Costumes & Cosplay

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, and throughout the years most of my costumes have been homemade rather than store-bought, from the Tin Man and robot costumes I wore as a really young child to my more recent work on Jedi and anime costumes.

My own costuming projects have grown more and more ambitious over the past few years, beginning with a helmet I made for a Sir Bedivere costume (from Holy Grail) and culminating in Hellsing and NightWalker anime costumes for myself, my girlfriend, and my sisters.

Check out my costumes below; clicking on one will take you to a detail page including additional photos, instructions & construction info, and more.

Jedi Master John		Jedi Master John For the premiere of Episode II (and later Halloween), I wanted a Jedi costume, and only two days before the movie's midnight opening, I bought a sewing machine and got cranking. The costume consists of two tunics and a robe I sewed, plus boots and a lightsaber I bought, and a pair of pants from my closet. Though I didn't get the robe done in time for the movie, I had opened a whole new can of worms when I realized I could actually sew.
John from the Worlds Saga		John from the Worlds Saga Originally intended as a costume to represent one version of the character John from the Worlds Saga, this costume is a fairly generic fantasy-themed costume. The costume consists of a tunic, vest, bracers, and cloak all from Chivalry Sports, plus tights, boots, and a real sword.
Hellsing: Alucard & Seras		Hellsing: Alucard & Seras After seeing the anime Hellsing, I knew I had to make an Alucard costume. Currently in the works, I am going as the vampire Alucard, while Beth will get to play Seras Victoria. This is by far my most ambitious project to date.
Nightwalker: Shido		Nightwalker: Shido Looking for skit ideas for a cosplay, I wanted to draw in my sisters (with Brooke's drama experience) and came up with the idea of them going as Shido and Riho from Nightwalker as a contrast to Beth and I as Hellsing vampires Alucard and Seras. Due to time constraints, I designed Shido's costume to come mostly from thrift-store purchases; Riho I haven't finished yet.
Magus Sisters from Final Fantasy X		Magus Sisters from Final Fantasy X Three people cosplaying in need of costume ideas ... three Magus sisters ... coincidence? The three aeons made for unique costumes for myself, Beth, and Brooke, and though still not "complete," they have been fun to work on.

Past costumes I have done for which I unfortunately don't have pictures or instructions:

• Riff Raff (Rocky Horror)
  

  I am no fan of Rocky Horror, but my sisters are, and when we attended a live performance around Halloween '02, I knew I had to go in costume to avoid being labeled a "virgin" and insanely hazed. Owning a black suit, I put on a white shirt I left unbuttoned and a combo bald cap / long stringy white hair wig to complete the look. Somehow I managed to come in second in the costume contest, behind Brooke who won for her Magenta getup.

• Sir Bedivere (Holy Grail)
  

  My first semester off campus, we threw a Halloween party in our apartment. Afterwards a couple of my roommates were headed to a Monty Python's Holy Grail theme party dressed as two of the monks who carried the Holy Hand Grenade. My favorite character is the "scientific" Sir Bedivere, and I spent a good three or four days making his helmet from a trash can, feather duster, cardboard, and google-eyes (for the rivets). I didn't finish his tabard, unfortunately, though I did get a sword to go with the costume.

• Ghostbuster
  

  For a number of Halloweens around age 11-14, I went as a Ghostbuster. Each year I created a new Proton Pack with working lights, which I usually wore with a Members Only jacket and a Ghostbusters t-shirt.

• The Tin Man (Wizard of Oz)
  

  Around age 3 or 4, my parents dressed me as the Tin Man, complete with a little oil can. I know that I won a church party award for the costume, but I don't have photos available right now.

• Robot
  

  From about age 5 - 7, I went as a robot built from a couple of tin-foil covered cardboard boxes (the head and body) with dryer hose as my arms and legs. Again, I won costume party awards but don't have photos online yet.

• Camel, Neko, and King George III
  

  I participated in a number of musicals as a youngster, each requiring a costume. Roles included a duet-singing camel for Easter, a cat in a couple of plays ("Neko" being Japanese for cat), King George III, and a modern-day Scrooge.

Future costumes that I plan to make include:

• Dr. Who (4th Incarnation)
  

  Growing up, I absolutely loved Dr. Who, particularly Tom Baker's fourth Doctor. Beth made me a Dr. Who scarf for Christmas (in Hokie colors), I've got the boots, and I'm split on whether to go with a wig or just grow my own hair out.

• Ken from Gatchaman
  

  Another childhood favorite, closely following Star Wars and Dr. Who, was Battle of the Planets, the American bastardization of Gatchaman. I wanted to be Mark (nee Ken) when I grew up. Said costume isn't beyond my sewing skills, but I will need to learn vacuumforming for the helmet. I think Beth might cosplay as Jun as well if I made these costumes.

• Inuyasha
  

  Until recently, I hadn't seen any episodes of InuYasha, but when I discovered it to be Rumiko Takahashi's handiwork, I got hooked, and I think I'd like to do an Inuyasha costume sometime as well.

• Lum from Urusei Yatsura
  

  I'm trying to talk Beth into going as Lum sometime. The costume itself won't be as hard as convincing her to put on a tiger-striped bikini!

• Parn & Deedlit from Record of Lodoss War
  

  A pretty decent cosplay duo for myself and Beth would be Parn and Deedlit from Record of Lodoss War. I'm not that big a fan of Parn, and his costume would require either vacuumforming (for plastic armor) or work with sheet metal, so it would be a neat challenge for a change.