Mjoll the Lioness is a character from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and like many characters in the fantasy game, her costume is suited for the life of a traveler. She’s a Nord vigilante and wears a mix of leathers, furs, and armor, and cosplayer April Gloria incorporated all the different textures and materials in her adaptation of the costume. She started with patterns for the armor and then made the finished pieces from Wonderflex – you can see the progress in below photos. Please note the use of googly eyes for the rivets. April followed this process to achieve the weathered metal look on the armor:

I used a mix of silver, pewter and bronze spray paint for the base coat, then did the details in a mix of brown and black. For the darkened areas I brushed on some black paint, then wiped most of it away with a thick paper towel until it had the look I wanted. I made some rusty areas with some shades of brown. I might go in with a lighter color and highlight a few of the edges. I know the in game armor might not have as crazy of weathering as I did but I think this is just my style.

More images at April Gloria’s Facebook page.