Costume Help

[Night-Hawk07]

For a some time now (especially since the shutdown) I've REALLY wanted to have a costume made that is as close as possible to my main from CoH. Mostly for Halloween purposes, but also wouldn't mind saying hi to (harassing) the NCSoft stands at conventions. Thing is, I don't know squat about costuming either how to do it myself, or of any companies that might be in the business (or how much I should expect to pay) but I figured some of y'all would know.

Basically, I want to look like this:

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.digitaltrends.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F10%2Fbatman-costume-2.jpg

Not like this:

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=ecx.images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F81%252Bz8QE1u-L._SY679_.jpg

So yeah, any idea's or suggestions on who to look up either for tips for doing it myself or someone who can do it for me would be greatly appreciated. :)

[Shenku]

Well, there's plenty of dedicated groups out there that are usually willing to help out with some common costume theme stuff, from Halo's 405th, to Star Wars' 501st, but most use a variety of methods depending on personal preference and skill level, and are usually specific to the types of costume themes those groups are intended for. I'm not sure if one exists for superheroes, but you never know until you look... Granted, I'm no expert on costuming, but I have looked into it a bunch on numerous occasions when trying to figure out how to make costume stuff, even though I never actually found the time to do it(Namely, I'd love to make me some Storm Trooper armor some day, and have looked into the "hows" many times, but I've never found the time to actually work on such an involved project...)...

To start with, what does your character's costume look like? Is it leather? Welded hunks of metal and wires? Chainmail? The best place to start I think would be to figure out what the end result needs to look like, and what materials you're going to need to make it, then start figuring out how to fit said materials into their proper places.

For any hard armor parts(even if it needs to "look" like metal), you can either use resin or fiberglass(two of the most common ones), vacuum-forming, or you can also occasionally get away with spray painted motocross chest protectors or wrist/leg guards depending on what you need(I know a few Halo Spartan costumes that have used them for the under-armor on their torsos). A trick my brother used for a Mass Effect costume was to use painted foam pads, so really it comes down to what materials you feel comfortable working with, and making sure said materials are easy and cheap to get for when you screw up something(which you almost certainly will when you first start out).

For cloth "tights" portions, and maybe to have some fake muscles if you need them, you're probably going to want to take a look at stuff like this behind the scenes article for one of the Spiderman movies: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/nailbiter111/news/?a=75531 Not exactly a strict "how to", but it does at least say what the materials were that they used for the movie, most importantly among them being spandex(for the tights) and foam latex(for muscles). You're more than likely going to have to custom make most of these parts yourself, but the end results can be much better (if much more expensive and time consuming) than cheap K-Mart costumes. You can probably also use  rubber, or other easily "molded" flexible materials as well, but I haven't looked into those as much as the "armor" portions of costume making...

Hope that at least helps give you a jumping off point for what you need to look into, if nothing else...

[Eoraptor]

What Shenku says helps. Also, look around Deviant Art and eBay for the professional cosplayers and see how they do it.

In truth, though, I think you're in for disappointment. Costume creation requires a myriad of skills. These include, but are not limited to, sewing, embroidery, sculpting of plastic, molding of silicon, sculpting of foam, painting, makeup, prosthetic makeup, hair cutting, hair styling, hair dying. You also need to know a lot about more obscure things, such as how different costuming materials interact (such as what happens when you glue vinyl strips to spandex weave) and how to find obscure items and fabrics.

and of course, you also have to have the body to pull it off or it doesn't matter if you make the best costume in the world, you'll still look like that fat guy in the hockey pads at the beginning of The Dark Knight.

not to be discouraging, but when it comes to costumed work, there is a lot more to it than just sewing up a body stocking and using hot glue. For instance, VampyBitMe Linda Le spends dozens of hours on each costume individually and knows a pancake ton of different talents.

[SerialBeggar]

I came across this overview of using a product called "worbla" for costume elements.  It's fascinating!  I had always thought people cut up large garbage cans for their "plate" armor.

I googled a supplier = http://www.cosplaysupplies.com/store.php?s=UN4V
They have other interesting items too.


Edit:
Also, I've read a suggestion that one needs to keep in mind how thick the layers of stuff you're assembling because you may overheat while wearing it, especially if you're moving around a lot or surrounded by hundreds of people at a con.

[FatherXmas]

I first heard about worbla on SyFy's "Heroes of Cosplay".  Yaya Han was making armor with it.  Dumb show but occasionally informative.  I'm glad I stopped entering Cosplay events at cons when I did because the people on the show take it WAY to seriously.

[Shenku]

Edit:
Also, I've read a suggestion that one needs to keep in mind how thick the layers of stuff you're assembling because you may overheat while wearing it, especially if you're moving around a lot or surrounded by hundreds of people at a con.

I can attest to this, as it really can be a huge concern, even if you "think" it's not going to be that bad of an issue.

I have an Anakin Skywalker costume from Star Wars Episode 3 that I put together piecemeal over two years(bought most of it, didn't really make it myself, though I've never had the courage to wear it to a Convention...), and the biggest issue I have with the costume is all the layers of cloth add up quickly for making you hot and uncomfortable. I can't even wear the whole thing most of the time and have to leave out the robe specifically because it's too hot with everything all together, even though it adds to the overall look...

Speaking of my Anakin costume's robe, another thing to keep in mind, though this might be less of an issue depending on the costume, is how hard is it going to be to move around in your costume? I have numerous issues wearing my costume's robe because it's slightly too long for my short stature by at least 2 and a half inches, so it's always dragging on the floor and I have to be wary of people stepping on it or when walking through doors, and the super loose sleeves can get caught on things easily all the time, making interacting with people/things harder to do at times(sometimes even knocking things over on accident a lot...), plus if I have the hood up I have to physically turn my whole upper body to look in any direction other than forward.

Actually, I think that heat and mobility are two of the key reasons why I've avoided wearing the thing to conventions... Besides, I'm a shy guy, and shudder at the thought of having to stop for people to take my picture constantly for an entire day, let alone for an entire weekend... I suppose the attention you'll receive is another thing to keep in mind then, assuming it might be an issue...

[Tacitala]

Unfortunately I'm going to have to add in the factor that good-looking costuming can get quite expensive (and take a while to make).

Having said that, post your costume already.  ;D  It'll give people a better idea of what type of resources you need.

[Night-Hawk07]

Ok, just wanted to jump in here and say I haven't forgotten this thread, and I appreciate everything everyone's posted. I've been in the process of moving back to college, and into an apartment. Right now my internet is on the fritz, so it might be a couple days before I can get a costume pic up. However, it is a "typical" hero costume, no robot armor type stuff. I know it's not a good picture, but you can at least see the left shoulder, head, and cape in my avatar...heh.

[Night-Hawk07]

Got my internet working so here are some pics that should convey an idea of what I'm looking for.

https://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z297/MetalRacer78/City%20of%20Heroes/789ca75c-b168-49ba-95b1-41ecec184d1e_zpsdba543fb.jpg

https://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z297/MetalRacer78/City%20of%20Heroes/521ae31c-0b55-4a8b-8757-0262f86bfd60_zps54440151.jpg

(Had to edit them some as it was hard for me to see all the little details. If better pics are needed, I'll see if I can get Icon working and try taking more screenshots)