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October is over but share your [Halloween] tricks and treats
tapeslinger
Space Unicorn Slush RangerSocial Justice Rebel ScumRegistered User regular
Space Unicorn Slush RangerSocial Justice Rebel ScumRegistered User regular
Trick-or-treat!
It is October now, so I officially feel slightly less weird about the fact that as a sculptor/mask maker/makeup kind of person, my Halloween usually starts in, oh, say, August.
I am also lucky that my friends totally tolerate and sometimes even embrace my weird urge to make costumes.
Welcome fellow guisers, candy fiends, and ghastly ghouls!
Do you need a costume suggestion for a work party/group get-together/what have you, a spooky avatar, a scary movie recommendation, cool ideas for trick-or-treaters, or just a place to show off your sweet costume you made?
Cool, rad, you should probably post here! Crowdsource that thang.
It is October now, so I officially feel slightly less weird about the fact that as a sculptor/mask maker/makeup kind of person, my Halloween usually starts in, oh, say, August.
I am also lucky that my friends totally tolerate and sometimes even embrace my weird urge to make costumes.
Welcome fellow guisers, candy fiends, and ghastly ghouls!
Do you need a costume suggestion for a work party/group get-together/what have you, a spooky avatar, a scary movie recommendation, cool ideas for trick-or-treaters, or just a place to show off your sweet costume you made?
Cool, rad, you should probably post here! Crowdsource that thang.
tapeslinger on
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Posts
I want a really really nice red wizard cloak or robe. Maybe with a fancy belt.
Where can I find such apparel? I wouldn't mind purchasing something really nice first.
But eventually the question is: how do I make it?
I understand the basics of how to use a sewing machine and I have my lovely wife who would probably enjoy laughing at me while also teaching me more advanced techniques.
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So, there are definitely two ways to go about it, found or made, or a hybrid approach wherein found articles are modified to suit your needs.
The first rule of thumb if you think you want to make something is to try to find an approximate garment that exists in reality, via thrift shops or old stuff in the closet if possible. The draped robe on the Yellow King up there is a single tablecloth with a large hole for the head, and then at the shoulder it is folded into a robe that looks layered and then handpainted to continue the illusion of layered fabrics. The hood was a separate piece but could probably have been made from more of the same tablecloth.
There are definitely purchasable patterns for costume robes, but if you're an odd size or want something more custom, you'll need to go on your own. Custom patterns for robes are pretty simple to put together, even just from scrap fabric like the tablecloth idea. Especially if you are aiming for a wizard.
The important thing with that is length; ordinary bath robe is too short. Essentially you need a back piece slightly wider than your shoulder span and two front panels slightly wider than half the width of the back piece to get that drapey, open style. Two pieces slightly wider than the circumference of your arm and the length of your arm if you want sleeves. Etc.
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Do... Re... Mi... So... Fa.... Do... Re.... Do...
Forget it...
I make one "cut" the blade slips free from the pumpkin and plunges right in my left wrist, right above some very important bits.
"That's not good" I remarked as blood pumped from the wound falling to the tile below. I grab my wrist as hard as I could and move over to the kitchen sink. "Ummmm Honey, can you come here for a sec"
My wife comes over.. shakes her head, unphased by the blood on the floor and the blood tha t is all over the sink. "Did it spurt out when you did it?" she asks I told her it did not which was apparent by the lack of blood on the ceiling. She examined the cut then grabbed a cloth and started to wrap it around my arm. Luckily for us her brother was in town staying with us for a bit so he took over candy distribution.
Hospital visit was quick, I get some stitches, remark how "Gnarly" the wound was as the doc poked around inside to make sure I didnt knick anything important, total time maybe an hour and a half.
We get back home hoping to have a near empty candy bowl and 99% of it is still in there.. we had 3 kids total, Oh and a 20 something couple.
Apparently kids in our hood go to the mall or something. Blasphemy.
Maybe mum or dad holds the candy bag for safekeeping (my parents totally did this and I'm sure nothing ever went missing under their watchful gaze!)
Or you could say, oh, skfmoppet isn't a big candy eater and leave it at that
Most grownups won't be dicks about it; besides, who cares about candy when there are fun amusement park rides!
Important because it may come up:
Do not use "food allergies" as a reason unless you HAVE a food allergy! This is a 100 percent seriously serious thing, and people who lie about food allergies are the reason no one takes them seriously enough.
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That's some great anatomy practice with that deep forehead wrinkling and really dramatic nasolabial lines. Silicone would be rad for that.
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I've described it in chat, but I intend to grab some nice black robes (as opposed to the tattered ones you sometimes see), dye my hair either black or dark purple, do full-on skull makeup, and carry a silver pocketwatch instead of a scythe.
I need to start getting stuff together for that and practice the makeup.
Thanks for the tips. I'll probably do some shopping around for materials in the next week. Worst case scenario: I learn how to properly use a sewing machine. Hopeful case: I have a functioning wizard cloak of questionable quality.
I put on the new one last night and started to work on it because it also needs some shape help, and Nexus's input was "yeah, you need to mess it up more, it looks really mod right now"
Which I heard as "Maude" and was more than a little alarmed until he clarified
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@davidsdurions that is pretty much the best thing about Halloween, imo, is the opportunity to broaden the ol' skillset.
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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
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Good call. Quick perusal of Amazon shows some cheap masks that should be easyish to modify close enough to work. Thanks.
Which all sounds very vague! Because it is! I love this time of year, but I never have very good costume ideas beyond "dress really fancy".
Maybe they should stop dressing like victims. (j/k)
Last year I was Alyx Vance
Literally two people recognized me
They were both like BYAH THIS IS AMAZING OMG
@Delmain cosplay tbh usually has to be sturdier than something for Halloween and usually wearing a cosplay level costume on Halloween makes you look like one of the cool kids imo.
@Neco Oh cool! Do you have a general theme like a character in mind? It might help if you pick an open-ended category of a type of character for example. (like say, "sorceress" or something like that)
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omg those kinds of costumes are the besssst
The year nexus and I did The Monarch and Dr Mrs., we had a few people who were like, so, you're moth people? But easily twice as many who stopped us during the parade route for pictures, saying "OH MY GOD IT'S THE MONARCH!!"
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A Kimono might be a good start. If you can find one in dark enough color and in the right price range. Then maybe glue some stars on it. And either skip the belt or switch it to something more wizard like.
This one might work -> http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Dragon-Pattern-Bathrobe-Waistband/dp/B00ZHGRMLM/ref=sr_1_49?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1443978600&sr=1-49&nodeID=7141123011&keywords=kimono
Not a bad idea!
Here are some skull makeup ideas. IIRC you didn't want to do full on sugar skull? Something more subtle? You could try doing some extreme contouring of the cheeks, plus dark black eyes.
If you are interested in sugar skull, you could do a half mask
or
I think that first photo is the general style I want, though I think I would do some modifications. Hrm. I really need to get to finishing this plan.
trying to keep it not too elaborate
you could probably do this exact same look and with a little care it would look better than hers
A little elaborateness is ok, I just don't want like WEBBING or SEQUINS or whatever. I think what she has going there is pretty good, though I'd probably want to do my face all white instead of skin toned, and I'm considering using a dark purple instead of black for the eyes and maybe nose and cheek.
Reference photos of real skulls! I'm on mobile right now but to avoid looking too cartoony, skull photos will give you a different source of information that you won't get elsewhere
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I have very little experience in even "normal" makeup, and none in stuff designed to to like this, so some help is needed.
Daily wear cosmetics may also be worth a look, especially dark eyeliners with waterproof bases for the outlining. My favorite eyeshadow comes from Sugarpill, but they're predominantly mail order so not as likely a makeup-counter buy. Kryolan is also a pretty great stage makeup company; you can get their stuff through Alcone I think. If you are stuck haunting the aisles at Sephora and can't wait for a mail order, Make Up For Ever is excellent stuff with wide range of colors and possibilities and widely regarded for theatrical makeup stuff.
You'll want to experiment with makeup primer if you are planning an all-day all-night ghoul fest.
This is a starting point, I'm sure lots of other people have suggestions too. (again, phone post while I'm working on something else so less detailed than I might want to be)
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For example: my Death look from my avatar is: Sugarpill pressed eyeshadow in Tako (flat translucent white), lightly brushed everywhere to cool and lighten skin tone
Kat Von D waterproof liquid eyeliner from Sephora in whatever makeup company name they used for their matte black
Urban Decay shadow in Shattered, for lids, corners, and a sheen over the Eye of Horus motif
Oh, and lip color is Styletto from Limecrime with a smudge of Retrofuturist, because I like how long their color lasts, but any black lipstick would do the job. (not that you need it, but Limecrime makes some cool stuff so a shout out to them)
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Excellent, I think in gonna go for it.
Though I literally expect no one to know who I am, and I'll be in NYC
If it looks cool no one will care that they don't know what it is
@No-Quarter and his King in Yellow got plenty of attention even though it's not like something mainstream
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But cmon, it's not that bad
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