Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/759126
26 The Costume Designer Fall 2016 know there are so many difficult things we deal with in production. But the relationship between the illustrator and Costume Designer has always been such a beauti- ful and happy place for me. It's pure design." She adds, "I've had the pleasure of working with some really talented illustrators and they have always been able to interpret what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling, what I'm trying to express as a designer, and bring it to a level where I can then share it and present it with courage, strength, and confidence because of their skill." A good illustrator brings a world of possibil- ity with them. "Some designers want rough sketch- es. Others want 3-D fully rendered illustrations or designs, because sometimes those assets that are built in 3-D are then utilized with a practi- cal effects shop or a digital effects shop," explains Sekeris. "That way everyone has a cohesive foun- dation of the charac- ter." The production team can also use 3-D models to see the characters in the film's environ- ment, interacting with other characters. Because the costume's surface is also a highly detailed design, they also serve to show how the color palettes and textures lie on the body and harmonize. Illustrators act as sounding boards and think tanks. Villanueva adds, "I'm not just a hand that draws when I come to work. I am 'on' in every sense of the word. I am helping with research. I'm looking into the types of fabrics that were used in that time period. I'm looking into the color palette. I'm looking into the fit, the style. You know, I'm thinking about all of these conventions. I'm drawing it. I'm living and breathing with all my reference material that's on my desk." THE HEROIC JOURNEY The approval process for the finished illustrations can be harrowing. Clark says, "One of the first ques- tions you're asking as a designer is, 'Who is involved in the approval process? What is the food chain? Who has to sign off on this?' That can be a very short and specific list, or it can get complicated." The bigger the profile of the project, the larger the budget, the more producers are involved. It can be a full-time commitment to get approvals. Studios are often cautious when taking a gamble on a new char- acter and there are many people that want to ensure their investment is well handled. Though every project differs, often the Costume Designer receives notes much like an actor does, sometimes from several different producers and layers of the production team. This can be a lengthy and arduous process, and all before the gar- ments are actually built. Creating the pieces involves an entirely different set of skills. Imagination and innovation reign supreme and innovation seems to be the only constant. Clark says that on Tron, she and Wilkinson were given the mandate that the costumes needed to include practical lighting, which was not a visual effect. The suits needed to self- illuminate. She combed the globe for a thin, highly flex- ible, waterproof, lightweight material that could move with the body, with one catch— she had never seen anything like it. After working with several spe- cial effects c o m p a n i e s , she ended up using lights that had only previously been used in safety vests for Japanese crossing guards. To cre- ate the sexy robot woman, they devised a fabric which mixed car paint and metallic powders in a latex rubber balloon which was sprayed in five to eight layers on a four-way stretch spandex. This produced the perfect combination of movement with a highly lacquered, auto- motive finish. On Ender's Game, a six-week prep neces- sitated Clark enter the manufacturing stage quickly. She had five to six illustrators and two assistant designers working around the clock. The final fabric she arrived at for the iconic battlesuits was a sporting goods laminate bonded to neoprene and spandex. In trying to evoke the otherworldly, the actual fabrication process is often as futuristic as the thing it attempts to represent. Sekeris muses, "Either you jump all the way in as it's happening, or you get left behind." Every day, in workrooms across the city, superhero design is growing, morphing, and becoming more com- plex as Costume Designers, illustrators, and the teams of people they work with try to make the imaginary and impossible a reality. Villanueva says, "I've been drawing characters and costumes since I was a kid, and I would say that that's the part where I get my true fulfillment. I have a personal commitment to making something that will work in a world that doesn't even exist, to make it exist." "… as illustrators, depending on the Costume Designer and how they want to utilize us, we can be either a brain or we can be a pencil." –Constantine Sekeris