Ghosts of designs past...

Well, not ghosts so much as old sketches from my college days. It's been a while since I designed the old-fashioned way, with paper and pencil, so my current sketches are a bit... dubious, but here's some of my old favorites from back when I could still draw. I really like these ones because, unlike a lot of my sketches before, these are all meant to interact with each other.

Enjoy "The Misanthrope" - featuring all sorts of 17th century goodness! Did you know that trendy men wore shoes with red heels? And women wore hair pieces to make their dos wider and fuller? Ribbons and lace were quite hip for the discerning gentleman, but ladies preferred gauzy chiffon and curly ringlets to frame their heavily rouged faces.

Du Bois	Alceste
Oronte	Celimene
Clitandre	Arsinoe
Eliante	Philinte

Superhero Party Photos!

And after a long hiatus, I'm going to try this again.

First up:
Pics of the costume I was working on when last I left you. It was all finished in time for the party, complete with boots (well, sock things, anyway) gloves, and a cape! Woo-hoo!
For most of it, I just used old fabric I had lying around, plus a blue prom dress, and a lot of iridescent aquamarine fabric paint:

The costume in its entirety.

Detail of cape and skirt train. Awesome!

Sorta detail on the fins coming off my cape and gloves.

And now! You get to see how crafty my pals are with photos from the Superhero Party. Quite spectacular and amazing! (Since this was over a year ago, I'll do my best to remember who/what everyone was!)

HEROES!

ROBIN

NEO - you know, from the Matrix? (I was going to be all cool and photoshop all of these, but it was REALLY time consuming.)

INVISIBLE MAN!

SUPER LAURA

ELEKTRA

MR. & MRS. INCREDIBLE

crap! I can't remember!

THE GREAT AMERICAN HERO

TIN HAT MAN

PAPER GIRL
Okay, so this is the coolest freakin' costume, EVER! Michelle creates splendiferous things with paper, as this costume is evidence. The entire thing, except for the boots, is made of paper.

Detail of the Paper Girl costume. It's held together with staples.


VILLAINS!

The GARDENER!
Sandy's was particularly cool, since she put the entire thing together at the party using supplies I left out on the table!

BARON VonEVIL (or something like that.)

GROUCHY DUDE (okay, I made that one up)

PONTIUS PUPAE (like a moth - get it? There's a furry "P" on his chest)

AQUA VELVA (yours truly)

So, a good time was had by all...

... that is, until things got a little out of hand.

Supervillain Costume - Cover a corset

In an effort to get a little more mileage out of a former Halloween costume, I decided to reuse some of the parts for an upcoming costume party. I am going to be a water-themed supervillain (since those are more fun anyway) and dig out all the spare parts left over from my awesome mermaid costume (pictured at left) from a few years previous (I actually wore the thing twice, although with a new and improved tail the second time). Being the packrat/costume designer that I am, I've always had difficulty tossing out old costumes, especially the awesome ones. I still have all the pieces, including the wig and scraps of fabric I didn't even end up using for the tail. Additionally, I have a whole pile of ocean-y colors of fabric, such as blue, purple, and green. Slap on some sequins, and we're good to go.

I'm starting with a corset purchased specially for this new costume (as we all know, the primary purpose of a comic book villainess is to be a busty, waspy-waisted sexual foil), although I decided the designs on it, while pretty, were just too busy for a good comic book supervillain. A comic book costume (at least the American variety) is usually composed of blocks or strips of color, instead of a richer brocade. I mean, the former is easier to draw, after all.

A corset cover really needs to fit the contours of the corset if it's going to look good. Just covering it in a tube of stretchy fabric will look wrinkly and hasty. And dumb. So here's how I made my tailored cover (click on any image to see a larger version):

First, I had to replicate each section of the corset I was going to cover (I decided to cover just the front 2/3, since I'll have a cape). To replicated a corset section, lay it down on paper, tacking the first section completely flat. If there are wrinkles when you tack it down, the paper pattern will be warped and inaccurate.

If you don't have a corkboard table to tack your corset to, you can lay everything on a carpeted floor or couch cushion. This technique really works best if you can push the pin or tack all the way in, so your fabric sections can't move around.

Once a section is tacked down securely, take a tack or pin (a pin is recommended if your fabric is prone to snagging) and punch holes along the perimeter of the garment section. (The perimeter will be wherever there is a seam or a hem). You can space these out as much as you like, but be sure to punch a hole at each corner and along the edge of curves.

When you remove the fabric, you will have your pattern piece punched into the paper. Trace over this line. If you want a seam allowance, you will need to add it.

Clearly mark all of your pattern pieces, including things like seam allowance (1/4" SA, for example), the top and bottom of each piece, and what order the pieces are sewn together in. With a garment as complex as a corset, this last detail is extremely important! You can do something as simple as labeling pieces 1, 2, 3, etc. Now you are ready to cut out your pieces!

I recommend using 1-way stretch fabric, and laying it out so it stretches up and down! This will make your life much easier when it comes time to attach it all to the corset!

Here are all the fabric pieces laid out, next to the corset for comparison. You may want to do this with your own pieces to remind yourself how they all fit together while you are assembling them.

You may notice that the center section is a single piece of fabric instead of two. I did this to cover the busk - the center section will be sewn on one side to the cover, and attach on the other side with Velcro (see below.)

Pictured above, all the pieces are sewn together and laid out as they will be attached to the corset. The center section is unattached on one side (the velcro closure has not yet been added).

To attach the cover to the corset, I used a simple running stitch along the outer perimeter of the entire cover. A running stitch is quick and it can be easily removed. The cover is sewn along the top, bottom and outer sides, except for the center piece. I also attached some sequins along the top. Here is a photo with the front section left open to see how the cover was attached more clearly:

How to be a SUPERHERO! (or a villian...)

In honor of one of the greatest comic books ever written being turned into a film this spring, I thought I'd return to my costuming roots of yore.

		How does one become a superhero? First, you have to develop a character, and then create a fantastic look. Naturally, you can always be an established super hero, such as Wonder Woman or Superman. These are pretty easy to pull off, so long as you don't mind a lot of spandex. There are, however, a handful of super heroes and villians that actually wear normal clothes, such as Rorschach or Wonder Girl.
1980's Supergirl (right) and Contemporary Supergirl (left)

American vs. International Superheroes
Generally speaking, American superheroes tend to follow a tried and true formula: SPANDEX. ... and usually bright colors, unless you're going for a more contemporary, film-loosely-based-on-comic book look, as in the more recent X-Men movies.

The latter, however, would probably involve a lot more molded plastic. Additionally, female characters tend to have low-cut necklines and (generally) bare or tightly wrapped thighs. Men, by contrast, have their entire body covered and wear boots, more often than not.

Note the tight spandex and difference in clothing style between men and women.

Shaktimaan (India) wears a more "futuristic" costume.

With international superheroes, the field is a little broader. Costumes range from traditional folk clothing to a crazy, 1950's era "future look" (think Ultraman). Despite the wider range of options (and the fact that these characters tend to wear less revealing outfits), there are some drawbacks. Namely, few people will know who you are portraying. Also, straying to far from the traditional unitard/bathing suit look might make you a less convincing SUPERHERO/VILLIAN. More Information on International Superheroes

Captain Canuck (Canada)

Ultraman family (Japan)

Costume How-to
Now that you've decided on who you will portray, you need to build a costume. Generally, your persona will have one or more of the following boots, a utility belt, cape, and bizarre makeup. For guidance on quick and easy ways to create all these goodies, please refer to the links provided.

Boot covers

Mel's Boot Cover Tutorial (if you have boots to cover)	Boot Covers by Love Meeko (You can use any shoes for this one. On the menu, click "Tutorials" and scroll down to "Boot Covers")

Capes

Circle cape	Square cape

Etc.

Utility belt pouches by Kazumi Kurosaki	Scary Makeup by Martha Stewart (or one of her minions...)

Additional tips...
How to Make a Super Hero Costume by indymogul