|
Someone on the Halloween thread linked here, and this is great! You guys are a fantastic resource, and I will definitely be picking your brains for some upcoming costumes. This was also posted in the Halloween thread, but it probably belongs more here. I went as the Year of the Dragon, complete with handmade dragon. I don't have any really good pictures, but here's how it came out:   And here's how I made it: http://nekotomeoto.blogspot.jp/2012/10/how-to-make-dragon.html If I were going to do it again, I'd make it a puppet. I'm kind of kicking myself that I didn't think of it soon enough.
|
#
¿
Nov 14, 2012 02:05
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 17:10 |
|
|
Rufus En Fuego posted:What's everyone got planned this year? I'm jumping into real costuming with both feet this year, and getting over my fear of the sewing machine in the process. My practice project is a 1920s dress for a murder mystery party in which I will be a lounge singer and aspiring actress. After that, I have plans for Scorpion (Mortal Kombat, for a friend who has NEVER had a Halloween costume). Then I need to get ready for Dragon*Con. I plan to do Girl Stinky (Sam and Max), and for my husband and myself, Arkham Asylum Poison Ivy and Scarecrow (with a Rule 63 – genderswap; someone else will have done it better with the proper genders, so I can use some artistic license). If I have time, I have a pattern and fabric for a Morticia Addams dress, but I'm not holding my breath.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 10, 2013 08:39
|
|
|
Sudden Guts Pill posted:I don't know if they'll be good enough to post in here, though, since my craftsmanship is certainly not on par with many of the folks in this thread. McPantserton is right, you should post pictures! Besides, this thread is such a fantastic resource that it deserves to have more new posts than it does. I will as soon as I have something to show, although right now I might be more adept at using a sewing machine as a weapon of fabric destruction than creating wearable clothing. So far, every practice dress I've made ends up looking like it's designed for a hippo with very peculiar measurements. I'm on the third one, which I'll end up wearing to that 1920s party even though it has flaws. Good news - sparkly ribbon does a lot to hide wretched seams and distract from how I can't size things to fit quite properly yet.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 12, 2013 10:13
|
|
|
I think the hard part is over. The scary, mangling-with-the-sewing-machine part, anyway. I had my husband help me make a DIY dress form over the weekend. It's not super smooth or completely accurate, but it's close enough. Inspiration: http://www.oohmrsjames.com/1920s-fashion/roaring-20s-1920s-dresses-from-leluxe-clothing/ Gorgeous white dress, fifth image down My sketch and pattern are a lot less interesting because I don't have that kind of budget or skills. Sheath dress (too loose, but lucky for me the 1920s were all about dresses that didn't hug curves):  Starting to add the sparkly ribbon (because I can't be arsed to do all the beadwork that the 20s were so fond of:  It's a little puckered around the ribbon, but not so much that I'm willing to undo all that hand stitching and try again. Edit: gosh darnit, I put in the tiny version but not the linked version. Mecha Neko fucked around with this message at 06:05 on Feb 13, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Feb 13, 2013 06:00
|
|
|
The Alita armor may be frustrating, but it looks really, really good. Thank you for listing all the things you did to get it to look like damaged metal, I'm definitely going to remember that if I ever do armor (hopefully one day, it looks like a great challenge). I wouldn't have thought of using spandex for the boots, either, but that's a great idea. Gold star for excellence! I hope my costumes turn out half that well.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2013 05:24
|
|
|
Okay, I'm second-geussing my plan with this 1920s dress. I chose silvery faux beaded ribbon over beading, and I really liked where it was going, the lines it creates over the dress.  I figured I'd do zigzags of fringe, but I think I should have gone with black instead of white (I couldn't find silver) and should have gotten a much longer fringe. I'm out of fringe and it still looks incomplete, but I'm not sure I want to go out and get more because it's so visually heavy. It also takes forever to hand sew (the machine bunched the fabric up and was generally difficult to work with), and I need to have this done tomorrow.  I'm thinking about removing all the fringe and putting just one layer along the bottom hem.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 21, 2013 04:40
|
|
|
Aw, thanks! My character for this murder mystery party is a lounge singer and aspiring actress, so fringe on the dress is written in the description, but not necessarily as a flapper. They're fun, but I wanted to be a little more glamorous. I also suspect that there will be at least one other full-fringe flapper dress there and I wanted to do something different. I ended up taking the top line of fringe and adding it to the bottom, then filling in the gaps between there and the hem with the just-barely-enough scrap fringe. Overall, I think I'm satisfied. It's definitely not perfect, but it's not bad for a first sewing project. 
|
|
#
¿
Feb 21, 2013 11:06
|
|
|
HarkToTheLoons posted:The main issue here is the head, because rather than wear a mask or do the normal facepaint + headband with ears on it, I want a full helmet. I looked at this deadmau5 head tutorial and figured I could modify it with a couple cross-sections of Pikachu's head, some wire and something else for filler to keep the shape. I'm mostly unqualified to answer because I've never made a helmet, but if it were me, I'd use regular pillow stuffing. You can get it from fabric or craft stores in giant bags like colorless cotton candy, and I think it's pretty cheap. I fully support the idea of a full-head helmet, btw, that's a nice touch.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 21, 2013 11:55
|
|
|
Our 1920s murder mystery party was yesterday, so here are pics of all the finished stuff! The whole ensemble (oh, how I wish this photo were in focus):  The hair clip was hot glued together from feathers, scrap dress fabric, wire and beads, and a felt rose from http://www.howjoyful.com/2011/06/felt-rose-tutorial-and-pattern/  I attempted a finger wave from that YouTube tutorial where the girl stares creepily at the camera the whole time, but I didn't get very far before I gave up, pinned what I could in place, and did my best to pin curl everything up to look like a bob. It took about two hours and several bad words.  Makeup was dark eyeliner and shadow and an attempt at beesting lips, although the color wasn't as dark as I thought it was going to be.   Fun fact: I won Best Dressed at the party. \(^ - ^)/
|
|
#
¿
Feb 24, 2013 05:41
|
|
|
Orunitier posted:There's a quick shot of you at 2:42 in the video. (I love these.) I feel like being in one of BeatDownBoogie's con videos is a lot like winning a prize. (Congrats!) Their 20-minute 2011 Dragon*Con video is a lot of my inspiration to really get into costuming.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 28, 2013 08:14
|
|
|
Holy poo poo! Where are your arms? Please tell me it's a puppet head.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 28, 2013 11:23
|
|
|
Mexican Sandwich posted:
You can buy a skull mask with a moving jaw to paint and modify, just not as cheap as a plain full-face mask. http://www.amazon.com/Skull-Mask-with-Moving-Jaw/dp/B009NNMOI6/ref=pd_sbs_a_2 Or you might use a half mask for the face bones and make a custom-fit jaw out of a foam or cardboard and build it up with clay or paper mache, then spirit gum the finished jaw to your face and not attach it to the mask at all.
|
|
#
¿
May 8, 2013 01:33
|
|
|
Flanker posted:Beta Ray Bill mask is coming along. Oh, wow, the protruding bones and tose teeth look GREAT! A little more cheekbone would make it more dramatic, good call.
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2013 14:21
|
|
|
Update on my Girl Stinky costume! (Character: http://samandmax.wikia.com/wiki/Girl_Stinky) I have a tee shirt and pants, I'm still a little amazed that I found purple stretch pants. Crown and bracelets:   Necklace and earrings:  Apron (this was one of two pieces that scared me the most...there's just SO many ways I could muck it up and have to start over):  Finished apron, in which I cleverly made the fish tail part into a pocket: 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 1, 2013 04:37
|
|
|
NorseDanceParty posted:Hey is anyone going to DragonCon in a few weeks? I'll be there all 4 days if you guys wanna setup a goon meet. I'll be there!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 7, 2013 07:46
|
|
|
McPantserton posted:So we've been working... Holy poop, that looks amazing! Working on this Girl Stinky thing, I spent an ungodly amount of time trying to modify a wig to get it to look right (the better part of a week), but I'm not skilled enough to get it to as good as the rest of the costume. I've learned quite a bit from trying, but I've reached a point that the frustration is getting overwhelming. So Plan B is to spray light blue and green color spray at my head to see if I can get the right hue, and Plan C is to bleach my hair right before Dragon*Con and Manic Panic it to within an inch of its life. Plan D is to research airbrush hair/makeup, but hopefully it won't come to that because that is the least practical of my options. Harrumph. EDIT: Pics from the costume test run. I think I need to practice the makeup a little more and the hair coloring isn't 100%, but I think I'll be recognizable to anyone that knows the character.  
Mecha Neko fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Aug 11, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Aug 10, 2013 03:27
|
|
|
I ended up with two costumes for Dragon*Con. The one I put all the time and effort into was Girl Stinky, with the frustrating wig:  Unfortunately, by the end of the day I had a blister so bad on my foot it felt like I was walking on a balloon, so I didn't stick with that one. Just as well, really, I wasn't recognized very much. That's what I get for being an obscure video game character. My other costume was a maneki neko.  I did this for Halloween a couple years ago and it went well, but I got some different white clothes and didn't go out of my way to do cat face makeup this time around. I didn't intend for it to look like the socialite version of a lucky cat, but I kind of like it that way. I made the purse out of gold lamé, and it lasted until the end of the con, but it's kind of exploding into gold shards around the edges. Next time I do this costume I'll make another one out of a more durable fabric. The husband went as Colonel Sanders, which is always two steps shy of rock star status no matter where you are. (He's the Colonel on the right.) 
|
|
#
¿
Sep 8, 2013 14:01
|
|
|
I've recently completed a Halloween costume for a friend that has never had one before. (O_O) The character is Scorpion from Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (reference image: http://stuffpoint.com/mortal-kombat/image/124933/mortal-kombat-armageddon-scorpion-wallpaper/) Mask:   Vest:   Back:   Belt:   Bracers:   Shin guards:   Sort of assembled (ignore the towel and the red tee shirt, I couldn't find a plain black shirt to put on my DIY dress form): 
|
|
#
¿
Oct 18, 2013 16:00
|
|
|
I got to see that Scorpion costume in action! He got a generic ninja costume for the hood, pants, and tabi (the Japanese shoes with the split toe). The hood's a little loose, but magnets glued to the mask and sewn into the hood work like a CHARM. It pulls off easily and clicks right back into place. Maybe a touch off center, but I'm going to blame the hood for being baggy. Of course, pretending it doesn't come off at all makes for better photo ops.    (I love that last one so much.)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 29, 2013 12:46
|
|
|
I haven't posted since my last costume, and I'm almost done with this year's Halloween costume: one of the Amazonian fembots from the Robot Restaurant show in Shinjuku, Tokyo. I heart this show so much, and I've been planning this costume since they opened in 2012. It's madness. This video (http://youtu.be/w2lQCLS8IxY) and Anthony Bourdain's segment (http://eater.com/archives/2013/11/04/watch-bourdain-visit-tokyos-insane-robot-restaurant.php) come fairly close to giving the highlights, but you're going to have to just take my word for it that no amount of pictures or video can really capture the live experience. But I digress. Reference photos:  Choosing a color was difficult; to be accurate I should go with the wig I have that is only one color, but the red/orange/yellow one I have is more in the spirit of the character. Decision: red/orange, hair pulled back in front. I'm told it's not pretty, but I'm not going for "pretty" so much as "space robot."  Construction started from the feet up. Started with cardboard over sneakers, ended with craft foam over Converse.  Calves are attached by elastic straps at ankle and knee, thigh pieces are attached by magnets. Oh my god I love magnets for attaching costume pieces. Motion test: http://youtu.be/L2m_Q5ld96g?list=UURc_ol3miuWJ7GaaFr7zB2Q     I'm still not great at sewing, but this is good enough for a Halloween costume.   Painting the craft foam accents is my favorite part.   Right around here I realized I painted the light source on the smaller pieces upside down and had to redo it, but it turned out not to be a huge crimp in the workflow.   Next is the backpack, shoulder guards, arm bands and bracelets, and adding some touch lights to more closely emulate the bots in the show.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 15, 2014 06:56
|
|
|
I feel like I'm SO CLOSE to being done, but there are so many little detail things that it's going slower than I would like. I want to get it all done before we go out of town on Monday, too, which doesn't help. I've officially clocked more than 90 hours on this drat thing, a lot of it practice pieces and trial and error. Shoulders! Refresher image reference:     I'm not completely happy with the epaulettes, but it'll have to do. The upper arm band is done, the elbow bands are halfway done, and I've started on the bracelets. After that, I want to adjust the neckline of that flesh-colored shirt so it isn't so obvious (I'll probably be glad I'm wearing a long sleeved shirt at the end of October, although I can always ditch it last minute if it's unseasonably warm). Then I want to add lights to the legs. I have a tiny chair and a belt so I can make it look like I have a pilot, but I don't know where to find a cheap 18" doll, preferably one that isn't proportioned like a baby, but that may be shooting too high. Hopefully I can find one while we're on our trip to the US, dolls that aren't Barbie are surprisingly hard to find here.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 27, 2014 09:05
|
|
|
I'm SO CLOSE to being done, hopefully I can do a test run tomorrow and make sure all the pieces fit together properly. Reference photo again because I'm sure nobody can be arsed to go back and try to figure out what the heck I'm making unless they've seen this very specific thing: New photos! Backpack, chair, and pilot in costume. I couldn't find a human doll that was the right size and didn't look like a baby, but I think this is just as appropriate. For such simple lines, though, she's a pain in the rear end to make clothes for. Everything is duct taped in back, but nobody should be able to see that when she's strapped in to the chair.    
|
|
#
¿
Oct 18, 2014 08:35
|
|
|
taiyoko posted:Probably more than you'd want to spend, but ball-jointed dolls are probably your best bet for what you're after. Some of the cheapest are from Bobobie, but again, not sure you're into spending $200+ on a doll just for your cosplay. (Hair is customizable and not always included, same with eyes and even the painting to make the face look like an actual face.) Those dolls are exquisitely crafted, but much much nicer than I want or need. I was really hoping to get a thrift store doll for like $5, since I'm only going to wear the whole shebang this Halloween while I'm still living in Tokyo, where I might not have to constantly explain what I'm dressed up as. Kitty was a little more than that since I bought her in a department store in the US when I was there for a wedding, but at least she was on sale. She's super cute, though, I'm going to keep her around. ScottyWired posted:Hold up, is that the robot cafe in shinjuku? I saw it on this dude. It's a good little channel to marathon when you're bored. That's the one! They've changed the show a lot since then, but it's only gotten crazier. (And that video doesn't even show you the dinosaurs.) Admission is more expensive now, and the food is an extra $10 if you want it. Weird for a restaurant, but it was only ever a "restaurant" anyway. I love that show so much. You can bet your rear end I'm going to go there on Halloween and see if they'll let me take a picture next to one of the real fembots.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 20, 2014 01:01
|
|
|
Finished! Stairs are an adventure, anything that falls to the ground is lost to me, and the thigh pieces keep falling off the magnets, but overall I consider it a success. The best reaction was one random salaryman at a Halloween party that didn't realize what I was for ten minutes, then when it clicked he literally fell down. Onto a chair, but he still fell down. I blew that guy's mind. It was incredibly satisfying. Today the plan is to go to the Robot Restaurant and see about getting a photo with the real thing. 
|
|
#
¿
Oct 26, 2014 04:38
|
|
|
McKilligan posted:That is absolutely sick! I bet you got a kick out of riding the subway like that though. Eh, it wasn't as interesting as you might think. On the train line that runs through our neighborhood nobody has the Halloween spirit, so we were mostly ignored because we were weird. Coming back from downtown the trains got crowded and I was worried about pieces being broken. In between, we had a handful of people smile and ask to take pictures, but it all things considered it was pretty low key. Halloween in Tokyo is like having a convention - the people that know about it are dressed up and enjoying it, everyone that isn't participating really has no idea what's going on and don't really care. The other half of "we being weird" is Spaceguns. He's dressed as another Japan-specific costume that people don't get until they see the reference material. In this case, old woodblock prints of namazu, the catfish that cause earthquakes. 
|
|
#
¿
Oct 26, 2014 08:11
|
|
|
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Halloween costume next to the real thing. First time ever, I think. I sent them a message a couple days in advance and they were super cool about me going down there in costume. The manager met me with an assistant/translator and let me past the velvet rope to stand next to the bots in the venue entrance (pictured here) and in the lounge (decent photos, but not as good as these).     On the outside, I'm posing for pictures. On the inside, I'm shrieking and flapping my hands and jumping up and down in glee.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 1, 2014 06:15
|
|
|
Silhouette posted:And for the great knife, use 1" rigid insulation foam board. You can get an 8'x2' sheet at any Home Depot or Lowes for like $12. I embedded a couple of nickels in the curve so that it'd make a scraping noise when I dragged it along the ground. Foam board with embedded coins is a really clever idea! Con- and indoor-friendly, too. I'll file that away in my brain for future reference.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 12, 2014 15:36
|
|
|
I'm prepping for Halloween, because it's never too early. This year I'm going to make myself and Spaceguns into the Egyptian gods Bast and Anubis. No specific reference images, there's a lot of fan art out there and they're all wildly different other than "jackal head" and "cat head." I still have no idea how I want to do Bast, so I started with Anubis. To avoid a stubby neck, I opted to build it on a baseball cap instead of as a mask. The angles make it look a bit like a duck, but it's a start:    I haven't used LEDs for costuming before, so I got a strip on Amazon that has a lot of variations for color, brightness, and glow pattern, and so far it seems to be working. I'll diffuse the light with folded over packing foam sheets, it looks a little odd in person but photographs really well.  Cheekbones needed some more articulation. And since I might need to get to the lights (duct taped in place) I'm not permanently attaching the cheeks to the rest of the head, just using a bobby pin on the under layer.   And with the ears, it's starting to look more like a jackal and less like a duck. Hooray!  Any suggestions for evening the edges out? I have some hard corners and some uneven places due to the thickness of the foam sheets. I thought I wanted to use wood glue, but I'm not sure it would dry properly if I put it on thick enough to be smooth. Maybe a thin layer of paper clay? I have some Worbla, but I've never used it before and I'm not sure I want this to be my first experience with it.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 23, 2016 21:33
|
|
|
thespaceinvader posted:Assuming it's foam, go over it all with a heat gun, then as many layers of 50:50 PVA/white glue and water as you have time for. And you should be able to use a dremel sanding drum or just sandpaper elbow grease and time to smooth any sharp edges. Thanks! It's all craft foam sheets. General glue question: is there an advantage between wood glue/mod podge/white glue? Or do they basically all produce the same result when used as a sealant? Rodenthar Drothman posted:PSA post: had to evacuate due to a wildfire. Last thing I grabbed was my cosplay stuff because it's packed in boxes and easy to grab. Glad you and the dog got out OK! Fingers crossed for the house. foxatee posted:Hello, dears! Haven't kept up with the thread, so I'm hoping this hasn't been asked yet: What about long underwear? I know adult thermals come in different thicknesses because I own a range for different times of winter. I would guess you can find a similar range for kids.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 25, 2016 13:42
|
|
|
Silhouette posted:They're all PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate) glues, but with a few differences. That's really good to know, thank you!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 28, 2016 14:08
|
|
|
TwystNeko posted:In the design, I had originally planned to pass power and data to the ears via sockets with neodymium disc magnets in them. As ND magnets are conductive, it would have been an elegant solution to connecting things. Except ND magnets are so strong, they'll pull themselves out of any mount I can design. Would it be possible to get a conductive paint or tape and coat some regular magnets?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 19, 2016 16:14
|
|
|
HardDisk posted:So what do you guys recommend for someone that wants to start doing cosplay stuff? I'm eyeing Kamui Cosplay's series of books. It says that it covers the basics, but I'm not sure if it is targeted at absolute beginners with doing stuff in general. I'm still kind of a beginner (still haven't used Worbla or cast anything yet, although I'd like to), but I am building confidence by discovering how much I can do with paper mache, cardboard, tape, and craft foam. This year I'm finally going to experiment with Worbla and integrate lights. Paper mache  Wire skeleton, cardboard shape, and lots of blue and yellow electrical tape  Craft foam and felt (best part: the mask attaches to a hood with magnets for easy on and off)  This is almost exclusively cardboard and items from the dollar store and I felt like I won Halloween that year.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 26, 2016 14:24
|
|
|
HardDisk posted:Man, everything there looks loving amazing and I'd put it all way past beginner level prop-maker... Anime is crazy weird, but this is the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku (we lived in Tokyo at the time and as soon as it opened I started planning to do that costume) [sentence edited for clarity of meaning] Beatdown Boogie did the best to capture the essence of that madness that I've seen so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLFaNX4WkZ0 Mecha Neko fucked around with this message at 14:19 on Aug 27, 2016 |
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2016 14:16
|
|
|
Anubis update: I added clay to the eyebrow ridges and forehead to smooth out the elevation changes in the craft foam. I added lots of layers of wood glue, but it's not even close to being the glassy smooth I had envisioned. Maybe the next one will be smoother, this is what I'm going to roll with. To hide the unused portion of the LED strip lights (we can't cut it up), I'm threading it behind both eyes and then to the back of the head and using the skinny part of an old necktie as a sleeve. The foam is to make the back of the head less lumpy when I cover it with fabric.   Then I started on Bast. Clumsy paper template for very basic shapes, then folded and cut more shapes to exaggerate the features (modified Anubis's cheekbone shape):  The cheeks, nose, and whisker pads worked out more or less on the first try, but the eyes and forehead took a lot more trial and error.  Final foam:  
|
|
#
¿
Sep 5, 2016 17:37
|
|
|
Harvey Baldman posted:I've been working my rear end off over the last few months to try and get my Immortan Joe costume done in time for NYCC's Eastern Championship of Cosplay. Deadline is Friday, but... I think after all this work, I might be done! Holy crap! That looks amazing.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 7, 2016 00:38
|
|
|
I've been distracted since Halloween, but here's how Bast and Anubis turned out:    Everything but the dress and suit were made by hand. Three cheers for hot glue! Process photos here: http://coveredinglitterandscreaming.blogspot.com/2016/11/bast-and-anubis.html
|
|
#
¿
Nov 26, 2016 18:59
|
|
|
Come And See posted:My instincts are to either: I think the wire frame and paper as a base is a solid idea, that's what I would do. A length of foam on wire could probably work, too, but I think it would be harder to work with. The pop tube idea is clever, but I suspect it either wouldn't bend as sharply as you'd want it to and/or it would shift around while you're trying to work with it. If the bends were less complicated, I might suggest trying expanding foam and carving it out, but I don't know if I'd want to carve foam for the first time with a shape like that. Disclaimer: I haven't made a very similar prop, so I'm guessing based on my limited relevant experience.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 14, 2019 19:58
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 17:10 |
|
|
That came out GREAT! I really like the color of the staff, too. I never would have thought to use hot sand to bend a PVC pipe, that's a neat trick.
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2019 18:17
|
|