I haven't used my Cassandra Pentaghast cosplay in almost a year, but I'm bringing her with me to Torucon in less than two weeks. I therefor decided to make her a new prop: The Book of Secrets. In the game, this is a book that belongs to the order Seekers of Truth, and has been passed down from Lord Seeker to Lord Seeker. Cassandra recieves this book after the current Lord Seeker is killed because he was corrupted (and pretty darn bonkers, if I may say so myself).
This is not a big project. It took me about 8 hours. How long it'll take you will mostly come down to painting skills, because the painting is the most time consuming and also what really makes the book pop.
You start off with an old book. It's up to you how big you want it, but it's easier to work with if it's bigger. You don't have to make the details too small and so on. But don't take a book that's too big either, because books are actually pretty heavy. Mine is 18 x 25 cm and I ended up taking out some pages to make it lighter.
Cut out details in 2 mm foam and glue them onto the book. The details are almost the same on the front and back, with the exception of the circle, which is only in front.
Cover the front and back in worbla. But don't cover the spine of the book. That will only make sure the book can't or will be very hard to open. I added some more details at this point too - the round "hinges" on the spine (it's on both sides - see below) and the "lock".
Note: I decided not to prime the worbla at all, because I thought the natural texture of the worbla would be a good look for a old and worn book. In hindsight, I think maybe one layer of primer would have been good.
Painting time! I started out by painting the whole book in a basic brown. I used 2-3 layers.
Then I weathered the book using black paint and lots of water. All you do is take a little bit of paint on a large brush, dip it in water (it should be runny) and paint the book with it. Then, as the paint is still wet, you wipe off the excess runny paint. This will leave colour in any cracks and lines, adding depth to the book. How many times you have to do it or how dark you wanna go, is really up to you. Just give it a try!
Lastly, there are the details. I used a very small brush to add shadows with black paint. Then I used a silver paint to add highlights and some wear. I often use a light silver instead of white, because I think white is very harsh.
When you're done with that, you're finished and have your very own Book of Secrets!
And hey! This book is in fact Bioware approved. The creative director for Dragon Age, Mike Laidlaw, thinks it's lovely. Swoon!
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