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[Angara]

Hello all...

for my first real indepth, put loads of effort into, yadda yadda cosplay I intend on doing Zelgadis.

The only major problems I've thus forseen would be make up and the hair (though i have both covered)

nevertheless I figured I'd just pose this question for those who either
A: like Zel
B: have cos/crossplayed Zel
C:Just have general things about others they've seen cosplay Zel (good and bad)
D:General tips
and/or
E: all of the above on the subject

[Eleryth]

A friend of mine, Kusanivy, did a really amazing Zel, making her own wig and the stones for his face and everything. She's on this board, so if you want to ask her any questions, I am sure she'd gladly help. In fact, she'll probably post on here when she sees it.

[Hanyaan]

Aha, a fellow Slayers cosplayer! XD I made a base Zelgadis costume for my friend (she couldn't sew so I made a basic version for her to embellish), and I used a khaki-ish knit fabric. The knit fabric was SOOOO wonderful, it draped perfectly on her and the cape flowed beautifully. XD And Zel has that annoying poncho-type thing that fantasy characters often have. Think tea cosy, not circular collar.

But seriously, ask Kusanivy. She's the best Zel I've ever seen.

[KusanIvy]

Awww thanks Eleryth and HanyaanFaery. *blush*

And I love the make-up job in your avatar Angara! Great stuff! In fact if you still have the ears, or can get another pair, with a little blue make-up on them they'd be great for Zel. I bought a pair of Woochie's "Large space ears" but the problem is they were too short to show up under my wig. You need the nice long tapered ears to pull off Zel's properly.

My one big tip for doing the make-up is not to put any blue foundation on under the rocks. My rocks were polymer clay stuck on with spirit gum and the one time I painted my enitre face blue first and then tried to stick the rocks on they came unstuck after only an hour or two. So instead I usually hold the rocks up "dry" (ie. with no spirit gum) and trace around them with say a dark blue eyeliner pencil. Then I take them off, colour in with blue all around them and then stick them on with the spirit gum. They usually stay in place good and tight for the rest of the day then (except for the pesky chin rocks, they tend to loosen after awhile). I usually bring the small bottle of spirit gum with me in my pocket, well wrapped in plastic so that it doesn't spill, so that I can just pop into a convenient washroom to do touch-ups during the day.

Any other questions just ask. I'm more than happy to help!

[Angara]

Woot yeah. *is in total agreement with Eleryth and HanyaanFaery * I've seen some of the pics of you as Zel in your gallery and i was like '....ok the rocks... what to do there....'

As far as the ears go I have a LONG pair of elf ears ( curtousy of http://www.animalx.com/citadel/faerieparts.htm ) that should work with the make up (i'm hoping) quite well. Having worked from experience *points to the woochie ears in her avatar* the make up went on a little darker than the rest of my skin.

On the rocks... what about sculpty.. really thin or is that still too hard a substance. A friend of mine suggested (of all things) shoe insoles that you can buy from say the grocery store and just trace the size and patterns y'want/need and go from there.

OH also as far as the 'attire' its not the traditional Zel most everyone sees its actually from here:

Click Me To See!

So any tips on all that uhm.. yeah would be verily helpful and muchly appreciated.

[Eleryth]

I would suggest buying it. The clothing, anyway. Try visiting your local thrift stores, and see if there is anything you can alter. You probably have the white shirt already; almost everyone has one. Or else see if there is someone you could borrow the clothes from. Depends if you want to go more for a 'tux' look or just a 'suit' look. It's also really shiny, so you might want to decide if you want to make it out of an alternate material, like vinyl or something. Entirely up to you. I think the makeup and wig are more of a problem than the clothing.

[KusanIvy]

Originally Posted by Angara

On the rocks... what about sculpty.. really thin or is that still too hard a substance. A friend of mine suggested (of all things) shoe insoles that you can buy from say the grocery store and just trace the size and patterns y'want/need and go from there.

Actually I made my rocks out of Sculpty. I just tend to call it by it's generic name, polymer clay. Fimo, Sculpty, it's all the same stuff. You can actually buy a little brick that is the perfect dark blue colour (sorry - it appears I no longer have an intact package so I don't know exactly what they call it. Pearlized midnight blue or something like that. It actually has a bit of sparkle to it which makes it look more rock-like.

You don't have to make them super-thin. Remember the trick is you want them to appear raised. The spirit gum will hold them. I'd say 1/8 to 1/4 in should work. I don't do each individual rock. I tend to group them. For instance although it appears to be 4 or 5 rocks, the "eyebrow" is actually 1 piece, well at least until it broke - now it's two

And Kudos on doing a "non-traditional" Zel. I think enough Slayers fans have seen those pics before that they'll recognize them. One thing not to forget though. Because he's not wearing gloves in that pic you'll have to do a few hand rocks. I'd avoid the wrist area and probably put them on the back of your hand or just past the wrist on your forearm. Putting them on the wrist is just asking them to fall off.

And I'd probably stick to your avatar ears. Unless the make-up went on drastically darker than the face. A little difference in colour isn't a big deal in this case because the hair will mask the line between your face and the base of the ears. It's the length of the ears that's all important.

[neko rinchan]

Hey Angara, which long ears are you using? the funnyily bent anime ears or the long elf tip ears?

[Hikaruchan]

Originally Posted by Angara

On the rocks... what about sculpty.. really thin or is that still too hard a substance. A friend of mine suggested (of all things) shoe insoles that you can buy from say the grocery store and just trace the size and patterns y'want/need and go from there.

OH also as far as the 'attire' its not the traditional Zel most everyone sees its actually from here:

Click Me To See!

Don't make the rocks too thin - I did that the first time and they didn't show much at all in photos. The second time I made all mine out of clay individually shaped to my face - so they can move a little and stand out.

I have only seen 1 other person do outfit you are thinking of - I would definitely recognize it. http://conpics.tripod.com/otakon1.html third row shows pic I got of other - definitely color your hands as his uncolored ones didn't help the outfit.

[KusanIvy]

Originally Posted by Hikaruchan

Don't make the rocks too thin - I did that the first time and they didn't show much at all in photos. The second time I made all mine out of clay individually shaped to my face - so they can move a little and stand out.

Yes, I did something similar. I sat in front of a mirror, molded the individual rocks and then kept pressing them in place on my face so that they would follow the curves properly. It helps to place a bit of rolled tin foil gently under the pieces when you bake them so they retain a bit of the curve (don't press them hard onto the tin foil, just let them rest on top). Flat pieces (especially around the eyes) won't look or stick right.

Only one problem: I spent all this time carefully molding the rocks to go over my left eye but rushed a bit on the right side ones. After all those are the ones that fall under Zel's big lock of hair - I figured they didn't have to be exact since no one would get close enough to see them in detail.

Then I realized that because of the way mirrors flip images it was all my oh-so-carefully crafted rocks that were going to be hidden instead. Do-eth! That will teach me for rushing things.

[Angara]

neko rinchan -- the really long anime type ears (they're huge btw hehe)

Hikaruchan -- I will -definatly- be colouring my hands..I intend on putting little rocks on the backs of them too

The clothes are the easiest for me cause I have all the materials for it (wow the one good part about wearing a uniform to work every day) and I got the jacket I needed (with tails no less) at a thrift store


Everybody in this thread - Thank you guys so much for your help and ideas and advice Its really a great motivation I have to say