sturmdrayco

[sturmdrayco]

Sorry to bother you, my wife and I are working on making a Leonardo Da Vinci Caster cosplay for her and it's our first cosplay (I'm hoping to do a Warframe one eventually, but actual cloth costumes first)- do you have any advice on how to do details, etc? We seem to have the general shape of things down and already have the cloak & skirts done.

Ooh, Da Vinci! I'd say I'm still winging it with the fabric stuff; my experience is mostly with armor and props. If by details you mean stuff like the applique or something...

I did this for my sister a couple years back. Zhongli cosplay. Made pattern, cut fabric, applied clear nail polish to edges, pinned to base garment, used one of the buttonhole stitch settings on my sewing machine for the edges. I was improvising then. Something similar would probably be done on the stocking details, but I have no experience with stretchy fabric yet.

For the curvy edges... just. Lots of pins so they hold the shape while sewing.

The star patterns on the blue fabric... If it were me I'd just use a stencil and fabric paint if there's nowhere to buy it from. Several layers of it so the yellow looks good. However, the pattern might be generic enough that you can get fabric already printed with it somewhere.

The small accessories hanging from the collar (and hat depending on Ascension level)... small chains with gems... I'm not sure about your access to supplies so you might or might not have to make the gems and stuff yourself. Usually for these I use those rigid PVC sheets. Cut and whittle with cutters as needed. Maybe something like foam clay or resin stuff if you wanna be fancy. Put some thin wire hoops to attach them to the chains. Or you could use EVA foam here as well. 2mm. Also works with the fleur-de-lis looking brooch.

If Props:

Speaking of EVA foam... 5mm and 2mm thickness should cover all kinds of needs in this case. PVC piping for the staff. at this scale (and in most situations), contact cement for gluing together. Measure to proportion, make patterns, trace onto foam, cut with cutters. Make sure the blades are sharp for the smoothest cuts.

You can do a lot of stuff with EVA foam. So much stuff. If you plan on using it more in the future, I suggest getting a heat gun. Smooths out the foam. Priming before painting... I live in Japan so I use something like Zeque... rubber paint similar to Plastidip but much cheaper. For something much easier to get... Wood glue diluted with water, 3-4 coats of it or until satisfactory. Thin layers. Let previous layer dry before next one. This one's not flexible though - if the foam bends, wrinkles can't be avoided.

If Gauntlet:

5mm foam would probably be enough for the base gauntlet... or anything, really. Maybe 2mm foam for the smaller details. The gold filigree and trim detailing on the gauntlet... I'd paint them on. Paint those parts of the gauntlet gold first, have a pattern ready cut from some sticker paper of the details, put those on, paint the rest of the gauntlet. Once the dark blue paint dries, you can remove the sticker paper mask. The green bits... EVA foam as well, the final coat of paint would have to be something very glossy for the shine.

I'm not sure how you want to do the gauntlet. Will you keep the proportions, a.k.a. very big, or shrink it to fit the wearer's hand? Building it to proportion is more complicated - need to build a rig first that's fixed to the wearer's hand with something flexible for the core of the gauntlet digits, and string to pull the gauntlet digits. And since you'd hold the staff with the same hand, your hand has to be outside for the grip. Should be okay if the gauntlet digits are big enough to cover them.

If Staff:

The more organic-looking bits of the staff... I'd use foam clay, but if you think you can do it with just EVA foam, do that instead. Not sure how expensive foam clay is for you. Change your cutting angle to make sloped edges, trim with scissors - whatever works.

For ease of transport you may need to plan on splitting the staff in parts. Maybe the star, then the handle, then the bottom tip? Attachment might be complicated, so you may not want them detachable as well.

Clear plastic acetate for the star. This one's complicated. Hot glue could work. Lots of triangles. I'll just look this up if it were me. Don't be pressured to make this glow.

Not sure what else I can say about this unless you ask for something very specific, but I wish y'all well in this project!

[sturmdrayco]

So. Oberon-Vortigern. First non-armor build in a long while. So many things to fix with this one, but I got a compliment from someone who did an excellent cosplay of him and to me, that is all that matters.

I like this pose a lot. Shows off the patchwork cape.

I was not able to take more photos elsewhere because walking and looking around wasn't my focus for this year's CosuSami - it was the championship this time. Great time.

[sturmdrayco]

Oberon-Vortigern feet! Not very tall, a bit difficult to find a pair my size back in PH. Working with foam clay is so soothing. I like how this turned out.

[sturmdrayco]

Holy shit

I found the kind of exterior sealer I was using back in PH here in JP

[sturmdrayco]

Bottom layer of the cloak is done? The extra wings have been attached, ample space for the main pairs of wings, maybe needs more blue dots on the black layers. I'm not counting the black trim on top which covers everything, because that's a separate piece.

[sturmdrayco]

Insect hand done. I love foam clay. This was fun to do. Also done with the hole on the back of the shirt for the insect wings, which should unlock a lot of progress on the cloak assembly.

[sturmdrayco]

The patchwork cloak from Lie Like Vortigern. The sprites just get flipped in-game, so I improvised on what to put on the left side here. I thought it would be missing the point if it's symmetrical. Layer 3 of the whole cloak assembly.

[sturmdrayco]

Oberon-Vortigern progress. Between finishing Volume F and beyond to discovering a live-action Voltes V plus that short vacation back in PH, there were a lot of detours. Still trudging though. Heels have been secured, feathers restocked, wings prepared for dyeing.

[sturmdrayco]

Dyed some fabric, painted on some details.

I am not making armor this time, which is ridiculous given my track record. Unfortunately there's not a lot of physical space here and I've always wanted to cosplay a Servant at some point, so Oberon it is.

[sturmdrayco]

Research and planning for August.

Lots and lots of insect wings.

[sturmdrayco]

Ur Nameless King cosplay is so good I almost scrolled past thinking it was screencaps

Oh buddy, wait til a dark cloudy day happens during my vacation and then we can make em look like screencaps

[sturmdrayco]

Nameless King at WCS 2023

For the record, I almost did Nameless King instead of Ornstein last year. That didn't happen, obviously, but April this year I decided that I'd do it as my first project in Japan instead.

So! The result of several months of work - rebuilding my arsenal of tools, looking for places to buy materials from, learning how to make armor with new stuff - is this. It's got a bit of everything - armor, some wig work, some sewing as well. I'd say I've outdone myself this time.

As for the event... I've always known about WCS since I started attending the bigger conventions back in the Philippines. Now that we live here and have the means to do so, we just went there. I might start attending regularly. However, I really have to consider that attending outdoor events in August means sweating buckets. Like holy fuck.

[sturmdrayco]

Dragonslayer Swordspear is complete! More or less.

It's around 2 meters long, which is shorter than ideal. The actual ratio of blade to shaft is actually 1:1, but I lengthened the shaft by just a bit. Because of that, I widened the bottom of the blade - the part with the handlebars - to compensate. As for the electronics, I put the switch near one of the handles for easy access.

After this, only the bracelets, wig, and several fabric pieces still remain.

[sturmdrayco]

Finished working on the swordspear blade!

Right now I'm finished with the handle base and I'll be painting it tomorrow morning.

[sturmdrayco]

So.

Dragonslayer Swordspear base.

I checked gameplay to see which parts light up, so this ended up being based more on the ingame one rather than the scale figure one. The lighting accomodation is what probably made this thicker than usual and since I'm working with a 2-meter restriction, the proportions are a bit out of the normal. However, I got the effect I want, and that's what matters.

[sturmdrayco]

I've actually forgotten to post an update here huh.

Anyway, already seven months living in Japan. Left all of my tools except the sewing machine in the Philippines. Started rebuilding the toolset, looking around where to buy materials from, plus some new toys after the second payday. Months after, I have this. I have one month left to finish this. Nameless King, babeyyy.

Wearing this outside during the August heat would certainly be an experience.

[sturmdrayco]

I went as Dragonslayer Ornstein on day 1 of ACX 2022! It’s finally done! I had help in the final stretch since I was also making something else. I began this project near the end of 2018 and got distracted, and then resumed this year because of all the Elden Ring streams I’ve been watching. As perfect as it is for me, there are still a few adjustments I’d make. Overall it was a nice first event in a long while.