Making Bard's Coat

[Straelbora]

Does Bard strike anyone else as an Elvish impersonator?

Sadly, to me, he looks like he wandered off the set of a '70s porn film.

Kinda makes me wonder about your choice in cinema.

... or so I'm told.

Seriously, I really liked the medieval Russian look of the costumes for the flashback to old Dale: very much reminded me of Novgorod from when it was flourishing. But the Laketown look, so far, meh. I get that Laketown is supposed to be this settlement clinging to life and aside from its wine, not economically successful.

Overall, it's symptomatic of my feelings on the "Hobbit" films' costuming/character design. I mostly liked the Dwarves, except for the star-shaped hairdo and the hatchet handle in the forehead. I despised Radagast and the Goblin King, both in look and in portrayal. Ditto Azog. From what we've glimpsed, I'm not going to care for Beorn much, either. I did love the look of both Dwarves and Men in old Dale. Really dislike Disco Thranduil. Tauriel looks so-so, with the obvious wig really ruining her look.

[Manveruon]

I mostly agree with all your above comments, Straelbora. However, I still really enjoyed the first film, and I am really looking forward to this one a lot. I like to nit-pick, but overall I was pretty happy with the first Hobbit installment, and I think I probably will be with this one too.

As for Bard's string grip, I was honestly appalled by it when I first saw that picture. But knowing that it is indeed a viable method of shooting makes me a little less vehemently angered by it. Still, I think it was mostly done because they wanted him to look "cool" on the poster.

Incidentally, other than my gripe with his archery form, that picture is FREAKING AMAZING!!! It shows a MUCH better view of the coat than most other shots out there, and a SUPERB shot of the quiver! I'm so excited to start working on a new quiver for this costume, I can't even tell you! And the more I look at his costume, the more completely pleased I am by its overall simplicity. It's totally functional, for the most part, and really doesn't have much flash at all - which is part of what I didn't like at first, but now I'm seeing it as being realistic and utilitarian. Except perhaps for the long coat, but really, he would want something like that if it gets as cold in Laketown as they make it seem.

This picture also, I believe, suggests once again that his coat is indeed made of shearling sheepskin, and not a different kind of fur. Which brings me back to my original point: can someone PLEASE help me find an inexpensive material for this coat? I still can't seem to find diddly squat, and it's driving me crazy!

[Straelbora]

[/i][/quote]This picture also, I believe, suggests once again that his coat is indeed made of shearling sheepskin, and not a different kind of fur. Which brings me back to my original point: can someone PLEASE help me find an inexpensive material for this coat? I still can't seem to find diddly squat, and it's driving me crazy![/quote]

I think you're back to trying to find a Goodwill or Salvation Army store coat and rebuilding it; Not only are real sheepskins going to cost a fortune, but your coat is going to be big and fluffy and take quite a bit of wear to break in so that it's supple like Bard's coat in the photo. I've got a Mongolian-style sheepskin had (essentially a cone with the bottom turned up into a brim). Not only is it only wearable in the coldest of weather, but it's taken 15 years to feel 'lived in.'

[Manveruon]

Yeah, I hear ya' there. I keep looking at local thrift stores, but no luck yet. I'm honestly leaning towards making one from a synthetic material, but I don't have a clue what to look for or where to look.

[Mirimaran]

You can try sales at the local fabric stores as well. A couple of years ago we got a ton of fake fur relatively cheap at Hancock, and it was the good stuff too. Pics, regardless of what you find!

As for the string grip, I am thinking that his hand placement was more for the photo than anything else.

Ken

[Straelbora]

And of course, to complicate matters, if you watch the 'Desolation of Smaug' trailer that was released today, the coats the Bilbo and Thorin have (presumably from Laketown) do look like shearling.

[Mirimaran]

During the Hobbit fanfest, Luke Evans explained the inverted grip as he needed to be able to draw back past his ear due to the length of the Black Arrow.

Ken

[Manveruon]

Oooooh. THAT'S the deal. Huh. I'm still not really convinced by the idea, but I guess I'll swallow it. Just because the arrow is really long though, it doesn't mean you actually have to pull it ALL THE WAY back. I hope Bard's bow is made of freakin' steel, if he plans to over-draw it by that much, heh.

Yes, yes, I know it's fantasy. *grumblegrumble*

[Greg]

Fantasy? Heck...it's hollywood.

His bow had BETTER not be made of steel...if PJ tries to make Bard's bow out to be Numenorean, there will be a riot.

In all seriousness...the inverted grip really isn't all that bad of a thing, but I really dislike the fact that a solid anchor point is virtually impossible with it, drawing to the area he is. If you want a consistent, solid anchor, you have to rest the outside (pinky) edge of your hand firmly under your jawbone, which is awkward with the hand upside-down. Drawing to the ear, there's too much bone structure in the hand and cartilage variance in the ear to feel something really solid. The best anchor I've found with the inverted hand (which I still don't use) is feeling the outermost knuckle of your bent middle finger on the corner of your mouth, which feels familiar enough to a standard 3-fingers grip, centering the tip of the same finger in the same place.

Agreed, though. Just 'cause the arrow's that long doesn't mean you have to draw it all the way. Of course, under-drawing a long-arrow leads us into a whole slew of spining issues, seeing as how the counterweight (the point/tip) is further away from the fulcrum of archer's paradox (the bow shelf)...but I think I've run my mouth more than enough for one post.