Sorry to bother you, my wife and I are working on making a Leonardo Da Vinci Caster cosplay for her and it's our first cosplay (I'm hoping to do a Warframe one eventually, but actual cloth costumes first)- do you have any advice on how to do details, etc? We seem to have the general shape of things down and already have the cloak & skirts done.
Ooh, Da Vinci! I'd say I'm still winging it with the fabric stuff; my experience is mostly with armor and props. If by details you mean stuff like the applique or something...
I did this for my sister a couple years back. Zhongli cosplay. Made pattern, cut fabric, applied clear nail polish to edges, pinned to base garment, used one of the buttonhole stitch settings on my sewing machine for the edges. I was improvising then. Something similar would probably be done on the stocking details, but I have no experience with stretchy fabric yet.
For the curvy edges... just. Lots of pins so they hold the shape while sewing.
The star patterns on the blue fabric... If it were me I'd just use a stencil and fabric paint if there's nowhere to buy it from. Several layers of it so the yellow looks good. However, the pattern might be generic enough that you can get fabric already printed with it somewhere.
The small accessories hanging from the collar (and hat depending on Ascension level)... small chains with gems... I'm not sure about your access to supplies so you might or might not have to make the gems and stuff yourself. Usually for these I use those rigid PVC sheets. Cut and whittle with cutters as needed. Maybe something like foam clay or resin stuff if you wanna be fancy. Put some thin wire hoops to attach them to the chains. Or you could use EVA foam here as well. 2mm. Also works with the fleur-de-lis looking brooch.
If Props:
Speaking of EVA foam... 5mm and 2mm thickness should cover all kinds of needs in this case. PVC piping for the staff. at this scale (and in most situations), contact cement for gluing together. Measure to proportion, make patterns, trace onto foam, cut with cutters. Make sure the blades are sharp for the smoothest cuts.
You can do a lot of stuff with EVA foam. So much stuff. If you plan on using it more in the future, I suggest getting a heat gun. Smooths out the foam. Priming before painting... I live in Japan so I use something like Zeque... rubber paint similar to Plastidip but much cheaper. For something much easier to get... Wood glue diluted with water, 3-4 coats of it or until satisfactory. Thin layers. Let previous layer dry before next one. This one's not flexible though - if the foam bends, wrinkles can't be avoided.
If Gauntlet:
5mm foam would probably be enough for the base gauntlet... or anything, really. Maybe 2mm foam for the smaller details. The gold filigree and trim detailing on the gauntlet... I'd paint them on. Paint those parts of the gauntlet gold first, have a pattern ready cut from some sticker paper of the details, put those on, paint the rest of the gauntlet. Once the dark blue paint dries, you can remove the sticker paper mask. The green bits... EVA foam as well, the final coat of paint would have to be something very glossy for the shine.
I'm not sure how you want to do the gauntlet. Will you keep the proportions, a.k.a. very big, or shrink it to fit the wearer's hand? Building it to proportion is more complicated - need to build a rig first that's fixed to the wearer's hand with something flexible for the core of the gauntlet digits, and string to pull the gauntlet digits. And since you'd hold the staff with the same hand, your hand has to be outside for the grip. Should be okay if the gauntlet digits are big enough to cover them.
If Staff:
The more organic-looking bits of the staff... I'd use foam clay, but if you think you can do it with just EVA foam, do that instead. Not sure how expensive foam clay is for you. Change your cutting angle to make sloped edges, trim with scissors - whatever works.
For ease of transport you may need to plan on splitting the staff in parts. Maybe the star, then the handle, then the bottom tip? Attachment might be complicated, so you may not want them detachable as well.
Clear plastic acetate for the star. This one's complicated. Hot glue could work. Lots of triangles. I'll just look this up if it were me. Don't be pressured to make this glow.
Not sure what else I can say about this unless you ask for something very specific, but I wish y'all well in this project!
