Hello I'm a resident of San Jose, and I had a cool idea, not necessarily one that I can put into action but an idea I want to see done somehow. To somehow get a lot of people together and hold a Costume, prop, market kind of thing. A Cosplay Swap meet if you will. Where one day (maybe during October since it is prime costume month) People that have costumes, costume parts, props, extra materials (like extra mold making supplies/cloth/etc), partially finished costumes/props that may never get done by themselves can shop, trade, sell to each other and the general public. Maybe even include people that are looking for costume commissions for an upcoming event/con/halloween thing (if they can build something in that limited time span). I don't have the resources or connections but maybe people know people or maybe get enough people to mob build this. A Place to do it at (A mall parking lot?) enough builders/sellers/traders to come, Security since we may be working with a lot of money and merchandise, and have to follow "weapon" laws, Advertisements? Who knows it may actually take off, but it needs a lot of help.
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Meetings, Gatherings, and Get Togethers / A Seed of an Idea that should Grow, Cosplay Swap meet?
June 16, 2013, 07:11:34 PM #2
Cosplay! Construction, Tips, Gatherings, Advice / Help me thread on Armored Cosplay and Prop construction with wall of text Intro!
June 10, 2013, 01:16:19 AM
Hello to everyone interested in armored and prop cosplay construction! This will be a thread devoted to a basic introductory into making armored cosplay and props, as well as a help me thread for people with specific questions to anyone who has experience in making armored cosplay and props. I will answer questions and give tips to the best of my knowledge but it is a thread that is open entirely to everyone to both ask and answer questions!
Below is a introductory into armored cosplay and prop building, but if you are here to ask for specific kinds of things then ignore the wall of text below and post your questions to the community.
What is Pepakura?
Pepakura is a great free downloadable program that converts a lot of 3D models people have created into a paper craft form. This lets people print them out onto 110 lb Cardstock and construct the in real life paper version of the model.
link to the website http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/
Below is a great thread started by Dagger-6 about the Pepakura panels they hosted this year at Fanime they have a great power point uploaded on introductory info into Pepakura armoring.
Forum Thread-http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,18135.0.html-
PowerPoint- https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzlylpxwrses7ki/PepakuraWeb.pptx
The members of the 405th.com are halo costumers that have a great library of how to Pepakura tutorials that can be applied to anything, not just Halo, and this is where I got my start.
http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion
What is EVA foam and how do I use it for my cosplay?
EVA foam is an affordable way of sourcing thick and pretty durable foam for cosplay. It is great for scratch building or it is also possible to modify Pepakura templates into foam friendly templates. I have purchased EVA foam from Wal-Mart as Gym floor mat foam in their gym section, another place I have found them is from Harbor Freight Tools. Another thing to take note of is Craft foam is another great foam source for thinner foam that can be used for detail work like very slightly raised patterns. Craft foam can be found at Michaels.
Another great resource into the introduction of this way of building costumes is The Hero Tutorials by Stealth
-http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCOPUfMhXjM-77ImDo18Lx7oyc1Q3A-Tz
here is another quick tutorial video for scratch building armor- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb6CXGortrQ
Where can I get files for my Pepakura software?
You can Google a lot of the files you need, but if you can't find something after a while, either request a modeler to help you or you may need to scratch build it with your own templates either drawn on paper or if you're advanced enough to model it yourself than do that and use Pepakura to help you unfold it.
Here are sites I've used to find Pepakura templates as well as sites with a lot more information on armor building.
-Halo related -http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion
-An assortment of files can be found here as well as threads on many different costume and prop builds from all forms of media- http://www.therpf.com/
What If I want to cosplay a mech like a Gundam?
I have not done a giant mech cosplay, and although I have ideas, I am no expert. However I have found this basics guide for you.
http://www.therpf.com/f24/general-gundam-mecha-cosplay-tutorial-160555/
How much will a Full armored cosplay cost?
It is very dependent on the materials you are going to use as well as how elaborate the character is and how far you want to take the cosplay. The minimum for a fully armored character will be at least $100, and this is excluding the tools you may or may not have. Partially armored characters can be done cheaper and single armored pieces can be done very cheap.
What are some extra tools and materials that I may need but may not have at home?
-Reference pictures- for obvious reasons. Do copious amounts of research into what your character looks like!
-Sand paper of varying grits
-A power sander is great for Pepakura builds that use a lot of bondo or plastic that takes a long time to sand by hand.
-A rotary tool (Dremels are my favorite) with varying attachments like sanding wheels and cutting wheels for smaller detailing work.
-A Dual temp Hot glue gun, if you are gluing Pepakura templates a lower temp hot glue gun is fine but for foam work, the high temp is great so getting a dual temp gives you the best of both worlds. I bought the glue gun that takes the giant sized glue sticks because you will go through A LOT of glue sticks.
- A Heat Gun is basically a Hair Dryer on steroids. It makes heating Foam to allow you to bend it to shape a lot easier, and it can help fix hardened Pepakura files or plastic models that have warped by the same principle.
-A Lot of Knives, like more than the Joker can carry because if you are cutting foam those knives will dull very quickly and you either sharpen them or you carry multiple ones to swap out to if you don't want to stall your build to sharpen knives.
-Exacto knives are hobby knives that will help you cut out Pepakura templates, a fine tip is all you need.
-packs of disposable latex/nitrile gloves- because safety and cleanliness =)!
-Organic respirator- if you are working with fiberglass resin and bondo this is a must for your health!
-filter masks- you don't want to breath in that sanding dust.
-safety glasses- if you are cutting/sanding things at high speed with your face nearby, best to keep your eyes safe!
-Soldering Iron and solder- for cosplays that need to wire lights,switches or any other electronics.
Where Can I get lights, straps, velcro and buckles?
Armored cosplays are held together by a lot of straps buckles and velcro. All these materials including lights can be found on ebay or amazon. I have found large amounts of these materials pretty cheap on ebay. China is generally the cheapest place to find bulk amounts of these but they take forever to ship here anywhere from 1-3 weeks. If you need these materials asap like say before a con then American supplies on ebay that are close to your state are faster.
Are these the only methods available for armored cosplay and prop building?
No. There are lots of way to build cosplay and props but these are some of the common ones that anyone can get right into that don't involve an insane price tag. I've built a Halo Spartan out of resin and bondo (which kind of failed but was a great learning experience), another Halo Spartan out of Foam, and the Iron Man cosplay I've done was done with an accumulation of the last 2 techniques with a new one that involves painting casting plastic onto sealed foam. So you can mix all the techniques mentioned with other things you can think of into building your cosplay and prop!
What's the method that involves insane price tags?
If you got the skills and the money you can do clay sculpts and then mold and cast the sculpt for a plastic copy. It is also possible to Mold and Cast anything else not just sculpts, like if you built a forearm piece that is identical on both forearms and want plastic hard copies for both arms then mold and cast it. Professional grade mold and casting can get very expensive if you are doing big pieces which can run you well over $300. There are cost saving methods like using silicone caulking for mold making but I won't go into further detail unless there is a dire need for me to write about it from my experience as well.
Most of the stuff you talked about is the armored character, what about the props?!
The stuff I talked about can be applied to props as well, although most props don't get pepakura models that often, so scratch building is usually done here. You can use this thread to get ideas on specific props or do enough research in other places till you have your own ideas on how to do it. I've built a cheap Halo gun prop from cardboard, craft foam and paint and have seen other people build amazing things using the same materials. You can also walk through a hardware store and just look at different things that can potentially help you build your prop!
A good place to start is to print out or draw a life size template of what you are building so you can get an idea of the size you need to scale it to and then there will be the core you have to build off of. For my halo gun it was a simple cardboard gun shape that had craft foam put on for details, for staves it can be a pvc pipe or wooden stick.
What do I do if my build is so bleh?
Failure is always an option! My first halo Spartan suit was pretty bad and fell to pieces but I learned from it and built a version 2 suit out of Foam that was much better! If you are into cosplaying, you will learn that it involves a lot of try and fail until you get it right! The Important thing is to learn from each fail! Also you now have resources to ask for help!
This is a great wall of text for an intro, can I copy it and paste it onto other forum threads that may need it?
Go ahead!
What went into the process of your cosplay constructions?
A lot of what I referenced is used as well as a combination of the stuff above but If you want to see my build threads that I have created on other forums here are the links! (Note 405th.com website is under the process of moving things around so my threads may be a bit jumbled or missing some things)
-Halo Spartan v1 build (fiberglass resin and bondo)- http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/noob-forum/28406-j326-spartan-3-build
-Halo Spartan V2 build (foam)- http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion/pepakura-and-cardboard-armor/32785-j326-spartan-iii-armor-version-2-wip-%5Bfoam%5D
Quick 1 day Recurve bow build- http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion/weapons-and-props/33827-fast-recurve-bow-build-tutorial#post1017064
Iron Man- http://www.therpf.com/f24/j326s-ironman-build-adding-rpfs-iron-man-army-179143/
If you have questions directly to me or want to be my friend you may pm me or friend me on therpf.com since that will be where I will mainly be housed for now, although I will check on this forum from time to time as well! I am J326 on therpf.com and the 405th.com, also my deviant art account can be found here http://janan326.deviantart.com/
This concludes my Wall of text intro to armor and prop making for cosplay! I will update this tutorial as I need to. Now it is left for questions , help me advice and tip giving from and to everyone interested!
Collection of Links and Resources for the person who doesn't want to read the wall of text.
Intro into pepakura armor building powerpoint and thread by Dagger-6 https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzlylpxwrses7ki/PepakuraWeb.pptx
http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,18135.0.html-
Pepakura software download-
http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/
Halo costuming forum with library of various tutorials on costume making- http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion
Video Tutorials on EVA Foam armor making-
-http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCOPUfMhXjM-77ImDo18Lx7oyc1Q3A-Tz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb6CXGortrQ
Guide on Gundam and mech cosplay
http://www.therpf.com/f24/general-gundam-mecha-cosplay-tutorial-160555/
General Costuming and prop Forum-
www.therpf.com
Updated as of: 6/10/2013
Below is a introductory into armored cosplay and prop building, but if you are here to ask for specific kinds of things then ignore the wall of text below and post your questions to the community.
What is Pepakura?
Pepakura is a great free downloadable program that converts a lot of 3D models people have created into a paper craft form. This lets people print them out onto 110 lb Cardstock and construct the in real life paper version of the model.
link to the website http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/
Below is a great thread started by Dagger-6 about the Pepakura panels they hosted this year at Fanime they have a great power point uploaded on introductory info into Pepakura armoring.
Forum Thread-http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,18135.0.html-
PowerPoint- https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzlylpxwrses7ki/PepakuraWeb.pptx
The members of the 405th.com are halo costumers that have a great library of how to Pepakura tutorials that can be applied to anything, not just Halo, and this is where I got my start.
http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion
What is EVA foam and how do I use it for my cosplay?
EVA foam is an affordable way of sourcing thick and pretty durable foam for cosplay. It is great for scratch building or it is also possible to modify Pepakura templates into foam friendly templates. I have purchased EVA foam from Wal-Mart as Gym floor mat foam in their gym section, another place I have found them is from Harbor Freight Tools. Another thing to take note of is Craft foam is another great foam source for thinner foam that can be used for detail work like very slightly raised patterns. Craft foam can be found at Michaels.
Another great resource into the introduction of this way of building costumes is The Hero Tutorials by Stealth
-http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCOPUfMhXjM-77ImDo18Lx7oyc1Q3A-Tz
here is another quick tutorial video for scratch building armor- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb6CXGortrQ
Where can I get files for my Pepakura software?
You can Google a lot of the files you need, but if you can't find something after a while, either request a modeler to help you or you may need to scratch build it with your own templates either drawn on paper or if you're advanced enough to model it yourself than do that and use Pepakura to help you unfold it.
Here are sites I've used to find Pepakura templates as well as sites with a lot more information on armor building.
-Halo related -http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion
-An assortment of files can be found here as well as threads on many different costume and prop builds from all forms of media- http://www.therpf.com/
What If I want to cosplay a mech like a Gundam?
I have not done a giant mech cosplay, and although I have ideas, I am no expert. However I have found this basics guide for you.
http://www.therpf.com/f24/general-gundam-mecha-cosplay-tutorial-160555/
How much will a Full armored cosplay cost?
It is very dependent on the materials you are going to use as well as how elaborate the character is and how far you want to take the cosplay. The minimum for a fully armored character will be at least $100, and this is excluding the tools you may or may not have. Partially armored characters can be done cheaper and single armored pieces can be done very cheap.
What are some extra tools and materials that I may need but may not have at home?
-Reference pictures- for obvious reasons. Do copious amounts of research into what your character looks like!
-Sand paper of varying grits
-A power sander is great for Pepakura builds that use a lot of bondo or plastic that takes a long time to sand by hand.
-A rotary tool (Dremels are my favorite) with varying attachments like sanding wheels and cutting wheels for smaller detailing work.
-A Dual temp Hot glue gun, if you are gluing Pepakura templates a lower temp hot glue gun is fine but for foam work, the high temp is great so getting a dual temp gives you the best of both worlds. I bought the glue gun that takes the giant sized glue sticks because you will go through A LOT of glue sticks.
- A Heat Gun is basically a Hair Dryer on steroids. It makes heating Foam to allow you to bend it to shape a lot easier, and it can help fix hardened Pepakura files or plastic models that have warped by the same principle.
-A Lot of Knives, like more than the Joker can carry because if you are cutting foam those knives will dull very quickly and you either sharpen them or you carry multiple ones to swap out to if you don't want to stall your build to sharpen knives.
-Exacto knives are hobby knives that will help you cut out Pepakura templates, a fine tip is all you need.
-packs of disposable latex/nitrile gloves- because safety and cleanliness =)!
-Organic respirator- if you are working with fiberglass resin and bondo this is a must for your health!
-filter masks- you don't want to breath in that sanding dust.
-safety glasses- if you are cutting/sanding things at high speed with your face nearby, best to keep your eyes safe!
-Soldering Iron and solder- for cosplays that need to wire lights,switches or any other electronics.
Where Can I get lights, straps, velcro and buckles?
Armored cosplays are held together by a lot of straps buckles and velcro. All these materials including lights can be found on ebay or amazon. I have found large amounts of these materials pretty cheap on ebay. China is generally the cheapest place to find bulk amounts of these but they take forever to ship here anywhere from 1-3 weeks. If you need these materials asap like say before a con then American supplies on ebay that are close to your state are faster.
Are these the only methods available for armored cosplay and prop building?
No. There are lots of way to build cosplay and props but these are some of the common ones that anyone can get right into that don't involve an insane price tag. I've built a Halo Spartan out of resin and bondo (which kind of failed but was a great learning experience), another Halo Spartan out of Foam, and the Iron Man cosplay I've done was done with an accumulation of the last 2 techniques with a new one that involves painting casting plastic onto sealed foam. So you can mix all the techniques mentioned with other things you can think of into building your cosplay and prop!
What's the method that involves insane price tags?
If you got the skills and the money you can do clay sculpts and then mold and cast the sculpt for a plastic copy. It is also possible to Mold and Cast anything else not just sculpts, like if you built a forearm piece that is identical on both forearms and want plastic hard copies for both arms then mold and cast it. Professional grade mold and casting can get very expensive if you are doing big pieces which can run you well over $300. There are cost saving methods like using silicone caulking for mold making but I won't go into further detail unless there is a dire need for me to write about it from my experience as well.
Most of the stuff you talked about is the armored character, what about the props?!
The stuff I talked about can be applied to props as well, although most props don't get pepakura models that often, so scratch building is usually done here. You can use this thread to get ideas on specific props or do enough research in other places till you have your own ideas on how to do it. I've built a cheap Halo gun prop from cardboard, craft foam and paint and have seen other people build amazing things using the same materials. You can also walk through a hardware store and just look at different things that can potentially help you build your prop!
A good place to start is to print out or draw a life size template of what you are building so you can get an idea of the size you need to scale it to and then there will be the core you have to build off of. For my halo gun it was a simple cardboard gun shape that had craft foam put on for details, for staves it can be a pvc pipe or wooden stick.
What do I do if my build is so bleh?
Failure is always an option! My first halo Spartan suit was pretty bad and fell to pieces but I learned from it and built a version 2 suit out of Foam that was much better! If you are into cosplaying, you will learn that it involves a lot of try and fail until you get it right! The Important thing is to learn from each fail! Also you now have resources to ask for help!
This is a great wall of text for an intro, can I copy it and paste it onto other forum threads that may need it?
Go ahead!
What went into the process of your cosplay constructions?
A lot of what I referenced is used as well as a combination of the stuff above but If you want to see my build threads that I have created on other forums here are the links! (Note 405th.com website is under the process of moving things around so my threads may be a bit jumbled or missing some things)
-Halo Spartan v1 build (fiberglass resin and bondo)- http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/noob-forum/28406-j326-spartan-3-build
-Halo Spartan V2 build (foam)- http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion/pepakura-and-cardboard-armor/32785-j326-spartan-iii-armor-version-2-wip-%5Bfoam%5D
Quick 1 day Recurve bow build- http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion/weapons-and-props/33827-fast-recurve-bow-build-tutorial#post1017064
Iron Man- http://www.therpf.com/f24/j326s-ironman-build-adding-rpfs-iron-man-army-179143/
If you have questions directly to me or want to be my friend you may pm me or friend me on therpf.com since that will be where I will mainly be housed for now, although I will check on this forum from time to time as well! I am J326 on therpf.com and the 405th.com, also my deviant art account can be found here http://janan326.deviantart.com/
This concludes my Wall of text intro to armor and prop making for cosplay! I will update this tutorial as I need to. Now it is left for questions , help me advice and tip giving from and to everyone interested!
Collection of Links and Resources for the person who doesn't want to read the wall of text.
Intro into pepakura armor building powerpoint and thread by Dagger-6 https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzlylpxwrses7ki/PepakuraWeb.pptx
http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,18135.0.html-
Pepakura software download-
http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/
Halo costuming forum with library of various tutorials on costume making- http://www.405th.com/forum/armor-uniform-and-prop-making/creation-discussion
Video Tutorials on EVA Foam armor making-
-http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCOPUfMhXjM-77ImDo18Lx7oyc1Q3A-Tz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb6CXGortrQ
Guide on Gundam and mech cosplay
http://www.therpf.com/f24/general-gundam-mecha-cosplay-tutorial-160555/
General Costuming and prop Forum-
www.therpf.com
Updated as of: 6/10/2013
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