Tips for working with foam!
So for cosplay, one thing commonly used to make armor, weapons, etc. is foam sheets like these ones (usually find these at the hardware store)
or thin craft foam like these (easy to find at almost any craft store)
now i realize we talk about these a lot and that it’s pretty common knowledge to cosplayers around the world that this stuff is great but hey i figured i’d show you exactly what i’m talking about
ANYWAY here are some easy tricks that it took us a while to figure out when using foam for cosplay crafting
1) USE HEAT GUN! IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE!
(this one here is a regular craft one but you can also buy the ones that are more industrial power tools)
these are great for working with foam for a few reasons. first, they gently melt the top layer of the foam to make it less absorbent and less textured (it melts all the little teeny bubbles in the foam, making it smooth). this is important for if you want to paint your foam and/or make it look metallic. second, it also works great for bending foam and having it keep its shape. if you run your heat gun over it for a bit and then hold it in a specific shape until it cools down it will hold the new shape but still be malleable (this works especially well with regular thin craft foam; the thicker you go the more times you have to repeat the process to get it to stick.
2) GO CRAZY WITH THE POWER TOOLS
we’ve found it SUPER useful to use our bench grinder
and a handheld dremmel tool with a sanding tip like this
these are a great way to smooth edges and shape foam. box cutters and x-acto knives tend to leave a really rough edge so to clean that up you hit it with either of these to smooth it out and shape it (**or round edges**). the dremmel also was great for helping weather things by grinding and denting it.
3) PLASTI-DIP IS BEAUTIFUL!
this stuff works great to give your foam a smooth, hard surface. it makes the foam less squishy and gives it that authentic metallic texture. AND its a great way to prime pieces for the real paint (especially if you’re using colored foam).
edit: also this plasti dip stuff helps a lot to keep your pieces more resilient. this way when your wearing/using them, and you knock into something, it wont dent as easily.
And the great thing is all of these (excluding the bench grinder and besides a dremmel works just as well it’s just smaller) can be found at a local craft or hardware store no problem so enjoy your beautiful creations :)
4) PROTECTION You’ll definitely want to wear a respirator mask when working with any of these tools! Heating foam up with a heatgun liberates dangerous gases, sanding it will leave you with a buttload of dust that you definitely don’t want to have in your lungs, and Plasti Dip is pretty much the same when sprayed. I also really recommend to read Punished Props ebooks when working with foam, lots of useful tips in there too!
For the love of God never make the mistake I did either: if you’re working with plasti dip wear FULL LENGTH ELBOW GLOVES. this shit does NOT come off your skin easily. Regular latex gloves doesn’t cut it.
And never ever forget if you’re spraying for a helmet or head piece, put plastic bags on the inside so you don’t have this stuff touching your bare skin. Overspray happens. Take steps to prevent it.
I made halo helmets out of foam and plasti dip and forgot to protect the inside, even though I taped the outside of my visor, I didn’t get the inside and woof. Ruined forever by the bitch that’s overspray. Rip my odst helmet.
Plasti dip works awesomely, but just be careful!
