When talking about Ann Takamaki from Persona 5, compared with her as an ordinary student, I believe most of us would prefer her as a Phantom Thief who is more lively and energetic. And the skin tight red catsuit worn with that matching red panther mask is really beautiful and sexy. Here we are providing a step-by-step tutorial of how to make an Ann Takamaki Phantom Thief cosplay mask by hand.
Photography by George Wong
Vanille Cosplay by DanniTee
This is basic a tutorial on how to use expanding foam on props for those new to prop making or those who want to try out a new medium. Expanding foam is basically foam in a can. It is sprayed out and expands like its name suggests. A can of expanding foam is a very handy material to keep around for cosplayer just as handy as the hot glue gun.
For props that are more curved like such as Vanille’s weapon from Final Fantasy XIII and Soge King’s sling shot from One Piece it is best to use expanding foam for the main part. Expanding foam can be easily cut and carved to the desired shape with a simple cutting knife.
When you decide to use expanding foam as the main medium for your prop the first thing you need to do is draw and cut out your design on to a flat light weighted material such as foam board, corflute, thick cardboard [though thick card board may be difficult to cut normally].
TIP: Draw your design slightly thinner than what is desired. The expanding foam will add to this and make it larger.
Once your piece is cut out, lay out some newspaper and spray the expanding foam over the design. Cover as much as you can but remember the foam will expand 3 times its original size. Only work on one side at a time. Don’t forget to wear gloves. Expanding foam is difficult to remove off skin if you do not act quickly.
TIP: Keep a bottle of nail polish remover nearby just in case you get some expanding foam on your skin. Nail polish remover will help remove expanding foam if you act quickly.
It will take a couple of hours for it to harden but it is best to leave it over night. Once it is completely dried flip it over and spray the other side.
TIP: Lightly spray water over the whole thing. This will make the expanding foam harden faster. It will also give it a smoother surface than usual.
Once both sides have hardened use a utility knife and carve the bumps away for the desired shape. See below for a before and after shot.
TIP: If you are carving and suddenly see that inside is still gooey and honey-like stop immediately and let the foam completely dry. If you continue to pull away at the piece it will create massive holes.
You will notice that there are small holes all over the foam. If you want to cover these holes for a smooth finish, use another medium such as paper mache or paper clay and completely cover the whole piece. Both paper mache and paper clay can be smoothed out with sanding paper for an even more smooth finish. Once that is done, feel free to paint it over with acrylics, spray paint etc.
This tutorial is made by MK from deviantart. She is definitely an expert on makeup. You might find this tutorial very useful for your famale to male crossplay.
Thinking of cosplaying as a maid? Love Lolita fashion? Want to stand out from the crowd when waiting for the bus or train? Well this is a tutorial that will show you how to make your very own super cute and elegant Lolita headdress. The tutorial will show you how to make the headdress below.
Lolita fashion is based on the aesthetics of the Rococo and Victorian periods. The most classic colours used are black and white. These colours are perfect for those who are new to Lolita fashion. Lolita headdresses are typically rectangular in shape and generally have a focus point that runs along the middle of the headdress and lace trims for the edges. Repetition and balance are also key aesthetics that we have to keep in mind when designing our headdresses.
What you need:
• Light cotton fabric – this is our base colour
• Interfacing – this will strengthen the fabric and make it easier for us to work with
• Fabric binding glue – can be sold in a small roll or by metre. This looks like a web and is used for appliqué.
• Ribbon – find a colour that suits nicely with your base fabric colour. A ribbon colour that is opposite to the base colour is usually pleasing to the eye and it also gives emphasis.
• A variety of lace trims – the reason for a lot of different ones is that you never know a certain type may look better when you are putting fabrics together 😛
• Plain black headband/hair band
• Hot glue gun and glue
Here are some examples of different types of headdresses you can make when playing around with fabrics and lace.
1) First cut out 2 rectangles 25cm x 9cm or 10 inches x 3.5 inches.
2) Fold in the edges roughly 1cm or 0.5 inches and iron down. Do this for both rectangles
3) Where the fabrics overlap at the corners, cut it at an angle. Do this for both. This will make sure when sewing the corners, it will not be too thick.
4) Lay your rectangle on the interfacing and cut around it, slightly trimming the edges so that the interfacing piece is a bit smaller than your rectangle.
5) Iron down the interfacing onto one of your rectangles. The interfacing seals the 1cm flaps you made.
6) Cut out 2 pieces of lace, make sure the lace has at least 3cm [1 inch] hanging out on both sides. My lace piece is much wider than the headdress so I decided to fold it in so that when 2 pieces are next to each other and the combined width slightly goes over the edge. The folded parts also become a feature on my headdress.
7) Using the binding glue/web put this along both lace pieces, making sure that it runs along the middle of the rectangle and iron down. NOTE don’t forget to change the iron temperature to low, the lace might shrivel up.
8) Now thread your sewing machine with black thread and sew along the middle of the headdress. You should be sewing one line for each lace piece. It’s alight if you can’t sew straight lines, the sewing will be covered later.
9) Lift up the lace flap on one side and sew a strand of ribbon along the edge leaving a small gap. Do this for the other side as well.
10) Cut your desired ribbon/lace etc that will be the centre focus of your headdress. Make the length of it slightly longer than your headdress because it will be folded in later.
11) Cut the binding glue/web to the same length as your headdress and place it in the middle and then put the ribbon over it then iron down.
12) Choose a lace trim and cut it to a length that is slightly longer than your headdress. To add more volume to your headdress you could sew on a few more layers of lace trims or frills.
13) Sew the lace to the back of the headdress using white thread. Make sure to sew as close to the edge as possible this way the thread does not cross over to the ribbon. Do the same for the other side.
14) Place your other rectangle piece under the decorated side, make sure that both the 1cm folded flaps are facing each other.
15) Fold over the black lace and sew on that side of the 2 pieces.
16) NOW change over to black thread. With the extra lace hanging off the sides, cut it at an angle to make a triangle and fold this in between the 2 rectangle pieces and sew together the 2 shorter sides.
17) Change back to white thread. Doing the same step as 16
18) Cut off the lace trim to the same length as the headdress.
19) Grab your headband/hair band and place your headdress over it. Find the perfect position for it where it will be in the middle and balanced out on the band.
20) Holding one end of the headdress and band, put a dab of hot glue in this spot and press them together. Wait for the glue to dry before continuing. You may find that hot glue goes over the band, don’t worry too much because it will be hidden when you wear it.
21) Once you have finished gluing the headdress to the band make 2 bows out of ribbon the same width as your headdress and glue them to the sides of your headdress. This will cover the black thread underneath as well as make it extra cute. You could also add flowers, bells or whatever you find awesome.
And there we go, a cute and elegant Lolita style headdress.
Other ideas:
Check out my page at mixiao.deviantart.com for more maid lolita costumes, accessories, anime inspired stationary such as vampire knight folder covers and other artworks. Thanks for reading! o(^0^)V
This Sailor Scout Tiara tutorial is made by Vickie from Deviantart. It’s nice of her to do this for us cosplayers. With Vickie’s approval, I’d like to share it with our visitors here.
