Intro

Welcome to the EVA Foam Learning Series, written and compiled by Chris Clarke. In this Series, you will learn how to make your very own EVA foam cosplay. He will teach you the absolute basics, planning your cosplay, building it, creating effects, painting it, wearing it in contests, and every possible thing in between!

Treat this Series like an actual class. Do not rush through it, rather take your time to fully get an understanding of each segment before moving to the next. Some segments are relatively quick but some may take a while to get through. Each segment is written to give you an understanding not only of what things are and how things are done, but why. Simply knowing that you do something is not nearly as useful as knowing why you do something. There are also a lot of pictures and videos in this Series. Many of the videos provided were made by other cosplayers and fabricators as they did a very good job explaining and demonstrating things.

What to Cosplay

Before you dive in to a full cosplay, It is highly recommended that you start small in order to get a sense of how the foam, tools, and materials work together and feel. Start with a small prop or a small piece of armor first, then gradually build bigger projects. If you attempt a large project like a complex suit of armor straight out of the gate you may have a higher chance of failure, get disappointed, and give up altogether.

Since this is the world of cosplay, you can do just about anything you want. You can do a simple build that has just shoulder guards with the rest being fabric to a severely complicated and huge mecha suit. So make whoever you want to be. Is there a character from a comic book or anime you like or identify with? How about a video game? Perhaps someone out of a movie or even a card game? Perhaps your focus is less on characters and more on cosplay styles like full armor or more of a mage. Choose your cosplays for your own purposes, for whatever reason you choose.

Once you've figured out what you want to build, find as many pictures, videos, cosplayer works, etc. as you can. Research the crap out of it. If your cosplay is out of a Blizzard Entertainment game, they likely have PDF reference files on their website. Videos help you get more perspectives than pictures, and cosplayer builds help you get a sense of how others built the same or similar suit. One very talented and well known cosplayer I found as a reference to my Altera Armor is Yuks General. She made the female version of my armor and did an amazing job with it. How she constructed it and especially her painting on it are awesome. That was the quality I looked up to for my suit. With Freedom, I look up to UbersCosplay (he's been a big mentor for me on Freedom), Clive Lee's Cosplay, and Zai Naru Cosplay. So if you're building say a Batman suit, you should have no problem finding reference pictures and videos and other cosplayers who have done one. If you’re having trouble on how to design or build something and someone else has built your cosplay, chances are pretty certain they’ve solved that problem. So why wouldn’t you learn from them? If you're cosplaying Ashe or Tracer out of Overwatch, you'll find some good sources (like Blizzard's site). My Altera Armor well...I was only able to find two male versions and two female done by cosplayers, so it's a relatively rare suit. Armistice is even more rare; as far as I can tell nobody has done it.

Once you have your references, which we'll go more into, you can go in any direction; you can build as accurate to your pictures as possible, gender-bend it (make a male version of a female and visa versa), mix two more characters together, or put your very own twist on it like a steampunk Black Widow. You can even do a totally original character of your own design.

So now that we've figured out who we're going to build, we start to plan. The next segment will cover this first and important stage of building a cosplay.

Planning and Perspective

I mentioned this topic in my video earlier but I will expand on it here. This also came up in a Q&A session between Punished Props Academy and Kamui Cosplay. It's the question of how to make props and outfits accurate to its original picture, video, or game reference. This can be a difficult if not impossible task to make something truly accurate. In a video game, there may be "perspective" software that can distort the object when seen at various angles or even the quality of its rendering or size. In videos, pictures, and even cards like Magic: The Gathering, you're trying to turn a 2D object into a 3D one. You may only get certain views of it like in a movie trailer. Is your reference picture a perfect side profile or is it at a slight angle? Are parts of the person exaggerated more than others? In the case of my Altera Armor, I had only three images to use as a reference; two front views and one back, and the Lance has only two. The armor is so rare in the game there isn't even a video of it in gameplay. With my armor, you may notice in the main picture I shared earlier that the knight's legs are long and massive, followed by a short torso, then a rather tiny head. The same is true with my Armistice references. Clearly the suit will not and cannot be true to form with the picture because no human is shaped like that. So each piece is built with a biased judgment of perspective. Do I make the shoulder guards massive to reach the hight of the top of the head or do I match it with its size relation to the body armor? The protruding chin piece on the helm was a victim of perspective. If I had a tiny head like in the picture or built the body armor to be massive, it would easily fit behind the chest spike but since I have a normal head, I chose to keep the spike and the chin had to go. The proportion and size of the cosplayer is also important to consider. A tall person's suit will be built differently than a shorter one's. Likewise, a person with a long torso will build theirs different than a person with a short torso. For this reason also, using pre-existing templates for cosplays can pose a challenge because the chances of you being the exact same size and proportions as the maker are pretty slim, so you have to modify accordingly.

Here's another great example of perspective. I like this one because it’s an over exaggerated example. Below are two pictures of the Altera Lance. The top one makes it appear as though the side is wide and is not terribly thick. The second one is the opposite. It shows a wide top with a thinner side, not to mention it's at an angle. So which one do you pick to make? Since the top one was better quality, I chose that one as my reference.

Cosplay is constantly succumbed to this notion of perspective and it's more obvious than you may realize. How many Iron Mans or Deadpools have you seen for example? How many Aloy's from Horizon: Zero Dawn or perhaps even Reinhardt from Overwatch? Are they all the same? No. In fact they are all different in some way. My particular Altera Blademaster Armor has been built by only a few other cosplayers to my knowledge. Do they look similar? No. They are actually very different. Emphasis is given to some parts I didn't and visa versa and designs are different. Any cosplay you've seen that are of the same character but by different people will be a little different, ignoring cosplayer skill and experience, because of this notion of perspective. The only time you will see multiple costumes that look identical are in groups like the 501st Legion, a Star Wars Empire charity organization that has strict requirements for its members' suits, as if they are able to, and seriously have, jump right on set of the Mandalorian for filming.

So if your build does not look 100% like your reference or just like another cosplayer's, it's totally acceptable. And in the end, nobody will ridicule you for not having a perfect build anyway nor will they even know what every tiny detail should look like. They'll have looked at it for maybe a couple minutes, not months. Besides, their opinion of your cosplay doesn't matter, only yours. So have fun with it.

Next up in the series, we'll start diving into video tutorials on working with foam with the pros.

Tools

By now you should have watched the videos from Evil Ted in my last segment. As you watched them, you may have noticed he used a wide variety of tools. As you continue your research by watching additional tutorials online, you may also notice many cosplayers and fabricators may use specialized tools like a scroll or band saw, belt sander, or even a laser cutter. Do not be discouraged by these. Though such tools can make your job easier and quicker, they are by no means required to create even the most elaborate foam cosplays. Additionally, most cosplayers do not have the space or the money to own such specialized equipment (I sure don't). There are many other tools you can use to build but again, most of them are optional or are used for specialized effects or specific purposes. But there is a small handful of tools that are absolutely critical if you wish to build with EVA foam and I will discuss those here. And you can still make amazing foam cosplays with such basic tools. For example, below is a series of pictures of the only tools I used to build my Gundam Freedom. So let's go over the essentials.

The first most critical tool you will need is a good blade, two to be exact. One blade will be for large cuts and one will be for precision cuts. For large cuts you need a large blade. I prefer a sturdy, wide telescoping snap-off blade. The specific one I use is an Olfa 25mm blade. Telescoping blades are useful because they allow you to use a lot of blade (I've used up to 3" for a cut) whereas utility blades simply don't allow you to use nearly that much. For precision cuts, a standard X-Acto blade will do just fine.

The second critical tool is a good blade sharpener. One of the things that makes me cringe the most is when people tell me they use things that are not meant for sharpening blades like an emery board (nail file) or even a rock (seriously). A lot of people have told me they don't even use a sharpener but will instead replace their blades when they get dull. Here's why none of that works. EVA foam dulls even the sharpest blades in as little as three cuts. Using things like a nail file will only make it more dull. If you choose to simply replace your blades, either you try to save money by not replacing them until they're literally tearing your foam to bits, or you replace your blades every few cuts. Either the quality and construction of your cosplay will suffer greatly or your wallet will. You have to invest in a good sharpener, and they're actually quite cheap. You'll end up saving yourself a lot of trouble and a lot of money by getting a proper sharpener. So what should you use? Whetstones, diamond-plated whetstones (like what I use), or even the sharpener Evil Ted uses are excellent choices. I use a DMT Diafold fine grit diamond sharpener. It's about $15-$20US. Evil Ted uses a Kershaw Ultra-Tek sharpener and costs around $15. Links for both are below.

The third most critical tool is a heat gun. Not a hair dryer, a heat gun. Any basic heat gun will do and they're relatively cheap. Basic ones tend to only have a few settings: off, hot, and very hot. Slightly nicer ones like my Porter Cable have a dial that allows you to fine tune the temperature from barely lukewarm to extremely hot. Heat guns are critical because you need heat in order to shape and form your foam. You cannot hope to keep even the slightest curve without heat. It's also used to create many effects as well as heat sealing your foam.

Fourth, I think, is a metal ruler. Not wood or plastic, but metal. Not only will you use it for measuring, but you will use it as a literal guide for your blade while cutting foam. Fail to acquire this item, and your cuts won't be neat and your measurements will be way off.

Fifth is your adhesive. There are three common types I've seen people use: super glue, hot glue, and contact cement. With super glue, I've never had any luck with it keeping pieces together, but some other people use it a lot. Find the super glue that works best for you. I've heard good things about Bob Smith's brand super glue. Hot glue is a more common adhesive. It needs to be high-temp. I personally use it and use it on all my cosplays, but it's not what I use to glue pieces of foam together, and I'll explain why later in the series. Contact cement is the adhesive of choice. Used correctly, it creates an instant and permanent bond and without a mess. Two types are popular. First is Barge. Unfortunately, apart from Tandy Leather, you'll only find it online. Weldwood by DAP is the other and is much more easily found. It is what I use and I've never had issues with it. Find it with the adhesives at Lowe's and Home Depot.

Last is your PPE or Personal Protective Equipment. This is your respirator and eye protection, necessary for protecting your eyes, lungs, and brain. Contact cement, especially Barge, gives off noxious gasses, so it should be used in a well-ventilated area. But if you're like me and you don't easily have access to such a place, you have to use a respirator (you should still use one regardless). You will need a 3M respirator with 6001 filters for organic chemicals. They have a black stripe on them. You will also need particulate protection, either with a basic white respirator or, if you buy the 3M filters, they come with particulate filters that you can cover over the main ones. When you use your rotary tool to carve foam or when you're sanding, foam dust will float in the air and are harmful to breath. Those particles will also get in your eyes and is not fun, so you need eye protection. Glasses-style ones are not sufficient as you will still get foam in your eyes. You have to wear full-coverage safety goggles like the ones you wore in chemistry class.

Those are the absolute most critical items you will need. There are other items that I have pictured below that are very useful, though not critical. And depending on your cosplay, some may be totally irrelevant.

- Hack Saw: used for cutting PVC, wood, carbon fiber, and aluminum

- Triangle/90 degree ruler: very useful for drawing patterns

- Sanding sticks: introduced by Evil Ted, these are sandpaper glued onto paint mixing sticks

- Hot wire knife: By Hot Wire Foam Factory, this is used for cutting and carving polystyrene foam

- Dremel: highly versatile rotary tool. We'll cover this next.

- Soldering iron: used for engraving details in foam and, obviously, electronics. Also as effective is a wood burner.

- Power drill: has its obvious uses. The likelihood of you needing one for a cosplay are pretty slim.

- Styrogoo and Foam Fusion: adhesives by Hot Wire Foam Factory for use on polystyrene foams.

- Loctite PL Premium: for a very specific application on my Gundam so disregard this (but if you must know it's for adhering XPS foam to other materials like wood or metal (not XPS to XPS). We'll get into XPS later or go directly to my XPS Foam link in the Education main page if you're just itching to know about it.

- Paint brushes: should be obvious

- Contractor's paper: used to make patterns. This roll of heavy duty paper is perfect and extremely cheap ($11) for the massive roll you get.

- Cutting mat: (not pictured) a self-sealing green mat with ruled lines. A large one is not cheap but if you want to effectively protect the surface you're working on, this is a very wise investment. The ruled lines on it are also very useful, and particularly for certain advanced bevels. The mat also prevents you from getting yelled at by you significant other for cutting up the dining table.

Click on the links below to order your sharpener

Manipulating Foam

Manipulating foam is the act of changing it, forming it, and treating it to suit your specific needs. EVA is inherently a flexible, smooth, and flat material. Like a spring, untreated foam can be compressed, formed, or bent but will return to its previous state when that force is removed. Think of it like a mattress . When it lies by itself, it is in a given state. Now if you were to lie on the mattress, it is compressed where you are, changing its shape and density. But, get off the mattress, and its form, shape, and density return to its original state. So how do we manipulate the foam to remain in a new state once a force is applied to it. Heat.

To explain this, I need to get a little scientific. A substance has a constant potential energy when at rest. It's atoms and molecules remain at a given state if no forces are acted upon it. In this case, we are using a solid. At rest, foam's atoms are very close together. But, if you apply a kinetic energy to it in the form of heat, the atoms become energized or "excited" and move farther apart from each other. As with ice, it turns to a liquid state when enough kinetic energy is applied. Water is much more fluid than ice and therefore can assume many shapes and fill many different containers. When you apply heat to foam, you are applying kinetic energy to move the atoms far apart enough to be able to manipulate it.

Now, if we were to apply the heat, form it, and release the force, it will tend to its original state because the kinetic energy is allowed to be released, cooling the foam back to room temperature. But if you were to hold the foam in a shape while it cools, that kinetic energy has nowhere to go so it is stored into the foam and it will hold its new shape. This process is called conservation of energy. Energy is neither lost nor created but rather stored. Now, apply heat to it again and it will tend to its original position because that stored kinetic energy is allowed to be transferred out.

In a nutshell, apply heat, form the foam, and hold it until it cools, it will stay in that position. Apply heat again and it will want to go back to its original state. This also holds true to unwanted creases or marks or even intended designs as you’ll see shortly. But what if I were to wear it on a hot day? The temperature is not hot enough. However, if you kept it in your car on a hot summer day, the temperature inside the car will get hot enough to have undesired effects.

In foamsmithing, we manipulate foam in this way using a heat gun. For this reason, the heat gun is one of the most critical tools you will own. Bend it, roll it, twist it, compress it, stretch it, even imprint designs and textures in it, it's all possible with heat. I demonstrate this manipulation in the video tutorial below.

Clean Seams

After watching a bunch of Evil Ted's videos on making armor and helmets, we need to focus on making good seams. Clean seams can mean the difference between a great looking suit or piece of armor and one that looks like it was rushed. Do it poorly, and you'll be left with a bunch of holes and gaps that need to be filled in somehow. Do it right and you shouldn't ever have any holes or gaps. Remember back to my Tools segment, where I discussed the importance of having a sharp blade and good adhesive? This is where they come in to play.

Step one is your adhesive and I'll go more into detail on it in the next segment. Some people will use hot glue but most, including myself, will use contact cement. The reason for this is because hot glue is messy, is difficult to control, takes time to cool into place, and can get soft and loosen in hot weather conditions, effectively causing your armor to split at the seams. Some people have success with hot glue but I strongly recommend using contact cement because it's a far more permanent bond and you have greater control over adhering pieces together.

The number one rule to getting great seams and thus a well-constructed piece is PATIENCE. Take your time. Contact cement is permanent once two pieces touch so taking your time and going slow will allow you to achieve great seams. You also need to apply cement correctly, which we will get into in the next segment. Take your time with your cuts. If you rush through them you won't get good even cuts which will make it harder to get good seams.

The second number one rule to getting good seams is a sharp blade. Foam dulls blades super quick so a nice blade sharpener is required. If your blade is dull, it starts to tear the foam instead of cut, creating uneven surfaces, making it look like you tried to cut with a saw, or you left it for some rabid honeybadger to chew on it. If your cut isn't smooth and even, you'll never get a good seam and your pieces won’t adhere properly, and in the end your cosplay simply won’t look nearly as good as it could. So sharpen your blade frequently. I sharpen mine every three cuts or so. I covered the importance of a good sharp blade in a previous segment but I cannot stress enough how important it is.

One tool, or material rather, that is of particular use for seams is Kwik Seal. The video below demonstrates how it is used to fill in any cracks and holes in your seams because let's face it, very perfect seams are not easy to achieve. There is also a substance available from TNT Cosplay Supply called Gap Filla, that is a good option. Alternatively, I've seen people use foam clay to fill in seams. What's foam clay, you ask? We'll get into that later.

So watch the video, check out the pictures, and remember when building your cosplay...keep your blade sharp and PATIENCE!

Cutting Bevels

What exactly is a bevel? A bevel is an edge that slopes at an angle, as opposed to perpendicular to its top surface. Instead of a 90 degree angled edge, it may be 45 degrees or any other angle. Think of a picture frame. At any given corner you have two pieces of wood that join together, but their ends are cut at a 45 degree angle to come together. That angled edge is a bevel. Cosplayers and fabricators create bevels in order to achieve endless amounts of results in their crafts; to create effects, details, or attach pieces together in special ways.

If you recall back to my Dremel segment, a popular way people create bevels is by using a Dremel or rotary tool to carve away an edge. Some may even go so far as to use a belt sander which is kind of overkill. Although using a rotary tool can be an effective method, I personally prefer a much neater and less messy approach. By using a blade, your bevels will be more consistent and cleaner, not to mention your work space will stay clean too. This is especially important if you build somewhere like your living room or dining table. Using a Dremel here could turn into a scene out of Cooper’s house in Interstellar. So how do we use a blade to create bevels?

Remember my Tools segment? Ya, I’m not done referring back to that. This is another critical reason why you need a good blade and even more so, a good sharpener. In order to make nice clean bevels, your blade has to be sharp. Without a sharp blade, you might as well pick up your Dremel. Another critical tool for this is your metal ruler and is used as your cutting guide. Although there are bevel cuts that cannot be done with a ruler, I will cover just the basics here.

Below is a link to a video demonstrating how to do a basic bevel cut. Watch it and if you have any questions, ask.

If you wish to use a blade but have a difficult time keeping your angles consistent throughout your cuts, there are options to help. FoamWerks by Logan Graphics makes tools that will help you achieve good bevels. However, you are restricted to 45 degree angles, you’re restricted by what thickness they’re able to cut through, and there’s no easy way to sharpen blades so you have to buy new ones as the get dull. You can find them online or through TNT Cosplay Supply. Another option that I’m more in favor of is to use an aluminum angle rod. I have pictures of them below. Hold the flat side of your blade against a side (not edge) of one of these rods as you cut and you have a clean consistent cut AND you can sharpen your blade.

Below are various pictures of some basic to advanced bevel cuts as well as the rods.

Ventilation

This is a subject that is very important yet can be easily overlooked. EVA foam does not breath AT ALL. You will sweat a ton in a full foam suit of armor. It's nice and cozy in the snow but during summer, a foam suit will be dreadfully hot. There are precautions you must take at a summer Con so you don't overheat, which I'll cover in a later segment, but I'll discuss designing and building your costume to have some sort of ventilation to help reduce the chance of overheating.

Where and how you put in ventilation depends entirely on the cosplay you're building so it's difficult to say put vents here or there. But, you should at least try to add some if it's possible. Suits like Iron Man or many Monster Hunter armor sets for example, can be nearly impossible to do so. However, larger suits and especially ones that are only partially armored are some of the most able to have proper ventilation. Wherever you are able to put ventilation, your core and head are the most important areas. So what exactly do I mean by ventilation?

When you open a window at home, that gives you some ventilation as cool air is allowed to come in. But open another window on the other side of the room, you suddenly get a nice breeze going in and out of your house? Have you burnt something cooking and had to open the windows to let the smoke out? We've all done it. It's the exact same principle but on a much smaller scale. Even though achieving in and out ventilation in a suit can be challenging if not impossible, at least try to have any sort of open gaps, seams, holes, anything. This will still allow some cool air in. Conversely, your body will get very hot so allowing somewhere for any of that body heat to escape is ideal, otherwise you may be effectively wearing an oven.

Below you will see various pictures of my suit. My Monster Hunter was difficult to do. It's a form fitting suit with full coverage. Getting effective ventilation was impossible. However, the front and back panels allowed me to lift the point of the layers up slightly to allow air in. They are entirely hidden and they are small, but they are there. On a windy day, it makes all the difference. If you ever see me in my Monster Hunter Armor standing outside in place, just standing there, it’s probably because I’m trying to get a breeze in my armor. My helmet had minimal ventilation. It's a full face and fitting helmet that presses against my face so air effectively has nowhere to go in or out. This is a problem because, unless I'm outside in a really good breeze, my visor tends to fog up easily, making it hard to see. Some years later I finally took out the visor film and replaced it with a breathable black fabric.

My Gundam is a much different story. Because it's big and it's design inherently allows it, it has lots of full ventilation. It has air intakes and exhausts, which I've used for that exact purpose. Plenty of air can hit my torso and sides, and even my helmet has plenty of ventilation, owing again to the air intakes and exhausts. There's vents, holes, and gaps all over it, some big and obvious, and some small and hidden. In fact, if I wanted to, I could even install fans! Yes, fans.

Many cosplayers choose to install very small battery powered fans in their suits and helmets. I did on my Mandalorian helmet. They are completely hidden and most beneficial in costumes where there really is no place to add ventilation. You can use computer fans or even purchase pre-made helmet fan kits from venders like Henry's Helmet Fans (link below). You will see fans used most by cosplayers in fur suits (Furries), those animal mascot like costumes covered in fur, and those in the The The 501st Legion and Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club, Star Wars charity groups that wear film-accurate suits. The 501st, Mercs, and Furries may wear their suits for long periods of time without breaks so having fans can mean the difference between passing out from heat stroke and not.

So when you're designing and building your foam armor, try to see where you may be able to add some ventilation or even some fans because seriously, your body will thank you.

https://henryshelmetfans.com

Adding Details and Battle Damage

Adding details can make your cosplay stand out from the rest but it doesn't have to be difficult. There are only four things you need to make most any kind of detail: a sharp blade (exacto specifically), a blade sharpener, a hot glue gun, and a Dremel.

We've already discussed the Dremel in length earlier in the Series as well as adding texture with heat and objects. For certain details like wider lines or even writing, you can use a wood burner or soldering iron to burn the details into the foam like I did with the bottom of my Nirvana staff. The wood burner is particularly useful because it use many different types of points to burn details with. All are effective methods for getting great details. What if you wanted to add very small, thin protruding details like floral designs? Germia demonstrates how to do this in the first video. The process is by no means quick but such attention to detail can make all the difference. What about battle damage? The joke among foamsmiths (cosplayers who specialize in foam) is if you make a significant mistake or slip like accidentally cutting or burning lines you didn't mean to or a piece got torn, it is now battle damage. A lot of mistakes can simply become battle damage. But if you want to intentionally add battle damage, use any bit on your Dremel and go nuts. Evil Ted shows this in the second video. Seriously, you’re purposefully damaging your work.

Instant Abs

Do you want huge super hero muscles but don't have time or willpower to go to the gym? With the simple scoring technique you learned yesterday, you can! Do you need any additional tools? No! Just a blade and your heat gun! How is this possible, you ask? Just watch Xieng Prod’s very useful videos and find out!

Helmets

The helmet can be the defining piece of a cosplay, thus it can make or break a costume. Take my Altera Armor for example. The way it is, it looks pretty cool. But if I had gone with my initial attempt, it would look more like a Triceratops. It just wouldn't work. How about a Voltron Paladin costume? The helmet is fairly simple but if it were to look like a faceless football helmet, it would look weird. Or maybe even a Garo suit of armor with his awesome Tiger like helm? Imagine that looking more like a kitten? Ya, not so much. Depending on your cosplay, getting your helmet right can be easy or difficult to pull off. But get it right, and it will be awesome.

Below I have provided a collection of videos and template libraries that can help you get started. As discussed in my Patterns segment, you can use an existing pattern, whether downloaded (like in the links below) or via Pepakura, you can modify an existing template, or you can make one from scratch, thus customizing it further. Everybody's head is shaped and sized differently, so to get a more precise fit, make a pattern off your head like Evil Ted does in the first video (using your actual head instead of a cast works). But remember, because we're working with foam, which has thickness, you may have to increase its size slightly or it will be a fairly snug fit.

Watch the videos I've included below on making various helmets. To see how I built my Monster Hunter and Gundam helmets, check out my photo albums on my cosplay page.

Videos:

Generic Helmet

https://youtu.be/ODSNPYdvJRo

Voltron Paladin

https://youtu.be/XXCCqwSJ2C8

Ram Horn Helmet

https://youtu.be/fCmLjviF3I0

Batman Beyond

https://youtu.be/DwzzzBczTWY

Iron Man Mk4

https://youtu.be/tzUJ74W3-QI

Wasp

https://youtu.be/yEdph-b2ItM

Deadpool

https://youtu.be/1PTHE_U-X88

Templates:

https://eviltedsmith.com/shop/

https://www.kamuicosplay.com/product/foamhelmet/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/XiengProd

https://punishedprops.com/free-blueprint-files/

Gauntlets

Gauntlets are actually fairly easy to make, well unless you’re doing something like a Nazgul Ringwraith gauntlet (oh, but just you wait). The only trick really was to find a pair of gloves that you like as your foundation. You can buy gloves or make your own. The great thing about gauntlets is, even though I'm telling you how I made mine, you can take the very same techniques and go nuts with it on your gauntlets. So how’s it done?

I’ll describe how I made my Monster Hunter’s gauntlets. The first thing I needed was a thin, black pair of full-finger gloves. I found a cheap pair of Nike running gloves at my local sporting goods store that would do the trick. I took a sheet of pattern paper and measured and drew out what I wanted the plates on my gauntlets to look like. Once I got that, I traced them on to 2mm foam and labeled each piece as to where they go. There's a lot of pieces and they all look alike but some are different and you don't want to mix them up. The best solution is to again, label them, but also tape all your pieces onto cardboard with painter's tape. But before you tape, heat seal and form each piece to your liking. For mine, I just formed them around my fingers.

With all pieces taped to my cardboard, I brushed on a layer of Mod Podge. I've used Hot Wire Foam Factory's Bounce with other gauntlets, which offers far more protection. Now this is where taping your pieces down really helps. Try to spray paint little foam pieces without securing them on a sturdy surface. Ya, they'll blow away. Once dried and cured, I painted on two layers of gunmetal grey acrylic, all while still on the cardboard. Once dry, you can clear coat or leave is they are. Once dried, it was time to glue!

All my pieces were glued to the gloves using high-temp hot glue. At this step, you can use a finger's thick wooden dowel inside the fingers but I found it much more effective to wear the glove while gluing the pieces on. But wait! Isn't that glue really hot?! Why, yes it is! To avoid burning myself, I wore three pairs of thick exam gloves. You can wear latex or nitrile gloves or anything of the like you can find but whatever you do, WEAR SOMETHING UNDERNEATH THE GLOVE OR YOU WILL BURN YOURSELF! So, piece by piece, glue them onto your glove and there you go, a finished gauntlet!

Now hot glue isn’t the only way to put your gauntlet together. Depending on the material of your base glove (fabric, rubber, leather, etc.) or the effect you’re after, you could use contact cement, E6000, Chicago screws, or anything else that suits your needs. For fabric base gloves, I’ve found high temp hot glue to be very effective.

Below are some links to great gauntlet videos including how to make a Nazgul Ringwraith gauntlet! The first video with Evil Ted is a good demonstration.

https://www.facebook.com/KamuiCos/videos/1785098581518647/ (Kamui's Erazer Girl Gauntlets)

Sealing Foam

This is a topic that is constantly under experimentation, even by seasoned professionals. As I discussed in an earlier segment, foam by nature likes to soak up whatever is put on it. If you tried to paint directly on untreated foam, the results can be quite disappointing in regards to look and texture, and the foam still isn't protected from the elements or from simply wearing/using it. To prevent that, you have to seal it! However, EVA foam is also flexible, so you can’t use just anything.

There are many types of sealants you could potentially use: PVA glue, rubber or latex, neoprene, resin, epoxy, and so on. Each type and each brand can give different results, and how they are used can change the results even further. There are sealants designed for general crafts, cars, molds, and some are actually designed specifically for use on EVA foam. Some are flexible enough and some will crack as soon as you bend it. And then there is of course the matter of money. Some are cheap and some are expensive. Depending on what country you’re in, a sealant that’s cheap for one country can be quite expensive for you. It is for all these reasons that there isn’t a “perfect sealant” and different people will prefer or be limited to certain sealants. So when you ask a group of cosplayers from around the world, they’ll likely give you different answers.

My personal favorite sealer, and most popular in the states, is Plasti Dip. It's a rubberized spray coating so it's very flexible. It’s also fairly easy to use and is fairly inexpensive (in the states). I’ve also used a durable rubber sealant from Hot Wire Foam Factory called Bounce. It’s originally meant as an additive to their Foam Coat but I discovered it works really well by itself. In fact, I used Bounce to seal the pieces of my Gundam’s gauntlets and the XPS foam wings.

Below is a series of videos on nothing but sealants and each is highly educational, so I highly recommend watching all of them. You may even find your favorite sealant.

Note: you can buy Seal Prime in the US from TNT Cosplay Supply

Enjoy!

Poly Props Hex Flex

https://www.facebook.com/kallimackcosplay/videos/1749933948390412/

EVA Foam Props

Chances are your costume needs to have a prop, so here's how you can make yours using EVA foam. Remember my motto: “the best solution is usually more simple than you think.” That applies to props, even some of the more complicated ones. Most prop start with some sort of a foundation, or a core on which you will build off of. Some, like swords and axes, may simply involve glueing two pieces of foam together with a sturdy rod in between for stability, then going to town with your Dremel. Some larger props may even require a totally different type of foam called Extruded Polystryrene (XPS), or more commonly known as home insulation foam board. No matter what it is, unless you’re putting in tons of lights and gizmos, it’s not nearly as complicated to build as you may think.

When it comes to props, most have some sort of handle or barrel. The most commonly used material for this is a PVC pipe. A common tool used for props, other than your “critical” ones, is your Dremel. Another tool used may be a wood burner or soldering tool. Below is a whole bunch of videos of props being made. You may watch them all to understand how many will start with a core layer and are then built off of that, or you can watch the ones you are most interested in learning how to make them. Most of these props you can even get templates for by the maker. Though these videos are on specific props, the basic principles of how they’re built can be used to make any other prop you wish to build.

Long Sword

https://youtu.be/QagkB9ebk9w

Viking Axe

https://youtu.be/aqrIt64SaDU

Skyrim Wuuthrad Battle Axe

https://youtu.be/-P_VBXPudD8

Hand Gun

https://youtu.be/GymYoTFYbys

Fallout 4 Laser Pistol

https://youtu.be/YnODlGEPOHQ

M41-A Pulse Rifle

https://youtu.be/Pcd_ZM9zvlU

Space Rifle

https://youtu.be/87qox8XL-qk

Star Wars E-11 Imperial Blaster

https://youtu.be/iuCIof6xkIw

Anthem Hammerhead Rifle

https://youtu.be/t9taaMg6YmU

Nova Rifle

https://youtu.be/oz8LUA2YtaA

Sombra Gun

https://youtu.be/8-6CdbHv9Es

D.Va Gun

https://youtu.be/gK7hW6z7r9A

MH Zinogre Dual Blades

https://youtu.be/jSpaic5hvhI

Captain America Infinity War Shields

https://youtu.be/IYYgla2nf3Q

Basic Shield

https://youtu.be/evt06fhptkY

Viking Shield

https://youtu.be/TKO1yrWcNCU

EVA Broom

https://youtu.be/Pt-l4Eh1SFI

Painting Shadows and Depth

Adding depth to your costume or prop can make all the difference. It gives definition and makes the details and features really stand out. It can also create illusions that 3-dimensional features exist when in fact they don’t. Remember my motto: the best solution is usually the simplest one. Whether it’s a special effect, a special material like carbon fiber, or a certain way to build something, you don’t necessarily have to create or use the actual thing, you only need to create the illusion that it’s the actual thing. Painting is one of the easiest ways to achieve this illusion. In this segment I will talk about how to add depth and shadows.

The simplest way to add depth is to vary the shades of your paint from light to dark in key places. You can't just randomly go varying the colors though. Imagine your piece in front of a light, or literally put it in front of one. You will, of course, get shadows at various points and bright spots in others. Move the piece around the light and see where the shadows go. Depending on the effect you want, you can use a light bulb in a dimly lit room for sharper and more intense shadows or a light source in a brighter room, giving a much softer transition of shades. You will also notice the areas that are closer to the light source are brighter than the areas farther away or to the side. We can exaggerate this effect. The easiest way is to do three blots of one color on your painter's palette. Mix some white with one, some black in one, and the other is left as untouched. Let’s use a dome as an example to paint. Most of it will be painted your “untouched” color but the base of it will be painted the darker color as it’s farther from the light source, and the top center area of the dome will be painted with the lighter color as it’s closest to the light. This is the easiest way to add depth to your armor. And of course these shades won’t be harsh transitions like stripes, you have to blend them for a much softer transition.

There are two effective ways to blend colors: dabbing and dry brushing. In this segment I will talk about making harsher transitions like you see with shadows using the dabbing technique. I will cover dry brushing in the next segment. I used the dabbing technique on about 95% of my Altera Armor. A shadow doesn't blend from dark to light in a long, gradual transition, but rather very quickly. It's difficult to explain so watch the demonstration I made showing how I did the dabbing technique for my armor at the link below. This technique is quite rough on your brush so I like to use a cheap one for this. I've added some pictures showing the difference between shading and none. The finished pieces' shadows are false shadows; it's paint, not light. I’ve simply created the illusion of the real thing.

Weathering

Weathering is a paint effect that makes your prop or armor appear worn, old, or otherwise well used. It also helps add dimension. This is an effect I used on my Skyrim Glass War Axe. And mentioning Skyrim, three videos below are from Skyrim! I’ve spent way too many hours playing that game (or have I?).

Weathering can be a scary thing to do but the end result is worth it. Why is it scary? The basic idea is, once you've spent tons of time painting your prop or armor, you pretty much cover it in diluted dark paint and then wipe away with a paper towel, or a technique called black-washing. If you wait too long to wipe...well, that's the scary part, hence why it's important to dilute the paint with water. Watch the videos below and see how it's done!

Airbrushing

Some people are really good with brushes and rubbish with an airbrush (like me) and some people are really good with airbrushes. Though I personally prefer a good ol' brush, it's still important to at least give a primer on airbrushing. I own a set myself and use it from time to time but am by no means an expert with it. There are just certain things you can't do with a brush that you can with an airbrush. So I thought I would at least share a good selection of beginner video tutorials and I think they do an excellent job explaining it.

I should note that while I was researching various topics like changing colors and cleaning, there wasn’t any set in stone “this is the correct way to do it” information. Different people seem to have different ideas of how to use and care for an airbrush, and especially since my personal experience with airbrushes is so limited, I’ve provided only introductory videos and a cleaning tutorial by Frank Ippolito of Adam Savage’s “Tested,” whom I trust he knows what he’s doing.

Your New Armor and Cons

In this segment, I want to share my experiences cosplaying with a suit of foam armor, things you should consider while wearing it, and things you must do.

Transportation:

Depending on the size of your costume, you may or may not have difficulty taking it to a con. My lance was limited in size so I could fit in my car. My Freedom wings had to be split in two. My Monster Hunter costume will fit comfortably in a sedan's trunk and back seats. If you plan to fly with your costume, you'll need to design it to be able to ship it or fit it inside a large suitcase and without getting damaged. If you plan on flying with a prop weapon, make sure security or anybody that might search it has a way to know it's a fake prop so bring thorough documentation that it’s a prop.

Moving and inevitable damage:

If you plan on wearing your costume for a long time, make sure it's as comfortable and relatively easy to move in. I've heard cosplayers say that their costumes give them terrible headaches. Try not to make a costume that kills you. If it hurts your feet too much, consider padded soles or taking several breaks. And since you're going to be walking around in your costume all day, damage will inevitably occur. My Monster Hunter required repair after every con, mostly as paint touch ups. Parts can and do come off. You will bump into people, walls, doorways, walk on stairs, hit things you didn't know were there, etc. your armor will get scratched, cracked, torn, and overall worn as you wear it. So before each con, look over your armor and check for places that need repair. Also, if places tear easily like foam straps, reinforce it with plastic like Worbla or a piece of a plastic grocery container.

For more serious damage:

If you're at a con and part of your costume breaks or tears off, make sure you're prepared. Some cons will have cosplay repair stations but others won't. When attending a con, take a cosplay first aid kit; things like super glue, contact cement, a blade, scraps of foam, brushes and spare paint, anything you might need for your costume that you can use to repair it on site or in your hotel room.

Heat and water:

EVA foam does not breath at all. So if you're going to a winter con, you'll be cozy. If you're going to a summer con, things get more critical. If you can install any kind of ventilation or fan system, do it, but that likely will not be enough. You will sweat like hell. Wear a very breathable base layer if possible and, if it's in your cosplay, expose whatever skin you can. Regardless of the time of year, drink a lot of water and get out of your costume at least a couple times throughout the day. I cannot stress these two points enough. Take tons of water and drink tons of water to replace all the lost fluids from sweating. If you don't do these things, you seriously risk a heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

Eat:

Seems like a no-brainer but you will be having so much fun in your costume and getting your picture taken that you may forget to eat. Hey, this sounds like a great time to take off your costume! Go get some food.

Photos:

You will get your picture taken, and depending on how involved your costume is, you'll get it taken a lot. So if you have somewhere to be, give yourself extra time to get there. People may even wait to take your picture until you finish a conversation with someone. It happens.

Water and breaks:

Drink lots of water and take breaks out of your costume!

Take spare clothes:

As you will sweat a lot, make sure to bring extra clothes like socks, shirts, and if you have a hotel room, underwear. Nothing like driving home or having dinner in clothes soaked in sweat.

Pain Killers:

Nothing like having a headache and not having ibuprofen or Tylenol. It may just ruin your whole day.

Drink water!

Cosplay is not consent:

Lastly, remember this rule: Cosplay is not consent. What does this mean? It means a few things. First, if you want to take a picture of someone in cosplay, do not just take it. You need to ask their permission first. If they say no, do not take it. I’ve had someone ignore that when I was exhausted and on my way to the hotel and it sucks. So on the other side, if someone asks you and if for any reason you don’t want your picture taken, you can say no. Cosplay is not consent means no touching of props, costumes, and cosplayer without permission. Cosplayers put in a lot of time and work into them and many are fragile. If you break something, you may as well get your wallet out and start groveling. Lastly, cosplay is not consent means no costume, no matter how much skin is shown, is ever implied permission to harass, touch, grope, kiss, cat call, give sexual advances of any kind, or even ask out for a drink. It’s not permission of any kind. Fail to abide by this and you will be, at minimum, ejected and banned from the con, and you could even be arrested and thrown in jail. If you are ever the victim of harassment or worse, whether at a con or outside, notify security and/or police immediately.

Don’t forget your water!