I spent a sleepless, exhausting week constructing this costume. It wasn't finished to my satisfaction, but I decided that if I spent anymore time on it, I would miss Comic-Con entirely. I wore Grievous Friday afternoon (when I finally made it to the con) and Saturday.

This is NOT the General Grievous that was in the Masquerade.

I designed the costume to have Grievous' distinctive body posture even if I stood up normal and straight (or as normal and straight as possible with this huge costume on me). I decided not to make it as a rod puppet, because I didn't think I could control the movements to be lifelike.

I created a skeleton of PVC pipe, and used urethane foam, the stuff you find inside your couch cushions. I chose foam because I knew this whole thing would be heavy, and I hoped that foam would at least make it a bit lighter. Also, since I only had a week to make the costume, foam was quick and easy to work with. I also used the heavy wire normally used in chain link fences, to support and shape the foam.

The 99 Cents Only store was invaluable, providing me with several essential elements very, very cheaply. I had some razor sharp blades for cutting the foam, piles of zip ties, bungee cords to hold the skeleton together, and even a couple of plastic containers for part of the head. I highly recommend you shop there first when stocking up on costume supplies.

Ani-Magic 2005

Comic-Con International