Tutorial: William T Spears' Death Scythe (moving version)
Heyo! I recently wrote this tutorial for the Cosplay Tutorial Challenge, and since part of the spirit of the challenge is actually posting and distributing the tutorial, I figured I'd link to it here in case anyone wants to cosplay Will in the future :)
Here is the link to my tutorial
Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions! Some of the parts are a little fiddly and hard to explain, so I'd be happy to walk anyone through any confusing parts
Additional rambling:
You'll notice I don't provide any close-ups of my own Death Scythe or provide any video examples. That's because, embarrassingly enough, my Death Scythe doesn't work.
Due to multiple constraints, I wasn't able to coat the EVA foam in Worbla, and thus the handles aren't durable enough to put any force on the dowel 💀 The grippers move if I wiggle the dowel a little, but alas, it doesn't work the way it's supposed to.
However! I am 100% sure my mechanical reasoning is sound. Not only do my individual parts move the way they're supposed to, I've made several working models out of paper, cardboard, and push pins. At least one video is floating around on this blog somewhere, believe it or not.
Anyway, figured I'd explain myself somewhere. Let me tell you, the Worbla coating is NOT optional. My poor Death Scythe is falling apart, and I'll need to remake it sooner rather than later
frieren staff speed build!! made in about 2 weeks. it’s not perfect and i’ll definitely be updating it in the future, but i’m satisfied for now. just glad i finished it in time to have a semi decent prop to carry this weekend!
i cut the base shape out of 5mm foam and then built up the shape with foam clay. molded the central ring around the red sphere in the middle (which is just a painted diy ornament) and attached it with wooden dowels. the fabric strip is cut from some cheap red fabric i had left over, with a foam bead i molded and painted gold at the end. the gemstone at the end is an extra crystal i had left after making the earrings!
so excited to finally wear the full costume this weekend at metro! i’ll be sure to share lots of photos here after the con but you can also find more on my instagram!
I’m pretty sure no one follows me on here, but just in case... I MADE A SIX FOOT ANIME SWORD FROM MY GUTS COSPLAY FROM BERSERK!! AND MADE A TUTORIAL ON HOW YOU CAN MAKE ONE TOO!!
because this is kind of blowing up my itty bitty instagram, im reposting this here! this is the umbra staff i made for @projectivepearl one of mt FAVORITE PEOPLE EVER!
Took a standard navy blue umbrella and sawed the hook off the end, then used some super stiff cardboard tubes + thick wire for the core + EVA foam rolled up for the new hook and covered it with Worbla which I also used for the end and scored with a knife for the wood grain look. Painted the umbrella with acrylics mixed with fabric medium (put that painful nod to Lup on the inside of the band that holds the umbrella closed), had a friend help me rewire the blue LED string that I just wrapped around the canvas supports. Top LED is an inexpensive screw on type and the top is hollow so you can remove the light entirely/change out the batteries.
i followed the umbrella painting tutorial here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxn40dVjGQM
slow mo video that shows it lit up on the inside is here - https://lostlegendaerie.tumblr.com/post/186736654851/video-of-my-umbra-staff-lit-up-full-post-here
Warning I have not printed this so might be errors in it Warning
Take my this blade with these words engraved on it. Also just gonna write this P on it with my blood.
I have a tutorial here on how I made Star Guardian Poppy’s hammer! This project was so much fun and I love to share my process with other cosplayers. Check out my YouTube for more tutorials, and subscribe if you like what I do!
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Hello! I'm planning on cosplaying a human Monomi soon and I wanted to have her magic wand as a prop, so I was wondering if you had any tips on how to make it? Thank you! ^.^
so! i can absolutely point you in a good direction for tutorials.
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basically, you can do two approaches– pvc pipe for the staff, or a wooden dowel. for either, make sure to get the appropriate paint that won’t chip off easily, and something to seal the paint/make it glossy looking!
you can either use foam, worbla, foam+worbla, clay, or styrofoam/tinfoil covered by clay for the additions! for the gems (the one in the center of the heart, the one between the wings and the one at the end of the staff) you can do stuff like resin casting or buy resin jewels at a craft store or etsy. for the wings, you can either use foam/worbla/clay, but you could also buy miniature wings from craft stores or etsy. (you could also make wings with feathers and such.)
also, you can either do flat yellow for the hearts/end parts, or you can do gold! also, never be afraid to add a glitter finish to these kinds of things. i don’t think i need to say too much about how to construct it with those tutorials added, but remember your glues.
hope that helps! if i missed something, or you have a more specific question after these tips, feel free to ask again!
Pod 042: Made mostly from pvc, cardboard, and wire for the arms. Rushed to finish him for LBCE so some fixes are needed mostly in the arms. The acrylic rod used flexes and my stand is not perfect so he leans a little but I'm overall pleased with how it turned out!
How I made him under the cut.
First, I started with a PVC skeleton which I added onto with cardboard. The main piece is a 4 connector, onto which I built the skeleton as an upside down T shape.
Center connector. This will be where Pod 042 attaches to the pole of the stand.
I covered the 4 sides with cardboard, cutting holes for where the arms and pole would attach.
(upper arm piece with the wood dowel screwed onto the pvc perpendicular.)
The arms attach to the body via pvc, but the arms themselves are wood dowel with wire forming the lower part of the arms.
(The arm together, with the wire drilled into the wood and covered with some ribbed plastic tubing I had. The piece on the top of the back is what keeps the wire held on.)
(Making the foam cover for the center)
I decided how much I wanted it to stick out and wrap around the middle piece, the folded it in half and cut out the shape of how it looks from the side.
I then taped it in place temporarily, folded over the front of it and marked that. Before you cut and glue, remember that a hole has to be cut so it can be attached to its stand.
Pieces on the shoulders are made with various sizes of cardboard tubes and foam, held in place raised from the main pole with foam spacers.
The small arms are attached with floral wire and were made out of spare bits of dowel and pvc, details added with cardboard and foam.
Completed construction of Pod 042. The fingers were made with 2 pieces of foam with wire in between to give them shape.
(Pod 042 with a coat of primer)
The stand was an experiment, it ended up being more difficult than we thought. I used a half inch clear acrylic rod, with a pvc stand. The stand uses another connector, it the top middle drilled out for the pole, which is screwed in. This was our first time working with acrylic. It was difficult to get the screw in straight at the bottom of the pole, even with a drill with a level light. This is probably the main contributor to the lean. The legs have foam board on the end of the feet to level it as the screw in the bottom is not flat. Currently he stands pretty well after a bit of trial and error, but still leans a bit.
(First attempts at the stand. Blind drill, no leveling on the feet, experimented with leg length. Pod 042 pretty unstable, really only stands ok facing one way. )
(Current attempt. Switched ends and drilled with a level light. First part of legs glued, second part which is removable has the feet with foam board to level them. Stands much better, much more stable.)
