Making a custom costume

[Bamfing_Bob]

So first, the bad news. Didn't finish gloves or paint ears. Been very busy and takes much longer than I thought... hand stitching is a bitch, but worth it. The pictures are later than planned because I needed a friend to take the pictures and a zipper broke while getting ready. Takes time. Without further ado, PICTURES!!

2nd glove progress



Inside V- make of aluminum. had to paint red to be more homogenous.



Front



Back



Modeling the thing









Notice the kickass tail shadow...

So, what do you think?

Also, been working on facepainting methods... shading... etc... coming along nicely.

[Ult_Sm86]

Incredibly good job, sir. It's coming out wonderfully!

[Bamfing_Bob]

Thank you. I have had the main piece pretty much done for some time now, but getting the details right was a procrastinating subject.

[Wahnsinn]

Very nice!

Be careful with the shading. It's easy to overdo it. You don't want to look like Kurt in makeup, y'know?

[Bamfing_Bob]

UPDATE: So, I plan to test run my costume on the 30th at a Halloween party at the University.The feet are not done yet (neither are the legs), so I am going to do the whole upper half, replacing the bottom with black jeans and sneakers. A little weird, I know, but almost all the hard stuff is up top: prosthetics, makeup, tail, the works. I have all components, I just need to put them together. Plenty of pictures will be taken and posted. The feet are also coming along nicely, but I have no time to finish them, plus the red anklets. Contacts and teeth are a go. Going to dye my hair for Comic Con, but this time I am using temp hair dye spray. Ya'll ready?

Also, let me know if you see anything I need to change or tweak. No one appreciates the character like you do, so let me know!

[Slarti]

Hee! Sounds good! It'll be cool to see your pics!

[Bamfing_Bob]

Alright, so, instead of posting every photo, I am just going to link to an album on my facebook. If there is any trouble, let me know and I can post a few on here.

So, as I said, the feet are incomplete, so I just went with black jeans and sneakers on bottom. Without further ado...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 028a3370e4

So, things that worked well:

Face accesseries- Teeth are great. Contacts are good, but are irritating over time. This is why I wear glasses... The ears did not adhere to my face like I had hoped, but they fit over my ears. I hope to get the ears better next time.
Hair- I used spray on and it was fair. Too sticky for my taste. I plan to use dye in July, but for this test run, I wasn't going to dye my hair.
The red "V" piece- worked perfectly, just as planned.
Gloves- I had a moment of brilliance today before my makeup application. Instead of velcro attaching my gloves to my top, I can make them completely seperate by keeping the glove up through tension. I cut up some old ankle braces and attached them to the top of the gloves with staples (time constraints left me at a loss). Worked amazing. I now need to stitch them together and be good to go!

Things that sucked:
Face Paint- OH MY GOD! I should have listened to y'all when I had the chance! I used eye makeup (for my eyes and lips) and that worked great. I also used blue temp hair spray to get in the ears and as a touch up, and that was good. But the overall paint, the cheap shit from walmart, is okay if you are standing still or don't care about it staying on forever. I sweated that stuff off really fast and it is messy messy. Also, I got that shit on my white gloves and my red "V" piece. I hope the stains come out... I have to switch to a better brand like Mehron or Mac. Lesson Learned. You told me so.
My top- Good overall, but one of my wristbands' stitchings came undone. Simple fix, but kinda embarassing.
The tail- it falls over way too much. My goal was to have it straight out, but it falls to the right all the time... annoying. I need to stabilize it somehow.

Overall, It went... okay. Face paint really put a damper on my night... but alot of people loved it. Some people were amazed. That makes me happy. I just need to focus on correcting those things that went wrong. I really pray I can get that stuff out!

So, what do you think? Did I do okay for my first shot?

[Bamfing_Bob]

I am kinda disappointed no one even looked at my costume...

So I am taking a short break from costume work to focus on school, but so you know, the stains did come out! THANK GOD!

[Ult_Sm86]

To be fair, Bob, you were at a Halloween party.

At a Con, it's going to be much more obvious what you are dressed up as and people will recognize it/appreciate it faster.

I'd say pay attention to that makeup, possibly keep spare make-up or something on you during the con to fix it/touch it up?

Your call. Not too big a deal. I think it came out pretty good.

[Bamfing_Bob]

I had touchup makeup at the party, but its texture of fresh vs dry paint was weird as hell. And thanks for taking the time to look at it

[Wahnsinn]

I looked! I'm just way late with it.
Looks good!

That makeup looks like it went icky. I don't recall needing to touch up the Mehron much at all, even after plenty of activity. It can be used on the ears, too. (I don't remember if came off the ears, but it did give uniformity of color!) It's more expensive but definitely worth it.
Did you use Spirit Gum to attach the ears? I wish I could offer a recommendation for the tail, but mine was completely different. Maybe some kind of counterweight or an attachment under the main costume to keep it upright?

[Bamfing_Bob]

I was wondering where you where Wahnsinn! Makeup was a mess. I was thinking Bill Nye, Mac, or Mehron. I need to do some research. The ears are designed to slip over my existing ears. I tried the make them more smooth by using spirit gum, but my ears created tension that made the adhesive difficult to stick. The ears weren't a big problem though.

For the tail, I discovered that most off the part attached to my costume is lacking the support of the aluminum rod. I need to insert a filler piece or something similar to make it more rigid. Also, I will attach the filler piece directly to my costume, instead of just placing it inside of the foam. I think this will help keep it upright and in place.

My Christmas break will involve alot of these adjustments. Thanks for your input! I need it. I am super proud of the work I've done on the project, but I am far from done. Like I said, this Halloween was a test to see how everything functions in a social setting, with regular activity and interaction with others. I have to patch a few things. My feet are past the design phase and are currently in development. Very Promising.

Also, you may forget that I am also working on my wife's Scarlet Witch costume. As a man with very little experience in sewing and stuff, this is really frustrating, but I will do my best to have things done in time. I have the boots, tights, and head piece. Can't remember if I got gloves... I think I will make the cape. Not sure yet...

[Slarti]

I looked too! I just forgot to comment... I think it turned out well, too. I would suggest investing in better makeup, and maybe setting it. Mehron is good, and much cheaper than MAC. Also, honestly, you can't blend edges on prosthetics with spirit gum - it's just an adhesive. Use the spirit gum to attach, or Prosaide, which I think is much, much better, then use multiple stippled layers of liquid latex to blend it in. It's not going to look perfect with any premade prosthetic, but it'll help a bit.

[Bamfing_Bob]

The way I wear the ears, there is material that sticks out in front of my face. By blend, I meant eliminate the obviousness of the prosthetic. But I am experimenting...

[Slarti]

Yeah, same principle, unless the edge is just so thick it can't be blended. Otherwise, pretty much all you could do is give kurt some sideburns to hide them.

http://www.aradanicostumes.com/elf_ears

[Wahnsinn]

Yeah, I went into avoidance mode while catching up on my comics in an attempt to not be spoiled. Silly brain forgets that there are threads where spoilers are a non-issue. Silly, silly brain.

Having used it exactly as you would be, I recommend Mehron. It withstood my shenanigans, and I'd have it on all day. It was all over my head--bald cap and prosthetic ears!--and hands when I was a gargoyle, leaping off boulders and chasing people. Good times!

Maybe the ears gave me less trouble because mine are tiny, or I was using different ears. Mine had a thin flap glued to the skin near my ears. It kept them quite secure.

I could be imagining it wrong, but is it possible the tail modification you propose would result in it tugging at the fabric if it tries to fall over? That could look a bit odd. This might be mildly insane, but what about some kind of additional belt(s) for a stronger harness under the costume?

[Bamfing_Bob]

I think Mehron is what I am going to use... I have no idea how I am going to do the ears.

And I wasn't very clear on the tail. I have a girdle-type attachment that goes under my main costume and holds my tail in place. I was going to put the tail attachment inside the top (that is unsecure) and clip it to the top of the girdle... My current problem, along with being too short, is that the main structure moves loosely within the foam layer. I feel that firmly attaching the metal part of the tail directly to my person will eliminate alot of the problems.

[Slarti]

It's really hard to tell in the pics what kind of ear prosthetics you have, but like Wahnsinn said, you can get the kind that has a really thin flap that adhers to your face, and then you can blend the edge better.

[Bamfing_Bob]

My ears are very similar to these:

http://www.partycity.com/product/brown+ ... PAodMxoAxQ

I had to paint them blue, of course. I also want them to sit farther up on my ears, which caused part of the ear to hang over my sideburns. I'm not worrying too much about that at the moment, because it should be a simple fix, so long as I use my noggin.

UPDATE on progress: I plan to finish most of my sewing over the holiday break. I fixed my red arm pieces and sewed my "ankle brace" pieces into the gloves. Its much more comfortable and natural looking in the costume... I also stitched some problem areas up in the main red piece and tail.

Speaking of the tail, I fixed it. I ended up not needing an extension for the aluminum rod; it had just fallen down into the outer layer. I bent a piece of wire hanger into a supporting piece that I attached to the rod with hot glue and tape. This piece slides over the girdle and works to stabilize the tail. Along with the velcro I already have, the tail moves and bounces without falling over or diverting from the position I desire. I feel it, but it isn't uncomfortable.

Over the next few days, I will be focusing on the feet and my wife's main costume piece. Since all my safety pins are in hers, That is what I will focus on first. I plan to have the feet and the Scarlet Witch done before the semester starts, because I know my last semester is gonna suuuuuuck. This will leave only the red legbands, the pant modifications, her cape and gloves, and changes to makeup/hair dye/ear mods.

Which reminds me, I have made a few decisions concerning the lower half. The white foot pieces will be two-parts. The tops will be sewn into the pants and will be attached to the shoes via elastic. I have one done and it looks great. The bottoms will act like shoe covers. This makes the easier to sew and easier to put on/ take off. This also eliminates the problems I have had in attaching the red and white pieces or in keeping the tops of the "boots" taut. I know it is going to look fantastic.

If all goes well and to schedule, I will post photos of my progress near the end of break (~ Jan 10)

[Bamfing_Bob]

So, I graduate this saturday from college, meaning work on my costume will resume soon. I need to purchase my wig (which I have picked I think) and my contacts. I decided they will have to be prescription if I am going to wear them all day, so I have to go to the Doctor for a fresh prescription. I had to ask you all a question though. As you know, I am doing Cockrum/Claremont Nightcrawler of the 70's. However, I am on the fence on how to do the makeup. The comics protray him with shadows on his forehead and underneath the eyes, but I am afraid doing the makeup there black will look odd. Any suggestions? Should I stick with an all blue face or try for the "comic" coloring? Maybe attempt a blend?

[Slarti]

I wouldn't use black - just a darker shade of blue, and even a lighter one for the high points. You can use a technique in makeup called contouring to make fake shadows and highlights with different shades of blue. However, I would really suggest practicing it because it takes a lot of time and blending to make it look right.

Also, don't know where you plan to get your wig, but I would suggest taking a look at Arda Wigs. They cater to cosplayers and the prices are really reasonable.

[Bamfing_Bob]

Good idea. I'm scared of trying to shade and contour and all that stuff... But I think I may give it a try...

And I checked out the site, and I noticed it is mostly catered to women. The one I found is 30 bucks and has that wavy, wild look to it. I think it'll be great.

[Bamfing_Bob]

So UPDATE on my costume. Six weeks until comic con, and I have mostly everything done. I finished the feet, but I need to attach black to red to white on my legs. Also, I may need to get some white knee highs for underneath the feet so that the tone difference from shoe to leg isn't as prominent.

As for face, it is coming together. The wig is okay right now, but I need to practice styling it. The make up came in today. I got Mehron Cremestick (per recommendation) and it is bright blue, but I found that mixing it with some generic black crème make up seems to do the trick. I can't fully test it until my wife gets home and shows me how to do some shading and apply sealant.

As for the contacts, I am disappoint. I bought some prescription yellow contacts ($135) so that I can see what I'm doing all day, but I do have an astigmatism, so I had to settle for *close* to my prescription. However, the contacts I got are apparently designed for use under a black light and are slightly transparent. Since I have blue eyes, the contacts look lime green in normal light. Not yellow. They don't do anything like returns or refunds, so I'm up shit creek without a paddle. I will probably just have to settle for it, even though I feel screwed over. They were the only yellow plain contacts that I found that matched my eye size, but now I would almost rather have had pure yellow that would be uncomfortable all day! Okay, maybe not. Any suggestions??

Oh, and my wife's costume is coming along nicely too... designed the cape and fashioned it from velvet, but I still need to sew edges and get her some red gloves... And I need to finish her main body piece, but it shouldn't be too difficult...

[Ult_Sm86]

No suggestions but can we see how the Scarlet Witch cosplay is going?

[JSherlock]

Here's someone who knows make up: Mystique