TDKR Catwoman build/costume study ( pic heavy )

Hey Faille and everyone who has posted. Just wanted to say you've all contributed a great deal to helping me source and put together many aspects of this costume. So thanks :) Has anyone had any luck with progressing past the suit and onto the boots, belt, mask etc? I'm about to tackle every aspect and document it all on my Facebook page. Super excited to start creating! Will try to post here also, just to help pay it forward!
 
Hey Faille and everyone who has posted. Just wanted to say you've all contributed a great deal to helping me source and put together many aspects of this costume. So thanks :) Has anyone had any luck with progressing past the suit and onto the boots, belt, mask etc? I'm about to tackle every aspect and document it all on my Facebook page. Super excited to start creating! Will try to post here also, just to help pay it forward!

I'd love to follow your progress, Natalie! Link to your FB page? :)
 
I am planning to use the backside if my PUL. To me, it looks like the seaming on some of the Trek costumes. The name is eluding me right now, but I'll find the link I am thinking of and post after the forums are back up

It's actually called a Hong Kong Finish...There are bunches of places online that talk about how it's done. If you have experience with seam binding, it'll come to you fairly easily. :)
 
I'd love to follow your progress, Natalie! Link to your FB page? :)

http://www.facebook.com/TheLazyCosplayer/
Should be it Katie.
This is my first proper Cosplay... well kinda. I'm still trying to avoid making EVERYTHING. So I have sourced quite a bit of stuff mentioned in these posts, but plan on customizing all the bits and pieces. But big props to those who make everything from scratch - I just suck at sewing!
 
922809_113523045485110_690579610_n.jpg547229_114241295413285_227200878_n.jpg260347_114241582079923_1952486466_n.jpg

Ok, so I got some boots which turns out are OK, probably higher in the heel and less at the boot top - but hey I'm short, they're stretchy and they hide my cankles :) First stop was creating the blade which I used a ruler - it was strong and thin and well as straight and perfect as a ruler! I toyed with using a surf wax comb as the serrated inside edge but, after looking at some reference photos thought it might be too large (the WWW part - and I mean not 'w's, I meant the shape they make) So I used tooth picks to make the serrated grooves and this weird molding stuff which was 'supposed' to be strong and light but actually is light, papery and not very strong, hard to describe too. But it was the only thing that didn't require baking in the oven from my local craft shop. So that's the white part you see which covers the heel.

Today I spray painted the heels, wasn't that impressed with the result. Probably should have done a lighter coat but I got impatient. It certainly doesn't hide the flaws in my molding. I haven't done any molding since school so I was quite... rusty and hopeless. Hopefully they'll look good from far away!

For more piccies visit my Facebook page, I'm just getting started, very 'green' at this whole thing so please be gentle with your criticisms...

http://www.facebook.com/TheLazyCosplayer/
 
Great work so far, for all the stuff on this thread. Lots of puzzles to solve, given limited budgets and time, and everyone seems to be doing an awesome job, experimenting and seeing what works. =)

As someone working on a Black Widow costume, I've been searching quite a bit for just the trim to put on my suit. I've been trying to find something that has a similar texture and stretch, so that when I move, it will stretch with the spandex/lycra. I've found two things: One being stretch petersham. According to the website, it will only stretch 125% -- i.e. an inch will only stretch to 1.25 inches. I'm not sure if this is enough stretch; I have yet to purchase any to try.

I've also picked up several meters of fold over elastic at the local Fabricville. It seems to come in many different finishes and textures. For me, I chose one that has a bit of herringbone texture, a bit shinier on one side than the other, with both flexibility and stretch:

538afb89756d286d1b957f60d7785c62.jpg


Thought some of this might prove useful, or at least food for thought. Keep up the good work!
 
So, with Supanova over (for me at least until Nov) I thought I'd post some finished pictures so you all can see how it came together. I may have 'cheated' a little by not sewing everything myself, but there was still a tonne of work involved. I'm not such of a seamstress so I rather not sew as much as possible.

You will notice a few little discrepancies -
1: Gloves cut-out shapes are different.
2: Mask is based on one 'hero' image of the mask Anne-Hathaway-is-Catwoman.jpg where there are both copper and silver bits under the eyes
3: The utility belt has 5 pouches in 3 designs instead of the 7 pouches in 4 designs
4: My zip is too short - my fault should've bought a longer zip but was petrified of it being too long so I went shorter - I can always add trim to make it 'appear' longer.
5: Boots aren't high enough on the thigh.
Other than that, I was happy with it. Would prefer to re-do the goggle component (or buy a better one) as my 'patch' job ones I wasn't happy with but they still looked fine.

So without further ado...
Some finished pictures I found of me floating around the internet...
1016855_597562720277171_1140469421_n.jpgCopyright E Photography

1044371_597562820277161_808134230_n.jpgCopyright E Photography

1016670_551704774876453_282028521_n.jpgCopyright Corduroy Photography

And there's another one here which shows the mask a bit more
Catwoman @ Supanova Sydney 2013 | Flickr ? Condivisione di foto!

If you need any help or have questions, or like what you see. Please like me on Facebook... http://www.facebook.com/TheLazyCosplayer/
 
Excellent work, if your still unhappy with your paint finish on the boots try out some chrome tape, you can pick it up from places like Bunnings. It will give you a good finish and no doubt your heels will get scuffed up and you can peel it off and put a fresh lot on for next time.

Here are my Daft Punk hand plates with chrome tape.

q4jjC9kl.jpg
 
Ok. I waited a couple days and it hasn't popped up yet and I can't keep hush hush anymore, so I'm just going to start this since I've heard a couple fellow RPF ladies also express interest in the costume.

I'll admit it, at first, I hated it. As in, loathed with the burning passion of a thousand suns. To me, it did not look like Catwoman. It was too basic. Tight, black, matte leather. It wasn't exciting or original...it simply failed to impress upon first impression...

Then out comes the movie...and the way the character was written and wonderfully executed amped up the everything. The suit seemed to take on a life of it's own when embodied with the Catwoman persona. It was probably the quickest change of heart I've ever had.

http://images.fashionnstyle.com/dat...away-as-catwoman-in-the-dark-knight-rises.jpg

And so here I am planning for it.

Ladies ( or anyone ), feel free to hi-jack this thread and add your own build progress or any info worth sharing!

( Also, please be gentle, I just bought a house and am trying to keep more within almost impossible budgets than I usually do! x_x )

At the moment I'm simply sourcing items that I can modify. Mainly the boots. I tried to go cheap and found a pair on e-bay in a softer finish synthetic leather...but the platform was wrapped. I literally sat here in my chair for a good half hour just THINKING about these boots. Then I realized 1) shipping to Canada made these cheap e-bay boots not so cheap and 2) her boots actually have a slight tread on the bottom, with a visible platform and having a covered one just wouldn't to.

Then I remembered I had found a pair in my stockroom this past winter that were RIDICULOUS ( as in...thigh high hooker boots ). Lo and behold, I searched them up online, they were still available and were basically perfect.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/aubme/boots.jpg

Stiletto heel - check. Front platform - check. Slight tread - check. Front seam - check. Thigh high - check. Within budget? -$65 - check. ( They are the style Tauarez from ALDO Canada. Some similar styles on the US site are Bullins ( genuine leather but has some more seams for folding the top down ) and Brang ( genuine leather but just over the knee ) both for under $100 )

This was my initial e-bay option.



I did consider leather ( of COURSE I did...but at the moment, I've got most of what I need for the costume at $100...and the boots alone would have been around $195. And still not perfect. So that was that. )

I have a few ideas for modifying the heel to look like a serrated blade but I'll tackle that once they're here. Ideally they'll LOOK legit...but will be safe for me to go party in without being forced to go barefoot in a club.

Here's a great read full of fantastic pics of her boots and more importantly, the heels which are a clear acrylic cast and then painted.

http://www.themathhattan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/the-dark-knight-rises-catwoman-poster-1.jpg

Another important factor in choosing the boots that I did is that the heels are quite thin and I knew they'd be thin enough to build up around. ( They don't look that high or thin in the photo, but having tried them on in store...they are killer. :lol )

Next up, gloves.

I cheaped out. Got a pair of synthetic leather opera gloves for $12 off e-bay. Again considered leather...but couldn't stomach the price to slice and dice them ( since they have her bodysuit material on the upper of the hand ) with the slew of bills on the way.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/aubme/glovesc.jpg

At this point, as well, synthetic leather at least I knew would be similar enough to the finish of the boots to keep some coherency. I've bought cheap Halloween gloves before and I know they'll need some TLC once they get here, but still a bargain if I do say so myself!

For the mask, I'm following a 'leather look craft foam' tutorial that was posted by the ever so informative MattMunson! And I can't wait to get started on this. I'll be seriously attaching plastic buckles to the sides for the band to go through to lessen the tension on the actual foam....not that I plan on wearing it too tight anyways. No one likes mask lines.

For the goggles, I considered a few options. Ski goggles ( figured they'd be too big/chunky, especially on top of the mask ). Motorcycle goggles ( which I loved the look of...but didn't have one large lens ). ... Giant sunglasses. I think I've settled on this pair of motorcycle glasses which are not only appropriate given her mode of transportation for a good part of the film, but they have one, single curved lens. I'm going to buy a transparent red vinyl to adhere over the smoke tinted lenses to have them dark red. ( Maybe an extra layer of black too ). Again, MattMunson helped me out here in directing me to an automotive store for some rubber trim which I'm going to apply around the edges.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/aubme/gogles.jpg

Again, I'll tackle the LED fixtures once I have them on hand. ( Also, can I just say I HATE how her lens looks like cheap bendy plastic? BOOO! )

I believe her goggles have a bit more of a harsh corner on them, but if my cat ears are slightly more curved, I'll be ok with that. I might be able to put some extra foam along the sides closer to the face to make them look fuller when they're on top of my head...'cause let's face it. That's how they're going to be worn 99% of the time. Well...maybe a lower percentage than that since I'll be way more amused than I should be when shining my LEDs at people.

The belt I haven't started planning yet... The actual belt is a leather strip, which you can see in some hi-res shots and I think I have some leftover from attempting to make my Angelica ( PotC ) belts and baldric...but hers is REALLY thick ( I'd guess almost 10mm? ) so I may just buy a new strip.

I might attempt the pouches via leather look craft foam but I have to do some more research here into what would work best. I'd ideally like something more solid. You can buy carbon fiber adhesive vinyl off e-bay for cheap for decorating. ( I really. REALLY. love the carbon fiber detailing. )

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/aubme/beltxx-1.jpg

And then the biggest and scariest part...the bodysuit.

Some say neoprene ( but I've heard this is a bad idea to wear out of water for extended periods of time ). The costume designer said it was a layer of screen printed material and a slightly shiny fabric ( I'll link this when I find the source again ). It's strange because it looks almost unquestionably textured...but then in the above photo, over the crotch area, it looks smooth under the lighting.

You also have to squint like mad to try to see if anything is raised at the edges...and you usually can't. Is it some optical illusion? Is it some weird puffpaint screenprint? Any insight here would be wonderful!

I considered photoshopping the pattern and having it printed on lycra...but the two issues here is that it would be flat ( texture and finish ) and when stretched, it maybe have splits visible in the print.

I searched for stretch vinyls, pleathers, embossed spandex...everything I could wrap my head around basically. And then considered leather. Again. But again, I can't afford it. And I REALLY like the textured look.

I don't know how I remembered this...but I bought this athletic material for the undersuit when I was planning Quorra ( Tron ... way, WAY on the backburner ) and realized, though not perfect, it's 'free' since I already have it and should have a very similar look. The other plus is that it's stretchy and breathable and because it has nylon in it, it does have a slight sheen. The costume designer also said the material they went with, they did so because it was flexible looking. Something she could sneak around in. In terms of realism, I think my fabric will work alright in that department too! My only concern here is that it's going to have to be a VERY specific fit so as to not overstretch and look transparent in photos. :lol

Here's a photo of the fabric less stretched;

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/aubme/fabric1.jpg

and on a sleeve/glove/unfinished...thing;

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/aubme/fabric2.jpg

( It's not actually overstretched here...it just looks pinkish because of the sheen and my room being...well...very pink. :$ )

The seamlines are also incredibly awkward on the costume...attaching where the ribbon lines the silhouette and having no front center pant seam and no back seam. It's literally going to be a puzzle piece pattern and it's going to take a LOT of trying on and adjusting to get the perfect fit. Or just a really good pair of spanx. Which I'll probably get to sharpen my waistline anyways. :lol

Oh, but I AM going to get real leather for the collar! Ha ha, I know, I know. Big spender. :D

Planning to have this done for Halloween! POSSIBLY Fan Expo in Toronto...but with moving, I somehow think that is a slightly overly ambitious goal.

DEFINITELY looking forward to the overall comfort of this costume ( cozy, cozy stretchy jumpsuit! ...hopefully! ) and the fact that I literally have the exact same hair cut/colour. Yesss.

Not looking forward to cutting back on the sweets to trim up the legs. :lol Oh well! High heels work wonders... >_>'



Where did you get your "athletic material" in the pictures above? What is this material called?

Thanks!
 
So, with Supanova over (for me at least until Nov) I thought I'd post some finished pictures so you all can see how it came together.

View attachment 202136Copyright E Photography


And there's another one here which shows the mask a bit more
Catwoman @ Supanova Sydney 2013 | Flickr ? Condivisione di foto!

If you need any help or have questions, or like what you see. Please like me on Facebook... http://www.facebook.com/TheLazyCosplayer/

This looks great!! Just checked out your facebook pics - can't believe you puff painted the entire thing!
 
Hello everyone! I'm making a TDKR inspired Harley Quinn costume, ideally I would like to do a diamond texture but I figured I would ask you all what the most successful texture methods you guys have found. I've read all eight pages but still wanted advice.

I could try to find a athletic material? Or should I do the Vinyl with puff paint, or that cargo netting?

which methods seem to be the most user friendly?
 
not sure to many people still read this forum. it helped me quite a but in my own Catwoman adventures. right now i'm just waiting for my boots and gloves and and fabric samples. i'm building my goggles right now. i will post photos once i have everything.
one question about the goggles though. has anyone come up with a way to turn the LEDs on and of with a button or switch or something? i want an easy way of doing things at the con.
another thing. the pouches, ways that people made them functioning? i'm curious.
 
I'm picking back up on this costume now that the rush has died down a bit. Any Catwoman cosplayers looking to sell their mask or goggles? I'm looking for a good starting place in that area.
 
Hello everyone! I'm making a TDKR inspired Harley Quinn costume, ideally I would like to do a diamond texture but I figured I would ask you all what the most successful texture methods you guys have found. I've read all eight pages but still wanted advice.

I could try to find a athletic material? Or should I do the Vinyl with puff paint, or that cargo netting?

which methods seem to be the most user friendly?

Athletic material would be the most user-friendly, assuming it has a 4-way stretch. Cargo netting has NO stretch, so it's not recommended. Puff paint is incredibly time-intensive, but easily the solution that is most accurate at the lowest cost (unless you're limited on time, in which case, it comes at a great cost haha).
 
Athletic material would be the most user-friendly, assuming it has a 4-way stretch. Cargo netting has NO stretch, so it's not recommended. Puff paint is incredibly time-intensive, but easily the solution that is most accurate at the lowest cost (unless you're limited on time, in which case, it comes at a great cost haha).


Thank you, I am currently using athletic fabric, though I took some inspiration not only form catwoman now but from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Uniforms, eagerly I will post photos soon!
 
Hey everyone, here is the fabric I am working with, and while it is far from perfect,

Its got a nice stretch, and gives the same textured look, i think, as the original fabric.

[url]http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/2728/getattachmentaspxjz.jpg[/URL]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Hey gvmaraio!

Where did you get that fabric? I'm new to making costumes... I just normally sow my own clothes but I really want to make a catwomen suit! Please let me know where you got the fabric. Thanks!
 
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