For the fur I went to a local craft store and found fur ribbon, so that's what I used. But fur fabric could work as well. (Keep in mind this is fake fur of course). To create the top I took an old bra and basically just glued on the fur all over it (while wearing it so it would be stretched to the size needed). I also left the back able to be re-clipped ~but only slightly, since I later went and wrapped 2 lines of the ribbon under the bra line and attached to the bottom of the bra. I did the same thing for the shorts. Glued on fur while wearing the shorts so they would be stretched to the size needed. The base of the shorts wear spandex black short-shorts. Be careful when gluing the fur if wearing it so you don't get it stuck to yourself nor burn yourself. I used super glue but hot glue could work as well -it just may not be a lasting costume. I ordered a few large brown, faux leather belts of eBay and cut those up/figured out placement. For the belts around the thigh I used two belts -this way I would have a buckle on both legs. Then I just measured it out and cut it with a little bit of leway and punched new holes. For the belts on the top I super-glued them to the back. In order to get in and out of it, I had originally safety pinned the front parts of the belt -but that was a pain, so I eventually just would super glue me in and pull it off to get out (it never tore the fabric, just a bit of the "skin" of the belt but it was never seen since I always glued it in the same part). I didn't keep the buckle on these -that could work to make taking it on and off easier though (I just didn't like how it looked, personally). To make the pendent and "buttons" for the belts I just used polymer clay. I used a reference photo to sculpt it out and baked it according to the directions on the packaging. Just glue those on using super glue. For her gloves, I added my own little touch. I was debating against adding the nails inside/on my own fingers -then the gloves would just look pointed at the fingertips- or attaching them on top of the gloves. I ended up attaching them to the top of the gloves. I used super glue to attach them and wore them while doing so to figure out the placement. I don't have any photos of the rest of these steps. For the gloves I just ordered long elbow length, white gloves off eBay -made of some satin-like fabric and cut it to the length I wanted. Then I glued on 2 strips of fur at the ends -using the widest part of my hand as a measurement (so I could slide it on and off). I already owned the ears and tails. They were a part of a set I had bought at the previous Anime Expo. I also already owned the boots. I just used brown, lace up boots (semi-combat-like). The wig was from eBay. I cut and styled the bangs. The fluffies (around the ankles/lower legs) are from eBay. I have a haul video on my YouTube that links to a blog post where you can find all the links. I also have a previous blog post on how I made all her weapons/props. This was as best as I could explain my process of making Kitty Cat Katarina. Hope you all can understand well enough and that it helps with any future cosplay plans of yours.
~Positive outcomes only! :)
5 Comments
Unfortunately I never took progress photos for this. These were also the first props I ever made. So they're not perfect, nor very good. I'll explain what I would've done differently as we go along. For this I used thick foam poster board and Styrofoam posts. I traced and cut out the shape onto the poster boards to create the blades -use a reference photo to figure out the shape. I wouldn't say poster boards were a bad choice. They worked out fine. Of course, worbla or expanding foam may work better and offer more dimension. I could have also used craft foam or carved the detailing on the blades. If I were to go back and redo the handle I would've used PVC pipes. But, for the handle, I used a Styrofoam post I found at the local craft store. It wasn't typical Styrofoam though. This wasn't full of many pores (at least on the outer layer/surface) -so it allowed for an even (but rough) look once painted. If I were to go back I would've have primed it before painting. If using the Styrofoam and not PVC, I would've paper-mached it for a more smoother texture and too fill any holes. I did attempt to give it more dimension by creating slight indents around the handles where the rings of color were (the silver rings). After that I simply painted it all using a paintbrush and acrylic paint. To finish it off I used only white fabric I had laying around then wrapped and glued that around the handles. I also glued the blade and handle together. I believe I used super/crazy glue for this (do not use hot glue on Styrofoam). If I were to go back and redo this I would've used better fabric (the one I used was fleece/felt like) and would've shaded and highlighted the weapon to finish it off. This prop did not last long. It only lasted a few days worth of use. I wore this costume for Halloween a few years back and it lasted that night and had to be touched up before shooting this cosplay.
DaggersI made Katarina's daggers completely out of craft foam. Now I will note these aren't 100% perfect, nor the way I would've liked them to turn out, but with what I had to use and the time I had left (I procrastinated) it's what I could do. I'm still happy enough with them though. I drew the basic shape of the daggers onto a piece of paper, then traced it onto a thin sheet of craft foam -I made 6 daggers and layered together 5 pieces of these shapes for each, so about 30. Cut those out. I drew only the bottom half of that shape 6 more times onto what I had left of a thick piece of craft foam. I glued the 5 thin pieces all together and tried my best to cut it all the edges at an angle, so that the middle piece would be the longest point-like a blade. Then I cut all the edges of the thickest piece of craft foam at an angle -it would've looked better had I cut them at even more of an angle than what I had. Glue that onto the top of the 5. Using a reference photo, I traced out similar designs as on Katarina's daggers, onto the front of mine. So note, I originally used magnets to attach the daggers, small circular ones. So at this point, I outlined the shape onto the center back of each dagger and cut out about 2 layers (of the 5 thin pieces of craft foam). I'll mention now, the magnets worked fine, but for larger cons I wouldn't recommend, while they held fine when moving about they would've easily had gotten knocked off if hit against something/one. I ended up super gluing them for the con, but either a stronger magnet or attaching belt-like holders would've worked as well. After this I primed them (with wood glue), then spray painted them with metallic silver spray paint (acrylic paint would work too). Now shade and highlight (I used oil paints to do so, but acrylic would work as well). Lastly, I glued the magnets onto the back of the dagger and spots on the thigh-belt where I wanted the daggers to sit. Swords/BladesFor her swords, I used expanding foam, cardboard, craft foam, fabric, and wood. To start off I traced the shape of her dagger onto a piece of cardboard then (make 2). I covered one side of both of them in expanding foam, let that dry then do the same to the other side. I also took a long thing wooden post (from Walmart) and cut that into the appropriate size -this is up to you. I had no exact measurement, I just eye-balled it and went with what looked right. Once everything was dry, using a knife (I believe it was a steak knife-one with teeth) and a box cutter, I started shaping it. I cut off all the excess around the sides of the cardboard, then angled both sides so that they would come to a point where the cardboard was- think like a blade. Of course, I kept that oval part at the bottom wider than the blade. I also flattened out/evened the top of each half. Use a reference picture to figure out the exact shape of everything. I then took pieced of craft foam and covered the sword. You can see some of the shapes I cut of craft foam here. I also took another small piece of craft foam and wrapped a strip around the bottom of the wooden post. To attach the wooden post, I outlined the size after figuring out where I wanted it -centered as best as possible- and cut out about an inch or so, then glue it in place (with super glue, hot glue and wood glue -I wanted it to stay). I took thin, long strips of craft foam and glued it around the edge of the top part of the blades-like outlining it. Using a reference photo, I traced out shapes, that looked similar to the design in the photo, onto a piece of paper and used that to trace the same shapes onto craft foam (4 times). Cut those out. To figure out the size, I just would eye-ball it then place it onto the blade and change it as needed (when using the paper). Glue those in place. It should look the same on all 4 sides. Now prime and spray paint everything. I used metallic silver paint. Once everything was dry I when ahead and cut out long strips (ribbon could work too) of brown leathery(semi-velvety but not ~I don't know the name of the fabric) like fabric and wrapped it around the wooden handles. Glue it into place -so glue it at both ends and randomly around the middle. Using oil paints, I shaded and highlighted everything. Other SwordsI don't have any real good photos. But as for the swords on the back and side: I made those literally the day before (super bad with procrastination!). Sorry to say, but I just ran to the $1 Store and bought some foam swords in a shape that I liked -I was lucky to find the exact shape and size I wanted (had to go to a few different stores). I used black electrical tape to wrap the blade part -it gave the effect I wanted. For the handled I used the same fabric as on the other two swords (^ up there) and painted the very end a metallic grey. Had I had more time (and money for more expanding foam), I would've used the same technique as I did for the main swords -cardboard and expanding foam- and used this same shape. Still probably would've wrapped it with electrical tape or fabric since, according to the reference photos I had, they looked sheathed. And finished! Hope I could help and that my explanations were good enough >.<
~Positive outcomes only! :) Halloween Special Effects Makeup - 99 Cent Store - $0.99 Not super good quality of course and there's not very much product but I figured it will do for a few Halloween makeup tutorials. Air Dry Clay - eBay - $10.67 So I totally thought it was $7ish in the video but after checking, it was $10 which was still the same price it was at Walmart. Just picked up some air-dry clay for details on some cosplays. Jordana Nail Polish in Soft Pink - Savemart - $1.59 The colors very pretty. Takes only 2 coats -what's recommended for nail polish- to have a solid even layer of coloring. It's almost like a pink-ish nude color. Loreal Paris Color Vibrancy Shampoo & Conditioner - Savemart - $5-ish Each Picked up this shampoo since it's meant for color treated hair. I've used it a few times now and my hair hasn't been fading much, nor have I seen a lot of the color run out when washing it - so it seems like it's doing is job. Loreal Paris Color Vibrancy dual Protect Spray - Savemart - $5-6ish Picked up some heat protection spray. This goes along with the Loreal shampoo and conditioner, so it also helps protect color treated hair from fading, which is great since hot irons -especially straighteners- can cause color to fade and dull quickly. Also the packaging and color is perfect! Argan Oil by OGX - Savemart - $6ish So far, so great! I've used it a few times now on both my hair and the extensions I wear and they both feel so much silkier, soft and hydrated. It gives my hair a nice shine and it continues to feel healthier even a few days afterwards. Skull & Cross Bones Ice Cube Trays - 99 Cent Store - $0.99 I've always wanted to be able to have ice cubes in different shapes and I saw this and thought it was so cute. I still one some in geek culture/nerdy topic shapes. Things like this are great for parties, hangouts and summer. So this specific shaped ice cube tray would be perfect for a Halloween party of some sort. Collagen Essence Facial Mask - 99 Cent Store - $0.99 It's nothing super professional but I've purchased face masks from the $1.50 store in Japan Town before and it's very similar to these. I'm never sure if they make much of a difference but my skin does feel refreshed and hydrated at the least. Revlon Stick on Polish/Nail Art - 99 Cent Store - $0.99 I love these things. They can be a bit tricky to work with sometimes but it comes with quite a few in case you make mistakes. Nail polish strips are perfect for a quick and easy manicure. Amethyst - eBay - $1.95 Blue Sand - eBay - $1.96 I love these. I've seen them all around the internet lately, these crystal pendants so I just had to pick me up some and only one to pick up more ~and I will! They're just so pretty and fantasy-like. Makes me feel elvish almost. I got it in Blue Sand because the stone reminded me of a galaxy almost, like stars in a midnight sky. I got the Amethyst because it's always been my favorite gemstone, along with sapphire. Makeup Wedges - 99 Cent Store - $0.99 Just grabbed some wedges because I figured they'd be useful at some point, especially when for any Halloween-ish makeup tutorials. Fake Nose Rings (set of 2) - eBay - $1.69 I love these. I'm so afraid of the needles used for septum piercings so I never wanted to commit, that and I doubted whether I would like the piercing on me or not. This is such an easy fix for me! It's comfortable, easy to put on and take off. Inuyasha DVD - 99 Cent Store - $0.99 So like I said in the video, the 99 Cent Store will randomly have different DVDs of Inuyasha so whenever I see one I don't have yet I'll always pick it up. No issues with any so far. Under Eye Mask - 99 Cent Store - $0.99 Similar to the face masks. It's cheap so I never expect it to do something amazing but my skin does feel refreshed and hydrated afterwards. I've only used one mask so far. They can be slightly uncomfortable if placed weird or you have really sensitive under eyes. Gold Spiked Bra - eBay - $7.49 I love this so much. I've seen some grunge outfits including this piece so I just had to pick one up. It makes a great replacement for my plain black bandeau tops. Looks super edgy and grunge-like, at least with the way I've styled it and plan to. Pocket Sketch Pad - eBay - $11.90 This is so great for anyone interest in fashion design. The outline of the figures won't show up if scanned so that means when you scan or photocopy your designs you wont have anything you haven't drawn show up, getting rid of the lines that may run through the middle of some outfits. the figure lines a printed in this light peach color so even on the original paper itself it doesn't interfere too much with designs that follow a different silhouette. It's full of front, back and side views, multiple poses and a variety of sizes or the figures. It also has a lot of figures to work with, meaning it'll be able to be used for a long time. Most designers have things similar to this, where they have pre-drawn figures already available to them so they can just start designing whenever inspired and don't have to waste time drawing a base figure first. Popcorn Purse - eBay - $14.26 This is just so cute. The material is thick and sturdy, it retains it's shape, the box shape helps it stand up well. The fabric and pull strings on the top allows for extra room if needed, but overall it fits quite a bit for looking a bit on the smaller side. It's not as big as my other purse but my other purse was fairly huge-for me at least. It lets you switch between a small hand-strap or a long shoulder strap. The color scheme and print is so lovely and doesn't seem like it'll scratch off or fade. It's so well made. The original price I bought it for was about $15 but the seller has since upped the price to about $20. I may have even gotten it on sale but I can't remember. Halloween Fence Posts - 99 Cent Store - $0.99 Just something I picked up because I figured, due to the shape of it, it could be useful as a base for some sort of prop in a future cosplay. Gel Pen Set - Big Lots - $5-10ish Bringing back my childhood. Gel pens are just has I remember them. The right smoothly and vibrantly. I do have to say that Big Lots -at least here- is a slightly more run down-looking store so it didn't surprise be too much when two of the pens didn't work at all (I think something's wrong with the ball point because the ink looked fine and is full) and another two had quite a bit of trouble getting started. But overall I remember this being significantly cheaper than I've seen in other local stores, but you can always search on eBay. Card Stock Paper - Big Lots - $2-4ish What can I say? It's just a form of thicker paper basically. But most artists would know why I love drawing on card-stock and favor certain paper of others. For card-stock i found the price to be fairly cheap. Everything just writes so smoothly on it. White Blanket - QVC - $?? I love this blanket. Received it as a birthday gift from my grandma. It's a cute little throw blanket, is warm, soft and fuzzy. Perfect for the fall and winter weather ahead. Afterglow AGX.1 Headset - eBay - $40-60ish In love with this headset. It was marked as retail factory box opened/damaged, but everything inside was in it's original packaging and was never used - you could tell. Everything works fine. The sound quality is amazing and I'm in love with the lights. This is a later model of Afterglow headsets but I was in love with this one because of the headband! It only glows one color unlike the newer models -which does not include light up headbands- and is available in two color choices, green or blue. I picked blue because it reminded me of Tron. The lights are able to be turned on and off. I prefer corded headsets but needed one I could easily move about my whole room in since I have pets to deal with and don't like to constantly take on and off my headset. The cord for this is just perfect! It's super long, I'm able to move about my room easily and still have a portion of the cord bundled up. It has the option to control both game and chat volumes which could be a little tricky to figure out how to set up if you don't know already. I just went to my volume mixer and turned my chat application all the way down in one and up in the other and vise versa-ed it with the game applications. There may be other ways to go about this but I'm not sure. It has two modes for sound which are signified by either a blue or red color on the mic. And from what I can tell the mic works fine. Much better quality than my old headset from what I've been told. I've read that the light up band can be fragile so, like what I've seen someone complain about, don't throw it (face palm -how's that not obvious) and I wouldn't rest your head to the side on anything -like if you're laying down. The band is flexible though, it's not adjustable height wise, but the inner band is meant to secure and keep the headset reaching tight -obviously, it can only go as high as the light up band though. Both bands are fairly flexible when it comes to stretching it sideways so it should fit around most heads. If you have a very large head though, it may be come uncomfortable and tight feeling especially after a long period of time. I haven't had much trouble with this and I feel I have about an average head size. It's only been slightly uncomfortable when I had in clip-in extensions (that were sitting weird themselves) and had been wearing it for nearly a whole 24 hours. The comfort of the ear pad-things are perfect though. I just love after glow products so much though, mostly because of the light up and glowing applications. Photography Studio Lighting Kit - eBay - $99.00
Lastly, I received this photography studio kit. It was one of the cheaper listings of this specific kit I found on eBay and from a seller with fairly good ratings, so i ordered this one. It included 4 studio light bulbs, 4 sockets for the light that attach to the 4 lighting tripods included (they also work as a tripod for my camera :D ), 2 soft boxes and covers, 2 umbrellas, a white, green and black backdrop, 5 rings to hand the backdrop on & 2 straps that attach it to the side posts, 2 tripods for the backdrop and 4 bars to go along the top of the backdrop rigging, a carrying case and I believe that was it. It arrived early and nothing was damaged or broken. Ever piece worked and arrive fine. It didn't come with instructions though but since most lighting sets are fairly universal and generic it was easy to just Google some How-Tos. I'm so excited to use this. I've already filmed a few videos with this -including this haul video. |
Arlena FaeCosplay Tutorials. Hauls & Reviews. Photography. Rambles and Advice. Categories
All
Archives
August 2018
Use the code: "arlenafae" for 10% off purchases at:
http://fashionkawaii.storenvy.com/ |