Cosplay Tutorial - Tumblr Posts
About 2 weeks ago I made my mask for my Sango cosplay from Inuyasha and I've uploaded a video with a summary of how I made it.
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So hey guess what, you can just glue zippers into the seams of your foam pieces, it’s amazing. Full tutorial here
How to Sew Vinyl/Faux Leather with Minimal Crying
Faux leather, vinyl, and pvc (and faux fur) are some of my favorite materials to work with, but even with the right machine foot and needles you can still end up with, uh, this, when you try to top-stitch.
Nope, we don’t want that. Using just a basic machine, (I use a Brother LS-2125) an all-purpose needle, all-purpose thread, and an all-purpose foot, as well as a secret ingredient, nice clean stitches are possible! This is a quick tutorial for beginners without any fancy equipment.
Start by sewing your fabric right side to right side. (I’ve lined my material, but you can use this method for leather-to-leather as well) You’ll want to use a low tension, so the thread itself doesn’t stretch the fabric.
Always test a bit of scrap material before you start stitching, because each machine is a little different! Also use the widest stitch setting your machine has. This prevents excess perforation; the more perforated your faux leather or vinyl, the more likely it is to tear!
Turn your fabric inside out, and get ready to top-stitch! These kinds of materials are very difficult to iron, so you’ll have to use your fingers to smooth the edges as you’re sewing, rather than iron them. Ready for the secret ingredient?
A touch of Vaseline! With your finger, just touch the surface of your vaseline or petroleum jelly, then rub it down the edge of your material where the machine foot will pass over it. You don’t need much, so don’t make a mess!
That’s right, lube that sh*t up
Petroleum jelly is perfectly safe for vinyl and faux-leather, and I’ve found that it sort of disappears and doesn’t need to be wiped off, although you can use a damp sponge to remove any excess if you’d like. Just keep in mind that you shouldn’t touch other fabrics, which will absorb the vaseline, and you will need to clean your machine foot in the sink with a bit of dish-soap before you move on to another non-leather project. Other than that, congratulations! Your stitches (and you) are beautiful!
There are lots of other methods for working with faux-leather out there, as well as products specifically made for lubricating your machine foot to use over vinyl and pvc, but this has worked perfectly for me (in fact I didn’t cry at all this time!) and I hope it’ll help you make your leather dreams come true too!
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Feel free to add any other tips or information! ~Alina
Cheap DIY Silicone Caulking Mold and Plastic Casting Tutorial
Tutorial by: AngryPixie Cosplay Tutorial Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KEXc_yXSVU
Using Chrome Vinyl automobile wrap for Cosplay Armor
It’s called Chrome Vinyl, and it’s a metallic wrap used for automobiles.
There’s a cosplayer who’s already made a basic tutorial for what it is and how to use it here: http://calgarycosplay.deviantart.com/art/Cosplay-Metallics-SOLVED-FOREVER-464151191
…though she’s not the first one to figure it out. Chrome wrapping is actually a really popular method used in Asia for covering armored costumes, it just hasn’t really taken hold in western cosplay yet.
You can look up youtube tutorials for how to apply the vinyl (all the demonstrations will be on cars) to get you started.
To add to Calgary’s tutorial, I would say that if you buy a cheaper, no-brand-name vinyl wrap, it’s not going to give you the same results as buying a known brand of vinyl wrap. I have a sample of generic wrap I bought off of eBay, and then a sample of Avery chrome vinyl wrap, that’s advertised to have a nice bit of stretch to it, and the Avery definitely works better because the stretchiness helps go around those curves. Generic brands tend to be less stretchy, the adhesive less sticky, and more prone to dents and wrinkles when you apply heat. As with all things, you get what you pay for.
Generic
Avery
In addition, whether you’re using foam or worbla-coated foam, or wonderflex… it’s a good idea to stiffen it up a bit before applying the vinyl so that it can retain its shape. Applying heat to the vinyl helps it stick and stretch, and you don’t want the heat un-shaping the foam/worbla/wonderflex underneath. I find that using a few light coats of wood glue helps a considerable amount (don’t worry, you don’t need to go get yourself a gallon of epsilon or anything). At the same time, don’t use your most powerful heat gun when applying your vinyl. A hairdryer works fine, and the lighter heat will also contribute to keeping the shape of the foam/thermoplastic you’re wrapping.
And of course, the more time you put in, the better the results. Go slow, experiment on scraps first… if you’re using worbla or wonderflex, I do actually recommend smoothing it out a little bit first. Stretchier chrome vinyls will hug a little bit to the grooves of the rough exterior. For the smoothest possible finish, take that wood glue or wood filler or gesso to your worbla and just apply 2-3 coats to help even it out. Not as much as you would need to if you were painting it, but just enough to give the vinyl a helping hand.
If the adhesive seems to be losing its stickiness or just isn’t holding well enough (and you’d be learning this through your test scraps that I know you’re taking the time to do), I’ve been using contact cement.
You can find this and various other brands at Home Depot or Lowe’s, etc… I find that using contact cement also reduces air bubbles and creases, especially as you wrap the vinyl around the edges so you get a nice cleeeeean finish.
If you don’t know how to use contact cement, google is your friend.
Obviously armor has a lot of pieces, and the unfortunate bit about vinyl wrapping is that you have to do it with every individual piece BEFORE assembly, as opposed to painting, where you can assemble everything first and then paint.
The back of Kuvira’s armor has 10 pieces, and I need to wrap each of the ten plates before I can attach the plates. The inside tends not to look very pretty, but nobody’s looking there anyway.
Worbla scraps are GREAT for assembling those wrapped vinyl pieces btw.
…aaaaand that’s what I have to share about what I’ve learned in using chrome vinyl to make my shiny Kuvira armor! Look forward to pictures of the complete armor and cosplay, and hope this helps!
Sew LEDs Into Your Project
Tutorial by: audreyobscura Tutorial Link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Sew-LEDs-into-your-Project/
Really cool and fast way to cover foam!
How to Strap EVA Foam Armor
Tutorial by: wmarmory Tutorial Link: http://www.wmarmory.com/?p=1380
Pattern Cutting Tutorial: Basic Manual Grading and Resizing
Tutorial by: PatternCutter206 Tutorial Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvZXZsohj5U
Make your own Arkham Batman Cowl
In this Instructable you will learn the basic techniques to taking and batman, or batgirl cowl, and bringing it to real life for sculptures, and latex mask making.
Tutorial by: KyleofAsgard Tutorial Link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-your-own-Batman-Cowl-Part-1/
For those who are planning to start sewing their own cosplays this year this might be helpful: How to take measurements! Waist Front / Waist Back: http://www.sempstress.org/measurement/measuring-the-waist-frontback-waist/ How to Take Measurements: http://makinglatexclothing.com/2008/12/how-to-take-measurements/ Instructions for Taking Measurements: http://mangakaresource.weebly.com/1/post/2011/01/sewing-measurements.html
☽ Sailor Moon Cosplay Resource Guide ☾
Sorry for the radio silence this is a hectic time of the year for me. If you follow my blog you know I have a resource section where I share sites or resources I think are helpful.
For a few months now I’ve been compiling a pretty big list of Sailor Moon Resources. It’s gotten to the point where I consider is a pretty good index for anyone looking to cosplay from the series, and includes things like written/video tutorials, kits, and where to buy certain things. This is a LONG list with attached links, if you know of tutorials that I’ve left out feel free to add them and I’ll update as they are added. All content belongs to their respective op’s as listed. Hope they are helpful and good luck cosplaying! Resource guide can be found under the cut ☾
Keep reading
hello!! id really like to cosplay pink diamond from steven universe. the design is relatively simple but im completely stumped on how to go about the wig. i want it to be as voluminous as i can but im not sure how to execute jt. do you have any suggestions? ty in advance!!
Have you seen yarn tails? You use yarn to make a tail and brush it out with a cat brush to get the fibers to look like hair. The result is usually quite thick and fluffy. I think if you combined this method with a yarn wig, I think you could get that extreme volume/floof without the weight of a bunch of wefts.
I thought about an afro wig but I think it would give you the shape and volume but not the wispyness of the bangs and sides. Hmmm. Maybe you could look into the beehive hairstyle and create a similar base using foam inserts and teasing. Then style the hair around your base to get the nice floof. Or you could completely construct a base out of foam and add wefts over top, to give the illusion of floof!
Hope this gives you some inspiration!
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Is the hairline of your wig causing irritation? Sometimes wigs meant to have lots of volume will have highly teased hair at the hairline. If that teased hair tends to irritate you, this wig hack is life-changing. 🌟
If you want to paint yourself and your friends weird colors for Halloween season (OR if you’re a nerd who cosplays at every opportunity, or even when there aren’t opportunities because you’re obsessed with makeup like meeeee) I would like to reccomend airbrushing :D
Top photo is my airbrush kit which fits in a toiletry bag from ikea. It includes a mini compressor which you can get for about $40 on amazon.
I use a $20 Badger airbrush from Michaels. I honestly use it more often than my nicer double-action professional airbrush because ngl I get tired of cleaning that thing out. Paint doesn’t actually go through the Badger air gun at all so its easy to clean.
BEST of all, if you also make props or paint fabric for costumes, you can stop spending money on spray paint! Seriously, airbrushes are where it’s at.
THE KEY ITEM is the Badger to Master brand adapter! The most annoying thing about airbrushes is there’s no standard sizing and shapes for ANY brush item or accessory between brands. I got mine in a set from Amazon for about $9. This way you have the choice to use any compressor instead of the expensive air cans.
Anyone who’s tried to do white makeup knows how ANNOYING it is no matter what! Creme makeup has good coverage but it’s gross and gets everywhere no matter how much powder you use to set it! Airbrushing lets you get 100% coverage with water-based liquid body paint. I got the best results with two layers of white and two of Ben Nye final seal (a layer of sealer FIRST helps the color stick and adds a small amount of protective barrier from sweat/oil). The key is to get full coverage with the thinnest possible layers, it flakes off more easily the thicker the paint is applied. Diluting liquid makeup with sealer instead of water or mixing liquid helps too, I don’t have a brand preference and have Ben Nye and Mehron colors, and some more expensive alcohol-based brands for experiments.
Examples! My QT frans (and me, whatever lol) :3 I painted em and they did the rest of makeup and powder. Powder pigments for colors and shading seem to work best before paint is entirely dry, if it gets too dry for blush/shading/etc, I’ve had good results with a light spritz of sealer to make it tacky again. Riles glows in the dark because Mehron has glow body paint so I had to try it, NATURALLY! Also used pure glow pigment as ~gremlin blush~, TKB has it I want to buy it by the pound, lol LOOK AT THAT SPOOKY GLOW THO
OK hope that was informative enough, I’m trying not to make this twenty pages long ok? K.