how she looked from rear view, but finding that clips wasn't easy. "project Gisele research" have been ongoing almost since i worked on Riela.

 Not much to add here, the usual in-scale scetch.

 The knee pads, identical to Edy's but with the nameless colours.

I did in fact even make her head already, due to the lack of hair for Edy and Anisette, i was tempted to pre-make Gisele's head because i did have black hair that is also to be used for Mario's Kurt Irving puppet. So currently Gisele's head is displayed on Edy's body until her own body is done.

Cosplay body tests for fun. Riela's colours are right, but Edy's body have more similar uniform.

 

Anisette Nelson - Uniform finished!

Alright, Anisette's body is all done!. All that's left is her hair and ribbon. I should get the Grey hair i need for both the Nelson sisters in a few days!, so I'm not sure yet if i will reveal the next character before then or if the finishing of the Nelsons goes first, we'll see!.

 A little rough process pic. There is not much new when it comes to methods compared to the other uniformed characters. The Lanseal uniform was a nice little change from the militia uniforms though!, and it being different made it nice and fresh to do.

 Here is everything done except hair and ribbon. Everything is done with the same methods of folding fabric and using hot glue. the lines on the top part and collar aswell as the Shocktrooper insignia was painted on using a fine brush and acrylic paints. the lanseal badge on her tie and collar was printed on white fabric just as i did with the squad 7 and squad 422 badges.

Anisette Nelson joins the squad!

Just as promised, the next character is Anisette Nelson, Edy's sister from Valkyria chronicles 2. The reason for doing her now before Edy is fully done is as you all know due to my lack of Grey hair at the moment, i'm sure to order it as soon as i can, and finish both their heads.

 The design chosen is that of the Veteran shocktrooper look, it's basicly the same as the Gunner look (above) but minus the big bags, and plus big plates. and the shoulder guards are the vc1 scout design.

 As usual, here is a in-scale scetch of Anisette.

 While i was casting Edy's pieces, i also cast Anisette's pieces. the big plates are the same as Edy's but the lower part cut of, and the shoulder plates are the scout ones but with the top plate cut of. The lower arm guards are same as Edy too, but the two plates that goes on the hand is cut away. So basicly it was easy to use the regular moulds and simply mod them into lanseal style armour.

Edy Nelson - Armour finished!

Alright, Edy's armour is all done. and her head is also as done as it can be at the moment. As soon as i get Grey hair for her i will finish her, but until then i will actually leave her for a moment and start on the next character which we all know is her sister, Anisette. As both sisters have the same haircolour it's even so a good idea to do both their heads once i get the hair!.

 The armour wsa done pretty much the same way as Alicia. But the bright camo patterns turned out a slight bit darker than Alicia, but to be honest i think it's more true to the game. Nonetheless its a minor difference that just sets them apart slightly, being different class and all.

And some cosplay fun just to show the body with finished heads on. More cosplay will be done when Edy's head are finished!.

Edy Nelson - Armour sculpt

Yo, i'm done with the sculpts and as you can see they are already mounted on wooden bits to get moulded!

  

 

The new bits needed for the shocktrooper armour set are the big leg plates (top left), breast plates (top right), lower arm guards (bottom left) and shoulder plates (bottom right). so these are already in silicone right now and should be ready for casting tomorrow. remaining pieces for the shocktroopers are the generic knee pads and elbow guards.

 

 This is something else i did in order to mould it together with the armour while i'm at it. This is a male face in order to make male characters, it will first be used on my friend's puppet of Kurt Irving over at the Imperial front. And most likely i will use it myself once i finish Edy, Anisette and the 3rd yet secret girl. which male i will make is yet unknown, even for me.

Edy Nelson - Uniform finished!

 Alright, Edy's uniform is done!. This means that the next step is to sculpt the new armour pieces which are new shoulder pads, lower arm pads, breast plates and new big leg plates.

 All those bags, took me almost all day because they are a piece of work each, but it feels good to have it done and it looks nice. The squad 7 badge was printed on a piece of white fabric i taped to a paper and put in my printer, an easy but nice trick. Boots are made in the same type of leather fabric as Alicia's boots, but darker. Edy had darker in the game but not this dark, but its all i have and it still suits her, the fabric quality in itself was the main point, to make both look equal. The shocktrooper insignia was painted on by hand using a fine brush and white paint, just as i did with Riela's number 13 and all of Aliasse's gold trim.

Edy Nelson - Body part 1

Yo everybody. First of i'm sorry that i havnt posted anything in awhile, i was at first thinking of posting the fully finished body once it's finished but, i had some distractions over the days so it have taken longer than expected, so i decided to post what i got today. Also there is good news, i have new silicone on the way now, so there will be no delay in the new armour and i should have the sculpts done and posted here over weekend if plans go right.

 

This is a in-scale scetch i used for the puppets size, just as i have done with the other three.

  

This is as far as i got until today. Her uniform is pretty much done, i just need to print out the squad 7 badge on a piece of fabric and cut it out, fold the edges, and glue it on. I also need to create her load of bags, theres plenty!, and they have details each!. There is a big one on her back, a row of smaller ones, and on her front there is rows of small ones too!, oh well, it must be done. She is also my first fully "latex-free" puppet as she have no exposed skin except for the face, i based her neck after the game model and the black collar was all the way up. The uniform was pretty much the same to do as Alicia, but the new chellange was in her shorts. the shoulder bits was done similar to Riela's uniform. I also need to paint on her shocktrooper marking on her back.

One part responsible for the delay with edy is that i made three identical armatures, this because Edy, and two other characters i'm doing now are the exact same hieght. So basicly doing them the same time is the best way to make them as close as possible. One of those other two is pretty obviously Anisette, as i have mentioned her before. the 3rd one is a secret until later though, i'll annaunce her (yes i say that much, its a she) once Anisette are done. Until next update, enjoy and take care!

"Taking the stage!" - Edy Nelson joins the squad

As planned, i am to do Edy, so she's up next, followed by her sister if things goes as planned!. So this is my first normal human to make, as the other three where all valkyrur!.

I will just as with the other three, stay true to the game designs and not the Anime (applies to VC1 and 3 characters). Basicly Edy is similar to Alicia, but the uniform differs slightly and she have different armour pieces. I'm running low on silicone though so the armour casts might take awhile, aswell as getting grey hair, all because i'm rather broke so i cant affort it this month. Normally i don't start anything i can't finish in one row, but i can't miss the oportunity of motivation to do her or i'll risk not doing her at all. What i can do is the body (all of it), i can still cast her head, print eyes, and cast knee pads aswell as elbow pads as these are identical to the scout ones (generic pieces). so maybe i'll end up doing both Edy and Anisette in almost-finished state until i get silicone. What i can do though, is to sculpt the new armour and have it ready for once i get new silicone and a grey wig to take hair from. I'm also feeling it might soon be time to give them all some weaponry, so spare time might go to crafting some rifles and machine guns!.

"I'll keep everybody safe! Okay?" - Aliasse puppet finished!

Yaay!, She's finaly done after alot of work and time, but i was away a few days though and that slowed the process a bit, but she did still take most time to make out of those current three.

There was alot of complex bits on this outfit, and many seperate pieces that had to be made, but it does feel great to finaly have her done!. She is fully poseable just as the other two, hair can be animated and the dress straps aswell.

Here is a comparison of all three, all of them have about the same hieght difference, Riela is 163cm tall in reality, and Alicia is 159cm while Aliasse is only 150cm, but she does have high heels so that made her a bit taller so i think the scaling on those are about right.

Finaly, i end with a cosplay shot!. Aliasse got to try the uniforms and the other two got to try the valkyrian dress, Riela does look good in it!

That's all for now, i'll be back with the annauncement of the next character soon!

Aliasse - Decorations

Yo, the final pieces are done, now i just need to attach them!

To make those i used plasticard, or plastic sheet as its also known as. to make the horns i used a double layer glued togheter, this works with plastic model glue, i then sanded it until it was smooth and in desired shape. I did the same to the bit that will be added to the back of her dress, and i used a top of a empty paint bottle to make the round bit. And the bit that will be added to her chest was also made in plasticard, and filled with epoxy to make it sturdy, lines where filled with epoxy aswell, and then sanded to become smooth. The lines in it was carved out with a knife.

Aliasse - Valkyrian dress part 4

Yo!, the dress is about done, what's left is the golden bit on the front of her top, so i'm thinking of ways to create it as accuratly as possible. There is also the "horns" on her head aswell as a golden bit on her backside of the dress.

The dress straps took me several hours because they where done seperatly and needed wire inside, so it's done with the same method as the smaller bits, but in a bigger scale. Knee pads where done in cardboard and covered in fabric to have the same look as the rest of the outfit, but still be stiff.

Aliasse - Valkyrian dress part 3

Right folks, progress is back on track and i've done a bit today!, it might not look that it's too much done but because her dress is pretty complex, it's also very time consuming.

I started by sanding the green putty sculpt on her feet in order to make it smooth, i then painted it black and after that i simply added the black fabric on her legs. Just as all other parts, those had to be carefully painted with gold paint to create the golden trim and textures. each small strap that is on the top of her dress had to be carefully folded and glued, and a thin wire inserted to shape them properly, each got to be made individually so it's rather time consuming, but worth it. I also now glued on her belt-skirt but i didnt glue the belt ends fully as i need to get the front dress straps underneath first.

Aliasse - Valkyrian dress part 2

So, here is the last update for a few days. I'll be away from tomorrow (wednesday) and four days forth so i'll be back on sunday, so let's say that progress are back on monday most likely!.

I finished the clothing on her arms, and made her skirt that consists of two belts. i made the belt ends using thin cardboard cut out in the proper shape. I can't attach these yet though as i got to make the long straps that forms her dress first and i must connect these the same time because they overlap eachother at some points.

Aliasse - Valkyrian dress part 1

Yaay! i'm back with some more!

So, i finished her top and this was time consuming and needed alot of fine work on each of these bits sticking out. I had to create each of them individually, and make a red underside on the bottom since its going to point out. If that wasn't enough, i also had to include thin wire between the red and black bits in order to shape them to stick out, luckily this was the part of her dress that have most of these. I also had to paint on all the golden trim, i first tried using golden thread but it was a pain and ended up blotching glue all over the black (and didn't even stick too well!) so i reconsidered painting it, after the success of painting on the number 13 on Riela, it's confirmed to work. I also added a transparent blue pearl to work as her blue gem. So far i'm pretty pleased with the result!.

Yo everyone!, i havn't posted for a few days but i have been away, and i also had to redo a few flaws on her skin because i wasn't pleased with the result, i also stripped her hands from fabric and are going to redo it. But as a person who hates re-doing things as it slows me down and are un-motivating, i made her head and hair in between re-doing the hands.

Just like with Riela, i also did wire as a basic structure for the hair so it can be animated. I also did this to the hair hanging down in front of her ears because this was longer than Riela's. Aliasse is indeed the Valkyria with the longest hair yet. I also made a wire structure on where to add her "horns" (head decoration) later.

I might also let you all know that i'm going away for four days from wednesday to sunday, but i think i will be posting tomorrow's and tuesdays progress before i go.

Aliasse - drawing, Armature and Body

Here i gooo! with some new progress on Aliasse

As always i started of by doing a drawing of the character in the right scale to my other drawings of Alicia and Riela, in order to build the armature in-scale and with the right dimensions.

The feet of the armature was made slightly differently as she have high heels. Insteed of the usual double jointed feet o made one bolt attached to the front of the foot, and insted of the other one i wired up a high heel and sealed it by sculpting epoxy around it, i also made a epoxy sculpt on the front of the feet to shape up her unique boot shape. There still is a joint in the middle of the foot though, so shes no more limited than the others. Next up i made my usual foam body but i was a little bit more carefull this time as there is alot of bare skin on her, same applies to where to put the seams when making the skin and she still needs a few more coats of latex on it.

"All right, guys! Here we gooo!" - Aliasse joins the squad!

The young valkyria of lanseal joins the squad!

Had since awhile ago decided that Aliasse is the next puppet i will make, so it's now confirmed!. So now there will be three valkyrur in a row, and with my friend Mario doing Selvaria Bles, we will have all four!.

Number 13 is ready for battle! - Riela Marcellis puppet finished!

Right folks, she's done!, except for weapons just as with Alicia. Compared to Alicia the chellange to create Riela was in par, if not a bit easier as she does indeed have less armour.  So well, here we go, yet another valkyria joins my squad!

I made the knife holster, but i will create the knife itself later. The Nameless squad 422 badge are actually a print done on white fabric, and the number is painted on with golden paint and a fine brush!.

This is Riela's size standing with Alicia, Riela is indeed a slight bit taller as Alicia is 159cm tall while Riela is 162cm tall. Just like in the game and OVA, the nameless outfit is original and different, yet it matches the regular uniforms in a nice still contrasting way.

As a bonus i also took these cosplay thotos showing of that the exchangeable heads works nicely. Alicia looks cute in the nameless uniform!.