#bmceileen

[brownmanticorecosplay]

"Oh, a hunter, are ya? And an outsider? What a mess you've been caught up in. And tonight, of all nights."

Bloodborne will always hold a special place in my heart, so it makes sense that Eileen was the first cosplay I made getting back into the hobby.

Cosplay: made by me.

Photographer: Velvet Flame Photography / All Things Lauren Studios

[brownmanticorecosplay]

Eileen WIP post 3 of 3

Weathering for this project was mostly grey or brown acrylics with fabric medium dabbed everywhere. I primarily used a bristle brush that I had cut short, because it really pushes the paint into the fabric and also applies it unevenly and rough.

My favorite piece of the costume is the mask. While she's a little uneven from the front, I think it came out really cool, especially for one of my first complicated foam prop pieces. I had to modify a pattern (can't remember who from at the moment, my notes are MIA) that I kept adding eva foam to until it was shaped how I wanted. Then I continued to build up with clay foam. I textured it with balled aluminum foil after it dried, using a heat gun to make it somewhat pliable again, which would have been a mistake for most projects because high heat does things to clay foam lol. I stabbed holes for the stitches in with a giant, blunt needle (darning needle, maybe?) and painted it with my air brush, first bone white, then with the brown shadows, followed by an oil wash. The stitches are little pieces of hemp twine.

For my first project back into cosplay, Eileen was probably Too Much. But I'm very proud of the results and really look forward to more photoshoots with her. I really want to haul her out to some ruins or an old church, though both are kinda a hard sell in our area haha.

[brownmanticorecosplay]

Eileen WIP post 2 of 3

Sewing was the biggest task for Eileen. I modified and drafted multiple patterns. The coat was a modified costume pattern that required a new collar, different pleats, additional seams, and whatever the heck the front panel with all the buttons is called. I used a zipper in the front to save me misery getting in and out of it, and it's a good thing I did; the coat is made from a wool mix (one of the only ones I ever saw at Joann's, RIP lol), and is lined in the upper half, making it incredibly heavy and hot to wear when combined with the rest of the cosplay. The fabric was darkened a bit using acrylic paint and fabric medium mixed in a lot of water and applied via spray bottle.

The "feather" cloak was made of many, MANY strips of linen, each cut with scissors and a sharp blade and then sanded along the new edges to make them worn looking, and then sewn in layers into the lower of the two shoulder pieces. The outer shoulder cover was made with a wool mix, while the inner one was made with several layers of a heavy poly mix for strength.

The spats were another adventure of tape patterning and sewing on a machine not capable of sewing leather. It somehow happened, though each of the buttons had to be sewn on by hand. I broke so many needles, and had to use pliers to accomplish most of it.

The hat was made using a tulip had pattern I found on Etsy. I made two hats to accomplish this, one with the basic tulip shape that would become the lining, which I then patterned the pointy outer hat on top of. No panel is the same but the hat is weirdly one of my favorite parts of this cosplay.

[brownmanticorecosplay]

Eileen WIP post 1 of 3

Eileen was a relatively simple cosplay for me as far as skills go, though some pieces gave me a grief. I had already started leather working and had some idea on how to pattern both bags and the belts, though I still need the correct tools for inserting rivets lol. I patterned the medical kit bag with fabric due both to the shape and the lighter appearance of the bag itself, while the square bag was patterned with cardstock due to the said square and structure. Both bags and the belts were dyed, heavily oiled and weathered using a tough metal bristle brush and a lot of flexing.

The Blades of Mercy were a whole other thing. My first attempt (seen here) was made of foam, clay foam and worbla, with magnets on the inner blades to allow the trick form. My prop skills were much weaker at this point and this prop, while having survived a few cons, are cracking where the blade meets the handle. The paint job also wasn't particularly good due to my paint not appreciating the weathering, for reasons I still don't really understand. I did make these a second time with a thing wooden inner piece, but I think if I made them again I would make them entirely of wood- something I can do now that I have more appropriate tools available.