Straight Impin: Masters of Nerdcraft

I am Smudge. I don't actually know what I'm doing.

[crowtoed]

I wore (most of, it was too hot for the wig and tiara) my Wonder Woman armor to Pride yesterday along with a banner/standard I made myself and a shield that I repurposed from another cosplay. The shield said “Protect and Support Trans People”. Usually I don’t go to Pride because of a lack of discussion or representation for the -BTQIA in the acronym and because I’m not a heavy drinker or partier. But this year I decided that after the election I should go and, if anything, be representation. I wanted to be visible and my message to be unmistakable. Dunno if I succeeded, but it was great seeing the smiles on young trans peoples’ faces! 

[kinginthenorthjonsnow]

Spot on 👌🏽

[chaylattes]

was Eleven for Halloween and got some great shots of my costume in the woods😊

happy halloween, stay away from clowns, and don’t forget to floss🎃

📷 ig: chasplaycosplay

[downencreativestudios]

Costume Build: Queen Ravenna / The Huntsman: Winter’s War

It has been a dream of mine to make ANYTHING from Snow White and the Huntsman, and when The Huntsman: Winter’s War was released, my friend Rachel of Yasemin Art asked me: “So, when are you going to make Ravenna?” I absolutely jumped for joy when she followed up with “I am making Freya, the Ice Queen”.. I mean, seriously, dreams do come true!!!

Also, you MUST check out Yasemin Art on facebook. Her Freya (The Ice Queen) is bananas!

COSTUME STATS:

Time to complete: Approximately 1 month

Materials: Crown: Paper, 3D Printed filigree, hot glue, gold leaf paint Finger Jewelry: Black Worbla, paint, misc chains Cape: Crepe fabric (for the base of the cape), two types of shiny gold lame fabric, hot glue, acrylic paint, super thick heat bond, metal wire, snaps Dress: Satin gold fabric, black cording, Thibra, Bobby Pins, Liquid Leaf paint from Plaid Wig: Ororo Classic in Ash Blonde from Arda Wigs

MAKING THE CROWN

I wanted the crown to be very light so I decided to make it using thick stock paper. I did a couple of renditions with photo paper, and then wound up just using black craft paper instead. The craft paper creases much more easily and didn’t tear as I was attempting to become an origami master!

When the primer was dry, I brushed on Liquid Leaf (Plaid). Two or three coats. So shiny!

MAKING THE FINGER SPIKES

Is that what they are called? I’m going to call them finger spikes. They turned out well and I would wear them all the time if I could! I used the rest of the bits of my black worbla (save your worbla scraps!!) I then airbrushed these beauties with black acrylic and then sealed them with modge podge for extra shine and durability. I also used chain remnants and stick-on embellishments from Michael’s to make these awesome props.

THE CAPE: feathers!!

This cape is probably the most beautiful thing I have ever made. It is also the hardest thing I’ve ever made simply because of the redundancy. I MADE OVER 2500 FABRIC FEATHERS.. and I thought I was going to die a few times, but I survived, and it is absolutely queen-esque and freaking glorious.

I don’t like using real feathers for my costumes for lots of reasons I won’t discuss here. But this cape could be done without using a single real feather. I did a ton of research in fabric stores and at home trying different techniques for making a realistic feather, and I finally found a good method. The down side though was that I would have to make every single one by hand, and it would be extremely time consuming.

This is a glimpse of the process: 1. Cut out feather from fabric 2. Place feathers face down on glass 3. Apply a thin line of hot glue down the middle of the feather 4. While still hot, turn the feather over and press/pinch the glue into the fabric. 5. Optional: While still stuck to the glass, paint the tips a darker color for texture and definition. 6. Use a utility knife blade to help remove the feather from the glass. 7. Repeat 2499 more times.

This is what 700 of them look like. And this is what I look like the morning after!

MAKING THE CAPE : fabric base

I knew that gluing thousands of feathers to a cape would become quite heavy after a while, so I found a very lightweight crepe fabric that worked extremely well. I used a Simplicity pattern for the base and then altered the shape around the shoulders so it would drape over the front of the shoulders like it does in the film.

MAKING THE CAPE : fabric base + feathers

I needed to figure out approximately how many feathers would be required to completely cover this cape, with extra for the collar, so I began gluing each feather individually to the cape, starting at the bottom and making my way up.

MAKING THE CAPE : the collar

I was really excited to make the collar because I found some awesome thick heat bond interfacing at JoAnns and I knew it was going to be perfect. I was also very excited to stop making feathers for a little while so I could focus on something else!

MAKING THE CAPE : back to feathers

I spent the better part of two and a half weeks making and attaching feathers to that cape……

OMG IT’S DONE!!!! I can hear angels singing.. it’s a miracle.

THE DRESS

I was so behind on the cape that I had little time to make that dress, and that meant I couldn’t make it screen accurate. Oh well. I’m good with it.. for now 🙂

THE FINISHED COSTUME: mirror, mirror, on the wall!

Check out more images and projects on: website: www.downencreativestudios.com facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downencreativestudios/

[qunaributts]

Cosplay Materials/Tools I Wish I’d Known About Forever Ago

Because I’m just getting this shit recently and it’s all amazing.

Hot Knife - Holy fucking shit it heats up and you can slice and dice anything you fucking want pretty much. And you can get a multitool version of it with interchangeable heads so you can fry different patterns on to your work how fuckin neato is that? (Cut away from you. Cut away from you. Cut away from you. Don’t be me. Don’t slice yourself with a sharp and also vERY HOT blade. Don’t do it. CUT AWAY FROM YOU).

Dremel - Hand sanding is for people with strong arms (not me) and the patience of saints (also not me). Sand shit down at the speed of FAST. Multiple tools can be attached to the spinning doo-hickey and you can cut and grind and buffer to your hearts content.

Paperclay - Forget wall spackle for filling cracks in props, just use fucking paperclay. Plaster can suck on an egg, put paperclay over your props and sand that shit down for a smooth as fuck and sturdy finish. Build little embellishments with it. Build pretty much fucking anything with it holy wow its great.

Dentists Tools - Listen you’re gonna need poking tools. You can either look through the junk drawer for a pencil or pen to poke things, or you can spend 5$ and get a set of sharp metal sticks that bend every which way and are amazeballs for getting in to the nooks and crannies of your costume. They’re so useful please get them.

Clear Plastic Storage Tubs - I know it sounds stupid but I used to store all my stuff in old shoe boxes (my mom buys a lot of shoes). Having big tubs you can SEE THROUGH is a fucking blessing. You dont have to go digging, you’ve got a place to put your shit, stuff is moderately more organized (lets face it we’re all going to be huge messes no matter what), and its easier to keep track of all your miscellaneous junk.

[geekstudio]

The day isn’t even over yet but this guy wins everything. Cosplay of the day for day two of Fan Expo: the Swedish Chef from Muppets!

He stayed in character the whole time and it was awesome!

[scandalousgaijin]

Check out that splash effect

Wondered how it was done?

There’s cosplay photographer  ゆっkeyさん

[kotaku]

[illbemyowndamnhero]

getting new cosplay stuff in the mail like

[straight-impin]

Awesome that sounds rad as fuck

Yeh! I'm pretty excited.

[layzemichelle]

Hello my sweets!!!!

I have so many new cosplays accumulated to do photoshoots that you guys can’t even imagine!! 💗

Sadly just when my photographer is back to duty, I have to travel for some personal reasons, but I promise that when I am back I will return with much love and beautiful pictures for you!!! ❤

Anyway, I’ll leave you with this wonderful picture of my Medli from Wind Waker !!!! 🐦🍃

I hope you like it, because it was really hard to make these wings !!! Maybe tomorrow will post a video of how I move myself with the wings!! 💖

By the way, my wings are totaly made with E.V.A and some bamboo skewers inside! ————————————————- Follow me guys! ♥ Facebook | Instagram | DeviantArt ♥   If you have questions about the costume of my Medli, ask here! ^^ You can tell everything in English I will answer you!  

[jollyhollya]

Improved Cinderella transformation, not completely finished, still need to put the Velcro on the waistcoat and attach it to the underskirt so it falls underneath, but so pleased with the new underskirt, it blends much better and it falls much smoother. Can’t wait to try it all on and have a practice run.

[commongayboy-deactivated2018082]

This gives me hope for humanity

[nudityandnerdery]

I know Spock Prime doesn’t want to betray his knowledge of the future too much, but I wonder if sometimes he can’t help but do things like go to the science department of the Federation, point out to the ocean, and say something like “You know what would look great here? Some whales.”

[sharkplatinum]

Aaand helmet is finished! Wooh everything is done and the con is still in two weeks!! I am so proud of this you have no ideaaaaaaa. I hope you like it as well and I can’t wait to cross path with many LoZ people! Thanks to all of those who encouraged me and kept on following my progresses since the beginning. Your support and appreciations really had been what helped me to keep on going!

Helmet is not standing fully straight on the last picture oops but I tried my best; not easy to put it up by myself but I will have helpers to fix this next time. xD Full body pictures soon enough after the con because I have nobody to take any for me for now. ;D

[fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment]

Make Shit

This is your Saturday pep talk.

Today’s topic is: Creating garbage. 

Producing bad work is always going to be better than producing nothing. The idea of making trash can twist something dark and nasty in the gut, but making garbage does not mean that you are garbage. You don’t have to get it right on the first try– and if you don’t try at all, you’re never going to get it right. 

Make your bad work. Burn it, smash it, bury it in the garden, abandon it when you hit a dead end, pack it away in a box labeled ‘practice’. Don’t worry about making it good yet, just make it. 

[the-golden-ghost]

I guess the trouble here is what if you don’t improve, what then? Then you just have poor work and a lot of wasted energy, don’t you?

[fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment]

I really (have to) believe that no effort is wasted, but you reminded me of an important point:

Make garbage that you enjoy. Have yourself a fantastic time making it. The idea of allowing yourself to make bad work is really to stop stressing and start playing. If it’s something that you love doing, then either a) you’ll improve just by doing and end up taking risks and doing more interesting things because ‘failure’ has been removed from the equation b) your work will always be garbage but you’ll be happy doing it. I wish more people did things that they loved but don’t have an immediate aptitude for. I wish I did more things that I suck at, unapologetically, because they make me happy. 

I think that we’ve been lead to believe that if we do not immediately show talent in a given area that we should quit. This shit kills me. I’ve lost count of the number of times that someone who is about to draw something in front of me apologizes for their lack of skill. If you ask a child if they can draw, usually they unselfconsciously bust out their crayons and draw you a sick giraffe. 

At what point were we taught that if we’re not good at something right away, we’ll always be bad at it? When were we taught so much shame for trying to do things that we enjoy but aren’t naturals at? 

 Improvement may be slow. Sometimes it goes in leaps and then horrible, soul-sucking plateaus. But people who dedicate themselves to trying, as far as I have seen, always get better. Even if it’s not by much, so what? I say make your garbage. Enjoy your garbage. If something makes you happy, it’s not a waste of time.

[cosplaying-on-a-budget]

Quick speed build of a Harley Quinn Hammer. I think I spent about 6-7 hour total on it. I was made completely of scraps and left over paints. 

I was inspired by this design by Mrpinski but I gave it a lot of my own design twists.

If anyone is wondering what the white gunk is on the hammer before I paint it, it’s toothpaste. I gunked it one  and then painted over it. The toothpaste acts ad a barrier and keeps the paint from sticking. I can wipe it off after the paint drys and it creates a chipped paint affect. To learn more about weathering techniques I recommend Volpin Props book.

Supplies and tools

X-axto knife, Heat gun, cutting mat, long ruler (I used a piece of wood), Hot glue

Eva foam, 2mm craft foam, tiny brackets to use as rivets and 3 plastic lids

1 inch x 3 feet would rod and dark wood stain

Worbla scraps, red and black leather scraps

Bright orange, burgundy, bright green, tan, dark brown, and black craft paint for the weathering and rust spots.

Plastidip, and Mat Red spray paint ( used a few other colors on the ends but I ended up painting over all of it with the craft paint)