Blue Lotus costume finished

I was happy to unload one of my practice pieces to a friend in Tech Support who happened to be in need of a new supersuit. It just so happened that her character Blue Lotus wears light blue and white which is what I had used when drafting a design for Rogue. With an official Tech Support patch added to the chest and a new blue cloak, Blue Lotus is ready to go. I can't wait to get pictures from her modeling the entire ensemble.

Amber the Superhero Stylist

Just a couple of shots of me that will hopefully help me win The Prize for the City of Heroes costume contest. This is my first year trying for it.

Continuing with the plaster

It's a good thing I'm not a neat freak. I have been playing with my hydracal (plaster gypsum) today in my teeny tiny laundry room. I was able to sand a decent amount of my Tech Support wire globe logo with the Dremel. Then I brushed a new layer of plaster over it trying to make it nice and smooth. Well, it sure looked nice when it was wet but now brush strokes are severely showing.

I'm going to a different approach to the Fantastic 4 logo as well. I had let some of the plaster harden in the bottom of the bucket I used last time. I was able to pop it out with some muscle. The only thing is the bottom had typical manufacturing divots in it so it's not a plain circular surface. I just tried brushing a new layer on but it wouldn't sufficiently stick to the smooth surface -- probably because I didn't sand it first. Oh well. Live and learn.

Moldmaking

Here's the progress of my moldmaking in different stages on two different projects:


Wireglobe logo in wax for Tech Support Fan Club (WWTBASH: S1). With any hope, I'll get a great master casting and can make lots of good quality latex logos. I'll set up a Pay Pal button and page to purchase this for Tech Support members.




Fantastic 4 logo in wax.









Fantastic 4 plaster casting waiting for latex which I just ordered from Smooth-On (with ridiculously expensive UPS shipping when I live close enough to go pick it up if they had that option).

Quip in full costume

Here's a peak at the Richard Quip costume on the actual Richard himself.

All the purple embellishments are the parts that I did which the large "Q" on the back, the "Q" on the front and also the patches on each shoulder.

finished Quip costume

I'm very glad that Richard sent me 2 of each shirt so that I could work out the design and skills needed to get his Quip costume done. He sent me 2 black button down shirts and 2 black turtlenecks so that I could add appliqués and patches. After a quest for fabric that would work, I found violet crushed velvet in a remnant pile for $3.99/yard. No spandex in purple could be found this time of year. Luckily, I think the pieces came out really nice even though one shoulder patch is a smidge lower than the other. Hopefully no one will notice. It's done and I should get it in the mail to Dallas tomorrow in time for Quip's reunion with his girlfriend in June.

Jason Reese, my buddy from Smooth-On, is going to be giving me tips on how to properly clean and store my Black Cat mask. And if I've damaged it at all, he'll be able to repair or replace it. He said silicone would have been better than foam latex. What do I know? I just saw what I needed at Xtreme FX and clicked to order. The mask is really beautiful and since I'm not actually climbing the buildings of New York City, I think it will last a while. Black Cat just happens to have a rather thin mask so I've been worried that it will break.

There was a big monster mash this weekend but I didn't make it to that. I'm saving my strength for Wizard World in Philly in June.

Quip costume

I just ordered a single ticket for myself to go to Wizard World in Philly, only $25; Stacy and her friend Dave are going so I won't be alone and she'll drive.

I also started working on the Richard Quip costume for my friend. Actually I'm only doing the embellishments but I still need to find fabric. I'll have to order it online because the stores out here just don't have very much to choose from. What I find is that they have tons of cotton for quilters mostly and that's what I use for my totes, but they are very limited in anything like spandex. I thought there would be a better shot at it since it's a bathing suit fabric but the only stuff I saw was so horribly ugly I couldn't believe anyone would use it for a bathing suit. The only solid color I saw was a super bright lime green which would have worked for maybe another character but I need purple for Quip.

NY Comic Con

I had an amazing time at the NY Comic Con this weekend. I got to meet many heroes, ran into a few ghoulish creatures and cramped my feet in those high heeled boots. My feet still hurt. Heels are not good for full days of crimefighting or conventions.

On a serious note, the adorable little Nitro G seems to be without a costume! He donated his costume to the Museum for Cartoon and Comic Book Art and he asked me about making a new suit for him. I gave my email address and this blog url so we'll just have to wait and see if he contacts me.

Regarding my own suit that I slaved on... apparently I don't look like myself. I mean, I do. That's me in the picture there. But people kept thinking I was "someone" meaning a known character from Battlestar Galactica. Well, folks, this does not sit well with me since my outfit is 100% original in concept. I created it with City of Heroes character creation, sought out a pattern, a jacket and boots, and voila. That's my suit of myself just as I designed it. Now I'm thinking I need to change the whole thing up and go with my second costume which is black and leathery. I would add bright gold as accents and somehow bring earthy hues into it. I already have the pattern that would be perfect for costume two as it is in City of Heroes but I am also anxious to try making a multi-color bodysuit with the same pattern I used for this amber one.

This morning I also mailed out ARC's patch for his suit. Don't know ARC? For shame. Go to the boards and learn all about him. We're lucky enough to have started his fan club right along side of Feedback's over at kamikaze komics. ARC also has a myspace page. He's another great guy that truly loves being a hero. He'll be auditioning for Who Wants to be a Superhero? Season 2.

My own costume for crimefighting

Whoop! I did it. I actually sewed an entire outfit. It was much easier than that damn blouse I messed up twice! All the images are in my personal GALLERY of images along with my other sewing project images.

In case you don't know who Amber is, here is my brief bio:

I'm your Tech Support fashion designer & stylist. I make sure Feedback and the crews have the right outfits for their missions. I constantly look for the latest in tactical gear that will be practical, non-obtrusive, and stealth. My hardest quest so far was for gloves that would allow the wearer to still pick up pennies from the ground. I'm also an empath with developing powers to detect suffering and telepathy. I manage (in a very hands-off way) the Creative Arts department.

I'm the human companion to Caicó, the Power Princess. She's assigned to support Wolf-Girl and the Recon team. Her immense talent for creating clouds of shedded fur can immobilize foes within the area; any with asthma are particularly weakened. She can teleport and has hyperspeed for short distances but then requires 18 hours of sleep.

I'm also an admin/mod of sorts on the Kamikaze board and gallery.

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Strangely enough, I have noticed over the past six or seven months, that pilates has done outstanding wonders with my ass. However, my big fat giant roll of a gut will not go away and these pictures of me in a tight bodysuit (over a girdle) are proof. I hate myself from the front but I guess I can't walk backwards through the entire NY Comic Con. I so wish I could borrow I one of you girls to do my makeup too because I totally suck at it. I'm not wearing any in these pictures since it was just my work session to finish up the threads.

And with this completed project, Hero Fashions can offically launch. I can now make Amber the fashionista she should be and have an entire wardrobe of proper Superhero attire fit for crimefighting.