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[Saeru]

This thread is linked to from my Anti-Form Sora thread. If you would like to get back to the making of Anti-Form Sora, go this way!
That link will take you to info on Sora's Shoes and Sora's Glowy Eyes and Smoke, as well as other useful facts. ^.^


The wig in its final form is the one shown here:
Anti-Sora wig
More pictures of Sora can be found at this link:
Anti-Sora Costume

This wig was done entirely with products that are very easy to get a hold of, and with processes that are easy to understand. ^.^ I'm posting this in the hopes that it might help others who are undertaking any Sora wigs, or wigs with insane spikage such as his.

[Saeru]

There was some debate about where to begin on a Sora wig, since Anti-form has only a slight gradiation in his otherwise flat hair. However, sticking with something completely black, we were worried it would become lost in the background in any photos we took. Having now taken some photos of AS(AntiSora), I have found this to be TRUE.

So, to prevent having a big black blob on my head, I went with the black-rooted, purple fading Tina Punky wig, available here at cosworx. This is what the wig looked like just after coming out of its box and pinned onto a wig-head:
Base Wig

I set to work right away, feeling rather inspired. It wasn't an easy task trying to turn 2-D images into a 3-D wig, so I did what was probably my best move in the making of Anti-Sora: I bought an action figure.
Valor Sora!
Armed with our new Valor Sora, it was much easier to see what was supposed to be happening at the different angles. ^.^

The first step before any cutting could begin was to separate out Sora's clumps of hair.
Separating Clumps...
One thing I started to notice while doing this was that each little section I gathered and bobby-pinned felt smaller and less full than I initially anticipated. I probably could have counteracted this by wefting in some more hair, but my Tina Punky was pretty dense to start out with, so I managed to get by. It would have also been hard to get wefts in that same gradient. x-x

Once the bangs were separated to my satisfaction, I began the spiking process, cutting the sections to what seemed about the right length as I went. A Little trick that I learned was that by only putting hair cement at the tips, each spike weighed less and stuck up more, which was ideal for Sora's gravity defying hair. (Basic description of why this works) Another trick was that, as I went, I would step back and hold up Valor's little head to overlap the wig in my vision, so that I could make sure each spike was approximately the right length overall. The bang-spiking went pretty fast, since I didn't have to wait for one to dry before starting the next one.
Bangspiking!

While I was waiting for the overall wig to dry, I began the really fun part: the coloring. Starting with a black prismacolor marker, I colored in the bases of all the spikes, making the wig look completely black at the roots. I then took an indigo and hit the middle, letting each spike gradiate through the blue and into its original purple.
Coloring...
The Prismacolors took to the wig hair surprisingly well, and have not rubbed off on me since. I think this will be my means of wig coloring from now on. ^.^

The big issue came when I went to do Sora's huge back spikes. Initially, my attempts were less than satisfactory, as I was trying the spikes while still working on a flat, level surface.
Original Backspiking
However, this came to be a big help later, as my spikes were then clearly defined for me.

To actually get them as straight as Sora's, we errected a strange 'wig-styling' structure, which consisted of a wig head spiked through(with shish-kabob skewers) and ducktaped onto a board, and then clipped onto a mirror allowing whichever current spike we were working on to point directly down.
Intense Backspiking
In this manner, we had gravity working on our side. I coated each big spike in as much hair cement as I could, and after that dried I went over the spike with a heavy layer of hairspray. This process was repeated several times.

At this point, the wig was mostly finished. All I had left to do was touch up the big spikes with the prismacolors, and finish the tiny spikes that he had in the back of his head.
WigTools!
This picture also includes the two products that I used...very generic stuff that we purchased at a Meijer, and which I know I've also seen at Wal-Mart. With a little more spiking, and a little more coloring, the wig was pretty much done
Finished!

Though I had some reservations on how well it would hold up, it did survive a masquerade and several hours out getting pictures around a convention. It even survived two incidents where it slid off my face-mask and fell to the ground, and required very little touch up afterwards. This process was a very LENGTHY one, but one that wouldn't be too difficult to reproduce. Heck, -I'm- even considering making another Sora wig. In brown, next time. >.>

Hope that was somewhat informative! ^.^


Other useful links:
Roxas Wig Tutorial - By Amy the Yu. Different techniques than mine, but another really good way to make big spikes. ^.^
Wig Straightening Log - By Yui. Demonstrates how to straighten wigs that come with a little bit of wave in them.

[Varnani]

Wow, awesome tutorial! Reading it almost made me want to make a Sora costume. XD;;

[The Commodore]

The wig looks awesome!

I need to do something similar (on a smaller scale) with my real hair in November. Do you think those two products will hold up real (thick) hair for a day?

[Saeru]

Originally Posted by Audhulma

Wow, awesome tutorial! Reading it almost made me want to make a Sora costume. XD;;

Thanks a bunch! It was a lot more work than I had anticipated. e.e

Originally Posted by The Commodore

The wig looks awesome!

I need to do something similar (on a smaller scale) with my real hair in November. Do you think those two products will hold up real (thick) hair for a day?

They're made for real hair, so I would be totally willing to bet the answer is 'yes.' The La Bella Gel does need a LOT of time for drying, however, even when used on completely dry hair itself. If you go with that, plan for at least an hour or so of sitting around up-side-down letting it dry. The spray only requires about a half-minute of setting time, but I noticed that it wouldn't hold up the larger spikes on its own.

[Ani_BEE]

A blow dryer speeds up the process as well.

*pets the wig*

[Kagami-chan]

This'll be love for when I do my Sora crossplay. Thanks for writing the tutorial. ^^

[The Commodore]

Originally Posted by Saeru

They're made for real hair, so I would be totally willing to bet the answer is 'yes.' The La Bella Gel does need a LOT of time for drying, however, even when used on completely dry hair itself. If you go with that, plan for at least an hour or so of sitting around up-side-down letting it dry. The spray only requires about a half-minute of setting time, but I noticed that it wouldn't hold up the larger spikes on its own.

Do you think a hairdryer with a diffuser would help the gel dry faster? I can't really sit around with my head upside down for that long, hehe. But still, thanks for the help!

[Saeru]

Originally Posted by The Commodore

Do you think a hairdryer with a diffuser would help the gel dry faster? I can't really sit around with my head upside down for that long, hehe. But still, thanks for the help!

I believe it would, like Ani_BEE suggested. ^.^

[Violinist_Akina]

great tutorial :3 I'll use this method when I make my sora wig <3

[S.Hojo]

Amazing Tutorial. o_o; I'm not a Sora cosplayer, but in the future plan on doing a spikey-haired (anti)Hero, so this makes me feel a little more confident about tackling the hairstyle. Granted, last time I tried to do a wig I fried it, but I think that was because it was 1 AM, dy of the con, and they said "Hey! Straighten my wig!" e_e; No wig knowledge=bad.

I like the ideaf getting an action figure. ^_^ Thank you so much for putting this up here! I think it deserves a sticky, because it;s totally useful for non-Sora's too.

You are the awesome.

[XiggyRox]

I'll use this method as well, but in brown.

[Akibie]

OMG! -glomp- I LOVE YOU! XOXOX I was terified on what i should do for my wig but now i feel better.

"A Little trick that I learned was that by only putting hair gel at the tips, each spike weighed less and stuck up more, which was ideal for Sora's gravity defying hair."

If you just put the gel at the tips... then how does the rest of the strand stay up? i need to know

[london2191]

Thank the lord SOMEBODY made a tutorial like this. >_< All those threads on lost cosplayers...I will use this in the future tho'. =3

Also a suggestion, try to refrain from saying gel because some people looking at this tutorial might actually use gel instead of the suggested hairsprays you...suggested. Wigs are not human hair and cannot absorb gel like human hair can. -teh nod-

[Jowolfen]

This shall be handy for me Roxas hair!!XD yay thanks