Thresh Boots

I spent sometime over the past week working on the boots for my Thresh cosplay. Pretty basic and easy to make, though I am not entirely satisfied with the paint right now. Anyways, here’s how it was done…

First step, buy some boots! Being spring time I guess boots are out of season because I wasn’t able to find any at my local shoe stores. Instead I bought them online (something I hate to do because I won’t know if they fit until they get here).

Got these on Amazon for about thirty dollars. Cheap but effective.

I cut off the little buckles because they just got in the way.

Thresh’s boots look armored so I brought out the handydandy wonderflex! And craft foam. Because wonderflex is expensive and craft foam helps to thicken it. For the armor on the toe I cut out a shape out of craft foam like this:

Then covered it with wonderflex using a heat gun and folding it underneath. I pinched it along those lines to create a ridge:

 

The rest of the armor is pretty much repeating this process but with different shapes such as this for the rest of the foot:

 

When put on the boot it looked something like this:

You can see where the wonderflex dented from being overheated, but when painted over it’s not as noticeable.

 

The next three pieces are done exactly the same way.

 

 

All that’s left is to do the paint. I use basic acrylic.

And to cover the paint with a clear coat of matte spray paint.

Hope my quick and messy explanation will help someone! Now off to play some ARAM!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thresh- Gloves

After the mask I decided to work on the gloves. For these I needed just a few basic supplies:

Wonderflex (jumbo)- $67.00

Black gloves- $8.00

Heatgun

Paint/paint brushes

Gluegun/gluesticks

Scissors

Elastic scraps

Okay! Once all the supplies were gathered I did some research on gauntlet and glove patterns. I tried a few different techniques to get the finger joints to bend properly but in the end I decided to make each finger plate separate. Below are some preliminary attempts. In the bottom right corner are the actual patterns I used, just resized for each finger. The tear drop is the claw while the other wobbly shape makes up the other fingerplates.

It’s worth noting that at first I tried to use styrene because it was cheaper and came recommended  but in the end I went with wonderflex. It might be way more expensive but I like the way it bends better and the fact that it sticks to itself when warm makes it easier to work with.

 

Using the heatgun, I heated the wonderflex to a warm but not burning temperature. Two layers of wonderflex works best, that way its sturdy but not too thick. Wearing the black gloves I wrapped each piece around my finger and reinforced the bottom of each peice with an extra strip of wonderflex. To add some random flare, I pushed up the front edge and formed it to a point.

 

After all the finger pieces were done it came out looking like this:

The fingerplates might require some trimming to make sure they bend properly under the other plates:

The palm piece was pretty hard to figure out. Most of the sites that claimed to have automail or gauntlet patterns were out of date or the pictures didn’t work. So I just sorta made up the shapes. The right top piece is the knuckle plate, below that covers the hand, and the last piece is for the palm. With the wonderflex warm I added some warble to the knuckle plate ’cause it looked cool! All of this was formed over my hand. It’s not hard to do but if you try this just make sure not to heat up the wonderflex too hot and wear gloves!

Added some more details:

 

Also put on some elastic so the wrist parts stay in place:

Now for the wrist. The shape is easy enough:

I cut out two of those shapes for each arm and formed them directly over my wrist. I pressed the edges together so that it was stuck on my arm. I couldn’t pull my hand out so I cut it right up the middle when the wonderflex was completely cool. That way I can slip my arm into it but it keeps its shape without revealing the open seam.

Here’s it all together (unpainted).

 

Time for painting! Yay! This is what can really make or break the armor. Never use one flat color, always try to paint in highlights and low lights. Once it was all painted I coated it all with matte clear spray paint then using hotglue I stuck on all the fingerplates to the glove.

Done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thresh Mask

So as I mentioned in my last post, my next planned costume is going to be Thresh, the chain warden from League of Legends. I hope to get this outfit done for Anime Expo in July but we’ll see. His attire is pretty straigh forward- gauntlets, long ragged coat with a giant collar, armored boots, ect. But then there’s his face… or maybe lack there-of. At first I debated making a crossplay version of this character and maybe working with facepaint to give a more feminized look. But I quickly tossed out that idea. I have no issues dressing as a male character, people mistake me for one online all the time. My first challenge then was to figure out how to make a convincing floating skull head.

 

Unlike my Soraka costume, I actually bothered to take progress pictures. I’ve seen lots of cosplayers express interest in this character so I hope that these next few posts can be helpful to my fellow League cosplayers.

Alright, alright, enough babbling. Time to get to work!

The material list for the mask is pretty easy:

- 1 plastic mask base ($5)

-Acrylic paint (I already have a bunch stockpiled)

-2 coat hangers (again these I already had)

-2 packs of paperclay ($20)

-plastic mesh ($2)(Not really sure what this is actually used for, maybe needle point or something)

- 3 colors of cellophane, you know, that plasticy clear stuff that people use when wrapping presents and such ($10)

-Glue gun + glue sticks (something I can’t live without!)

So the total cost should be around $40-50 depending on what supplies you do or do not already have

Okay, step one, cut the mask! It doesn’t have to be super prefect since most of it will be covered in clay anyway, but if you get jagged edges be sure to sand them down so they don’t hurt. I made the eyes large, used the masks chin for the jaw piece, and cut a wide slit for the nose because its important to be able to breathe and the tiny holes in the original mask weren’t gonna cut it.

Step Two making the cap. This part isn’t hard. I used the plastic mesh to make a sort of cap that attaches to the back of the mask and helps hold it on my head. I cut long strips of the plastic mesh about 1-2 inches thick. I glued down one end to the inside of the mask, right about ear level. Wrapped that all the way around until it was a little snug but still loose enough that I could easily take off the mask. Glued that down. The next few strips go across the top of the head to make a dome.

 

 

Step Three, figure out where the uh… chain things go. I used the coat hanger wires to create a base for this. One in the middle, and the other two off to the sides. I played around with angles and bent it around before finally gluing it in place.

Once the base is done it’s time for the fun stuff.

Step Four is to take out the paperclay and sculpt his head. I wanted depth and detail and thickness. I used just about 3/4ths of a pack to do this. I can’t give much instriction on how exactly to sculpt it but use water wisely. A llittle bit to wet fingers works wonders, but too much will turn the project into a muddy mess.

Let the clay dry for a few days just to be safe. When the mask is dry use left over clay to fill in any cracks.

Step Five- The wierd fire aura stuff. This is where the cellophane comes in. I cut long rectangles of the stuff and took my scissors to the edges to give it a jagged look. Then I crumbled the who thing up really tight to get some nice texture. Layer that stuff all up the wires and along the cap portion. I used mostly green with a bit of blue thrown in for effect. I tried yellow out but found it sort of got lost.

Step Six- More sculpting! I don’t know why I didn’t do this when sculpting the basic face. Make a bunch of bone shaped shapes (ha) to go up the wires. Make the last one on each wire look like a hook. Let those dry for a few days. I got impatient and tried to cook mine in the oven but even after an hour  they were barely dry. I’d just let them air dry like normal, the oven really wasn’t worth it. My dog thought I was making cookies and was disappointed to learn that he couldn’t eat my project (this time).

Step Seven- Glue the bones to the wire then realize it’d be easier to paint them separate. Take them off. Or even better, don’t put them on to begin with.

Step Eight- Paint!! Thresh’s head isn’t black. My paints fought me all the way on this one but eventually I came up with a decent purple. Be sure to add in some highlights and low lights to bring out the sculpt details. Add green accents around the eyes.

Step Nine- Glue the bones onto the wire.

Step Ten- By now it should look pretty awesome. Use this time to clean up any glue gun cobwebs or any other touchups as needed.

The mask will be a little heavy because of all the clay, but it’s nothing unmanageable. I might add some more cellophane further down along the mask but I need to make the coat to see how it all fits together before I mess with that anymore.

Oh! One thing I forgot to mention, I intend to buy some sort of zentai suit like hood in green to wear underneath the mask. That way my eyes wont be seen and it will give me something to attach the jaw too. Hope this helped in some way shape or form!!

Wondercon 2013- My Cosplays

My last post was all about other cosplayers at this year’s Wondercon, now it’s time for pictures of ME! And my friends of course!

Day one:

I went as Harley Quinn from Batman. I consider this my “lazy day” costume since it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to put on or maintain. Everything is store bought, just bits and pieces I threw together.

The Poison Ivy is my friend Rose. Her costume is made of plastic leaves glued onto a bikini.

My sister dressed up as a humanoid Amaterasu from Okami.

 

Here we are with a Batman:

 

Here I am with Frank Beddor, the author of The Looking Glass Wars. I bought a comic from him, drawn by my favorite artist, Ben Templesmith.

 

 

 

Ivy with The Easter Bunny from Rise of the Guardians

 

Us with Ra’s al Ghul and Talia

Ivy on the deck of the starship Enterprise:

 

 

Amaterasu by the fountain:

 

 

Day Two:

I dressed up as Soraka from League of Legends. The costume was entirely handmade by me, except for the body suit. The suit features painted markings and alterations to the hands to make it fit. I was going to upload some progress pictures but overall it wasn’t hard to make and an explaination of it all didn’t seem necessary.

Alex is dressed as Jayce, another champion from League of Legends. His costume is also made by me, most of it either sewn from scratch or altered from existing garments. The hammer is pretty heavy, despite being made of only cardboard, a bit of clay, and foam.

Rose chose to go as Black Canary the second day.

 

Black Canary, Batman, Robin:

 

Black Canary and Raven:

 

 

While at the Con we met some other League cosplayers who got together for a photoshoot:

 

Some individual Soraka pictures

 

Individual Jayce pictures:

 

Black Canary playing with Jayce’s hammer:

 

I’d love to find some other pictures of my cosplay. I hope a few will pop up online over the next few weeks. If I find more, I will post them in a new entry. Until then, here is a sneak peek at my next planned cosplay… Thresh, the chain warden!!

 

Wondercon 2013- Cosplayers

This year’s Wondercon was just as good as last year, as opposed to Comikaze which only went downhill its second year. There were tons of people and many great and inspiring costumes! My camera takes incredibly huge pictures and it takes too long to resize (either that or I am too lazy >_>) so here are some of the best costumes I got pictures of!

 

River’s Edge Dancewear Review

Many cosplays require the use of a zentai or full body suit to change the costumers skin color. It’s much easier than body paint, cleaner too! But it can be hard to find the right color for the right price. My most recent costume is Soraka from League of Legends. Her in game model has light blue skin and, not wanting to deal with the mess of body paint, I opted to find a zentai suit. After hours of searching I thought I had found the perfect one, but some more in depth research told me that in real life it looked nothing like the stock photo the various vendors used. Not knowing what else to do, I turned to the community on cosplay.com asking for help. One helpful cosplayer suggested River’s Edge Dancewear (http://www.riversedgedancewear.com/) but warned me of a long turn around time. At that time it was still two months before the convention and I thought it’d be long enough for it to get to me. Anyways, the site didn’t disappoint color and cut wise. They had lots of styles to choose from and more shades than any other site I’d found on my own. After reviewing their color chart I opted for the color Lilac. Well, the name of the color should have been my first clue that problems were ahead, but it looked so pretty on my monitor!

The website said to allow a turn around of seven weeks. Well, it was more than seven weeks before the con, but the staff were quick to email me back saying that I’d need to pay an extra ten dollars to get it shipped to me in time. Okay, sure, whatever. Dished out the extra money.

Time passed and eventually I got the suit. But when I opened the packaging… oh no! It was PURPLE. I was furious! There wouldn’t be enough time to send it back, and even if I did, I wouldn’t get a refund for the shipping and the extra money to have it arrive faster. I didn’t try to return it, and I am not sure if they would have taken it since technically it was what I ordered.

Luckily for me, the character’s splash art features her as purple for whatever reason, and the suit was just about the right shade for that. I tried it on. The legs fit like a dream, the fabric curved over my hips and tapered at my waist perfectly. The arms… well I don’t know what kind of person they made this for, but the arms were two to three inches longer than mine. The hands were HUGE. These things definitely weren’t human proportioned.

To further make the suit work I had to cut the hands off, sew the fingers narrower and shorter, then cut down the sleeves. Luckily the concept art came to my rescue again. Soraka wears gloves to hide the ugly seam created by my alterations.

In all, I would not suggest this company unless you know how to alter clothing and are in desperate need of a hard to find or specific color. But beware of the color charts, they are not what the seem to be!!

New Costume Ideas!

I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time for costume planning. I’ve finally finished my second full length novel manuscript and it’s in the process of final editing before I start sending off the query letters for it. (Scary stuff!) Halloween is right around the corner and I have no costume to wear. My friend, Roseanne, also told me about a convention in Long Beach that she’d like to check out, but with my Alexstrasza costume on the border of being retired. due mostly to uncomfortable shoes, I’ve been thinking of new cosplays. Not that I could get one done in time for either event, but for next years conventions.

After going to Disneylands Mad T Party and seeing the awesome flamingo stilt walkers, I was inspired to make my own costume similar to thiers. The idea is to make a “ride it” costume based on a horde mount. I’m thinking a hawstrider, or if I really want to go all out, a skeletal warhorse. I have yet to decide what sort of rider to be, either Sylvanas on a warhorse, my undead warlock on a warhorse, or my blood elf priest on the hawkstrider.

There are a few issues I have run into. One, money. Either costume will take quite a bit to pull off sucessfully. Although I do hope to enter, and maybe win, some contests to help with the funds. Secondly, the costumes are pretty big and while I have a big car, I dunno if it’s that big. Third, the stilts. I need to learn to walk in them. Fourth, actually choosing what I want to do!!

The hawkstrider seems to be simpler. The warhorse would be fun because I love the forsaken faction but to make it work the rider part of the costume would need to sit pretty far forward on the horse.

I drew up a quick diagram to help me figure out some stuff; it’s color coded to show where I would be (blue), where the “rider” would be (pink) and where the rest of the bird is (green). Instead of using pole stilts like the flamingo performers do, I am going to use the thicker and uglier yet earier to walk in dry wall stilts.

 

Well thats where I am in the planning stage. I still have a long way to go if I actually choose to continue with this. But it’s a cool idea, right?