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The Hero’s Closet

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Published on February 27, 2017 at × in banner_gray

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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!

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

A fair number of you weren’t following along whe

A fair number of you weren’t following along when I started the endless Ciri build a year and a half ago, but I’m recapping it on the @c2e2 account this month if you want to catch up a bit. First post is a peek at the vest, which I very cleverly decided to make from steel rings with a quilted lining, so it weighs a ton but it might actually stop an arrow or two as long as the archer had really good aim. (let’s not test this, it’s still a crop top😅) Now that this year’s con season is over for me, I’m getting ready to dive into the last few details and finishing touches before I compete in her one more time. I’d like to redo the scabbard with more detail, and of course there are the long-delayed BOOTS. Gonna make this happen this time. (lolll wish me luck)
📸 from the magnificent @jacquistuffnthings
#witchercosplay #ciricosplay #cirillafionaelenriannon #cosmaker #cosplayarmor

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

Princely enough for you? When I saw that @maison_h

Princely enough for you? When I saw that @maison_hikari had openings for anime nyc I had to leap on it. There are still a few things I need to add to this costume, but, well, look! I’ve never felt so dang regal in my life, it’s like a painting that should be hanging in a castle somewhere. (make sure to swipe for majestic full view)
Utena is a reasonably simple costume, but there were plenty of details to dig my claws into. I’m particularly happy with how the sword came out - the paint job isn’t my best ever, but I think I nailed the proportions and it feels really natural in my hand. The ring was a last minute addition and I probably should have spent the time on the epaulets instead, but the way it caught the light here makes it seem worth it. 📸 by @maison_hikari #utenacosplay #revolutionarygirlutena #animenyc #cosplayportrait #cosmaker

Current status of the Empress bodice drape! I’ve

Current status of the Empress bodice drape! I’ve been struggling a little bit to get back in the productivity groove during this inter-holiday period, but getting this beastie wearable is my number one cosplay goal for next year.
Now that I’ve got the style lines for the bodice sorted out, the next step will be adding all my reference marks and then very carefully unpinning everything and tracing all the pieces out on paper. Then I can do any corrections that might be needed and sew up a muslin to see how she fits on me as opposed to the form.
#cosplaywip #cosprogress #cosmaker #draping #patternmaking #monstresscosplay

Been going easy on progress shots for this one, si

Been going easy on progress shots for this one, since you’ll be getting the full tutorial later, but I've hit a good construction milestone and scored a weekend of decent weather for courtyard photos. So, an update on the Warlord sword! She’s a foam-free build, made from cardboard and Kobracast with a kite rod core, with Worbla’s Black Art for the hilt provided by @worblana

I haven’t done a really silly fantasy sword prop like this before, but there’s a clear line from my previous prop builds to this one. I've been using the creased-paper-and-Kobracast method since Ciri, so all I had to do for the larger blade is increase the paper weight to a light cardboard/book board. (I also used a much heftier kite rod for the core, but mostly just because the thick sturdy ones happened to be on sale. It does add more weight this way.) The gem is a clear glass cabochon with metallic paint on the back, which I’ve also talked about before.

The other major difference is the Worbla’s Black Art for the hilt and sculpted details, which I haven’t had in supply since I did Maika. I've found it complements the Kobracast (also a Worbla product) very well, because it’s less sticky and highly sculptable where the Kobracast is extremely sticky and tear-resistant but also floppier and more textured. Being able to switch back and forth as appropriate (and sometimes do a sandwiched piece with some of each) feels like a nice refinement to my technique that ‘ll continue using.

For this hilt I did a lot of both directly sculpting surfaces (to get the crisp bevels and edges on the various prongs as well as the gem setting) and individual embellishments that I shaped and then pressed in place. Time-consuming in both cases, but nothing fancy. I used the same basic oiled wood sculpting tool for a good 3/4 of the work, so it’s all pretty straightforward but will be explained in more detail with some extra tips and tricks when the full tutorial comes out.

I’ll probably keep tinkering with the sculpting a little longer, but then it’s on to the prime and paint (and the rest of the costume.)

#cosplaywip #worblasblackart #cosplaypropmaking #worbla #swordprop #cosmaker #propmakers

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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