This costume was super easy... like, it took me about three hours, for real. Tutorial coming soon :)
Monday, October 31, 2011
Hey let's go!
Charlie is Totoro for Halloween...
This costume was super easy... like, it took me about three hours, for real. Tutorial coming soon :)
This costume was super easy... like, it took me about three hours, for real. Tutorial coming soon :)
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Staff of Newspapers and Duct Tape
I actually have some non-Dragon Age related crafts coming up real soon, I swear. Halloween!!! Anyway...
Geoff mentioned more than once that he thought the Anders costume really needed a staff. "He's not a mage without a staff," he insisted. But I didn't know how to make something like that, so I went about the internet until I found this amazing blog, where the author explains in detail how she makes incredible WoW staves.
I don't think I'll ever be able to make anything on that level, but I was inspired to make something like this staff. I started with a large stick and a bunch of wire, from the hardware store. I wrapped the wire around the top of the stick and then taped it down.
Then I wrapped it in newspaper and duct tape, and formed it into something like the shape I wanted.
Then a layer of paper tape. I made the spines out of cardboard and taped them on.
After that I started with papier mache.
My first few layers were old school newspaper strips and Mod Podge. I had to do this on my patio, so everyone in my building started asking about my weird dragon sculpture. Yeah, now they know...
Then I built it up using papier mache powder (CelluClay). This stuff was more difficult to work with than it appeared in the video, so I'm not sure if I mixed it wrong or if it was a different brand, but it looked a lot like igneous rock when it hardened. Still, very strong and hard.
Then I finished with a layer of gesso, to smooth it, and black-brown acrylic paint.
I wish I had known that gesso came in black because that would have made painting it a lot easier.
The staff has some glowing green eyes. I happened to have some "jewels" left over from the Morrigan necklace, I cut the centers out of these and used them for shiny eyeballs.
I hot glued them on and then painted around them with puffy black fabric paint, to give it an "eyelid."
And that's it! A very cheap, if somewhat time consuming, mage staff.
Geoff mentioned more than once that he thought the Anders costume really needed a staff. "He's not a mage without a staff," he insisted. But I didn't know how to make something like that, so I went about the internet until I found this amazing blog, where the author explains in detail how she makes incredible WoW staves.
I don't think I'll ever be able to make anything on that level, but I was inspired to make something like this staff. I started with a large stick and a bunch of wire, from the hardware store. I wrapped the wire around the top of the stick and then taped it down.
Then I wrapped it in newspaper and duct tape, and formed it into something like the shape I wanted.
Then a layer of paper tape. I made the spines out of cardboard and taped them on.
After that I started with papier mache.
My first few layers were old school newspaper strips and Mod Podge. I had to do this on my patio, so everyone in my building started asking about my weird dragon sculpture. Yeah, now they know...
Then I built it up using papier mache powder (CelluClay). This stuff was more difficult to work with than it appeared in the video, so I'm not sure if I mixed it wrong or if it was a different brand, but it looked a lot like igneous rock when it hardened. Still, very strong and hard.
Then I finished with a layer of gesso, to smooth it, and black-brown acrylic paint.
I wish I had known that gesso came in black because that would have made painting it a lot easier.
The staff has some glowing green eyes. I happened to have some "jewels" left over from the Morrigan necklace, I cut the centers out of these and used them for shiny eyeballs.
I hot glued them on and then painted around them with puffy black fabric paint, to give it an "eyelid."
And that's it! A very cheap, if somewhat time consuming, mage staff.
