Vaporeon Gijinka Cosplay (Pic Heavy)
Not really sure if this fits in this forum, but since I got the inspiration to create this costume from lurking on this board and the costume shares many mermaid-like motifs, I wanted to share.
Here is my reference:
http://i.imgur.com/AjtJCaV.jpg
The character is based off of the water pokemon Vaporeon, and is a fan art of what that pokemon might look like if they were a human. I fell in love with the silhouette of the costume and the fantasy of the water nymph/mermaid like design. But mostly I had been lurking this board for a while and had stumbled across the idea of using shell sequins to make mermaid tails. I thought that technique would be an amazing idea to try out on the bracer and shin guard parts. And thus, this project began.
I am not quite done, and will surely post pics when I get there, but here is some progress that can hopefully inspire mer-like costumes in the future.
http://i.imgur.com/QhjYpNm.jpg
This material I am using here is called worbla. It is a thermo plastic that comes in sheets. In these photos I cut my pattern out of pieces of craft foam and layered it with the worbla to create depth and strength, and then heatformed the piece of armor into the correct shape. I detailed the process of making the bracers in a youtube tutorial series here - check it out for more details!
http://i.imgur.com/9Gai7VI.jpg
I painted the bracer with some createx pearlized paint, and started to E600 shell shaped sequins onto the armor piece I created. It was a long and arduous process, and I got glue all over everything, but as you can see it was well worth the effort:
http://i.imgur.com/yVv9PWW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/y5Ibbmk.jpg
I had to get creative about how I placed the sequins because of the curves on the bracers, I snipped, cut and bent sequins to make sure I retained the shape of the bracer while still covering it cleanly in sequins. I also found this really awesome glittery blue stiff fabric at the craft store and made the small top fin piece. This way it is flexible and doesn't get in the way of my elbow.
I am wearing this costume at an event in an aquarium this weekend and still have some finishing touches to do but so far here is what everything looks like coming together:
http://i.imgur.com/rvfIaib.jpg
Hope you guys enjoy my progress pictures and are as inspired by my work as I was by yours. Thanks so much for this awesome community resource!
PS You can find all of my cosplay progress on my facebook page or instagram!
