Twilight Princess Link costume critique!

[TheAutoTech]

Hey all, just joined. I've been cosplaying for a couple years now and am trying to "finish" my Twilight Princess Link cosplay. I feel at this point there may be only a couple things to do with it and that it's about the best it's really going to be. I don't have any professional photo shoots with it yet and have been waiting until it's at a "completed" state for that, so at least you're seeing raw, un-photoshopped pictures.




















The only things I've really got left to do for it would be to try and have someone make a real leather pair of boots instead of the vinyl ones I have now but at this point I feel what I have looks most of the part and they're very comfortable for long periods of time. The only other thing I want to do is to finish the embroidery on the bottom of the tunic and back the collar so it lays flatter and to do some more experimenting with the makeup and ear blending (Wizard World was the first trial run of makeup application). Besides that I think I may end up picking up an ocarina and learn to play to add some more effect to the costume. Any other suggestions?

 

[TheAutoTech]

Now that I've got professional pictures of this cosplay I'd be interested to see if you guys have any more thoughts.



I debated for a while actually getting a real wood core shield with metal plating over it but after discussing it with a couple other local cosplayers they advised against it due to the weight of carrying it on the forearm for any period of time at a con along with the weight most likely being too much to hang it from the sword belt as you see in the pictures. The one thing I would like to do is get a custom leather pair of boots instead of the vinyl ones I have. Although they look great and were priced well they just don't beat real leather. Problem is last time I was quoted 800 dollars to make a custom pair which is way more than I'd ever pay.

Any questions on the build? Any suggestions you guys might have? Thanks!

 

[TheAutoTech]

Anyone out there knows of any places that custom make leather boots? I wouldn't mind getting a few more quotes from other places. Also, if you guys have any other suggestions I would love to hear them!

 

[collinE83]

Looks pretty good already. The only thing I could critique, if I had to, is that it's too clean. Mostly the white is too white and could have some weathering or wear added to it. Same with the boots. I don't know if you totally need to get leather boots. Just take the shine down a little.

You've already worked this hard on it to make it look this good, so I can understand wanting to push it that much further to exactness. Good work.

 

[TheAutoTech]

Looks pretty good already. The only thing I could critique, if I had to, is that it's too clean. Mostly the white is too white and could have some weathering or wear added to it. Same with the boots. I don't know if you totally need to get leather boots. Just take the shine down a little.

You've already worked this hard on it to make it look this good, so I can understand wanting to push it that much further to exactness. Good work.

Yes, I have thought of the weathering as well. As I continue to wear it the items get more and more worn in. I've had thoughts of throwing rocks at the shield to chip and dent it for a more authentic look but am scared because the paint on it is so beautiful as is. As far as the non-metal items I'd assume just rolling around on the ground would be enough to dirty them up. I guess I'm just worried about doing something to the costume that won't be reversible and have to re-make portions of it. Basically at this point the costume looks "game accurate" but weathering it would give it the "real life accurate" look, I agree.

As far as the boots go the ones I currently have were about 60 bucks, are vinyl, and were made to my sizing. They look the part, but I know a real leather pair would really finish it. Unfortunately I can't seem to find anyone who wants to make a pair for a reasonable price. The one quote of 800 dollars I got so far was just so outside of what I was thinking it would cost that I kind of gave up contacting places. 800 dollars is about what I've got into the costume for a complete total, and I'd much rather put that money into the soft parts for my Kylo Ren cosplay. I'd rather just let these get beat up and replace them for relatively cheap.

I really appreciate you replying to my thread and thank you for the compliments! I'm always looking for ways to improve things. I would love to hear your recommendations for weathering the costume!

 

[TheAutoTech]

Anyone have suggestions on how to "weather" the costume? Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

[EmmaInCandyland]

Anyone have suggestions on how to "weather" the costume? Any ideas would be appreciated!

For the white tee? You could use some tea, it should work fine to tint the white, don't leave it for too long except if you want it to turn beige

I also have made my own boots, I will show you later when I'll be on my laptop, but I hope it will help.

 

[TheAutoTech]

For the white tee? You could use some tea, it should work fine to tint the white, don't leave it for too long except if you want it to turn beige

I also have made my own boots, I will show you later when I'll be on my laptop, but I hope it will help.

That's a good idea. I've done that before to "weather" paper and make it look like an old document. I'm curious to see how your boots turned out!

 

[EmmaInCandyland]

That's a good idea. I've done that before to "weather" paper and make it look like an old document. I'm curious to see how your boots turned out!

So these are my boots:

It's been quite a while since I made them, but if I remember it well, I had purchase a pair of boots and worked around it. I had bought some fake leather material and wrapped it around the boots. I had created some fake sewing to make it look like it was real (I guess I had a lot of trouble to hand sew the fake leather xD). If I do remember there are 4 different pieces. The body, the heel, the sort of wrap around the leg and the knee protection, then I added up extra pieces at the end of the toe. Everything is glued on with a glue for shoes, maybe was shoegoo? Can't remember very well. It was pretty time consuming, but I was happy with the result, and it didn't cost me much to make! Anyway, I hope it kinda helps xD

 

[TheAutoTech]

So these are my boots:

http://s11.postimg.org/bo6rgq1mr/466572_373609536052435_203873688_o.jpg

It's been quite a while since I made them, but if I remember it well, I had purchase a pair of boots and worked around it. I had bought some fake leather material and wrapped it around the boots. I had created some fake sewing to make it look like it was real (I guess I had a lot of trouble to hand sew the fake leather xD). If I do remember there are 4 different pieces. The body, the heel, the sort of wrap around the leg and the knee protection, then I added up extra pieces at the end of the toe. Everything is glued on with a glue for shoes, maybe was shoegoo? Can't remember very well. It was pretty time consuming, but I was happy with the result, and it didn't cost me much to make! Anyway, I hope it kinda helps xD

Those do look good! Honestly, they look about as good as the ones I was quoted 800 dollars for. I like my vinyl ones because they do fit well and look good, but you just can't replace real leather.

 

[TheAutoTech]

Bumping this back up for some more input process. It doesn't seem like there's a lot of Legend of Zelda cosplayers on here but so far this is about the best place I can find where people pay attention to detail. I'm thinking the main thing I want to do is just weather the costume a bit. The shield is probably the main thing as it's a bit too clean. It needs to be battle damaged. The rest of the costume I think will wear in after I continue to wear it. The hard part is that there's no "real" costume made, so it's a bit tough to decide what materials and such to use for everything.

 

[TheAutoTech]

Took some time today to start the weathering process on the shield. The main problem I have with it is there's not much contrast to it, just looks fairly flat even though it has large raised portions, rivets, etc. I stole a tip from the Knights of Ren group and used a black sharpie to outline the raised pieces on the shield to give it more depth. Made a world of difference!



It simply needed some contrast between the flat and raised portions to make the shield have more "depth" to it. I'm debating adding some scorch/burn areas to it as this would fit the games and also trying to add some battle damage to it as well. I'm guessing just throwing some rocks at it and maybe hitting it with a sword a few times would be enough. I've heard of people using roman candles to create the burn effects along with a propane torch. Anyone tried doing this?

 

[STLAssassin]

Im still learning myself but I can share some tips Ive picked up on weathering. First is to think about where dirt and grime would collect in real life. Those areas around the rivets, the gaps in the design that wouldnt be easily wiped off, etc. You can also do a wash in brown/black and leave a bit behind in areas to give it a less new look. Also by contrast the highest spots would have more shine as they would be wiped off more, brush against things, etc.

 

[TheAutoTech]

Im still learning myself but I can share some tips Ive picked up on weathering. First is to think about where dirt and grime would collect in real life. Those areas around the rivets, the gaps in the design that wouldnt be easily wiped off, etc. You can also do a wash in brown/black and leave a bit behind in areas to give it a less new look. Also by contrast the highest spots would have more shine as they would be wiped off more, brush against things, etc.
View attachment 613571

Yea, that was my thoughts as well. That was the big reason for doing the black outlining to give it some more depth. I've debated just tossing the thing down in the mud and spraying it off with a hose, and just abusing it with throwing rocks at it to dent it. The problem is I don't want to go super drastic as the rest of the costume doesn't have much weathering. It's kind of one of those things that I'd like to wear it through the works and climb around stuff but I also don't want to get it dirty. It's like I want to weather it without the dirt and grime. Haha

 

[STLAssassin]

That is always the hardest part. You finish making something, get it all painted so it looks great, and then you force yourself to dirty it up. LOL

 

[TheAutoTech]

That is always the hardest part. You finish making something, get it all painted so it looks great, and then you force yourself to dirty it up. LOL

Yea, that's my problem now. It looks great as is so I don't want to possibly ruin it. lol

 

[TheAutoTech]

So, at this current point the costume is about as far as I can take it until I can dig up more information.

I went back and forth for a while about getting a real wooden core shield as the one I have is just a two-layer steel and is fairly accurate but not 100%. I've seen real wooden core ones that are beautiful, but after speaking to a local cosplayer who used to joust back in the day and carried a real shield he mentioned it's not comfortable to carry for any period of time. The ones I'm looking at weigh approximately 20 pounds and that's a lot to be carrying in one hand for any period of time. Also, as you can see in a couple of the pictures my shield is light enough now that I can carry it on my back identical to the way it hangs in the game, but with a heavier shield this wouldn't be possible. I decided to pass on that.

I would still love to find someone who can custom make an accurate pair of real leather boots, but the only place I found wanted 800 dollars which there was no way in hell I was gonna do. The ones I have are vinyl and made to my measurements and were priced well, but everything else on the costume is leather so it would be nice to have leather boots. I'll just keep an eye open to see if something pops up.

I am going to be ordering new contacts to replace the ones I have as they're over a year old now and are only good for a year. Most likely I'll just order the same ones from Pinky Paradise as they worked very well.

Eventually the tunic is going to need to be re-made as over the last year I've started doing regular weight training and have grown a fair amount in the chest. It still fits reasonably, but I'd imagine in another year or so it's gonna be pretty tight. The tunic I have now is almost 100% minus some embroidering on the bottom and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

The last thing will be to just work on some different weathering options for the entire costume. I don't wanna go overboard, but a little won't hurt.

 

[TheAutoTech]

I would imagine I could get a real sword as well but the thought of spending a ton of money on one and not getting into a con with it sucks. The one I have now is metal bladed with a fiberglass hilt and looks very nice and was decently priced.

 

[TryChick]

It looks pretty good. Could you show pics of the harness back without the shield/sword. I'm making one for my son and am not sure how things should all be connected in the back.