Chad Lesher
New Member
First Post! Yay! Anyway - I've stalked these forums for years... Love whats going on here. Normally I skulk around the BOTB forums but I've decided to branch out my costume builds a little and get some variety away from Batman... OK - So I am a very, very good fabricator. I work very well with wood, foam, paint, metals, ect... (I went to film school - lots of experience with props) The problem is that fabric and I don't have a good history. I *can* and have worked with fabric, but I'm humble enough to recognize that my fabric knowledge and costuming skill isn't quite up to the level that my prop skill.
Back-stories aside, I decided to do a Man of Steel Costume this year for Halloween. A good friend always has a sweet party where almost everyone puts effort into their costumes and I have a reputation for usually putting together something killer. Since my fabric skills aren't the best and you can't really make a superman costume out of anything but, I took a gamble and ordered one of those Chinese Zentai costumes. (They cost about the same price as the officially licensed stuff but they give me the handmade look I much prefer over the store-bought, generic, printed look... They all come from China anyway...)
Here is a pic of the suit that I ordered:
Looks decent right? I've seen a "shiny" one and one with black fabric instead of silver for the metallic looking designs and cuffs on the suit. Personally, I like this look. I feel like its a great base. I got it in the mail yesterday... I will say it is nicely done. The fabric isn't expensive stuff but the sewing and the dimensions of the suit are well done (for the money) in my opinion. (Any seamstress here in the states wouldn't even consider sewing a pair of boot covers for less than $50) My only gripe is that the emblem on the suit that I received is the classic superman emblem, not the man of steel emblem that you see in the picture above. It looks more like this emblem:
Honestly, its not really a big enough deal for me to send the costume all the way back to China. Everything else about the suit is great (for the price). I'm very tall and the lady representing the company did a wonderful job discussing my measurements with me and keeping me informed of the progress of the order. The suit fits well with enough room for a muscle suit underneath.
I have no issues making a muscle suit - been doing those for years. What I need help with is adding a few things to the suit to give it just that extra oomph to take it from "my mom helped me sew this" to "not bad for a one-armed sailor" if you get what I mean.
I noticed in the Man of Steel, superman's suit has a very interesting sheen to it. I wouldn't call it "Shiny," but kind of a satin sheen when in the light. (I'm sure most of you have seen the film.) I don't much care about all the fine patterned detail work of the suit, but I would like to accomplish that interesting sheen. Does anyone know of a spray that would take well to the lycra suit and give it that sheen without making me super "glitter" man?
I've also been contemplating making my own emblem and simply attaching it over the emblem of the suit. Has anyone else attempted something similar? Any ideas on the best method to do this and make it look semi decent? I was thiking craft foam with some nice painted shading to give it a latex or plastic look... I don't want it to be super heavy. What would be the best way to attach it so that it doesn't look like a piece of cardboard tacked to the suit? Snaps? Velco? Glue? The emblem on the suit is made of a non-stretching fabric so I'm assuming attaching something to it would be relatively easy?
Thanks for any and all help guys! I'll post pics of the suit once I complete it.
Back-stories aside, I decided to do a Man of Steel Costume this year for Halloween. A good friend always has a sweet party where almost everyone puts effort into their costumes and I have a reputation for usually putting together something killer. Since my fabric skills aren't the best and you can't really make a superman costume out of anything but, I took a gamble and ordered one of those Chinese Zentai costumes. (They cost about the same price as the officially licensed stuff but they give me the handmade look I much prefer over the store-bought, generic, printed look... They all come from China anyway...)
Here is a pic of the suit that I ordered:
Looks decent right? I've seen a "shiny" one and one with black fabric instead of silver for the metallic looking designs and cuffs on the suit. Personally, I like this look. I feel like its a great base. I got it in the mail yesterday... I will say it is nicely done. The fabric isn't expensive stuff but the sewing and the dimensions of the suit are well done (for the money) in my opinion. (Any seamstress here in the states wouldn't even consider sewing a pair of boot covers for less than $50) My only gripe is that the emblem on the suit that I received is the classic superman emblem, not the man of steel emblem that you see in the picture above. It looks more like this emblem:
Honestly, its not really a big enough deal for me to send the costume all the way back to China. Everything else about the suit is great (for the price). I'm very tall and the lady representing the company did a wonderful job discussing my measurements with me and keeping me informed of the progress of the order. The suit fits well with enough room for a muscle suit underneath.
I have no issues making a muscle suit - been doing those for years. What I need help with is adding a few things to the suit to give it just that extra oomph to take it from "my mom helped me sew this" to "not bad for a one-armed sailor" if you get what I mean.
I noticed in the Man of Steel, superman's suit has a very interesting sheen to it. I wouldn't call it "Shiny," but kind of a satin sheen when in the light. (I'm sure most of you have seen the film.) I don't much care about all the fine patterned detail work of the suit, but I would like to accomplish that interesting sheen. Does anyone know of a spray that would take well to the lycra suit and give it that sheen without making me super "glitter" man?
I've also been contemplating making my own emblem and simply attaching it over the emblem of the suit. Has anyone else attempted something similar? Any ideas on the best method to do this and make it look semi decent? I was thiking craft foam with some nice painted shading to give it a latex or plastic look... I don't want it to be super heavy. What would be the best way to attach it so that it doesn't look like a piece of cardboard tacked to the suit? Snaps? Velco? Glue? The emblem on the suit is made of a non-stretching fabric so I'm assuming attaching something to it would be relatively easy?
Thanks for any and all help guys! I'll post pics of the suit once I complete it.
