Cosplay Help

[Chimetals 344]

i dont have much experience in the cosplay props side of things, so i figured id throw this issue out to people with the know-how on materials im not familiar with--i know saha has a range of experience with a lot of materials that i know nothing of, but i know there are more cosplayers on here with different experiences and etc etc etc.

 

what im trying to make is this glove

 

ill probably be able to get better pictures and stuff after xmas, but theres an idea of just how screwed i am in this thing.

just browsing the internet lightly, people have made this arm before, though its usually out of paper or cardboard or something along those lines. there are also the horror stories of people using other materials and having a wing snap off when someone surprise-tackled them at the convention.

 

i guess im mostly looking for a sane material or material combo i could work with to get that level of sculpting and detail, but still be able to, say, drop it without worrying about it dying. i know theres some sort of magical plastic out there that people use for making armor, but that also involves a blowtorch.

 

the other thing is that near my apartment is this magical wonderland called "the idea store". its full of....random things. scraps, mechanical bits, bins of floppy discs...and all for cheap. i havent made a pass there with the intention of getting materials yet, and while it doesnt have the guaranteed selection of a hobby store, it has some crazy shit i could use or approximate with.

 

anyway, i figure i could kill time by trying to get a working, scaled cuff thing going until i can get my hands on a detailed model to work with, and maybe start by making a paper version so i can change proportions and have a template for potentially cutting out parts.

 

the bottom line is that i dont have a clue what material i should build or even paint with to get that level of detail or that sort of color.

[Sahaqiel 1232]

yeah dawg you can ask me for help whenever you want

 

The magic of the processes I've been using is how easy they are, really. Like, it takes some investment and it takes patience, but it makes for a more professional and easy-to-replace product. Like, you could cobble together a prop from a bunch of scrap, and it could be gorgeous and everything on the outside, but depending on what you use, it could be fragile because of its inconsistent construction. So instead of painting it right away, you could make a mold out of it, and from that, you could duplicate the pieces that are distinct from one another, and piece them together then. It would be altogether more sturdy, and if you break it, you can easily just cast another copy. You still have to paint it and everything, but it can be better than HAVING to repair your model, or HAVING to completely remake it.

 

For instance, my badges:

 

 

For the Soul Badge, I actually had to make two halves of a heart out of clay, glue them together, then smooth more clay over the seam and bake that, then I sanded it smooth so it looks like it's all one piece. If I didn't cast them, I would have to repeat the process over and over, and even if I only needed one, the seam is still the most fragile part and could break by people glomping me for the LOLs and XDs. Casting resins, luckily, not only don't have these kind of schisms, but also cure hard as rock.

 

SO pretty much read on if you are interested in spending relatively a bunch of money on useful skills and materials for casting things that you could implement in the future and are actually really easy once you actually get started on them.

 

So in this case you would probably want to cast the gauntlet, the bird, the hand plate, and the finger parts separately. The scaley textured underpart can just be some kind of fancy foam (EVA foam is popular) but you could also make your own scale texture using whatever and use liquid casting latex to get it just perfect. You're going to need some paint as well, but luckily, the rules that apply here tend to apply for things like urethane or PVC models, so cheap acrylic paint can work just fine. The general consensus I hear is never to use enamel. That's a whole different field that I'm trying to get a hang of as well.

 

For what you need at the moment, I would recommend the same casting resin I'm using; Smooth-Cast 65D, which is used for Rotocasting. You will probably need some kind of brush-on mold that will capture your detail perfectly, which needs a corresponding mother mold, which is a rigid coating around the silicone portion to keep it rigid during the casting process; I don't actually know where this is on the Smooth-On site.

 

I really recommend you check out Volpin's tutorial on how he made a Needler. He's got a lot more professional tools, but those really just make it easier, not more or less possible. This is part 1, but there are like 13 parts. You can find them via Google so...

 

any questions hit me up

[Chimetals 344]

i forgot to mention when sayuri located a site for me with lots and lots of pictures of this thing.

 

my plan right now is to raid a local scrap/whatever store and maybe manage a prototype that I can adjust once I get the life-size statue-thing for xmas. maybe I'll figure out the molding later idk. mostly im hoping for rubber/latex/something in liquid form that I can get there cheaply.

 

further investigation makes it seem like my best bet is on replicating the original as much as possible in making it a glove, a forearm bracer (it goes all the way around it seems) and the armor details on the hand. Also gonna have to figure out those rings skdjfbsdkjbk

[Sahaqiel 1232]

Another vital thing: sandpaper.

 

you know maybe you could do the unthinkable and hang out with me on your break to figure this stuff out...

 

I have like more than 70% of the stuff I just mentioned.

[PrimaGaga 1025]

So my friends and I have loose plans to go to Ohayocon next year and cosplay as Cartoon Network characters. Since we love Cartoon Network. We aren't 100% on our characters yet. I'm hoping my friend Austin goes as Flapjack since he kinda looks like him. And my other friend Nina might go as Fionna (Adventure Time). Not sure wut my last friend will go as. But yeah here are my ideas.

 

or

 

Im gonna check out these costumes when i get my next pay check. But I doubt they'll fit me. So I'll probs havta.... i unno, fix them up? 

[Sahaqiel 1232]

yeh

 

I'm not much for sewing tho. Really all I know how to do is sew on buttons.