Head is almost done!

Still sorta nervous about it. I think it looks okay so far but im worried about the fur looking too flat now. I'm going to mess with coloring some parts. I also just added the lips and finished furring it. It looks so huge on my head, im not happy with how small my eyes look in that large face but yellow contacts should make it not matter that much. Wolves have small eyes anyway. Plus adding the bulk of the body will help the proportions. After all, wearing just the demons head with no body looks pretty goofy and off too. I'm planning on making the body more like a wolf's rather than a like a furry muscle man...like having a deep sideways compressed chest and a humpy back/neck. Let's see 'em guess my gender in this one!! :D

I'm also debating on a tail or not. It's another thing for people to pull at and might make the were look too dog- like ( I dunno I think i just contradicted myself). Plus im not sure I can build a very realistic tail to be honest....hmmm....

24 Jul 2007 by Melly

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More head! ( get your mind out of the gutter)

Hey! Got the costume bug this last month and put a bunch of work into the head. Figured out a cool way to hinge the jaw, too!

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I'm doing the fur with a combination of mohair that I dyed myself, horsehair, and some synthetic fur. Most of it has been added by gluing it chunk by chunk ( a slow process!) and some is just strips of faux fur that I blend out so it doesnt look too cartoony. I really don't want to look like some demented high school mascot...

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the makeup will be black in the final costume...i could only find the brown stuff.
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So the dreds...I wanted to use the mohair to make a wierd feral texture with the head mane...so far it's kinda looking like the werewolf should be playing hacky sack while snacking on granola and jamming to Phish. However, I just got some horsehair in the mail and have been working on blending the "dreds" with the long smooth horsehair to make a decent mane of long fur. I'm not totally pleased with the results yet but things have a way of coming together if you just stick with 'em...so we will see!

08 Feb 2007 by Melly

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werewolf progress!

Head stuff! Got the costume bug back...

Trying to figure out the jaw hinge. Can't wait to do the TEETH.

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15 Oct 2006 by Melly

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Pirate costume test run!

Arrr! Thanks to Woody and his fine camera skills, i got some great photos of the pirate costume. I'm pretty happy with this. I'll have different shoes and makeup in the final version. The corset is made by http://mycorset.com/, the pants by http://www.mechanicalbunny.com/oscmax/

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YARRRR.

10 Sep 2006 by Melly

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Pirate!

ok ok...so this has nothing to do with the werebeast costume. I got a little costuming urge plus I jumped on the pirate bandwagon. The result is a totally historically inaccurate fantasy pirate costume. I made a leather clawed gauntlet, a belt with a holster and a boss evil leather pirate patch! Everything else is made by friends or something I bought. I'll have some "test" photos of the whole thing soon but for now check out the pics of the stuff I made:

First the pirate belt! Leather, made it up as I went along. Holds my awesome gun!

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Gauntlet! Leather and plastic claws. Cause..you know...pirates totally wore this stuff.
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Leather patch with super evil eye! You can buy one from me here if ya want!
click for patch!

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I'll have more pics of the full assembled costume soon. It's gonna be great!

09 Sep 2006 by Melly

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Head Progress!

I've been swamped with commissions, freelance and making stuff for the store, plus working on a million more little things and getting ready for conventions. Then there's that silly little "social life" thing.
Iam determined to get this costume back in progress! I started the top of the head/muzzle a few weeks ago. My goal is to make it much lighter and more tolerable than the demon mask...the demon head gets very heavy and starts to pinch since I didnt foam the inside enough. This new beast needs to be as easy to wear as possible. I'm also trying to figure out a better way to hinge the jaw. The thing is, the lower jaw needs to be removable so I can get into the head but still move with my own jaw movements. I used velcro ghetto style with the demon's jaw...the drawback being that it starts to loosen if I let the jaw move too much. Well, whatever go look at some photos:

Since I have no life cast to work from I just use plaster strips draped over my own face to get a good face shape to work off of. Remember kids, use lots of lotion if you put plaster strips on your face!:
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I used more plaster strips and foam to build up the forehead. Then I used some wire to make a support for the foam muzzle. The shiny boogery stuff is just liquid plastic that I brushed on. The plastic will harden and reinforce the plaster/foam...
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Paper clay is used to build up the rest of the snout. It will dry very light and will be sanded/added onto until I get the perfect shape...
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Next: Jaw, refining the shape and....teeth!!

03 Jun 2006 by Melly

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New costume blog!

I recently started a new costume! This one will also involve big teeth, digitigrade feet and leather armor only this time QUADRUPEDAL! Ooooooo! Hopefully I won't wrench my back out as I'll be getting a lumbar support with wrist guards and knee braces. Safety first, kids. I'm thinking this one will be a werewolf type beastie, super evil teeths and spiny mean armor. Fun! Check back here to watch the progress over the next 9 months. I've never built anything like this costume before and I'm really excited about figuring this one out.

So far I've started a front arm. I built foam over a walking crutch, that green stuff is the foam with some tape and glue to keep it together until I lay some fur over it. It works well, the wrist bends realistically and snaps back into place as I walk with the front leg. I will probably reinforce the wrist with some brush on rubber, to keep it attached but still flexible. The brown claws are plastic claws from a craft website, the same claws I used for the missmonster demon battle gauntlet.

Next I plan on starting the best part: the head!!!

12 Feb 2006 by Melly

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