Adventures in Cosplay!

[Bob64]

Depends on the sword shape, desired durability, weight, and appearance.

If the sword shape is pretty complex, then it may be easier to make it out of foam, as it doesn't need to support as much weight.... however, it'll be that much more fragile...

Durability is self explanatory, if you make a sword out of foam or cardboard vs wood... obviously the trade-off here is weight and cost.

Appearance is another factor. If your going to paint it, you may want to stay away from "real" wood and go for engineered wood like MDF.... less problems with the grain soaking up paint and causing uneven paint...

Weight is also self explanitory, if your making the dragonslayer (berserk sword that Guts uses), then your not going to make it out of metal. Best stick with foam/lightweight wood for this.

[triangles]

I have a few questions though, I have patterned a coat, bought fabric, and all that wonderful stuff before, but I've been considering trying to actually mod an existing coat instead, assuming I can find the right texture and color. Would prefer to have advice from someone that's tried that before.

This greatly depends on what the base coat you have looks like and what modifications are necessary.  Adding trim?  Different sleeves?  Is there a lining you need to worry about?  How accurate do you want it, and how strong are your sewing skills?  These are all major factors that'll determine if it's better to modify or start from scratch.

[Reddyne]

Depends on the sword shape, desired durability, weight, and appearance.

If the sword shape is pretty complex, then it may be easier to make it out of foam, as it doesn't need to support as much weight.... however, it'll be that much more fragile...

Durability is self explanatory, if you make a sword out of foam or cardboard vs wood... obviously the trade-off here is weight and cost.

Appearance is another factor. If your going to paint it, you may want to stay away from "real" wood and go for engineered wood like MDF.... less problems with the grain soaking up paint and causing uneven paint...

Weight is also self explanitory, if your making the dragonslayer (berserk sword that Guts uses), then your not going to make it out of metal. Best stick with foam/lightweight wood for this.

This sounds exactly like what I'm doing. I'll be using MDF to make a longer (but relatively mundane) blade with a good amount of heft to it, and I'm making the blade a lot wider than I would normally want it so that it'll be as durable as can be for its weight. Shaping the material itself can be a cinch or an adventure based on materials and saws/shaping tools used.

A friend clued me into wooden sword blanks just recently, and while I still don't know much about them, the finished product he had spoke for itself. It might be worth some time investing in looking for one. Maybe.  :V

[gammaraptor]

Depends on the sword shape, desired durability, weight, and appearance.

If the sword shape is pretty complex, then it may be easier to make it out of foam, as it doesn't need to support as much weight.... however, it'll be that much more fragile...

Durability is self explanatory, if you make a sword out of foam or cardboard vs wood... obviously the trade-off here is weight and cost.

Appearance is another factor. If your going to paint it, you may want to stay away from "real" wood and go for engineered wood like MDF.... less problems with the grain soaking up paint and causing uneven paint...

Weight is also self explanitory, if your making the dragonslayer (berserk sword that Guts uses), then your not going to make it out of metal. Best stick with foam/lightweight wood for this.

I have absolutely no experience with wood work, and I have no tools at home so I wouldn't be comfortable doing that.

Foam sounds a lot easier, because I have done carving/modeling work with other materials. The sword's patterning looks simple and not extremely intricate, but enough that carving it out would be better. In terms of durability I doubt I'm going to be attacking anyone with the sword and as long as I can keep it safe I should be fine. Any safety concerns I should be aware of though?

This greatly depends on what the base coat you have looks like and what modifications are necessary.  Adding trim?  Different sleeves?  Is there a lining you need to worry about?  How accurate do you want it, and how strong are your sewing skills?  These are all major factors that'll determine if it's better to modify or start from scratch.

I took a closer look as to what I'd have to do, turns out the inside of the coat has a red lining, so I guess I have to scratch that idea. I've done a coat before and conveniently enough I have a pattern that I usually use for coats. Unfortunately my sewing machine is broken so looks like I'd have to go about getting a new one. Pants though are a completely different story, looks like I actually have a pair that would work, although I'd have to make sure the fabric I use matches the texture.

Another question I have is regarding fabric paint, is it good for making small lines?

[Reddyne]

Another question I have is regarding fabric paint, is it good for making small lines?

It really depends on how small "small" is and where they go. If it's a half-inch wide line that goes straight, use bias tape. If it's very design-heavy, you could set your sewing machine to a wide and close-together stitch. Fabric paint itself applies like an acrylic one. Get a small, thin paint brush and it should be OK. If applied right, it won't bleed through. Just be careful with it and never iron it direclty.

[gammaraptor]

It really depends on how small "small" is and where they go. If it's a half-inch wide line that goes straight, use bias tape. If it's very design-heavy, you could set your sewing machine to a wide and close-together stitch. Fabric paint itself applies like an acrylic one. Get a small, thin paint brush and it should be OK. If applied right, it won't bleed through. Just be careful with it and never iron it direclty.

I probably should just give you my reference picture.

My guess is people use paint, but it might be some sort of tape, I have no ideas because I've never tried doing a pattern like that

[triangles]

You mean the dark red on the seams and such?  That's totally a job for bias tape
(unless you are some sort of straight line paintbrush wizard)

[gammaraptor]

You mean the dark red on the seams and such?  That's totally a job for bias tape
(unless you are some sort of straight line paintbrush wizard)

Yup. Well I was planning on using stencils but I'll look into bias tape :v. Also I'm thinking maybe I can make a composite sword, with a cardboard blade with a popsicle stick frame inside for stability, and then foam sculpted hilt. Going to make sure I use some super glue and hot glue to glue the frames together, and then paper mache and paint to make it feel like a whole piece.

[♛ Apher-Forte]

I seriously suggest just mounting board and foam for your swords, what is most important is as what I suggested a page earlier you may work well shaping sharp bits or strange Frostmourn style horns and spikes with rubber putty and making them hard with resin on your cardboard sword. Mounting board is great because if you mix paper tape when wet onto several layers and then add rubber putty to the insides of the sword (which means you have to open up the prop to give the space to enter the rubber putty) it will because a really durable weapon that last ages. (heck you can even use it as a real sword if its edges are sharp enough)

[Bob64]

if making a foam sword, you need to be careful. Certain types of paint, namely enamel, will dissolve "pink foam"

[gammaraptor]

if making a foam sword, you need to be careful. Certain types of paint, namely enamel, will dissolve "pink foam"

I'll keep that in mind, I'll experiment on a smaller scale first with a sample piece.

I was planning on using expanding foam, not sure if it's the same thing

[triangles]

Another thing is to use some sort of sealant on the foam before you paint it - I've heard of anything from white school glue mixed with water to Gesso (the stuff used to prime canvases for painting) to latex paint from Home Depot.   

[Werepuppy]

So, i've just learned the basics of making wings..
So far I've learned how to make a wire base with galvanized garden wire, with tights pulled over top, and elastic loops that go over each shoulder when wearing it.
Video of me wearing the wings I made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEDUY92lZl0

So.. I'm going to try and make a set of wings for Mystia using the same technique, but with feathers glued onto the tights fabric (i presume hotglue will be enough) with purple fleece sewn over the top edge and to create the segments of the wings...
I've ordered 200 down feathers to start me off. No idea if this is going to be enough or not. They'll be about 15" long.

Now, once i've got these made, i'll be tackling wings for Utsuho. I'm going to make each wing as 2 parts with velcro for joining them together (to make transporting the huge buggars easier)  and done in the same style, with the cloak draping over the joining segments so you won't see the velcro. My main question is.. how much feathers am i going to need for this? I am thinking of using round feathers for the tips, and down feathers or flats for the rest of it.  The first Segment would be about 13-15" and the second segment would be about 20-24" long.

[SuperParadox]

Most of the time I only ever use art books to weigh down things
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0slrui4wqko97jj/20130920_184106.jpg

Donation box process pic I guess.