Arcane Season 2; Ambessa’s Armor
In late summer of 2024, a call came in for an absolute dream project: create the costumes, armor, and most iconic props from the upcoming Netflix sequel season to the League of Legends streaming series Arcane. These items would be installed the red carpet premiere at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, various streaming events where the creators of Arcane would discuss episode creation, and an absolutely massive finale party in Los Angeles for the series’ final episode. We were tasked with making Ambessa’s armor, Caitlyn’s uniform, Vi’s cage fighter outfit, Ekko’s hoverboard, and a refresh of our Fishbones T-Shirt cannon. We had five weeks! This entry highlights Ambessa’s Armor. For our Caitlyn and Vi project with Ekko’s hoverboard, check out this page
Ambessa’s gold armor was designed in tandem with the scenic team at Matchless Builds who created the set pieces for each event. We worked closely with this other studio to make sure all of our fabricated pieces would fit into their plinths and display alcoves to ensure a smooth install. Riot provided Ambessa’s in-game armor model. From these lowpoly game assets we re-sculpted each piece in for real-world fabrication. The armor itself is glass fiber reinforced epoxy castings and urethane filled resin prints. For the “floating” aesthetic, each armor component features a hidden set of welded, threaded anchor points bonded to the interior of the sculpture.
The party piece for Ambessa’s armor are her two weapons called “The Drakehounds”. Each of the two weapons are actually 6 individual pieces that break apart for transport and storage. An armored cuff sits on one side, with a massive blade floating six feet away. They’re connected by a hovering chain. This series of custom cut steel chain links allows the blades to hover in mid air, defying their actual weight. So far Ambessa has been displayed at over a half dozen Arcane-themed events since the launch of season 2!
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