Bringing Lara to Life

Lara Croft has always be an idol of mine. I was just entering adolescence when the first Tomb Raider game was released, and had just started to play video games. There was controversy over her sexy clothing and the rumors of a "Tomb Raider Nude Code" for every Tomb Raider release. People claimed that she was just a way to market to geek boys, but she was my gateway into loving video games as well. Lara was empowered and could kick some serious ass, but was always a lady at the same time. Classic Lara had used her considerable talents and wealth to chase her (very dangerous) dreams. It was her desire that drove her, and the love and respect she had for her father. She was one of the only female fighters who became a hero by choice, not because of a traumatic experience where they were victimized. (They have since changed this for the new Tomb Raider game, and it makes me very sad.) Also, she had major curves, was 5'9", and had really long dark hair. Talk about a girl I could relate to!

I was invited to participate in a cosplay event for E3, but I needed to wear a video game costume. At first I refused, due to my complete lack of video game cosplays. Then it dawned on me... LARA! I did a rough Lara costume a few years ago, but had a lot of work to do (in about a week and a half) to bring it up to the standards of my other cosplays. Now, LOTS of people do Lara cosplays. They are easily recognizable, even with small mistakes and inconsistencies. Wonder Woman without armor looks odd, but people don't really notice if Lara is missing her backpack, or if her boots are the wrong color. If you wear a aqua colored shirt, shorts, gun holsters, and braid your hair, you're set! However, I thought it would be a disservice to my favorite archeologist (sorry Indy!) if I didn't pay attention to the small details in classic Lara's outfit.

Boots
Lara's classic boots are brown. This is one of the details that most often gets overlooked because it is so easy to find black boots that approximate the design of Lara's. I don't make boots, so these were the first step in this cosplay process because I needed them to arrive in less than a week. They had to look rugged and utilitarian enough to be useful climbing through tombs. After extensive searching, I ended up getting these boots from Amazon.com.

Shorts
Reference pics differ slightly on the color of Lara's shorts, but most are either a dark Khaki color or a variation chocolate brown. Since I had some Khaki shorts that fit well already, I decided to customize them to fit Lara's style. The first step was getting them the right color. The shorts were dyed them with a combination of brown dyes to get the balance that looked the most like the reference pic to the left. I present the before and after pictures:

The dye actually wasn't absorbed into some of the thread of the shorts, which gave them some great (unplanned) texture and detail. After dying them, I shortened and hemmed them within an inch of their lives!

Shirt
Getting Lara's shirt to look right is all about tailoring. No shirt fits that well over a pair of large breasts without a few nips and tucks. I started with a Bella women's short sleeve shirt in seafoam blue, and basically remade it. I removed the sleeves and opened the neck more to imitate Lara's tank top. This gave it a pretty good fit, but it was still too loose around the waist and the arm holes had gaps due to the super-bra I was wearing (don't judge). I ended up adding darts to the front of the shirt to make sure it fit around the breasts well, and took in about a half inch around the waist area on each side. This gave it a much more fitted look that matched Lara's. I will have to be very careful with this shirt because any stretching will undo the work I put into fitting it perfectly.

Other Accessories
If you're still reading this, you must be planning your own Lara cosplay... or are hoping for some sexy finished cosplay pics. The rest of the pieces of the outfit I bought, mostly on Amazon and Ebay. I highly suggest looking in military surplus for brass belt buckles for a more realistic, but still classic Lara look. I found mine, and the leather backpack on Ebay. The backpack was actually a purse which required some alteration of the straps and a removal of a loop handle. The guns were the most difficult thing to find. I pieced them together off of Amazon finds, but have since found a great deal for Lara guns and holsters. These are almost exactly like what I ended up with, but actually are cheaper! I had to remove the upper leg strap on my holsters (just like with the pair I linked to above) in order to match Lara's classic look.

PRO TIP: Make sure your holsters have clips/ties/straps/etc that keep the guns in the holsters. There is nothing less Lara-like than sitting down and having your guns crash to the floor.

Styling
Last but not least, the famous Lara braid. I am very lucky to have incredibly long, dark hair. However, mine is layered and does not have the thick full look that Lara's does when braided. My solution was to buy a bag of weave hair at my local wig store. They usually run about $3, but you have to be careful that it matches your hair color well enough to look natural. It's not good quality hair, so it's not good for styling, but it worked well to braid in with my natural hair. I just attached it to some banana clips by folding it over and using tiny elastic bands. On the night of the event, I french braided my own hair and slowly clipped in the home-made extensions in with my own. It worked very well and matched perfectly.

I'm just starting to learn about makeup, and so (like all my cosplays) I did a youtube search for the type of look I wanted. I wanted her eyes to stand out a lot, just like in the games. I used the eye styling from this youtube video, but didn't use any of the other tips. Yes, it says it's styled after Kim Kardashian. Just ignore that, because the eyes look cool when they are finished.

And... you've got Lara Croft!


Steampunk Batgirl Mask

I am creating an unnamed (*cough*) steampunk superhero costume for San Diego Comic-Con. I have never attempted a steampunk outfit before, so I knew there would be a bit of a learning curve. The mask was going to be the most difficult piece of the outfit for me, and a make-it or break-it piece for the cosplay, so I started off my project with that piece. It was a major lesson in patience for me. While not all of my costumes go perfectly, this is the first time that something has gotten ruined and I had to restart from scratch.

Plan A:
My plan was very simple, I would create the mask out of InstaMorph, then paint and cover parts of it with leather. Easy right? Nope.

The formation of the mask went well enough. InstaMorph is my go-to substance when I have to create something from scratch. It's very easy to work with, but also very strong. Fiberglass will be a big step up, but for now, this works very well. The only drawback is the low melting point, which is around 150 degrees. Do not make something out of this material and then leave it in the car.

Anyway, the formation went very well and I was thrilled with the initial fit and look of the mask. It had amazing potential, but the edges were a little uneven. I sanded these down to get a flatter edge since I eventually wanted it to resemble metal. It sanded easily, but ended up getting a fuzzy texture on the areas I sanded it. Here is the turning point. What I should have done was boil the plastic one more time to smooth this out. Opps. Instead I thought the paint would cover the fuzz and it would end up with a rough metal look. This didn't happen. My mask ended up looking almost furry, and since it had already been painted, I couldn't go back an reform the Instamorph into another shape. Bye bye Plan A!

Plan B:
I was not going to spend hours forming a mask from scratch again, especially because I now doubted that I could get the finished texture that I wanted, so Plan B started with a trip to Michael's. I found surprisingly sturdy white all-face masks for around $5. They were plastic, but had texture and thickness enough to be the base for my alterations. I brought one home and started creating my masterpiece. Plan A was a black mask with leather accents, but my plan changed a lot after the initial failure.

The shape was actually very easy to get. I simply drew the shape I wanted on the back (just in case the pencil would leave marks), and then cut it with strong scissors. I then rubbed it down with mineral spirits to remove any excess oils or anti-mold coating on the plastic, and sprayed a few base coats of black Krylon Fusion spray paint. I always use the Fusion as a base coat on plastics because it (supposedly) bonds with plastics. It seems to work pretty well for all my projects so far. I used black because it gives a great base to metallic paints, and it looks better than white if the metallic chips for some reason. I used Krylon Copper Metallic spray paint after letting the black dry for a few days. (I've been testing a lot of metal-imitating spray paints and will be doing a blog post to compare them in the future!)

I wanted the mask to look like molded metal, so it was a VERY slow process. To get it smooth you have to do lots of thin layers, but not too thin or you never get rid of the texture. If you spray too thickly, you will start getting drips. PRO TIP: Let each layer dry COMPLETELY before you add on the next one.

Once again, I was too enthusiastic and handled the mask after only a few hours of drying. There are now a few TINY marks on it, but nobody can see them unless they are less than a foot away. Please, don't make my mistake! Let your creation dry for a few days before you move on to adding rivets, leather, goggles etc. I knew better, but just got too excited!

Next I measured and cut the leather. I glued the edges under so that it would appear smooth and then glued the leather to the mask. After that I used a leather punch to make holes through the leather and mask. The rivets are purely decoration, and were glued in place through those holes. Actually setting the rivets with a hammer (like I did on my Sif costume) would have damaged the mask.

Finally, I added the ears and strap. I cut the ears from Plan A's mask and wrapped them in leather, gluing them in place and using a whip stitch to close the edge. This also added a cool steampunk look to them. I sewed and glued them and the strap in place. All of the leather and straps were taken from a $4 purse that I bought at the thrift store. The last thing I did to the mask was glue on the goggles, which were purchased on Amazon for $7 and dismantled so I could attach them correctly.

(The ears will lay flat against my head when I wear it.)

Overall, I am much happier with the final outcome than I was with my original design. I think this looks much more "steampunk" and will actually be more comfortable to wear, mostly because of its lighter weight.

Stay tuned for more updates on this very educational cosplay experience!

 


WonderCon Countdown: Sif's Belt and Skirt

WonderCon has arrived in Southern California! While this has caused many Northern California people sorrow, I am happy to have an event before SDCC to debut my Sif cosplay! There is only one problem... it's not done yet. I have made a lot of progress and will be able to finish tonight, but sleep may be sacrificed. Everything is looking great and I am very excited!

Belt
Sif's belt is a trademark of her costume. No matter how many times she is redesigned, she almost always has a prominent, geometric belt buckle in the center of her abdomen. I started with a faux leather corset belt that I got on Ebay for $6.99. I really liked the pattern the sections made and how it added texture. Plus, it's stretchy without being spandex. Bonus points! The biggest problem is that I wanted the pattern in the belt to accent and frame the Sif buckle, which meant I had to move the buckles already on the belt. I removed them with a seam ripper and restitched them on the opposite side of the belt which would be on my back. I stitched the front together to prep it for the Sif buckle.

The buckle was actually much easier than I expected. I measured and cut the basic shape out of an old teaching poster I had. It was stronger than poster board, but not as thick as cardboard... plus I already had it. I'm not planning on teaching Kindergarten again anytime soon, so it's not a huge loss. I cut up the rest of the red leather purse that I used to make straps for my leg armor, and covered the polygon (see? I'm such a teacher...) by gluing it and then stitching the edges. I was happy that my new sewing machine could handle the laminated poster board and leather.

Finished belt!

The white boarders on the belt were the most time consuming piece, just because they needed to be perfect. I traced the finished, red leather polygon on the back of my white leather hide and measured out the designs. Then I carefully cut out each section so the lines would be perfect and keep the geometric look. Once it was cut I sewed white stitches 1/8th inches from the edges of the white. These served no structural purpose, but added texture and gave the illusion that the white was stitched onto the red. Then I carefully used barge cement to glue the white onto the red. This was the most stressful part, because if I messed up I'd have to start ALL over again. I also had to glue the white leather on perfectly so the lines and angles would stay straight. Luckily, non of the leather had stretched, and it ended up looking great.

Skirt

Finished Sif Skirt (top will be worn under corset)

The skirt was fairly simple, but time consuming. Lots of measuring and cutting very straight lines. I had it basically put together, but realized that it looked like cheap plastic from even just a few feet away. I decided that adding metal studs would give the leather a little more weight and help give it more texture. I carefully added them to each strip of the skirt. This is pretty challenging since the leather was very prone to wrinkling under the studs and the wrinkles showed up a lot on the white. Once this was finished, I put the waist band on over my corset, inside out. I than taped (you don't want to use pins on leather because they leave holes) each strip in place to get the desired look. It's important to do this with the corset on, because the measurements will be very off otherwise. Finally, I sewed everything down and added Velcro to close it at the top. I'd usually use laces to close a leather skirt, but it's not going to show and I wanted it to stay as flat as possible under the corset.

To Do
I still need to finish the garter belt that will hold up my leg armor, and my sword belt tonight. My first try at making a cosplay sword ended in a very unremarkable, heavy sword that flakes paint at every turn, so I will be wearing my backup LARP sword this weekend. It's very lightweight and doesn't distract from the outfit. The armor will be the most difficult part, so I hope the concept for the garter belt works. Wish me luck!

I'll be posting pictures from WonderCon and from the Merry Wives' St. Patrick's Day concert this weekend, so check out my facebook page or twitter feed to see them!


Lady Sif's Cape

SifComicSif is an Asgardian goddess in Marvel comics, and is based on a beautiful (blond!) goddess in Norse myth. Her current costume pays tribute to this with a red cape adorned with large amounts of white fur.

As with all my cosplays, I wanted to make her cape as realistic and functional as possible. This meant changing it into a cloak so that it could actually do some good in the frigid Norse climate where her myth originated.  It also meant finding a use for the furry shoulder pads, which seem very functional but would keep the wearer much warmer if they were located on the inside of the cloak. Once again, I fell back on historical costuming for the answer.

The Kinsale Cloak is a traditional design that originated in Ireland. It is very popular with historical reenactors because of it is a very attractive garment and is incredibly functional. It is a lined cloak that will keep you very warm, but its trademark piece is the hood that hangs down around the shoulders when not covering the wearer's head. I decided that I'd get the desired Sif look by lining the Kinsale cloak hood with fur, then wearing it around my shoulders.Plus, I already had the pattern. Huzzah!

I am very happy with the results... ignore my exhausted face and pajama pants.

 

 

This was the first time I had worked with (fake) fur. It was challenging, but I was lucky enough to get some pointers from very experience friends.

- Cutting - Don't cut through all the hair! It will ruin the texture and make your edges look bad. Flip it over and make shallow cuts to the fabric at the base of the hairs.

- When sewing, pin the hairs flat away from your seam allowances before you pin pieces together. Yes, this takes a LOT of pins, but it keeps you from sewing the hairs into your seams and messing up the cool look of your fur. It may seem time consuming, but it will save you a lot of time later and really improve the look of the whole garment.

The fur will get EVERYWHERE, but once you finish off your garment it *should* stop shedding since it should only be losing hair around the edges where you cut. Be sure you have a good quality lint roller on hand to clean up your garment after you finish.

I have about a month until WonderCon, and I still have to finish Sif's belt, skirt, and sword. Those are all fairly simple pieces that are very similar to previous projects, so I might actually be done early. Amazing!


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:
SifComic

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.