KNIGHTS OF MECHA: TIPS FOR MAKING COSPLAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-wr2z1AiNM&feature=related

Tips for making Mecha or Armour cosplay costumes for the event:

1. Use an image (preferably several images) of an existing design as a guide - this will work better than just making it up. It is important to really love the Mecha or Armour character that you choose, in order to make a killer costume.

You might consider leaving your face unmasked in the costume, as in the costume on the event flyer - however, you are under no obligation to do this.

2. You can use any material (preferably something light-weight, as you will be wearing it - Lego is not a good idea in this regard:)) You can even use cardboard - it's free and easy to acquire, and cardboard is surprisingly strong if you use a thick variety - most shops in Dublin city put piles of flattened cardboard out on the street around closing time (5 or 6 o'clock on a working day) - you can just take these piles of cardboard home.

Cardboard is easy to cut and bend. You can also glue together a sandwich of several sheets of cardboard to make a stronger one, if you so need or desire. Don't forget that you don't always have to cut the cardboard, but instead you can also score it slightly and fold it to make 3-D forms.

Other materials can include fibre-glass, vinyl-over-foam, and anything else that is strong-but- shapeable and with a smooth surface.

3. Seal the materials that you are using with a primer before you paint them, if they are water or liquid absorbant. You can use a white household primer - you can buy tins of Zinsor Bullseye 123 from MRCB paints on Thomas Street - that's a really great primer as you can get a really smooth finish with it, but any household primer will do as long as its ok quality. Paint two layers of primer on cardboard - let one layer dry and then apply the second.

4. Use Acrylic paints to colour your costume - the colour in acrylic paints is vibrant and will make your costume look amazing. Don't always use paints directly out of the tube or bottle, but try mixing a little of another colour through them. If you want the colour scheme of your costume to be harmonious, choose one colour and mix a little of it through each of the different colours on different parts of the costume - this will really make it look great. That said, leave one or two colours unmixed with the one colour you have chosen if possible - too much harmony creates boredom. Don't buy the cheapest acrylic paints - System 3 are fine - you can find them for better value in K & M Evans on Mary Street, just off of Capel Street (turn off of Capel Street at The Boars Head pub. and Evans is down an alley on your right).

Use metallic spraypaints to make metal-effects - you can buy either chrome or gold spraypaints, which are quite shiney and resemble metal properly - make sure to seal the surface before spraying, and always use spraypaints in a well ventilated room (wearing a fume-mask is also an excellent idea). You can also get spraypaints which are used to make metallic effects as on a car paint-job, which is what they are intended for. Slightly varying the visual texture of the paints you use throughout the cosplay will add to the amazingness of your costume.

5. You are better off using a hot glue gun to stick materials together - again, try to get this in K & M Evans, or alternatively in a D.I.Y. shop. Be very careful with the glue coming out of the gun - it is extremely hot - better off to use some kind of gloves when you are using the glue gun. Cardboard will stick together in seconds with this type of adhesive. Other glues you could use are Bostick (pink tube) or Serious Glue. Always open a window when using glue - its really dangerous not to ventilate the room.

6. Make your costume in sections - there might be two or three pieces just for the head part, for example. You might have one part that attaches to the back of the head, then a helmet that locks into it and sits on top, or a part that folds around the fact to create a Mecha-type face. The same applies to the rest of the body - you might have one piece for the chest, another for the abdomen, and one for the pelvic area - the legs might have one piece for the upper leg, and a seperate section for the lower leg, and yet another for the feet. The spaces between sections can be used for movement, so that they can slide over each other.

7. Use on-line research to learn more about making Mecha cosplay costumes - research is a huge part of the creative process and you'd be surprised what you might find. A few starter sites on the net are: