Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm - Asuka's wig!

Wigs are defiantly something I would love to have more experience with. When I started out on cosplay I was actually terrified at the thought of even leaving a wig in the same room as a pair of scissors. All I had the guts to do was braiding, clipping in extensions and putting in hair ties.

Now one thing I have been starting to look at is what can I do to achieve certain hairstyles. I am not gonna lie, I still lack confidence to an extent with hair in general but I guess I just need to consider it with a similar mindset to working with fabrics. You just need to be careful to cut it in the right places for the right effect!

One thing I have learned over the years is that wigs are not usually ready to wear. In fact, there is a good chance you will need to give it a good trim and cut bangs as they are often around chin-length so they can be worn by different head shapes.


The base
I decided that Asuka would be a fun cosplay to put together and although the costume itself is still in the works, the wig is now done. I have ordered a 'Alex in Milkshake pink' wig from Coscraft. The bangs were cut and the sides were cut off just above the shoulders. The longer cut-off were kept to one side while I gave the wig a good spray for added volume and a slightly untidy look.


The extension
During the earlier stages, I just simply used a hair tie for the side ponytail to give me a better idea how the wig would look throughout the process. I felt that this made the wig look very flat but thankfully the cut-offs were the PERFECT length for the extension,

I looked online for various tutorials and read a large number of forum posts and decided to go for the caulking method. Sadly I don't have any process pictures but if you looks up 'Wig caulking' there will be a number of tutorials to help you out.

It is basically a process that allows you to make your own wefts. You carefully line your wig strands evenly on a line of masking tape and pop some watered-down decorator's caulk. I had made the mistake of using the type that does now clear but shush :P the hairclip covers it! I rolled them and sewed them together to create a chunk of hair.

The hairclip
This part was actually pretty simple. I began by getting some left over craft foam and shaped then cutting them into wings.I made 2 wings, 1 with the smaller part missing so they overlap and have more of a 3D feel. I took a artist license to this as the wings should have been straighter but I felt I would like to cover where the extension and clips are so thermoformed them to be rounder. I made a cup so the wefts could fit snuggly in it for extra security and scavenged a clip from a cheap child's hairpin to attach it to the rest of the wig! it is then painted white and varnished with PVA glue!

Rifles and swords! Transporting cosplay props.

It is a quiet Friday night. You have just finished gaming and nothing exciting is happening on Facebook when you suddenly get a hypercreative brainplosion when you realize you have some leftover cardboard tubes, a toy gun and some glue. The convention is not until like 6 months later but it would be nice to get that rifle out of the way before you advance onto the sewing.

Later on you have managed to get all of your costumes done so the last few weeks before the con is going to be a breeze…that is until you suddenly you realize that not everything will fit in the suitcase! Your clothes fit in fine, and the same with your costumes. You have managed to put your toiletries into your rucksack. It is just your rifle you are having trouble fitting. For starters, it is too big, and even if you can fit it in it would be far too delicate to stay in such cramped conditions.

Oh dear! You haven’t finished your driving lessons yet so that is a major no-no and none of your friends are willing to pay the extortionate parking fees so using a car is out of the question. It is a real shame as this would actually be the easiest option as you can go straight to the convention and just leave your stuff in the boot while you travel. You have decided to go by train. However, you have done such a fantastic job on your rifle to the point that it could stir up some panic if seen. Many cosplayers have come across this problem in the past, and there is always a huge number that will. It is a wonder that so many props make it to the convention in one piece.

If it is a staff or looks especially harmless (and not easily broken) you can just carry it by hand assuming you have light luggage. If this is not the case it would help to pop your prop in a bin liner. You can consider using bubble-wrap to give it extra protection. Sadly, you lose a hand to carry the rest of your luggage so either have a friend to help you can consider packing light to make the journey a pleasant one. Props that are sheathed onto your back can be carried the same as you would in costume as long as they would not interfere with you moving about.

If you are transporting something much bigger (like Halo armour for example), extremely fragile or a specifically styled wig then the practical option would be to put them into boxes. Smaller boxes can be put into suitcases so you get the best of both worlds of safety and convenience. It can be a good idea to play Tetris with parts of costumes and T-shirts to help cushion your work while at the same time free up space in your normal luggage. Alternatively, you can make them in a way you can collapse them so they would be much easier to manage. From experience, I have found that using a clear plastic bag (particularly the zipped ones where car parts are sold in) is really useful as not only you can make sure the props are intact, but it also shows other commuters that there are some fragile objects that they need to watch out for!

 

Things you might need to consider:

• How much walking do I need to do?
• How can I make carrying all my stuff more conformable?
• Can I handle all the weight throughout the whole time?
• How busy would public transport be?

No matter how well you transport your props and regardless if they survive or not there is also the issue of them breaking during the weekend. It would be helpful to bring super glue and extra repair supplies in case such accidents happen. As a last resort you can always ask a family member to give you a lift if you don’t live too far away.

Cosplay is certainly not without the odd bit of suffering, whether it is wearing high heels, needles jamming right into your foot and the odd uncomfortable journey but do not allow that to ruin your chances of having a good challenge. You’ll arrive and people will see all the work you have put into everything and you will forget the rage you had to endure. 

Please be aware of the rules the convention may hold for props and weapons. Chances are that there will be a size limit and materials will be taken into consideration, and such props may only be allowed for masquerades, competitions and certain photoshoots. Please read the rules before you begin making your weapons (SRS BSNS!!!)

Cosplay hacks! Masking/duct tape and cling film

Happy New Year guys!

I secretly had this tutorial prepared for you guys since Boxing day as I couldn't help but to want to start the New Year with new content. Thankfully I had most of this written already considering I have been nursing a hangover today.

The patten I made for Hikaru's bodice using this tutorial

I know it sounds odd but masking tape and cling film are pretty handy for certain cosplay techniques, especially if you are make form costumes such as non-stretch leotards and maybe even corsets. Here are some examples to how to make your costumes easier to make.

Sometimes normal pattens can be hard to come by or a deadline is getting close so you cannot even consider buying one so you will have to improvise. You come up with a draft but its not going to plan. It needs to be close fitting and it needs to be perfect. Try wrapping yourself in cling film! I know it does sound kinda awkward like some creepy BDSM practice but it is a very handy and accurate method getting patterns quickly. I am defiantly not a fan of maths and measuring tapes but I can reassure you that they are really easy and you can alter and reuse the patterns. Sadly I didnt have any photos of the process a few months back so Ill do my best to explain :'D Sorry guys! However I did manage to save the patten I managed to create using the method. 

These methods are really simple and the materials are as cheap as chips and easily found in many shops! You will need the following for all of them:

• Cling film
• Masking/duct tape
• Permanent marker
• Scissors (make sure they are thin!)

1) Pattern making

Say for example you want to make a bunny suit (a classic example for this method). Unlike most leotards they are often made out of a none-stretch fabric such as PVC in the cosplay world and they would often have complicated pattens if you were to go with the usual design. It can be possible to do this alone like I had to with my Hikaru cosplay but if you have a friend to help you it would be much easier.

1. To do this, you begin by wearing whatever underwear you plan to wear on the day (this is important as shapewear could alter your figure slightly). 
2. Wrap your torso with a few layers of cling film in the areas you wish to pattern on your body. Make sure you add a few inches as masking take can get annoying with contact to skin.
3. Repeat step 2 with masking tape.
4. Get your marker pen to mark where you would like to cut. Think about the best places to add the seams.
5. When you are happy with that, carefully cut yourself out along one of the marked seams. It feel likes you are removing a suit of armour at this point.
6. Cut the rest of the seams.
7. You should now have a patten! Draft it onto some spare fabric to make a mock first to ensure you are happy with the measurements. Don't forget to add seam allowance!

2) Making a cast

If you have a lot of complicated bits of thermoforming to do for some accessories but the heat would be a bit much and you may need somewhere safe to put them in between making them. 

Arms and legs are much easier to add clingfilm and tape on than torsos. You can easily do it yourself. Taking the arm for example:

1. Wrap your arm with cling film.
2. Repeat with duct tape/masking tape
3. Draw a line from one end of the arm to the other. This will act as a line to cut your arm free.
4. Once it is removed, get some additional tape and reconnect the cut to make a tube.
5. Carefully seal one of the ends but try not to distort the shape. 
6. Using any scraps you can fun (paper, fabric, even bits of tape) stuff the hell out of it!
7. Seal the other end.
8. DONE!

3) Duct tape dummy

Just imagine the steps above but it concerns the body from the neck down (or just your torso). I already have a second-hand mannequin so I never really had to take this step but I feel that is it very handy to know should you feel it is of use. If you have no access to a mannequin (they are pretty expensive) they are a much cheaper alternative and you can be sure to get the measurements right. The end result should resemble a shell-like bodysuit with stuffing.inside.

Due to my lack of experience and your safely, I will cover the basics but I'd suggest looking into researching proper ways to make these. You will need a friend or 2 for this so it will be a good laugh! Be sure to use the bathroom first as the process may take a while.

1. Get some old clothes that covers every inch of your body. Painter's coveralls are ideal and really cheap. Please note whatever clothing you wear will get destroyed in the process so old and unwanted clothes wiil work best.
2. Cut the tape into short strips! Make sure it is heavy duty tape. Begin at the torso around the stomach.
3. Make your way around the body and keep going.
4. Once you are done use a marker to mark out any costume construction details.
5. Carefully get cut out and use some additional tape to repair the cuts.
6. Stuff the turkey!

Sticky fabrics are hard to work with! HELP!

Today I wish to share some simple tricks while working with sticky fabrics.

Some fabrics such as leatherette and vinyl can be quite challenging to sew through with a machine as they tend to have a slightly sticky surface. As a result they may now flow through the machine as well as cotton would. There are ways around this.

Before you start you may want to ensure that you have suitable sewing needles. Your usual ones may not be strong enough to pass such materials with ease and may result in a number of skipped stitches and worn out needles. Sadly vinyls and pleathers are not able to heal once punctured but thankfully there are needles that are designed for such projects and are widely available. Denim and Leather needles work fine. 

One way to reduce friction is by using a Teflon foot. They basically replace your usual metal foot and work the same way. They are pretty cheap and easy to access. Highly recommended that if you plan to work with a lot of such materials.

Alternatively, you can separate the foot and the fabric with a layer of tissue paper. You can reduce wastage by cutting it into strips and you can simply tear the paper off without disrupting the stitching.

My method when I worked on the belt for my Suzaku belt is simply covering it with talcum power. Most households will have it and can be accessed quickly but it may cause a bit of a mess so you best be prepared to bring towels and clean the machine and the sewing area when you are done. I just simply got a wet cloth and washed it off when I was done. Sadly not all fabrics are suitable for washing so be careful!

While on topic I wish to address that while cutting and patterning these fabrics it is not advisable to use pins on areas that will eventually be shown on the costume. I try to use objects nearby to weigh them down. From experience PVC in particular grips to quite well when cutting with the reverse sides facing outside. Rotary cutters tend to be better than scissors when it comes to straight lines. Be sure to use a large cutting board and a ruler.

Deadman Wonderland-Collar tutorial

Please click to enlarge :D 

EDIT

Agh! Its Transparent! Right click and open in new window to view details XD

I have made this tutorial back in 2012 for my Deviantart page. There has been a number of people planning to cosplay from the series and unsure where to start with the collar so I made a tutorial. It has proven very popular in the community and hopefully it will also help others around here too!

I had to make one for a friend so I made a tutorial while making the second one. I gave it to her before I could photograph the final step so the last 2 were from my own. Mine was made in a bit of a rush so its not quiiite as neat and has been worn a few times.

Just a quick work of warning, some glues make polystyrene melt so you might wanna test a little bit on some scrap first. Uhu glue is one of them as I found out 0_0 I have used Loctite super glue for both and it works a treat!

Feel free to use and send to friends ^^ Let me know if you are gonna put it online somewhere.

BONUS

I have also made my own Cast Cards ^^ Drawn on Adobe Illustrator and mounted on card :D So proud!

Hikaru's headset!

For my blog I wish to talk about my experiences in costume making and attending conventions. For my first post I wish to share the progress of one of the funnest, challenging and exciting costumes I have ever made!

Back when I was in school I have began to watch an anime called Angelic Layer. Sadly it was before I have discovered MyAnimeList considering I have only gotten into anime at the time I sort of lost track where I was and didnt get the time to get back to it. Funny enough, my local anime society shown the entire anime a year ago and reminded me why I enjoyed it back then. In fact I enjoyed it more as an adult than I did when I was a teenager. My love of the series drove me to cosplay the doll the lead character, Misaki, had created.

I love working with spandex and stretch fabrics so thats some guarantee that I will enjoy making some parts of it but it is also required for me to learn to use Worbla (a thermoplastic that is manipulated by heat) and PVC if I wanted to do a good job of the costume. For this post I will just talk about the headset.

Yaaaaay selfie time!

The first step was research! It seems that Worbla would be really promising for this so I just jumped on the bandwagon as its a really popular material at the moment! I brought a large sheet on CosCraft and while waiting for it I made a simple paper pattern. I have also got myself a cheap headband to make sure it keeps it's structure!

Once I was happy with the design I have drafted the pattern onto the Worbla and used some simple scissors to cut it out. When heated not only does it start taking shape, but one of the sides gets sticky so you can layer it. Due to the bold colours, I just shaped everything for now and painted it all before glueing it together. There is also some craft foam sandwiched in to add a little thickness in some places. Like Worbla, craft foam can be thermoformed.

I found that acrylic paint works by far the best on Worbla. The white was painted used some wallpaper paint as I couldnt find any >< turned out ghetto but thankfully the worst of it was covered by the lush red layers X'D hehehe

I have used 3 different kinds of glue:

• Poundland super-glue-Agh! Hate using that stuff as it clings to my fingers for days but it does the job well.
• PVA glue-Perfect for varnishing!
• Uhu glue-Does not work as fast as super glue and gets stringy but if used right the stuff is excellent.

I have also got some Loctite glue on hand for emergency repairs. My favourite glue as it can be used for alot of things and thanks to the nozzle I can use it without worrying about making a mess.

Feel free to use this as a simple guide!