Okay, here goes.. For Anime Boston next year(I went to Anime Boston 2003), I plan to cosplay. Yes, as someone from .hack... Yes, as Balmung.. Now, before you laugh, I am aware of the difficulty his armor presents in the creation process. Why am I posting this? Well.. This will be my first time cosplaying. I want to get a good head start on making the costume(I've got like 11 more months to make it). And well, since this is my first time, I'd like to know if anyone has any tips on where to start, or how(and with what) to make this intricate armor out of. Any suggestions or ideas would be more than welcome, thank you!
P.S., My whole group is going to dress as .hack characters!
Future Cosplay
Moderators: Sora, Balmung, Bear, Kite
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Winged Warrior
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Future Cosplay
Finally!! I surpassed 100 posts!
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Oh No Melon!
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Anime Boston '03 was funny... the hentai dubbing panel rocked.
As one the collective unifies
emanate a faithless shine
forever creation has conceived
birth of destruction spreads its wings
chaotic rebirth a new domain
relive the sight the sound the pain
erotic the taste of agony
adorn the scars in inhumanity
emanate a faithless shine
forever creation has conceived
birth of destruction spreads its wings
chaotic rebirth a new domain
relive the sight the sound the pain
erotic the taste of agony
adorn the scars in inhumanity
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Winged Warrior
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My recommendation?
Choose an easier costume.
And I say this with all seriousness and experience. I could walk you through the entire process, however it wouldn't make much sense if you haven't had the experience in working with the materials needed before.
My friend Cybele recently gave up on her Balmung costume, though mostly because she was annoyed that too many people were doing it, but even she was intimidated by the armor. It's never an easy thing to do, of course.
But for a first cosplay, try something a bit easier.
If you're determined however, I'll give you the following suggestions for making the costume:
http://amethyst-angel.com/armormaking.html
Read this tutorial. Amethyst Angel is a friend of mine who completely floored us with her Chris armor, and then her Borus armor comission. The technique is sound, and not terribly expensive, but takes time and effort.
I recommend, if you're masochistic enough, to purchase some of the not-often seen metallic-blue-ish vinyl to make the arm and leg straps out of.
The 'arm wings' should probably be made with chiffon shaped to look like feathers. Do some creative airbrushing to give it a more natural look.
His boa should be a.. well.. boa. I'd recommend spending the money on a really nice one or he'll look shabby.
The hair can be purchased from any online wig store.. I recommend
http://www.witchwigs.com/
They have fast shipping and decent prices. Get a wig long enough to trim/style, in the color 'silver white'. If you know how to cut hair, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to style.
If you know the laminated foam method of armature construction, you can make his sword to be light and con-safe.
For the wings on his back, I recommend making the far more comfortable harness-type wings. Meaning, you create something of a metal spine for yourself with copper wire. I'd get a piece about 8 feet long, perhaps longer, and bend it in half. Mark out enough so that you can lay it up against your back and then secure it to yourself with either straps or, as I did on a whim, duct tape. Be SURE you have something underneath the duct tape or it's horribly painful to get off.
If you choose to do the route that I did for my Kurai wings, I had enough on the 'bent' end of the wire that I could bend it under myself and have it secured more in the front. It's not a comfortable thing to do at all, as it involves lying on the floor and using your own weight to bend it, but it works.
Anyway, once that's been sized, bend the wire where the 'curves' of the wings are. This will give the wings their general shape. Then, get some thick canvas and cut a winglike shape out of that. This you will sew on to the wings to create the base.
You will need to purchase an ungodly amount of white turkey quills to have good looking wings, so order them by the pound online. You will be sticking these into the canvas, layered like real bird feathers are, and sew them into place so they don't fall out.
Another important detail. His skirt. It's a skirt, not a kilt. It's a SKIRT. But just model it after any flared skirt, really. Vinyl would look more accurate if you used that, but it's pretty uncomfortable.
Then again, this entire costume can be defined as 'uncomfortable'.
Anyway, I wish you luck, if you really want to go for this. I think, however, as it's an expensive investment, I would wait until you are confident you can do it entirely on your own.
Choose an easier costume.
And I say this with all seriousness and experience. I could walk you through the entire process, however it wouldn't make much sense if you haven't had the experience in working with the materials needed before.
My friend Cybele recently gave up on her Balmung costume, though mostly because she was annoyed that too many people were doing it, but even she was intimidated by the armor. It's never an easy thing to do, of course.
But for a first cosplay, try something a bit easier.
If you're determined however, I'll give you the following suggestions for making the costume:
http://amethyst-angel.com/armormaking.html
Read this tutorial. Amethyst Angel is a friend of mine who completely floored us with her Chris armor, and then her Borus armor comission. The technique is sound, and not terribly expensive, but takes time and effort.
I recommend, if you're masochistic enough, to purchase some of the not-often seen metallic-blue-ish vinyl to make the arm and leg straps out of.
The 'arm wings' should probably be made with chiffon shaped to look like feathers. Do some creative airbrushing to give it a more natural look.
His boa should be a.. well.. boa. I'd recommend spending the money on a really nice one or he'll look shabby.
The hair can be purchased from any online wig store.. I recommend
http://www.witchwigs.com/
They have fast shipping and decent prices. Get a wig long enough to trim/style, in the color 'silver white'. If you know how to cut hair, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to style.
If you know the laminated foam method of armature construction, you can make his sword to be light and con-safe.
For the wings on his back, I recommend making the far more comfortable harness-type wings. Meaning, you create something of a metal spine for yourself with copper wire. I'd get a piece about 8 feet long, perhaps longer, and bend it in half. Mark out enough so that you can lay it up against your back and then secure it to yourself with either straps or, as I did on a whim, duct tape. Be SURE you have something underneath the duct tape or it's horribly painful to get off.
If you choose to do the route that I did for my Kurai wings, I had enough on the 'bent' end of the wire that I could bend it under myself and have it secured more in the front. It's not a comfortable thing to do at all, as it involves lying on the floor and using your own weight to bend it, but it works.
Anyway, once that's been sized, bend the wire where the 'curves' of the wings are. This will give the wings their general shape. Then, get some thick canvas and cut a winglike shape out of that. This you will sew on to the wings to create the base.
You will need to purchase an ungodly amount of white turkey quills to have good looking wings, so order them by the pound online. You will be sticking these into the canvas, layered like real bird feathers are, and sew them into place so they don't fall out.
Another important detail. His skirt. It's a skirt, not a kilt. It's a SKIRT. But just model it after any flared skirt, really. Vinyl would look more accurate if you used that, but it's pretty uncomfortable.
Then again, this entire costume can be defined as 'uncomfortable'.
Anyway, I wish you luck, if you really want to go for this. I think, however, as it's an expensive investment, I would wait until you are confident you can do it entirely on your own.
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"Sora KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"
Don't hate me because I'm l337iful ;_;
"Sora KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"
Don't hate me because I'm l337iful ;_;
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Winged Warrior
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- Joined: Tue May 20, 2003 6:48 pm
You're welcome ^^
Cosplay is fun, entertaining, and rewarding..
... but it's also costly, stressful, time consuming, and can get out of hand at times.
I sewed a full vinyl dress with over 18 pleats by hand in front of my computer.
That was out of hand.
So, yes, it's fun, but at the same time, it can get beyond its worth at times.
I can't sleep. Cosplay. e_e;; story of my life.
Cosplay is fun, entertaining, and rewarding..
... but it's also costly, stressful, time consuming, and can get out of hand at times.
I sewed a full vinyl dress with over 18 pleats by hand in front of my computer.
That was out of hand.
So, yes, it's fun, but at the same time, it can get beyond its worth at times.
I can't sleep. Cosplay. e_e;; story of my life.
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"Sora KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"
Don't hate me because I'm l337iful ;_;
"Sora KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"
Don't hate me because I'm l337iful ;_;
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Winged Warrior
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- Joined: Tue May 20, 2003 6:48 pm
I can attest to cosplay being stressful. I've lost sleep over the last few days to create my new project. However, I'm going to several places to wear it, and I will make it worth it. ^-^ I guess that's it. I usually take 3-4 costumes to a convention and see what happens, though. That's my personal take on it.
Budget Zen: When you see something so stupid that your mind goes blank rather than try to rationalize it.
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Winged Warrior
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My costume schedules tend to be pretty sporatic.. If I have enough costumes, I'll wear one a day... sometimes I'll change back into it later, sometimes I won't. I can't ever know ahead of time, really ^^;
As far as laminated foam, it's difficult to explain in text without pictures or hands-on experience (which is how I learned, in my 3D Design class). I can try when I'm more coherent, but at the moment, I'm about to get the first sleep I'll have had in 24 hours *_*;;;
As far as laminated foam, it's difficult to explain in text without pictures or hands-on experience (which is how I learned, in my 3D Design class). I can try when I'm more coherent, but at the moment, I'm about to get the first sleep I'll have had in 24 hours *_*;;;
----------------------------------
"Sora KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"
Don't hate me because I'm l337iful ;_;
"Sora KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"
Don't hate me because I'm l337iful ;_;
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Winged Warrior
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- Joined: Tue May 20, 2003 6:48 pm
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Timid Wavemaster
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Good luck on your costume Winged Warrior since we are going to go to Anime Boston next year together we'll be an awesome costume cosplaying group! I'll be cosplaying as Elk ( a more easier costume to make compared to Balmung) and I was just wondering how would I go about making his staff? The other part of the costume would be easy because i'll be having my mom help me.. Yes my mom will be helping me. They're always good for something ^^! About the staff any tips of what I could make it out of? I've talked to other people who cosplayed as Elk and looked at what other people had to say about his staff and they said it was very hard to make and took them awhile. To save the hassel of trying to get the costume done the day before the convention i'd like to get this costume finsihed as soon as possible. Any help and suggestions about Elk and how to go about making his staff and costume would be much appreciated. Thanks!
=D Cosplay,something i'm good at...(Timid Wavemaster,could you please PM,I need to talk to you ><)Hentai is nasty,but moving on...I have made alot of .hack costumes in my days(i'm 14)I can help =) So far,I have made a..
Balmung
Kite
Mimiru
A-20
Tsukasa
Elk
Bear
Black Rose
BT
Sora
Aura
Helba
Anyways,i've made all of the characters(I couldn't remember them all ><),but currently we are doing a Ragnarok Online cosplay,so if you need any help Winged Warrior,i'd be glad to help ya ~_^ I am the cosplay queen!
Balmung
Kite
Mimiru
A-20
Tsukasa
Elk
Bear
Black Rose
BT
Sora
Aura
Helba
Anyways,i've made all of the characters(I couldn't remember them all ><),but currently we are doing a Ragnarok Online cosplay,so if you need any help Winged Warrior,i'd be glad to help ya ~_^ I am the cosplay queen!
MahoNPC, you made a Balmung cosp-p...... You are the cosplay queen!Wahahaa... You could probably go about the same route with the foam that Sora mentioned. However, Asmaria and I did Tsukasa and Elk at a recent convention ourselves. The way we made the staves for the two were quite a bit different from that route.
Here's a pic of them, if you'd like to see:
http://www.dragonpalace.net/~vorfeed/ph ... tsuka2.jpg
Now, as I remember the details on the Tsukasa staff better than the Elk one, this is what we did:
1) The rod is a bulk fabric rod. We found it at a wholesale fabric warehouse when buying the materials for Tsukasa. n.n It's a very heavy duty plastic, colored black. However, when the weapon was finished, I did repaint the rod.
2) The base of the head of the staff is a styrofoam ring, wrapped with a hanger that was broken and twisted, then jammed into the rod, since it was hollow. To help stablize the ring for the creation process, a leather string was tied to it, run through the inside of the rod and tied off with a film canister, to make it taut, thus steadying the precarious core of the entire thing.
3) To create the basic shape, we wrapped newspaper and masking tape all over the core. Paper would be rolled to create an extension (such as the ring below the head or the protrusion from it) then taped down into place.
4) Next layer, fabric mache. Buy some cheap cotton or natural based heavy material. Not as heavy as canvas, though. That's too thick. You use the same mixture as you would paper mache`, except you use strips of fabric. This becomes much stronger than the paper counterpart.
5) ...but we didn't leave out the paper mache. Over the fabric mache, a layer of paper mache was made to cover the porous fabric of the fabric mache. Same basic mix with news paper.
6) I used craft acrylic paints on the headpiece. Simple enough.
7) The orb on it is a stryofoam ball. Painted with modge podge several times to seal the pores, then with red acrylic craft paints.
8) The orb is sewn into place through the mache` layers with a doll's needle and fishing line. These are really long, with the purpose of sewing through the head of the doll. Be careful, the layers are very thick and have broken these doll's needles before. Poor Asmaria... The fishing line is clear, thus making the illusion that it is 'hovering' in place. For Elk, the styrofoam core was much more narrow, thus allowing Asmaria to jab the orb of that one into place between the two ends.
9) Modge podge. Lots and lots of modge podge went into place on the headpiece. This would be sanded down and reapplied too. Tedious process. I didn't do it enough so mine has a bit of a 'paint texture' still.
10) Lessons learned while making these staves. Lesson 1- doll's needles will break towards you. No matter what. Be careful with this. 2- Modge podge is god. 3- patience. patience. patience. 4- Be careful when preparing an airbrush. The containers of paint can/will explode. 5- Finger paint is fun.
Good luck with the staff. I hope it turns out well. ^____^
Here's a pic of them, if you'd like to see:
http://www.dragonpalace.net/~vorfeed/ph ... tsuka2.jpg
Now, as I remember the details on the Tsukasa staff better than the Elk one, this is what we did:
1) The rod is a bulk fabric rod. We found it at a wholesale fabric warehouse when buying the materials for Tsukasa. n.n It's a very heavy duty plastic, colored black. However, when the weapon was finished, I did repaint the rod.
2) The base of the head of the staff is a styrofoam ring, wrapped with a hanger that was broken and twisted, then jammed into the rod, since it was hollow. To help stablize the ring for the creation process, a leather string was tied to it, run through the inside of the rod and tied off with a film canister, to make it taut, thus steadying the precarious core of the entire thing.
3) To create the basic shape, we wrapped newspaper and masking tape all over the core. Paper would be rolled to create an extension (such as the ring below the head or the protrusion from it) then taped down into place.
4) Next layer, fabric mache. Buy some cheap cotton or natural based heavy material. Not as heavy as canvas, though. That's too thick. You use the same mixture as you would paper mache`, except you use strips of fabric. This becomes much stronger than the paper counterpart.
5) ...but we didn't leave out the paper mache. Over the fabric mache, a layer of paper mache was made to cover the porous fabric of the fabric mache. Same basic mix with news paper.
6) I used craft acrylic paints on the headpiece. Simple enough.
7) The orb on it is a stryofoam ball. Painted with modge podge several times to seal the pores, then with red acrylic craft paints.
8) The orb is sewn into place through the mache` layers with a doll's needle and fishing line. These are really long, with the purpose of sewing through the head of the doll. Be careful, the layers are very thick and have broken these doll's needles before. Poor Asmaria... The fishing line is clear, thus making the illusion that it is 'hovering' in place. For Elk, the styrofoam core was much more narrow, thus allowing Asmaria to jab the orb of that one into place between the two ends.
9) Modge podge. Lots and lots of modge podge went into place on the headpiece. This would be sanded down and reapplied too. Tedious process. I didn't do it enough so mine has a bit of a 'paint texture' still.
10) Lessons learned while making these staves. Lesson 1- doll's needles will break towards you. No matter what. Be careful with this. 2- Modge podge is god. 3- patience. patience. patience. 4- Be careful when preparing an airbrush. The containers of paint can/will explode. 5- Finger paint is fun.
Good luck with the staff. I hope it turns out well. ^____^
Budget Zen: When you see something so stupid that your mind goes blank rather than try to rationalize it.