Monday, November 13, 2017

Yang Xiao Long's Ember Celica bracelets

Hello again!

Today's tutorial is for Yang Xiao Long's Ember Celica Bracelets.





I've seen several tutorials for these in their weapon form, but none for their compact bracelet form.

Now, most people that made props out of EVA foam use thick sheets of foam, at least 6mm thick. However, I found that more difficult to find. The way I make my Ember Celica, both the full version and the bracelets, is by doing multiple layers of thinner foam, about 2mm. It is less expensive and much easier to find. The kind I use is .99 cents a sheet.

Supplies:

  • 3 12x18 inch sheets of yellow foam
  • masking tape
  • black paint
  • paint brush
  • white glue

The first step is to measure your wrist to see what size you need. These slide off and on over your hand, so make sure to account for that size as well.

Once you know what size you need, you can start measuring your foam. The ones I'm making for this tutorial are for a wrist size of 8 inches. You need to measure that out on the sheet of foam. The wrist band is 1 & 7/8 inches by 8 inches. I always make the thickness of the band 1 & 7/8 inches, but you can adjust it if you'd like.

Now, since we're layering the strips of foam, you'll need to account for the size for each additional layer. I add 3/8 of an inch to each layer. Meaning, if the innermost layer (the layer that will rest on your wrist) is 8 inches, the next is 8 & 3/8 inches, then 8 & ¾ inches, and the last is 9 & 1/8 inches. The wrist bands are 4 layers in total.



Take the shortest strip and tape the ends together like this:




Then, take the next layer and glue it around the first strip. Let the glue dry for at least an hour. Do this for each additional layer until you have your band that is four layers thick. Make 2, one for each wrist.

While your waiting for the glue to dry, you can start on the top piece for the bracelets.



Trace this onto your foam, again, I do this in layers. You'll need four pieces per bracelet. Eight total.




Get the template HERE.


Now, as you glue these layers together, you'll want to make them curve to fit onto the bands. I use poster tubes to achieve this. However, you can use anything that is cylindrical such as a 2 liter bottle.




Again, let each layer dry for an hour.

With this piece, we don't account for the size difference between layers before hand, so you'll need to trim the excess off afterwards. You can trim it off with scissors.




Once your band and top piece are constructed and dry, you can glue them together like so:



I allow this piece to dry overnight.

The last piece you'll need to cut out is the detail to the bottom of the bracelets. Now, the length of these will be dependent of the size of your bracelets. Just measure the bottom from the ends of the top piece like so:


The ones on these are 5 & ½ inches long. The are 1 & ½ inches tall, regardless of length. The ends are ½ inch on each side.




This part has two layers. Measure again after gluing the first layer in place to get the length of the second layer.

After you've assembled all the pieces, you just need to paint the detail. You can use black acrylic paint or a black paint pen. I've used both. You'll need two coats whichever you choose.

Finished product:



I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions.


If you'd prefer, you can purchase them in my Etsy shop HERE.