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TheMeadiator — How to Arm a Medieval Soldier

Published: 2013-04-09 04:06:51 +0000 UTC; Views: 9818; Favourites: 99; Downloads: 55
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Description This is Edwin Beauregard, looking uncharacteristically grim. As I suppose he should be, considering he's dressed for battle. Captain Beauregard is one of the main characters in my "Lady Lionheart" storyline - he's a bit rowdy most of the time, but he takes his job as a military commander very seriously. You can read a little scene from my novel here! [link] And there's more about my universe there in the artist's comments. I always pictured him with a cloak in my head, but now that I've actually drawn it, I don't know it if makes him look like a tool or not. What's your vote? Cloak, or no cloak? He kinda looks like a bootleg superhero...

For the most part, I see lots of characters in games or movies, or even in images here on dA where the dude is wearing metal plate next to the bare skin! Huh. Good luck with that. One good whack with a mace at the right angle and that armour will sever a limb. But what really gets my goat is seeing these little scantily clad women with disproportionate body features bulging out of metal bras. Really? That steel g-string is neither comfortable nor practical, and it makes her look like a whore. Don't dress strong female characters like iron-age prostitutes, please! Unless of course that's what they are. But in that case, why would they be wielding a sword?

Anyway, this is a little tutorial/how-to manual on how to suit up a soldier in a full set of Ter'sholtan plate armour. I know people don't necessarily care about my made-up country or it's history like I do, but I figured I'd post this as a loose reference for anyone who wanted to see how medieval plate armour is supposed to work. This is just the distilled version of my notes - I might post a reference guide to armour a little later on. Let me know if you're interested in that! As always, thanks very much for having a look!
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Comments: 25

Siryphas [2022-07-12 18:51:43 +0000 UTC]

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Freelancer521 [2014-05-09 03:41:46 +0000 UTC]

This is extremely helpful for those of us trying to design our own fantasy armors. Many thanks for this astounding tutorial!

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TheMeadiator In reply to Freelancer521 [2014-06-12 22:34:09 +0000 UTC]

You're quite welcome!! I'm glad I could be a little useful! When you get yours designed, please let me know - I'd love to see!

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Freelancer521 In reply to TheMeadiator [2014-06-12 23:07:44 +0000 UTC]

It's up on my profile. Feel free to criticize, I'd love your honest opinion!

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TheMeadiator In reply to Freelancer521 [2014-06-12 23:11:07 +0000 UTC]

Great!! Stalking immediately...

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Byhuldra [2013-05-27 19:56:04 +0000 UTC]

This looks really cool! Interesting to see how armour is supposed to be put together, and it's very clear you've done your research before making this.
Out of curiosity, since it's mentioned many times in this tutorial that this guy is very tall. How tall is he exactly?

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TheMeadiator In reply to Byhuldra [2013-05-28 19:47:04 +0000 UTC]

Thanks so much!! It was a lot of fun to draw. I combined a few pieces that aren't traditionally worn together (mainly the full hauberk and the plate armour) just to make it interesting/different.

Right! I don't have his character sheet up yet, but he's 6'6" and 230 lbs, which is substantially bigger than the average Ter'sholtan (5'9"/165 lbs). (I based his stats on the average height/weight of a modern basketball player.) The average man from Maggan would normally be a little taller, but Edwin has mixed heritage.

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Byhuldra In reply to TheMeadiator [2013-05-28 20:31:18 +0000 UTC]

That's awesome.

Ooh, that is quite tall! It's cool that you've written down average height for the different peoples too, not a lot of people do that.

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TheMeadiator In reply to Byhuldra [2013-05-28 21:02:46 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, he's a bit of a beast, LOL. It's fun working out the different genetic traits found in the different races on my planet. I've got some more work to do on the countries that aren't mentioned so much in the story, but it's coming together!

How's your epic Magia project going?

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Byhuldra In reply to TheMeadiator [2013-05-28 22:20:11 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, it is. I'm surprised more people don't do that; a lot of people when they write fantasy usually just go for "These people look like Africans. These people look like Europeans.". I've personally gone out of my way to make my fantasy races NOT look like any real-world races so as to keep it more realistic; sure, I've got both black and white people, but beyond that they don't look like real-world ethnicities at all.

It's going nicely. I haven't done a lot on it recently because I sort of switch between all the different stories I've got going on. Currently I'm working more on my novel than the Magia story.

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TheMeadiator In reply to Byhuldra [2013-05-29 02:48:27 +0000 UTC]

It's true! I'm planning on drawing up a quick visual for the "Cultures and Peoples of the New World" report I'm writing for my Atlas project, where I'd draw an average male and average female for each race. That won't be til I have them all sorted out in my head though... But anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes tweaking the looks of invented races, ahaha.

Great! I'm certainly glad to hear you're working on your story - that's really exciting But yes, I'm guilty of project hopping too so I know how you feel.

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Byhuldra In reply to TheMeadiator [2013-05-29 11:58:20 +0000 UTC]

Oooh, cool.
And yeah, I do it too, especially with the Magia story that features cultures from all over the world on a fictional earth. Magians look sort of like east Asians, except they have curly hair with light hair colours and blue eyes, for example.

Yeah. >_< It's just so hard to focus on one thing at a time.

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TheMeadiator In reply to Byhuldra [2013-05-29 16:03:38 +0000 UTC]

That's awesome! Aahh, I can't wait to see all your races!

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Byhuldra In reply to TheMeadiator [2013-05-29 16:37:45 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! They will all be featured in the Flash thingie where I showcase the different cultures.

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UltraLiThematic [2013-04-10 01:29:12 +0000 UTC]

Interesting and useful.

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TheMeadiator In reply to UltraLiThematic [2013-04-10 03:58:58 +0000 UTC]

Thanks very much!

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ShayPassero [2013-04-09 16:27:22 +0000 UTC]

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TheMeadiator In reply to ShayPassero [2013-04-09 21:19:34 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!!

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Sleyf [2013-04-09 12:53:26 +0000 UTC]

Wow it must have taken a lot of research to get all the armour layers and how they go on top of one another lol he's like one of those dress-up action figures lol
It all looks extremely heavy!

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TheMeadiator In reply to Sleyf [2013-04-09 21:26:50 +0000 UTC]

Not as long as you might think, actually! It didn't seem like work though, 'cause it was really interesting I had one of those guys growing up! I used to have to suit up his billion pieces of armour all the time, LOL. I guess it made an impression on me.

I tried to get a weight for plate armour, but I don't trust the numbers I'm reading on the internet. Rumours say anywhere between 45-110 lbs. I'm thinking... like 65-70 for Ter'sholtan armour? I dunno.

Thanks for your comment!!

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Sleyf In reply to TheMeadiator [2013-04-10 06:00:20 +0000 UTC]

Really? (I mean really did you have an armoured action figure?) I never had anything as complex!

Apparently I heard that the military now carry more weight than armour used to weight- supposedly the idea of it being heavy is wrong but I guess you could never know!
You're welcome!

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TheMeadiator In reply to Sleyf [2013-04-18 17:29:41 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, he was pretty rad! I think he was 10 inches tall, so pretty big for an action figure.

I've heard that as well! All the stuff the army guys have to carry now weigh more than plate armour. Crazy.

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Sleyf In reply to TheMeadiator [2013-04-18 17:37:51 +0000 UTC]

Wow! They don't make them like that anymore! Things have just gotten cheaper quality

You'd never believe it either

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vSock [2013-04-09 04:07:31 +0000 UTC]

this helps alot, though i don't quite understand the nipple bumps

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TheMeadiator In reply to vSock [2013-04-09 04:18:20 +0000 UTC]

Great! I'm glad it's a little useful Aahaha, the nipple bumps are purely aesthetic. The cuirass he's wearing is classified as a "muscle cuirass" or "heroic cuirass", as it idealizes the male form.

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