Marth Wig Help

[Goldfinch]

I'm having a really hard time finding a wig that's suitable for Marth from Smash Bros Brawl. http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff319/goldfinch331/376e72bc09e79439_IMAGE.jpg

Wisp in midnight blue from cosworx would be perfect, but they're having problems with the manufacturer and don't know when they'll get it back in, and the convention is in late August. I've looked on ebay and again came up with nothing, and it seems like dark blue is just a really hard color to come by. I'd be willing to get a slightly longer wig at this point and cut it, as it shouldn't really risk exposing the wefts. However, I'm not willing to dye, as it's too much trouble and I'm no good at it. If anyone can point me to a wig that is the right color, I'd really appreciate it.

[Luther]

Marth's hair isn't the same color as Cosworx's midnight blue. It really isn't that dark. Lots of Marth cosplayers use the dark blue but it really isn't, it's somewhere in between Cosworx's midnight blue and the standard blue. (I've studied his hair because I am planning on cosplaying him as well.) I've never seen a wig come in a color like his.

I highly reccomend you give dyeing a chance, the alchohol method sounds really intimidating but it's really not (I used to avoid dying with alchohol like the plague, but once I actually did it it turned out to be not that hard.) His hairstyle is pretty simple and doesn't need an especially thick wig to pull off, it doesn't look like it's even layered at all, so you can get a cheaper wig off ebay for the base wig. And I'd use a dye mix of turquoise and navy sharpies to get that color (maybe 1-2 turquoise-navy ratio?). I wouldn't put any blue sharpies into the mixture, because blue sharpies are too bright and his hair is a pretty toned down blue.

[Phoenix_Kasai]

I don't know if you've tried Amphigory wigs but here is one that I found:
http://www.amphigory.com/wigs_s_eve.html

If you look at some of their wigs that are "fun colors" you might find one with the color your looking for. Then again you could always dye it :)

[Goldfinch]

Marth's hair isn't the same color as Cosworx's midnight blue. It really isn't that dark. Lots of Marth cosplayers use the dark blue but it really isn't, it's somewhere in between Cosworx's midnight blue and the standard blue. (I've studied his hair because I am planning on cosplaying him as well.) I've never seen a wig come in a color like his.

I highly reccomend you give dyeing a chance, the alchohol method sounds really intimidating but it's really not (I used to avoid dying with alchohol like the plague, but once I actually did it it turned out to be not that hard.) His hairstyle is pretty simple and doesn't need an especially thick wig to pull off, it doesn't look like it's even layered at all, so you can get a cheaper wig off ebay for the base wig. And I'd use a dye mix of turquoise and navy sharpies to get that color (maybe 1-2 turquoise-navy ratio?). I wouldn't put any blue sharpies into the mixture, because blue sharpies are too bright and his hair is a pretty toned down blue.

Okay... I guess I'll give sharpie dying a second chance. It's just that I took on a kind of elaborate wig for my first go of it, and I wasn't happy with how it turned out, but this is a lot less ambitious. I really appreciate your help.

[Dal_Segno]

*cough*FW Ink is better*cough*

[Goldfinch]

*cough*FW Ink is better*cough*

I've heard of that. How does it compare to the sharpie method? What makes it better? Do you use alchohol to dilute it?

[Doctor Blind]

Cosplaywig has some great wigs in blue-black that would just require some cutting and styling:

1 (http://cgi.ebay.com/24-long-BLUE-BLACK-layer-straight-wavy-wig-cosplay-new_W0QQitemZ150261045333QQihZ005QQcategoryZ60188Q QtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem)
2 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Medium-BLUE-BLACK-straight-wig-SKIN-TOP-cosplay-athrun_W0QQitemZ180255651213QQihZ008QQcategoryZ601 88QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem)
3 (http://cgi.ebay.com/SPIKY-BLUE-BLACK-Medium-LAYER-wig-punk-rock-cosplay_W0QQitemZ310060390493QQihZ021QQcategoryZ60 188QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem)
4 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Short-layer-BLUE-BLACK-wig-with-bangs-skin-cosplay_W0QQitemZ150261483758QQihZ005QQcategoryZ60 188QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

[Dal_Segno]

I've heard of that. How does it compare to the sharpie method? What makes it better? Do you use alchohol to dilute it?


I've never used Sharpies for dyeing before, but I've had good luck with FW Ink. Once you get the hang of it, it's really easy. Because you use have the vials of ink to play with, you can create many different variations of the same color by mixing them. The recipe calls for Alcohol, but that's so it can stick to the wig [putting the ink right on to the wig would just make it hard, crisp, and waste a helluv a lot of ink].

[chisainekocat]

I've used both methods before, and there's pros and cons with both. The Sharpie method requires a bit more work since you have to extract the ink and the dye isn't as strong as FW ink--i.e. you need to use more markers to get a deeper color. However, since Sharpie ink is more translucent, it retains the wig's shine and quality better and it's easier to change colors very slightly. On the other hand, FW ink is more "potent" since you don't need very much ink to get a good dye and it sticks better. However, you can easily end up with a crispy and dull wig because of this, and it can be expensive and harder to find than Sharpies (depends on art stores near you).

In your case, I would start with a blue wig and use navy Sharpies (Luther's recipe sounds good). It's a short wig and the color change is small, so you don't need a whole bottle of FW ink if you just need a few Sharpies unless you plan on dyeing something else navy blue. This is assuming your wig fiber dyes easily, since more ink is required if your wig is rejecting dye.

[crash_override]

my sister is cosplaying marth this year and i got this wig (http://cgi.ebay.com/Blue-Natural-Layered-Cosplay-Short-Wigs-Skin_W0QQitemZ110265108604QQihZ001QQcategoryZ60188 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) for her on ebay.

it's sort of light in my opinion but i think it could be fixed by hand coloring with sharpie.

[Luther]

I prefer starting with white or light blonde wigs when dyeing, because it's easier to mix dyes because you don't have to predict how your dye is going to tint the existing color, you just mix up a dye that's already the perfect color. Tinting does require less dye though.

Perihair's got ubercheap wigs that make for great base wigs when you aren't styling much like in this case. I found a few good candidates:

http://www.perihair.com/shop/product.php?productid=840&cat=1&page=2 Yes it's not very 'platinum' blonde, but Marth's hair is so dark it shouldn't be a problem
http://www.perihair.com/shop/product.php?productid=760&cat=0&page=1 That blue's pretty bright though and could be tough to be made into a duller darker blue. And the bangs may be on the short side
http://www.perihair.com/shop/product.php?productid=776&cat=0&page=1 Needs straightening, but you would probably only need to tint with some navy sharpies.