This is a mostly faithful adaptation of the batsuit from Tim Burton’s Batman from 1989, although there are quite few minor differences. This is mostly because there are always a few gaps that one has to fill in when trying to recreate the look of a complex movie prop such as this, given that it’s not uncommon to have multiple different versions of it, with each being used for different types of shots or lighting scenarios and that some parts of the prop are never fully shown. In addition to that I also tend to take some liberties here and there if something just doesn’t look quite right to me (which is another thing to consider when pulling the design of a prop out of the controlled environment of a movie production).
This model originally started out as a kitbash of the 1989 DLC Batsuit from Batman Arkham Knight, where I simply replaced the cape and cowl. Over time the flaws of that DLC model became more and more irritating to me though, especially when comparing its look to the actual movie prop, so I eventually redid everything from scratch and after multiple iterations I ended up with the model that you see here now.
I’ve decided to use the “promo-variation” of the cape by using its folded back appearance, since it’s arguably the way the suit was presented with in most of the movies promotional material and it also gives it a more distinct silhouette when put next to my model of the Batman Returns batsuit. In addition to that I have also given the belt a more tactile and slightly weathered metallic appearance to give it a more practical look. I’ve also given the muscles on the torso slightly more crisp and defined shapes than on some versions of the movie prop since that prevents a somewhat flat look under more uniform lighting and also ended up just looking better to me. The boots are also more of a non-branded variation of the original Nike-Boots that I’ve combined with a generic combat boot design that I’ve made before to once again give the suit a slightly more practical look.
A small detail that I’ve added, which is present in various shots in the movie yet completely absent from pretty much every replica of the cowl prop, is that slight gap at the back with visible fabric and stitching that almost resemble vertebrae at times, which gives the neck a very organic quality if you ask me.
The absence of that on every existing recreation of the cowl that I’ve seen made me determined to finally give it some attention on my model of it.
The gliding cape is mostly just something I improvised based on the couple of shots in the movie where we can actually see his fully opened cape.
The face model is something of a blend between Michael Keaton’s likeness and a slightly more stylised look (eg. the Keaton-based Bruce Wayne in the Batman ’89 comic book) while still preserving compatibility with the facial rig from Batman Arkham Knight that I am using in my project.
Last but not least, the shading is using a finicky mix of something alike to textured rubber, but with my custom solution for anisotropic shading giving it that extra flair and shine that would be very difficult to recreate otherwise.
