For those seeking extra info on costumes I (and Saeru) have made &/or general assistance we may be able to provide on a technique, the Project Help Section of our new personal forums can be found here = orgXIIIorg forums : Project Help

Basically, if you have anything (costume-related) that you'd like to ask us - especially if it is time-sensitive in the slightest, please don't send a private message or an e-mail...or hide a request in a random comment on a photo. *_* It will undoubtedly get buried, and then we shall feel guilty when we discover it much much later. (I'm digging through the daunting back-log right now...)

Please assist us in staying organized, and we'll be able to help -you- much more efficiently, and also help others who might have the same questions. Thanx. ^_-

First of all, just as always when making any 3D item, I needed a pattern: Since there is not yet an action figure of this version of Riku for dimensional reference, I had only the game directly to work from. The unfortunate thing about KH2 is that the viewing angle distorts as the characters near a close-up...so I spent hours running around the World That Never Was, trying to force Riku into useful camera corners to grab some workable screenshots. I took the best shot into PhotoShop to further tweak the keyblade's perspective, plus then clean-up and enhance the edges to be able to convert the image into (semi-color-coded) outlines.

Then I scaled up this prepped outline image into a life-sized 4-foot template in InDesign. Obviously, in this case it doesn't matter if the rasterized screenshot gets pixelated as it is blown-up...I just needed the general outlines for my pattern. (In the end, my keyblade may be -slightly- smaller than it would be intended in real life. This is because I matched it up to my own hand and arm rather than Riku's somewhat Disney-fied proportions.)

The template was then tile-printed, assembled in order and taped-together. (Nowadays, I could just head over to Kinko's and use the self-service large-format copier for one giant copy and skip this step. Still, it's good to have a back-up old school method...)

Then the pattern was cut out, ready for the outlines to be transfered to the foam sheeting. (This is the same kind of foam I use for just about all of my props & armor.)

Even though my foam is fairly thick, I usually just use regular scissors since I find an exact-o knife usually takes too much time and exact precision isn't needed on the initial cut-out. Also, even though this foam is flexible, an interior support like wire or wood isn't required. At this scale, two pieces hot-glued together is all that's needed for a completely solid end product.

The interior demon wing areas are much thinner than the muscle-veining, so instead of using foam for this part, I cut those pieces from a thick plastic folder (similar to styrene plastic) and then sandwiched the plastic between either sides of the foam exterior. Hot glue is a completely valid adhesive when working with thermo-form foam since it doesn't just stick the sides together, but it actually permanently fuses them...so long as it's a "real" (i.e. high temp) glue gun.

I never actually finish actual structure on anything without starting to paint in the middle of construction. I lose interest really fast unless I can start getting some color on my project. ^_^; I always have multiple layers of contrast, and try to add depth with various under-painting and top-texturing. If I was thinking correctly ahead of time, I would have used my blue foam and blue styrene as a convenient starting base to save a step or two...

Before the painting started, but after the sides were sealed together, I had also beveled the edges of the grey foam with a rotary dremel.(Not pictured in-progress, as I was too busy not inhaling particles and not grinding down my fingertips to photo-document.) The sanding tool was not designed to add a curve to something as soft as foam, thus the edges got a bit chewed up-looking. While the keyblade is basically flat (unlike most other items I make) I didn't need to use a heat gun to form its initial shape...but since the foam -is- heat form-able, I could melt the edges just slightly to smooth down the dremel-cuts.

I then started cutting feather shapes out of ordinary foamie sheets for the angelic areas - and here some bits are actually really overlapped &/or indented, whereas other areas are just implied dimension with more paint layering. Probably just to cause myself more work, I painted the already white foamies a dark grey...before re-painting them white. ^_^;

After the entire piece was painted, I sealed (most) of the paint in multiple coats of FLEXIBLE acrylic varnish. Liquitex makes two different gloss varnishes...one is not flexible and would be good for wood or anything that has absolutely no give to it at all. The flexible one is the only one that is appropriate on foam I've found however, and will not cause cracking or crazing. The more layers of gloss, the wetter and more gooey organic-looking the surface gets - which was great for the main blade and demonic portions. For the two angel wings, however, I wanted it to look softer like actual feathers, so there is no gloss on those sections.

Other details include extra little texture areas (of painted faux-leather strips) on the hilt and handle which build up around the "eye" which itself is an extremely convex acrylic magnifying lens that gives a believable depth to the iris painted behind it. (I've used the same kind of lens for YK YURA's kabuto-ish headpiece and also on Lloyd's Dragon Buster.) Also, since I couldn't find extremely strange links elsewhere, I actually removed some of the decorative hardware from a pair of my pants for the keychain. (Having a real metal chain at least gave it a realistic sound effect!)


In the end, this prop rated as very sturdy and "con-okay." While I don't normally necessarily -plan- my costumes around safe convention use, the keyblade actually follows standard prop regulations around the country : it's exactly 4' long, it's lightweight, soft to the touch and its thinnest areas are not "edged" but blunted. Even so, the most amazing part is that it also is not flimsy in the least, as it has survived multiple attempts at its life. After Ohayocon, it made it all the way down the parking garage til it wrapped its chain to the cartop carrier, slammed into the window and bounced into the slush-filled street...completely intact. Later at AX, we got half a mile away til crossing a bridge...in heavy traffic...where it flew off the top...and got run over by a car...and still remained unscathed (plus didn't cause any accidents luckily.) I think I only had to touch up two paint flecks. Still...the most valuable lesson learned? Do not set your props down on top of a van when packing.

Updates to my current version of Lloyd, as of February 2009, documented at the Cosplay Photo Party at Sushi Samba in Chicago.


Issues that have been recently addressed =

- The tunic has been pulled in even further (this time in the front darts) so it's finally tight enough on me all around. (I love SYfabric's garment vinyl...you can just keep editing it so long as you're moving inward.)

- The belt is 99% as I would have it now. I completely remade it when I was stuck up in Toronto for a while...and because I didn't have many other diversions at the time, I was forced into making it correctly. ^_^;
I've added extra real ridges and faux-painted dimension and matched the paint and gloss treatment to his hooded armor cape (which I -will- actually get shots up of someday.) I've also edged the circles to make them visually smoother, and permanently strung them with tube beads as spacers so they still have a swaying movement without risking them ever being too out of place. The top belt's back snap closure is visually accurate to his design and easy enough for me to get into myself plus more sturdy than I was even expecting at first. The side belts are actually super-thick foamies, which was the only thing I trusted to both hold up without being too heavy and stick out at that silly curved angle just right.

- The wig is markedly better from any of the super ugly old ones from when I didn't understand styling (and also when there simply was not a lot of choices in cosplay wigs) ^_^; This was the wig I bought accidentally and then Saeru kept stealing to wear around normal-like all the time. Thus, the first time I actually got to use it (at Youma 08) the back of the neck was flipped out and greatly kinked. Which is why I didn't really get a lot of photos of Lloyd at Youma. So I've trimmed it down pretty respectably now to look way more guy-ish.

- I also figured out a good way to do lip make-up! Dude, I hate having make-up on my lips - it just feels so gross, but I have to cancel them out most times because my lips are just way too naturally vibrant.



Known issues I still intend to fix =

- The only thing I want to still add to the belt is the scalloped swirly design at the ends of the lower curved belt (which you can only see in his character art anyway.)

- The wig, while a ton better, may yet still be replaced, or at least slightly tinted blueish-lavender...which is closer to his artwork bio and also would help me out since I don't look too healthy in straight-up white wigs. ^_^;

- I used to have accurate boots for him, stupid silver foot straps and all, but they died some time ago. I don't mind using my all-purpose ones instead (especially since they make me taller) but I may actually aim to get an accurate style if/when the LoD group happens.

- Also, I should swap my power source on the sword if possible for a higher voltage, smaller battery or two. The weight and size of smashing 8 AA's into my knuckles isn't my favorite thing.



Known issues I intend to ignore =

- Lloyd actually has frog closures on his tunic, but not enough to actually hold it together. I used to have hook-and-eyes employed in an earlier version, but when I switched over to a zipper, it was not feasible to include both.
And I switched to a zip because it's way easier to get into and I think looks very appropriate to his overall design. I don't feel too bad about doing this, since Winglies -are- a little more technologically advanced afterall. XD

- The side-lacing -should- be a lot thicker, but if I went up tot he next gauge of grommets, I would not have nearly enough there. (Lloyd has a much longer torso than I do apparently.) I rather the tunic was falling in the appropriate proportion for me, so that's just as thick a lacing as I can do.

- The top collar piece is (slightly) too wide/big in the back, but this is due to me just not having shoulders/muscle mass. I wanted to keep each piece of his very specific silver design work in fairly close scale to each other more than anything else, so, I had to fudge the outline on me a bit. This is one of those details that I think looks just fine in the finished piece unless you were directly comparing it to his artwork.



: Version History :

Version 1.0 (my very first cosplay ever) : ACen 2001
Version 1.2 : Otakon 2001
Version 2.0 : A-kon 2004, Anime Expo 2004
Version 2.1 : Anime Sound & Vision 2004
Version 2.2 : random cosplay gathering 2004
Version 3.0 : (experiments, eventually aborted without usage)
Version 4.0 : Youmacon 2008
CURRENT VERSION
Version 4.2 : Feb 2009 Photo Party Chicago #1

(Since I have way too many half-made costumes in limbo, I don't want to list them as a real costume entry until they are actually done and debuted...so in the meantime, I'm posting in-progress work here and then I can later link to this journal via the completed costume page in case anyone would like additional information on the individual bits.)


Mathias from Castlevania : Lament of Innocence

Expected Completion Date = ACen 2k9 (ish) timeframe, won't be for actual con use (for a photoshoot with Leon)

In-progress photos can be seen here =
http://flickr.com/photos/ensui/tags/inprogressmathias/

I'm enjoying this, and it is thus far coming along well. The hardest part was really just finding all the appropriate materials, but the rest of this is just lots of assembly.

Some of my in-progress photos can be seen here =
http://flickr.com/photos/ensui/tags/inprogressxigbar/

Materials

• Coat = garment vinyl from SyFabrics + two of our giant zippers spliced into one
• Hardware = swivel clasp hooks, lightweight chain, wooden mini-spools, chandelier pendulums, metal jewelry caps, elastic cording
• Hair = I actually don't have any wig extensions or anything here; this is all my actual hair. ^_^;

Construction Notes

• After 2 years of starting a business, developing the giant zips, and being surrounded by dozens of coats for commissions, I *finally* get my own coat. My coat is actually not based off of Saeru's original pattern at all ( which would have helped save some time. ..everyone else had the right idea XD ) although Sae did assist in the final version to help me get it done in time for Ohayo, since we already missed out at Youma and I was sick of re-making my coat over and over due to psycho cats, acts of god and other unforeseen damages. At least I got to use the revised hood pattern and new concept for pulls this time around. While I was excited about our new color gunmetal for the giant zipper, I did end up going with our original "classic" black zip because it photographs quite interestingly (being glossy) and I wanted to match Saeru's already made coat. That, and Xigbar actually does have a black zip in his design. We have, by now, a million little tips and suggestions for making Org coats as our process has evolved. Some of it is mentioned in the big OrgXIII supply thread here on cosplay.com and some of it will be made into a proper tutorial in the future.
• Xig's coat is particularly particular, and is one of the most nonsensical variations on the normal default Org theme. I love the weirdness that is partially tight and partially flared, and the stupid stupid shoulders. XD The unfortunate thing here is that because his coat is so distinctive, I will have to make a different coat (or two) for the future to be any other member of the Organization, which I do plan on.
• Silly as it is, I did actually make my own eyepatch since regular commercial costume ones are huge. (Mine is -still- a little big.) Also, instead of being a totally flat piece of material, pressed against my eye, I added a ridge along the perimeter to create an interior hollow to allow me to still blink underneath. (I have a weird issue where if I try to keep just one eye shut, the other eye scrunches up all strangely - so the only way to avoid this is to be able to blink them both normally.)
• Xigbar does not have black and white hair...he has grey streaks in dark brown hair. (This is especially noticeable when next to Xaldin who actually has deep black hair.) After many attempts to create a convincing hairline on both full and half wigs, I finally caved and went to a salon (I don't do this ever, btw) with a recommended fantasy-fashion stylist, so I trusted her. She double bleached the stripes + dyed the rest of my hair a neutralizing dark brown (like a green-ish #4 brown.) It looked awesome at Ohayo, but the roots had already started coming in by Kawa...the only downfall to this plan is that I have to maintain this everytime I plan to wear Xig. (Although, I don't mind having this be my normal hairstyle.)
• The latex ears are hand-shaded with both markers and then make-up on top, and blended into my real ears via Pros-aid. I can't put these on myself. This was all Saeru's wonderul work!
• The scar is about 20 different colors of Ben Nye, including some weird ones for shadow areas like fuchsia and green. Also, since Xigbar is especially angular (or "old-looking" as some people like to point out) this is the first time I've tried adding extra guy-like hardness to my cheekbones and under my brow-line with a bronzer.

Version History

• Version 1.0 : Ohayocon 2009
• Version 1.1 : Kawa Kon 2009
  (seams pulled in to be slightly tighter)