This article was first published in Oct 2016, I have edited it and republished here on my new blog.
I am starting a blog series called "Back to Basics." In this series, I am going to break costuming down and strip it of all the fancy tools and workshops. I am going to explore the fundamentals of the costuming experience and revisit some long lost crafting techniques, before the days of thermoplastics and LEDs.
This idea came to me as a sat in my new workshopless apartment. I moved 3500km away from my crafting cave and left all my tools and costumes behind. So alone in my kitchen, unnervingly free of EVA dust, I reflected on how far I have come from when I started cosplay, and how much my costuming experience has changed over the years. It was just me and my limited knowledge, even fewer skills, and zero tools. Alea was mashed together with tinfoil, hangers, a thrifted leather jacket, scary amounts of duct tape and sheer force of will. My Death Knight, in contrast, has 2 kinds of EVA foam, expanding foam, 2 types of worbla, 3 types of clay, resin, stones, wood, real deer antlers, leather,2 primers, 15 colors of paint, acrylic ink, acrylic varnish, etc, etc.
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| Cost and time change |
I loved my workshop. I loved my hoard of tools and collection of materials, but I now find myself in a place without them, so I want to challenge myself to get back to those fundamental skills and basic tools. To return to the time when it was just me and my crazy plans because I don't need a fancy workshop, and I think sometimes we all need to remind ourselves of that. I hope that experienced costumers will enjoy the series and see it as a way to simplify their crazy costuming life and reconnect with some the long-lost crafting techniques. I hope the new costumers will see this as a demonstration of crafting done on a budget, under constraints, and see that if they have the passion and creativity they can create their own costumes in whatever circumstance they find themselves in.
At the root of it, costuming has made me happiest when I was creating something I loved, and I want to share that very basic idea with you.
If you have any ideas or topics you want to be discussed let me know in the comments!
Next time on Back to Basics, Planning a Costume.
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