PopCult Anime :: View topic - Inyx tries: 4th Hokage: Minato Namikaze ZOMBIE! Version

Inyx · "The Boss"

After seeing all the great cosplay at PortCon Maine, I decided that I really, really want to cosplay again. And I have been meaing to cosplay the 4th Hokage (Minato Namikaze) for the longest time. But, because he is dead, I wanted to do a zombie version. Today ( 07/12/08 ) I am going to start.

I have most of what I need, the pants, undershirt, headband, a wig and patterns that I can use for the vest and over coat. I even have a great deal of the material I need as well. Thankfully, since I will be destroying most of it to make it 'zombilicious' I don't have to be perfect.

Later I will post some pictures of what I have and my progress as I work on the vest and overcoat.

The three biggest projects for this cosplay will be:

Overcoat
Ninja Vest
Ninja Shoes

And some art reference:

Ninja_Shuichi · PopCult Anime Crew

Of course you get insperation for this AFTER I cosplay Naruto *grumble* I'm just joking, I can't wait to see it!

Inyx · "The Boss"

There's no reason why you can't cosplay Naruto again. Though if we could get a group together to do a 'Thriller' skit, it would be epic.

*update on cosplay*

I finished the navy undershirt. I started with two navy turtlenecks. One a men's M and one a 2XL.

I removed the sleeves on both shirts and put the 2XL's sleeves on the M shirt so that I could acheive the proper bagginess.

Next I seam ripped the neck off and cut it in half then sewed it back on so I now have a mock-neck.

I may adjust the hem length, because it's a long shirt. But for now I will leave it as is.

Up next I am going to start cutting out the fabric I need for the vest. I may have to use some odd fabric around here to make a linning, I have some black cotton that would work in a pinch. I am not going to worry about anyone seeing the inside of the Ninja vest, I just want to give it a little more weight and I might use some batting, etc to give it the 'poofy'-ness.

**I just started basting when sewing now. I highly recommend this, especially if you are not sure if what you are sewing is going to acheive the desired effect. I know it came in handy when I realized I had sewed the mock-neck in the wrong way. And for those that don't know, Basting is when you use a very loose stitch on your machine that should a mistake happen you can easily rip it out. And yes, you must re-sew over it to finish the piece. But it's better to finish when you don't have to worry about pins!

Inyx · "The Boss"

**Update on Cosplay**

On Tuesday morning, while waiting for the insurance inspector, I cut out the fabric pieces that I needed for the Ninja Vest.

Materials:
Lining--> Black cotton. (I had this on hand already)
Stuffig--> Thin quilt batting. One layer. (Again, something I already had)
Fabric--> Dark Green Twill. (Recycled fabric from a men's work shirt picked up on the cheap from Goodwill. I picked up a huge one to take apart in case I need extra fabric.)

I basted the batting to the twill so it would be easy to sew together. I still need to finish sewing the pieces and lining. I plan on hiding all the seams on the inside, so will sew the lining seperately and then sew it all together and then finishing the hem.

I am still not sure how I am going to do the collar, and detail of the vest. It's a unique shape and it will be trial and error to getting it right.

Inyx · "The Boss"

**UpDate**

Didn't get any sewing done this weekend, but I have figured out how I am going to go about doing the ninja vest. And since I am pouring so much time and effort into it, I will not be destroying this one. I do plan on cosplaying other ninja at some point, so having the vest in good condition will come in handy.

What I plan on doing is making the vest in two pieces. The under vest, shaped much like any other vest. Then the collar/shoulder detail which I will make a separate piece then sew them together. In order to help myself work out a pattern, I grabbed a piece of white chalk and started to draw out the shape on the under vest. This works well, and the chalk comes off when I mess up. Later I can lay out scrap fabric or paper on it to cut out the pattern. If I have time, I may even make a mock up.

**shoes**

I was given a pair of commercial made ninja shoes from a friend after they broke on her. The sole of the shoe was cheap and had no tread, so she got no traction and was slipping all over the place anyway. At first I was going to take them apart and use the pattern to make my own, but due to lack of time, I am just going to take the fabric tops and sew them to new soles. I managed to find a cheap pair of sandals at Payless that I can use. They have a black, rubber sole, that has thread holes already punched into it. This will allow me to seam rip off the leather tops already in place, and sew on the fabric tops I already have. Or, that is the theory at least. I will see how that turns out in practice, tonight.

Predictions Ruth Rugged Slide

Inyx · "The Boss"

Needless to say, I finished my costume.

Adding the detail to the coat took more time that I thought it would. Mostly because I had to find out what the text was on the back of the coat, which I found here: http://flora-fleur.net/fourth/index.html. I was able to then drop that into Word and enlarge it enough to use as a template. Thankfully I traced around the outlines before I cut out the fabric, so when it came to glue them in place--yes, I used glue, sewing took too long--that I was able to get the placement just right.

The flames took time as well, first because I had to find some flames to use as a template, they blow them up big enough to use on the computer. From there I had to print them out, cut them out and tape it all together to trace on the hem of the coat. Thankfully I was destroying the coat, because pencil on white fabric is a big no-no. I would use an actual fabric pencil next time.

Then I wasted an entire day thinking I could quickly whip stitch the flames down. Ha ha. This is when I got smart and switched to glue. It went much faster. I went with cheap glue, since I didn't plan on washing the coat, I could get away with it. If I was going to do this again, I would first pick a nice fabric to cut the flames from, then glue and stitch them down. But use a good, washable fabric glue.

Next time I do this, I will be adding the detail to the white fabric, BEFORE I sew it to the lining. Thankfully since I wasn't being careful, I could rip the lining free enough to sew down some of the detail. I will also work on the collar pattern, it didn't want to stand up, nor was it really a good shape for the coat.

The shoes finished up fast, but they fit loose, so I may go back and build in some straps to help hold them on.

I liked how the vest came out so much, that I decided not to destroy it. Instead I will go back, fix the collar and add the pockets on the front. Now that I worked out a good pattern for it, I may even create another one just for the hell of it--and use my down filler from another vest to stuff it.

And for the final act, destroying the coat. It was a lot of fun, actually, and only took an hour and a half.

First thing I did was lay down some cardboard to protect the table I was working on in the Garage. Then I put slash marks in the shape of five-fingered claws with scissors. Then I put fake blood along the slash marks, as if they had actually bled. This still left the coat much to white. So next I ran out side, grabbed some grass and added grass stains. Still two white. So I then got a small bucket and got some dark mulch from the front of my house. This I then rubbed all over the coat, even on the under side of the hem, in case it would show. Still not totally happy, I rubbed the sleeves against a rusting pipe. And then around on the floor of my garage.

The finished effect was rather nice. And the inside lining remained pretty clean, so I didn't have to worry about my vest and shirt getting dirty. I know it would have been quicker to just mix up a bucket of mud, and toss the coat in, but that would have gotten the lining dirty too, and would have required some major drying time. This way, I got the look I was going for, with out too much mess.

I just need to post some pictures to show how this all came out.