wholesomejoe
Active Member
I spent much of last year working on a 90's TMNT movie style costume. I'm very proud of the work I did considering I'd never sculpted or done anything like this before. I've worn it to several conventions and I've won several costume contests, and the kids and everybody in general loves it. I get tons of compliments on it. However, the problem is.. it's not very fun to wear. I can't see very good, it's extremely hot, and movement in it is minimal. I can do basic poses, but that's about it. I can't sit down, and people can't hear anything I'm saying most times. So I thought about giving it another go, this time trying to keep those things in mind...
My Donatello movie suit.
My thought process was in that in order to be able to do these things I'd have to compromise a bit on the design and wouldn't be able to do something movie accurate and keep it cost effective. I'm still on a budget. I've seen other latex suits that offer a little more mobility, but not much more than what I already have. They still look very stiff.
So my thought was, why not do a 90's cartoon version instead? For a variety of reasons.. 1. It's still a big part of my childhood. 2 Some kids were scared of my movie version, so I was thinking maybe the cartoon would be less frightening to kids? 3. It would allow me to make those compromises without compromising the look of the suits.. and since it's a cartoon there's room to get creative and not worry about total accuracy.
I also want to make all 4 so that 3 other guys/gals can join me at cons and we can have the entire team!
The first thing that is stumping me is the bodysuit. I want to stay away from using latex if possible unless it's on places where I don't need full movement.
My first thought was making a under shirt with upholstery foam, an old shirt and then "skinning" it with stretchy fabric or another stretchy shirt over the top of it to cover up the seams of the foam. Then getting really creative with paint/airbrush. If I did do latex I'd want to keep it away from joints and places where I want it to move fluidly. My other suit is a PITA to put on and take off because I didn't account for the latex shrinkage as well as I should have so it's all really freaking tight.
Any suggestions are welcome.
This is the version I am going for. I want them to still sort of look realistic, but look more friendly like these guys.
My Donatello movie suit.
My thought process was in that in order to be able to do these things I'd have to compromise a bit on the design and wouldn't be able to do something movie accurate and keep it cost effective. I'm still on a budget. I've seen other latex suits that offer a little more mobility, but not much more than what I already have. They still look very stiff.
So my thought was, why not do a 90's cartoon version instead? For a variety of reasons.. 1. It's still a big part of my childhood. 2 Some kids were scared of my movie version, so I was thinking maybe the cartoon would be less frightening to kids? 3. It would allow me to make those compromises without compromising the look of the suits.. and since it's a cartoon there's room to get creative and not worry about total accuracy.
I also want to make all 4 so that 3 other guys/gals can join me at cons and we can have the entire team!
The first thing that is stumping me is the bodysuit. I want to stay away from using latex if possible unless it's on places where I don't need full movement.
My first thought was making a under shirt with upholstery foam, an old shirt and then "skinning" it with stretchy fabric or another stretchy shirt over the top of it to cover up the seams of the foam. Then getting really creative with paint/airbrush. If I did do latex I'd want to keep it away from joints and places where I want it to move fluidly. My other suit is a PITA to put on and take off because I didn't account for the latex shrinkage as well as I should have so it's all really freaking tight.
Any suggestions are welcome.
This is the version I am going for. I want them to still sort of look realistic, but look more friendly like these guys.
