Svetlana Quindt - The Costume Making Guide: Creating Armor and Props for Cosplay

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• Balsa wood
• Craft foam
• EVA foam
• PVC pipes
• Worbla, black and brown

• Acrylic paint
• Automotive spray primer
• Brush cleaner or turpentine substitute
• Contact cement
• Lacquer
• Nail polish
• Plasti Dip
• Rubn Buff
• Spray paint
• Varnish
• White glue

• Assorted brushes
• Craft knife or box cutter
• Dremel
• Dust mask and safety glasses
• Heat gun
• Hot glue gun and sticks
• Old socks / lint-free fabric
• Paper
• Pens / markers
• Pins
• Ruler
• Sandpaper
• Scissors
• Water-soluble pen or chalk

• D-rings, Velcro, furniture leather and buckles
• Duct tape
• Magnets
• Parting wax
• Plastic wrap
• Resin gemstones
• Spherical piece of plastic, metal or pottery
• Vacuum cleaner

Basic techniques from pattern making and shaping Worbla to priming, painting with acrylics, sealing and creating attachments

Working with EVA foam, sealing with Plasti Dip and applying spray paint

Shaping Worbla, applying and sanding spray filler and automotive spray paint

Creating an EVA foam axe from a blueprint to the final prop

Combining balsa wood and Worbla for prop creation

The entire construction process of a cosplay from the first thought to the final photo

What to do once youve made your epic costume

More inspiring costumes by talented artists

Many people love watching movies. Some like to play video games. Others spend their free time reading comic books. A few also write their own stories, draw their own comic books or film their own videos. And some people spend their time creating costumes and turning into superheroes over the weekend!

Over the last few years, cosplay has become a way of life for a whole generation spread all over the world. Youngsters and seniors alike hide in their workshops for weeks and months only to emerge in impressive and elaborate outfits. There are even some kids who craft mighty armor sets for their parents. Cosplay is a hobby that connects people no matter their age, gender or skin color.

The fact that youre holding this book in your hands right now makes me excited that you want to join our crafty and creative community. If you are already familiar with cosplay, then you know how much fun dressing up and playing pretend can be. If you are not, then let me welcome you with open arms. Ill see you in costume by the end of the book.

The guides in this book wont directly transform you into a giant robot, but I will show you the techniques you need to turn yourself into one. Im not a seamstress though, so this book will focus on cool armor pieces and elaborate props. You wont learn how to master a sewing machine, but I will guide you through the planning of a costume and will teach you all kinds of different crafting techniques. I will show you how to turn plain foam into a realistic axe and how to create an amazing breastplate from scratch.

Bringing your dreams to life with your own two hands is an amazing experience I want to share with you. With cosplay you can become anyone or anything you want!

Photo by Darshelle Stevens: darshellestevens.com

Hi there! Im Svetlana, but most people know me under my artist name: Kamui. Even though Im about to teach you how to create your own costumes, Im still just a girl from Germany who spends all of her free time building stuff and dressing up. I discovered this hobby back in 2003 when I read about cosplay in a journal about anime and manga. Creating outfits of my favorite characters was an idea I instantly fell in love with, and a few weeks later I had already put together my very first self-made costume from the anime Dragon Ball Z. I had such a great time with my friends at my very first convention (a type of fan gathering) and also learned what cosplay really is abouthaving fun and connecting with like-minded people.

From that point on there was no turning back. My costumes became more and more elaborate, and over time I began sharing my self-taught techniques on the Internet to help and to inspire the community that Ive learned so much from. I strongly believe that sharing what we know with others makes the world more fun. Everybody had a helping hand at some point in their life, and passing this on to others around you is the best way to return the favor. To do this in a meaningful way I am writing my own handy crafting books that have already found their way into countless households around the globe.

Besides writing guides and working on new costumes, conventions also invite me to travel all over the United States, Europe and Asia to run panels and workshops. I love discovering new places and meeting inspiring people, so hopefully we will meet one day, wherever and whenever this may be!

To see more of my work, visit www.kamuicosplay.com.

While cosplay has really exploded in the last few years, its not at all a new phenomenon. It was the year 1939 when Myrtle R. Jones first created a gown for herself and a rugged looking star pilot costume for her friend Forrest J. Ackerman. With their re-creations of the costumes from the classic film Things to Come, both of them were stars among the casually dressed gathering of writers, artists and fans at their local convention. They inspired the science fiction community to change the serious image they had up to this point. One year later the first Worldcon masquerade was held, though it was still more of a costume ball with prizes at the end.

In the following decades the popularity of costume fandom in North America exploded, and Star Trek and Star Wars especially helped to boost the idea of dressing up as your favorite character. In 1983 Nobuyuki Takahashi from the Japanese media outlet Studio Hard attended Worldcon in Los Angeles and was instantly impressed by all the colorful and elaborate costumes spread all over the convention hall. Using the term