Tag: foam

Mystic Costume from the Dark Crystal

Mystic Costume by Breanna Cooke

I finally made a Mystic costume from the Dark Crystal! It’s been on my costume wish-list for a long time. There are still a lot of improvements to be made, but I got the costume to a wearable point just in time for the May Dallas Comic Con in 2015. Keep scrolling down to see my process photos.

Mystic Head

1 – Cut foam shapes from Poly Foam;
2 – Sculpted with razors and engraved lines with a soldering iron;
3 – Covered with tissue paper and spray glue;
4 – Brushed on liquid latex from BITY Mold Supply;
5 – Painted with airbrush and various acrylics. Glued on wig and hair segments.
6 – Done! Photo by Alan Tijerina Photography.

Mystic Costume by Breanna Cooke

Mystic Feet

1 – Pool noodles and pipe insulation carved with razors and utility knife;
2 – Covered with spray glue and white tissue paper;
3 – Brushed on liquid latex from BITY Mold Supply;
4 – Painted with airbrush and various acrylics.

Mystic by Breanna Cooke

Mystic Hands

1 – Poly foam and pipe insulation carved with razors and utility knife (hat tip to Courtney and Scotty at Zod Fabrication for sharing their raptor hand photos!);
2 – Covered with spray glue and white tissue paper;
3 – Brushed on liquid latex from BITY Mold Supply;
4 – Painted with airbrush and various acrylics.
5 – Attached to costume. My real hands are in the front hands. Photo by Alan Tijerina Photography.

Mystic Costume by Breanna Cooke

Mystic Body

1 – Poly foam pieces glued with Barge Cement. (I made paper templates before cutting each piece of foam);
2 – More poly foam (looks like an armadillo!). Tail made with a white bedsheet and stuffed with poly filling;
3 – Arms made with pool noodles;
4 – Arms covered with poly foam;
5 – Shirt made from two bedsheets and hand-sewn to fit;
6 – Final costume worn at #DallasFanExpo

Mystic Costume by Breanna Cooke

Mystic Armor

1 – EVA foam (anti-fatigue mat) for armor pieces. Shaped with heat gun. (I made paper templates before cutting each piece of foam);
2 – Traced each piece of armor in fabric;
3 – Glued fabric to EVA foam with spray glue;
4 – Glued pieces of tan fabric for details, painted with airbrush and various acrylics;
5 – Closeup of bracer;
6 – Final costume worn at #DallasFanExpo

Mystic Costume by Breanna Cooke




 

How To Make Maleficent Horns

Maleficent hornsNeed Maleficent horns ASAP for Halloween? Here’s how I made a headpiece, inspired by the 2014 movie version of Maleficent. I made these pretty quickly so the process isn’t documented as well as I would have liked, but hopefully you’ll find some useful tidbits!

You will need:

  • Craft foam
  • Electrical tape
  • Reticulated foam (upholstery foam or styrofoam could work too)
  • Black faux snakeskin or pleather fabric
  • Tin foil and duct tape (for the helmet template)
  • Utility knife
  • X-acto knife
  • Scissors
  • Contact cement
  • Paper and sharpie (for the helmet and horn template)

1. Make a helmet with craft foam.

I learned out to make this helmet from Evil Ted Smith’s Youtube tutorial. Watch his video to learn how to make a helmet template that fits your head. Instead of using thick EVA foam, I used craft foam for a more flexible headpiece. I was a bit rushed so the seams aren’t as smooth and rounded as they could be.

2. Draw a horn template, trace it onto reticulated foam, and carve it out.

BreannaCooke_MaleficentHorns_0009_mergedDraw a horn shape on paper. If you need a template, check out my Maleficent Horn Printable Template digital download. Cut the paper template out, then trace it onto a block of reticulated foam or upholstery foam. Remember to trace out the horn twice.

Then carve the horn out of the foam with a utility knife or with scissors. Make sure the blade is sharp. Compare your horns with each other to be sure you’re getting the right shape. You can find upholstery foam at most fabric stores. Reticulated foam is often used as padding in packaging so you might need to hunt around for some.

Horns made from upholstery foam being glued together with liquid latexIf your foam is not thick enough, glue two sheets together with rubber cement or liquid latex.

Use scissors or a box cutter to shape the horns Use scissors or a box cutter to shape the horns, as if you are whittling a piece of wood. As you work on the second horn, compare it to the first one to be sure they are the same shape.

3. Cover the horns with electrical tape.

BreannaCooke_MaleficentHorns_tapeI used electrical tape to create the horn ridges. Instead of wrapping the electrical tape around in a spiral, I cut each piece individually. Fold over the top edge of the tape to achieve the ridged effect. For a more realistic-looking horn, you can make the ridges with paper towels and liquid latex. Check out my demon horn tutorial over at Make Magazine that outlines those steps in detail.

4. Glue snakeskin fabric on the front of the headpiece.

BreannaCooke_MaleficentHorns_0001 copyUse contact cement to apply the fabric to the front and fold it under the front edge.

5. Glue horns on and cover the helmet with electrical tape.

BreannaCooke_MaleficentHorns_0008Glue the horns on with contact cement. To cover the rest of the helmet with tape, start at the base of the horns and weave your pieces of electrical tape around the helmet. I cut shorter pieces instead of trying to wrap long pieces all the way around. Continue to fold the top edge of the tape over to achieve ridges all the way down.

6. Go be fierce!

BCooke_DHB2014_0018

 

 

Need a Maleficent cloak and collar?

Breanna Cooke as Maleficent | Photo by Alan Tijerina

Check out my (very hastily made) cloak using a graduation gown as the base and craft foam with wire to make the collar. I’ve outlined the materials and steps here in this blog post.

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