[Tutorial] Quick n' dirty steampunk goggles

This whole thing is 90% foam. Believe it!

Need a pair of steampunk goggles on the fly? making these would set you back a couple of hours at most, and can be made of random junk lying around your house.

The goggles I made were meant to be pinned to a top hat I made (no tutorial sorry, not unless I decide to make another hat!) so they CAN be used on your face but they're nowhere near as comfortable and can be kinda flimsy for actual wear. But they definitely work if you just want a pair for show.

NOTE: This tutorial does not include any measurements whatsoever, because your base materials might vary.

Materials:

A reasonably sized cardboard tube (any tube shaped material would work actually)
Foam (two thicknesses, preferably between 2mm - 5mm)
Scrap cloth or faux leather
Scrap transparent plastic sheet, mine came from a plastic file
PVA glue (or favourite foam sealant)

Tools:

Scissors/ boxcutter knife
Contact Glue
Rub N' Buff in Antique Gold
Acrylic Paint
Needle and thread
Brushes

Optional:

3D paint
Tiny screws or thumbtacks
Elastic
Stapler
---
Research!

The first order of business is to find a reference for what you want to make your steampunk goggles looking like. I wanted something more vintage looking (without all the extra fancy stuff) plus I need to do it really fast (because, I tend to do shit last minute) so I picked a very basic design.

Cut the tubes and fit the first foam layer

These will form the main 'body' of your goggles. Take your tube and cut it in half and then cut the other end slightly slanting so they will fit around your eyes comfortably. If you aren't going to wear them you don't have to cut them to an exact fit.

Next cut out two larger strips of the thinner foam and wrap it around both tubes, glue them down and trim off the access. Once they dry, coat the outside of the foam with a sealant and let it dry.

While waiting for them to dry, measure out and cut adequate amounts of scrap cloth, elastic or leather to make into your 'strap'. Make a short one to act as the nose bridge of the goggles and a longer one that will go around your neck/head/hat/whathaveyou.

Make the lenses

Use the 'front end' to measure

For the 'lenses' cut out circles from your transparent plastic sheet and then glue them onto your tube. Don't worry if they're too big, you can trim them off later. You can use tougher plastic or even coloured material for this step, as long as it's semi transparent anything works really.

They will more or less look like this

Optionally, you can also paint the inside of your tubes if you don't want people to see that they're actually made of cardboard rolls :P I painted mine black but at a later stage than I should have. Lesson learnt!

Rims!

Once you have trimmed them, cut out a pair of 'rims' for your goggles. I wasn't super careful when cutting mine out so they're a little uneven but I did trim them down somewhat. Once they're ready place the outer rim on top of the goggles and glue it down. 

This will act as sort of a 'sandwich' to hold the lenses in place and make it look cooler/hide all your ugly glue. You can also glue an additional ring of foam on the back of the goggles to simulate padding or to just make it more comfortable if you do intend to wear it later.

Here is where I added little drops of 3D paint to the outer rims to simulate rivets, you can also use 3D paint to make them look all regal by painting decorative patterns on them if your character is of the fancier persuasion.

Coat the outer rims with sealant as well. You can add little screws or thumbtacks as well but do it after you've sealed everything.

Paint paint.

Paint up your goggles to be with a base coat. Black is preferable. You may need 1-3 coats depending on how thick your paint is, just be careful to avoid dripping any on your lenses. Allow to dry thoroughly in between each layer.

Now here's the fun part.

I LOVE THIS STUFF

After the base coat has dried, break out your Rub N' Buff and use your finger or a brush to start painting the entire body of the goggles, buff them out when done.

If you don't have/want to use Rub N' Buff, regular copper coloured acrylic paint will work just as well.

Take a bit of care to avoid painting on your lenses as usual.

Strappage

Once everything is done, take your straps and either glue or staple them to your goggles. Optionally you can cover the staples with a bit of paint or foam, though bear in mind that glue is not as good as tacking the straps down and should be treated as a temporary measure.

After that you're pretty much done! I might write a more proper tutorial later because I am going to be making more goggles, hopefully with more comprehensive instructions.

Happy building!

[Tutorial] Super easy foam claws

I happen to like claws, nails and other pointy things. Hell, I have an entire costume lined up that's practically nothing but foam spikes (ugh) so this time we're gonna talk about making some foam claws (or teeth) for yourself. It's an easy project but it requires a lot of elbow grease if you're going to do it by hand. So lets get to it.

rarawrawrawrrrr

Please read through the entire project before collecting material!

Materials:

4-5mm foam, colour irrelevant if you're going to paint it
Glue sticks (for hot glue gun)
Contact glue (or similar contact cement) I prefer Shelley's Kwik Grip.
Newspaper (for blueprinting and stuffing)

Tools:

Scissors
Boxcutter blade or X-acto knife type cutting implement. Sharper the better.
Hot Glue Gun
Pencils, markers, etc for marking the foam

Optional:

Sandpaper 150- 600 grit depends on need
Heat gun
Dremel or equivalent rotary tool with sanding bit
Filler or latex acrylic based caulk (get gloves for that shit! its bad for skin)
--
Template and cut

First, draw up your claw blueprint and make a template out of it before you get to cutting. For tracing it out I used a yellow sewing chalk pencil to outline it because it's easier to see.

The way I do it is by drawing three shapes (bottom, top and the middle piece) and then cutting the 3rd piece in half. The 3rd piece will form the 'walls' of your claw. Of course you could make it taller or shorter depending on your needs.

Chop chop!

Sticking it all together

There's two ways you can glue up your claw.

The first method is to use hot glue to connect the pieces together. This way can be a little tricky if you aren't using high-temp hot glue sticks as it can sometimes cool before you finish sticking them together. But this method is good if you want to get it done VERY FAST.

The contact glue way is to apply glue on both the sides you are connecting and letting them dry just a little till they're tacky. After that jam both sides together firmly and they should stick almost seamlessly.

Before sanding and trimming. Yes I used a satay stick to get glue into all those little corners :)

The results are roughly the same, it's just a matter of your personal preference and how strong you want the bond to be. Just remember that the closer and more accurately you glue it, the less visible the seams will be!

When it's done you can then trim the corners, carve notches, shave it smooth with sandpaper, stuff it with newspaper for strength, the possibilities are practically endless :)

Finishing

If you need to paint it, just seal it up in your preferred method of treating foam and paint away!

Also if there are tiny cracks in your foam, you can always go over it with some caulk or filler and let it dry overnight. This in turn can be sanded smooth or you can smoothen it with water before letting it dry, roughly same results.

Alternatively, if you're bothered by little hairy bits left behind from sanding or uneven cutting, you can run your heat gun over the foam to remove the unwanted texture. Just remember not to leave it there too long! it could cause your glue to melt.

I used the claws to make teeth for these boney shoulderpads I made for a client LOL

That's pretty much the entire project in a nutshell. Hope it was helpful!

Pre-con/shoot/cosplay/whatever protips

Animangaki is looming around the corner being just 2 days away and I'll bet you're either excited or dying trying to get your stuff done on time.

It's probably a little late to read some of this but I hope it's helpful all the same :D most of this I had to learn from experience...the long and hard way lol.

1. Always start your projects early.

This is one of the more important ones. Yes, I know that sometimes you get fantastic ideas a bit too late but are adamant on getting it done (guilty!) but starting early gives you time to test out your stuff and get adequate rest and practice. You'll thank me later.

2. Try to get enough sleep the night before.

The blind rush to get your costume and props done tends to leech your sleep and push you till the last possible moment. Yes, you finished your stuff in time for your event!

But you are tired, grouchy and have the worst eyebags ever.

No amount of makeup can hide eyebags and trust me, it's hard to have fun and/or really stay in character when all you can think about is a quiet corner to pass out in.

3. Clean up where you're able!

Scrub up, shave, moisturise, pluck your eyebrows, clean behind your ears if you have to! Treat it like getting ready for prom, you want to look your best!

Give your hands some attention as well, especially if you've been propmaking and they're stained with paint.

4. A little makeup never hurts.

Yep, this applies to the guys too!

A little bit of face powder can make a whole ton of difference in photos.

You don't have to go all out either (unless your character has obvious makeup) but cons tend to be sweaty and faces tend to get rather shiny.

A bit of strategic eyeliner also does wonders if your eyes aren't dramatic enough (too big, too small, not alien enough etc) and eyeliner makes for decent temporary face/body tattoos and even fake facial hair :D

PLEASE DON'T USE A SHARPIE I BEG YOU. I've seen cosplayers do this and not only is the shit toxic, it's hard to remove later x_x

5. OMG EAT SOMETHING!

In the excitement of a con it's easy to forget to eat; or at very worse forgetting to drink. It's very important to have SOME hydration in you at the very least. Given the stressful conditions of a con (heat, overexertion, energy sucking crowds etc) you can be in loads of trouble if you're running on an empty tank. Have a good breakfast before you go at the very least!

It can also be hard to get ahold of food depending on your con location so make sure you have some snacks/water on hand or stashed with someone who can hang on to that stuff for you. Your saikang is your best friend and rescuer.

6. Don't let people play with your props if they're fragile.

Props are flimsy. People aren't always aware of this. Also, some people get excited and crazy when you put your lovingly crafted props in their hands and they do stupid things with them.

7. Be mindful of your stuff.

This goes out especially to props that are long or have sharp edges. I can't even count the amount of times I've been scratched and smacked in the face by sharp shoulder plates/wings/large-stuff-on-your-back and tripped by spears/otherlongthings.

8. BE MINDFUL OF YOUR STUFF!!

In regards to your personal belongings this one.

A con is pretty much a public event. There will be thieves, pickpockets and other opportunists.

So don't be careless, granted there aren't always good places to keep your things (esp if you have a lot of junk. It's not fun :( ) but I think that when I find a PSP sitting next to a wall in a con unguarded it's already putting too much trust in the people around you =\

Check in advance if your con has a storage area. If it doesn't, try to go as light as possible or bung your stuff with someone you can trust. Lots of stuff go missing during cons and the people who find them don't always send them to lost and found.

That's all I got for now. I'll likely make another posting when I can think of more things to add in XD till then, stay safe, stay awesome!

[Tutorial] Simple cyberhand base

This tutorial is inspired heavily by the work of HellWolve on deviantart. He's a master costumer/larper so do check out his work ;)

As it seems to be my fashion to do things at the last possible moment, I decided to karate myself a quick cyberhand for Halloween last year in order to go participate in a Halloween event that uh, required a costume for entry.

I decided to go as a futuristicky cyberpunk dude (in an extremely loose sense) so a cyberhand is a must (at least it is to me, never leave home without your augmented bits! there are critters out there!)

I can't really give a costing this time because I used materials that I already had lying around in the first place. Daiso driving gloves were RM 5.

These are the stuff you need:

Material:

1-2 black cotton gloves (length and amount is totally up to you) I got it from Daiso.
Thin craft foam (1mm should do it)
Paper (for drafting)

Tools:

Sewing chalk (mine is pencil shaped)
Sharp scissors
Contact glue (any brand that's tacky and doesn't seep will do)
Needle and thread

Optional:

Detailing paint brush
White paint
Computer case screw
Lighter

---

First thing I did was draw a template of my hand on a piece of paper while I had the glove on so I could get a rough estimate of what plate went where. This is also a good time to decide how many plates you want to use. They can be longer or shorter depending on your hand size and how 'robotic' or 'armorlike' you want.
The finger plates can also wrap around your finger 3/4 of the way for a blockier feel.

Plop.

I also cut the glove down to size because only a bit of it was poking out of my sleeve and it didn't need to be that long (the cotton glove I used stretched up till almost at shoulder level)

After you're happy with the amount you need, cut all your templates out. Label for good measure because if you're anything like me, you'll forget which plate goes where.

Now grab your foam and draw out as many shapes as you need using the templates, then chop them up with your scissors.

I prefer to use Selleys contact adhesive because it's easy to apply, but Dunlop glue or any similar adhesive works fine too.

Not an advertisement.

Always check your foam plates against your fingers before gluing them down so you can make any last fitting adjustments to the plates. Once you're happy glue down the plates drawn side down so you can hide the chalk. Alternatively you can wash the plates beforehand but personally I feel it's too much work :P

After that you're pretty much done! Here's a few alternative things you can do to spiff up your glove before you glue/sew your plates down:

Paint your plates before attaching.

Make 'futuristic' impressions by heating up the computer screw with the lighter and pressing down in strategic locations.

Glue down decals (can be stickers, small flat trinkets, what have you)

Here's my result. It's slightly bunched up because I was using a very loose cotton glove but depending on how tight your base glove is, the end result will look better.

Simple yet effective!

[Tutorial] Super-quick Harley Quinn Mallet

Some time ago I volunteered to join in a costume appearance for fundraising Typhoon Haiyan funds  for charity. I had somehow agreed to costume as Harley Quinn (don't ask, I'm still embarrassed ><) and decided to build her iconic mallet up quick just in case they didn't have any props or other costumey stuff available as it was an extremely short notice thing.

Didn't help that I was busy with other things and ridiculously broke, but it's good to have stock of random supplies in the house...you never know when they'll come in handy!

All in total, the project cost me maybe RM15.

At any rate, this is what I used:

Material:
1 pc 1mm leftoever pvc foam board (something like sintra, but not as expensive)
1 recycled plastic pipe from an older project
4 sets of nuts and bolts
2 appropriately shaped bukkits
Duct tape
Tons of wide masking tape (you'll need a minimum of 2-3 rolls)
Red and black acrylic paint
Matte transparent spraypaint for sealing

Tools:

Soldering iron (because I prefer to melt holes rather than drill them)
Hot glue gun
Screwdriver
Brushes
Markers
Cutter knife (or an x-acto if you have one)
Pliers (optional)

----
I started out by using one of the buckets to trace out two circles about as wide as the mouths of the buckets so form the 'lid' of the bucket. I used this bit of extra pvc foam board I had lying around but if you want something cheaper or lighter you could use mounting board or cardboard even. Cut out the two shapes and put them aside.

Next, I cut the edges off the buckets' mouth using a knife and a pair of pliers to help me yank off the more stubborn bits of plastic. I made sure to leave a little bit behind so it's easier to stick the cut shapes to the buckets later down the road. You can omit this step if your buckets don't have a wide 'lip'.Sandpaper it down for safety.

Do the back too!

Careful with the amount of force you use, it's better to twist the plastic off or cut it rather than yank, that can crack the plastic

After that I took the old pipe from an older project (it was a staff) and cut about a foot off to make it short enough for Harley's Mallet. Depending on your construction a PVC pipe might be too soft for use in the long run so I suggest that for longevity you use a wooden stick instead if you can.

I also had to peel off the epoxy clay from the top

I lined up both buckets together and marked where I would put down holes for bolts to hold them together. Note I accidentally broke one of the buckets trying to nail holes with a hammer =\ so I resorted to using a soldering iron for better effect.

accidents happen :(

I also used it to cut out some space to insert the PVC pipe to complete construction. Just do it in a ventilated area if you're melting plastic!

Don't forget to cut some space for your stick

When you're happy with the placement of things, screw in your bolts and pop out your hot glue gun, glue in the pipe with liberal amounts of hot glue as well as around the base of the buckets on the outside for good measure.

Don't worry too much if it's messy, it's likely to be covered by tape in one of the next steps. Duct tape down the stick from the inside for some extra durability.

At this stage you can glue on your bucket 'lids' or do it after you finish your tape. It makes no real difference.

This is roughly what it would look like at this point

Don't forget to cut off any access so the lids are flush with the bucket

Take your tape and tape down your buckets lengthwise. You will have to keep doing this until the entire bucket is coated and it's shape becomes more like that of a mallet, not two buckets glued together hodgepodge.

You can put as many layers as you like, though more is better. The paper tape also helps make it possible to be painted later. Don't forget to press it down till it's snug.

When you're happy with how thick it is, you can then get to painting. I had to do mine indoors so I laid a load of newspaper on the floor and used some plastic bags to protect the chair I was using to prop up the mallet.

The design I used isn't 100% in line with any particular Harley Quinn mallet I've seen (also because I was short of time anyway) but feel free to use any design you see fit. Woman's had a lot of different mallets.

I painted I think maybe 4 layers of red and black. The masking tape will suck up a fair bit of paint on it's own as well, so use liberal amounts but be sure to let each layer of paint dry before smacking on the next. Clumpy paint takes ages to dry.

After it dries completely (it will take awhile, trust me) I hit it with a coat of matte transparent spray paint to seal it up and we were done!

I'm fairly proud of the results considering it was done in a very short amount of time for a ghetto Harley. Hope this tutorial was useful!

[Review] Portland Black Lipstick Corpse Paint

Along with my last purchase of Portland stuff, I picked up some Corpse Paint to share with a friend. Sure there are other brands of white face paint like Kryolan and even M.A.C (believe it or not they do have theatrical face paint) but these were way out of our budget and we liked the idea of trying it out as we've heard a lot of good things about Portland's Corpse paint so why not.

Corpse paint as it's name suggests is pure white facepaint meant for theatre or any other things you might need a stark white face for. It comes in a cute little plastic case with the ingredients label on the back.

As described by their site:

Vegan Corpse Paint is a pancake makeup-style theater white, made with all natural ingredients. Matte white and unscented, this product can be applied lightly for a pale and powdery finish, blended with skin-toned foundation, or applied opaquely like a traditional greasepaint. Our formula contains mango butter and jojoba oil to help keep your skin soft and ensure comfortable wear while provided excellent coverage. 

Amount: .15 ounces (about 4.25g) priced at 12 USD (Approx RM 38-40)

The ingredients are all natural and have no animal products, so it's suitable for vegans. Due to it's simplistic ingredients there's a chance it might be hypo allergenic as well, but don't take my word for it.

The formula is intensely creamy and it melts to the touch, making even a little go a very long way. A thin application of Corpse Paint will mute the colour of your skin and it will dry to a matte powdery-like finish, great for achieving the 'not entirely alive' look or for adding highlights to special effects.

Apart from being insanely pigmented, it's also very slightly water resistant so it took a bit of effort to wash off. It doesn't leave your skin dry either, so that's an awesome bonus.

I only used this much for one layer!

Here's some examples of what it'll look like with varying degrees of application. Sorry, but not going to use my face for this one because the shots were insanely tricky to get nice looking x_x

Light: Very small amount used:

Light/ dusted with pale translucent powder:

Medium/heavy: 2 layers, not dusted:

I did not intentionally wear black nails for this review

It still needs to be 'sealed' though, so a light dusting of finishing powder of your preference is a must if you're using more than just a thin layer (I think their Phantom Powder would work swell too!). Don't use body powder to set if you can, it's too heavy and tends to make the paint rub off during application.

The Corpse paint also comes out wonderfully matte, which is a massive plus given how often face paint comes out glossy. But it does settle into creases like any other makeup product so you could pair it with a primer for better effect. Personally I like it rather sheer as mutes all that annoying pinkness in my skin and replaces it with a marble-like pallor that I particularly enjoy.

I haven't yet given it a stress test to see how long lasting it really is (like a 4+ hour con for example), but I have no doubts that it will stay on if applied properly.

It would be awesome if Portland Black Lipstick Co. decides to do more colours down the line or decides to bundle it with Phantom Powder for those who really do need that sort of combo ;)

Rating: 4/5

Pros:
Affordable
Very easy to apply
Buildable coverage
Vegan
Unscented!!!

Cons:
Rather messy
Needs sealing for thicker layers

Crazyleg build Pt 1

Epic costume requires epic preparation, as they say, and late last year I decided to embark on the most difficult thing I'd ever built: stilts.

I've always been fascinated by digitigrade legs. Their shape and form have sort of been a partial obsession for me from the day I saw my first anthromorph drawing.

Source: http://direblayde.deviantart.com/art/AnthroAnatomy-Digigrade-Legs-44937101

I'll admit, I am not much of an engineer and such stuff can have fairly dangerous outcomes when attempted by people who don't really know what they're doing. So following a build put online by another maker, I've decided to follow the design as close as I could for safety's sake.

As a result, the whole thing ended up fairly expensive but I think I'll be satisfied with the build once it's done (I hope) as I'm making it as part of a Shadowrun character costume that I've had in mind for quite some time now.

After months of waiting, gathering materials and doing research (special thanks to the fursuiting community for tackling many of the major issues involved in figuring out such legs) I set to work.

The stuff I ended up needing:
Heaps of aluminium flats, steel tubes, a large quantity of bolts, two sintra boards (6mm), nylon webbing and tri-guides/glides, aircraft cable, turncables and a big handful of washers.

Finding the components wasn't easy, considering the local market for small metal purchases is terrible. That and having metric system bolts vs American standard system bolts wasn't a walk in the park either. Some bits I had to order online from specialty metal stores, alongside the majority of bolts and nuts I'm using due to not being able to source for strong bolts locally.

Like these tubes! Always remember to check for WALL THICKNESS when buying tubes. The size can be right but if the tube wall is too thick, yer f*kd!

Most of the bolts I found were class 8.8 at their strongest, or more commonly Grade 2 which was good enough for standard applications but we needed something strong enough to be stood on by a grown human being.

Class 8.8 = Grade 5 bolts (strong but not strong enough!)

I was not willing to risk it at all and went ahead to get Grade 8 bolts from nutty.com.

I also got my aluminium C-channels and metal tubes from onlinemetals.com

My buckles and nylon webbing from bestbuynet.com/

Now on to the show:
____________________

While I was waiting for my metals and bolts to arrive, we decided to get working on the sintra first.

My dad was over for the weekend and he had agreed to help out a bit so he brought his jigsaw along with him.

Cutting them with the jigsaw was like plowing a hot knife through butter, and we had chopped up the whole lot in no time. We then drilled holes in the appropriate spots so they can be mounted onto the aluminium frame later down. From there I proceeded to sand down the sides to get rid of all the rough edges. Rough spots are easily sanded down due to the nature of sintra, so they were pretty easy to handle overall.

Kinda looks like a toilet seat, that.

Next was forming them up with my trusty Skil heatgun.

The sintra pieces are meant to go around your thighs and lower legs to provide support, and thus need to be molded to your own legs. Getting them molded is simple business, just had to heat up the inner parts of the sintra and press them down on the appropriate areas to get the shape, holding them down for a couple of minutes to let them set.

Here's a finished piece.

I decided to sand it in a little more just to get the bits that re-roughened up when I bent them. Overall I'm quite happy with how they turned out; and hopefully I can mount them and get to painting soon!

Halloween Approaches!

With Halloween just around the corner, everyone is getting busy with new projects and slapdash halloween costumes in time for the holidays.

I've noticed a significant amount of extra traffic in the general direction of my dragon horns tutorial so thank you ^_^ I hope your projects go well!

As for me, it's been a busy year (hence the lack of postings) but the costuming never ends, oh no.

At the moment I have a few projects going on simultaneously, some for Comic Fiesta 2013 and others for people and such, and of course one for this year's halloween.

Ugh, maybe a little more work than I can handle.

I don't typically celebrate because where I am, it's not a massive holiday where kids go treat or treating and the adults go get wasted in their sexy costumes. Well, most of the time anyway <.<  at any rate, this year I am doing a followup on the dragon horns and some other bits of costume that can go along with it, so stay tuned for photos and possibly an updated tutorial :)

Taryn out.

Wizard Staff Repair!

About two years ago I built a simple custom wizard staff for one of my Ragnarok Online cosplaying buds.The first build wasn't all that great, it was a real last minute thing considering we had less than a month to do it from scratch and since said person was on their finals or something (I think) I had to do most of the build myself.

It was primarily composed of a PVC pipe, a few layers of strategically placed foam and mounting board as well as a generous helping of epoxy clay to strengthen it up near the base.The build had inherent problems like the head drooped to one side a little and it tended to scarily flop about when handled roughly; but thankfully it survived that convention just fine.

As time went by the already haphazard build was getting slightly damaged on the head section and he also requested that I make the staff collapsible when I get to fixing it.

Basically what needed to be replaced was the staff itself, since the original one was a plastic pipe it had bent out of shape over the course of the year in storage, so we cut it off and set about making a new connector for the head of the staff.

First we went to the hardware store to get a new handle for the staff. This part was easy because the store already had ready made broom handles that were already sanded so we went with one of those. Then we got ourselves a pair of plastic pipe connectors that already fit the stick (because again, short on time and convenience) so the top can be unscrewed for easy transport and storage. 

The new connectors fit very nicely but I had issues with how it looked. The staff's general look was fairly organic and I didn't like how angular the connectors were, so we set to work again. I also decided to reinforce the head itself with a layer of epoxy to strengthen it and stop it from wobbling so much, and gave what was left of the old connection a sanding.

After nailing down the respective connectors to the two separate pieces (one for the head and another for the staff itself) I cut a piece of thick leftover EVA foam and glued it to the bottom of the lower connector to provide some shape. When it dried I slapped on some epoxy clay and water smoothed it until I was happy with the distribution. I let it dry for a few hours till it was safe to touch before I got to the plastic connections themselves. 

Being fairly angular they stuck out a fair bit on the staff, and using a rotary tool I had borrowed from another builder friend I shaved most of the angles off both connectors for a more organic feel

The top and the bottom again were given a wet sanding and another couple of layers of epoxy clay to cover the exposed sections and generally make it smoother. This part was quite messy because dealing with wet clay is already messy as hell, combine it with having to do it with a five-plus foot long stick didn't make it any easier.

I don't have an intermediate photo of where we finished it up and painted it all but the result was pretty good. We used a fair helping of Pewter Rub N Buff (polished later) on the handle and I touched up the head with it too; to blend in  the newly epoxy hardened bits. The base of the staff was given two coats of coppery acrylic paint. When that was done we sealed the whole lot with a sealer to keep all the hard work from getting damaged. Overall the repair process took about a week of time, and the painting/drying on it's own took an extra three-ish days.

Both of us were quite satisfied that it was now sturdier and no longer had to bang the roof of my car when he was hitching a ride with me, but its a pity that the paint was so reflective it showed up as white in almost every photo.

If I were to bother the design anymore after this point it would likely be to add a bit of decoration to the entire staff to make it feel more mystical or something, but that's likely gonna be another fix for another year.