Lilith and Mordecai – MCM May 2016

Heyya everyone!

Sorry once again for the silence,  I get so distracted working on my costumes, caring for my Nan, wedding planning and updating my Instagram, that I keep forgetting to update my blog!
That changes now, for reals!

Since my last post was about the lead up to MCM in May, I’ll start there. My Lilith cosplay was updated for the event, and I finished my Mordecai commission for my client.
MCM was great fun as usual, and I got a brilliant shot of our two costumes together, taken my by Fiancee.

The highlight of our day was when Jason Liebrecht stopped us for pictures, and said that Karl was the best Mordecai he had ever seen! I was beyond proud!

I hope to organise a photoshoot with these costumes at the beginning of next year some time, and will keep you all updated when the images will be posted!

Much Love,

Sabrina
xXx

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Countdown to MCM London May 2016!

Heyya Everyone!

It’s only 4 days till MCM London May 2016! This is where the mad rush begins to ensure everything is completed on time and ready for the weekend.

Within the next few days I will have completed my commissioned Mordecai costume for my client to wear on the Saturday of MCM, and I am so excited to see how he likes it!

After taking my Lilith costume out of my costume wardrobe, I noticed that some parts of it had taken a lot more damage than I thought, whilst other parts looked a bit basic, and could do with updating.
The most damaged piece was the shin armour for my boots, due to someone stepping on my boot, the base part has completely snapped off. I’ve used my heat gun, along with contact adhesive to re-attach the armour to my boot, and ensure the bond stays strong, even if another person treads on them. I have also repainted them, as the old cell shading was very basic, and my skills have improved greatly in the 2 years since I made this costume.

The shirt and jacket also had a bit of an upgrade, as the cell shading was very one dimensional, without any highlights. So I repainted the whole shirt, adding plenty of highlights and weathering, to make it look scruffy and dishevelled like her’s does.

One of my biggest issues last time, was that the wig covered most of my right eye, as I styled it on a mannequin head much smaller than my own – the wig looked perfectly styled on the mannequin, but on me the proportions of the spikes, and there placement, were a bit off. I have since purchased a mannequin head the same size as my own, and restyled the spikes to give it a more game-accurate look.

As I was in a rush to complete this costume when I first created it, I didn’t have time to make the correct trousers – I just cut up a pair of grey jeans and used those.
As I wanted the costume to look accurate, I thought that the trousers could use an update. I found my old pair of light brown trousers, and marked the shape of her chaps onto them – as well as where the holes and cuts are. The holes were cut out with a Stanley knife and pulled at until they frayed, then cell shaded with black fabric paint. I used various shades of brown, black and white fabric paint to colour the top of the trousers grey, to match her trousers under the chaps, then the inner parts of the thighs a darker brown, as her chaps are two colours -then added more cell shading over the top.

So my Lilith is now updated and ready to wear on the Saturday of MCM, and I will be wearing my Katniss Everdeen wedding gown on the Sunday.

Let me know if any of you are going, come up and say hi! I can’t wait to meet you all 🙂

Much Love,

Sabrina
xXx

 

 

 

 

 

Mordecai Costume Commission – Update 2

Heyya Everyone!

In my last update, I showed you all how I created Mordecai’s shoulder armour, leather vest and red body straps. Since then, I have got all of the cell shading done on the red straps and on the armour piece – and they look so great!

For Mordecai’s trousers I created a pair of combat trousers, cell shaded along all the seams and added highlights to make them look creased and crumpled – just like how Mordecai’s look. To keep them as comfortable as possible, I decided to create the knee brace on his left leg using just fabric paint. I used various tones and shades of brown, white and black, to make trick the eye into seeing it as a raised, 3D piece.

My next big job within this commission was Bloodwing. I adore Bloodwing and think she looks incredible – I was so excited to recreate her! I used thick wire to make an armature and fleshed it out with newspaper, to ensure it remained as light as possible. Once fully fleshed out, I covered her in multiple layers of paper mache to ensure she was strong and could withstand a blow (I’ve found that people at conventions don’t tend to value personal space, or the hard work that goes into costumes and props). To create the beak I used polymer clay and carved the holes and grooves into it to make it the perfect shape – this was then attached to the head and the seams covered with paper mache. All the details were added on with foam, and canvas fabric was used to make the wing membrane. Once fully dry, the bird was primed, sanded and then painted using acrylic paint. When dry, the cell shading was dry brushed onto the wings and body. As I wanted Bloodwing to stand up on her own, and not need to be held all day by my client, I decided to create a bracer and attached her feet onto it – once this was laced up, it would hold Bloodwing in place on his forearm. I used acrylic paint to paint her and add the cell shading, using in game screenshots to ensure I had her the exact right colours. Once the body was painted, I glued her feet to the bracer, then painted the legs. The bracer was then given a layer of brown spray paint, and cell shaded to fit the borderlands look.

 

The final part was to attach the red cell shaded strips onto the dreadlocks I created. This would complete Mordecai’s look, tying everything together. I used acrylic paint to add cell shading onto the dreadlocks, and the costume was complete!

 

If any of you are heading to MCM London on the Saturday, keep an eye out for Karl in this Mordecai costume!

Much Love,

Sabrina
xXx

 

 

 

Mordecai Cosplay Comission – Update 1

Heyya Everyone!

Thought I would post a quick update on how my Mordecai cosplay commission is coming along. I’m so excited to have been commissioned for another Borderlands costume, as I love the art style of the games, and creating real life versions of the costumes are a lot of fun. Creating the cell shading on clothing, whilst being incredibly time consuming and at some times tedious, is always worth it as the end effect is striking and eye catching. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the costumes of Lilith from Borderlands 2 for myself, and Maya as a commission for a close friend; plus they had a fantastic reception at MCM London October 2014, especially at the 2K booth where we were mistaken for staff and asked for numerous pictures. And as a thank you for helping them promote Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and our characters at their booth, albeit unintentionally, we were given a lot of free Borderlands merchandise which was amazing, and the team were so enthusiastic and friendly.

My Lilith cosplay – MCM London October 2014

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As I had been using a lot of Worbla recently on other costumes, I decided to start by making the shoulder armour piece Mordecai wears. After measuring my client to get every measurement required, I made a base from foam, covering it in Worbla for strength. After priming and sanding, I spray painted it with a matte grey spray paint – and attached the added details.

   

 In the next few days I will be finishing off the cell shading on the armour piece, and give it a coat of sealant to complete it.

After creating the shoulder piece,  I moved onto the top, vest and straps that Mordecai wears. I used a grey T-shirt as the base for the top, everything would be stitched onto this. I’ve used a brown faux leather for the the vest, adding all the cell shading onto it with fabric paints.
The straps were made from red cotton fabric, cut into 2 inch wide strips. The cell shading was done using the same fabric paints used on the leather for the vest.

           

I still have to add cell shading highlights to both the vest and the straps, then they will be complete.

Hope this has been useful to some of you, if you would like any more information regarding the costume, message me 🙂 I’m happy to help! I will be uploading a full walkthrough/tutorial page for this costume once it is completed.

Much Love,

Sabrina
xXx

Upcoming Costumes for 2016!

Heyya Everyone!

Now that Brighton Film and Comic Con 2015 is over, I’m starting to plan what costumes I’ll be creating for upcoming conventions and events. Aaaaand I can announce that they will be; GoGo Tomago from Big Hero 6, Daenerys Targaryen’s blue dress from season 3 of Game of Thrones, and regime Wonder Woman from Injustice.

                          

Alongside these beauties,  I will also be working my socks off on the 3 commissions I currently have on the go aswell. Those are; Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6, Melisandre from Game of Thrones, and Mordecai from Borderlands 2.

                     

This will be one of my biggest challenges, as it will be pushing every skill I have to the max, from sewing to armour making. Plus I will have to overcome my biggest issue, one that I have with every costume I have ever made; managing my time so that everything is finished more than a day before the event. All my previous costumes have been finished in the late hours the night before the con they were being worn to, and it makes me panic and causes so much stress. From my Lilith costume, the wig from which I was still cell shading the morning of the con, to my Katniss dress, which was still being stitched until 10pm the night before expo! So now I’m trying a new way to work. I’m writing to-do lists for every costume, and working through them all, in order, so that as one is drying/setting/curing, I can be doing things on one of the other costumes. Fingers crossed, that will mean I have steady progress on them all, and will have them finished well before the scheduled dates. Wish me luck!

Much  Love,

Sabrina xXx