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The Hero’s Closet

08carve

Published on March 14, 2020 at 1200 × 1200 in 08carve

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Hey there!

I’m Gillian, a cosplayer, writer, editor, and occasional illustrator with an unruly fabric habit. I love patternmaking, fabric manipulation, embellishment, and big, ambitious projects.

My book The Hero’s Closet is available now!

I’ve seen the Cosplay Details format going aroun

I’ve seen the Cosplay Details format going around a bit again, so here’s my pandemic build edition! Intense crafting has been a bit of a lifeline for me the last year and change, and while Tifa and the Warlord are on opposite ends of many scales, I adore both characters and the process of building them brought me a lot of joy in these calamitous times.

Both projects drew on a combination of worbla and leatherwork techniques, and although mostly on the lighter end sewing-wise they both managed to sneak in some little bits of hand embroidery and interesting patternmaking. I even reused part of Tifa’s vambrace pattern for the Warlord, since I’d already worked out the proportions for the elbow pivot that keeps the pieces aligned correctly and gives it a nice amount of mobility.

Tifa was built as a commission for my sister, and black worbla for the warlord was provided by @worblana in exchange for crafting tutorials that you can find on their website, so both costumes also represent the community that has helped keep me motivated and stocked with craft supplies during a decidedly tricky time for expensive hobbies. So I’m very grateful for that as well.

#cosplaydetails #monstresscosplay #ff7cosplay #ff7remakecosplay #tifacosplay #leatherarmor #worblasblackart #handembroidery

Stealing my own thunder a bit but holy heck dudes

Stealing my own thunder a bit but holy heck dudes check it out. My sister @kathleenconahan commissioned me to make a Tifa for her as well, and while mine’s still in progress hers got shipped out at the beginning of this month. She just sent these photos of the whole thing (which are way radder than anything I can get while holed up in my brooklyn cave, lbr) and I’m beside myself with glee.

Kathleen made her own earrings, materia wristband, and gloves, with hand-etched aluminum plates. I made the skort, tops, leather vambrace, belt/suspenders, socks, and arm warmers. 📸 by @jeremysilvertongue

#tifacosplay #tifalockhartcosplay #ff7cosplay #ffviicosplay #finalfantasycosplay #leatherarmor #cosplayarmor #cosplaycommission

After a couple years of doing lots of heavy leathe

After a couple years of doing lots of heavy leatherwork and armor and not a lot of bright colors, I wanted to pick something completely different for my next build. The new project is almost purely needlework, with lots of fiddly hand sewing and crunchy construction, but it’s definitely not a comfort zone build and she’s got a couple of surprises in store. *evil cackles*

Anyway, please enjoy some padstitching while I work on the sleeves and wait for the collar binding fabric to show up.

#cosplaywip #cosplaysewing #cosprogress #handtailoring #handsewing #padstitching #coatmaking

Wowza what a trip. It feels a little wild that all

Wowza what a trip. It feels a little wild that all this was for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it trip across the Crown Championships stage, but actually the point was all the other competitors I got to meet and the truly top-tier fabulous costumes I got to ogle. All of these were people I’d previously only met online if at all, and builds I’d admired from afar, but there’s honestly no comparison to seeing all that hard work in person and getting my nosy eyeballs right up in the fabric textures and sculpting work. I was absolutely geeking out all day and it was just the best thing.
I crunched four separate times to get the various incarnations of Ciri built over the last two years, but I’m happy to say that I actually accomplished-or-near-enough my entire upgrade list this time around. I finished the BOOTS, which was a wild project that’ll get its own wrap-up post, and I’m very happy with how the tooled leather scabbard came out as well. I need to finally plan a photoshoot now that all the elements are actually where I want them - was hoping to get a wintery Skellige one with snow but I guess that’s not going to happen this year, freaking thanks climate change 😠. Very well deserved congrats to all the winners (including armor category winner @paisleyandglue and third overall @leelookris in these photos). Also, thanks to the fabulously talented and extremely nice guy @sameertikkamasala for sending over the second picture, and super extra thanks to travel buddy and heroic handler @pitchforkcosplay for coming along on this little adventure and taking all the others. #crownchampionshipsofcosplay #c2e2 #cosplayarmor #witchercosplay

It’s not that this project exactly demanded nast

It’s not that this project exactly demanded nasty sharp pointy teeth,but I wanted to make them and so here we are. Loosely based on opossum teeth, i.e. I did several hours of hilarious image research but then sat down and sculpted from memory because it’s a fantasy creature and I don’t need exact accuracy.

I started with a wire frame and wrapped it in muslin strips, which solved the problem I’ve encountered previously where the wire retains heat and cuts through the hot worbla as you shape it. Then I laid down a strip of mesh worbla because I knew it would grip the muslin well, and black worbla on top for the sculptability. Finally I hand shaped the teeth and set them into the jaw one by one, working from front to back and making sure the jaw still closed well each time I added a new pair.

The head these go into isn’t quite ready for prime time yet, but she’s looking less cursed every day so she’ll be along soon enough!

#cosprogress #cosplaywip #worblasblackart #worbla #handsculpting #monstermaking #cosmaker

“Auntie. I heard you’ve been looking for me.”

Call this my little group portrait tribute to the family reunion from hell in issue 32. I love both of these hazardous-to-know ladies but get them in the same room and 😬💥😬

The Maika issue 13 armor was my first big worbla armor, and I made her in about two months after being blown away by the cover reveal in late 2017/early 2018. Bit of a learning experience! The armor was pretty heavy and not very mobile, and the soft sculpture monster arm that went with it was both large and unbalanced so it ended up being awful to wear. I haven’t really worked myself up to bringing her out again since her debut at Katsucon that year.

Warlord was similarly an impulse project. Very shortly after I spotted the concept art in the back of volume 5, the opportunity for this build popped up so I tossed aside my other wips and dove in. The three additional years of experience that went into this project do show up a bit visually, but much more so in the underlying structure and logic of the build. The armor is all supported by a canvas vest that I can step into, and I can put everything on myself up to the point of buckling vambraces over gloves (and I’m pretty sure I could do that myself too, it’s just annoying and fiddly.) The worbla is mostly a single layer over a canvas base, so it’s much lighter and more flexible. The back and lower part of the torso armor are molded leather stitched to canvas, so they’re light, sturdy, and breathable. She’s much closer fitting, but the difference in mobility is incredible and she’s comfortable enough to wear for at least a couple hours.

I do still love the issue 13 design, and if I didn’t already have the Empress in the works and lots of other monstress costumes I’d love to take a crack at someday, I’d be tempted to have another go at it with the updated skillset. But there’s never enough time to build all the things I want to build!

Maika and the Warlord are from Monstress by the brilliant @marjorie_liu and @sanatakeda_art @worblana provided Worbla’s Black Art for the Warlord build.

#monstresscosplay #cosmaker #cosplayarmor #worbla #worblaarmor #leatherarmor #fabtasyarmor #cosplayglowup

Recent Posts

Why I Draft my Own Patterns
The Problem of Categorizing Cosplay
How I made Ciri’s Boots
Building Ciri’s Sword and Scabbard
Ciri’s Armor (Pauldron and Poleyns)

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