Do-it-Yourself: Metal Armor & Accessories
My first YouTube cosplay tutorial is up! I often am asked about my metal Wonder Woman armor, so I decide it would be a great topic! Check out the video to see how I make metal armor and accessories without power tools and on a small budget!
This tutorial does have some sharp edges! Please use the proper safety gear. Crafters under the age of 18 should only attempt this tutorial with parental permission and supervision.
Materials:
Craft Foam
Scissors/Exacto Knife
Pencil & Sharpie
Aluminum Kick Plate
Aviation Snips (min.18-gage)
Block Sanders
Hammer & Nail
Dremel (optional)
If making Wonder Woman tiara you will also need:
Metal Star
Stain Glass Window Paint
6 inches of 1/4 inch elastic
Adhesive Putty or Double Sided Foam Adhesive Strip
TO ADD THE ETCHED LINES INTO THE METAL USE THIS TUTORIAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOQM9kBG2JA
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Rainfall's Wonder Woman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XATiV3gmy-Q
A few months ago, I was asked to help bring my hero to life. I thought I was dreaming when Sam Balcomb of Rainfall Films brought the initial idea to me. Was it possible that Wonder Woman might finally be represented well on screen? Would I really get to help make that dream into a reality?
Since that fateful day, I've been able to talk about Wonder Woman even more than usual. Breaking down everything from Diana's history and motivations, to classic comic poses and ancient Greek myths. We decided to heavily base our short on the Perez-era Wonder Woman, complete with Them
yscira and monsters out of Greek mythology. We poured over my collection of Wonder Woman comics to capture all the details, even if they would go unnoticed by most of the audience. Through it all, the Rainfall team was adamant about being true to the character, and making a truly kick-ass female superhero.
Then there was the most daunting task of all: designing the outfit. Costuming is a huge part of my life, and I've tried my hand at Wonder Woman's costume before, but we really wanted something unique that would pay homage to Diana's Greek and warrior roots. It had to be functional, but still capture the iconic look that is so familiar to pop culture. We finally settled on two distinct looks, a more armored suit for the flashbacks to Paradise Island and a sleeker look for the city scenes. Our incredible costuming team, Heather Greene and Sarah Skinner, were able to create the entire costume from scratch, including the leather armor and steel scale maille. Yours truly braided the Lasso of Truth!
The days on set were incredible. Everyone was thrilled to be a part of the project. Rileah Vanderbilt, who plays Wonder Woman in the short, was incredibly dedicated and a huge Wonder Woman fan! The stunt team was incredibly talented and we all watched in amazement as Wonder Woman, with their help, flew for the first time. America Young, Clare Grant, Alicia 
Marie, Christy Hauptman, and myself filled out the rest of the Amazons. It was so much fun getting to know these wonderful women while dressing up and playing with swords. It was even more fun to reconnect with all of them at Comic-Con 2013 a few weeks after shooting. Rileah and I even hit the convention floor cosplaying as Wonder Woman and Big Barda, also from DC Comics.
This was truly a labor of love. By combining our talents and passion for this character, I believe we were able to create something worthy of the Amazon Princess. I will be posting more info about this project in coming weeks, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy our passion project!
Sif's Leg Armor
My first cosplay of 2012 is going to be Lady Sif, lover of Thor in the Marvel Universe. Although I'm a DC fangirl usually, I've always liked the concept of Sif and am very similar to her physically. Also, Jaimie Alexander (who played Sif in the Thor movie) was at my house for a photo shoot a few months ago. I took it as a sign from the Asgardian gods that I should cosplay Sif this year.
I will be using the red leather corset that I made for my Wonder Woman outfit. The most challenging piece is the leg armor, so I started on that first. I bought a pair of dirt-cheap, $30 tassets from an online store. For anyone who doesn't know what a tasset is, they are worn like this:
and here is what Sif looks like:
Not exactly what I needed, but a good start. The first thing I needed to fix was the color. The tassets I got were imitation (CHEAP) leather with many imperfections and this horrible cherry red color. That is not the Sif I'm going for. I want to make a realistic, leather clad warrior, not a cherry red snow bunny with a sword.
Step 1: Fix the color. I used shoe dye to change the color and then used shoe polish to bring out the imperfections and darken the edges. This aged the material and made it shine like real leather. The original color is on the right and the new look is on the left. I have since done another coat of the shoe polish, so they are even darker now.
Step 2: Add straps and remold the "leather" so they will strap to my legs like Sif's armor. Tassets are flat, but I needed mine to strap to my legs and be form fitting. First thing I did was visit my friendly local Goodwill store and buy a leather purse that matched my re-purposed tassets. This purse's straps and buckles became the straps that will hook around the back of my leg and hold the armor on me. Not bad for $4.99. To remold the leather I sprayed it with rubbing alcohol (best thing to stretch or change the shape of colored leather) and wrapped them closed with strips of fabric. Then I shoved them between my couch cushions for the night to make sure they stayed curled in a leg shape. I sprayed them about 3 times before I went to bed.
And... DONE!
Ok, not totally done, but very close. I think I will have to use the rest of the purse to create a garter belt to help support their weight before I finish the costume.
Wonder Woman Armor
The most difficult part of making a good Wonder Woman outfit is the armor. It can make or break the whole outfit. No matter how much time and effort you put into the corset and star-spangled-underwear, if your armor is obviously spray-painted cardboard nobody will be impressed. Being the over-achiever that I am, I wanted my armor to be made of real metal. This would be impossible for most first-time cosplayers, however I have worked at Renaissance Faires in California for over 10 years. I know more than my fair share of blacksmiths, leather workers, and armorers. So I put word out on the dust filled streets of Faire in 2011 that I wanted Wonder Woman armor made...
These are the people I choose to spend time with...
... and the amazing Jacques Louis David answered my call. Jacques is an artist and should become very, very famous someday. He makes armor at fair, but his most recent passion is for metal sculpture and installation pieces. He also happens to be a comic and Wonder Woman fan. We met a bunch of times to discuss "the plan" and he was kind enough to hold my hand through the whole process. I know a lot more about armor than your normal (late) 20's California girl. I own a collection of swords and used to train horses for a jousting company, but Jacques' knowledge blew my mind and made me consider things I hadn't even realized were possible. Over beers and burgers, we came up with our design. I had bought a belt at a Thrift store, so that was not something we needed to worry about. We figured out that I needed the tiara, eagle chest piece, bracers, and greaves. If you ever want to commission metal work, talk to Jacques.
For my gladiator type Wonder Woman, I chose to replace the boots with greaves which are basically metal shin guards. They would be much more functional than knee-high boots in an actual battle. I could also lace them on and get a similar look to the era where Wonder Woman wore sandals.
50s Wonder Woman and the greaves for my Wonder Woman
I went with the eagle design for the chest piece because it made the most sense for a real warrior to wear an animal symbol. Although I love the W design, it didn't really fit with the image I was going for in this costume. This was easily the hardest piece of the project.
We needed the eagle to be fitted to my...ahem... chest. That meant that Jacques needed something the shape of my chest that was hard enough to bang... I mean hammer against. We made a plaster mold of me wearing a corset (the same corset I patterned the Wonder Woman corset from). Jacques then took this shell and made a body-double of me made out of really hard plaster. That gave him the surface he needed to hammer out an eagle in the shape of my boobs.
Wrapped up in getting plastered...
The eagle (upside down) in process
After forming the steel (which is armor grade), brass was added to give a hint of the traditional Wonder Woman costume. The same was added to the grieves and the tiara. The only pieces that are only polished steel are the bracers, which are such thick steel the could probably really deflect bullets. I added laces on those to continue with the theme.
The power of the DC Universe - SDCC 2011
I am incredibly happy with how everything turned out. The metal pieces look amazing and really wow the crowed when I wear them. I really hope that SOMEONE in a film studio sees this someday and realizes that if a middle school teacher can do this in her spare time, they can do an even better job for a feature film.