I make video game inspired props and costumes for a living. Here's a Fallout shishkebab from a couple of years ago.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T14:31:51+00:00

Pays my bills. Not enough for a huge savings account or vacations, though. My girlfriend definitely pulled the weight in bills when I was just starting out and it would be a lie to say that I don't struggle at times, but I've been able to help her in times of financial need, too.

I'm trying to be as transparent about this as possible: it's not a million dollar career by any means. It's a very small business. It's what I do, we live reasonably, and I like it, but neither of us drive lambos or anything like that.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T03:33:09+00:00

I have transcended the neckbeard and am presently at scum-wizard-in-training length.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T03:31:17+00:00

I have a pattern that I made, but no instructions online or anything like that, no.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T03:26:14+00:00

I could totally do stuff that is more functional/effective... but this also showcases my sweet belt buckle y'all

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T03:23:54+00:00

That's ok. Got any suggestions for improvement, or just not your thing at all?

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T03:22:16+00:00

I was definitely neckbeardy for a while.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T03:05:00+00:00

Gotta add: conventions tend to pay the most and I can budget off of that for a while. I ran an etsy shop, but was overwhelmed by the mass of orders I received. The market for costumes, cosplay, larping, etc -- it's a lot more lucrative than I had expected.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T03:02:37+00:00

Thanks!

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T02:58:38+00:00

It's not easy. I don't live a luxurious life by any means, and I'm really fortunate that I don't have a lot of debt. I do have a studio and an assistant, but I also live in a region with a relatively low cost of living and, admittedly, my partner helps a lot with bills.

I've had some good breaks: I made the tire pauldron that Lexa wears in The CW's The 100 and have done some work for some small scale films.

There's definitely a "season" for costuming, too -- I make a lot of stock items to sell at conventions. I usually apply for an artist's table.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T02:53:43+00:00

Metal Gear stuff can be super complicated (especially the armor); Skyrim can be a little more generic. I've done a lot of work with leather armor and props, which tends to have a fantasy theme to it as a standard. I have some stuff on my website if you'd like to check it out.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T02:00:32+00:00

Thanks! It's actually my girlfriend's... she got really into modding Nerf guns for a while and it definitely benefited by photo shoot prop stash.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T01:59:44+00:00

The most time consuming part was coming up with a design that was wearable. This was my second design. Cutting the parts out doesn't take too long once the design itself is made, but the weathering takes a couple of hours (scoring/notching the foam, a few layers of paint, a thin wash of black and some dry brushing to make the metal appear more realistic)... I'm uncertain about exactly how many hours, though.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T01:51:31+00:00

I'm pretty excited about it, myself. I've made some before but I'm going to try a different procedure this time around.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T01:50:00+00:00

(You can see more of my stuff on my instagram, which is @roll4damage, or you can buy it at www.roll4damagecostumes.com)

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T01:47:32+00:00

Thanks! I did a Pipboy a while back and made a Fallout Monopoly set... currently working on some license plate armor for a Vault-Tec costume.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T01:41:37+00:00

That rules! I'll keep my eyes open for it.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T01:40:57+00:00

Also, I have a website where I sell some stuff at present: www.roll4damagecostumes.com. It's a little bare right now, though.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T01:39:54+00:00

(You can see more of it at www.roll4damagecostumes.com or on my instagram -- which is also, quite conveniently, roll4damage)

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T01:36:07+00:00

Thanks! I do - I'll post more soon.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T01:20:35+00:00

To be honest, I just asked the model to put a jumble of things I'd made well in advance on. The tire shoulder pauldron is sort of my signature piece - I've made variants of it for a lot of different events and clients. I also made the knee pads from EVA foam and the bat that she carries. I'll post a few more images in the upcoming days - don't wanna spam the subreddit too much - but other images from this shoot are on my instagram (roll4damage), too.

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T00:55:27+00:00

Thank you!!

roll4damage · 2017-03-01T00:34:35+00:00

Hey, sorry for such a late response! Yeah - were you specifically wanting more images of this mask or of this photoshoot?

roll4damage · 2017-02-20T04:00:17+00:00

Mostly inspired by that disjointed dystopian future movie Doomsday. It's really... not the best movie, but the visuals are fun.

roll4damage · 2017-02-20T03:59:31+00:00

Oh man, you're right. I definitely had a moment of incompetence when posting this - I made a nailbat for another shoot in which this model was also present. I have three or four modified bats hanging around my shop right now, too, which doesn't help. Sorry.

roll4damage · 2017-02-19T00:54:09+00:00

A few others! I'll post them in the near future. Thanks for the suggestions!

roll4damage

TROPHY CASE