Seth Nightlord of Trinity Blood
Originally published at Cosplex. Please leave any comments there.
Costume Inspiration
I first stumbled across trinity blood back in 2007 and after watching the anime I was hooked. At the time only a few volumes of the original novel were available translated, but I was inspired to create Seth’s costume from the highly detailed artwork by Thores Shibamoto.
My University college was holding a creative arts competition that year, with a £500 prize for the best entry. I decided to make this costume as a challenge to myself as well as something that I could enter into the college competition.
Costume Debuted at: Amecon 2007
Also worn at: London MCM Expo - October 2007
Exhibited at: Ayacon 2009
Awards: Joint 1st place in the Oriel Creative arts prize - 2007, 1st place in the amecon cosplay competition and 1st place in the London MCM expo cosplay competition - October (Saturday)
Construction Details
At the time this was my most ambitious project to date. I remember heading to the fabric shop to buy everything at once and spending around £90, thinking that this amount of money was insane.
I used cotton drills and twills throughout the costume with the exception of the gold, where I used satin backed dupion. All of the patterns were created using applique. This involves affixing fabric shapes to a base using bondaweb and securing them with a thin zig-zag stitch. All of the applique work for this costume took over 200 hours.
The jacket was made using a custom pattern. the most difficult parts were the sleeves and the neckline. The sleeves were made in three parts; a puffed sleeve with sleeve stay, connector and cone base. The cuffs where decorated and sewn on separately.
I used the petticoat from my old chii costume and made a simple puffball skirt (circular skirt with a gathered hemline) to fit over. The trail was made from a modified jacket pattern and laces onto the costume under the corset, it is lined with a purchased lace window panel.
The hat was the most challenging part of the design to create. I used a large sheet of thick mounting board to form the shape, with a headband glued into the centre to hold it onto my head. The base was covered with appliqued panels and completed with beaded tassels. In the end the hat was so large, that I had to by an giant laundry bag to especially transport it!
All of the armour was constructed using craft foam. I used a corset pattern to create the shape of corset, gluing each piece together at the seams. The raised details were made using hotglue and all of the armour was primed before being painted using rub ‘n’ buff in antique gold. All of the amour was either glued directly to the costume or held onto the costume using straps or snap fastenings.
Lastly I created permanent boot covers for a pair of white boots, decorating them with gold buttons purchased from eBay.
I managed to complete this costume in only one month and was insanely proud that it went on to win so many competitions.
Looking back I wished that I had been more adventurous with fabrics during my early cosplay years, I have seen so many wonderful versions of Seth using gorgeous emerald velvets.
Cost: £150
Time: 250 hours
Photos
Photographers & Locations
Photos taken at Amecon 2007 by:
- Redkun of CosplaySnap
- Nert of ManyLemons
- Pat Lyttle
Photos taken at the Clapham grand by: