Modesty's Costume Closet

I get on kicks or fads every so often. Lately, I've been bitten by a knitting bug...and while researching those techniques brought up an old video I had watched about someone building a big sleeve dragon puppet, and it was all over from there. Now, I'm on a puppet kick. Puppet props, not puppet costumes like fursuits. That's a post for another time.  Design Considerations Size and Weight For any prop, you need to carry around or transport, you must consider how big it is and its weight. I'm not saying your puppet has to be small and lightweight...but know your limits. You don't want it to be so light that it breaks easily, either. I guess durability  is another feature you'd want to consider.  Desired motion and manipulation style How do you want the puppet to move? Will it open and close its mouth? Wiggle its ears? Blink? Wink? Have glowing eyes? Walk!? Once you decide how you want it to move, you need to figure out how to make that motion happen with the struc...

This past week I was eager to use my die-cutter machine to make something. This did sidetrack me from working more on my swimsuit but It was just a fun quick side project. Lately, an email ad from Redbubble reminded me of the aprons I was looking at. Of course it was Demon Slayer related, how could it not be? But I did not feel like purchasing one when I could make one. The Cricut kit I purchased came with 4 sheets of glitter iron-on vinyl sheets. (Also known as Heat Transfer Vinyl or HTV.) That's when things started.  Pattern Hunt First, I wanted to find a pattern for the apron. I knew I wanted something with good real estate for placing iron on images and something with a pocket or pockets. Lately, vintage recreation patterns have been my jam and after a lengthy search, I ended up finding a pattern I liked.  Simplicity S9311. I picked the Yellow Apron. I liked the heart pocketed and slightly French maid looking apron. Went ahead and purchased a yard and a half of Poly Cotton...

 Ears and Tails really steal the show for a kitsune costume. But who doesn't love adding a bit more detail and intrigue into a costume design? Five tails and no cares! Tooth and Nail An animal feature that often gets added to animal-human hybrids are fangs and claws .  Little Tooth, Long Nails The design of your kitsune will determine the length and ferocity of the claws and fangs. They evoke different things.  Large, prominent fangs or claws suggest something more monstrous, carnivorous, and dangerous.  Smaller fangs pose less of a threat. It simply showcases that there's something not just human about the creature.  More often than not, false nails tend to be what constitutes claws. Paws Something that is more animal than human are paws.  Those aren't people feet! Generally, these types of parts are more common in fursuit style costumes. You could got satyr or faun style with digitigrade legs or just go with foot paws. Here are a couple of tutorial refer...

 Know what's dope? A tail that moves on its own! If the ears move too, bonus! However, you've given yourself a challenge that I myself have little to no expertise in...robotics or animatronics. So I'm going to offer some suggestions for further learning if you want to DIY as well as methods for the non-engineer types. (warning: May still require engineering.)  Full DIY Tutorials  3D Printing a simple Wagging tail - limp tail 3D Print skeleton Instructables Fox tail Pre-Built Tails/Ears Heads up, these are generally expensive!  MiTail from The Tail Company The Tail Company Cosgear  Halloween Moving Fox Tail Semi-Crafted Tails These are just alternatives to purchasing the tail or full DIY. Helpful if you don't want to spend a fortune. These are just my ideas and I will admit are at this point untested. Although I do have the flopping fish toy and can confirm you can take the device out of the fish without hassle.  Flopping fish Cat toy - charges, touch-activ...

 In the world of Kitsune characters, there are popular characters that have tails made out of non-fuzzy material. Crystal tails and elemental tails (such as fire tails) are a fairly common interpretation. So this post will go into different considerations and methods for designing a costume with a magic tail.  Crystal Persuasion  Thanks to some popular characters, there are lots of tutorials and patterns available for crystal tails. I have linked to a few below.  So some of the design questions to answer for your crystal tail are:  Is it going to be opaque or semi-transparent (see-through)  What color(s) to use Adding any lights or special effects Position and number of tails  Since crystal tails are not flexible, you are going to end up with some sort of posed pattern. Although you could make it a hanging tail and not need a bunch of internal structures.  Materials for the Tail For opaque tails, you can use EVA foam, PVC board, foam boards, cardb...

Prosthetics are a highly versatile tool for a costumer/cosplayer. They can add a bit of natural look to any unnatural additions to your body such as pointed ears, horns, long noses, and much, much more.  Materials - Allergy Warning The most common material for prosthetics is LATEX. This is a rubbery, thin material that blends very nicely with human skin. However, some people have an allergic reaction to latex so you may need to look for alternative materials such as silicone. There is a growing market for non-latex Prosthetics parts.  Depending on the part you are making, you may decide that a rubbery flesh texture is all wrong. Some alternatives to latex and silicone are:  Resin - great for claws and horns and such Paper-Mache - great for a bone structure, claws or horns Foam - expanding foam that you carve, EVA foam, or furniture foam that you shape can make just about anything. Fabric and stuffing - you can be very clever with your plushie patterns to create soft ...

Another creature feature detail to add flair to a costume are claws. Some of us may grow our nails that long or utilize nail art to get a similar effect. But I will provide as many options as I can think of to add claws to the costume.   Claw Placement and Style We'll start with claws then go into hoof creatures. Claws are typically the last digit on the paw. When comparing to our human hands, it comes out of our fingertips. (Our "claws" are covered in flesh.)    While it is a way to attach fake claws, most costumes benefit from extending those fingernails we have to look like claws. This will usually not hinder the use of fingers as normal.  Nail Style In these methods, you extend the length and shape of your nails (usually with artificial materials). As you may notice in my first image, I used fake nails on GLOVES so you are not limited to putting nails directly onto your real nails.  Acrylic Nails I find that "fake nails" are generally the most accessibl...

 I wanted to go over a few common "special effects" for costumes to add that bit of flair and added pernach. There are lots of characters and creatures to dress up as that have some oddness about their teeth. Fang-like canine teeth, rows of shark teeth, buck teeth, gold or diamond teeth or event rotten teeth can be easily achievable. But first...let's have a care. Precautions So, most of these solutions for teeth involve putting plastic in your mouth. So don't ingest anything...won't be fun. Also for the love of all things holy make sure what you put in your mouth was sanitized first. If things start to feel uncomfortable at any time, remove safely from your mouth and store away for later. Don't leave teeth in while eating. You may be okay for drinks and small snacks.  Please don't use glue in your mouth. Denture adhesive was made for things like this.  Many of these solutions for fangs and such, I do think professionally made kits are actually quite good....

For the final post about colors, I'm going over hair color.  Changing your hair color is fun, but can be a challenge depending on your hair type, base color, and goal color.  Not my real hair color! Quick Tips I color my hair frequently, so I've got a few experiences to share. First, let me set up some basic things about hair color.  It's easier to color light-colored hair than darker hair. So, to get a vibrant color, first, a dark-hair person will need to bleach their hair. Bleaching your hair can also cause hair or skin damage. It's better to work with another person. For your first bleach, I recommend getting it done at a salon. You don't need to go to a high-end place, some places will even let you bring your own box of bleach.  Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of the "drug-store box hair color". Not only because I had a rough experience but there's a pretty big challenge coloring your own hair. Having another person to help is good but some...

A character with a skin color different from your own will come with its own challenges depending on how much skin is shown. (If you're lucky, it's just the face).  Natural vs Unnatural Skin Color We should, right off the bat, address the elephant in the room. While I believe you can cosplay as whoever you want, at least in the United States, there is a social expectation to not to darken your skin to portray a character that has a darker skin color than your own. To put it in blunt terms, no "black face" or "brown face" please. This has fallen very far out of fashion and could ruin your political career. (If you have such asperations.) But in all seriousness, I'd like to think that as cosplayers we're respectful and sensitive enough not to participate in this practice.  HOWEVER, if you get dark when you tan or get lighter when you stay indoors, this is perfectly acceptable. (Even spray tans to an extent.)  I think generally because we dress up as a ...

Having an eye for detail really makes for great cosplay or costumes. Adding an effect to your eyes can be the cherry on top. However, it is not 100% necessary for you to change your eye color for a costume. To me, there are only two methods for changing your eye color.   Method 1: Contact Lenses Method 2: Photomanipulation  That's it.  So let's look at the pros and cons of changing your eye color or adding a unique effect to your eyes with contact lenses.  Pros : It looks authentic. You can look like the character or creature in real-time. Makes the costume look a bit more professional.  Cons : They can be expensive. Depending on the effect it can obscure vision. The learning curve for using, caring, and wearing. Need an appointment with an optometrist (eye doctor) before using. Can cause eye damage or infection. It may not be visible in all photos.  Now, I may be showing my bias against costume contacts, but they're not all that bad. There's just a lo...