My most popular and well known costume is likely the Alexstrasza costume I wore for Blizzcon 2010. I will go over how I created this costume in brief detail in this blog.
After much research, I decided I would use craft foam as the base for my armor. There are many ways to deal with craft foam for armor, the general method is to craft the armor, back it with glue and cheese cloth, then coat the front of it with layers of glue and paint. I, however, opted for coating it with just floral paint. Floral paint is a gift to cosplayers. It doesn't melt foam like most paint, works on almost anything, is flexible, and dries in SECONDS.
I used a basic red craft foam, 3mm thick, for my costume's armor, and used sparkly gold and a light purple for the details. I had to be very careful in choosing the base foam, because the floral paint can only lighten or darken it so much and any scratching easily reveals the base foam if there is not a protective overcoat.
The first part I built of my costume was the chestpiece, as I assumed it would be most difficult. I started by making practice shapes for the chestpiece out of paper and taping them together until I found a pattern that fit like I wanted it to. I then traced this pattern onto a piece of the red craft foam and cut it out. With the pattern cut out, I taped it together using painter's tape, as not to damage the foam:
I put the glue I was using, Modge Podge, all along the seams and then cut out the side pieces of the chestpiece and attached them with tape and glue:
I then removed the tape when they were done drying and gave the outside a few coats of the floral paint I had chosen. After that, I cut out the gold detail from the sparkly gold craft foam. Luckily, the gold craft foam had an adhesive on one side, so I just stuck the pieces on and put glue around the edges:
I then extended the bottom of the chestpiece using more gold craft foam:
I brought this extension around the sides and connected the seams using more glue, then checked the fit. After checking the fit, I was able to determine where to attach the velcro I was going to be using. I layered glue and cheese cloth all along the underside of the chestpiece, then attached the velcro and let it all dry.
I took similar steps with the bottom. First, cutting out the base red shape and then attaching the gold detail. Then, finally, layering the cheesecloth and glue:
For the bracers, I found the shape I wanted, then cut them out and rolled them. Instead of trying to put cheese cloth and glue all along the side of the bracers, I took long strips and put them along the seam, so it would be reinforced. I also used these glue and cheese cloth layers to attach the handguards to the bracers.
The leg plates were simple, the only difficulty being the decor. However, I relied heavily on tracing already cut parts, so I found little issue with them. I did not line these completely with glue and cheese cloth, as they would be taking much less wear and tear.
For the finishing armor touches, I had to create purple "gems." I had wanted to buy or make three dimensional gems, but found those were out of my price range. Thus, I took purple craft foam and layered coats of various finger nail polishes on it until the cut gem shapes were shiny:
For her golden claws, I simply rolled little triangles of the gold craft foam and glued them together with glue and cheese cloth scraps, then taped them with painters tape and let them sit:
Alexstrasza has quite large horns, but, luckily, I made smaller horns before and found that upholstery foam is the perfect material. I carved two horns out of upholstery foam using scissors, then ran them through with a heavy gauge wire and bent them into shape. I then used black floral paint to color them and added gold craft foam for the decor.
For the finishing touches, I bought a red wig from ebay, made her necklace, headpiece and horn decor, and crafted two shoulder pads and strung a wire and the cloak material I both between them. The wire fit perfectly under my necklace, so they seemed to be magically attached to my shoulders!
Here is what the nearly finished product looked like all laid out:
I finally relaxed with a nice surprise meal a guildie got the pizza man to bring me! YAY! Thanks, Unkempt! <3 Mmmm... pepperoni and jalapeno...
I then bought a pair of purple gloves and a pair of purple leggings, got some fake fangs, finished the details and tossed it all together (about three hours before Blizzcon started) to get:
:D
And that is how I made my Alexstrasza costume. Any questions?
Edit:
Oh, yes, and here's a special video of my guild at Blizzcon! Please note that those fangs give me a lisp... :'( I swear, I don't hiss so much normally!!!
On July 06 2011 09:57 Risen wrote: Side note: was this the costume that got disqualified at blizzcon for being a little too showy?
Wow, I really didn't want to be the first to say it, at the risk of sounding all prudish and stereotypically Irish, but I had this typed and sitting in the post box:
That brassiere is scandalous, young lady.
Could you not have dressed as someone wearing a nice corset, or perhaps a bustier?
On July 06 2011 09:57 Risen wrote: Nice to see how much effort goes into this kind of thing, I'd never be able to do this kind of thing.
Side note: was this the costume that got disqualified at blizzcon for being a little too showy?
No.
O.o;
The only restrictions on Blizzcon costumes are:
1) No exposed privates/breasts 2) Cannot be bigger than 7ft tall (so the Illidan who won should have been disqualified) 3) You can't be a sponsor or paid floor person (so the female monk who won should have been disqualified)
:/
Blizzard really doesn't enforce their own rules to the contest, so I wonder why they have some of them...
On July 06 2011 09:57 Risen wrote: Side note: was this the costume that got disqualified at blizzcon for being a little too showy?
Wow, I really didn't want to be the first to say it, at the risk of sounding all prudish and stereotypically Irish, but I had this typed and sitting in the post box:
That brassiere is scandalous, young lady.
Could you not have dressed as someone wearing a nice corset, or perhaps a bustier?
On July 06 2011 09:57 Risen wrote: Nice to see how much effort goes into this kind of thing, I'd never be able to do this kind of thing.
Side note: was this the costume that got disqualified at blizzcon for being a little too showy?
No.
O.o;
The only restrictions on Blizzcon costumes are:
1) No exposed privates/breasts 2) Cannot be bigger than 7ft tall (so the Illidan who won should have been disqualified) 3) You can't be a sponsor or paid floor person (so the female monk who won should have been disqualified)
:/
Blizzard really doesn't enforce their own rules to the contest, so I wonder why they have some of them...
So, what basically you're suggesting is that since rules 2 and 3 were broken, technically they might let rule 1 slide?
On July 06 2011 09:57 Risen wrote: Nice to see how much effort goes into this kind of thing, I'd never be able to do this kind of thing.
Side note: was this the costume that got disqualified at blizzcon for being a little too showy?
No.
O.o;
The only restrictions on Blizzcon costumes are:
1) No exposed privates/breasts 2) Cannot be bigger than 7ft tall (so the Illidan who won should have been disqualified) 3) You can't be a sponsor or paid floor person (so the female monk who won should have been disqualified)
:/
Blizzard really doesn't enforce their own rules to the contest, so I wonder why they have some of them...
So, what basically you're suggesting is that since rules 2 and 3 were broken, technically they might let rule 1 slide?
Looking forward to your costume next year!
EEP!
No, I'm not suggesting that at all! :'(
Actually, that isn't even a written rule, I just wrote it as an assumption! But all of my bits were covered! I promise!!!
On July 06 2011 09:57 Risen wrote: Nice to see how much effort goes into this kind of thing, I'd never be able to do this kind of thing.
Side note: was this the costume that got disqualified at blizzcon for being a little too showy?
No.
O.o;
The only restrictions on Blizzcon costumes are:
1) No exposed privates/breasts 2) Cannot be bigger than 7ft tall (so the Illidan who won should have been disqualified) 3) You can't be a sponsor or paid floor person (so the female monk who won should have been disqualified)
:/
Blizzard really doesn't enforce their own rules to the contest, so I wonder why they have some of them...
So, what basically you're suggesting is that since rules 2 and 3 were broken, technically they might let rule 1 slide?
Looking forward to your costume next year!
Bahahahaha. Spat out my water.
Also SirJolt that gif was fucking hilarious.
I haven't put a whole lot of effort into any costumes I've done. I've done easymode stuff before. I started on a project making my own set of scalemail armor and I could probably do a write up of that but I want to actually finish it first...
It's such an old project I don't remember the character I was trying to replicate. Rofl.
The costume is so revealing that the whole 'cute girl wearing very little' factor really detracts from any 'sweet costume' factor there may be. Is this something you'd like to avoid, or something you enjoy? Either way, the costume is very cool. ;P
EPT![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/2010-09-04104013.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/IMG_3315.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/IMG_3332.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/IMG_3333.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/2010-09-11045039.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/2010-09-16185726.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/2010-10-09153057.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/2010-10-09155327.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/2010-10-19160627.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/2010-09-16185742.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/2010-10-17190703.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/2010-10-19205320.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/IMG_3381.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/IMG_3432.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/Alexstrasza/alexstrasza_17.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ARc6Z.gif)
Pretty much perfect. Quality cosplay is so rare in the West
