/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

>>6921518
Hrrrg I gotta run off for now but I'll be back later to give some of my input. First off is to look at furry costumes sites for some foam tips. When making that size of a mascot head, I feel like there has to be some funky head helmet gear underneath...

Have a .gif

:3

>>6921551
And now you're aware that the person inside that costume is a depressed middle-aged Japanese man who failed in school and now has to do a job like this for a living, one that ears him the disgust of his disappointed family and offers constant joke material to the few friends he possibly has.

>>6921754
>dat shameful knockoff rilakkuma

Google around for chicken wire costume head.

Someone on here a few years back had a tutorial for some...dog?thing? White, floppy ears. :3 face. Real cutesy from some animu. Looked a bit sanrio. Can't remember what the name was, but they used chicken wire.

>>6921866
Pochacco? K K Slider?

>>6921866
>>6922277

I'd like to learn how to build a mascot costume s well, but something more plush-like, similar to this character Ramune. I've seen some progress shots of this and it almost looks like it's made of pillows sewn together.

>>6921551
Back, I'll throw down a few tips and some experience. I made Domo-kun cosplay out of upholstery foam, and it was held up with stiffer insulation foam boards with straps so I wore it like a backpack and the boards rested on my shoulders. At first it's fine, but over time it does get heavy and sore, so make sure you rest often when you get your mascot done.

For the legs, they are also upholstery foam (thinner compared to the body) that I glued into a tube. The legs looked funny when I bent them, so I ended up cutting out a diamond behind my knee area so it wouldn't look as funny... Though the downside is that the fabric I used was thin so on the outside there was a funny diamond depression. Oh well, I think the legs can work if it's a whole tube but just thicker upholstery foam (thicker not denser).

For the mouth, I used a tight sports mesh. Surprisingly enough, people couldn't see me and I can see out just fine. I recommend talking to a friend who is going to a con with you to help as a handler. You need that person to guide you, to talk for you because you can be hard to hear from your costume, and carry your necessities.

I think you want to invest in a lot of thick upholstery foam sheets. I'm lucky to live nearby a foam store that sells about 5" thickness, but it gets expensive quickly. But you'd make a better head by straying glue and stacking them (after you cut out a general area for your head to fit in), drawing out your basic shape, and then cutting it down with an electric knife. There are spacing you'll need if you want to include an air vent and fan, and I recommend it. My Domo-kun cosplay doesn't have those and heat just rises inside.

I think you want to firstly design your mascot, draw how you would fit in it, and then scale to size. (Sorry I'm kind of rambling, I hope I'm not too confusing.)

Pic related. My first Domo-kun was such a mess, also didn't help some group glomped me and broke my inner structure. Second is revamped with foam.

>>6922345

>>6922350
Sometimes when I look at these Rilakkuma mascots, they seem so short that a midget could be wearing them, or a normal-height person with their elbows near the "shoulders" so the body is like overalls while they wear some helmet that is fixated to the head so it's not flopping all over the place.

I think for mesh eyes/mouths, you can use those metal mesh strainers, cut out, spray black or whatever color (might want to blow at it to clear the holes of paint), and that should be pretty nice to use.

For fabrics, I think generally faux fur, minky, fleece (anti-pill, it'll pill quickly by touch because people just enjoy patting mascots), and... I'm sure there are other types, but those strike me as common ones to cover most of your costume with.

>>6922345
this combines two of my least favourite things: furries and fatties

>>6922356
Foam is too stiff, Ramune is built stuffing, like a teddy bear. I'm just not sure how to do that and keep the character shape.

This picture is tiny, but it shows what I meant about looking like it's made of pillows.

>>6921754
what is happening in this gif

>>6922364
Interesting, I wonder if they sew up geometrical "pockets" and fill it with batting (I think regular stuffing still moves around too much, or maybe it takes a lot of stuffing?), and then sew the parts together to form the masses?

>>6922364
The Fursuit livejournal group is a helpful resource and it's fairly active.
Some of them do make fursuits specifically so they feel like a stuffed animal, I bet you could find a tutorial there.

Also YOU WILL GET HOT QUICKLY because your whole body will be covered in foam (doesn't breathe), fur, etc. Be sure to keep yourself hydrated and look into a cooling system like.

For oversized suits like that, this How It's Made on mascots is more relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8E8dttLuvI
Most fursuiting techniques are for the style of suit that's more fitted to the body.

Small dump of some mascots/cosplay.

>>6922857

>>6922859

>>6922860

>>6922862

>>6922864
Animated

>>6922866

>>6922867

>>6922870

>>6922872

>>6922873

>>6922875

>>6922878

>>6922881

>>6922883
Didn't realize how many pictures I have...

>>6922884

>>6922887

>>6922889

>>6922891

>>6922893

I want to try making mascot suits of Reese an Cyrus for me and my boyfriend in the future. But I think the construction is going to beca bit tricky. My biggest question right now is what I'm going to do with the fur. They're alpacas so it's supposed to be wooly, but I also want to keep the shape like the models. I don't know is a wool-like texture would look good on them. Any suggestions?

>>6922895

>>6922896
Unless you can find a fabric that is a little wooly in texture (not too thick, I feel like those aren't flexible enough or light, also will require special pattern making to fit the fabric over all the lumps and bumps), you might want to go with something simpler like fleece or minky, and make the neck like 2-sided wavy pockets to fit in some 0.5"-0.75" light foam (1" might look too thick I think) that is cut like the wave.

Actually if you follow this link >http://www.projectpuppet.com/servlet/Page?template=arm-rods-tutorial
it explains how you can round the edges of the foam WITHOUT cutting it, which is a total hassle, makes a big mess, and easy to screw up.

Anyway, look at making mascot heads as another anon suggested (How It's Made show). Probably for the "hair" parts you'll have to stack foam and cut it down carefully after drawing it out.

>>6922905

>>6922910

>>6922911

>>6922913

>>6922917

>>6922921
I think that wraps it up for pictures besides a couple of selfposts. I probably wouldn't put on another mascot cosplay unless I have my friend(s) to help me as handlers. If it wasn't for them, I get hassled.

>>6922929
I want to be Vivi so badly. This is wonderful.

>>6922895
That is the best Totoro I have ever seen, wow.

How well can you get around without a handler? I know some cons require them, but I was thinking about the others, and in places where the con has no control like a park, or right outside.

>>6926953
You can be without a handler for a short time as long as the space around you is safe, but you really need one for your safety and others. Your vision and hearing becomes hindered by the costume, so you never know if you bump into someone accidentally, or come across douchebags who will push you around for fun (having experienced this, it's terrible and frightening).

If you're right outside your home or some place because you're promoting something, have someone keep an eye on you, check on you when you want a break if you find yourself unable to leave the spot.

To me it's sort of common sense to have one be your guidance, though it took me a few tries at a con to realize this. Don't go out in such a full mascot costume without someone with you who you trust, someone who is a very willing and helpful because they will have to hold your things for a while, and they just can't run off because of all the con excitement and leave you behind. My friends helped watch out for me and even decline others for me (I'm hard to hear from the cosplay) when I wasn't feeling well or in a hurry to some place.

bump

>>6922929
This is the best Vivi i have ever seen in my life. Holy crap. How did they even do those proportions so accurately? And finally, someone does the hat right.

>>6931662
I'm sure the Vivi cosplayer is on their knees, like >>6922929

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHq_II7UxRw Maybe the same Vivi, might not be, but shows how the person does it while on their knees.

>>6922895
oh god, at Acen this year there was a terribad totoro, and you could see the frame and everything. It was made from broadcloth too...

>>6921866
>Looked a bit sanrio
>>6922322
I am legitimately mad if this is the tutorial you were talking about, have you ever seen a single sanrio character in your life?
Kawaii harder next time.

>>6922896

I think that the mascots would look better without the curly hair everywhere. It would look closer to the caracter art if you stuck with the fabric in that video.

I love the ideas posted for the head, but how would other seagulls propose to give the tummy and rest of the torse its roundness as seen in some of these photos? I wouldn't think the same method for sculpting the head would work in that same way, right?

>>6932231
Not really sure, I think the idea of stacking foam to make up the mass and then shaving it down to shape, and hollowing out the inside, might be an option some mascots go for. You just need the right density of foam to hold up the shape without being flimsy under the weight of fabric and gravity.

Also, has anyone seen the official Kirby mascot? I saw one in person at PAX, and it was wonderful. All the waddling! I noticed the opening seam wasn't at the back, but at top. Man I wish I can inspect these things...

>>6931705
Wiz totally looks similar to Cinnamaroll. Calm down.