tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15867915323243294852024-02-08T11:26:01.483-08:00Ailurus CreationsCrafts and costumes for fun and profit! ... without the profit.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-64797469571472310942037-01-03T20:21:00.000-08:002013-10-17T09:48:53.855-07:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">Introduction:</span><br />
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Welcome to my little randomly updated project blogsite.<br />
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Costuming is sort of a hobby of mine and so Halloween is my official favorite holiday. I also enjoy conventions (though I've never had the time to do a proper costume for one, I'm hoping I will someday). Whenever I start brainstorming and working towards a new project, I like to jump online and web search to see if anyone else has done something similar to what I intend to accomplish. I pick brains and love viewing the tutorials other people have left behind. This is sort of my way of paying it forward ...<br />
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Here's to all the good ideas I've found from other people. And here's my trial-and-error method of recording what I accomplish.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Blog:</span><br />
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This site will update periodically, sporadically, and randomly. Basically, only when I'm working on a project or think I have an idea for a new one.<br />
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As for organization purposes, if I have a new project added to the compendium, I will list it in the prospective sidebar spot as such:<br />
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Project/Costume (linking to the label that will pull up every post that relates)<br />
- Project type<br />
- Source/Character Origin<br />
- Occasion/Year<br />
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I will try to remember to take photos as I work to supplement my description, though if you scroll down a bit you'll see this is very text-heavy. Although photos are helpful in showing the steps, there are certain details that will only be translated by word. I try to get progress shots as frequently as I can, but there are times where I'll get rolling and productive and it'll just go and be gone. The moment for photos will pass. Also, if I'm ever in a time crunch, I won't really be worried about pausing for a photo-op.<br />
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Anyway, thanks for checking out my little creative corner of the internet. Feel free to drop me a line or comment! I'm a busy girl (school, work, family, games!) but I'll respond as soon as I get a chance, I promise!<br />
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<a href="http://ailuroscreations.blogspot.com/2010/08/beginning.html"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-72154229503635317582013-10-17T14:43:00.002-07:002015-02-25T19:16:24.556-08:00Home is Where the Hearthstone isThis was a quick project I did as a housewarming present for someone. I was foolish and didn't get many (ie. any) shots of the process. There's also really only two shots of the final product.<br />
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I used binder paper to make a quick template of the spiral and pillow shape (which, given the pen I used, turned out to be a very <a href="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/renrandom/Events%20or%20Outings/Hearthstone/IMG_20130830_192501_436_zpsa2a37356.jpg" target="_blank">messy</a> endeavor). I used the same patchwork-style for applying the spiral to the outside of the stone as I did in my Companion Cube pillow. <br />
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The pillow is made out of a soft woolen fabric and the spiral is polar fleece. I liked it because it was smoky with the two shades of blue.<br />
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You can't see in my photos, but the pillow is actually about 1.5-2 inches thick. I cut a rectangle strip of fabric and ran it around the whole edge to give the pillow some depth as opposed to just being a front and back stuck together. If I can get my hands on a photo that shows that off, I'll add it up here later.<br />
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I made the swirl design go opposite directions on each side so that if the grey were transparent, you wouldn't see a conflicting design in the blue. When you flip the pillow over, the design curls the other way.<br />
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Whole project took about two hours. It was a very quick way to kill time, but I still like it.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-37844796420740261102013-08-23T23:26:00.000-07:002013-10-17T01:56:25.411-07:00Doctor Who Tardis Explosion ShoesI know it's been done before (time and time again; no pun intended) and I know I don't have the airbrushing or painting skills required to do true justice to the medium, but I was feeling like coloring on some shoes in the midst of reliving a Doctor Who marathon. This was just a little two-day project I decided to test out.<br />
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I bought some plain white canvas shoes at Target (I went cheap because this was my first attempt at this kind of project and didn't know how it would go) to use and did some sketching on a sheet of paper to get a feel for the size of my Tardis. I used a pencil to sketch the Tardis on the shoe and then used my yellow pen to start adding the base of the explosion. I knew I had to use the yellow first (else it would bleed with other colors and ruin my pen) and add layers of color as I went. It was weird because I'd never really colored like that before. Definitely a learning curve involved in this process for me.<br />
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Once I had the toes colored with yellow explosion, I outlined the Tardis.<br />
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The outline was probably optional, but I was having a hard time imagining the end result and I really wanted to see it in there, so I decided to just go ahead and do it. From there, I freehanded the swirls and just had fun with making loopy designs all around the shoes.<br />
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I had originally made the trim on the shoes yellow in hopes of it breaking up the darkness (and adding to the BLAM EXPLOSION effect) using the natural design effect in the style of the shoe. You'll notice in the final image up top that the trim is black. My coloring hand got a bit unstable a few times and I hit the trim with my blue pen in a terribly obvious place. =( Thus, black trim in the final result.</div>
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After I had my swirl base, I used another shade of yellow to outline and then add depth.</div>
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Then, because I got a little anticipatory for results (as with the Tardis outline), I colored in the toe of the shoe to get a feel for the way the explosion colors would stand out against the background.</div>
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You can see the layers being added in at this point. Oranges, yellows, all the various bright colors I had. It was all random and freehand from this point on. I tried to keep the design sporadic and unpredictable. Once I had all the explosion layers added in, I filled in the blue of the background and the designs on the heel and tongues (which I forgot to photograph in-progress). Once the blue was all in, I used dark purple, a little black, and some neon blue highlight over thinly colored patches to add depth to the backdrop. Overall, I had fun and I'm pretty proud of them. I don't care if they're not the best rendition of the Exploding Tardis, they're mine and I love them.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-16292251159925577682012-07-14T17:56:00.000-07:002015-02-25T19:27:50.550-08:00Banquet Table CenterpieceWithout going into the specifics of the Miss America Organization and all that it entails, my younger cousin competed at the state level for the Miss California's Outstanding Teen program. As part of her week long stay at the venue in Fresno, she was allotted half the space of a banquet table to decorate in some manner reflective of her hometown. The quaint little town of Grass Valley nestled in the foothills about an hour north of Sacramento happens to be where I also grew up, so I was pretty excited about the chance to craft a visual homage to the place where I spent most of my life.<br />
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For reference, the table was round with a diameter of 72". The display I crafted spanned about 60" in diameter because I had to leave about a foot from the edge of the display to the table for people to sit and eat if they chose. Somewhere there is a photo of my standing next to it. I should find that ... for scale reference. Hmmm.<br />
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NOTE: I apologize in advance for some terrible photo quality and blurry images. Poor lighting (working at night) and a less-than stellar photographing device (see: my cell phone) coupled with long hours of working that leads to shakey-hand-syndrome sort of came around to bite me with some of the pictures.<br />
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First, I figured the dimensions of the table and started from there. Originally, I was told she would be given one third of the table so I began working on a piece with those dimensions. First, I sketched out an idea (a very poor one, at that) with ideas for mountainous levels and cutesy miner-esque character. Once the physical labor began, everything changed, but at least I knew what I wanted it to feel like.<br />
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The main reason my design changed was because finding trees in that quantity (or the parts to make them in that quantity) turned out to be nigh impossible on a budget. Instead of focusing on the trees of the foothills, I opted instead to work on the hills instead.<br />
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To start, I made a base with a general layout of mountains:<br />
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I knew I wanted the flattest parts near the edge of the display to present the river and the train ... Nevada County is very rural. I used a weird amalgam of styrofoam bits to make the skeleton ... pretty hilarious, in my opinion, when you see it laid out and taped together. It was also a <a href="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/renrandom/Events%20or%20Outings/Miss%20CA%20Table%202012/IMG_01261_zpsc66d7ef2.jpg">very messy</a> process, hacking all that foam. For the record, the head figure was much cheaper than buying large balls of foam, hence the weird thing I dubbed Face Mountain.<br />
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From there, I began a layer of foam. Using the expanding insulating house foam in a can, I layered from bottom to top, piece at a time. Had to pause long enough to let the layers dry (made the mistake a few times of moving on too soon ... goopy mess), then keep layering until I had a full marshmallow mountain!<br />
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Using a standard serrated kitchen knife, I carved away and shaped the mountain into jagged and more rocky dimensions.<br />
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The following step got a bit messy ... first I added one layer of paint. Then once it dried, I used up the remainder of the paint to add sporadic darker spots here and there along the mountain form.<br />
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Once the paint was dried, I used spray glue in tiny patches and sprinkled sand over the top. I used two different colors of crafting sand to add depth.<br />
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The next step involved a bit more spray glue and bags of crafting moss (two colors again) placed carefully all over.<br />
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The additional pieces of the display didn't get tracked photographically (it was a long exhausting process and I forgot to take pictures of all the rest). The tracks for the mining carts were bought from a crafting hobby shop, along with the wheels and little plastic animal figurines. The carts themselves were constructed out of popsicle sticks and crafting wood, as was the raised platform for the tracks and the cavern entrances All sprayed with the same pain that was used on the mountain itself, actually. But the different texture and base color of the yielded different final results in color gradation, yet kept it all harmoniously earthy.<br />
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The train I bought from a store and made personalized business cards for my cousin to set up in one of the carts. All over the display itself and in both of the mining carts I placed gold nuggets. The nuggets were actually clear beach glass that I spray painted gold and sprinkled glitter over (two tones again, for depth and interest in catching the light). I like to think those tiny details add a lot to these sorts of projects.<br />
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The letters reading out "Nevada County" were bought from a craft store, painted, then glued to little dowel sticks which where then implanted in the foam. It worked out well, I think.<br />
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The river was made by putting blue paper down beneath the foam (so I had banks) and then I sprinkled bits of the gold glitter over it (there be gold in them thar waters!) and covered it with an aurora borealis style of cellophane plastic. I had lots of other ideas for the river (ranging from mosaic mirror pieces to actual craft kits for making water), but somehow this is just what I was able to pull off.<br />
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Mine cart near train detail:<br />
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Mine cart on cliff detail:<br />
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In both of the detail shots, you can't see any additional gold hidden in the mountain because I only laid those out once we got to the venue. Since they were loosely placed, it would have been very hard to transport without having most of them fly off in a car or in a driveway somewhere. If you look closely, you can see them in the final shot once we had it on the table.<br />
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The final touch on this project were the little easels on the left side of the display. Three of them, each holding up a photograph of my little cousin dressed out in a cute little plaid top, jeans, and boots, posing with some of the old mining equipment in the county. =)<br />
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The whole project took about three or four days to complete (lots of waiting for things to dry, mostly) and I'm quite pleased with it overall. =)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-85886864751306537222011-06-21T14:52:00.000-07:002013-10-17T01:56:12.850-07:00Companion Pillow<center>
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Gave myself a little day project about a week ago. Was on a kick after <i>finally</i> being able to play Portal 2 (had to wait until I was out of school, or else I <i>never</i> would have gotten <i>any</i> work done!). I'd been eyeing <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/index.shtml">ThinkGeek</a>'s Companion Cube <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/a9e0/">plushie</a> since forever ago (i.e. it's appearance on the site), but being the poor college student that I am, I'm unwilling to hand over the money at this point in time. Also, there's something way more satisfying about having a snuggly companion sprung from my own hands. <br />
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Using two sheets of legal printer paper, I created a 14x14 square base pattern to be the starting point for my project. Using two different sized plates in order to get perfect circles, I traced out the shapes on the paper and gave myself a lovely two-dimensional face of the cube. Then I traced out over and made little pattern pieces for each of the patch parts. Lots of math to get everything placed equally around the center, but nothing too hard. My English degree-in-progress is thankful. <br />
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The next day, I went to the store and picked up all the required materials from the local fabric store: fleece in a dark and light grey and in a baby pastel pink, light grey and pink thread, and some double-sided heat bond. I used the dark grey fleece to make two 14x14 squares, then used the other pattern pieces to cut out the patches to make the design work. The patches were ironed to the adhesive bond first, just to help the material hold it shape once I started sewing everything together. Starting with the pink, I stitched the heart to the center circle, then the lines to the dark grey base. One piece layered on top of the next until I had a little patchwork representation of the cube's face.<br />
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It was a quick stitch, simple patch form as opposed to doing the whole ... correct way of sewing with seams and all that. Who does that, really? Pshaw. And because I'm weird, I thought the back side of the cube face was really cool with all the stitching. It makes me happy.<br />
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Place the two grey sheets face to face, design on the inside, sew all the way around, leaving a gap on the bottom to turn it inside out (just a little bit bigger than the center light grey patch). Turn right-side out, cram full of squishy, bouncy polyester fiber fill, hand stitch the gap closed, and <i>viola</i>! My new snuggle pillow. =3<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-77670247980565229742010-11-14T23:15:00.000-08:002015-02-25T19:34:39.955-08:00Halloween Crashing!Having completed this year's costume, with a brief reference to my endeavors the year before, I now have the time to do a quick summary post on what exactly last year's project was. I'm excited to share this and make this blog look a little less lonely.<br />
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I had a pair of friends from work and we decided we all wanted to dress up together. I'd recently introduced said friends to <a href="http://www.castlecrashers.com/">Castle Crashers</a> and they were sort of on a high the way a little kid wants to play with a new toy all the time. "Let's be that!" <br />
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There were only three of us total, so we enlisted a fourth -- a new hire at work and new partner in crime to our little social group. There were many ideas on what we would do for the costume itself. We knew we couldn't wear masks at work; anything that obscures the face is not allowed. I did lots of sketches that involved a cutaway headpiece that we could finish up with makeup. If anyone is interested in seeing those, please speak up and I'll see if I can find them ... they got scrapped quickly due to lack of interest and the limit of comfort they'd have to wear all day. At best, I can explain it in further depth if someone wants to know about them.<br />
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Once I trashed the idea of a helmet, I decided that we should make the Castle Crashers our own. We were women and we'd rock those Crashers with our own special sexy appeal -- while remaining 100% clothed and not exposing skin (I'm so against the 'I'm sexy because it's a miniskirt and a crop top' costume; that's trashy .. I prefer classy!). I started some pencil sketches to try and figure out what we could do. After a few drafts, I finally came to a collection of designs I loaded up on the computer and colored quickly.<br />
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(I am not an artist, drawing/coloring is not my thing, I do it just to get visual ideas of what I plan to create; please be kind to my silly sketches!)<br />
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I presented my drawing to my cohorts and they were extremely pleased and stoked to get started on the process.<br />
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We decided that the first step would be wigs; we had to get wigs to match our fabrics to. We began shopping around online immediately. The <a href="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f76/renrandom2/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%20Crashing%2009/DSC05042.jpg">blue</a>, <a href="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f76/renrandom2/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%20Crashing%2009/DSC05043.jpg">green</a>, and <a href="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f76/renrandom2/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%20Crashing%2009/DSC05046.jpg">orange</a> were full fledged cosplay wigs we ordered from China or Japan (they came from different places). The <a href="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f76/renrandom2/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%20Crashing%2009/DSC05044.jpg">red</a> one was pretty standard and poorly made. It ended up getting scrapped in the final costume because she didn't want to wear it. She was a redhead anyway (as with the green-wig lovely lady and myself in blue) so it worked out fine. Naturally, once we got the wigs, we had to pose in a stereotypical manner as to honor their location of origin ... Yeah, maybe we're a little offensive. Shhh.</div>
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Once we had our wigs, we could shop for fabric!<br />
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In the meantime, while we'd been waiting for the wigs to arrive, we bounced around and window shopped until we found acceptable <a href="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f76/renrandom2/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%20Crashing%2009/0930090959b.jpg">footwear</a>. Yes, pricey. But they're reusable and quite comfortable. Worth it, we all agreed. <br />
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We had also done some window shopping at the fabric stores to find patterns. I can't find the patterns at the moment (last year's stuff got packed away and my lethargy dictates that I not destroy the storage space in order to try and find them), but after browsing around online I do believe we used variation A of this <a href="http://butterick.mccall.com/b5554-products-13447.php?page_id=155">B5554</a> pattern for our dresses. We altered the length for sexy purposes. For our waist cinches, we used <a href="http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m2337-products-698.php">M2337</a>, but ditched the laces in the front in favor of eye hooks in the back.<br />
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All that aside, there really isn't much to explain on these costumes. We fitted ourselves, sewed everything together, and rocked hard. But it was a very fun, social experience. I have a multitude of pictures of the in progress work, but I'll just make a handy list instead of bore you with <i>too much</i> rambling. They're in no particular order, just the way they got loaded in to my photobucket. Feel free to look at me and my friends being crazy, cracked out on energy drinks, and sewing like we belonged to a low-wage sweat shop. It was a good time, really.<br />
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Trying to style that horrid red wig was miserable. I was trying to sew, Megan did what she could for that terrible mop:.<br />
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The process for applying our crosses was also left to Megan and her beautiful OCD compulsions. Sometimes she had to enlist help though, for an extra set of hands. They were applied with iron on transfer material.<br />
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When the first dress was somewhat assembled, I took it for a test run. I was excited. We hadn't finished the seam up the back below the zipper just yet.<br />
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When we got another partway assembled (sans zipper), Megan took hers for a spin.<br />
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We bought ourselves grey turtlenecks and black leggings to go under the dresses. Also black opera-length gloves to substitute as our war gauntlets, but femininely! Completely covered, no bare skin, but it all ended up super sexy, I think. In case you can't tell, I was very, very excited with the way things were going.<br />
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And finally; ta da!<br />
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My <a href="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f76/renrandom2/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%20Crashing%2009/crashalotc01.jpg">original drawing</a> had to be recreated once we had it all together. My wig ended up in braids because that thing was just way too much hair to handle while at work. I'd planned on us all having lipstick to match our hair as well, but <i>someone</i> decided she wasn't going to play along with the rest of us. It ended up getting scrapped like, the night before. Oh well. Some people just don't like dressup as much as I do, I guess.<br />
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Other finished shots of us at work:<br />
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You may notice that some of us (namely myself) have bracelets on with bangles. We used Shrinky Dinks to create little charms for ourselves. Each one of us had all four of the main Crashers as seen in their <a href="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f76/renrandom2/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%20Crashing%2009/castle_crashers.jpg">default</a> and well known image. In between each one we each had our own collection of other charms. Mine included some of the little pets you can obtain. Some of the other girls wanted princesses on theirs, or the king himself. We each made our own so they were all a little different, but then we could show people who we were dressed up (sort of) as when they asked. I'll see if I can't get a picture of mine taken so you can see the detail; it's hanging in my car still. I'm quite proud of it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-65746519844995646622010-11-01T13:54:00.000-07:002013-10-21T09:02:19.841-07:00Finally<center>
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Night before Halloween, I did a makeup test run. I used a Ben Nye white foundation, highlighted my cheeks and lips with a light blue, and eyelined with black. My eye shadow was also blues. Unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of my face, so you'll just have to believe me that it looked alright. Whether or not it actually <i>did</i> look <i>alright</i> is another thing entirely. Remember, painting isn't my thing ...<br />
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Either way, Halloween was awesome. I ran around the town and got compliments from total strangers.<br />
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Everyone at work knew I was working on something which I had previously only described as "awesome" for my costume. Or "epic." And they knew I would be more than six feet tall with it all on. Needless to say, they were all seriously anticipating yesterday. And when I finally showed up, it blew people away.<br />
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I was spacing out by a wall, then realized my friends had started to migrate. I turned to follow and watched a customer jump. He then told me that he thought I was a display piece or something. I took that as a pretty huge compliment.<br />
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After work, we went to a diner for lunch. Then did makeup touchups at home and out to a few people's houses. They were crazy WoWnerds fresh off their BlizzCon high (to which I could not get tickets; extreme sadface). I heard more than a few times that I moved better in my hooves than anyone they saw at the Con. Also an awesome compliment. People were, through the day, generally shocked at how effortlessly I walk an extra eight inches taller without being able to use my heels. Super proud tidbit for me. Go go years of dance training! <br />
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I'm also surprised that now, the day after, my calves feel fine. I'm only as sore as if I'd done a lot of walking around all day -- which I did ... but with hooves ... hrm. =D<br />
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All in all, it was a good day and I'm super pleased with how it all came out. This, however, doesn't change the fact that I've already started talking with a friend of mine (a far more mechanically and constructionally inclined friend of mine) on how to improve ... my digi legs for next time will be even more epic, I'm sure. Squee!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-14033999437318423132010-11-01T13:29:00.000-07:002015-02-25T19:38:01.639-08:00Finishing Touches!; Tentacles, Tail, Hooves, HornsThings got a little hectic towards the end (personal life, etc.) but I <i>totally</i> finished things on time and I damn well better win the costume contest at work. That's what I have to say about that.<br />
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Since I had been working on my costume at a friend's house, the pieces were all at her place and inhibited my ability to do random bouts of work. I had to wait until going over to place before I could do anything; no more "I've got ten minutes to spare, I'll fix X or Y." This turned out okay because my friend is an awesome lady and she would go, "I'm bored. I'm going to add shinies and make this costume even more awesome without telling anyone." Then I'd come over and find components all complete for me and it was amazing. The only down side to this is I don't fully remember what happened, nor do I have pictures of the entire process anymore. <br />
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The aforelinked gloves I pinned and cut were sewn together for me one day. That's pretty standard, though. That meant that with my lovely white manicure (fake nails are bizarre), I could basically ignore my fingers for the purpose of Halloween. I didn't want to paint them and I didn't want gloves; too hot, too much restriction on tactile abilities. I made honest attempts at <a href="http://www.therpf.com/f24/doctor-who-blink-weeping-angel-costume-dialup-beware-49264/">this method</a> of skintight gloves before giving up and admitting that the night before Halloween was not a good time to try and solve this issue. <br />
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Once my horns dried, I spent a few days doing spray paint layers of flat white on them. Spray paint is fun, but a lengthy process. Lots of thin layers to keep it from drying all goopy everywhere, but in the end, it worked out dandy.<br />
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I bought some very light grey-ish blue paint to do detail work and high/lowlights on the horns ... then I realized that I'm miserable with paint. After vacillating for who knows how long on what to do, I ended up <a href="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f76/renrandom2/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%202010/IMAG0090.jpg">fingerpainting</a> acrylic with water. That's an interesting experience. I used a lightly damp sponge to get the horns every so slightly wet, had a little plate with water on it, squeezed out some of my paint, and used my fingers to smear it over the entire horn. I let the water disperse unevenly and it grooved itself around on the mache. I'll say now that the horns were the most difficult part for me to figure out how to handle and will definitely be improved upon in the future. <br />
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The lighting doesn't show too well, but with the grey smudged around, the horns didn't actually look too bad.<br />
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I set them up to dry and was surprised when I came over two days later to find that my gloss overcoat was already applied; seriously love that girl. It has little bits of iridescent glitter in it, to give them a nice ethereal sort of look. They passed just fine for the day. =3<br />
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I used a very thin headband that wraps all the way around the head -- the elastic kind. But the part that stretches over the actual head is rubbery, with teeth. It stays in very well. Unfortunately, the band is very thin and the horns wobble a bit when on. I then took a regular, thicker, solid plastic headband and attached it behind the thin flexible one, and to the horns as well. This added stability and worked well. (My original plan was just to use the wider band, but on top of the wig, it wouldn't sit properly; the wraparound band helped hold it down and in place.)<br />
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I used a scrap from the children's leggings (purple!) to cover the bands and make them look pretty. I used some of the shinies I bought to decorate, and called it good. Also, guess I should mention that I did this the morning of Halloween. After my shower, before putting on makeup, I decided to add the second headband (formerly was using only the thin one and letting the horns wobble; moved real slow, elegant, and gradually to compensate) and cover and bling. I regret nothing.<br />
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For my face tentacles, I did an on-the-fly sort of thing. I folded my fabric in long halves, letting me cut about ten inches in length out of them. Pinned them together, and just trimmed a very slender strip. Times four.<br />
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I then hand stitched one together quickly, handed them to my friend to invert (I fail at turning things right-side-out), and started sewing another. Rinse, repeat, until done.<br />
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Using the gold ribbon I trimmed my pant legs with, I made little loops and glued them on the tentacles. Once dressed, the tentacles were pinned in to my natural hair. My wig covered them and held them in place, giving the illusion that they came from close behind my ears.<br />
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Another piece my friend completed for me involved painting my tail rings gold. The same ribbon was also wrapped around the outside of the rings to tie it all together with subtle detail. I enjoyed it. <br />
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She helped me glue details on my boots and belt, and it was good to go! All in time, too!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-40145798397877657372010-10-27T13:44:00.001-07:002013-10-17T01:43:30.565-07:00Horns, Rings, Pants, Boots, Hooves, oh my!<div>
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I've been slacking on posting because most of my attention has been split between my time at work, keeping up with homework (midterm season), and trying to actually finish the costume ... heh. I've been working on it sporadically, simply trying to get pieces done whenever I could fit in the time. Things have become jumbled and I'm not longer limiting my working days to one piece at a time. Especially given the mechanics of some of these pieces ... needing to let things dry or set, etc. That gives me time to change gears and focus on something else.<br />
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The horns were covered with two layers of paiper mache. That was a fantastic, messy process. It was also hindered by a certain small wiener dog with his heart set on eating the floury paste -- even if it was already soaking strips of newspaper. I felt like a kid, I haven't done mache crafts since ... I don't know how long. But it was awesome. After the first layer dried (let to sit overnight), the second coat was applied then also let to dry. We threw together a quick little hammock to hang the horns on while they dried, since the mache was wrapped around all sides.<br />
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I took some of the leftover foam and constructed some rings to adorn my tail. They're bulky, but that's okay. It's sort of a cartoonish character anyway.<br />
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The less circular one fits at the base of the tail, where it "attaches" to my spine. It keeps the tail from falling to the side and laying limp once I'm wearing it, since the tail's construction leaves it narrow and prone to such flopping. These were also covered in paper and flourgoo and let dry.<br />
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The next day, I sanded the horns to get rid of as much obvious creasing from the mache as I could. It's not perfect, but I'm telling myself that horns are never perfectly smooth anyway ... I'm really just making excuses for my small failures in order to try and make myself believe it's okay. Once they were sanded, painting began. First, a layer of white spray paint. Layer upon layer until the newspaper articles were no longer visible. I'll be going to finalize this part later tonight.<br />
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The brown leggings I have for my pants were hacked at to make them shorter.<br />
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With the default length they had, they came down to barely a few inches above the cut of my boots. This was an accidental look and would have been an undesired length of exposed leg. Instead, I chopped them up good and short and plan to show off some "skin." Beautiful albino skin. >_> It's a good thing I like my legs, else this costume would be very uncomfortable to wear in public. <br />
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Using the excess from the base of my leggings, I pinned out the shape for some little gloves. They will be sewn together in to some thing, fingerless gauntlets. That way I'll have less skin to try and pale out (more than it already is).<br />
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To put some acceptable touches on my hooves (I won't call them totally finished because, ideally, I'd like to spend more time on making them just perfect with detail and whatnot ... but my current goal at the present is to get everything finished enough to be worn out ... so for now, the touches are merely satisfactory), my friend helped me sand the fiberglass smooth.<br />
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I then used a sharpie to draw out a general idea for where I wanted to have 'hoof' and where it would stop being 'fur.'<br />
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We then started using scraps of paper to make a pattern for where the black part would be.<br />
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For this, we bought tablecloth material ... the kind with a little bit of white foam on the underside, y'know? It was cheap and suits well enough. <br />
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Once that was adhered to the base of my hooves, we used pieces of the white fabric in an overlap of the black to create my little bit of ankle fur -- so scandalous! <br />
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In order to make my little 'boots,' I bought another pair of leggings -- this time from the children's department! They're sparkly, hah.<br />
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I cut the legs off as high up as I could, creating two tubes of fabric and one pair of purple underpants. I also removed the bedazzled cuff because it was A) too tight to be comfortable, and B) bedazzled. Inverting the leg pieces, so that the piece that normally encircles the thigh is closest to the ground, I stretched the tubes over the boots. Using more glue, the boot covers were adhered to the little white strip of 'fur' on my hoof. The (former ankle part of the legging) top is loose. The nature of the fabric lets me roll down the legging, put my foot in my shoe, zip the boot, then unroll the legging. I then can tuck in the excess fabric so that it hides inside the calf part of my boot. And, ta-da! Hooves fit for a draenei. The image is still rough. Since then, we've readjusted the fabrics and used a better adhesive. The first round was a bit ... fail.<br />
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Still using the purple children's leggings, I cut the center seam of the leftover waist. Now instead of superhero underpants, I had a tube. Trimming evenly, I created what I considered to be a wide enough belt to adorn over my leggings. Spandexy goodness of a belt, but it works, I think. For this reason, I bought the only pair of XL leggings in the children's department. Somewhere, some poor fat little girl is going without purple pants. I'm sorry, little girl, but they went to a good cause. Because I'm lazy and trying not to break out the sewing machine ever five minutes, the belt was attached to the pants with durable fabric glue, to create the illusion of a seamless change between garment pieces. I also put on my pants and had my friend glue a little decorative seam of ribbon to the end of the pant legs, giving them a finished look and saving m the hassle of trying to hem stretchy fabric - which I hate. (pictures to come)<br />
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I also took out the wig for a test run. My original plan was to curl it, thereby shortening the length it hangs and making it easier to deal with. However, I soon discovered that even with curls, it would drive me nuts. The wig is magic. It tangles itself without being touched. I don't want to know how much fun it would have wrapping around itself once the fibers were in a curly state. Instead, I plan to clip it up in a way that lets it stay straight (not going to lie, the idea of styling a wig terrifies me), gets it comfortably out of my face (I pranced around the house for at least an hour with it done up like this and never felt hindered or annoyed by it), and also manages to cover my neck tattoo (an issue that I always want to cover when I want my costumes to be somewhat accurate).<br />
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Huzzah!<br />
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Tonight I aim to complete painting on my horns, put together my gloves, perhaps adorn my garments with the little shinies I bought at the craft store (yey shinies!) and if I'm lucky, make my tentacles ... which is just weird. Tentacles ... -shudder-Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-70939352834136299892010-10-02T23:34:00.000-07:002013-10-17T01:43:07.032-07:00Horns - Day One!<span style="font-family: arial;">My work time was restricted for a while ... had to break for a surgery and recovery time, then started classes at the university. Let me tell you, THAT is a wake up call. Hello Quarter System, good by Breathing Time. Anyway. I've decided I've invested too much in this project to give up, so my goal to finish by Halloween still stands -- I'm just at a scramble and will be marathoning between homework (English Majors have lots of reading to do) and costuming. I've enlisted help for next week, so hopefully I get the hooves completed, the horns covered, and perhaps some pants ...<br /><br />I spent eleven hours doing homework today and was given a sign to stop. Kind of. My internet connect was on the fritz and put my research project for school at a dead halt. I took that as a sign. Clearly, I was supposed to go rewatch parts of Glee season one and make the horns I've been trying to figure out how to construct since I started this thing! So I did.<br /><br />I took some huge shipping foam boards from work a while back, thinking I might be able to make use of them for this particular aspect of the costume. So far, that's the only real up side to working in retail I've found. I handle freight and they don't care if I want to take their garbage home at the end of the day.<br /><br />First, I made myself a stencil on cardboard. I actually made this weeks ago, thinking maybe I could use it as a base somehow before tossing that idea entirely and resigning myself to trying to find another way. Using that stencil, I traced out. the flat general shape I wanted for my horns. I've always been a fan of the swept-back horn look they have. Not the straight upright ones or the giant curved ones. Those are too goat-ish. These are more feminine, to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />I used a serrated knife (shh; don't tell Mom!) to cut out the horn. When I was done with that, I had a flat base!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />The next step was to curve out the space where the horn will be against my head, otherwise they bow out at an odd angle over my ears. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">I plan on using a headband to attach them, so my curving is place specifically for that. Then it was time to start shaving down those right angle edges down! I did this to all four corners. Who's ever heard of a horn with corners like that? Pfft.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Now, shaving the edges down makes the horns veeeery thin. Also still rather flat. So using shavings and extra pieces of foam, I cut out pieces to start building on the flat sides of my original base, like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">It takes a while, because all of those corners must also be smoothed into a curve, then more pieces have to be added to fill the gaps and make the overall curvature smooth and natural and scaled properly ... blah blah blah. But with a little TLC, I ended up with a horn I was very proud of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />It ended up quite nicely rounded on both sides, I think; overall, one the inside by my head, and on the outside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />I felt the scale was nice too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Making the second horn using the same process yielded a construct that wasn't <i>quite</i> the same ... but close enough I think that once they are covered over, it won't be a problem. The differences are minor and I think they look pretty good yet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">That band was just a test run to see how they looked without my hands getting in the way. <br /><br />I think it's progress in the right direction! Can't wait to finish 'em. Especially after dreading them for so long!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-19165028413850662782010-08-27T17:45:00.000-07:002015-02-25T19:41:09.271-08:00Tail - Day One<div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;">Since I need helping hands to complete the hooves, I started working on something I could solo a few days ago ... my tail!<br /><br />I knew I had a handful of issues I wanted to address with making my tail. Namely, costume tail always look so limp! I didn't want that. I also didn't want a tail that was stuffed so tight it was stiff. Draenei tails have an awesome little sway to them with the wiggle-walk and I wanted to try and emulate it as best I could ... Days of brainstorming and talking through possible solutions with a buddy of mine, I created what I thought would be the perfect solution to meet my criteria. Of course, nothing is <i>perfect</i> but the result I've reached thus far is pretty pleasing to me anyway.<br /><br />I scrounged up some fabric left over from last year's Castle Crashers costumes and was fortunate to find ONE piece JUST big enough for me to cut a tail out of. After measuring from my tailbone to my knees and rounding up, I settled on a two-foot length (the original distance was something like 20-22 inches, but I knew the tail would hang in a slightly varied manner than my tape measure, so I rounded up to the nearest foot; besides, I'd rather have to make it shorter than wish I'd given myself more length!). <br /><br />Taping three pieces of printer paper together, I sketched out a rough idea of what the tail should look like. Draenei tails have a certain shape where they stretch horizontally from the butt before sloping down, and I wanted to try to get as close to this aspect as well ...<br /><br />My original sketch didn't look quite like what I wanted, so after a second one (holding the cut out pattern-paper up against where I would attach the tail and checking in a mirror), I was satisfied with the shape. Taping the pattern to the fabric, I was careful to align the fold where the backside of the tail was, thus eliminating the amount of seam visible on the top/back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />After the fabric was cut, I quickly stitched together (with the machine) the seams, leaving the "top" open where the tail would be attaching to my clothing/tailbone area. Then I pulled out a pair of old nylons, cut the leg off, and trimmed it down to be a similar shape/size to the tail I'd created.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Now, using <a href="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/renrandom/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%202010/DSC05693.jpg">Poly Pellets</a> bought from my local craft store, I began to stuff the pantyhose by means of a quick paper-rolled funnel stuck in the top opening. Rather than filling the entire stocking, I began to tie little "joints" every inch or so along the length of the nylon like so:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"> I continued this process until the leg was stuffed entirely and tied the end off to keep the pellets from falling out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b>Warning:</b> Poly Pellets being poured in to a box sounds an awful lot like food to curious kitties!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Next, I slipped the mini-spine chain in to the tail and spent a good length of time fighting it in without tearing any of the light fabric. The seam at the top and curve of the tail was considerably smaller than some of my packed vertebrae, but the nylon was stretchy and malleable full of beads, so it eventually all slid in to place. Even though the image of the chain shows very clear divides in between each packed section, that is not how it ultimately sits in the tail. With those gaps, the fabric caves in between and looks awkward, so I was forced to push each segment to sit directly on top of the next. However, since the pellets are sitting in individual pockets instead of in one very large lump, the tail still has life and flexibility, so it works just the same! I just had to add a few more segments at the top. My hand is blocking it in that last shot, but I also used the medical tape to pinch the ends of the wire from stretching too far apart and causing a problem once inside the tail itself. I, however, forgot to take a picture of that ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />From the curve to the top end of the tail (opening), it's one long pocket, rather than the vertebrae sections. This is because I wanted that piece to be solid so the tail would have the same sort of <a href="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/renrandom/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%202010/Capture.png">curve</a> the models' tails have. Even with one solid pocket, though, the tail was pulled immediately down by all its own weight and no amount of pellet packing could convince it otherwise.<br /><br />So I broke out the hack saw again ...<br /><br />And an old wire hanger. With the right bend, a little cutting, and a little tape later, I had a perfect arch to support my now hefty tail. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b>Note:</b> This method for stuffing the tail is <i>very</i> heavy, insofar as the prop itself is concerned. It will need to have a solid base to attach to, no frilly stretchy pants here!<br /><br />With a little medical tape to keep the cut edges of the wires from snagging all of my fabric, I contorted the wire to an appropriate shape for my tail. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Now it gets tricky. I carefully had to untie the knot I had placed at the end of my nylon and pinch the hanger in so it could sit in the center of the tail, as opposed to getting pushed aside by the lining inside. Once it was forced as far in to the opening as I could make it, I added extra pellets to stuff the base of the tail as full as I could possibly make it, then tied it off again to make sure I didn't end up with a(nother) mess all over my bedroom floor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />And, ta da! My very own draenei tail that won't fall instantly flat! I will have to be specific when I attach to, to ensure it doesn't fall to one side or the other (since the wire is narrowly aligned in the middle, and not an all-around solution), but I already have plans for this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Since taking those pictures, I have stitched the working portion of the tail closed, with quite a few back and forth passes with the machine, just to be sure. I also have used a little hand stitching to pass through the top of the tail and hold the wire in the center, then again on the bottom side -- all up near the once-opened end. It will be covered later anyway, so the sloppy stitches won't be a problem visually.<br /><br />Time to rest now. =3</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-90321943162682564722010-08-19T00:56:00.000-07:002015-02-25T19:42:07.738-08:00Feet! Cont.<span style="font-family: arial;">So it's been about a week and I realize this ... as mentioned earlier, this is an "as it evolves" type of journal. For the past week I've been doing a bit of work daily, but not enough to post it on its own.<br /><br />After having cemented the PVC to the base of my boot, I let the adhesive solidify then added a bit more every night until the gaps were completely filled in. Given the nature of the curve of each, there was a small amount of space where the PVC cap curved down and the sole of the shoe arched in the other direction. Thus, they did not adhere smoothly together. After letting it stick as well as I could, I dribbled a bit more in the next day, let it dry, added some more to the crack the next day, let it dry overnight ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />This was a long process, but I think now they're about as stuck as they could be.<br /><br />Once both booths were secure, I moved on to using fiberglass resin and cloth to do a "just in case" security layer to be doubly sure these boots won't fall apart when I'm walking around on them. Think of paper mache ... on steroids. It's also quite possibly my new favorite thing and I swear that's not the residual fume high talking!<br /><br />Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures at this stage, but all I really did was put a layer of the cloth all around the edges and up the arch of the boot for extra reinforcement. I have one boot outside still drying as of yet, so I can snap a shot before I take it to the next stage. For reference, I did a second layer after the first coat of fiberglass had dried. I'm a little paranoid though and I'm sure this may have been totally unnecessary. Oh well.<br /><br />After that, I got to move on to the design part of the feet. Hooves! Using cardboard, I guesstimated and hacked away until I got one well-sized piece that looked almost like a hoof. Holding against the boot that was dry, my friend helped me get the sizing right and use it as a stencil for the second. Once I had the basic shape cut out, I hacked a triangle out of the front and cut a piece to insert and bend the other direction to create my cloven little "toes," like so:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"> I used tape to hold the pieces together while it was all flat. Truth be told, I have <a href="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/renrandom/Events%20or%20Outings/Halloween%202010/IMAG0007.jpg">cereal</a> feet. The other hoof is made out of a Fruit Loops box. XD<br /><br />After we cardboard-sculpted an ample hoof, we used tape to curve it around the base of the shoe. I gave it a test run and must say, I'm pretty pleased so far. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">I realize that my template doesn't create a hoof quite as narrow, slender, sleek, or pointy as the draenei models in game have, but I think this will be easier to handle for walking. Too much extra "toe" length and I fear I'd be tripping over it and jabbing it in to the floor all the time.<br /><br />Using more of Mom's recycling, I made a base for my foot, taped it together and moved on to the next phase. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">The pieces don't join perfectly, but that's okay. I took the foot outside and used more of my favorite fiberglass resin and cloth to smooth over, seam it all together, and reinforce the hoof with ridiculous durability.<br /><br />That too is also drying. Now I have to wait for my friend to have enough free time to come over and help me attach the other hoof. It's been created, but couldn't be applied to the boot until after the PVC reinforcing fiberglass had dried.<br /><br />I will say this: if you plan on trying to use the fiberglass resin and cloth technique, I strongly suggest having another pair of hands available. That stuff is messy and very difficult to work with, especially solo. I attempted to do one of the boots on my own and ended up with the liquid hardener tube falling in my resin mix, my hand glued to the paintbrush, my other hand stuck to the boot, and ultimately, a still-wet-boot dropped in the dirt. I had to pull a poor tiny worm out (silk worm sized) of the chemical mix and I don't think he survived. =(</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-89905574545971025182010-08-12T02:49:00.000-07:002013-10-17T01:42:03.590-07:00Feet! - Day One<span style="font-family: arial;">After doing sufficient digging yesterday, I found an old pair to Steve Maddens in the garage that I hadn't used since my junior high years. I'm surprised they still fit, but not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I'm just happy I don't have to drop the money on a pair of cheap boots I'll be miserable wearing. Also, I'd feel kind of bad for the poor things if I took them home just to take a hacksaw to them. At least I know the boots I sacrificed today had a good life prior. They carried me through my odd phases of wanting to be trendy, but still being awkward in anything other than Converse (you may note the ridiculously thick heels), and also having a slight pull towards the punky-goth genre. Ah, youth.<br /><br />My friend came over to help me, which was incredibly useful. I don't think I could have taken these apart without her. Using a hacksaw, we slowly chipped away at the rubber heel. Mm, nothing like the smell of burning rubber in the morning!<br /><br />As we sawed, we were confounded by how quickly it became difficult. Our motto became, "When all else fails, cut it in half!" After dividing down the heel we realized that the rubber actually encased a much harder plastic heel base. Oh, Steve, you sneaky, sneaky man.<br /><br />One boot with the remnants of the semi-dismantled pair. You can see where the rubber was hollow to allow for the mini-heel inside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Here you see the tiny inner heel as we try to saw through it, and the clunky heel remains on the side:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"> The smaller, tougher heel was also screwed in to the sole, quite well, actually.<br /><br />This gives another view of that same little beast:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />After much sawing, breaking, and rubber shredding later ... viola! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">I have one funny looking boot. I also removed the buckle strap from the boot with a pair of awesome heavy duty scissors that don't back down against copper pennies, let alone old leather boots.<br /><br />At this point, I'm going to say that was the most difficult part of the project ... I don't think anything else could be as difficult as those couple <i>hours</i> we spent trying to break a nailed in, screwed on, welded piece of plastic without destroying the integrity of the boot/sole itself.<br /><br />After this, we headed to the local Lowe's to pick up supplies for the next step. We looked at blocks of wood first, but ultimately decided to go with PVC pipe. Kind of lazy, perhaps, but I lack the tools to shape wood and the pipes come pre-cut. It was just a matter of finding a size that fit on the base of the boot well enough for me to balance on. I got some weird looks, slipping in to a deformed, heel-less knee-high and standing one-legged on PVC pipe caps in the middle of the aisle. I think they were just jealous.<br /><br />We finally decided on a good size cap for the width of the base, but it wasn't quite the height I was looking for. Face it, a 5'4" draenei just isn't going to cut it. Looking through a few more bins, we found an insert that fit well inside the cap we had decided on, then headed over to the adhesive aisle to buy all sorts of PVC cement, sand paper, and a cheap paintbrush. Things are a little fuzzy here, as I'm not totally pleased with the process I did today and will be heading out within the next day or two to try to get a replacement.<br /><br />Here are the bits of PVC I brought home: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">We joined the inserts with the caps first and let them dry, then started the process of adhering the caps to the boots ...<br /><br />Hours later, they are still holding well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">I'm going to let them rest for the night, and then I'll be going out after work tomorrow to look in to buying some more heavy duty adhesive/putty to compensate for the opposing curves on the cap and boot soles. Then I will be applying fiberglass resin to reinforce further as well as blend the line from boot to PVC a bit.<br /><br />I'm already real excited.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1586791532324329485.post-87707354466778601302010-08-11T00:15:00.000-07:002013-10-17T01:35:39.091-07:00The Beginning<span style="font-family: arial;">All stories have beginnings. This is mine. Also, I'm a big fan of stumbling across a well-made costume and then finding the creator's blog of his/her experience making the costume. Brilliant, and so very helpful. Maybe someday someone will feel the same about this project of mine.<br /><br />At this point, I feel it is pertinent to mention that this will not be entirely linear. If you're looking for a straightforward tutorial that reads "This is my costume, this is how I did it" with a nice simple layout, you should probably continue to look elsewhere. This is a trial-by-error process for me and I will be experimenting with the project as I go. I may do one thing one day, then change it entirely a week later, and the only notation will be in the updates. I have a learning curve and I plan on using it over the next couple of months as I work.<br /><br />Halloween is inching closer (some people say I'm a little early, I feel like I'm jumping on this year rather late!) and I am preparing for my most ambitious costume yet. It's something I've wanted to make for years now, but have been too afraid, lacked confidence, or just too lazy (guilty) to actually do. But one trip to Lowe's, sixty dollars, and a destroyed pair of Steve Maddens later, and I'm pretty much committed!<br /><br />I will be a draenei this year and no one can stop me!<br /><br />I've scoured the internet for multiple methods of creating the digitgrade effect on the legs, and still have my own personal drawn up prototypes from years ago. Mashing many styles together, I've started a project that I'm real excited about.<br /><br />My initial hesitant for this year came from funding; I'm a poor college student with a heap of financial burden (family trouble; ugh) to sort through, so I don't quite have the budget I like for this project. Before I could give myself the official go-ahead with this undertaking, I did lots of shredding around the house. Digging through storage bins, turning the garage upside-down, pulling things out of closets that no one knew we even had ... I think I've found ample supplies here to complete my goal and keep the shopping to a minimum of some of the random things ... like PVC pipe and adhesives.<br /><br />My original idea was to reuse an old pirate costume from years ago, and simply make the prosthetic horns/tentacles/tail/feet. Figured it would be the most cost efficient way to go about this whole thing. I'd be a somewhat wenchy draenei, but a draenei nonetheless. With this in mind (though not entirely pleased with wearing a bulky shirt and floofy shirt on such a sleek character), I set out to plan for the rest ...<br /><br />I drew up a sketch of what my costume would look like using the old garments. As I mentioned earlier, I wasn't really thrilled with the piratey look.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Side note: the blue wig is also a reused piece, from my costume last year wherein I retrofitted the Castle Crashers armor style, made it girly, and dressed up with three of my friends as the sexiest, silliest Crashers ever! Instead of helmets, we used colored wigs because where we worked, helmets and masks aren't allowed ... also, crazy wigs are way too much fun. For the draenei, I will be curling and styling the wig in a new manner. I am so glad I shelled out the extra bucks for the expensive wig that doesn't melt with the right heat tools. (unfortunately, the straight hair was too much to handle at work, so I ended up braiding it to the sides, if it's curled and tied back properly, I hope to avoid this problem again)<br /><br />Back to the draenei.<br /><br />I believe this particular Wao race looks best with the legs being showcased. Doesn't necessarily have to be bare, but at least streamlined under the clothing. That's when I remembered my old pair of brown leggings from yet another costume years ago ...<br /><br />Thus led to this quick planning sketch. It's rough still and very possibly may change, but given the color of the pieces I had at home, I did a very quick wash over in Photoshop to give myself a visual of the scheme I was working with. I then wandered around in game for a while, looking at all the draenei NPCs I could find. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial;">ven the ones considered "simple" in their garments have such elaborate clothing (we're talking start zone included)! I guess I'm just one of the plain, poor, civilian draenei. I'll just go hang out in Lower Shatt ...<br /><br />Either way, I'm excited and feeling very ambitious. Here goes!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0