TechnoHeathen
New Member
I've basically done this backwards but I'm sure you folks won't mind.
Jist is, I did up a Borderlands 2 Psycho costume and wore it to an event in Sydney Australia. (Sydney Supanova.)
After it was all said and done I found myself quite pleased with the result so I decided to post some pics in the Costume Showcase forum: http://www.therpf.com/f67/ive-got-shiniest-meat-bicycle-aka-borderlands-2-psycho-cosplay-189623/
A few people showed interest in a step-by-step so I did one up!
Apologies for it being quite long but the trade-off is that it's exceptionally detailed!
So here's a breakdown of what I did to bring this jittering psycho to life.
The mask
First and foremost is the mask. There's no two ways about it, it's THE most essential part of the entire costume - you've got get yourself a quality one. A crappy mask will bring the entire cosplay down.
I bought mine via Etsy off a very talented and experienced crafter who goes by: NetherWolfeDesigns.
Old mate NetherWolfe makes the masks on demand and even has battle damaged and zombie variations. Custom paint jobs are also available. So if you're after a pink bandit mask for your girlfriend, or one with a nice little drawing of Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony on the cheek, (you ****ing loser) simply contact and request.
All I needed to do to fit the mask properly to my head was add an extra loop to the leather straps. (Similar to the way you'd add a loop in a standard waist belt.)
The smoked lenses coupled with the LED lights do make it a little difficult to see at distance while you’re in the mask, so I advise you either bring a mate to usher you around during cosplay or walk with a bit of a slow swagger to mind your steps.
For those interested in the technical specs: ``The masks are cast in lightweight resin, with leather straps and have blue LED eyes behind smoked lenses. Each Mask is Cast from Smoothcast 300 series resin with riveted straps. The LEDs are powered by a single CR2032 watch battery and can be turned on or off via a small slide switch inside the mask.''
Sorted. All up, it cost about $180 dollars for the mask and shipping. (From the US to AUS) Feel free to shop around if that's a bit pricy or you don't quite like the NetherWolfe design, BUT! If you take one lesson from this entire article let it be this: GET A HIGH QUALITY MASK.
The axe
This addition is somewhat superfluous in that it’s not 100% necessary. From my perspective however, it was just too beautiful to pass up.
This axe was, again, found via etsy, but this time off a chap named Captainhask.
It pretty much speaks for itself in terms of quality and style (both exceptional) but it is a little pricey.
From first contact with the crafter to physically having it in my hand took about 2 weeks and set me back $420 odd bucks. (Shipping from the US to Australia.)
Couple of thoughts upon receiving the axe: It’s much bigger than I expected, much heavier than I expected and… pretty monochromatic. Everything about the axe is brown/rusty. Don’t get me wrong, that’s 100% accurate to the in-game character design but I felt the blade needed a bit of extra zazz. Simple solution, spray paint it. I used some chrome spray paint (the same used on the knee and shin pads, detailed later.) and gave it a light coat. Easy!
If you want to add some authentic flare to your costume, I can highly recommend both the axe but... the price tag means it's not for everybody.
The gloves
Nice and simple. A pair of ``leather driving gloves'' found on eBay. This particular pair was purchased through a company called SOUTHCOMBE. The variant is called `Men's Unlined Leather Driving Glove.' Out of all the available styles on eBay, (there are hundreds of them) I found these to be the closest to the real thing - but they are among the most expensive. (Seems to be a bit of a trend.)
If you go with these gloves, keep in mind that SOUTHCOMBE is a British company, so you're going to be paying in Great British Pounds and the conversion rate sucks. All in all you're looking at about $60 for the gloves and shipping.
Once I received them, I simply cut the thumb, index and ring finger covers off the right handed glove with a pair of kitchen scissors.
The pants
Standard pair of orange pants. (If you can call orange pants standard.)
I purchased these at a Glue store in Penrith (lol Glue) and, literally, had about ten different styles to choose from. There were that many orange pant variations in store, I was blown away.
The only noteworthy part of the entire pants saga is in the fitting of the leather straps.
In my original costume, from 2012, (I did a crappy version of this costume in 2012) I had a series of black fabric belts tied around my legs.
They did the job well enough but because they had nothing to secure them in place, they kept falling down while I moved about throughout the day.
This time I skirted that particular issue by having a number of belt loops sewn into the pants themselves. (Thanks nan) With the loops holding the belts up, I could keep the straps reasonably loose but maintain the effect of having them tightly secured around my leg.
The pair of orange pants set me back about $30 bucks. As for the loops, my nan had the material on hand to sew in the extra belt loops.
Should you not have a nan handy to do the same for you, give it a crack yourself with a needle and thread (it's actually pretty easy) or take your pants to a tailors/fabric alteration store. And seriously, those loops are a lifesaver - the falling straps annoyed the **** out of me the first time.
The belts/leather straps
Again, nothing but a trip to my local Glue store to sort this one!
I grabbed three similar looking leather belts and tied them around my legs using the improv belt loops.
Once I had a rough idea of the length required, I marked both a point on the belt to add a hole for the buckle and the point at which the belt should end. (Unless you're quadzilla your legs should be smaller in circumference than your waist. You could simply continuously wrap the belt around until you run out of space but... Whatevs. I chose to cut it.)
Once that was done I cut the belts using my trusty pair of kitchen scissors then added the buckle holes by heating a kebab skewer over the stove and poking it through.
Nice and simple! Plus the resulting smell of charred leather made my house smell like a tannery and that gets the bitches wet.
Three random leather belts set me back $60 total.
Kneepad(s)
Because Psychos are a cobbled mess of parts and pieces, there are no hard and fast rules on style. As such, I took a few creative liberties with the knee and shin pads. (Detailed later.)
The pads themselves were found and purchased via eBay.
There are hundreds of kneepad variations online but I chose these because of their tight fitting Velcro straps and hard plastic surface.
Once the pads were delivered, took about 2 weeks for shipping, I gave the hard knee surface a quick gloss over with bright chrome spray paint. (You can grab spray paint at any local hardware store, I purchased mine from Bunnings in South Penrith.) Be sure to shield the fabric part of the pad from the paint so it doesn't smudge over. An hour or so later, I lightly sprayed over the chrome with a secondary, rusty-looking, colour. I also did this hap-hazardly to give the illusion of messiness.
Once I was happy with the pattern, I left the pads to dry overnight and came back the next morning with a screw driver.
Using the screw driver I scratched up the surface of the kneepads with deep parallel lines to make it look slightly more weathered.
You only need one kneepad for the costume so I picked the one I liked the most and shelved the runner up.
Pads and shipping cost about $20 and add another $20 odd for the paint.
Shin pads
Some variations of the Psycho design don't include shin pads but I wanted to add them to costume because of an interesting idea I had about how to craft and implement them.
Much like the kneepads, I started by buying a pair of generic pads, only I didn't use the internet this time because I couldn't find one I liked.
This particular pair was purchased at the big Rebel Sport in Penrith Plaza - I chose them because of the raised design on the surface of the pad.
For continuity sake, I sprayed both shin pads with the same chrome and rust colours found on the kneepads - so just repeat the steps above.
Then I got a little creative.
Using a standard battery operated power drill, I drilled a number of pilot holes directly through the pad. Once I had a few holes of varying size, I screwed or simply slotted a number of bolts and screws into the pads.
With some of the larger bolts, I then had to remove them and cut the protrusions down to size - so they didn't poke into my leg once the pad was firmly secured in place.
After I had a nice selection of bolts firmly secured into both pads and filed/cut down to size, I lightly sprayed each with an additional coat of paint. Some chrome, some rust, just to keep it nice and messy.
Pads cost $15 bucks. The various screws and bolts were things I just had lying around in the shed.
The bandages
Classic... Seven sentence entry for this one.
Bought a pair of hand wraps typically used by boxers and MMA fighters.
(Got mine from the same Rebel Sport mentioned above.)
They had a big black brand logo on them so I cut it off at the stitching using a razor blade.
Wrap those suckers up your arm(s) as tightly as you like and secure it at the top with a pin on the underside.
Good to go.
$10 bucks.
Boots
Another easy one!
Although tan boots might work a bit better, given the overall colour pallet of the psycho costume, I happened to have a pair of thick black work boots on hand.
Nothing special, just a remnant from my time spent as a back dock storeman.
As long as you've got a pair of boots/shoes that are sturdy and comfortable to prance in, you're set. The length of the pants and the addition of the shin pads pretty much cover all but the tippy toes of the boots anyway.
(This pair was about $150 dollars but you shouldn't need to go out and buy a pair of boots/shoes specially for the costume, so I won't include their cost in the final tally.)
Body paint
A quintessential but somewhat problematic part of the costume, (for those lacking in artistic talent) the paint helped give my psycho a bit of pizazz!
At first I looked for traditional body paint, the water-wash off kind, but it wasn't ideal - too smudgey or likely to sweat off/rub off.
The solution was as simple as googling `cosplay body paint.'
Although there isn't a standard body paint you can simply buy, there is a way to mix a few paints together to create a vibrant, smudge proof, water proof, sweat proof paint that won’t flake off throughout the day.
It's called PAX paint and is commonly used for full body cosplay work.
I found out how to make via cosplay forums and youtube.
PAX Body Paint Tutorial - YouTube
PAX body paint overview and review! - Cosplay.com
The process is as follows: Mix any regular acrylic paint with a product called Pros-Aide No-Tack - a professional make-up effect product. Simple!
However it can only be removed with `Pros-Aide Remover.' So make sure you order some of that to go with it. Unless you like being blue...or red, or whatever.
It doesn't apply sticky but I brushed myself down with baby powder afterwards just to make sure there was no residue or tackiness
Just from a practical standpoint, I had a friend apply the paint, but first she sketched the initial design on with some brown eyeliner.
The only complication I encountered with the paint process was actually in the shipping. Pros-Aide products are not widely sold in Australia. I had to buy them from an American website and the shipping cost was ridiculous. I managed to skirt that issue by sending it to a friend already within the US who then forwarded it on to me! Brilliant.
Bout $60 for the paint/remover and shipping costs, then another $30 for the various brushes used in the application.
Total cost
$885
Keep in mind that about HALF of that total is comes from axe.
And there you have it!
Again for a couple of `finished product' shots hit up my thead on the Showcase forum: http://www.therpf.com/f67/ive-got-shiniest-meat-bicycle-aka-borderlands-2-psycho-cosplay-189623/
But those were the steps taken and materials procured to bring a Borderlands 2 Psycho to life.
Once you break it down into individual pieces, it really isn't all that intimidating.
Provided you can get your hands on a solid mask, I reckon this cosplay is a fantastic place for newbies to start.
Questions and comments are more than welcome so leave a little something below or drop me a private message or hit me up on Facebook: facebook.com/daniel.walker.104.
<3
Jist is, I did up a Borderlands 2 Psycho costume and wore it to an event in Sydney Australia. (Sydney Supanova.)
After it was all said and done I found myself quite pleased with the result so I decided to post some pics in the Costume Showcase forum: http://www.therpf.com/f67/ive-got-shiniest-meat-bicycle-aka-borderlands-2-psycho-cosplay-189623/
A few people showed interest in a step-by-step so I did one up!
Apologies for it being quite long but the trade-off is that it's exceptionally detailed!
So here's a breakdown of what I did to bring this jittering psycho to life.
The mask
First and foremost is the mask. There's no two ways about it, it's THE most essential part of the entire costume - you've got get yourself a quality one. A crappy mask will bring the entire cosplay down.
I bought mine via Etsy off a very talented and experienced crafter who goes by: NetherWolfeDesigns.
Old mate NetherWolfe makes the masks on demand and even has battle damaged and zombie variations. Custom paint jobs are also available. So if you're after a pink bandit mask for your girlfriend, or one with a nice little drawing of Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony on the cheek, (you ****ing loser) simply contact and request.
All I needed to do to fit the mask properly to my head was add an extra loop to the leather straps. (Similar to the way you'd add a loop in a standard waist belt.)
The smoked lenses coupled with the LED lights do make it a little difficult to see at distance while you’re in the mask, so I advise you either bring a mate to usher you around during cosplay or walk with a bit of a slow swagger to mind your steps.
For those interested in the technical specs: ``The masks are cast in lightweight resin, with leather straps and have blue LED eyes behind smoked lenses. Each Mask is Cast from Smoothcast 300 series resin with riveted straps. The LEDs are powered by a single CR2032 watch battery and can be turned on or off via a small slide switch inside the mask.''
Sorted. All up, it cost about $180 dollars for the mask and shipping. (From the US to AUS) Feel free to shop around if that's a bit pricy or you don't quite like the NetherWolfe design, BUT! If you take one lesson from this entire article let it be this: GET A HIGH QUALITY MASK.
The axe
This addition is somewhat superfluous in that it’s not 100% necessary. From my perspective however, it was just too beautiful to pass up.
This axe was, again, found via etsy, but this time off a chap named Captainhask.
It pretty much speaks for itself in terms of quality and style (both exceptional) but it is a little pricey.
From first contact with the crafter to physically having it in my hand took about 2 weeks and set me back $420 odd bucks. (Shipping from the US to Australia.)
Couple of thoughts upon receiving the axe: It’s much bigger than I expected, much heavier than I expected and… pretty monochromatic. Everything about the axe is brown/rusty. Don’t get me wrong, that’s 100% accurate to the in-game character design but I felt the blade needed a bit of extra zazz. Simple solution, spray paint it. I used some chrome spray paint (the same used on the knee and shin pads, detailed later.) and gave it a light coat. Easy!
If you want to add some authentic flare to your costume, I can highly recommend both the axe but... the price tag means it's not for everybody.
The gloves
Nice and simple. A pair of ``leather driving gloves'' found on eBay. This particular pair was purchased through a company called SOUTHCOMBE. The variant is called `Men's Unlined Leather Driving Glove.' Out of all the available styles on eBay, (there are hundreds of them) I found these to be the closest to the real thing - but they are among the most expensive. (Seems to be a bit of a trend.)
If you go with these gloves, keep in mind that SOUTHCOMBE is a British company, so you're going to be paying in Great British Pounds and the conversion rate sucks. All in all you're looking at about $60 for the gloves and shipping.
Once I received them, I simply cut the thumb, index and ring finger covers off the right handed glove with a pair of kitchen scissors.
The pants
Standard pair of orange pants. (If you can call orange pants standard.)
I purchased these at a Glue store in Penrith (lol Glue) and, literally, had about ten different styles to choose from. There were that many orange pant variations in store, I was blown away.
The only noteworthy part of the entire pants saga is in the fitting of the leather straps.
In my original costume, from 2012, (I did a crappy version of this costume in 2012) I had a series of black fabric belts tied around my legs.
They did the job well enough but because they had nothing to secure them in place, they kept falling down while I moved about throughout the day.
This time I skirted that particular issue by having a number of belt loops sewn into the pants themselves. (Thanks nan) With the loops holding the belts up, I could keep the straps reasonably loose but maintain the effect of having them tightly secured around my leg.
The pair of orange pants set me back about $30 bucks. As for the loops, my nan had the material on hand to sew in the extra belt loops.
Should you not have a nan handy to do the same for you, give it a crack yourself with a needle and thread (it's actually pretty easy) or take your pants to a tailors/fabric alteration store. And seriously, those loops are a lifesaver - the falling straps annoyed the **** out of me the first time.
The belts/leather straps
Again, nothing but a trip to my local Glue store to sort this one!
I grabbed three similar looking leather belts and tied them around my legs using the improv belt loops.
Once I had a rough idea of the length required, I marked both a point on the belt to add a hole for the buckle and the point at which the belt should end. (Unless you're quadzilla your legs should be smaller in circumference than your waist. You could simply continuously wrap the belt around until you run out of space but... Whatevs. I chose to cut it.)
Once that was done I cut the belts using my trusty pair of kitchen scissors then added the buckle holes by heating a kebab skewer over the stove and poking it through.
Nice and simple! Plus the resulting smell of charred leather made my house smell like a tannery and that gets the bitches wet.
Three random leather belts set me back $60 total.
Kneepad(s)
Because Psychos are a cobbled mess of parts and pieces, there are no hard and fast rules on style. As such, I took a few creative liberties with the knee and shin pads. (Detailed later.)
The pads themselves were found and purchased via eBay.
There are hundreds of kneepad variations online but I chose these because of their tight fitting Velcro straps and hard plastic surface.
Once the pads were delivered, took about 2 weeks for shipping, I gave the hard knee surface a quick gloss over with bright chrome spray paint. (You can grab spray paint at any local hardware store, I purchased mine from Bunnings in South Penrith.) Be sure to shield the fabric part of the pad from the paint so it doesn't smudge over. An hour or so later, I lightly sprayed over the chrome with a secondary, rusty-looking, colour. I also did this hap-hazardly to give the illusion of messiness.
Once I was happy with the pattern, I left the pads to dry overnight and came back the next morning with a screw driver.
Using the screw driver I scratched up the surface of the kneepads with deep parallel lines to make it look slightly more weathered.
You only need one kneepad for the costume so I picked the one I liked the most and shelved the runner up.
Pads and shipping cost about $20 and add another $20 odd for the paint.
Shin pads
Some variations of the Psycho design don't include shin pads but I wanted to add them to costume because of an interesting idea I had about how to craft and implement them.
Much like the kneepads, I started by buying a pair of generic pads, only I didn't use the internet this time because I couldn't find one I liked.
This particular pair was purchased at the big Rebel Sport in Penrith Plaza - I chose them because of the raised design on the surface of the pad.
For continuity sake, I sprayed both shin pads with the same chrome and rust colours found on the kneepads - so just repeat the steps above.
Then I got a little creative.
Using a standard battery operated power drill, I drilled a number of pilot holes directly through the pad. Once I had a few holes of varying size, I screwed or simply slotted a number of bolts and screws into the pads.
With some of the larger bolts, I then had to remove them and cut the protrusions down to size - so they didn't poke into my leg once the pad was firmly secured in place.
After I had a nice selection of bolts firmly secured into both pads and filed/cut down to size, I lightly sprayed each with an additional coat of paint. Some chrome, some rust, just to keep it nice and messy.
Pads cost $15 bucks. The various screws and bolts were things I just had lying around in the shed.
The bandages
Classic... Seven sentence entry for this one.
Bought a pair of hand wraps typically used by boxers and MMA fighters.
(Got mine from the same Rebel Sport mentioned above.)
They had a big black brand logo on them so I cut it off at the stitching using a razor blade.
Wrap those suckers up your arm(s) as tightly as you like and secure it at the top with a pin on the underside.
Good to go.
$10 bucks.
Boots
Another easy one!
Although tan boots might work a bit better, given the overall colour pallet of the psycho costume, I happened to have a pair of thick black work boots on hand.
Nothing special, just a remnant from my time spent as a back dock storeman.
As long as you've got a pair of boots/shoes that are sturdy and comfortable to prance in, you're set. The length of the pants and the addition of the shin pads pretty much cover all but the tippy toes of the boots anyway.
(This pair was about $150 dollars but you shouldn't need to go out and buy a pair of boots/shoes specially for the costume, so I won't include their cost in the final tally.)
Body paint
A quintessential but somewhat problematic part of the costume, (for those lacking in artistic talent) the paint helped give my psycho a bit of pizazz!
At first I looked for traditional body paint, the water-wash off kind, but it wasn't ideal - too smudgey or likely to sweat off/rub off.
The solution was as simple as googling `cosplay body paint.'
Although there isn't a standard body paint you can simply buy, there is a way to mix a few paints together to create a vibrant, smudge proof, water proof, sweat proof paint that won’t flake off throughout the day.
It's called PAX paint and is commonly used for full body cosplay work.
I found out how to make via cosplay forums and youtube.
PAX Body Paint Tutorial - YouTube
PAX body paint overview and review! - Cosplay.com
The process is as follows: Mix any regular acrylic paint with a product called Pros-Aide No-Tack - a professional make-up effect product. Simple!
However it can only be removed with `Pros-Aide Remover.' So make sure you order some of that to go with it. Unless you like being blue...or red, or whatever.
It doesn't apply sticky but I brushed myself down with baby powder afterwards just to make sure there was no residue or tackiness
Just from a practical standpoint, I had a friend apply the paint, but first she sketched the initial design on with some brown eyeliner.
The only complication I encountered with the paint process was actually in the shipping. Pros-Aide products are not widely sold in Australia. I had to buy them from an American website and the shipping cost was ridiculous. I managed to skirt that issue by sending it to a friend already within the US who then forwarded it on to me! Brilliant.
Bout $60 for the paint/remover and shipping costs, then another $30 for the various brushes used in the application.
Total cost
$885
Keep in mind that about HALF of that total is comes from axe.
And there you have it!
Again for a couple of `finished product' shots hit up my thead on the Showcase forum: http://www.therpf.com/f67/ive-got-shiniest-meat-bicycle-aka-borderlands-2-psycho-cosplay-189623/
But those were the steps taken and materials procured to bring a Borderlands 2 Psycho to life.
Once you break it down into individual pieces, it really isn't all that intimidating.
Provided you can get your hands on a solid mask, I reckon this cosplay is a fantastic place for newbies to start.
Questions and comments are more than welcome so leave a little something below or drop me a private message or hit me up on Facebook: facebook.com/daniel.walker.104.
<3
