Born from the mountains of snow and ice, Ashei is a warrior with more strength and courage than the knights of Hyrule combined. The harsh nature of Snowpeak Mountain and a father focused on training her to be the best knight she could be, Ashei is tough, maybe a little rude, but an inspirational strong female character, if one gives her the time of day. Being a minor NPC from Twilight Princess, sometimes Ashei doesn’t get the attention she deserves. That didn’t stop Carmen (@sweetnayru) from being inspired to recreate Ashei’s armor and bring the young female warrior to life.
Ashei’s design is no easy feat. There are many different components working in unison to protect the young warrior from the slashes of monster’s claws and the frosted bite of blizzard. Beneath her armour is a warm pair of red pants and a knitted top. For the top, Carmen patterned her own body suit to help keep the top tucked in the pants at all times. A simple grey knit fabric was used but to give it a final touch, they weathered the material to give it a more realistic look. The pants were altered and dyed from a pair of white pants of similar cut to what Carmen was after. It took a couple of dye jobs to get the right colour but the persistence paid off. Leather painted gold formed the swirling designs and gave the finishing touch to the look.
Of course, no warrior can fight without their armor, and Ashei’s is a unique set with many pieces. From her arms to her waist to her shoes and even a piece on the back of her head, Ashei is well protected. Carmen crafted each component with foam, a common light material used by cosplayers to replicate armor and other bulky items. After the base is created, foam clay is used to fill gaps and sculpt any details like all those small lines and grooves swirling around Ashei’s arm. All of it is then sealed with two layers of matte mod podge before Carmen takes up a paintbrush and turns the armour from a black piece of foam into a work of art. To mirror the shading and style seen within the game, Carmen painted with various hues in green in almost gradient like pattern. The end result gives the illusion of the piece being made of metal as if the armour had been simply plucked out of the screen and onto Carmen’s body.
A warrior born in the land of snow doesn’t just stop with a good set of armour. Revealed when Link goes to Snowpeak, Ashei also adorns a helmet and cape made from the skin of a yeti. And just like Ashei, Carmen wasn’t going to stop with the base armour. Once again, she patterned her own design, crafting the helmet frame and used a fleece to replicate the head of a yeti. The fleece started out a little too white and new, but was nothing a simple tea bag dye couldn’t fix. The eyes were made like the armor, with foam, foam clay and a beautiful paint job once, and then finalised with a black wash to give it that weathered look. The cape, while made of fur, was also aged and weathered at the edges, making it look like it came straight out of an adventure through the mountains.
The next challenge was Ashei’s sword and scabbard so Carmen could fend off Zant‘s minions. The design was 3D modeled and then printed in pieces. Wooden dowels were used as support when putting it all together, and it was finalized with a bit of foam clay, some sanding and a paint job that could trick a knight into thinking it was a real sword.
Last but not least, is the wig. Ashei’s hairstyle may seem simple at first glance, but is one of the most difficult wigs Carmen has ever styled. Years of styling and practice as well as the helpful tutorials and guides created by the cosplay community, gave her the skills she needed to pull it off and that she does. At first glance, one might not even think that she’s wearing a wig at all. If you want to check out the progress of not only the wig but the full outfit, jump over to Carmen’s Instagram and check out her WIP stories and videos.
One year and four months later with a total of over 350 hours of work, Carmen brought the young warrior to life. In 2023, she entered the cosplay in the novice category of the Los Angeles Comic Con Competition and won first place! A well deserved award for all the hard work and effort she put in. Since then, she has compiled many photoshoots with more photo reveals on the way. We can’t wait to see what else Carmen can bring to life with her magic.
