#cosplay armor tutorial

I made my own patterns out of newspaper first, just to see how big I would need each of the pieces to be, then I taped those to my material, laying them out so that they would all fit on one container and I wouldn't have to buy more.

For using craft foam, I recommend buying the bigger sheets of BLACK craft foam. Also, if you have some scrap fabric lying around, or maybe if you could purchase some thin, net-like fabric, that would be good - it will be glued to the inside of your armor sheets and act as a stabilizer.

I cut out the pieces using a combination of a hair dryer and my stove top to heat the plastic, and used tin-snips like scissors to cut through the heated plastic. Otherwise, the plastic would splinter and shatter - which is no good.

For craft foam, you would only need normal scissors, but you want to cut out two pieces of every type for the larger pieces, this will allow you to have my strength, cause craft foam isn't exactly durable. Attach these together using Elmer's glue or hot glue (though it would warp the foam a little, best to experiment first!).

After I had my pieces cut out, I shaped them using my open-fire stove, though you could use a burner stove-top as well. This was a process that takes a long time to perfect, especially when working with very stubborn plastic! You heat the area that needs to bend, then run it under cold water while its bent, dry it off, and repeat! It takes a long time to get smaller things curved correctly, but it also means you are most of the way done with your armor!

Craft foam is similiar, I believe, you need to have it close to heat, it will not take nearly as long to warp into the position you want, and you don't have to hold it under water, but it'll need a form to sit on while it cools. (Like a rolling pin for gauntlets, or if you wear a few thick, old shirts, you could use yourself.)

*Important Note: Have good ventilation while heating both the plastic and craft foam, it gives off some fumes, and its just better to not breath anything but nice, beautiful, perfect, oxygen.

From this point, I think everything would be about the same, its all about making holes where you need them for rivets and attachments. I had to use a Dremel tool for this part because the plastic is rather thick and difficult to cut. I also sanded down edges too. This is also the point to add little details and such, engravings, lines, things like that. (I suggest doing them with a pen first) I used metal brads for the rivets. Y'know, these little guys.

I just trimmed down the ends of them a little, but they worked like a charm.

The foam pieces you will need to seal with a few layers of Mod Podge or watered down Elmer's Glue. This gives it a hard finish that will be easier to paint on.

Then you get to paint. :D

For the plastic, paint a layer of flat black inside and out (I used a chalkboard spraypaint), let that dry completely, then did a layer of metallic silver on the outside. You might have to do more than one layer to get it to shine.

And for the love of all things, wear some disposable gloves. Please. This will be you if you don't.

And PS: Spray paint comes off your hands with oil based things like cooking spray, ex: Pam NonStick Spray. :D

Anyway, the straps I used were all hand made, I picked up buckles and pleather at JoAnn's and cut and sewed them to the length I needed for each armor piece.

I'll leave you with a few good tutorials for Craft Foam - because it is definitely worth it to make things from craft foam, they are lighter, easier to work with. Make sure you look at real-life armor too, get an idea for the pieces and how they are supposed to move and where they are supposed to protect. That was definitely what helped me the most!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B84iuJ2mFJU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2wluN_oJ7I http://www.entropyhouse.com/penwiper/costumes/helmsdeep.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Components_of_medieval_armour

Good luck, and if you have more questions, feel free to ask!