Art Thread: Abe Costume

[Kusanivy]

Hi everyone! I realize it's been a long time since I've last been here but since I've finally started on my Abe costume, Hellmistress and I figured you guys might like to see ;)

What took me so long to start was I had to wait till I could convince my friends to do a head cast of me. Three tries and almost a year later, I finally have a workable one. So I wasted no further time getting to work.

Comments and critiques are more than welcome - in fact they are encouraged. I'm having trouble figuring out what are "inevitable distortions" due to underlying differences between my face and Doug Jones' (Dougie, for starters, has a much longer, thinner face than I do) and what are things I should be working to improve. For instance they put a thing over Doug's nose before casting his lifemask, to squish his nose down and make it flatter (he wore a similar device under the make-up itself). But because I need the lifemask for other projects afterwards (and it was such a pain to make) I didn't have the luxury of getting my friends to do a squish-nose cast. So right away i know the nose of my Abe is going to stick out more than the movie Abe (same with the ears).

But I'm going to try and fudge it as much as I can.

My lifecast, pre-Abe (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/Kusanivy/AbeCosplay/me.jpg)

The left hand side of the sculpt (well, what will be my left when I'm wearing it) I've left pretty rough so far but on the right I've started to add a bit more muscle detail etc.

I will be adding the gills, which, if all goes well, will be animatronic. I plan to cast the head, neck and shoulders in foam latex. Although I will be making the wetsuit I won't be making the collar and goggles because a) I like the way he looks better without them and b) I want to experiment with the aforementioned gills.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/Kusanivy/AbeCosplay/Abe1Front.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/Kusanivy/AbeCosplay/Abe1R34.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/Kusanivy/AbeCosplay/Abe1L34.jpg

[Cyber_Ghost]

Wow, just wow..I can't wait to see this finished!

[Myron L]

Outstanding, dude ! Way to go...I, too am anxious to see it complete...get back to work !
;)

[Ose]

Looking good so far!

Heh, I envy you having friends to help you with doing the lifecast. I got my hands on some aliginate months ago and still haven't been able to do one due to lack of helpers.

[evening]

Hey, that's terrific!
Keep posting pics as you go!

[E. Spears]

friggin' tight.

-ers

[Petersen]

That is some true dedication!

[Kusanivy]

Looking good so far!

Heh, I envy you having friends to help you with doing the lifecast. I got my hands on some aliginate months ago and still haven't been able to do one due to lack of helpers.

It is a serious pain - but sadly one cannot do a lifecast of your own head.

I was soooo happy this one worked out. The first time I only had two friends and none of us had done one before (we'd done lifemasks but never a whole head). I didn't give them enough materials, so the mold wasn't strong enough and the resulting cast looked like a mad mixture of myself and a queen Alien (or the Elephant Man)

The second cast was done by an experienced friend, but we used foam and a strange type of polymerised plaster which unfortunately cracked when it was setting distorting the finished cast.

So if you DO manage to round up enough helpers make sure to use lots of material (better too much alginate and plaster than too little).

And bribe them. - with alcohol if necessary ;)

[petriacce]

I say great start on the project. It will be great to see the finished product and hopefully lot of progress photos. :)

[Luna]

Wow - the most complex cosplay costume I ever did was Ginny Weasley (that damn knitting and that damn robe...) but WOW. I am not that skilled. I admire your tenacity.

[Ose]

It is a serious pain - but sadly one cannot do a lifecast of your own head.

I was soooo happy this one worked out. The first time I only had two friends and none of us had done one before (we'd done lifemasks but never a whole head). I didn't give them enough materials, so the mold wasn't strong enough and the resulting cast looked like a mad mixture of myself and a queen Alien (or the Elephant Man)

The second cast was done by an experienced friend, but we used foam and a strange type of polymerised plaster which unfortunately cracked when it was setting distorting the finished cast.

So if you DO manage to round up enough helpers make sure to use lots of material (better too much alginate and plaster than too little).

And bribe them. - with alcohol if necessary ;)

I know I won't be able to round up enough helpers for a full head lifecast. Luckily I have one friend who has some idea of what she's doing, so at some point I might manage a facecast with her help. It'd give me enough to start experimenting with some facial appliances. I want to try to do some ear casts too, since I figure elf tips are a good starting point and there'd a potential market to sell to if they turn out decently.