Make new props (such as clothing, weapons, tools, and books) look old and worn.

• Brainstorm about:
  • how you can tell when an object is new or old
  • causes of wear and tear.
• Choose an object to investigate, like a piece of clothing, a book, or a metal tool. Discuss how your object has changed or might change with age.

e.g. colour, shine, shape, elasticity, texture, effectiveness, presence of stains, rust, chips, or tears

e.g. sunlight, heat, soap, friction, perspiration, water, mould, dirt, stretching and/or compression

e.g. T-shirts fade, stain, or wear under the armpits, become baggy around the hem, come apart at the seams.

See the costumes and props in the different zones.

Touch the Rohan saddle near zone 6.

Focus questions:

• Which costumes or props look very old or worn? How can you tell?
• Why do they need to look that way?
• How do you think they were made to look that way?

Some clothing and fabrics used in the movie were sprayed with a mixture of paint, dye, water, and shellac (e.g. to represent mud on hems or wear on collars). Suede was roughed up using a kitchen grater.

• Experiment with ways to make your object look realistically old and worn – but still useable.
• Present and assess your work.

Possible solutions:

• Bleach accelerates the effect that sunlight and washing have on fabric. USE WITH CAUTION!
• Acetone makes holes in rayon and acetate fabrics. USE WITH CAUTION!
• Tea and coffee can stain old pages for an “ancient book look”. Mixed with water, they can give fabric “perspiration” stains.
• A candle or lighter can singe paper edges.
• Sand in red oxide paint produces a metallic rust texture.

Related activity links: