Batgirl armor: logistics and progress
Sep. 24th, 2009 08:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellymellFirst things first, tried on the shirt yesterday after a second coat of gold dried nicely (really did even things out). Unfortunately there's an issue which I did not anticipate: painting a stretch fabric on a flat surface is going to cause weird wrinkles and cracks in fabric paint that's not quite as flexible said fabric. I mean, DUH, right? I still have not heat set the paint. I think I'm going to alter the design slightly (making the center point come down farther) and then I might try to stretch the shirt more as I repaint it to take care of the cracks. The cracks only show when I'm wearing it too. When I take it off, it looks great. Doesn't help much, I guess, but at least it's not permanent damage to the paint job.
As for the wrinkling in the bust, well,I think I need bigger boobs honestly. I talked with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jkg_vader (via Twitter) about the inserts she uses for her Supergirl costume. I've ordered some of the cheapo ones as well as some double sided clothing tape (mostly for the cowl later than this issue though). I definitely should have stuck to the marks I made on the shirt with me in it instead of deviating so much to try to get things symmetrical and spread out where I thought they should go. That's another issue which stems from painting on a flat surface without the shirt at least stretched to the point that it does over my body. All part of learning I guess. Every new costume comes with a host of new lessons.
And yes, I realize I look wide eyed and crazy. It seemed that's what I had to do to get the face recognition self portrait thing to key in. Still playing with that feature. Need to find that little piece Jonah lost on the tripod so I can use it.
I'm wrestling with comic vs. action figure right now. I kind of like the pauldrons better on the comic. They seem smaller, more rounded, sleeker, and sit up on the shoulder rather than covering more of the bicep. I'm not sure if that's a better option for action (running) in this costume or not. So far, I've mocked up something that looks more like the action figure. Despite it seeming too wide, I think it works ok. I'm going to mock up something that looks more like the comic version tonight and see which I like better, then go from there. I think my overall structure is going to work though. I've got the part you see: two curved and pointed pieces joined on the outer edge which are pretty much the shape of my ulu as I noticed while cooking dinner last night. Then, I've got a 4" band that sits right up against my arm and sort of acts as a spacer and stabilizer.
This band is the part I intend to attach to the sleeve itself to hold the piece in place. First, I'm going to try snaps. If it bounces around too much or is uncomfortable, I'm going to try elastic straps. I can put button holes in the shirt, thread the straps through and then put snaps on the end of the straps that will snap onto the pauldron. That way, the straps are invisible, or at least discreet and under my clothing.
As always, all the pics are here. Hopefully I can get the comic version done tonight so that I can perhaps start working on the finals tomorrow. Then I guess I'll move on to gauntlets and work my way down to greaves and then finally, that tricky helmet/cowl. As far as attachment for the other pieces, I plan on using the same attachment method for all the pieces.
As for the wrinkling in the bust, well,I think I need bigger boobs honestly. I talked with
jkg_vader (via Twitter) about the inserts she uses for her Supergirl costume. I've ordered some of the cheapo ones as well as some double sided clothing tape (mostly for the cowl later than this issue though). I definitely should have stuck to the marks I made on the shirt with me in it instead of deviating so much to try to get things symmetrical and spread out where I thought they should go. That's another issue which stems from painting on a flat surface without the shirt at least stretched to the point that it does over my body. All part of learning I guess. Every new costume comes with a host of new lessons. And yes, I realize I look wide eyed and crazy. It seemed that's what I had to do to get the face recognition self portrait thing to key in. Still playing with that feature. Need to find that little piece Jonah lost on the tripod so I can use it.
I'm wrestling with comic vs. action figure right now. I kind of like the pauldrons better on the comic. They seem smaller, more rounded, sleeker, and sit up on the shoulder rather than covering more of the bicep. I'm not sure if that's a better option for action (running) in this costume or not. So far, I've mocked up something that looks more like the action figure. Despite it seeming too wide, I think it works ok. I'm going to mock up something that looks more like the comic version tonight and see which I like better, then go from there. I think my overall structure is going to work though. I've got the part you see: two curved and pointed pieces joined on the outer edge which are pretty much the shape of my ulu as I noticed while cooking dinner last night. Then, I've got a 4" band that sits right up against my arm and sort of acts as a spacer and stabilizer.
This band is the part I intend to attach to the sleeve itself to hold the piece in place. First, I'm going to try snaps. If it bounces around too much or is uncomfortable, I'm going to try elastic straps. I can put button holes in the shirt, thread the straps through and then put snaps on the end of the straps that will snap onto the pauldron. That way, the straps are invisible, or at least discreet and under my clothing.
As always, all the pics are here. Hopefully I can get the comic version done tonight so that I can perhaps start working on the finals tomorrow. Then I guess I'll move on to gauntlets and work my way down to greaves and then finally, that tricky helmet/cowl. As far as attachment for the other pieces, I plan on using the same attachment method for all the pieces.
