I’m building the Red Silk Mermaid as a personal piece, between regular work and paying commissions. I’ve just received a very fun commission from a longtime client, Tyrell Littles. I will document this commission here on this site and return to the Mermaid as soon as we are done.

Photos and more about this new commission, a set of “satyr legs,” after the jump.

Several years ago I made a full set of insect armor for Tyrell in lightweight fiberglass and riveted leather. He has asked if I would modify his costume to accommodate satyr legs, like the ones in Pan’s Labyrinth. Since I had been working on a design of these for some other costuming friends, this is a great opportunity to improve on the idea.

Most werewolf-demon-monster costumes are really limited. Human legs are pretty short; when an actor is bulked out in costume, his legs are way too short by comparison, and they don’t bend the right way. We all imagine the backward leg of a dog or a goat with the elongated foot. This set of leg extensions is designed to look just like that. They hide under a costume and fit very closely to the actor. They also make the wearer 18 inches taller. A 5′ 5″ individual like myself becomes almost seven feet tall. Not only does this look really cool, but doorways become a real concern.

I’m making the leg extensions in steel. Aluminum would be lighter, but steel is easier to weld and modify. The feet are cast rubber. In the picture of me, you can see the sheathing cloven hooves. These hooves are spring-loaded to move and flex like the real thing without interfering with walking. They weigh about six pounds each; it takes about 20 minutes to learn to walk in them. People with snowboarding or skateboarding experience learn in about 60 seconds!

The tendon on the back of the leg is steel cable. When designing this version, we learned a great deal about just how strong human limbs are. The original cable was rated for 1,500-lb snap strength. We broke it.

Now we use a cable rated for twice that strength. Pasha ran stress projections in a CAD program, and we discovered that areas of the steel structure were being bent under 2,000 lbs of force. Though we are constantly trying to make these lighter, we are more determined to make them robust and comfortable. Our whole costuming group is building sets now for this year’s convention season.