Modesty Studios

The most challenging part of the costume build will be this helmet. It's unique design and large visor space are challenging to make look right without sacrificing quality. So most likely it will be the most expensive portion of the costume. It's also kind of an odd shape. Here is one of my first sketches trying to figure out what the heck I wanted to do under the helmet. It's kind of tricky to see where things sit inside the helmet and if I have room for all the fun doo-dads I want to put in. It's probably hard to see in this picture but I've taken into account that I will have the possibility of multiple battery packs in my face or in the costume somewhere. (Potentially 3 or 4 if I decide I need a fan). I've seen helmets made with the Pepakura files and I may do the same but it will also be a chance to figure out how to make better patterns for myself. I really wanted to understand how the helmet fit and what did it look like without the hood on.

So most of this memorial day weekend was spent on parts of the Tali Costume. There were many ups and downs...but mostly downs. So I had two options I could see for the visor: 1) Use a safety mask and tint it. 2) Somehow find a way to vacuum form.   this  vs  this To be honest, the safety mask, while the more economical option does not quite give me the same shape as the more accurate vacuum form does. Still, as someone determined to stay on a budget I was going the route of tint paint and a well formed safety mask. This weekend I tried. First I tried rounding out the flat mask so it would hold a curve more naturally. That is to say, I did not want/trust the force of foam to be able to hold the flat plastic in the correct shape. So I used a heat gun to try and get it to curve. This method worked for awhile, until I inevitably became impatient and applied too much pressure and heat on one side causing it to turn to a near right angle. Well, it wasn't flat anymore and

I got stuff for costumes. ^^ This means I can work on the helmet this weekend. The other day I got several packages including: Practice Styrene Polycarbonate Facemask Vinyl Spandex Netting Heat Gun (Yay!) Voice Changer Styrene Still Waiting on: Makeup EL wire Styrene Roll Store Bought: Jewelry Mold Thicker Foamies Elastic Poly Foam Ribbon Tamiya Tint Paint Varnish Purple Eyeliner The only things I have left to buy for Tali are the patterned fabric and PVC pipe. Then I can start thinking about props. BUT ONLY THINKING. More on the helmet to come!

My bank account is now in double digits, bills are high and I'm barely making enough at work, but I wanted to move forward with my costumes and I could not due to the finances. I got a little help from my parents to cover some bills and so I treated myself.  I recently purchased the face mask, the heat gun, styrene, lycra fabric, netting, and black vinyl.  I can actually progress on parts of the costumes that have been put on hold: namely helmets, certain pieces of the Warden Armor, Tali's arm armor. Yesterday I did a practice run with one of my ideas for the Tali costume: make up. It turned out pretty good. Still needs some tweaking though. I have to get better at contouring my face. :B Going for a mix of this: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m88157BFoo1rd0133o1_1280.png and this: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Mass-Effect-3-Tali-photo-290517239 And a bit of my own flair.

So I've constructed the feet already and it went a little differently than planned, but they still look and feel great! Supplies Cheap, cloth based flats (in the Vans Skater shoe style). I got these for $5 at Walmart or maybe Payless. 3 mm Craft foam Cotton Balls Scotch Tape and masking tape Marker Construction I put on the shoes and stepped onto the craft foam about half-way and traced both feet.  Then I drew the shape of Tali's foot around the shoe shape. This became the bottom of the foot. Cut out the foot and retrace it with some "seam allowance".  Cut out the top and separate the toes from the top of the foot.  With masking tape, tape down along the edge of one long toe.  Curl the foam into a toe shape, trimming where necessary and taping it down.  Stuff the toe with cotton balls so it's not so hollow and bendy.  Wrap the toe in masking tape.  Do the same for the other long toe.  The small side toe is a little easier to do once the mai