Hey everybody!
Hello to all of my cutie pie subscribers
and if you found your way here from Glam and
Gore,
to that I say "Welcome Zombaes!"
In today's video, I am going to show you how
to make your very own
Rita Repulsa costume,
just like the one that Mykie is wearing in her
brand new Power Rangers
Rita Repulsa makeup tutorial,
which if you haven't seen it yet...
WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!
I will link it for you guys in the description
box.
Seriously just watch it.
Watch it.
Okay, so I do have a few things to note before
we get started!
Unlike my other costume videos,
this tutorial is ONLY for the part of the
costume that you see in Mykie's video,
meaning that there is no bottom and there
is no back.
It's not a full costume.
That's not to say that you can't make a back
piece and bottom set
based on the information in this video.
It just means that I'm not going to go over
it step-by-step.
Sorry!
Just telling you guys that now
because I don't want you to get to the end
of the video and be like...
wait what?
Where's the rest??I
So anyway...
I had about 2.5 days to make this whole costume
from start to finish
so that definitely plays a big part in how
I chose to make this costume.
So if you're going to a convention that's
like... tomorrow,
this is gonna be a good video for you.
It's a fast one.
Kinda.
It still took 2.5 days, but...
This Rita Repulsa costume is going to be constructed
mostly out of craft foam.
And yes, that is the material in the kid's
section at the craft store.
And like with all materials, craft foam has
it's pros and cons.
Here's some for ya now.
The big reasons that I chose craft foam as
the material for this costume
because for me, craft foam is the fastest
way to make something out of nothing.
It's also very flexible
and since I was making this for a body that
was not, like,
physically in the room with me,
I wanted to make it flexible and adjustable
to make sure that it would fit Mykie when
it got into her hands.
Full disclosure, I usually only make costumes
for myself
and try them on like 150,000 times while I'm
making it
to make sure that everything fits and everything
is right.
So this was definitely a new experience for
me
making it for someone else.
So I think that is definitely going to be
apparent in the way that this costume is constucted.
You'll see when we get there.
Spoiler alert: lots of velcro.
Bear with me.
So let's just get started!
Okay, so first things first.
Supply list.
Ready?
Screenshot...
NOW!
To make all of the pieces for this Rita Repulsa
costume,
I'm going to be mixing two different ways
of creating the designs.
We will have our patterned pieces and our
freehand pieces.
We will go over both of course, but let's
start with making patterns.
Patterns can be the most confusing part of
the whole thing
so let's get that out of the way first.
Hopefully it'll make sense.
In this section, we will cover the forearms,
the upper arm shoulder area, and the lower breastplate.
So the way that I make my patterns,
dunno if it's technically the right way to
do it,
but it's just how I do it...
You'll need some poster board or card stock
or some kind of heavy weight paper,
a ruler,
and a marker.
Starting with the forearm pieces first,
I begin by boxing off the section I'll be
working in,
just to make it easier for me to visualize.
Now to create this forearm piece,
you'll need to measure the widest part of
your forearm and also measure your wrist.
Mark those measurements in your box.
And then use a straight edge to connect those
two measurements:
forearm and wrist.
Now just add some squiggly edges and we are
done with that for now!
It's really that simple.
Most people's arms are not both exactly the
same size.
If your arm measurements are the same for
both arms,
you can just use that one stencil twice,
but odds are that you'll need to make another
with slightly different measurements.
And always, always, always, always, always
label your pieces so that they don't get mixed
up!
For the upper arm shoulder patterns, again
we start with a box.
This box is the width of your upper arm
by the height of how tall you want the shoulder
spikes to stick up.
For this one, we are also going to draw a
line down the center of the box
for a visual reference.
The way this piece will work once it's cut
out is that the outer edges of the box
will be where it wraps around your arm,
the two sides meeting in your armpit area,
while the center of this box will be like
where the shoulder spikes are.
Hopefully that makes sense.
I dunno.
So checking references pictures often,
draw a curved line through the shoulder piece.
This will be the bottom half that is elevated
a bit from the rest of the piece.
Add some squiggly bits to make the edges all
spiky and uneven.
Then I'm going to draw some spikes into this
pattern.
The glory of making a pattern on poster board
first
instead of just jumping straight in with foam
and scissors
is that you can redraw and rework the shapes
until you have them exactly how you want them.
It comes in super handy when you find yourself
freehanding shapes
just like this scenario.
And that's all there is to this shoulder design!
Label your pieces and repeat the process again
using the measurements of your other arm.
Moving onto the lower breastplate which from
now on,
I'm just gonna call it the abs because that's
what it looks like to me.
Again, I start by drawing a box.
To get the measurement for the width of this
piece,
I held up a tape measure to my waist and
then pinpointed where I would like the side
flaps to attach on my body.
And just like with the upper arm pieces, I'm
also going to mark the center of this piece.
Now we connect the dots to create the shape
of our ab piece.
Also going to go ahead and utilize my pre-drawn
little box here
to make some side flaps for attaching this
piece to my costume.
Prepare to see me using a lot of ruler here,
but just know that after the measurements
for my waist and height are done,
ALL the rest of these measurements are super
arbitrary and
don't really mean anything at all.
They are not any particular size,
I am just measuring to make sure all of my
lines stay somewhat even.
Ya know?
Make a diamond at the base of the ab piece,
and four or so sections up from that.
As more photos and the movie comes out,
it'll get easier and easier to see what this
should look like.
For now, this is what we got.
Speaking of reference photos,
it is pretty clear that we have an interesting
asymmetrical design on this ab plate.
To make it, let's add diagonal lines that
kinda create a W shape on our pattern.
The W is not even on both sides of Rita's
armor.
One side is longer and the other side is just
cut off,
so using colored markers,
I fill in those two kind of odd sections
so that I know how I should cut it later when
I am cutting all of these pieces out.
And speaking of cutting all of these pieces
out, LABEL them.
You will desperately need these labeled once
they are free floating
sections of ab armor.
I know it may seem tedious,
but it's really pretty simple if you just
take it one piece at a time.
Before you know it, you'll have all these
pieces designed
and your patterns are done!
Now go ahead and cut around the outside edges
of the patterns.
The outside edges only!
We will be using the full shape of each pattern
to create the base layer for each piece.
Then pick whichever one you want to make first
and go ahead and trace that pattern directly
onto your craft foam.
Remember how I mentioned earlier that the
bottom of this piece was going to be elevated?
Well, now is its time to shine!
Cut along the curved line we drew earlier
to separate the bottom from the top.
Now trace the bottom piece on another section
of craft foam.
When we layer these together, the bottom will
be raised,
because it's currently two layers of foam
as opposed to the top,
which is just one layer!
Speaking of layers, craft foam on the whole
is floppy.
It is not very sturdy which is what drives
a lot of cosplayers away from it.
But one way to make it more sturdy is to add
more layers,
like a backing piece like this.
The more layers you add, the more it strengthens
the piece.
Now combine everything!
This step is a combination of hot glue and
heat gun.
For the first part, which is just attaching the
elevated bottom half to the base,
I'm just gonna jump straight on in there with
the hot glue.
After that is all lined up and glued on, I
start heat forming.
Heat guns can be used to shape craft foam.
When you heat up the foam it gets really floppy.
So once it's heated up and floppy,
you can position it how you want it,
and then once it cools, it should retain that
shape.
It's pretty cool!
Now that all of the layers are added,
I like to heat it up really good
and then use some kind of household item to
help it keep it's shape while it cools.
I use all kinds of things to hold pieces depending
on what they are
and what fits them the best.
What their shape is.
What their measurements are.
All kinds of things.
For cylindrical pieces like this,
I've used air fresheners,
candles,
shampoo bottles,
spray paint cans,
all kinds of stuff.
Just try out stuff around your house until
you find a nice fit.
Now that the shoulder piece is in it's general
shape,
it's time to heat form the spikes.
When you heat up craft foam,
it will automatically curl in the direction that
the heat is coming from,
so like, towards the heat gun.
Keep that in mind to craft your shapes.
Creating designs with heat can take a little
practice to learn how craft foam reacts to heat,
and how to get it to do exactly what you want
it to do,
but it's super cool and fun to do once you
get the hang of it.
And don't worry, if it doesn't turn out how
you want it,
you can just let it cool and then try the
heat again.
Ok, on to the forearm pieces!
These are easy.
Trace the pattern, cut it out, and make a
little backing rectangle.
The reason I opted for just a rectangular
support piece
instead of duplicating the forearm shape
is so that I could heat the spiky edges
and have them curl inwards as if they were
grabbing onto the skin.
Having a backing piece not only gives it strength
and support,
but a little bit of height, and therefore
some room to curl inwards.
Rita's forearm pieces go down onto the top
of her hands in what looks like one seamless piece.
Even though craft foam is flexible,
it's not really suited to adhere and follow
the movements of the wrist and the hand,
so isn't really the best material to try to
make that happen.
Latex or something would probably be better.
But even though we are skipping the top of
the hand,
we can still do some really cool detailing
with craft foam.
To make it the weird texture, I used scrap
pieces of craft foam,
tried to mimic some of the shapes that I've seen in
my reference photos,
and hot glued them straight onto the top of
the forearm piece.
Then I just glued a bunch of random little
filler scraps along that same line.
After my craft foam scraps were attached,
I went in with hot glue and filled in around
the craft foam
smoothing out that harsh craft foam edge
but still making an overall bumpy and uneven
texture.
Leave some dips and bumps and holes
to really add some texture and depth to this
piece.
And that's it for texturing the forearms.
I know it looks ugly for now, but trust me...
it gets really cool in paint.
Aaand now for the abs.
Trace the pattern onto your craft foam and
cut it out.
And now we are going to cut out all of those
individual little pieces that i mentioned earlier.
Trace each piece twice,
cut them out,
glue them together,
and then glue them onto the base.
I am double stacking the ab pieces to make
this the sturdiest piece of the whole bunch,
and to give the gaps between each ab piece
some good depth.
And it's just like a puzzle now.
Match all the pieces back up to the shape
of original pattern
and glue them in place.
Whewww okay we have made it through the patterned
pieces,
which to me is by far the most complicated
part of this whole process.
So now it's on to the freehanded pieces,
which are the upper breastplate and the shoulder
straps.
To freehand on craft foam,
I would recommend using your heat gun to heat
the craft foam first
and to start shaping it how you want it before
you start drawing.
It will help you get the shape you're drawing
correct
and it's just overall much easier to picture
it.
Using your reference pictures,
start to draw out the shapes that make up
the breastplate.
Remember you can use multiple layers to create
levels in this piece.
And now is also a good time to mention that
you DO NOT need a dress form to do this.
Again, any household items will work for this
if you can find the shape you need.
You could use bowls from the kitchen,
a bra filled up with... anything, like socks
or something...
you could hold the foam up against yourself
and draw it in the mirror.
Get creative and work with what you got!
It's also okay to not get it right the first
time.
Freehanding to scale can be really hard!
I accidentally scaled this piece to the size
of my dress form
which is much smaller than I am.
So I just scaled it up and kept going!
Use your reference photos frequently and have
fun with it.
There is no right or wrong.
Also, again, at this point in time,
it's not even really clear what these pieces
completely look like,
so the shapes I'm drawing here might not even
be right.
I am... very clearly just winging this.
I don't know, you guys.
Hot glue all of the layers together
and do some heat forming to get all the glorious
shapes that you want.
The last pieces that we will be constructing
today are the shoulder straps!
I am going to be attaching all of final pieces
to a black tank top,
so I definitely want to cover up those straps
with something a bit more Repulsa.
We are looking at the same steps here.
Heat the foam first so that it is floppy and
can be formed over the shoulder.
And then I just use my Sharpie to sketch out
the shape of the tank top
and cut it out.
Then I make 3 more copies of that strap.
One is going to be the base for the opposite
side.
It should be the same shape, just flipped
over.
And then remaining two will be used for detailing
each strap.
For the detailing on the left shoulder,
I make little diagonal blocks that go up over
the shoulder.
It's really cute.
For the right shoulder, I do vertical stripes.
If you've been wondering,
the color of foam that you use does not matter
at all
because we are going to seal and paint these
bad boys right now.
Before we can paint our craft foam pieces,
we have to seal them first.
Craft foam is a porous material, so if you
don't seal it,
it will just drink up all of your paint.
For time reasons, I am using two coats of
Mod Podge to seal my pieces.
Ideally you should put, like, at least 5 layers
probably to fully seal this
and make your paint perfectly vibrant and
awesome.
Cosplayers will argue their heads off about
how many layers of sealant you actually need,
but between the build and drying time and
paint and paint's drying time...
I definitely did not have time to do all the
layers of primer on this build
so... yeah.
I didn't do that.
I did two and it turned out fine for this.
Also, brush strokes are a thing.
You can get rid of them by diluting your Mod
Podge down
with water before applying it,
but then you need more coats, and again...
time.
And you can also apply a billion layers of
sealer
and then sand it down to remove the brush
strokes.
I didn't have time okay!?
I didn't have time!!
This is not the build for perfect cosplaying.
This is a fast one.
Okay, okay, moving on.
After the sealer has completely dried, we
can move on to paint!
Paint is my favorite part of the whole process
because
it's when all of the pieces start to come
together
and start looking like they are supposed to!
I use two coats of glossy green spray paint
for the base color of these pieces.
Annnnnd cut!
I am going to pause painting real quick to
switch out these safety pins with elastic.
I wait to add elastic until after spray paint
because
I would, for sure, get paint all over the
elastic during spray paint,
which when it dries,
it would cause the elastic to stiffen and
harden and be way less stretchy.
So the reason I add elastic now is because
when you remove the safety pins post-spray
paint,
they can peel off some of your paint
and I want the option to fill in those paint
holes
while I'm texturing and weathering and painting
by hand.
Make sense?
So now, add elastic!
I add elastic by using blobs of hot glue along
the inside edge of the piece.
Then I cut small strips of elastic and stick
them onto the hot glue.
Once the glue has gotten a little bit tacky
and isn't scalding hot anymore,
I mash the glue down around the elastic so
that it's really held in there super well.
Then I repeat the same thing on the other
side.
Elastic is the perfect tool when you don't
know EXACTLY what size you need,
like if you're making these pieces for someone
on the other side of the country...
for example.
And there ya have it!
Stretchy arm pieces that you can slide on
and off.
Okay flip back to paint!
To create that main texture you see on these
pieces,
the shiny green stuff,
I am using a metallic paint,
a sponge brush,
and tissues.
First I just blob the metallic paint onto
a section of the armor,
and then before it dries,
I dab it and blot it and wipe the paint with
a tissue.
This takes out the "brushed" kind of look,
and more into a weathered, chipped, scratched
up metal kind of look.
And you have to do this kinda fast because
this metallic paint will dry before ya know
it.
One of my favorite ways to make it look chipped
is to wait until it's like 90% dry,
and then press down hard on it and wipe it.
This will take out a chunk of the metallic
paint,
but it moves so much differently
when it's almost dry vs freshly wet,
like, it almost just slides away
and I really like the look of that.
I work in small sections across each piece
of armor,
to make sure that I can fully manipulate each
bit before the paint dries.
Now we gotta make it look like someone actually
wears this armor
and walks around kicking butt in it.
Dirty, weathered, grimy, grunge is what we're
going for here.
I mix black and brown matte paint to create
this grunge.
I switch back and forth between spattering
our dirt texture
and just using a really cheap, old, stiff
paint brush
with bristles that are super hard and terrible
to just stipple the grime on there.
Sometimes I use more brown, sometimes I use more
black,
but most of the time, it's just kind of a
mix of the two.
I focus this mainly in all of the nooks and
edges,
but I also kinda just put it everywhere.
So just do as much or as little as you want.
While I am putting this dark brownish black
color into the crevices of the armor,
I am not using this as a shadow.
If you are going to add artificial shadows,
be sure to use a paint that has the same finish
as your piece.
The lack of light wouldn't change a surface
from glossy to matte,
it would just make it darker.
And the opposite is the same for adding aging
and weathering.
Like, dirt and stuff isn't glossy so I would
use a matte paint for that.
Just a little paint finish tip for ya there!
Alright, home stretch you guys!
Hang in there!
The final piece of detailing for the costume
is a metallic green cord
that links the upper breastplate together.
Using a screw or a nail,
I poke four holes in along one piece and three
holes in the other one.
We are going for three diagonal lines on top
and one straight across horizontal line at
the bottom.
Then I just thread the cord through the holes
and knot it off at the top.
I am leaving the bottom loose so that it can
be adjusted once it's being fitted onto a body.
If you loosen the cord, you can sit the boob
pieces farther apart,
and tightening it will bring them closer together.
Again, it's great for custom sizing.
It makes it very adjustable.
Ahh... yes.
Adjustable.
This is where this costume gets a little bit... unusual.
I am the first to admit that I'm a total noob
when it comes to designing for other people.
Like, I have no idea how to fit a different
body without them being
right in front of me to try stuff on.
So for this case, my solution for maximum
adjustability...
sticky back velcro.
Just velcro everything in a way that fits.
Sticky back velcro lets you stick one side
of the velcro to the craft foam
and the other side to the tank top.
And then the two will be held together and
it will also be removeable in case it's not
fitting just right.
Is it the most secure way to attach craft
foam pieces?
Probably not.
But is it the easiest and fastest and most
convenient for Mykie?
Yes, definitely!
If we were being practical here, most people
would probably make a buckle system
with like a belt and straps and stuff,
and ya know, normally I would probably do
that too.
But if you are in a time crunch, Velcro may
just save you.
But for higher quality attachments, I'd go
with buckles.
The final costume pieces to top off this cosplay
that are not made of craft foam
are the green rope and the gold rings.
For the rope, I used a material called Mesh
Tubing.
I got this at Joann's for about $5 for 20
yards.
It's super lightweight and can be painted
and comes in different colors
so it's super perfect for this cosplay.
I bought the metallic green tubing and painted
it to the right shade of green,
and that's literally it.
And the spots that weren't fully covered by
spray paint
make really cool metallic highlights throughout
the rope.
I dig it.
And the rings are some sort of claw rings that I bought
on Amazon.
I wouldn't recommend this exact set though
because come on.
Whose fingers are these made for?
Like I literally...
I don't understand.
But I just spray painted them gold, more as
a prop than anything else.
These particular rings make you lose all your
hand functionality
as soon as you put them on,
so if you're looking to spend the day at a
con or something,
I would definitely pick out a different set.
But this is the look that you're going for.
And all I did was just spray paint them gold.
It is easy and fast!
And that is it!
And that's it!
That is how I made the Rita Repulsa costume:
Glam and Gore x Alexa Poletti edition!
If you guys make this costume for yourself,
please please please please please tag me
in your pictures.
I love seeing what you guys make.
You're the best.
Ahh!
And don't forget to check out Mykie's makeup
tutorial if you haven't seen that yet.
I also have some more costume tutorials for
you to check out.
There's a playlist on my channel, so...
you can go watch those if you want.
Okay, I'll see you guys in my next video.
Thank you so much for watching.
I'll see you next time!
Bye!
