Since I have been absent for.... far too long..... it's time for a quick costume update before I begin costume blogging again.
Xixa has been completed and shot for over a month now! Exceedingly sorry for the delay, but I've been moving (yes *again* I know) among other shenanigans. rest assured I will be constantly updating progress now that I have a decent living situation and the internet at home (not to mention a functioning camera!). At ANY rate! Here are a few shots from our Xixa extravaganza! Mostly behind the scenes stuff though. I will be posting more final edits SOON!
Remaining Tasks
- Prosthetics (85%)
- Ears (100%)
- Earrings (100%)
- Contacts (100%)
- Claws (100%)
- Tail (95%)
- Antenna
So the shoot got pushed back until this upcoming Sunday due to our photographer being wiped out from his NY trip. I was also glad for this because while I could have busted my ass completing the costume in time, I know have an additional week. Yay! Okay, let's tackle those boots!
Even after deciding to use my plats instead of go-go boots, I still had a lot of reshaping to do! First I wrapped the boots with a sturdy felt-based interfacing and held it in the desired shape with heaps of tape! Not too pretty, but it works! I then carefully pinned the interfacing and sewed it in place.
Next I had to permanently adhere the new shape to the boot. I tried using some Fabri-tac because it was there, but had no real hope of it working. It predictably did not work so I then turned to Gorilla Glue, which is AWESOME but expands like crazy. After carefully aligning my foam shape, I glued it on and held it down with some lamps and other heavy shit I found lying about my room. A few hours later and it was dry! A few snips to remove any excess fabric and I'm good to cover them with the finalized leg warmers!
While waiting for the glue to try I tackled the tail. I was *about* to begin mixing dyes when I happened to glance at my rounder rack and was stoked to see that my Golden Girl's Marathon Party Old Lady Gear was the *perfect* color to match Xixa's skin. Not wanting to hack up my posh ass granny jumper, I instead removed the shoulder pads (a necessary sacrifice) to be utilized as Xixa's tail. Since 80's shoulder pads have a minimum of 2" thick foam, I didn't have to worry about how to maintain shape AT ALL. I simply determined my shape, sewed it up, cut off the excess fabric, flipped it right side out and ready for paint!
As it turns out, the paint I bought from the Fashion District was janky as hell. It more closely resembled *clay* than paint... I tried (in vain) to paint Xixa's purple freckles on the extra shoulder pad. I had to fish out the paint with the back end of a paint brush and mash it into the thread fiber in hopes of it sticking. It crumbled off... LOL!
Rooting around in my paint drawer I discovered I had a purple container of So Soft Fabric Paint. Yus! I again tested the paint on the additional shoulder pad and was pretty please with the outcome, but I still think it's too dark. Ho hum. I have to go to Michael's anyway so I'll keep an eye out for a better paint.
More work to be done tonight! Imma have this done in no time!
Remaining Tasks
- Ears (100%)
- Earrings (100%)
- Contacts (100%)
- Antenna
- Claws
- Tail
Almost ready to cross Xixa's arm warmers off of my list and I am loving how they are coming along! This weekend I plan on taking a huge dent out of my task list. There will be a lot of experimental dye mixing to get that perfect tail hue. :) The arm warmers should be done 100% by this weekend and I anticipate the completion of the boots as well. I'm hoping to have the majority of bodysuit completed by this weekend (I'm still trying to figure out a way to avoid using closures. Hmmmmmm......), which leaves me with a week for attending to details.
First I carefully drafted a pattern using muslin, taking great pains to make sure the points at the end were just right as well as the curve around the back of the wrist. Xixa's sleeves begin below her elbow, which generally is what holds them up so I had to make sure the fit was fairly tight. I then marked off where the wrapping would go and cut my final piece out of my white vinyl. Next came the construction of the wrapping itself. I cut ten 10.5"x3" strips of vinyl and used Fabri-tac to secure a fold of 1" for all of the strips (thanks Gray's Anatomy for acting as a weight). Once this had dried I folded over the remaining inch into a glue line once again secured as it dried to ensure no bubbling. I could have sewed these shut much quicker, but was looking for a seamless finish, which is why I also chose to also glue them to the sleeves rather than sew. All I have to do now is paint the power switch on and sew up the inseam!
For the boots I did the exact same method for the wrapping except the measurements were 15.5"x3" to accommodate my calf, which is decidedly beefier than my forearm. I started out using my white vinyl go-go boots as a base for construction. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but much like my Dethklown boots, I scrapped em at the last second instead opting to forever alter my beloved white plats. Ho hum. I figure it's worth the sacrifice though because I'll have unique kickass boots at the end of this and can always buy another pair of white plats later on. Not like I wear them too frequently ANYWAY. The shape fit better and I wouldn't have to deal with filling the gap that the heel creates. I got some batting and wrapped the plats to make them more conical and without a, uh, foot shape (Xixa's feet are apparently made for stampeding). Next came the muslin draft of the boot cover pre-marked to take in account wrapping space. Tonight I'll be cutting my vinyl draft and gluing down the wrapping to the final cut. Next step is adhering it to the boot itself!
Remaining Tasks
- Prosthetics (50%)
- Ears (100%)
- Earrings (100%)
- Contacts (100%)
- Antenna
- Claws
- Tail
- Arm Warmers (25%)
- Bodysuit
- Boots
I was approached by the artist of these awesome characters to bring to live, Xixa, his plant-based alien girl. Dadward, the artist, will be illustrating the tentacle pal, Pink, into the pictures after the shoot. I couldn't be more excited!
Last weekend I did the bulk of my supply shopping. I picked up a few different dyes to get Xixa's skin tone perfect. I'm going to have to play chemist a bit to ensure the match, but I am confident that I can do it. I should clarify... the skin itself is going to be airbrushed on entirely, the dyes are for replicating the skin tone for the antenna and tail. The fabric I decided to go for was a white vinyl. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a decent 4-way stretch last weekend and ended up settling for a 2-way stretch instead. I am still very happy with the quality of fabric I got, I'm just going to have to be *that* much more careful with my measurements.
Last night I drafted out a pattern for her arm warmers and made the final cuts out of the vinyl. I'm cutting strips of vinyl tonight to place and layer for the wrapped effect she has at the top of each sleeve and boot. I expect this to be finished tonight and I can start painting the power button on the sleeves before stitching them up and being done. I think I'm going to knock the boots out tonight as well so I can spend the bulk of my time on the bodysuit and finishing up my prosthetics. Our shoot date is set for May 2nd and I have a bit of work to do still before then, but so long as I remain diligent I don't think there will be any stress in getting this done.
Wow! It's been entirely TOO LONG since I updated. I'm going to officially kick this back into gear! To start, here is a brief photo update (to be followed by an actual post).
