#foam feathers

[impistry]

Trying out Rah-bop's foam feather method, and I have to say my first two tries didn't turn out too badly (need some more practice with it, but hey, foam is super cheap and I already had some laying about)

[shitredditrocks]

Nguzunguzu - Foam Feathers

"Foam Feathers" by Nguzunguzu

posted in r/futurebeats

[nerdstrings]

Ok wait really? Those feathers are made of craft foam?! They look way too perfect. I'm in the process of making my wings for Lucifer and I was going to use craft foam. Did you like coat them in something. It just doesn't look like foam. May I ask for a little help or at least what exactly I should use? I need help hahha.

(referenced post about my Cas wings – finished product here!) Yep, just plain old craft foam! I had tried coating them with a gloss finish spray for a little more highlight, but it just soaked in and didn’t make a significant difference, so I ditched that step. The keys for realism are feather shape, texture, and imperfections like notches.

Be warned, using foam was cheap, but very labor intensive. Cutting out and texturing each feather by hand was incredibly tedious. Give yourself more time than you think you’ll reasonably need to get it all done! I’ve been thinking about trying to make another set with a few of the learnings I got from that experience.

I’d try to find a slightly lighter base to build off of. I’m not sure yet what material will have the strength to keep the shape yet be lightweight without bouncing all over the place every time I move. What I used wasn’t uncomfortable – I just didn’t want to be quite so conscious of them all the time.

The floral stem wire I used on the primaries looked great as a feather shaft, but once I bumped into anything and got it bent or kinked, it was nigh impossible to straighten it back out properly. I need to find something stiff enough to keep them from being floppy, but definitely not wire.

The suspenders were a fantastic support system once they were on, but getting them on was a tremendous struggle, with the way I only had a small slit in the back of the coat I wore and needed to feed them through and sort of get the suspenders and coat on all at the same time. I might look into a backpack strap style next time.

Regarding the foam itself - you can paint foam if you’re willing to put in that effort. But I just went for all black foam to avoid that, and discovered that there’s a definite quality difference between the foam that comes in sheet packs (good) and bulk foam that comes in a roll (bad). The roll stuff was less expensive per square foot, but it was thinner and flimsier and didn’t hold the texture nearly as well as the sheets. I’ll shell out for the nicer stuff in the future.

The texturing was done with a thin metal tool, drawing/pressing/carving lines down both sides of the feather to simulate the barb texture. I tried using the end of a pen or pencil at first, but the plastic starts to melt with all the friction. A small flathead screwdriver might do a good job. Be prepared for arm fatigue and frequent breaks.

Overall, the wings were fun to make, but definitely an intense process! I recently got a Silhouette die-cutting machine, which I’m cautiously optimistic may be able to cut and score the foam. If that’s the case, and I can automate that texturing process, then I am so on board for making another set. Gotta have something fun to wear at NJCon in September! :D

Best of luck on your Lucifer wings! Maybe let me know how they turn out? :)

[nerdstrings]

Alright, I'm getting way too excited about this to keep it under wraps any longer. I've been working on a set of lovely black wings for my Castiel costume, and they're turning out kickass and I am so pumped.

The focus has been:

lightweight

cheap

easy to wear

The frames are built with wire wreath forms, and the feathers are made of craft foam and floral stem wire. I had no idea how I was going to actually wear them, though, until I found a big sturdy set of suspenders during my thrift store search today. The primary feathers are 18" long, and at least I have those out of the way, but I still have to make all the rest of the feathers that will get individually laid out and tacked on. I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

I plan on posting a full set of progress pics eventually, maybe a tutorial of sorts. Can't wait to wear them! :)