Kingdom Hearts 2: Props
Costume : Sora
For : Anime Mid-Atlantic
Location : Richmond, VA
Cost as of Posting : 0$ (all pre-bought scraps used!)
so, i was left not wanting to cut more cardboard for the oblivion's detailing and noticed i still had quite a bit of left-over plastic chain. i couldn't think of what the hell i was going to do with a couple feet of spare chain, and then came to a BRILLIANT conclusion.
a friend is going to be putting together a sora outfit soon to wear in june to AMA. i'll make the necklace FOR her and give it to her as a gift for being awesome sauce :D :D :D
so, i grabbed the chain and cut a good length off (with enough spare to make a SECOND necklace) and took up a scrap piece of board.
now, i mentioned in the keyblade logs that i made patterns for my items. what i meant was something like that paper scrap on the end of my knee. it's like a pattern for sewing, only you trace around it on whatever you want to cut out an item from and have at it. as we see, i did just that and had a rough crown to call my very own.
i'd like to note, the circular cut-out was done with a pocket knife, not the hacksaw WHICH SHOULDN'T BE USED ON SUCH A SMALL ITEM. it was tedious and i wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't used to working with wood and can guess what will and won't splinter the wood while working on it. but that's what i did and eventually got a rough working model:
not perfect, but the best i can do without a dremel. god i'd kill for a dremel. it'd make life SO much easier... anyway. so, there was a pretty fair amout of chipping around the edges of the cuts, which isn't something new, but since there's not going to be any maché involved in this project, they just wouldn't do. enter the 60 grit sandpaper.
now, for those who haven't used sandpaper before, or often, it's measured in how coarse or fine it is. the lower the number, the coarser it is, and the more likely it is to just gouge out chunks and leave big scratches in your wood. it's not a bad idea to test before you go at it. the 60 was just right for this and before long, i was rounding off the splintered edges everywhere. ah, heavenly.
see how the points are rounded? so much nicer on the neck. i'd hate to have someone dig splinters out of my throat. that would seriously suck. or if they got lodged in the shirt and scratched when you moved, UGH.
now, i also have 150 sandpaper, which is so fine, it's almost like normal paper with a slightly rougher texture. i love sanding with this stuff <3 it buffs out the scratches left behind by the 60 grit and leaves a soft texture over the wood. i was careful to make sure no spot was left untouched and that was that.
during this phase, i decided i wasn't happy with the circles and decided to define them a bit better. much better results. ah.
and now, PAINT! the sort i had laying around is decoart 'metallics elegant finish' in shimmering silver. i got it for the detailing on the jenova box and it hasn't been touched since. now, i used a tad bit too much the first layer and had to dab the charm with a paper towel to get rid of the excess. this, naturally, wasn't the best idea, and the grain of the wood was clearly visable through the first coat.
i attacked the charm with the 150 grit and smoothed it over. layer two was applied carefully, followed by at least two more, then the charm was abandoned in favour of food (which is calling to me now too, ugh).
when all was said and done, i took the charm back to the work area (as i'd been painting in the kitchen, where dumplings could be more easily made <3) and popped open the clear varnish i bought on the first trip to ace. it was hella full and i spilled it ever so slightly on my jeans. oh well. these were the 'new' ones i got for christmas and they hadn't been given any new stains from caulk or paint or anything similar i'm wont to wipe on my pants. using a chunk of dish sponge (!!BAD IDEA!!) i covered the top of the charm with clear varnish. i then proceeded to get my hands sticky by trying to clean out said sponge and to this moment, STILL have varnish on my hands, despite washing them repeatedly (and wiping them on my pants).
now, varnish is infuriating, cause it takes FOREVER to dry. so for now, the charm is incubating on a scrap piece of wood and curing to its heart's content. this will be continued when time and drying permits.
stay tuned~
For : Anime Mid-Atlantic
Location : Richmond, VA
Cost as of Posting : 0$ (all pre-bought scraps used!)
so, i was left not wanting to cut more cardboard for the oblivion's detailing and noticed i still had quite a bit of left-over plastic chain. i couldn't think of what the hell i was going to do with a couple feet of spare chain, and then came to a BRILLIANT conclusion.
a friend is going to be putting together a sora outfit soon to wear in june to AMA. i'll make the necklace FOR her and give it to her as a gift for being awesome sauce :D :D :D
so, i grabbed the chain and cut a good length off (with enough spare to make a SECOND necklace) and took up a scrap piece of board.
now, i mentioned in the keyblade logs that i made patterns for my items. what i meant was something like that paper scrap on the end of my knee. it's like a pattern for sewing, only you trace around it on whatever you want to cut out an item from and have at it. as we see, i did just that and had a rough crown to call my very own.
i'd like to note, the circular cut-out was done with a pocket knife, not the hacksaw WHICH SHOULDN'T BE USED ON SUCH A SMALL ITEM. it was tedious and i wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't used to working with wood and can guess what will and won't splinter the wood while working on it. but that's what i did and eventually got a rough working model:
not perfect, but the best i can do without a dremel. god i'd kill for a dremel. it'd make life SO much easier... anyway. so, there was a pretty fair amout of chipping around the edges of the cuts, which isn't something new, but since there's not going to be any maché involved in this project, they just wouldn't do. enter the 60 grit sandpaper.
now, for those who haven't used sandpaper before, or often, it's measured in how coarse or fine it is. the lower the number, the coarser it is, and the more likely it is to just gouge out chunks and leave big scratches in your wood. it's not a bad idea to test before you go at it. the 60 was just right for this and before long, i was rounding off the splintered edges everywhere. ah, heavenly.
see how the points are rounded? so much nicer on the neck. i'd hate to have someone dig splinters out of my throat. that would seriously suck. or if they got lodged in the shirt and scratched when you moved, UGH.
now, i also have 150 sandpaper, which is so fine, it's almost like normal paper with a slightly rougher texture. i love sanding with this stuff <3 it buffs out the scratches left behind by the 60 grit and leaves a soft texture over the wood. i was careful to make sure no spot was left untouched and that was that.
during this phase, i decided i wasn't happy with the circles and decided to define them a bit better. much better results. ah.
and now, PAINT! the sort i had laying around is decoart 'metallics elegant finish' in shimmering silver. i got it for the detailing on the jenova box and it hasn't been touched since. now, i used a tad bit too much the first layer and had to dab the charm with a paper towel to get rid of the excess. this, naturally, wasn't the best idea, and the grain of the wood was clearly visable through the first coat.
i attacked the charm with the 150 grit and smoothed it over. layer two was applied carefully, followed by at least two more, then the charm was abandoned in favour of food (which is calling to me now too, ugh).
when all was said and done, i took the charm back to the work area (as i'd been painting in the kitchen, where dumplings could be more easily made <3) and popped open the clear varnish i bought on the first trip to ace. it was hella full and i spilled it ever so slightly on my jeans. oh well. these were the 'new' ones i got for christmas and they hadn't been given any new stains from caulk or paint or anything similar i'm wont to wipe on my pants. using a chunk of dish sponge (!!BAD IDEA!!) i covered the top of the charm with clear varnish. i then proceeded to get my hands sticky by trying to clean out said sponge and to this moment, STILL have varnish on my hands, despite washing them repeatedly (and wiping them on my pants).
now, varnish is infuriating, cause it takes FOREVER to dry. so for now, the charm is incubating on a scrap piece of wood and curing to its heart's content. this will be continued when time and drying permits.
stay tuned~