Tiago Svn
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Zanandi Botes
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Alyssa Feller
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You want to wear that "This Is My Costume" T-shirt again this Halloween, you go right on ahead. We won't stop you. Hell, last year, our costume was "partygoer who didn't realize it was a costume party." Pretty deep, abstract stuff which we use to justify being lazy. On the complete and total opposite end of the spectrum are these people, who really went the extra mile for their costumes ... while running backwards, and somehow upside-down. Cool it, folks, you're making the rest of look bad. Well, worse ...
There are two ways you can "show a little flesh" this Halloween. One is by ordering the Slutty Trump costume which we're certain exists but can't muster the courage to Google. The other is by ripping your own goddamned face off.
If the second method sounds like your cup o' tea, all you'll need is a cheap plastic mask, some wax, a boatload of liquid latex, a few office supplies, and an utter disregard for gettin' laid (by anybody except the guy dressed as Pinhead, anyway).
Once your mask is ready, you'll complete the effect by creating a convincing gash around the perimeter of your eyeballs using liquid latex, a glue stick, and some tissues, then applying a masterpiece in movie-quality special effects makeup. You'll be ready to attend the annual Cenobite Masquerade Ball in no time!
And speaking of Cenobites, allow us to introduce you to Pinhead's asshole cousin, Zipperface:
This look can be achieved in much the same way as the flesh mask, with the obvious addition of one craft store zipper. The key to making it convincing is to be sure the latex applied to the "unzipped" portion of your face is sufficiently tattered, a process that's even more horrifying than the end result:
At first glance, the dimensions here look all wrong. Proportionally, the Jawa and BB-8 are fine, but if that's a normal-sized human being, that's one hell of a hulked-out droid. When you see it in action, though, it all makes sense:
Wait, how is there a tiny Jawa carrying BB-8, while both of them move their heads and make noises? Is it two Ukrainian gymnasts stacked atop one another? A look at cosplayer Jen Yates with the in-process costume gives you some insight:
Her head is inside BB-8's, while her body is concealed inside the Jawa's rucksack. She "sees" through the minuscule gap between the droid's head and its body. Even more incredibly, the entire getup was created by Jen and her husband John using cheap, easily obtainable materials. First they sculpted BB-8 by covering two exercise balls with papier mache and plaster:
Then they constructed a framing contraption which was pulled directly from our nightmares:
Next they added LED eyeballs, molded some fake Jawa hands from wire, covered the whole shebang in hand-dyed, distressed fabric, and voila! You win the holy hell out of that costume contest.
That's not a promotional still from a Marvel film, but a big pile of cardboard and the end result of 14 months of painstaking work by Englishman Mark Pearson. Apparently, his superpower is Advanced Recycling.
He used more than 400 sheets of cardboard, to be precise, which he then covered in fiberglass to arrive at the final, rigid model. And speaking of rigid models, Pearson ain't one. As such, he was forced to turn to local supermarket manager Darren Higgins when it came time to don the suit for the Avengers movie premiere:
If you're looking for something a bit more functional, look no further than Anthony "Master" Le's take on the Iron Man suit, which comes complete with a motorized helmet ...
... shoulder missiles ...
... and CO2-powered flight stabilizers / post-convention fart vents:
Or how about we go bigger? Like, Hulkbuster bigger?
That right there is the towering handiwork of one Tom DePetrillo, who constructed his 100-pound Hulkbuster suit using a combination of corrugated polycarbonate, EVA foam, green lasers, RGB lighting, and a blatant disregard for his own noggin.
DePetrillo sunk 1,600 hours of labor into this masterpiece, so the only way you're going to complete something comparable by Halloween is with the benefit of both time travel and amphetamines.
Halloween is simply not complete without an appearance by the crown prince of evil himself, and cosplayer Joshua Smith knows how to line up that celebrity appearance on a budget. Taking his cue from Diablo III's interpretation, Smith constructed a convincing recreation of the Actual Terrifying Goddamn Devil, complete with stilts, LED effects, and a working jaw lined with what we're convinced are working fangs. And he did it all for a mere $250. And possibly some sort of "deal" with some sort of "adversary" for the raw talent.
Smith sculpted the costume in a mere two weeks using foam, glue, aluminum foil, more foam, more glue, and more aluminum foil. He hand-painted the entire thing before modeling his masterwork on YouTube. And while it's funny to watch this nine-foot monstrosity stalk Smith's dining room in a vain attempt to find a door wide enough for its horns, you don't get the complete effect until it gets dark. That's when the LEDs in its head and chest come out to play and you swear never to get high on Halloween again.
That's photographer and huge nerd Tyler Card, who went as a camera for Halloween. Now, going as your profession alone might induce some groans and well-deserved eye rolls, but when you transform yourself into a fully functional human camera? Maybe we take back the "huge nerd" comment. Wait, no we don't. But we do say it in a much more respectful tone.
Utilizing a five-gallon bucket and a whole lot of the artist's best friend (cardboard), Tyler constructed a convincing giant facsimile of a Nikon D3, and everything works. Pressing the shutter release causes the flash to go off, and the resulting photo is displayed on the enormous LCD screen on the back.
It's easier to construct than you might think. In 2016, photographer Bryan Troll created his own version, using the mandatory five-gallon bucket and around a hundred bucks' worth of "cardboard, tape, rubber cement, Plexiglas, and spray paint." Oh, plus the thousands of dollars in camera equipment it takes to put the "fun" in "functional." But can you really put a price on the joy that such an amazing costume will bring to your friends and fellow partygoers?
Follow Alyssa on Twitter, because she needs more followers. Zanandi hates Halloween ... or does she? Follow her on Twitter.
Some simple foam sheets can take your costume game to the next level. It can also help you work on your next project if you're already some kind of magical pro who can make things in ways we don't understand! Seriously, are some of you actually magic??
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