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Wisdom from Suvikielo Losty
Intro
Intro
Welcome to the EVA Foam Learning Series! In this Series, you will learn the basics on how to make your very own EVA foam cosplay. We will teach you about the tools used, planning your cosplay, building it, creating effects, painting it, wearing it in contests, and every possible thing in between!
Do not rush through the series. Rather, take your time to fully get an understanding of each segment before moving to the next. Some segments are relatively quick, but others 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. Some of the videos seen in this series are from popular, well-known cosplayers and builders in the industry.
What is EVA Foam?
What is EVA Foam?
EVA stands for Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate, which is a generic term for this particular kind of foam. It is often seen as soft sticker shapes in children's craft kits, or as Play Floor mats.
It is generally smooth and soft to the touch, rolls or flexes easily. It is not crumbly or gritty nor is it foamy or spongy. For information on other kinds of crafting foams see our tutorials on XPS foam and Upholstery Foam.
EVA foam can be found in a range of thicknesses, from 1mm up to 48mm thick from some retailers.
It is found most commonly as "puzzle floor mats," anti-fatigue mats, and craft foam. Floor mats are typically smooth on one side and textured on the other, with interlocking edges that will form a complete mat if they are assembled together. They can be found at most home improvement stores in the flooring department, at automotive stores, or at many online retailers like Amazon. Typically these are gray, black, or white. This is often the cheapest source for thick foam.
Craft foam, found at craft stores or online retailers, is smooth on both sides and can be found in many colors and is typically 1-4mm thick for most colors, though thicker types can be found in larger rolls.
Different thicknesses of EVA have different benefits, but the basic rule of thumb is that thin foam is good for detail work and decorative layers, while medium thickness is more stiff and best for armor and accessories, and the thicker foam is the most stiff and great for props.
Tools
Links are suggested brands or materials but are not sponsored nor required for success unless specified. Tools
The following tools are the minimum, must-have items in order to begin creating with this media:
XActo knife, hobby knife, or retractable utility knife
A way to sharpen the above knives OR blades to replace when they become dull
A self-healing cutting mat
Heat gun - a hair dryer is not enough
Contact cement
A primer like Plastidip or Modpodge
Acrylic paints (no rattle cans)
Personal protective equipment (PPE) like dust masks or particulate masks, goggles, and gloves.
The following tools are helpful, but optional if you do not have the funds or ability to obtain them:
Metal rulers for using as a cutting guide
Miter box and saw
Dremel or other rotary tool
Airbrush and airbrush acrylic paints
Order of Operations
Order of Operations
Foam work requires a fairly rigid order of operations for successful creation, due to the nature of chemical layering you will be doing. Some steps will repeat before moving on, but for the most part your project layout will be as follows:
Plan - Have a clear plan for your project and all your materials ready to hand.
Any templates you are using should be clearly labeled and ready to go.
Trace - Transfer any templates or shapes onto your foam. Sharpie or other alcohol markers are great for this purpose.
Silver or white is good for dark colored foam.
Cut
Bend / Shape / Clean up / Heat Seal - This can be done in any combination of order, until you have a clean shape ready for next steps.
Glue - Attach all foam layers at this time. It is far easier to paint details that are glued securely than to try to glue painted pieces together
If you will be attaching straps, buckles, or other armory pieces, make sure to mark out where those will go and mask it off with painters tape to prevent paint or sealant causing difficulty later on. Glue does not bond well to paint and can pull free unexpectedly if not bonded to the base foam layer. Do not glue them on at this time unless you don't care about paint and sealant getting on the straps or buckles.
Seal
Paint
Weather and Detail
Attach non-foam pieces
Cutting Foam
Cutting Foam
Cutting EVA foam requires patience and a steady hand, and an Xacto knife or other utility blade. Clean seams are daunting and viewed as incredibly difficult and hard to achieve, but we are here to tell you that this is a big phony myth.
Place the foam on a cutting mat to avoid damaging your work surface or blunting your blade. Good seams are easy to achieve if you give yourself time and have patience. The easiest way to help ensure clean seams is to have very sharp cutting implements. If your cutting tool is dull, it will result in skipped cuts and it will tear the foam instead of making a precise cut. The angle you hold your blade at will translate directly to the angle the edges of your foam fit together. Do your best to hold the knife perpendicular to the foam for clean seams when gluing. Avoid sawing motions or taking multiple passes over a cut as it can cause irregular edges and make gluing messier. Use a metal ruler to guide straight edges and move the blade in a steady slice. Thicker foams may require multiple passes with a blade, so slow and careful work is necessary for success.
Thin foams, like 1 or 2 mm are fine to cut with scissors, but a craft razor will tend to be cleaner, especially after practicing on thicker foams.
For edges that will not glue together into a flat plane, you will need to cut a bevel in the glue-edge of the foam. 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. 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. CosTools also makes a line of bevel cutters so that you don't need to have a bunch of tools to cut beveled edges. These tools can be found on Amazon and at Michaels.
Another reason why you need a good blade and a good sharpener is to be able to make nice clean bevels. Using a sharp blade and a metal ruler as a guide for cutting, cutting at an angle is much easier and will give you cleaner cuts.
If for some reason you still have holes or bad seams, fret not! You can use foam clay, GapFilla by Punished Props, or KwikSeal to help hide those bad seams. Using these and a little bit of 220 grit sandpaper and some good, ol' fashioned elbow grease will help hide those pesky seams with ease. Just remember patience is your friend!
Manipulating Foam
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.
Untreated foam can be compressed, formed, or bent but will return to its previous state when that force is removed unless you heat it.
Heat sealing is a vital step for smooth, well painted foam, as it helps prevent paint or glue from being absorbed into the foam and leaving inconsistent surface textures. Heating the foam causes the material to expand slightly, which closes the pores and makes a smoother, more consistent surface. This should be done after cutting out the template shapes and after gluing but before applying any paint or sealant. Properly heated foam should be smooth and slightly more firm to the touch than untreated foam.
You can also use the heat to bend or shape foam by letting it cool into the held position. Use caution when working with heat, it is easy to burn yourself at the temperatures most useful for EVA. A heat gun is necessary for getting enough heat to properly seal the foam. Be sure to work in a well ventilated area.
Be careful cutting out your templates, as heating foam after cutting or scoring the foam can make thin cuts more defined as the foam pulls away from the cut edges. This is great for creating deliberate textures and engravings, but will also highlight any nicks or rough cuts.
Check over the surface of your foam before laying out your template. Any irregularities or bubbles should be put on the inside / underside, avoided, or see our Weathering Tutorials for how to incorporate unexpected damage into the final look.
Use Guide
Use Guide
Contact Cement - Most recommended
Contact Cement - Most recommended
Use in a well ventilated area
Brush on to both contact surfaces.
Wait until mostly dry and tacky.
Press faces together and hold.
Bond is instant so be careful, slow and steady.
Super Glue - Moderate uses
Super Glue - Moderate uses
Gel or liquid
Good for attaching small details that will not flex
Less is more. Lay a thin layer on one surface and press detail down.
Bond is quick but let cure for several hours before painting..
Hot Glue - Least recommended
Hot Glue - Least recommended
Least expensive / safest to work with
Hold pieces together while cooling
Trim excess glue off seams or use hot nozzle to smear glue down.
Makes clean seams difficult.
Temperature hold could fail under normal environmental heat.
Adhesives
Adhesives
Your choice of adhesive has a direct impact on how you put your pieces together and how easy or difficult it is to do so. It has a direct impact on the quality of your seams and the longevity of your cosplay. Each also have their uses and disadvantages. In this segment, I will cover three very common types of adhesives that people use on their cosplays and props.
Contact Cement
Contact Cement
The first type of adhesive people use on EVA foam is contact cement. This is generally a cosplayer's adhesive of choice when it comes to gluing their pieces together, large or small. This glue is strong, forms a near instant bond, and is flexible. Follow the glue instructions on the container for best results, but generally, you will be painting a thin layer of glue onto each surface you want to attach using a plastic adhesive brush (smaller bottles will often have a brush built into the lid), and wait for it to dry to a tacky texture. Press both sides together for a few seconds. This bond is very strong so be very careful as it will be basically impossible to make any adjustments after this point. The amount of glue you use is an important factor - remember less is more when it comes to contact cement - and letting it dry until it is tacky is best!
The brand names you will find this type of glue under are Barge or Weldwood. Barge can be obtained online or at leather crafting stores like Tandy Leather. Weldwood can be obtained at Walmart or at your big box hardware stores like Lowe's and Home Depot.
This type of glue is quite pungent, however, and it is a MUST that you wear protective equipment like a particulate mask or using outdoors. Barge does come in a "low odor" version, but its adhesion is not as great.
Super Glue
Super Glue
The second type of adhesive people use is Cyanoacrylate (CA), or more commonly known as Super Glue.
Super Glue is a great adhesive for gluing details on your armor but we would not recommend it for gluing large pieces together. Though this stuff is generally tough when cured, it does not create an immediate bond.
The biggest downside though is its cost. Because it comes in small bottles, you'd end up spending a lot of money on super glue if that's all you use. So super glue is a great option for gluing on details.
Hot Glue
Hot Glue
The third type of adhesive is hot glue. There are low temp and high temp versions; high temp creates a much stronger bond.
This type of glue comes with many more cons than pros, if truth be told. The pro is that this type of glue is the easiest to obtain, does not have a smell, and is relatively easy to use. The cons of this glue do tend to outweigh the pros though.
First, it takes a long time for it to cool and harden. You'll be spending a lot more time than you need to just trying to hold your pieces together as it cools; and if you are working on a curved piece, this is potentially much longer waiting for your curve to set than you would if you used either of the two glues listed previously.
Second, it's messy. It gets everywhere, and if you're trying to hold pieces together, you're also trying to get rid of excess glue before it hardens or burns you.
Third, it's near impossible to get even good seams because the glue takes up much more space than the previously listed two do and it will squish out if too much is applied. If too little is applied, your pieces will not stick together.
Lastly, this form of glue is temperature sensitive - meaning that if your cosplay is held together with only hot glue and you are outside on a warm day, the cosplay may literally come apart at the seams.
Chemically Sealing Foam
Chemically Sealing Foam
There are a few ways that you can seal your foam before you begin painting. Sealing the foam adds additional security for further painting layers and will provide different effects depending on the sealant used. This must be done AFTER heating the foam to prevent toxic chemical off-gassing, and fire risk.
Big Sealant Test
Other Sealants
Allround Medium
Be aware of what areas of your foam build are going to flex and what will be held firm and choose your sealant accordingly. Areas sealed with stiff sealants that wind up flexing can crack and flake and wrinkle in undesirable ways.
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