Tag Archives: twi’lek

Is this really a progress update?????

Heh, my last two reblogs both had a feathery theme… so now for something completely different!

Tentacles! So my previous set of lekku work best when worn SWTOR style. But with Rachi I need to wear them slightly further forward. It causes more folds on the underside than I want but I could do some careful surgery I could quite quickly remove them of make them really adorably like wee fat rolls. I will do so later. I have finally got some more paint to mix to shade and also do more permanent markings (the liquiset paint came off in the rain!)

But I am also nearing completion of my next set and they are finally starting to look like they grew out of the head form.

They started off looking like some mutant whole chicken ready for roasting, if you bred your chicken to have bendy legs 1m long….

Then a very pimply uneven scarred set of things growing from the desk. And finally now I have some skin texture, but I would like to make the face and ends a little smoother.

So next bit of progress…. SINUS INFECTION HAS BEEN BANISHED!!!!!!!!!! *pretend flail because there is too much RA activity to really* By the power of Roxy no less 😉 Roxithromycin anyway. This means being able to wear these lekku! So I’m going to be working on refitting a few costume elements for both costumes 🙂

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eriha:

neimhaille:

A few solo photos taken by Rob and Matt respectively while getting some approval shots done as well as “fans with local landmarks”.

The photo album for everyone involved is over here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattandkristy/sets/72157633282356457/with/8663797193/

Also photo of me grinning ear to ear over a flattened TK may not make it to the set 😉

Such a fun day even if we did have to dodge the rain! And my face was starting to match the paint due to pressure.

Paint is NZ Airbrushed Tattoo Ink in white mixed in a base of a tiny amount of what and heaps of pigment and alcohol then mixed and poured into a low dish. It needed stirring as it started to thicken as first the pink then blue pigments rose and crusted on the surface.I do have enough for another application but want to match a full bottle asap for a few events coming up.
Sending in submittal in the morning with mouse and table top. Expecting informal but I don’t mind. Also expecting a few things to adjust.

Wow Rachi Sitra!! I love her design *.*

Cool cosplay

Thank you 🙂 I just got her approved by the Rebel Legion and I’m super happy to say as formal/canon 🙂

Hopefully this link will take you to my profile.

Very lucky I made a second hilt for Tykhi (it’s a smaller hilt but I think it works). There is room for a blade and the light still works, which is amazing. My soldering is a bit… clumpy. 

Sadly finding drivers for the syperbright LEDS is close to impossible in NZ (I only know people who have imported the things) but I have enough other components now to actually attempt the blade type I really really have wanted all along.

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A few solo photos taken by Rob and Matt respectively while getting some approval shots done as well as “fans with local landmarks”.

The photo album for everyone involved is over here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattandkristy/sets/72157633282356457/with/8663797193/

Also photo of me grinning ear to ear over a flattened TK may not make it to the set 😉

Such a fun day even if we did have to dodge the rain! And my face was starting to match the paint due to pressure.

Paint is NZ Airbrushed Tattoo Ink in white mixed in a base of a tiny amount of what and heaps of pigment and alcohol then mixed and poured into a low dish. It needed stirring as it started to thicken as first the pink then blue pigments rose and crusted on the surface.I do have enough for another application but want to match a full bottle asap for a few events coming up.
Sending in submittal in the morning with mouse and table top. Expecting informal but I don’t mind. Also expecting a few things to adjust.

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I think I’m a a banana tree! Liara half pulled off but good view of the extreme use of paint shading.
You can see the seam line here, but I don’t shoop, never will unless it’s a camera issue (lighting, foreshortening etc).
Why is my chin so pointy! Lots of pink to shape the eyes and nose. pink over white for the eyes and a tiny bit of white down the nose, pink in the curves
how I keep my powders now. Much easier to find the right shade vs in regular eyeshadow palettes.
A travel kit for Liara. Latex, PA and paints to shade the appliance and face.

I do goof around a lot…

Alcohol Activated Paints

I kind of leapt right into here after playing with a little Aquacolour and Snazaroo. Both are fine, and in many ways are easier to apply and blend. However I wanted to paint my whole body red. Red in particular transfers badly in body paint. Really really really badly. No matter how well sealed and set. I found this even with PAX (might be because I did insist on added pure pigment powder and not mixing it fully…)

These have a bit of a reputation for being harder to use, but they aren’t 🙂 So long as you know a few tricks, as with everything 🙂

Prep:

First, they are solvent in alcohol (ethanol and Isopropyl Alcohol) but also in the industry standard cleaner Isopropyl Myristate. Which is super expensive in NZ. So it means once dry they are set. You would think this is all kinds of bad for tidy up but it’s not.

I set my work area up with my towels and plastic containers and plastic bags so I can just dump everything in my makup up kit at the end happy to wipe down the surfaces with rubbing alcohol and knowing it won’t keep transfering from cloth to surface to cloth like you get with a wet face cloth. or wastes paper towels. And knowing that the paint on the outside of my bottles/pots/pallets can be cleaned off later but won’t damage my kit.

Types:

There are several brands to use. The ones I use are:
NZ Airbrush Tatoos Mostly for my white based paints. So for Liara and Rachi. It’s a good product, with amazingly fast response from the owners and they pack the bottles nicely. And cost effectively. Also on TradeMe and I may use their auctions next time so I can leave feedback :)These are in liquid form, ready to airbrush. It’s fairly thin so you do need to evaporate off some of the liquid if you want to paint/sponge on.

Reel Creations  I live overseas so can’t buy their paints easily, but the liquid form is apparently already mixed to use in airbrushes as well. I buy their Large Color Pots as they are totally evaporated and so don’t pose a risk to shipping by air. Oh heck, I worked out how much they cost in NZ dollars. But it’s about $24 each including shipping? But one pot of red lasted multiple applications for Darth Talon including the lekku.

harder to remove than the above but still needs hot water and soap at least. IM is best and IA works. Just avoid the face.

Latonas which seems to have changed their bottles and maybe formulation? This is close to PAX as you can get without being PAX. It is/was half diluted, so you need to thin it for airbrush but works well as is to sponge on appliances. It is super durable. I did my underarms and butt/thighs as Talon and I looked like I had red boy shorts on the entire time at C6 and some way in to D*C. Even with IM to remove it.

Storage:

In all cases I prefer to pour them out into a flat container and evaporate them off so I can use them like a mix between cake make up and watercolour. But using alcohol vs water 😉

Colour mixing:

I like to buy the red as is as well as the black in all the above and use as is- my lekku are tinted vaguely transluscent within my own skin shades so it refracts light in a similar way to my skin. It’s not perfect but the red is slightly transluscent so is better than not.

I do however buy a lot of white and mix to make the Asari blues and pastel to mid tone shades where possible. This is because I can then be sure they are all equally opaque (some inks are opaque some are transluscent) and equally mixable in to each other.

To do this I have pure pigment from the art store. The skull and bones on the bottles is not because the product is toxic but is so finely milled you do not want to breathe it in! So I get my dust mask, and spriitz the top of the bottle with alcohol to keep stray particles from being breathed in and mix directly in my bottles/containers.

I use a col blue and warm blue, opaque yellow and a “red” that is actually pink and a true red. And also Titanium white as it is a base for cosmetics.

I check my mixes regularly and give a stir every so often after mixing and during the evaporation process as the colour pigments rise and the white/fillers sink. This is also why the paints can look darker once dry than in the bottle/pot.

I also mix street shadow with these pigments to intensify them as you need strong colours to shade with.

To use:

First prep the skin:

Shave/defoliate every hair from everywhere you can.I forget this as my hair is so fine and blonde but when I do it gives such a good result. So I will put my hair in a pony tail and use depilatory cream around my hairline and back of neck. These fly away hairs at the back are about 10cm long and can cause issues with gluing bald caps. But you might be suprised how fluffy you are near your hair line!

And then I use tweezers on my brows and upper lip and even my epilady if I am brave. I didn’t do my brows or lip for Rachi and in person you could tell, not so much in photos though! If you forget the hairs will get coated in paint and stick out like bristles.

Moisturise as usual but use a dry cloth after and wipe off any excess. Moisturiser and AA paint do not mix.

Application:

I have an airbrush but it is better for detail work and I rely on canned air so it’s not economically feasable atm. Also it’s toploaded so makes it hard to self paint faces! So I use a large filbert type brush. Starting on the cheeks and nose and working towards the jawline and neck then across the forehead and down to the brows, finally dabbing with the same brush with minimal paint and minimal alcohol towards the eyes. I do paint over my lids but it’s usually lighter than elsewhere and I avoid my brows as much as possible.

Shading:

For Talon this was pretty much it except some minor shading at the eyes and of course the painting of the tattoos… I only hand painted the face and lekku, my body tattoos were transfers. Very expensive, fiddly but if done right works really well. It’s about $50 an application atm. I hope I can get that down and also to get my tattoos a little more finetuned. I am not happy to share my graphics as I did use Jan’s work so much on this. However I will ask her permission once they are actually okay to convert to PDF as I know it would help a lot of Talons in the waiting.

 

For Liara and Rachi though I then got stippling with a sponge and the pallettes. Lots of white for Liara on the nose and jawline and cheeks and a little pink on the eyes.

I use a range of sponges. For liara I used the defolitaing side of the depilitory sponge as it is very open celled and very firm. This makes for a light freckly type of effect.

For Rachi I used a latex wedge for the cheeks as it lays down a lighter but more easily blended layer of colour.

For Rachi and Liara I also wear aggressive lashes! There is always a gap between lash line and lashes so once in place I use a very long pointed brush and use the very tip to fill in tat line. And then also top the lashes.

For the eyes I also use black to line under the eye and bend with a colour I use to shade. So for Liara this is a purple as well as pink. And use white abover the liner on my upper lashes before getting the pink/other pastel shader over it. And also a little white directly under the brow. Again i will over colour with another pastel if it is too stark.

I also paint in my brows with a fine brush and black paint usually. Twi’lek and Asari are reptilian essentially so their brows look painted in anyway.

The good news is you cannot go too far. Once you look painted you look painted. You may as well use every trick in the book to make your eyes look bigger, give definition to your jaw and cheeks as you can.

I basically use old theatre make up tricks in the alien colours to counter the flattening effect of opaque colour.

To remove:

I have used a few abbreviations so here they are all consolidated 🙂

Fill a basin with hot hot water. Put in your face cloth. Take out and wring then put on your face. This is like having a nice steam facial and helps by getting your face sweating. Do this a few times and be careful. You want that theraputic heat not scalding heat!

Next use same face cloth with a gentle soap. Gently use the cloth and soap on your cheeks and jaw and the less sensitive areas.

If this has been going well you won’t need to try the next but you may…

For my hands I spritz with IA (Isopropy Alcohol) or ethanol (“meths” in NZ though no methanol is involved any more thank goodness) and use a hot facecloth again and scrub. I kind of beat up my hands anyway.

I will also use IA/ethanol on my neck and arms etc. But I avoid my face and also any areas I have pulled PA from (edges of latex appliances). Well I do *now*. Lesson leart the hard way!

For the face I also use a good big dollop of Aveeno and work then in to the skin already cleaned and in to the edges of the paint to help lift it. The heat from the face cloth, the moisturiser and gentle buffing action will remove most. (I use this to remove street make up too).

But if you have some Isopropyl Myristate (IM) this is the ideal time to use it.

It is oily and mega effective so always keep it separate from your main kit and well sealed. IA/ethanol with dissolve the paint and then evaporate leaving the paint actually still usable (if you can get at it). IM does not. I suspect it joins to the binder like an emollient so one end is soluble in oil and the other in alcohol and even water. So a forever solution.

Baby oil helps but it is a mechanical action with massage and heat helping.

If you use IM or baby oil remember to also then clean your face with a gentle cleanser and use your moisturiser. They are oily so can clog pores.

 

Sorry for huuuuuuge wall of text! I could have broken this up as well 😉

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All my text! Gone! WAH??? Tumblr monsters et my words?

Anyway, this is how I met several of the guests at Armageddon yesterday. But when you commit to Alcohol Activted paint you are committed for the day!

Rachi Sitra, Jedi Archeologist. I tried to make the Indy/Solo connection but failed. I have a very Teutonic sense of humour. It needs explaining to others. So dry it is something Rachi would have dug up.

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Rachi Sitra progress!

The Obi is actually an underbust corset cut way down. It doesn’t show the effect so much because the mannequin is slimmer than me at the hips and bigger through the waist 😉 But I need it for comfort’s sake: pressure on my ribs is something I avoid as much as possible.

So:

Inner tunic tank tee with welts, sew down the selvage to avoid stretch, then cut on the bias to fit the front. Tall collar is tall and actually is the length of my neck.. ehem, it’ll be scrunched a little so I don’t look like I’m in a brace. It’s a super soft knit faux suede.

To do: face sleeves??? in matching knit to the darker aspects of the costume.

Loose tunic in mechincal stretch crepe with flared and split sleeves, all edged bound in (woven mechanical stretch) faux suede, self made and ironed.

To do: possible hooks and eyes CF

Tabbards in faux suede bound in ditto, shaped at the waist and satin stitched together to reduce bulk

Obi: glazed brown cotton and plain white canvas sewn as one, seam allowances top stitch to create soft support. Dark faux suede bound top and bottom, secondary layer of same stitched down. Obi overlayer/pale decoration cut and sewn by overlocker then hand sewn in place.

To do: hammer holes in the back and gather the obi “wrap” which will hide the lacing but be permanently attached.

Pants: same soft faux suede as the the inner tunic. Terrible back shape so as to stay in place….

Twi’lek headdress: dark faux suede shaped to lower half of head, wide strip of same sewn above and three large pin tucks sewn. Wide elastic threaded through to create the three rows seen in art- but allows for the whole thing to suction to my head.

To do: hooks and eyes at chin and forehead, decorative piece to cover the closure. Cut holes for ear buds/nubbins and see if I can make them small ish.

Lekku: Cleaned and painted purple.

To do: last layer of paint and stripes. Ick. Not looking forward to the stripes. 

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neimhaille:

Currently light side costuming. Mainly I want a costume I don’t have to be glued into and is relatively easy to use the loo. So sick of getting sick from costumes that once on stay on until the end of the day with no food, drink or loo breaks.

 industrialarts said: question!!! what kind of stitching do you use for the inner vest/shirt? Ive been meaning to make a neck seal for my Mandalorian costume but Ive tried a few times and it always looks so horrible.

I first took the full width of fabric and made the basic lines: I basically pin tucked the back- overlocked/serged in one go. The fabric twisted a bit but not enough to be a worry. Then I machine stitched each tuck to make the spaces a little bit narrower.

Then cut both front pieces on the bias sewed the front seam (which is slightly S shaped) and finally topstitched the tucks from the topside, making sure all the tucks lay pointing down.

There is only enough to be seen, so that I could still be comfortable- there are so many layers at the waist I’m a little worried 😉

Also the machine stitching on top is very very short. A lesson learnt from Victorian period techniques where the tiny stitches make it look hand sewn or sewn by anything other than an industrial machine 😉

Another tip though: knit fabric will creep at different rates under the serger/overlocker and sewing machine. I help the fabric through by alternately stretching and pushing the fabric as needed. It’s a feel thing, something that takes practice to do. I also rarely pin fabrics any more- if I can’t hold the fabric in place then it’s probably going to need to be basted. Velvet. And slippery poly chiffon or slippery silk habotai etc…

And finally faux suede has a nap that can drag on the sewing plate r foot if you sew against it. And coated fabrics can also do the same thing. Except glazed. That obi has glazed cotton on the outside so far and it’s wonderful to sew. There is a reason it was ideal for Victorian garments.
Next up is to make the lekku again. I was going to strip back my Talon Lekku because that would be easier. But I wore her when I met lovely people and I have such very strong memories tied in that I cant. They are just going to be retired as they are 🙂
I have three bottles of white airbrush ink to tint and the “crappy” latex should still be fine for this project. I need to water it down anyway 🙂 And have a day where I can spend time out in the workroom with a fully functioning brain.
There should be just enough of the faux suede to make the wee helmet, which nicely hides the entire hairline. Body paint is easy peasy when you aren’t also trying to blend prosthethic seams….

Now I also need to see what kind of lightsaber she uses and decide to just use what I have or use some of the piping dug out from under the house (I am incredibly happy we got all our plumbing replaced after a house fire in 07 but boy did they leave a lot of pieces under the house!) Yay for some funky pieces for random buttons on random props.

So to bed so I can have a head start in the morning. While doing this I have also started a nice historian style outfit from some rust red-brown raw silk. I will be offering it to anyone in NZ as a bribe *ehem* to join he rebel Legion. I have helped a lot of RL members over the years just not so many locally.

Hense why I am having an open workshop this weekend and plan to pass on costume pieces 🙂 The crepe used for the tunic was a great and cheap find. I want to say Nick’s Fabrics but it may have been Geoff’s Emporium. But I got it essentially for my Shaak Ti (The Force Unleashed) costume. Yes I bought 15m just tomake sure i had enough for what took 1m tops.

I kind of want to make Master Fay’s robes from it too….

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Ummm.. just wow. I had no idea I was heading up to SGH for a photoshoot that Thomas so kindly wrangled for me. I had a “dur” moment when I realised though… ehem. There is a latex bald cap glued over my ears as well as the lekku as well as the ear buds so I missed most of what anyone said unless they were speaking directly at an ear bud so I blame the costume. Yeah. These silly costumes, to quote from another franchaise.

This one photo makes up for oh so much trouble getting to and from D*C as well as some stinky health issues that plagued both Celebration and D*C.

Thank you SGH, Kristy and Thomas.

SGh for the art and letting me be truly Sith, Kristy for so patiently painting my back and working with products you had never tried before and to Thomas for organising a last minute photoshoot with SGH and for being my eyes and ears and at times sensible adult.

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Dragon2012-1052 by Lionel Lum on Flickr.

There was a whole photoshoot, but I need to contact Lionel about the images 🙂

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