Constructing Costumes, Characters, and Time-Traveling Cars

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At Phoenix Comicon, I attended 5 panels where authors, cosplayers, and time-machine builders gave advice about their respective crafts.

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Character Clothing

Four authors and a comic book artist shared about the role clothing plays in their works and what to keep in mind when you consider how your characters dress.

1. What Are They Wearing?:

Is the clothing functional in the environment? If not, make sure the character feels its effects. –Travis Hanson

Try making the costume of one of your characters and wearing it for day. Feel what it’s like to move around in what they wear. Sensory input can really inform your writing. –Leanna Renee Hieber

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Cosplay

2. A Beginner’s Guide to Foam Smithing:

New cosplayers often start working with foam, because it’s fairly easy to work with and cheap. If something you try doesn’t work, you’re probably only out about 50 cents.

Foam doesn’t have to be something you move on from. You can incorporate many different materials into your costume. It also uses many of same tools as Sintra and other thermoplastics. [Check out the Tools and Materials list in our DIY Armor post.]

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3. Cosplay Like a Pro: Less Stress, More Fun!

You notice the flaws of a costume you’ve been working on but others won’t. They see the overall picture.

Remember the 10-foot rule: your costume doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to look good from 10 feet away. If someone wants to get closer than that, that’s when you suddenly have a panel to rush off to.

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4. We are ALL Wonder Women! with Heather Ann Cosplay, Stray Kat Cosplay, and Whitney.

Even if you feel you don’t look like the character or aren’t sure about your costume, you can feel like Wonder Woman. –Stray Kat Cosplay

Watching Wonder Woman inspired little girls that
they could stand up for themselves and others. –Whitney

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Time Machine

Oliver and Terry Holler used parts they found and made to turn a DeLorean into a far out Back to the Future time machine. With it, they have traveled to all 50 states to fund raise for a future Parkinson’s Disease cure (a cause close to my heart because of my cousin Allison).

5. Back to the Future: Adventures in a DeLorean Time Machine:

The great thing about making something yourself is then you can fix it.

Money comes and goes. Time only goes.

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Thank you to Phoenix Comicon for providing media passes.

DIY Armor: Tips from cosplay experts

“Making costumes is addictive. You never just do one costume. It destroys your life.”
501st Legion

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I went to a couple of fascinating back-to-back maker panels at Star Wars Celebration. They shared tips that would be useful in all kinds of craft – even if you’re not into Star Wars.

The panels were given by two groups.

  • 501st Legion: make/wear Star Wars “dark side” costumes (Darth Vader, stormtroopers, etc.)
  • Mandalorian Mercs Costuming Club: make/wear armor-clad bounty hunter costumes (Boba Fett). Four members constructed armor for a panel audience volunteer in just 40 minutes (!)

Like Justice League Arizona (who I’ve mentioned before), members of these two groups build their own costumes, often make free appearances for charities and other good causes, and are passionate about what they do.

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Getting started

501st Legion:

Don’t do a complicated metal costume like Boba Fett for your first costume. Do a soft costume.

Mandalorian Mercs:

You can get everything you need to make your armor for under $50 – tools, Bondo, gloves, etc. But know what level of tools to buy and when to spend less. Don’t be afraid to spend a little money on good tools, if you’re able to.

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Safety

Mandalorian Mercs:

    • Wear gloves. Hot glue will burn you and will not stop burning until it cools off.
    • The most dangerous thing is an X-ACTO knife. That’ll cut through you faster than a hot knife through butter.

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Sizing for Costumes

Audience question: How do you adapt costume templates for people who wear larger sizes?

Mandalorian Mercs: Use optical illusion – black fabric, extra flanks, etc. Adapt templates to fit your body. People don’t all have the same proportions, especially women. Get up close with a friend, who can help you get your exact measurements. Armor must be molded to your body. I don’t think anyone else could put on my armor.

501st Legion:

It’s better to have slightly less accurate armor that’s proportionate to you. You don’t have to stick with on-screen measurements.

Mandalorian Mercs:

Make a duct tape dummy for a perfect cast of your body you can use to create a costume sized to fit.

    1. Put on a t-shirt that’s one size too small.
    2. Duct tape around yourself.
    3. Have friend cut it off down the back.

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Materials and Tools

Audience question: Does costume material have to be the same as the original?

501st Legion: No. It comes down to the finish. If a piece is painted well, you can’t tell what it was made from.

Mandalorian Mercs:

  • A dremel set is one of the most important tools. It makes plastic look like metal. However, it is extremely messy. It goes so fast it can eat into your armor.
  • The best place to find expanded PVC board, a.k.a. Sintra is a sign shop. [I believe Sintra is what they used for the armor-making demo. –TCJ]
  • You can get Bondo at Walmart. It comes in large container that should last a long time. Do not glob Bondo on. Use rubber spatula to smooth on small bits.
  • Krylon paints dry quickly and last. Don’t mix them with Rustoleum, because it won’t cure. Some people prefer to airbrush.
  • Primer is like the Velcro to help your paint stick. It’ll last longer.

501st Legion:

Use rare earth magnets when working with metal that you can’t clamp down on. Just don’t accidentally glue your magnets to your armor!

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Sourcing

Mandalorian Mercs:

Costume pieces may be incorporated from found items, seemingly random things like a battery cover from a palm pilot. We like go on what we call “scavenger hunts”. You’ll never look at the thrift store or dollar store the same way.

501st Legion:

It’s funny how our costume obsession has increased the price on random and ridiculous stuff on eBay! 3D printing can be a cost-effective alternative.

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Final Thought

501st Legion:

Sometimes we get too obsessed with details and have to remind ourselves: “Just relax. We’re just plastic spacemen.”

Thank you to Star Wars Celebration for providing media passes.

Clever ways to organize craft supplies

So my craft stuff had gotten a little out of control. I went looking for ideas on how to corral it, and I thought I’d share some of my faves with you. Because I’m guessing I’m not the only one with art or craft supplies run amok.

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1. Multi-purpose craft room – I love the way Alexis (of Persia Lou) incorporated space for various types of craft, work, and for her kids to entertain themselves all in one room!

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2. Repurposed containers – Put vintage finds you love to use as storage!

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3. Convert a hutch to a sewing space!

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4. Craft supply shelves – Matching glass jars give even a mishmash of supplies a uniform appearance a and allow you to see what you’ve got.

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5. Craft closet makeover – one couple transformed a closet into a welcoming workspace.

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6. DIY birch branch brush holder – Drill holes into a piece of branch to hold brushes, pens, or other tools.

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7. Repurpose an old ironing board as a place to hold spools of thread.

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8. Art journal cart – This IKEA cart is a great place to keep journals and supplies. And it’s mobile, so you can have a workspace anywhere in the house.

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9. You can see the same rolling carts used for other types of supplies in this studio. Also love the 3-tiered metal lazy Susan!


Photos via respective sites.

Try Today Friday

Over on our Facebook page, I’ve been doing something I call Try Today Friday. I share a craft idea, travel app, recipe tip, or some other useful thing simple enough to try out that evening. The ingredients/supplies are things you probably have on hand, could easily pick up on your way home, or just download.

Scarf tying tutorial by Schmutzie

Some examples from past Try Today Fridays:

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For now, #TryTodayFriday only happens on the Facebook page. So like us and make sure to stop by there on Fridays!

Scarf photo via Schmutzie. Calendar via Things I Should Do

Microblog Mondays

Cactus Craft

I keep coming across neat cactus-related ideas and thought you guys would like to check these out.

Cactus at The Farm South Mountain

1. Paper

Simple yet fabulous-looking paper cacti project via The House That Lars Built!

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2. Plastic

Plastic bottle cacti by Veronika Richterová. While she has special processes for creating her cactus art, it’d be fun to try making a simpler version of these.

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3. Planters

We featured these upcycled water bottle planters by A Beautiful Mess on our Facebook page in a Try Today Friday post, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss them!

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4. Pincushion

Sewing Lab has a tutorial for a cute stuffed fabric cactus that’s the perfect place for pins and needles.

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5. Possibilities

C2C Gallery in Grand Haven, Michigan suggests using cactus seeds in artwork. What they had in mind were Helen Otterson’s botanical-inspired ceramics. (Like Succulent Blossom.) But it made me wonder about using seeds in collage to add some depth and texture.

Have you ever created something inspired by cactus or using actual parts of a cactus plant?

Succulent Blossom By Helen Otterson

Top photo taken by me at The Farm at South Mountain. Other photos via their respective sites.