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The Hero’s Closet

12capped

Published on March 14, 2020 at × in 12capped

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scabbard end cap sculpted in worbla

scabbard end cap sculpted in worbla

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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 got a little bit sneaky with the closure for the

I got a little bit sneaky with the closure for the lower torso armor, since I wanted a seamless look with those wraparound straps but I also wanted to be able to...put it on. So the vest closes with a zipper from the back waist up to about shoulder blade height, which is completely covered by the back armor (sewn to a floating panel that’s caught in at the back neck and armholes.) After I zip down the back, the side straps wrap around and snap in front, and the chest strap closes with a swimsuit hook (which makes it more stable for attaching the shoulder armor and other junk later.)

The nifty thing is all that armor actually makes it a little easier to put on than the mock-up was, since it prevents the vest from bunching up as I wiggle into it. As long as all the attachments for the other pieces work out the way I’m hoping, I’ll be able to get into and out of this thing by myself.

The fit looks a little sloppy on the form because in real life I guess I’m a little broader and squarer through the ribs and upper back. I’m happy with how it fits on me, but I’m making a note of this before it comes back to bite me when I’m trying to drape something later.

#cosplayarmor #armorattachments #leatherarmor #fantasyarmor #cosplaycraft #cosplaywip

Spent my snow day finally making some progress on

Spent my snow day finally making some progress on the breastplate detailing. This is mostly me elaborating on the concept art to try to capture that Monstress look, so it’s all self-inflicted agony, but as always I underestimated just how long I can spend fussing with even a single pair of spirals trying to make them symmetrical. (They’re still not symmetrical and it’s also not done but I got tired okay)

There’s more of this sculpted detail on the pauldrons and hip armor, and I feel like I should continue it down the legs as well but also I want to finish this someday. We’ll see how long the really essential pieces take!

I ended up having to rework the attachment for the pauldrons, so those little shoulder tabs are unfortunately obsolete and will have to be replaced at some point. I was hoping to use swimsuit hooks, since they’re sturdy, flat, and easy to attach, but they seem to need quite a bit of tension in the strap in order to hold securely and they kept slipping out as I moved around. I’ll probably do a tab with heavy-duty snaps instead, but it might have to go on by hand since I’ve sewn all kinds of other junk to the vest in the meantime.

@worblana provided the Worbla’s Black Art for this piece!

#cosplaywip #worblaarmor #worblasblackart #cosplayarmor #cosmaker #cosprogress

Armor update! I’m doing the back and lower torso

Armor update! I’m doing the back and lower torso in leather, hoping to strike a better balance of weight and flexibility than my last full armor costume. I’m building it around a little canvas vest that I made with steel bones for a smooth foundation, and I prepunched all the leather plates before dyeing so it should only take an evening or two to stitch everything on. Hoping to get to that this week, once everything is dry and has been buffed and polished a bit!

The detailing on this part of the armor is a little vague in the art, but the visual style of Monstress is all about elaborate ornamentation so I took the opportunity to play with tooling a little more. Although the nice natural shading is lost since I had to dye the whole thing black, I hit the designs with a leftover bit of the paint I mixed for the sword hilt, and I really like the way the faded gray-gold picks out the detail without highlighting the irregularities too much.

#cosplaywip #cosplayarmormaking #leatherarmor #cosplaycraft #cosprogress #cosplayarmor

Okay, heck, this is the coolest dang thing. I deci

Okay, heck, this is the coolest dang thing. I decided I’m restarting the boot project, because the leather I originally picked is too soft and I don’t think it’ll hold up well or look good when worn for real (note lots of wrinkles, awkward lump over the ankle of my jeans.)
So this means I need to get them off the lasts in order to start the new pair, which means I can TRY THEM ON, and hot dang if it isn’t a rad feeling to put a boot I sewed from scratch on my actual foot.
The good news: It fits! These lasts were an etsy find, and I was pretty astonished to have found my bizarre size at all, so it’s great to have confirmation that they’ll do the job.
Someday maybe I’ll come back to these and add the sole and heel so they’re actually wearable, although I don’t have high hopes for their durability - now that they’re on, they feel about as substantial as my wool socks.
Still, an awesome learning experience and an excellent practice run for what I hope will be a much more functional final pair!
#cosplaywip #cosmaker #cosprogress #learningnewskills

#cosplaydetails is back? Give me an excuse, why do

#cosplaydetails is back? Give me an excuse, why don’t you. Here’s a peek at some of the last-minute additions that I’ve been making for Ciri, with the caveat that most of it still isn’t done and may not actually make it to the show 😬
In addition to the boots, which I’ve been chronicling in my stories, I’ve been tinkering with a Skellige-sauna-inspired bra to wear under the lot of it, a new scabbard with all the tooled detailing, and some little refinements to the finishing on the chaps. Cross your fingers for me that I’ll get through it all in the final week!
#crownchampionshipsofcosplay
#cosplaywip #cosprogress #witchercosplay #cosmaker #ciricosplay

So Tifa is nearly there except for a bit more leat

So Tifa is nearly there except for a bit more leatherwork and the gloves, and the Empress is still simmering along (currently waiting for a mildly obscene quantity of embroidery thread to ship.) But in the meantime I have NEWS my friends because my Monstress obsession cannot be stopped

A few months back when I turned THAT page in issue 28 and frightened the neighbors with my shrieks, I reluctantly tucked the Warlord’s battle gear away in the’ someday’ file because I am but a small underemployed costumer in these perilous times and a colossal armor build was RIGHT OUT.

But then along came the fine folks at @worblana with their sponsored build program, and now I’m delighted to announce that heavy armor Warlord is a GO. As soon as I got the news I started sketching, so here's a whole mess of me trying to plan out specific shapes and construction details so I can start making the patterns.

I ended up not going for the sci-fi-flavored on-page version, but for one of the concept sketches included as bonus material in the trade collection, as I think this one will lend itself a little better to being sculpted by hand. Definitely making the sword though; it’s basically the ultimate in over-the-top fantasy sword nonsense and I haven’t done any props in this style yet.

The Cosplay Supplies lovelies are providing Worbla’s Black Art that I’ll be using to build the sword, armor, and helmet. Since this is a sponsored build I’ll be doing a couple of detailed tutorials for the Worbla site in addition to my more informal documentation here, so this is your chance if you’ve been wanting a closer look at how I work with the stuff. I haven’t done a full armor build since Maika, and I’m hyped to apply some of the more detailed sculpting methods I acquired making Ciri’s bits and pieces. Plus, you know, keeping busy does a brain good. Hope you’ll follow along with me!

#worblasblackart #worbla #cosplayarmor #monstresscosplay #cosplans #cosplaywip

Recent Posts

How I made Ciri’s Boots
Building Ciri’s Sword and Scabbard
Ciri’s Armor (Pauldron and Poleyns)
Ciri Chainmail
Embroidery Purgatory

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