weeablo

[weeablo]

Tips for working with foam!

So for cosplay, one thing commonly used to make armor, weapons, etc. is foam sheets like these ones (usually find these at the hardware store)

or thin craft foam like these (easy to find at almost any craft store)

now i realize we talk about these a lot and that it’s pretty common knowledge to cosplayers around the world that this stuff is great but hey i figured i’d show you exactly what i’m talking about

ANYWAY here are some easy tricks that it took us a while to figure out when using foam for cosplay crafting

1) USE HEAT GUN! IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE!

(this one here is a regular craft one but you can also buy the ones that are more industrial power tools)

these are great for working with foam for a few reasons. first, they gently melt the top layer of the foam to make it less absorbent and less textured (it melts all the little teeny bubbles in the foam, making it smooth). this is important for if you want to paint your foam and/or make it look metallic. second, it also works great for bending foam and having it keep its shape. if you run your heat gun over it for a bit and then hold it in a specific shape until it cools down it will hold the new shape but still be malleable (this works especially well with regular thin craft foam; the thicker you go the more times you have to repeat the process to get it to stick.

2) GO CRAZY WITH THE POWER TOOLS

we’ve found it SUPER useful to use our bench grinder

and a handheld dremmel tool with a sanding tip like this

these are a great way to smooth edges and shape foam. box cutters and x-acto knives tend to leave a really rough edge so to clean that up you hit it with either of these to smooth it out and shape it (**or round edges**). the dremmel also was great for helping weather things by grinding and denting it.

3) PLASTI-DIP IS BEAUTIFUL!

this stuff works great to give your foam a smooth, hard surface. it makes the foam less squishy and gives it that authentic metallic texture. AND its a great way to prime pieces for the real paint (especially if you’re using colored foam).

edit: also this plasti dip stuff helps a lot to keep your pieces more resilient. this way when your wearing/using them, and you knock into something, it wont dent as easily.

And the great thing is all of these (excluding the bench grinder and besides a dremmel works just as well it’s just smaller) can be found at a local craft or hardware store no problem so enjoy your beautiful creations :)

[weeablo]

Photos taken by the Anime Milwaukee staff.

#sam says #cosplay #steven universe #su #animemilwaukee #amke 2017 #rainbow quartz

[weeablo]

Excited to say Caleb and I will be cosplaying part of team FNKI from RWBY Neon Katt and Flynt Coal. I just started tonight on the construction of Neons wig and I can't wait to wear her for Acen!

#Sam says #cosplay #rwby #neon katt #flynt coal #wig making

[weeablo]

Some full body shots of my updated Shiemi (Blue Exorcist) cosplay! I wore it Saturday at Anime Milwaukee so more pictures to come!

#shiemi moriyama #shiemi #blue exorcist #paige speaks #cosplay #school uniform

[weeablo]

Hey everyone! I know it’s been like a literally year since the last time we’ve posted but school and work have been eating up all our time! But we’re back and we were recently at Anime Milwaukee this weekend even though we just went for saturday. I, Admin Sam, went as Rainbow Quartz from Steven Universe and Paige went as Shiemi from Blue Exorcist, then that’s Caleb as Ekko from League of Legends. We’ll try our best to keep posting and the next con we go to will be Acen in May so look forward to that. Thanks!

#Sam says #cosplay #amke #amke 2017 #anime milwaukee #steven universe #rainbow quartz #rainbow quartz cosplay #shiemi moriyama #blue exorcist #Shiemi cosplay #ekko #league of legends #ekko cosplay

[weeablo]

Its me! Admin Sam! These are some of the picture I took at AMKE. I ended up taking mostly selfies. Whoops! Sorry for the Hawkeye that got cutoff at the end :-(

#AMKE 2016 #anime milwaukee 2016 #Ruby Rose #RWBY #Lady Thor #Marvel #Natalee #Fallout #Sam Says #Selfie game was strong with this one

[weeablo]

I had so much fun at the League meet up at AMKE!

#Nats hiding in there! #Natalee #lol #League of Legends

[weeablo]

Thats our friend caleb on the left as team aqua!

I was vaporeon this year at anime milwaukee and I had a blast :)

#Team Aqua Grunt #pokemon #Caleb

[weeablo]

Last of my photos from AMKE!

[weeablo]

Thats me, Sam, as the lady Thor!!!

Anime Milwaukee 2016 3/? Eleventh Doctor: Me Bells of St. John Clara: @crystialreed If you see yourself, tag yourself :D

#Lady Thor #Marvel #amke 2016 #anime milwaukee 2016 #Sam Says

[weeablo]

Thats one of the admins, Nat, in the annie cosplay

A few more amazing League cosplays

#annie #annie league of legends #Lol #League of Legends #Natalee #Amke 2k15 #anime milwaukee 2016

[weeablo]

Annie and Tibbers from League of Legends!! Costume: @page-the-mage (aka my best friend) She wore it last year in just borrowing it :)

#Cosplay #Annie #LoL #league of legends #Tibbers

[weeablo]

Fallout cosplay is all finished for AMKE!! Can’t wait :)

#Fallout #cosplay #fallout 3 #fallout 4 #lone wanderer #sole survivor

[weeablo]

Demo: How to Distress Leather

Leather should be treated with a darker leather or wood stain prior to sanding, so that the scratches will be visible.

Once finished, polish to prevent damage.

[weeablo]

The Yaya Han fabrics are in at Joann Fabrics

And I feel as if you guys need to know about these.  Because I don’t want some unsuspecting cosplayer to waste their money.  Before I go on, I want to say that I am a costume maker and I have a degree in costume and fashion technology.  As a part of that degree I had to learn a ton about fabrics and I handle fabrics that range from $2 - $200 a yard every day.

So I came in to this yesterday.  A cart full.  We didn’t get too many, you can see they all have the Yaya Han logo on them and they all say “Cosplay by Yaya Han” on the end.  They all cost $19.99 (on the Joann website, they actually have some that are even more expensive) and are not going on sale any time soon. Included in what was there are these:

7 metallic 4 way stretch fabrics. 1 of these is a print (the red scales??).  They’re very similar to the “performance fabrics” that are actually across from these in the aisle.  However, they’re extremely cheaply made and stick to each other.  I can already foresee the horror of having to measure these, all that loud peeling noise of having to separate it all from itself. The only really useful color that was there was the metallic black, which looks a bit like wet look leggings.  The unfortunate thing is that directly across the aisle is the exact same thing.  For cheaper.  You’re basically paying extra for her name to be on them.

Next is the stretch pleather and the twill.  The pleather was grey, that was the only one there.  It was VERY thin, I could see it pretty much only being used for a body suit or leggings, but the color was so odd I don’t know what costume would use it.  The thing was.  Again. It was cheaply made.  It was brand new just out of the plastic and already peeling off of the backing.  Truthfully, this was the one thing I was sort of excited about in this line and I’d happily use a 50% or 60% off coupon on a couple of yards if it was more substantial.  It’s the only thing in this line so far that I feel the price is worth it, if it was thicker. (Please note that Joann HAS a stretch pleather for $12.99.  It doesn’t stretch as much as this, but it works very well for nice tight sleeves) The twill is described as “corset twill”, however, it’s NOT coutil.  I could see it being a nice replacement for it, but it’s not as thick.  The weave is nice (you can see it sort of), but again, something that Joann already sells for $9.99.

And finally, the brocades.  They’re all polyester nylon blend.  The color range isn’t bad and Joann purposely put their peacock brocade on clearance because they were getting these.  The thing was, I was sort of hoping for a range.  Something different that wasn’t already there, something good for things like Game of Thrones costumes.  What we got was exactly what we already had, just 60″ instead of 45″.  Except for the second blue one (which is peacock feathers) all of the designs are the same paisley.  You’re basically paying $10 just for 15 extra inches wide. I want to see the rest of the collection, there’s a rib knit I found online in it that’s $29.99 and I need to see what the big deal about this is, when there’s rib knit at Joann for $9.99 already.  In my opinion, right now, it’s not worth it.  Don’t waste your money, it’s cheap, it sticks to itself, and it’s exactly what’s already at Joann.  The pleather is the only thing I would spend my money on and you can buy it online for cheaper. (It’s $15 at Mood and at Spandex World).  These should be out at all Joanns and others may have what we don’t so please feel free to add onto this post as you see fit.  But this is my personal review out of the package of the Yaya Han cosplay fabrics.

#Yaya Han #fabric #joann's #cosplay

[weeablo]

Hancock cosplay for upcoming Wondercon in LA. Not quite finished as the coat needs some work and the shirt is a temporary placeholder until I have time to make something more exact. I also need to clean up, mold and cast my face. But I’m looking forward to the end result! It’s a lot of fun.

#Fallout 4 #Hancock #Cosplay #Costume #John Hancock

[weeablo]

Tate from American Horror Story Coven I used cover girl foundation that is a couple shades lighter than my skin tone, snazaroo face paint in black, and grey eyeshadow from my elf pallette.

#american horror story #tate langdon #face paint #Sam says #snazaroo #elf #American Horror Story Coven