1st Costume: Darth Malak

[Anomander Rake]

Hello all,

I am brand new here and new to costume construction. What has driven me here is my interest in Star Wars costumes, and more specifically, some unnatural love for Darth Malak. Now, I know you might ask "why Malak??" and to this I will answer, 'I have no idea'. Those were apparently the cards I was dealt.

I have started watching tutorials and reading up on costume construction, learning some things about warbla and eva foam among other basics.

So my intial plan is to construct the face guard and collar from EVA, because of the density of the pieces and then make chest pecks out of EVA to mimic his musculature.

After that... well the clothing style is where I am at a complete loss and need some input. If you want to make suggestions about what I have previously mentioned feel free as well.

You can assume that I intend to make this as high of quality my skill allows.

Thanks in advance

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

Idea for the arm and leg wrappings: since they look form-fitting, take stockings and modify them to have fingers, take a large piece of maroon fabric and tack the back side with some fabric adhesives, cut them into long continuous strips and wrap them around your arm while sticking them down onto those modified stockings while wearing them. When done, cut off the hand parts so you have sleeves (or just paint them a pale skin tone color). Repeat for the legs using a pair of slim fitting pants or something.

Chest: take a similarly colored fabric and cut it to fit a little loosely over your torso. Add pleats or stitching to scrunch and wrinkle the fabric and cut up the center leaving an area for a zipper.

Sew the arms to the chest piece (and legs too if you want a onesie), add the zipper, and then add your chest bits on top of that. Personally, I'd use pleather or some material like that but that's just personal preference. Cape and belt seem easy enough to figure on your own.

 

[Anomander Rake]

That is some really good advice, I like your ideas.

What would be your suggestions for the belt, and for the area running up the center of the stomach and sternum?

Would there be a way as well to make the Cape fabric hued black and grey like that?

I appreciate your feedback, the wrapping idea might make this look a lot better then I could have planned and is relatively straightforward.

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

Well, the belt underneath the cape/belt dealy thing on the outfit, I would get two brown belts and rivet the back ends together so that the buckles faced an equidistant length in the front. Then I would take some metal and make the filigree in the middle between them, and covering the buckles as well.

The belt on top of that, I'd do something similar: get some belts, chop them up, rivet, and dress accordingly.

The cut up the sternum and belly I would use as a cover for your front zipper; using the same materials that you'd be using for the chest plates.

The cape, I would do what they did with Darth Maul's outfit; grab black fabric and dye it green on top of the black. It will read black but not completely.

 

[Anomander Rake]

So I am going to start with the arms and see what it looks like, I picked up some fabric and I selected ladies tights instead of stockings, them seem nice and... tight as well as durable.

What kind of metal and tooling do you mean for doing the filigree of the belt? I must admit, we are travelling into things that I have no experience or knowledge in.

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

All the more reason to do something unfamiliar: to learn!

You can get small sheets of aluminium or steel and metal shears at any hardware store. Make a pattern, cut and solder/weld/glue them. Or if you don't want to do that, sculpt them out of putty or worbla, whatever is to your liking.

 

[Anomander Rake]

I am finding the fabric adhesive isn't coming out to a quality I like. It is difficult to have the entirety of the wrap glued so that results in inconsistencies when removing it and during the gluing and drying process.It also can go through the fabric and create white splotches (at least the one I am using).

What would you think of sewing it through the tights, this would be done on the part of the wrap hidden underneath subsequent layers.

Would there be another alternative?

Also, thank you lol

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

Sewing could work. You could do like what another member did in the Kylo Ren thread where he sewed pleats that looked like wrappings.