Costume Blog

Han in Cardboardite

2008-04-24T05:06:00.000-07:00

Medieval Batman

2008-04-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

WOW! Great response to the Medieval Superman. Thanks everyone for the replies.

Okay, continuing my "RenPunk" superhero costume concepts, here's my medieval Batman design. Now the problem with doing a medieval Batman is the fact that the Batman costume is pretty darn medieval to begin with, so he's likely to look incredibly similar no matter what age you draw him in. In this drawing I have him wearing a leather hood with ears sewn onto the top that ties at the front of the neck. Over his face he's wearing a black theatrical mask crafted of leather attached to lengths of fabric tied around the back of his head, bandit style (such masks were quite common at the time and are still made today by pressing wet leather into or over top of a pre-made plaster form). His cape would probably be fabric of some sort covered by a leather piece draped over his shoulders and covering his upper chest and back, not unlike the type of leather chest protectors that were in use in the period. I'm thinking his chest symbol would be crafted of polished metal with a black metallic bat in the center. His shirt would be thin leather but his upper "body armor" would be much thicker, sleeveless, tied at the sides with the abs formed into it using the same process used to make the mask. His gauntlets would be leather with ties running up them with metal spikes at their backs. Fairly standard utility belt with pouches, rope with grappling hook, and sword or perhaps even a dagger. Finally I've given him the thigh-length riding boots with buckles up the sides. Anyway, I hope you like it and I welcome any and all comments. I'm also working on a more armored Batman costume, too. I would LOVE to make this costume and have someone wear to a Renaissance Faire.

Medieval Superman

2008-03-28T05:26:00.000-07:00

Here is an idea I've been toying with lately...a medieval Superman. I've been quite caught up lately in this whole Steampunk movement, the incorporating of turn-of-the-century design styles (Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Victorian-era type stuff) into modern-day apparel, technology, costumes, etc....but since I'm such a fan of Renaissance-era costuming I thought it would be really neat to go back even further and conceptualize what Superman would have looked like had his father, Jor-El, made a time-error and sent his infant son to Shakespearean England instead of 1940s midwestern America. What would Sup's costume look like? What would he look like? Well, here's my take on the idea, complete with Elizabethan mustache and goatee. I'm also working on two medieval Batman costume drawings as well as a medieval Wonder Woman. What an impressive thing for a medieval Justice League to be able to show up at a Renaissance faire! I would love to make this costume someday soon but I'd have to make it for someone else to wear since my physique is more aptly suited for Henry the VIII! :-)

Furries

2008-03-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some very impressive furries seen at DragonCon '07. I have no idea who made them or who the people are in the suits but they are absolutely exquisite work.

Nice Shadow costume

2008-03-06T09:30:00.001-08:00

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?"

Heath Ledger Joker costume

2008-02-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

In the wake of the tragic death of Heath Ledger, a costumer on The League of Heroes posted these shots of his very own home-made Ledger Joker costume from The Dark Knight, this summer's sequel to Batman Begins. Aside from Ledger's incredible interpretation of The Joker, which promises to be very dark and unique, this gentleman (who goes by the name Electricsixx) is one of the first to duplicate the costume faithfully and has done an absolutely fantastic job of it, not only on the costume but on the all-important makeup and hair. If you wish to drop him a line and offer your praise you can reach him at electricsixx@hotmail.com. And if you want to see many other impressive comic-book character costumes then be sure to visit The League of Heroes .

TEX

2007-12-24T09:44:00.000-08:00

This is "TEX", the most eloborate, most expensive costume we have ever constructed. It was made for the Lucasfilm subsidiary THX, the company that creates and installs the THX sound system in movie theaters all around the world. The character of TEX is a funny little computer generated robot that appears in the pre-feature THX promo animation that is shown in every theater that uses this sound system. This costume was commissioned for use at an electronics trade show being held in Las Vegas in January. All of the red pieces are made of fiberglass and had to be sculpted, cast and made here in the Studio. The silver parts of mostly acrylic and polycarbonate. All the pieces were professionally painted by my brother who does custom auto body paint work. The rocket pack was created by combining four different plastic gardening pots from Home Depot, as well as some other odds and ends. Overall, it turned out very nice and they were very happy with it.

Scottish Batman???

2007-11-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

I pulled this off of League of Heroes, a shot from the Wizard World Texas convention. I've seen some crazy costume concepts but this one is one of the coolest. A highland Batman, complete with kilt and utility pouch. N'now if he cun only get 'imself a bonny bot'tle o'Scotch!

A few Trick-or-Treat shots

2007-11-02T05:42:00.000-07:00

My 13 year-old son Bryant as a knight, my 6 year-old son Sean as Venom, and me in my black cloak. One of the most original costumes we saw was this snack machine costume that had actual snacks in it. The poor girl couldn't even walk in it, her parents just pushed her around in a wagon. Frankly, she looked quite exasperated with the whole situation! :-)

Halloween Gathering '07

2007-10-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

Well, my 4th Annual Halloween Gathering took place this past Saturday evening and it was a resounding success! In fact, it was the biggest crowd we've ever had with 21 guests attending. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time even though a few had to leave a bit early and everyone really got into the spirit of it, with nearly everyone arriving in costume. Without question the award for Best Costume Stunt of the evening goes to Ronn Smith and Tammy Lowers. Ronn arrived dressed as Dr. Who #3(Jon Pertwee)...but halfway through the evening he slipped away and regenerated into Dr. Who #4 (Tom Baker) without anyone having noticed. It was Tammy's idea for him to do this and both costumes and stunt were executed beautifully. We had various readings from Poe, Dracula, WV Ghost Stories, and Sam managed to totally offend one couple with his reading of the politically incorrect Godzilla's Twelve-Step Program. Good job, Sam, the evening wouldn't be complete without someone being offended or disgusted by something. The music segment went especially well with the playing of selections from Interview with the Vampire, Close Encounters, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Legend. We then watched some scenes from An American Werewolf in London, John Carpenter's The Thing, and Fantasia. Below are some images from the evening...and thanks to everyone who attended and especially to those who helped in cleaning up the next day. Happy Halloween!

More costumed hotties from DragonCon '07

2007-10-08T04:12:00.000-07:00

Lovely ladies of DragonCon '07

2007-09-24T06:26:00.000-07:00

As usual, the cadre of really hot babes at DragonCon was vast, as demonstrated by the following shots of some of the more awesome-looking ladies. The first shot is of one of the many women dressed as Queen Gorgo from the film 300, which was very big this year, Spartans everywhere it seemed. The second shot is of one of the hottest girls at the con, Margie, who is dressed first as Psylocke and then as Wonder Woman in the 3rd image, along with another girl dressed as Wonder Woman in her golden battle armor from the graphic novel Kingdom Come. The 4th shot is of a very sweet chick dressed as a Sith apprentice from the Star Wars universe complete with Darth Maul-style red and black tattoo make-up and yellow contact lenses. The 5th is a very elegant take on the traditional Wonder Woman costume. The girl dressed in white in the 6th photo is a character I'm not familiar with, although I've seen others dressed in this same outfit from past years. I have no idea what the girls in the 7th shot are either but their outfits were really neat and they were really hot, hence they are included in this posting. The girl in the green outfit in the 8th shot is a mystery to me as well but she's worthy of a showing, no doubt. And finally, we have a very sexy Black Cat. Everywhere you turned at the convention there were gorgeous women showing off their physical assets in one costume or another and that's one of the reasons why DragonCon continues to grow each year. I heard this year the turnout was around 53,000!!! I also want to give credit and great thanks to photographer Donovan Johnson who was kind enough to grant me permission to use a few of his photos that I lifted from his website. Please visit when you get a chance, his images are quite superior and he captured shots of soooo many costumes that I didn't even see. There were so many costumes and so little time that one can't possibly see them all. More shots of hot costumed babes to come in the next posting. Enjoy!

My new vanity plate

2007-09-20T11:37:00.001-07:00

After years of wanting one...I finally got one!

AWESOME CONCEPT

2007-09-13T10:50:00.001-07:00

The following mask and suit is a female variant of Tim Curry's character Darkness from the movie Legend. This is really one of the coolest concepts I've seen any costumer attempt to pull off and it just blew my socks off when I saw it. This wonderful suit is being created by a very talented artist named Melanie in California who I found on the League of Heroes website. I hope she posts more of her work because she is exquisitely talented.

DragonCon 2007

2007-09-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots from my first ever DragonCon and may I say, it was a BLAST!!!!! Four days of sci-fi/fantasy/comic book costuming, forums, celebrities, costume contests, a massive dealer room, and COSTUMES, COSTUME, COSTUMES GALORE, all taking place across three major hotels right in downtown Atlanta, the Hyatt, the Hilton, and the Marriott. Click the link to my PhotoBucket album and you can see most of the good shots that we took: http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb214/Vermthrax/DragonCon%202007/

The ULTIMATE Superman costume

2007-08-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

This is, without question, the BEST fan-made Superman costume I've EVER seen! This is, of course, based on Christopher Reeve's costume from the movies. I've seen a LOT of Superman costumes and more often than not there's usually something not quite right about them, either the trunks are too big, the boots are too short, or the guy wearing it just doesn't live up to Superman's physique. But I've never seen a costume more impressive and accurate as this one. Everything about it is absolutely perfect and the bloke wearing it actually makes a pretty darn good Superman. I would give the man credit but I have no idea who he is, only that he calls himself Martin-El and is located in Birmingham, England. I found these shots on a really cool site called The League of Heroes, which is comprised of fans who are really into super hero and movie character costuming. Check it out when you get time, it's pretty neat. Great job on the costume, Martin! Up, up and AWAAAAAAY!!!!!!

A REAL Jaguar!

2007-08-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Ken Epperly, one of the co-owners of Magic Makers Costumes in Huntington, was in a quandry as to what to do with an old 1975 Cadillac that had been in his possession for quite a number of years. Well, this was his solution: covering it in jaguar/leopard fur!!! He said he'd always wanted a Jaguar. Now he has one!

ABSOLUTELY BALD!!!!

2007-07-27T05:33:00.000-07:00

Who knew that Lord Vader was a member of Cue Ball Club? And here I thought he was hiding under that helmet a doo to rival Robert Wagner's!!!!

511 Guys!

2007-07-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a group of mascot costumes we just finished a couple weeks ago: The "511 Guys" made for The Hayslett Group in Atlanta, Georgia. The 511 number is an interstate call system where you can find out traffic conditions when you're traveling.

Interesting take on this much-loved outfit

2007-07-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

With a bod like that I certainly wouldn't mind seeing what's under the suit...but knowing what the real Vader looks like I'm not sure I'd want to see what she looks like under the mask!

Funny Masks

2007-06-16T09:01:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of really goofy-lookin' masks I found online that made me roar with laughter. The first one is a really lame Admiral Ackbar mask ("We can't withstand rubber masks of this magnitude!"). I mean, LOOK at those stupid looking eyes!!!! The second one is something called "Snow Beast". If I ever saw that thing in the Alps I'd probably spark an avalanche just by laughing so hard!

Phantom of the Opera

2007-05-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

I spent part of my Memorial Day weekend helping to erect this incredible full-sized figure of Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera. It was created by my very talented friend Clayton Sayre for the collection of another good friend, Robert Withrow. I had no part in the creation of this figure, I only helped install the steel support pole that is bolted to the base and runs up the figure's left leg to help him stand up straight.

Texas Jack

2007-05-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

This cool Jack Rabbit costume was made for Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas. His boots are made of simulated brown alligator skin.

Cool mustache!

2007-05-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

I really like how this Engineer head turned out, especially the mustache. My cousin, Travis Morton, who works for me, did the covering work on this head and decided on this style of mustache, which gives the character a real macho look. Visit my cousin Shawn's tribute blog to the mustache at Viva Mustachio!

Angelic Vader

2007-05-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some more shots of that White Vader costume from the San Diego Comic Con. I'd like to include the gentleman's name who made it but I have no idea who he is. I particularly like the first shot of the black and white Vaders facing off. This also reminds me of an old episode of Battlestar Galactica where Starbuck & Apollo are waylaid by these angel-like beings in a crystaline ship. While in the custody of these beings their normally brown uniforms turn snow white. So my first thought was that this Vader had been overtaken by these angelic beings while trying to make his way back to the Imperial fleet after the destruction of the first Death Star. They then tried to turn him back to the good side of the Force but he rejected their attempts, so they let him go on his merry way.