Hi, I've been thinking for a while how to make this into a great costume, here are some pics of what I'm aiming for if you're not familiar with Akira:
So yeah, these are all a bit too big, I'm gonna make something a bit smaller so I can still use my hand to carry drinks etc! This will be the mk2 version - I made a simple one last year using thin carpet underlay foam wrapped around my arm, covered in silver duct tape with twisted duct tape "tentacles", metal shower hose appendages, electrical wire everywhere and complete with LED eyeballs, flexible LED strips and lasers.
It certainly turned some heads at a few festivals, but I want mk2 to be even more nuts. For a start, I'm gonna integrate 4 or 5 daisy-chained speakers into the arm (playing the Akira soundtrack!) and add more LEDs (maybe wired into a sound sensor so the lights will pulse in time with the music from the speakers). I also want the whole arm to have a more organic feel, which is where I'm stuck.
My idea is to use a similar base of thin, flexible foam which I can then glue moulded muscles and appendages to (maybe made from polystyrene or polyurethane?), before painting and covering with a translucent silicone or polyurethane "skin". I might try and lay flexible LED strips before applying the final skin to give the impression of glowing veins. Am I going the right way about this?I'm also trying to think of a good way of making tentacles (maybe 30cm long) which are flexible and wont fall off easily. These will have glowing teeth/eyeballs on them, or maybe some of the speakers on the end.
I'm avoiding the idea of moulding the whole arm from silicone - seems like a lot of effort as it's not solid because I need to take it on and off. So what would be the best thing to paint/cover foam with, PU or silicone or something else? What would be the best way of anchoring the tentacles to the arm (the whole thing needs to be quite sturdy)?
cheers guys, I'll try and find some pics of the mk1 arm, and definitely post pics of the mk2 when it's done!
So yeah, these are all a bit too big, I'm gonna make something a bit smaller so I can still use my hand to carry drinks etc! This will be the mk2 version - I made a simple one last year using thin carpet underlay foam wrapped around my arm, covered in silver duct tape with twisted duct tape "tentacles", metal shower hose appendages, electrical wire everywhere and complete with LED eyeballs, flexible LED strips and lasers.
It certainly turned some heads at a few festivals, but I want mk2 to be even more nuts. For a start, I'm gonna integrate 4 or 5 daisy-chained speakers into the arm (playing the Akira soundtrack!) and add more LEDs (maybe wired into a sound sensor so the lights will pulse in time with the music from the speakers). I also want the whole arm to have a more organic feel, which is where I'm stuck.
My idea is to use a similar base of thin, flexible foam which I can then glue moulded muscles and appendages to (maybe made from polystyrene or polyurethane?), before painting and covering with a translucent silicone or polyurethane "skin". I might try and lay flexible LED strips before applying the final skin to give the impression of glowing veins. Am I going the right way about this?I'm also trying to think of a good way of making tentacles (maybe 30cm long) which are flexible and wont fall off easily. These will have glowing teeth/eyeballs on them, or maybe some of the speakers on the end.
I'm avoiding the idea of moulding the whole arm from silicone - seems like a lot of effort as it's not solid because I need to take it on and off. So what would be the best thing to paint/cover foam with, PU or silicone or something else? What would be the best way of anchoring the tentacles to the arm (the whole thing needs to be quite sturdy)?
cheers guys, I'll try and find some pics of the mk1 arm, and definitely post pics of the mk2 when it's done!
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