The second I saw Infinite Crisis’ Atomic Wonder Woman, I knew I had to fit her in my costume roster. Her look struck me as a cross between Mad Max and Dead Rising with a dash of roller derby charm. I also loved the slightly obscure Wonder Woman iconography – the swath of yellow fabric on her top, the “WW” on her license plate bracers, the massive chain where her lasso would be, and the word “Aletheia” carved into her weapon, which loosely translates to “truth” in Greek. Her short hair and Rosie the Riveter-esq bandana had me saying “I can (and should) do this!”

I fully committed to the costume a week and a half prior to SDCC, so time was of the essence. I kicked the costume off with a trip to several thrift stores, managing to scrounge up the top, ties, belt, footballs, and boots in one go. There was no need to buy anything new since I was aiming for an apocalyptic look.

Securing the ties to the belt wasn’t too difficult; neither was adding the caution tape trim (spray painted elastic) to the tube top. The football cups were slightly more challenging. Firstly, I played surgeon and moved the laces from one side of the football to the other – the original placement was next to a slew of obnoxious NFL logos I didn’t want distracting from the design. In order to get the bisected balls to fit right, I added a dart down the center, which resulted in a rounder shape. I then secured them to the top with rivets to ensure they wouldn’t move.

The armor – stop sign pauldron, license plate bracers, kneepads, and belt buckle – are all made of Worbla. If you’ve never used a thermoplastic to make armor before, starting with a project like this is a great way to get your feet wet, as imperfections only add to the character of the final piece.

When making armor, I always start out patterning on paper to ensure I’m not wasting supplies. I drafted the stop sign to size and then folded and cut up the paper to approximate how WW would have constructed the piece. I sized the bracers to my arms, using Worbla on one side and EVA foam on the other. The belt buckle is entirely Worbla, which I heated up and rolled to use as trim around the edges.

I really enjoy distressing clothing and armor. When working with Worbla I use a soldering iron to simulate battle damage, bullet ricochets, and general wear and tear – wear a mask when you do so! After this initial pass, I start with a base coat of paint – whatever primary color the object calls for. After drying and blocking in any other colors necessary, I’ll add bright silver into recessed areas that look damaged (if the item is intended to look like metal). I’ll then polish off the armor by sponging on a layer of black, brown, and grey paint to simulate dirt, oil, and other unsavory substances. Lastly, I’ll sand down all of the paint – a dull finish looks more realistic in this instance. As a final touch I’ll fleck a bit of orange on a few of the raw edges to hint at rust.

After knocking out the armor I moved on to the smaller details. I had a hard time finding a pair of blue leggings and eventually ordered white ones and dyed them. The red leather gloves were also grabbed from online, and then accented with metal spikes made from Worbla. The massive metal chain came from a costume shop online, as well as the red hair kerchief, black wig, and colored tube sock on Atomic Wonder Woman’s right arm. I aged the leggings and the tube sock by soaking them in a pot of black and brown hairspray – the same thing I use to dirty up my body before going out on the show floor.

The chainsaw spear was the most fun to make and my favorite part of the outfit. I opted to keep it as genuine as possible, picking up a metal signpost from the hardware store. The bottom was made from two cans of expandable spray foam. Once dry, I used a knife to carve up the edges before coating it with textured spray paint to mimic concrete. I then padded the metal post with sponges before wrapping them in the orange duct tape, giving myself a comfortable grip.

I found the chainsaw online and painted/distressed it to match the source material. I then used the soldering iron again to burn “Aletheia” into the blade. I was able to secure a good six inches of the post inside the back of the chainsaw, and then tied it down with the yellow rope.

Overall I’m incredibly happy with how Atomic Wonder Woman came out out, especially considering the short time frame. I can’t wait to wear it out again. Not only do I feel like a BAMF running around with a chainsaw spear – the costume is extremely comfortable.

Thank you to these incredible photographers for helping bring Atomic Wonder Woman to life: LJinto, Bitspitter, Andrew Ho, Adam Patrick Murray, and Jason Chau Photography.

Also, be sure to keep an eye on Infinite Crisis – it looks like a blast! I hope to join the Beta soon and can’t wait to kick some butt in character.

Atomic Wonder Woman WIP

Atomic Wonder Woman Portfolio

This costume has taken on a life of its own, in a way I never could have anticipated.

The decision to don Lady Two-Face stemmed from how much I enjoyed wearing my gender-bent Princess of Persia. Two-Face has always been one of my favorite Batman villains, right up there with Poison Ivy and the Joker. While I enjoy most Bat-flavored entertainment, Dini’s Batman: The Animated Series has always been at the top of my list. As such it seemed a good fit to opt for the comic styling from the TV-show, rather than the more realistic interpretation that came courtesy of the movies. It was also an attractive challenge to try something simultaneously glamorous and grotesque.

Harvey Dent/Two-Face from Batman: The Animated Series.

Honestly, the costume itself wasn’t that hard to pull together. In total I clocked in two or so weeks securing all the pieces. The majority of the time was consumed ferreting out similar cut double-breasted suits on eBay. The white one is Ralph Lauren surprisingly, and I nabbed it for only $30. I won the black pinstripe suit for $10. I ordered two of the same pair or shoes and two of the same corset – one in black and one in white.

I commissioned a professional tailor to stitch together the suit, knowing full well that I would butcher the job trying to rush in the limited time I had before SDCC. We took in the jacket to an exaggerated degree so to contrast the baggy slacks.

After ordering the coin replica and a plastic Tommy gun online, all the pieces were in order.

I didn’t tease the fact that I’d be wearing Lady Two-Face to SDCC, instead leaving it a surprise in case the makeup didn’t come together properly. Hydred – the amazingly talented makeup artist I hire every year for SDCC – and I discussed the execution in great detail for weeks, hashing through the construction and toying with different ideas. In the end I shouldn’t have worried, as Hydred knocked the look out of the park.

Makeup and hair in full took six and a half hours – twice as long as I wore the costume at the convention. Hydred began by painting my left side (face, neck, and even bust) with blue latex. For delicate areas around the eyes we instead used a saturated blue eye shadow. From there, Hydred built up the mouth with wax, using Spirit Gum to adhere it to my face. We filed and painted acrylic nails yellow to use as the teeth, which were carefully placed and secured within the wax structure. Next, gums were layered on and attached above the teeth, before being painted various shades of black, red, and blue.

In total hair and makeup took six and a half hours.

We decided to exaggerate my features with animation-esq lines, drawn on with black eyeliner and shaded by a careful hand. Even my eyebrow on the right side was made to be a bit more angular, hinting at the inborn deviance of Two-Face. For hair we opted for flowing curls on one side, contrasted by a wild, white up-do on the other.

The final touch was the single yellow contact, which was a bit of a challenge to wear as I’d never successfully used one before. Somehow I lucked out and it stayed in for most of the convention without issue.

I finally made it out to the show floor around 2:00 PM Saturday of SDCC. Walking about was complete madness, and I’m still astonished by the reaction of fellow attendees. I’d hoped fans would appreciate the costume, but never expected to be stationary for hours inundated with photo requests. It was difficult to talk or smile, otherwise I’d have been grinning ear to ear.

Funny enough, I didn’t even name this character myself. The Internet sort of did. I was struggling to come up with a name for the character even as put on the suit – I vetoed Harley Dent early on for the obvious lack of originality. Someone dubbed me “Lady Two-Face” and it stuck.

It’s going to be hard to top this costume next year, as somehow a rumor got started that I “won the best costume of SDCC.” While I have no idea where it originated, I’m pleased by the sentiment. I’m also quite happy that the risk paid off, proving that fan service doesn’t always require an excess of skin. Not that I complain when it does.

As with every SDCC, I shot a set of photos with LJinto and they turned out fantastic. Check out his work and a gallery of show floor snaps below. Enjoy!

Lady Two-Face Portfolio

I’ve wanted to whip together a Black Canary costume for some time, mostly fueled by my enjoyment of the admittedly horrible Birds of Prey TV show and the few  (quality) trades I’ve picked up over the years. It was also a practical costume to add to my collection considering the amount of DC cosplay groups I’m asked to join every year.

The costume itself was really easy. I already had the black combat boots for various other ensembles, and fishnets for my Zatanna costume. I also already had a blond wig thanks to my Chobits cosplay a few years back, and the gloves came from Target. That only left the body suit and the gold buckles. The buckles came from JoAnn Fabrics – cut up from a long gold strip used for belts and whatnot, and were attached to my boots and gloves with fabric tape. I had several options in my wardrobe already for the leotard, but as I wanted to go with the more modern look with boy-shorts and gold zipper, I decided to commission it from friend Christa Browning to ensure it was just right. With that the costume was done!

Friend and photographer Chanh Tang snapped the below shots at our annual FallCon comic convention – quick captures to document the costume. I plan on shooting a second version of Black Canary’s costume (high heeled boots, leather jacket, and no buckles) at a later date with a fellow  cosplaying  friend joining me as Green Arrow. I’m excited to knock those photos out as the shoot will be significantly more elaborate

For now, enjoy the gallery below!

After spotting a Wonder Woman costume at Party City one Halloween, I knew that I had to give Diana Prince a whirl. Pun intended.

DC's Wonder Woman Costume

There isn’t much to say about this costume. Because it was one of my first attempts at cosplay, I didn’t have much knowledge when it came to sewing or prop making. For this reason I kept the whole effort pretty simple. The Wonder Woman costume was direct from DC, and came with a cape and bootcovers. I tossed the bootcovers out the window immediately, then went on to find a pair of thigh-high Wonder Woman boots from eBay. They are a bit taller than the ones that Wonder Woman actually wears, but I think they are more fun.

I also replaced the cloth bracelets that came with the costume, added the red earrings and make a Lasso of Truth out of some cording from JoAnns. Simple enough!

I shot the costume with Mason Hladun of Shattered Glam and did my own hair and makeup for the photos. I did things a bit more low-key back then

Mason had a fog machine which made for some pretty cool photos if I do say so myself. We also took some “action” shots of Wonder Woman busting out of her suit to save the day.

Since this shoot I have altered my Wonder Woman costume fairly extensively, which you can find here. Enjoy!

Wonder Woman 2.0
This project has been a long time coming. I have always loved Wonder Woman in all of her incarnations, but when I laid eyes on Michael Turner’s Wonder Woman, I was in love. While Alex Ross and Adam Hughes do a fantastic job of bringing Diana Prince (or whoever is currently filing Wonder Woman’s shoes) to life, Turner sold me on the idea that even an Amazon could be feminine. While Wonder Woman was usually portrayed with hulking shoulders, a square jaw and hard face, Turner brought pulled her back a bit, and instead brought out her strength and fight in her eyes, her determination and in her poise.

Michael Turner's Wonder Woman

After Michael died, I knew I wanted to pay tribute to him. Seeing as I am not a fantastic traditional artist, I decided to try and recreate one of my favorite Wonder Woman images of all time. In order to recreate it, I recruited the help of Michael Novak, a fantastic photographer who knows more than a thing or two about great lighting.
When it came time the capture the shot, Novak took no shortcuts. All in all I think shooting the pose took an hour. After every shot he would stop, look at the result, and make changes to the lighting or to my pose accordingly. After a while my arms started to hurt a bit from being suspended in the air, but it was well worth it to get the shot. While not perfect, I am very very happy with the end result of the shoot.

Having the pose dead-on meant that we didn’t have to do much in the post-processing department. However, once we did get the image into Photoshop we did some fine-tuning to make the image pop. Obviously, in the absence of an actual glowing lasso, we added the golden hue after the fact. We also brightened up the colors a bit, and removed a harsh shadow from my eye (which is why it might look a little grey in that area). After adding a smidge of texture to the background, we were done! Like I said, I am very happy with the results, and I think Michael would have been too.

Michael Turner's Wonder Woman

After getting “the shot” we took a few more Wonder Woman images in his honor. One of my favorites was holding a white rose, which reminded me of another Turner cover I had seen.
We also took some more traditional Wonder Woman images, with a projection of the Minneapolis skyline in the background. You can see all the remaining images below.
Costume Details: As far as the costume is concerned, I used my original Wonder Woman costume and modified it further. I created the wonder woman crest out of Wonderflex, which I layered after making a mold of my chest (which burned, don’t try it at home kids). I created a new belt out of Wonderflex as well, but while it looked much more realistic, it caused more problems than I anticipated. The long and short is that it didn’t hug my body right because it was too ridged. Still, it looked much better than the original one did.
For the photos, I also had to turn my skirt into something resembling the bottoms from the image. For that I carefully folded and secured all the extra fabric behind me, so you wouldn’t end up seeing it in the shot. Its not perfect – in fact it looks a bit like I am wearing a diaper – but it looks far better than the skirt would in terms of accuracy. I also finally added the tiara to my costume, also made out of Wonderflex and secured behind my hair. I didn’t end up adding the red star, but I am sure I will at some future date.

Michael Turner and I at the 2007 SDCC.

I figure a good place to end this post would be with some thoughts I put together after hearing the news that Michael had passed. The context is from a thread in the Aspen forums, where other fans were sharing their grief in his passing. More than anything I hope it illustrates that Michael will truly never be gone.

“It is still a bit bizarre to read these comments, knowing what they imply. How can Michael be gone? I sit in my office every day – which is entirely dedicated to his work – and ask myself that. How can the man who created such beauty be gone? Losing Michael was tragic. It was tragic for his family, tragic for his coworkers, tragic for the comic book industry and tragic for his fans. True, the comic industry will never be the same without him, but look what he left in his wake. Michael changed the industry. The comic book world was destined to transform the moment he put pencil to paper. Just look at the number of people who cite Michael as the reason they pursued a career in comics. He inspired the next generation of individuals who are going to push the industry beyond its limits. He awoke the imaginations of those who are going to inspire us in the coming decades. He did all that before he hit forty.

It is funny reading these comments because many of you tell my story. When I got the news of his death I momentarily felt selfish in my grief. Michael was my hero. He was the sole reason I am into comics. I felt butterflies at the thought of talking to him and I cried when I finally got a chance to meet him face to face. I felt such a deep connection with his work that it felt personal. How strange is that? Reading through these comments helps to illustrate how many people felt that same way about his work. How many people were moved by his art. How many people felt a personal connection through something printed on a page. That is magical. That is what he gave us. In that sense Michael is not gone. No, we won’t be seeing new art coming from his studio, but you can’t take back what he gave us. You can’t take back the passion and enthusiasm he instilled in all of us. For that reason, Michael, you will never be gone.”Rest in piece Michael.

It is time for another one of my cosplay features!  This time my goal was to bring Zatanna – DC’s most mischievous magician – to life.

Adam Hughes' Zatanna

This is one of those costumes that should have been easy in its execution – however it turned out to be much more complicated than I ever could have dreamed. Why does that always happen? In the end no one would realize how much work I put into the costume – which I guess means that I did a fairly decent job on it.

Because Zatanna is drawn a million different ways I decided to make her outfit a bit of my own design. I played around with the fishnets to make them more interesting and added thigh-high boots instead of her usual pumps.

The black wig came first – and since I have an affinity for curly wigs with bangs I went with that look. The tie/vest/shirt combo was difficult to decide on. Originally I had a short-sleeved white blouse with a black vest. After some thought I changed it up to a real tuxedo shirt, which needed to be cut and altered. Since Zatanna essentially wears only her skivvies for bottoms it looked a bit odd to tuck in the extra shirt fabric. I cut and sewed the shirt and fitted it with darts in the back to make it more feminine. I think I made it a bit too tight at times because it puckered in a few photos…oh-well.

Adam Hughes' Zatanna

After getting set with the shirt I moved on to the tie and vest combo. I threw the black vest out the window and went hunting for a white one. Again, it was obscenely difficult to find a vest like I had in mind in a female size. I started my hunt during prom season – so vests and bowties in general were hard to find. Eventually after searching 15+ stores I came across one at Express. Unfortunately, it cost an arm and a leg. In the end I don’t mind because it is a nice enough quality to wear with dress pants when not cosplaying. The bowtie I had to special order since they were out of stock (prom season again) and for the same reason white gloves were scarce. I eventually tracked them down at a costume store we later used as a location for our photoshoot. I found an appropriate hat there as well and added a satin ribbon around it with some hot glue.

Having already found fishnets from Hot Topic and boots (via craigslist), my last major element was the jacket. I had a few suit coats, but the goal was to find a good jacket with tails. Again – they were ridiculously hard to find. Eventually I found one small enough for me to wear at a wedding parlor. Still – as it was made for a man – it was a bit boxy and needed an unbelievable amount of altering. I had to consult my mom for that since she is a sewing expert. In the end I think we took seven plus inches off of the shoulders, waist and even tails to make everything fit better. Now it fits like a glove.

I finished off the look with a white satin-ribbon rose on my lapel and added a cummerbund to hide any extra shirt fabric showing. Add a magic wand into the mix and I was done!

The shoot was with one of my favorite photographers ever – Scott Miron. As an uber-geek himself we always have a great time. He is the one that found our shoot location, which was absolutely perfect for our theme. Above the previously-mentioned costume shop was a magicians theater. It had the whole deal – velvet curtains, large chests filled with props – even a cut-the-woman-in-half set-up. We could not have found a better place to shoot. They even let us use props as we needed them – cards, skulls, flowers and an assortment of other tricks.

I also had a fantastic makeup artist I have used many times before – Masha Chebotayeva. She did a great job vamping me up for the shoot. I used her makeup and my reference photos to try and make my expressions a bit more impish and playful – like Zatanna herself. This explains why I have a bit of a smirk going on in most of my shots.

Eric Basulda's Zatanna

We started off shooting with the full ensemble and eventually switched to some costume variants. My only complaint with the costume is that because it is made of so many components it was difficult to keep everything in place. In most of the photos my bowtie is crooked or my cummerbund shifted.

After shooting my Catwoman costume with Scott – we decided to try and create another Adam Hughes comic cover for Zatanna. We shot one of his more famous images of her levitating a skull on a self-promo poster. We tried a few more of his Zatanna images and for those I removed my white-shirt and fishnets. I also used one of Eric Basalda’s (E.Bas) Zatanna pictures as inspiration for a few shots.

I am super excited with the end results. Scott spent an admirable amount of time spicing up some of our more ambitious photos by adding special effects. The guy knows what he is doing – they turned out fantastic. I edited the remaining photos (all the ones without his watermark), which in the end needed very little work; it pays off to have a fantastic makeup artist and photographer!

So there it is – I hope you guys like how they turned out!  For one reason or another my Zatanna costume has become pretty popular on Deviant Art, and several talented artists have used it as inspiration for their own Zatanna sketches! Check out those in the gallery as well!