[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)

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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!

Because I feel the need to be silly today

Notice us Senpaisaurus! by tarynsgate on deviantART

Damn carnivores. They only want me for my body >.>

[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

[Review] Do thine eyeballs good; CooperVision Contacts

If you have ever cosplayed (or attempted to cosplay) you would have at least once gone down the slippery path of getting contact lenses. These are quite necessary to portray your characters properly, unless you were somehow born with the innate ability to colourshift your eyes at will; in which case I'm severely envious of you :P

At any rate getting and wearing contacts have always been a challenging thing for me because I have a prescription that's so terrifyingly high that I'm halfway to being declarable as legally blind. Sadly my eyes are also the kind that easily irritate which tend to puff up when I put in contact lenses of any brand, prescription or colour. The result was pretty much always the same. This has ruined my pictures on multiple occasions and has been something I cannot avoid due to being a blind bat.

My eyeware doesn't help either. My glasses are heavy and leaves horrible red indents on either side of my nose which I'm sure is probably scar tissue by now :(

Spectacle face!

Contacts probably sound like rubbish. And they can be, if you get cheap unbranded lenses without proper regard to your needs. Still sounds scary? oh alright. Let me tell you a couple of things I've heard and learned over the years of wearing contacts:

- My eyes will get permanently damaged because of contacts.

+ If you fail to clean them properly and like to scratch your eyes maybe, but the lenses themselves do no harm when taken care of with the appropriate hygiene and actually following the wearing periods listed on the box. No keeping for later!

-They kinda hurt; a lot.

+ Given that lenses are now very soft and breathable, this is pretty much a thing of the past as long as they're from a reputable brand. Most of the time you forget they're even there.

-They are impossible to wear and take off.

+ Everything takes practice. Contacts are no different. They may be awkward to wear at first, but once you get used to it, they pop in and out almost no effort at all :D

-I have astigmatism. I am screwed :(

+This is something I didn't learn till fairly recently; there are indeed lenses for those with astigmatism, called toric lenses. They're not much different from regular lenses so the usual procedures in getting them applies, if just a slightly longer wait if you have an odd prescription.

-Contacts are too troublesome.

+These days you only need one bottle of solution to keep your lenses fresh and clean. If that's too much for you, daily lenses are even easier to handle; wear them once, toss them out when done. Rinse and repeat.

Now that isn't so bad isn't it? 

Enter CooperVision Biomedics 1 day Extra lenses:

CooperVision has you covered with a large range of multifocal, daily, or toric lenses for every prescription and lifestyle!

Biomedics® 1 day Extra, a daily disposable contact lens from CooperVision. Designed for all day comfort, these lenses are a great starting point for those new to lenses or monthly lens users who want a more convenient option. Hit the link to find out more about their toric lenses!

So what makes them different from regular lenses?

• 55% water content
• Comfortable lens wear for up to 16 hours 
• Healthier eyes (replacing your lenses everyday regularly helps to promote good eye health)
• No-hassle convenience – no need to deal with the cleaning and storage hassles of conventional contact lenses
• Reduced effects of allergies - allergens have less time to build up on daily lenses

What's the pricing like?

To be perfectly honest, it really depends on your prescription. So it's best to head to your nearest CooperVision practitioner to find out more! They've all over the Klang Valley so you're likely to find one in your near vicinity.

What I think about CooperVision's lenses

To be perfectly honest I was a bit sceptical at first, having an overall bad experience with contact lenses as a whole. But two weeks with these lenses have turned my entire perception of them on it's head!

I initially thought that daily lenses would be quite troublesome but as it turns out I've never had more comfortable lenses. They don't cause any reactions, and they fit so well they barely move till it's time to come off. 

Half the time I actually forget they're there; to the point I actually think I'm still wearing glasses sometimes (it's especially awkward when it's time for bed. I almost forget to take them off even) Best part, they're actually pretty hassle free as it comes. Pop on for the day, pop off when you're done. I didn't even need eyedrops for the most part.

Farewell nose ornament!

If you would like to give it a try yourself, CooperVision is offering a FIVE (5) Day trial! Just fill up your particulars and head on to your nearest redemption outlet to pick up your set!

Get your lenses here!

Disclaimer: In return for this review, I received free trial CooperVision contact lenses. All opinions and experiences stated above are mine with the exception of CooperVision supplied information and various resources.

Been away, now I'm back!

Hey everyone, I've finally decided to stick my head back into the blogosphere :)

It's been a rough few months. Busy enough that I haven't had time to really sit down and write with a healthy dash of crazy severe enough to put me in the non-writing mood ^^; so I apologize for suddenly disappearing.

I know, I don't blog much anyway, but I'm gonna start trying to get more content up, including reviews of random stuff ;) stay tuned!

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.