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Computer game characters break out
Saturday, September 15, 2012 • Marino Harker-Smith
KIWI ingenuity and No. 8 wire creativity is evident in Gisborne man Ethan Williams’ science fiction-inspired costumes made from packaging foam and aluminium press plates.

The former Gisborne Boys’ High student and third-year computer graphic design student at Waikato University designed a foam costume for the Armageddon expo in Auckland last year and it won him the open division of the cosplay contest at the pop culture event.

It is based on character models from popular computer game Halo and it took Mr Williams two weeks to create the costume.

“I just create the suits by eye and judge the proportions as I go,” he said.

Art has always been a passion for him and he has pursued graphic design since third form on the recommendation of his Boys’ High art teacher and mentor Dave Watson.

The characters and styles used in computer games often influence his designs.

Mr Williams also made a knight costume inspired by fantasy art and character form from popular movies and games, using alloy printing plates and cut with ordinary scissors and joined with a pop rivet gun.

Sis suits cost less than $180 to make — he tried to keep the budget minimal while still achieving a professional result.

The suits will go towards his design portfolio. He is aiming for a career in the movie industry based in prop design and construction, with the ultimate goal of joining the team at Weta Workshop.
SCI-FI INSPIRATION: Design student Ethan Williams models a costume made from packaging foam, inspired by the cult computer game Halo, that won him a cosplay award at the Armageddon pop culture expo. Pictures by Damon Slade
Ethan’s knight costume was inspired by characters from popular movies and games and made using aluminium printing plates. Pictures by Damon Slade
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