black canary - sketch to suit

Last year for Comic Con, Andrea and I went as DC's greatest couple, the Green Arrow and Black Canary.
When I designed the Green Arrow suit, I wanted it to be practical, but still be heavily influenced by the iconic comic design.  With Black Canary I wanted to do the same.

The first practical problem, the leotard, which is basically fighting in a Playboy bunny outfit.  That's a tough one because without the leotard and the corresponding fish nets the Black Canary doesn't have many iconic markers.  So I kept what I could:

Most importantly is a Black Bodice.  I kept the lines of a corset top but added panels that would make it look more like high tech armor.   I also kept the crop top jacket, the gloves, the hair, the boots and the choker.  Originally I paired black pants with the bodice, but after building it out and taking it to Comic Con I felt like it wasn't iconic enough.  We ditched the pants for the shorts and fish nets (which still look more practical than a swim suit bottom).

Photoshoot and detailed costume pics to come.

black widow / black canary boots

For me, one of the hardest parts of any cosplay is the shoes... and that is saying something because making shoes is my job.  There are so many problems with trying to make custom shoes;  they are weird shapes that can be difficult to sew / pattern, finding the right materials in the right colors is a jhuge pain, plus a bunch of the superhero shoe designs out there are too crazy to be functional (I've never worn heels but I imagine fighting crime is in them is a problem).

For this project I found a pair of boots on Amazon (top left) that which had a pretty perfect sole to start with.  It  a wedge which is at least a bit more practical, they have a nice combat tread, and actually look pretty close to the Black Widow's boots in the Avengers movie (bottom left).

From there I started modifying them to look more like the Avengers design.  The key to this project was leaving the lower part of the boot alone! All that stuff down there gives a heeled shoe the necessary shape and support.  I replaced the shank with a different material, changed the shape, moved the zipper and added the eyelets and goring (fancy word for elastic).

These boots now work perfectly for both Black Widow and Black Canary!  The one aspect I am still torn on is the eyelet color.  I like the way the silver works with the Black Canary but its a bit to shiny for Black Widow so I may paint them black.

More detailed shots after the jump.

green arrow - photoshoot

Here it is!  The Green Arrow photo shoot!

Surprisingly this is the first real photo shoot I've done for one of my costumes.  I mean I've taken photos before just never really posed.  Found an industrial park, hoped up on some railings, and I think I got some great shots.

More pics after the break and more detailed shots of the suit details to come.

Emerald Archer - Sketch to Suit

Last year for Comic Con I decided to do Green Arrow.  I love the Arrow TV Show and the practical take on his suit but I felt it was missing some of the iconic features of the Green Arrow costume from the comics (primarily the gloves and the sleeve caps).

This is my original design, inspired by Arrow, the original suit, and a bit of Robin from Arkham City.

More pics and detailed shots to come!

Anna (Frozen) Running Jacket!

It's been a while since I posted.... busy with work and building costumes that I haven't really had a chance to post.  Costume photography always gets away from me.  Time to jump back in and start documenting  my cosplay portfolio!

Regardless here is my latest project!  It's an Anna Running Jacket!  Andrea loves Disney, especially Frozen, so for her birthday I wanted to make a running outfit for the next Disney Princess Half Marathon.  This is the first piece.  The Jacket design is inspired by her cape.  Honestly, this took forever to build....it just has a ton of embroidery, appliques, embroidered appliques... the thing is nuts.\

Jacket features a zip out lining and a zip off hood.  The zipper for the hood is hidden under the collar.

 More pictures after the break.