Zanandi Botes
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When it comes to Halloween costumes, we tend to grab a stack of paper plates, draw a bunch of hearts and rainbows and other shit on 'em, loop them with a long string, say we're "Care Bears," and call it a night. Meanwhile, these people went so far above and beyond that we'd be ashamed to be at the same party as them. And the best part is that you can make these costumes yourself, in case you want to annihilate your local contest.
Not only is this a great Halloween costume, but you can also use it to intimidate your DM at your next D&D night. And a great tutorial by one Chris Mouser shows how deceptively easy it is to make. The petal-like headpiece is made out of Fosshape (theater nerd foam), with a chinstrap to keep that sucker on your head.
ChrisMouser/imgurGot the leftover tulip costume from a school play? Great! You're halfway to being a nightmare predator from beyond the veil of reality.
Then the gooey paste applied over it comes from a mix of latex house paint, food coloring, and flour. Please do not confuse this with the cookie batter recipe we've also given you.
Oh, and you'll need stilts.
ChrisMouser/imgurFrom here, you just need some paint and mood lighting, and you'll be all set to turn trick-or-treaters off the holiday forever.
This is the DIY costume that keeps on giving, because you can wear it every year that a new season of Stranger Things drops. Which, knowing Netflix, will be every year forever.
Remember that beast Luke killed in Jabba's palace? Of course you do, you big nerd. Rancors are huge, but it's surprisingly easy to build this costume if you have some time and money on your hands.
Jeremy FisherFunny how many doors those two things seem to open in life.
This monstrosity was built by Jeremy Fischer, an LA artist. Not wanting to look like just another guy in a suit, Fisher added a swaying head and a movable jaw to his design. He started off by building a PVC skeleton rigged to the frame of a backpack.
The mouth is made of corrugated plastic and medium-density fiberboard, with the jaw hinging just like a human's. The head and jaw were then sculpted in wet clay and cast in WonderFlex (more theater nerd crud).
Jeremy FisherApparently we need to see more theater.
The body is all bent PVC, hula hoops, and various types of foam.
Jeremy FisherBecause nothing works in a crowded convention hall like dozens of hula hoops.
And yes, it's totally possible to walk around in it, no doubt startling people in the process.
There are Rocket Raccoon costumes you can buy off the shelf, and there's probably only a small amount of roadkill and lead in them. But if you really want to impress your kid, and maybe get a shout-out from James Gunn in the process, you make your own dang Rocket Raccoon.
Christina Borchardt's creation includes a movable jaw, and she also planned to add a fan to keep her son physically cool while he was busy being figuratively cool.
And all it took was some rudimentary costume supplies, several months of work, and a child who had no issues with posing as a Silent Hill monster for the planning stage.
Hell, next year, just send him out like that.
Related: The 35 Most Insane Halloween Costumes From Around The World
Skyrim came out in 2011, which means that many people are only just now finishing the 8,000-hour game. And now that you've finally done that, why not launch an equally ambitious craft project?
Boris Mzhen/Therpf.comThere's a photo that's going straight to the dating profile.
The detailed tutorial will give you everything you need to dress like a demon, and the Elder Scrolls wiki can tell you everything you need to launch into a three-hour lecture that begins with "Actually, the daedra shouldn't be considered demons because-"
Boris Mzhen/Therpf.comBe careful when you answer that with a rude gesture. Those points could put someone's eye out.
The armor is made of foam and hot glue, and the details are added with more foam, acrylic paint, and varnish. That glossy look comes from using Mod Podge (art kid crap).
Boris Mzhen/Therpf.comWe're beginning to think we gave up on arts and crafts too early.
Oh yeah, and those are LED eyes. The wiring is pretty simple for anyone who can read a basic manual and wants to inevitably summon the power of evil.
For those of you not familiar with World Of Warcraft, Grommash Hellscream is the legendary orc from the Warsong clan who freed his people from ... ugh, who cares. The point is that he looks cool.
Spiral CatsYou can write a dozen novels' worth of lore, but all of that pales in comparison to the fact that he's a dude with a pieced tooth.
If you want to know where to start with this beast of a suit, check out the creators' interviews, in which they talk about making the giant costume and accompanying ax as light as possible. You need to keep the weight down, unless you have the physical strength of an orc yourself.
Spiral CatsThough nothing makes you feel like a weakling quite like keeping the weight down so you can lift fake muscles.
They also had to make their own wig because the head is so insanely huge, but that won't be a problem for you, what with all that hair you no doubt have lying around your basement.
Spiral CatsAlong with fur, leather scraps, decorative skulls ... in retrospect, maybe it's just us with a basement like that.
The eyes are important too, because you want to use a lens with a pupil small enough to get that "your skull looks like Halloween candy to me" vibe. It's not an easy project, but there are tutorials that show you exactly how to make this suit, assuming you can adjust your WoW playing schedule to accommodate the time commitment.
So maybe monsters and demons aren't your thing, and you'd rather your friends think that you've taken a shotgun blast to the fucking stomach. Hey, costume fashion is subjective. What's important is that we finally get to talk about gaping holes without getting censored.
This one's for the tech-minded, because you'll need to have two iPads and good WiFi handy to maintain a live feed. A tutorial by Mark Rober shows how to get it done. Simply cut holes in a shirt, add fake blood around the cuts, then set up a FaceTime call between the two iPads. Duct tape one to your front and one to your back, and the iPad in front will show what the one on your back sees, and vice versa.
Mark Rober/YouTubeTo get younger kids involved in the fun, try using this costume for the world's most alarming game of peekaboo.
Then it's a matter of creating some warped scenario explaining why you're walking around with a hole through your gut, and praying that Apple's crappy batteries last through the night.
If you're not familiar with the Halo universe, the Elites are aliens who sometimes try to shoot you and sometimes try to help you shoot other aliens. You only need to know that and the fact that special effects artist Peter Mander made a goddamn incredible costume of one.
Pete Mander GFXThe photo wasn't labeled, but we think that's him in the back.
It's mostly made out of plastic, and it stands seven feet tall, making you ready for both Halloween night and your cosplay basketball league.
Pete Mander GFXOr only wear this part to piss off people at concerts.
While this particular creation might be straining the limits of your DIY abilities, Mander is self-taught, so in theory, there's no reason you can't watch his making-of video and start stalking the neighborhood as an alien monstrosity too. At least, not from a technical standpoint, anyway.
Zanandi will be judging everyone's Halloween outfits on Twitter this year. Follow her.
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