The Making Of: Lady Jayce

This specific post is for the cosplay (or costume part) only. I'll have another post coming all about how I made the prop.

I made the "gauntlet" using craft foam. I used no sort of hooks/clasps/Velcro in order to allow it to come on and off. I made the smaller end as large as the widest part of my hand (when you put all your fingers together--in a cone shape almost). I created a cone shaped pattern using news paper before transferring that to craft foam. 

---

I added details with small strips of craft foam as well. After the shape was finished I coated it in PlastiDip as the primer.

---

For the pants I purchased blue leggings off eBay. For the shoes I used old boots I had bought at Wet Seal years ago now. I didn't modify any of these in any way.

---

For the shoulder piece I used cardboard to create the basic shape. The two sides and top where all cardboard pieces. The rounded bottom (almost awkward half circles) where craft foam and the side piece that curves in and faces away from the body. On the inside there were a few pieces of cardboard that connected to the different sides in order to give extra support and sturdiness.

A thicker craft foam was used to create the gold part on the two side pieces in order to give it dimension. So the red part was the cardboard itself and then the gold bordering that was thicker craft foam.

The circles and "pipes" where made using EVA foam (small puzzle-like mats). I cut out a circle then outlined it using strips of the EVA foam and made the pipes the same way. All my craft foam pieces where glued together with hot glue (and any pieces that I felt needed to hold a bit more weight I glued using super glue). On the back of the two circle pieces I place Velcro squares that would attach to the Velcro pieces I sewed onto the jacket.

For the nuts and bolts I used different sized googly eyes.

This piece was primed using wood glue. And painted with both acrylic and spray paint.

I can't really explain how I created the shapes I did. It was done by eyeballing it until I was satisfied and trail and error.

---

For the chest plate, I took an old bra and added craft foam detailing. Then I created the larger bottom piece out of craft foam, added detailing and attached that to the bra using hot glue (I attached it while wearing it --obviously I did it carefully).

Once that was done, I primed everything (even the fabric part) using PlastiDip and spray painted it. I used spray paint for both the red and gold, so in order to keep the gold paint from getting onto the red areas, I covered the areas I wanted to stay red completely in painter's tape. Once the tape was secured and everything I wanted was covered I went ahead and painted the gold parts. After that dried, I could easily peel off the painter's tape.

---

While wearing the chest plate I patterned the belt using the tape+foil/plastic wrap method. Marked my pattern and cut it out. Then transferred that onto the fabric and cut and sewn that.

---

I attached the belt to only the chest plate (so not the bra band) using hot glue along the top and bottom only. 

---

I created the center piece using craft foam, primed it with wood glue and painted it with both acrylic and spray paint. I attached that with hot glue as well.

---

I patterned my jacket before attaching all that. I patterned it using the tape+plastic wrap and then continue to add to it while wearing my chest plate.

The way my chest plate and jacket works it, the bra band goes under the jacket while the belt part goes on top (this is why I did not glue the belt to the bra band). 

The jacket only attaches and meets in the front at the bottom half, the top part was designed to be completely open (almost in a u shape) at the chest then begin to meet or close more near the neckline (reference other photos).

---

I used a velvet-like material to create the red and blue parts of the jacket. For the brown I used a kind of fake leathery material. For the inside of the collar I used a fake wool-like material. 

The shoulder piece was made using one long rectangular piece and two curved triangle pieces. The two triangle pieces made the top section and the rectangle made the bottom (this shape allowed the piece to curve over my shoulder). 

As for more about the jacket shape. I eyeballed it and altered the pattern I made as needed. It was trail and error so I can't exactly explain all the different shapes that went into it. Look at reference photos often to see where different lines fall and colors are since the jacket is made out of multiple colors and materials.

---

The front part of the jacket (at the bottom) over lapped so that I could have it close using Velcro. I also attached a piece of clear elastic to the front top pieces (the points that begin to come back in above the chest) so that they stayed rested in place.

I attached the collar last. I attached the inside wool piece onto the collar first, before attaching the whole collar onto the jacket.

---

For the knee pieces, I was lucky to have these cardboard pieces that came off of a frame I recently purchased. I only had to readjust how open the where (so that it'd fit around my legs). 

I used googly eyes for a nuts and bolts effect. 

I used strips of Velcro that wrapped around my leg to attach all the leg pieces.

---

The bottom two leg pieces where made using craft foam and primed with PlasticDip. I used spray paint to paint them. The shape was this curvy "I" shape almost (look up reference photos or the game model for better ideas).

---

I didn't own any glove patterns at the time so I made one using the same plastic wrap+tape method I had been. There are other ways of making simple glove patterns though.

For the left glove I made the "metal" piece using craft foam and looking at the game model/splash art as reference for the shape. I primed it with wood glue and painted it with spray paint. 

For the belt I created the belt buckle with card board and glue it onto an old belt I had. 

---

I didn't own a heat gun at this time but I would recommend using one. The leg pieces for example, didn't keep the shape I wanted. Had I used a heat gun (or a similar method) I would have been able to mold it to custom fit around my legs better and it would have kept it's shape.