a i d a n r a e

oh the astro boy

Since Astro Boy was already made practically, I had time to experiment with things I never really have a chance to work with by nature of how much time I typically have to do anything (not a lot). I knew that since A was getting a whole new costume (seriously how can I resist a request for Kid Flash?) I would have to come up with something clever and awesome to keep Lo as Astro Boy. It couldn’t take a long time to make, though, otherwise that would defeat the whole point of keeping him as Astro instead of another character/whole new costume.

ARM CANNONS clearly. I ordered EL wire and LED strips to play around with.

the EL wire came with a battery pack (as evidenced), which made it really easy to plan around, because it already had an on/off switch included. The strips just had +/- wires so we had to tape them to batteries at the day of the show. No big deal.

I did learn a lot of stupidly obvious things about LEDs, though, such as how they work in a cluster so you can only cut them in groups of five lights (in this case). Oh the basics! My middle school tech ed teacher would be so disappointed in me.

so I constructed the cannon out of a bunch of cardboard, foam core, and some old poster tubes (i have like 80 and I still forget to bring one to SDCC every year, wtf is that)

it took a bit to figure out the perfect shape. Astro’s gun has a dual layering thing, mostly because it’s 3D animation and they just HAVE to get clever about that… the cartoon cannon was just a bright ball of blue so Logan vetoed that immediately, and who can blame him when he has THIS as comparison:

I didnt have enough time to really break down the actual literal pieces of the cannon, so I simplified.

Added another panel of cardboard and then finished off some edging:

Originally I lined the whole creation with silver paper, because I liked the idea of creating a papercraft item out of the thing. But since everything else on the costume is soft shapes, like Astro’s boots, I decided it wouldn’t fit in with the look.

so i resorted to GOOD OLD FOAM, my friend, to pad out the cannon and make it appear soft-edged like the rest of the costume. I covered it in silver fabric that I purchased in NYC years ago to make leggings that I promptly lost interest in before the draft even finished.

the EL wire coils around the centre and Lo’s hand grabs the battery back inside the cannon. I also carved a hole at the side so I could pull the end of the wire out and around the outer rim of the cannon to at least attempt to give it the dual look.

The strips are down the side. I actually made casings for them to enhance the blue and diffuse it somewhat. It’s a layer of semi-opaque vellum plus a layer of clear blue drafting paper, hot glued to a piece of posterboard I cut into a little ravine shape for the strip to attach to. As you can see, it worked better in one than the other. You can also see where I learned how many circuits are connected… and when one goes out… good job me!

Definitely needs improvement but it’s not so bad. Lo got to help a lot, which is the most important part, really.

the kid flash adventure

So after sewing points for Nightwing last year, I figured I had Kid Flash pretty set. Cut, hand tack, hand stitch, baste, stitch, serge. Long process but it worked out pretty well:

I made a muslin out of old fabric left over from other superhero costumes and just drew on where I wanted the spikes to go. The hardest part was actually picking which of KF’s Young Justice costumes to go with… I preferred these spikes but I really also liked the shoulder panels on the newer one. In the end I decided to go with the first version because it would be more simple.

The logo was pretty easy. I drew it on A’s muslin body suit and made a pattern from there. the back has double-sided fusing on it, so basically just had to iron it to the front where I wanted it to go.

I actually anticipated A having an issue with wearing a jumpsuit (like what if he had to go to the bathroom?) but he tried to convince me to let him wear the muslin to school so I clearly have found a new avenue for introducing clothing around A’s sensory issues.

So after ironing it on I realised it did this:

MELTED the centre of the front panel….. I did NOT want to take apart the spikes at A’s hipbone, because they would take forever to redo.

I ended up adding another panel across the chest, curved around A’s ribcage, to offset the error without redoing everything. It kind of makes me angry but no one else seems bothered by it.

A’s goggles and ear spikes were spraypainted:

In the back you can see I tested like 8 different kinds of things for the ear pieces, everything from a hollow bouncy ball cut in half to the plastic balls that quarter toys come in, which is what I ended up going with. His lightening ears are just wire and foamcore.

The goggles are Willy Wonka’s TV specs, which were an amazing find because the lenses are already red! Too bad they’re too big for A… I’ll post pics of that soon. I should have boiled the plastic first and bent it a little so A could wear it with elastic. I might try that before the photoshoot.

But they look rad:

the boots. OHHHH the boots. I dont even want to show you the photos.

I bought these white go-go boots for A to wear and they were fine on him. I figured, oh hey I’ll just spray paint them it’ll be GRAND.

WRONG.

I tested a few different paints. The issue was that the top panel of the boots stretched and made everything chip.

I tried to correct this with actual liquid latex and then powder on top, to offset latex’s need to stick to itself, but it just made the boots really dark. The boots he’s wearing in the photos were literally made in twenty minutes before the boys arrived to my apt to get dressed………talk about a rush job!

the start of ECCC preparations

for emerald city comic-con this year, A’s decided to be Kid Flash from young justice. I actually have been trying to encourage him to stick with just modifying Speedy - I’m doing a lot of traveling and running around this month, leaving me with less time than originally planned to get much done.

more than that though, while I think A has the perfect kid flash personality, i’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around how to clothe a sensory-aware child in what is most likely going to have to be a jumpsuit. this is a potentially huge issue, with bathroom complaints being the least of the worries. A’s never had to wear so much as overalls, so the idea of an entirely unified piece could be a long process to adjust to (and I don’t really have time for that). I’m just not sure of any other way to get the spiked seamline alone KF’s hipbones, unless I overlap some black fabric over the seams or something…

I’m also unsure about the headpiece, because i dont want to over-interface it to keep it stable, and have it look like a store-bought puffy costume situation. A has a difficult time with masks - I can’t see, it’s poking my eyes, it’s too stiff, its too soft, it’s pretty endless. getting him to wear the mask long enough for Speedy’s photoshoot was a small miracle and honestly, it’s not completely his fault. There’s just not a lot of options for kids that look good & work well, other than leather. the boys’ mom & I have discussed adjusting A to things on his face with weighted bean bags and watersoaked towels, with the hope to eventually make a mold of his eyes/forehead. it would make things so much easier, mask-wise, but the idea of molding any child’s face, let alone a kid who can hardly handle a haircut (you’re cutting me! it hurts!) is just a bit far-reaching I think.

I’ll have to experiment, I guess, because A is pretty adamant on being KF. hopefully the excitement over being Wally will make him more open to trying new things… like with Robin & the tights.

I am, however, pretty stoked about the boots we purchased for A to adjust to back in November. They have a bit of a cowboy boot heel to them, which required a lot of explaining (even boys wear cowboy boots etc), but as far as comfort and walking, A’s adjusted to them pretty well. I’m glad I started that months ago, though it’s been a month or so since the last time I had him in them. Hopefully they still fit.

I haven’t really talked to Lo about ECCC yet, mostly because I would really like him to stay as Astro Boy, since I didn’t get a chance to really complete all the things I had planned for it (namely, the arm laser gun and a better headpiece), but I have the distinct feeling that because one twin is getting a new costume, the other will want one also… bad news with only a few weeks to make clothes, haha. looks like I won’t be convincing him that he’s basically Damian Wayne (but i really want to).

open to suggestions! >_>

That’s awesome! The YJ speedy costume is adorable :) I think I understand what you’re saying, and I sort of did that too.

A’s Speedy costume was based mostly on Teen Titans Year One Speedy, because it was his current favourite comic. TTY1 Speedy’s hat was something of a marvel, in that it seemed to be able to make a variety of shapes possible:

(i mean really. top right, what IS THAT?)

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behold: the worst photo i will ever put on this blog

I just can’t be bothered to pull out my camera for one picture.. yay windows phone!

But lets talk about how Astro Boy’s going to have a glowing reactor!

It’s a bit thick.. I might want to pad out Lo’s chest with some foam or something so it’s doesn’t appear as bulky, but I probably won’t do that for Halloween due to time constraints. I still want to pad his forearms and perhaps make the laser his hand turns into, but we’ll see. All three of those things might become adjustments for ECCC.

(It’s pinned onto the shirt, which is stuffed in a pillow)

019: Project Rapidfire & Halloween Commissions

I figure, while I’m on a Tumblr roll I might as well make a list of the things you’ll be seeing on this blog over the next month or so, or you know, whenever I have the energy to make this blog into something other than dusty.

The commissions for the Halloween showdown are as follows:

Lo has requested an Astro Boy costume. This will be an interesting undertaking, as he has refused to wear the jumpsuit Astro wears when he’s playing with other kids, and opted instead to demand the hotpants ensemble everyone my age knows very well (those his age is another story). My best solution for this is a nude-coloured suit similar to the Nightwing costume of last year. Since we’re making the suit already, I figured it might as well be useful to incorporate it into the costume. That is, adding joint seams at the elbows and knees, as well as the little box at his chest for the glowing blue core.

The hardest part, I imagine, will be his hair.

A has chosen to be Speedy, aka Red Arrow, aka Roy Harper, Green Arrow’s sidekick (a clear sign that I’m more of an influence than I really intended on). I had anticipated him choosing Captain America or Green Arrow, as the pair of them are his favourites currently (after Robin oh god always the Robin love), and I’m pretty glad he chose neither because yiiiikes those costumes would be a production. He chose the Titans: Year One costume, which is pretty similar to the Young Justice TV series costume, so it should be relatively straight-forward.

The hardest part will be his hat, I think. It’s a very strange shape at the front.. but details will be forthcoming on their individual posts. I’m pleased; each boy chose a costume similar to last year’s, pattern-wise, so I’m hoping i’ll just have to adjust and modify their old patterns to account for their growth.

The littlest commission is a secret one, and one I can’t post about because her mother follows my blog, but I’ll be posting hints along the way. I will say, however, that Lo & A were with me buying fabric for it and A figured out the costume before I told him at all, so it probably won’t be a secret for very long… darn!

PROJECT RAPIDFIRE is my steam-con/portfolio project. I spend so much time rushing through things and after spending so long on C’s Joker ensemble, I decided I wanted to work on something for my porftolio within the same regard. A complex, detail-oriented victorian-style outfit that I can use at Steam-con even before it’s finished, and then expand upon over the next couple of months, until I have a garment worth placing in a portfolio (It seems strange putting someone else’s character into my portfolio, even if I made it from my own patterns). I hope to be deciding colours and silhouette this week and purchasing fabric to accompany it.

And of course, my Big Project is still going on. I imagine I’ll be compiling research for awhile, so I don’t feel too guilty about the halloween and portfolio sidetracks. I think that after Halloween, during a lull in costume-making, I can focus completely on furthering this idea. Until then, I have been making outlines and planning in that regard, so things will hopefully be furthered along regardless.

Probably I should have started with this, but THANKS SO MUCH to all the new followers over the past couple of days! Your interest and support is really amazing and makes me even more excited to work on developing this idea. <3 <3 <3

008: Nightwing & Robin, the Comic-Con edition

Comic-con had a potential to go horribly. It didn’t. Not even a single bump.

Huge crowds, swarming people, and being ten year old boys appropriately costumed, a steady stream of, Can I take your photograph? That’s enough for most adults to be overwhelmed and anxious.

That being said, Lo & A handled the crowds admirably. They stopped when asked for a photo, snapped on their masks (until A’s broke) and posed with their hands on their hips (sometimes they strangled me/Harley). They loved it! Found all their Tiny Titans comics, got some action figures, and got So Much Attention.

I’m glad I got a few things taken care of - adding more grommets to A’s spats (though I really wanted to just remake them, oh well) and completing his gloves. Lo was very concerned about not having a utility belt (because “Nightwing is PROTESTING Batman’s!”) but it was really the best idea, clipping everything to his waistband, instead of making that contraption for behind his back. With only a few days and a LOT of other projects, it just wasn’t an option. As it is, you can’t even see the wingdings (worst. name. ever.) on his right side. Maybe I’ll take some close up shots.

ALSO THIS DESERVES A PARAGRAPH BY ITSELF: How excited am I that A’s new tights MATCH? Oh man. Check how how NOT neon greenish yellow they are! Wahoo! Did forget to cut the neckline of the green shirt underneath, though. Oh well.

Lo really enjoyed that there were no other Nightwings around, and that a lot of people commented on how awesome it was he chose this character, and that you NEVER see Nighwings, blah, blah blah. He got pretty cocky (it was cute):

As far as A goes, he was very concerned about specifying which of the Robins he was, because he wanted to make sure everyone knew he was ROBIN and not himself. We had an entire ferry ride conversation about why I thought he should be Tim Drake instead of Jason Todd (um because Tim is more adorable?), because Lo was Dick Grayson and “There can’t be TWO Dick Graysons! (but man, imagine if there were?)” It was pretty cute to have that conversation with a ten year old (as opposed to, you know, fan sites ahem).

Lo had been prepared since the morning, when the pair of them were dancing around the house chanting “Today’s the day! Comic-con! Today’s the day!” (I like that my YJ obsession is infiltrating their lives) and he would only answer to Dick Grayson or Nightwing. My friend Kyu already compares my job to Alfred’s (but that’s another post), so it was even more amusing to wake up in the morning and be like, “Ok Mister Grayson, BREAKFAST FIRST. Eat your eggs!”

This was the first convention the boys have been to in costume, so they were really excited to find other Batman characters to pose with - and of course we found a lot. Highlight for Lo’s day was finding a Batman, and he was great! “Oh look, both of my sidekicks are here!” Note the LACK of enthusiasm, despite the fact they were THRILLED:

My regret for the day is that I didn’t get any action shots. Which is sad, really, because Lo and I spent so much time on his weapons… that just sat at his hip. The troubles that arrive when you, yourself, are in costume; taking photos as well as dressing up never works. Sucks that I never get any good shots of my costumes. It’s a small con, but I’m hoping I’ll find some on Flickr or DA.

Sidenote: Oh man. Nothing says “Get a diet” like spending the day in a spandex suit.

007: The Robin [Sidekick] Sidenote

This past Halloween was Batman-themed (I’m a fantastic influence). Coupled with Colin’s and my Joker/Harley pair, Lo was Two-Face and A was Robin a la Burt Ward (his pick). We purchased a cheap Batman suit for the boys’ father, and made a Poison Ivy costume in a day for their mother. A’s costume was the main focus of my Halloween commissions, as Robin (well, Dick Grayson) is my absolute favourite comic book superhero and so I wanted to make it as good as possible.

I had some restrictions, due to A’s age and sensory issues.

• The fabrics had to be soft and pliable.
• A has issues with many clasps and closures (he won’t wear fly fronts, for example) so it was important that he could not only remove the clothing easily, but also not feel the closure on the tunic.
• October in Seattle isn’t cold but it’s not warm, either. Wearing tights and a short sleeve shirt, Robin isn’t well-suited for real world nighttime.
• Robin’s shoes. A has a large adjustment period to new shoes, especially over the ankle. I didn’t have time to hand construct him Robin booties, and while I loved the idea of green doc martens (a la Damian), it just wasn’t feasible. I went with spats over dyed converses, shoes that A enjoys.
• Keeping in mind A is a ten year old boy, I couldn’t keep the costume shapes exactly the same, as I didn’t want it to be either inappropriate, or get him mocked at school.

Initially, I was concerned about the tights because of A’s adjustment to new clothes and the fact that most little boys won’t look at tights (even footless) without assuming they’re for girls. That being said, A handled tights amazingly. Not the slightest hesitation. I guess it pays off to introduce superheroes to your little men!

Sidenote to the sidetone: The kids at school loved his costume and no one teased him. I was really worried!

Construction-wise, I tackled the tunic first and foremost, since it required the most tailoring and drafting. It had to be loose because of the green shirt underneath, and also because of the high collar; I knew it would make A feel choked. I made the bottom flare bigger to cover him more, instead of it matching right at his beltline. The best part about the tunic is the false front: the grommets are a flap over a thick plastic zipper that makes removal easy, and also puts multiple layers between the closures and A’s skin. I found a great four way stretch for the green fabric, but I knew it would be too cold for A so I lined the shirt with a soft green cotton jersey knit that just wasn’t the right shade for me (also it would have stretched out as boyshorts). I also made the sleeves longer, to help keep him warm. It was wholly successful, as A wore constantly that, the green boyshorts and the yellow tights.

I had massive issues with his gloves. They took around 7 or 8 muslins to complete, mostly trying to find the right median between tight/looking good and loose/feeling good. I also lined the forearms with fleece (as well as the cape and spats), which kept rolling over, as you can see above.

And then we lost one. He also kept doing this:

Which, okay. Adorable. Not so good on the fabric, though.

So remaking the gloves is important.

The spats drive me nuts. I ran out of grommets (poor planning on my part), so there’s just a scant few on each spat, making them look less like Damian’s military Doc Martens and more like Cheap Halloween Costume Ridiculous. Throwing in those foul neon yellow tights and I knew that a lot had to be adjusted before I wanted to bring him to a Comic-con, even just Seattle’s.

As for Nightwing, we have both batarangs and escrima sticks. I have adjusted the backseam as much as possible and I’m thinking of lining his gloves with some craft foam to make them pop a bit, as the comics sometimes show (also, I was just really displeased with how the gloves met the shirt).

I can’t believe Saturday is the big day for them! Last week my black contacts arrived so I can have comic-book eyes for Harley Quinn, which I am excited to experiment with. I know she has those faded blue eyes but I’ve seen people in those contacts before and I don’t think I will really pull that off. Black will be subtle and great. Too bad Colin’s Joker jacket is in shambles for me to remake, Harley’s just going to have to drag around the pipsqueak boy wonders by herself!

Tomorrow I’ll have an update on the puppets - five bunnies and a frog at the moment!