Many thanks.
Here is the finished thing. Most definately not perfect, but class starts in 40 minutes. ;b
Costuming: Good for the Soul
When was the last time you’ve worn a costume? Chances are, like the rest of the country, you haven’t worn a costume since Halloween back in the 8th grade. That’s because costuming is for little kids on Halloween, right? I don’t think so. Costuming is a great hobby to do in your spare time. It allows you to role-play, convey emotions, learn skills, meet people, and even relieve stress.
Role-playing is an essential element of costuming. It permits you to step into the characters from a movie, TV show, or video game. Role playing makes ordinary people into the heroes and villains that are complete opposites of their true character. No superpowers? Strap on a cape, and suddenly you can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
If role-playing isn’t your thing, don’t worry. There are plenty of other reasons to costume, such as channeling your creativity. Every once in a while, it’s good to get those juices flowing, and costuming is a great output to do this. Take a pirate costume, for example. If you were to design a costume of a pirate, what elements would make it up? Does the pirate wear a hat or a bandanna? How about both? Does he have a vest, a sash? What colors? What materials? How will it be constructed? It is the answers to these questions that let you express your creativity.
Furthermore, there are many useful things to learn when one is costuming. To be fair, there are plenty of skills in the costuming world, such as casting (replicating objects using plastics), that might have limited use in the real world. However, there are equally as many skills that benefit you elsewhere. Painting and sewing are good examples of skills that you will probably use in your normal life.
What's more, if you’re afraid of losing your normal social life to costuming, your fear is unfounded. There are a great deal of social aspects in the world of costuming as well. You can build a costume with a friend, or organize a costume party. On the internet, various websites and forums serve as meeting places for fellow costumers. There, they discuss costumes from a certain movie or genre and help each other out with construction. Sometimes, these costumers will meet up in real life at conventions, which happen to also be a great way to meet people and learn about costuming. You can meet the real professionals who will speak at panels, or just talk to people with some cool costumes. Maybe they think your costume is pretty cool too, and suddenly you’ve got some new friends.
Finally, if you think that costuming can’t relieve stress, think again. In the Franklin Institute’s guide to relieving stress, one of the suggested measures is to visualize oneself in a tranquil place. Now I ask, what is more tranquil than your childhood at Halloween? Well, that might be a bit of a stretch, but creating a costume is stress relieving. It requires careful and slow work that allows time to cool off and relax a little bit. Fellow costumer and online friend Jason Stead describes that “It does all those and more. This last year I’ve been having a bad time with losing my mum and the costuming has truly helped me.”
Hopefully by now you’ve felt your inner child again, and want to attempt a costume. You could perhaps buy a costume from someone. But half the fun in this hobby is getting to create something! Now, I don’t want anyone walking away saying they can’t make costumes, so I’m going to share a rough process to get you started. Just remember, there are literally thousands of ways to construct a single costume, so be creative!
The first step is to decide on a costume. Go for a costume that would be fairly easy to make in a couple weekends or afternoons. If you shoot for a costume that is difficult, you will probably end up disappointed. Once you have selected a costume, the next step is to research the costume. If you found a cool outfit from a movie, show, or game, obtain screen captures of the costume. The internet is a good place to find these. If you brainstormed the costume yourself, draw it out. (If you’re like me, hide the drawings afterwards, so that no one will see your horrible sketches.) After that, you need to dissect the costume. Turning it into individual components makes it easier to design and build. Next up is the design process. This is tricky. If your costume has soft components (i.e. fabric), you need to decide what material would be best to use. If it has hard components (i.e. armor or masks), you need to choose the means. Cheap and easy ways include using poster board and papier-mâché. Once designed, build it! Then, the real fun can begin!
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