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Description
I always said I'd do something like this, albeit I wasn't thinking this particular costume... Perhaps when I'd actually formed some sort of consistent process when it comes to making costumes, but... Anyway.

I'm not sure if this counts as a tutorial, because as you can see, there's quite a bit of information missing. I took these pictures with no real purpose in mind but to see how far I'd gotten that day.

Anyway, to explain:

#1: I always start my masks with a wire frame. This is 16 gauge wire I got from Home Depot, and the joints are sealed with hot glue and 24 gauge wire. ****WIRE FRAME WARNING: Please keep in mind wire is pointy and dangerous to have around one's face; this is the reason I only make masks for myself. ;^;*** I prefer wire because is is pretty durable, cheap, and easy to find 'round where I live.

The elastic you see on the bottom there (I know this image is tough to see, apologies) is to keep the mask from slipping, but as close friends know I had an issue with Repede falling further down on my face when I opened his jaw. This was fixed by adding additional fabric between the center of the elastic strip and the actual wire frame.

The jaw does move; it is a 'hook in cheek' method I use by making two loops of wire where the 'cheeks' or center muzzle wire is, molding the jaw shape, and bending hooks into the end of said jaw piece. I then loop the two together, adding craft wire where my bottom lip or chin would go. Voila!

#2: I hand sculpted the jaws from crayola model magic from Stop and Shop. It's cheap and light. After painting, I sprayed it with a resin coating about... 5 times, so it would be a little tougher than just bare model magic. Also, it makes the gums and teeth look a little shiny. I used my German Shepherd as a reference, and since I figured Repede would be more of a sporting dog, I minimized the size of his canines. The nose is made of the same model magic, painted with acrylic paint and sprayed with resin the same way.

#3: I started placing fur fabric on him. I always start with the muzzle for whatever reason. Be extra careful with the jaw and leave it open while adding fur so he can still close his mouth. I got my fur for this project from ebay for around $30 total.

#4: His eye is crayola model magic, molded and painted with acrylic paint, then sprayed with resin spray. I was an idiot and sprayed the eye while the paint was still wet... And it smudged. So be careful! Not too much resin spray at once either. The same result happens. I usually use cast resin (I did for his bodhi blastia!), but in this case I changed my mind due to his unique anime-style look.

#5: Here he is with ears! The ears are foamies, a very thin and flexible foam material I found at Wal*Mart. I use them for a ton of other props too. He does have one 16 gauge wire running through those ears, so they have some poses too. :3

#6: This is the mask on me! With the eye placed. He still needs quite a bit of fur... I admit, I was not too eager to work on his scar, since I had no idea what material to use at the time.

#7: This is the other side of the mask! Eye placement on the mask is important, but it is also important so the wearer can see! This area would later be covered by a light mesh usually used on dance costumes and such. again, my local WalMart.

He also now has lips! The lips were actually taken from an old pair of pants I no longer wanted to wear. They were made from a cheap leathery material.

#8: After sitting around for a while wondering what I thought didn't look right, I decided it was the shade of gray fur fabric I'd been using. It was too dark, and I ended up ripping off and replacing all of the gray fur fabric with white I had on hand. It was a big deal, but I made the decision while he was still only a head, so it wasn't too much trouble.

#9: Repede's scar is made from a cotton fabric I took from leftovers from my Maha cosplay. That brown shirt? right here. I stuffed it with a tiny amount of poly-fil too. His closed eye is made from the same material I used for his lips. Underneath both eyes is an additional wire to hold both in place.

His mane is made from a long pile white fur fabric scrap I had lying around. I used a dog brush to brush the blue acrylic paint into it, but it will be replaced in the final product. :[

I hope this helped a little! It was kind of fun for me, so... Yeah! If you have any questions, lemme know. I'll try and answer as best I can! =3

Description
I always said I'd do something like this, albeit I wasn't thinking this particular costume... Perhaps when I'd actually formed some sort of consistent process when it comes to making costumes, but... Anyway.

I'm not sure if this counts as a tutorial, because as you can see, there's quite a bit of information missing. I took these pictures with no real purpose in mind but to see how far I'd gotten that day.

Anyway, to explain:

#1: I always start my masks with a wire frame. This is 16 gauge wire I got from Home Depot, and the joints are sealed with hot glue and 24 gauge wire. ****WIRE FRAME WARNING: Please keep in mind wire is pointy and dangerous to have around one's face; this is the reason I only make masks for myself. ;^;*** I prefer wire because is is pretty durable, cheap, and easy to find 'round where I live.

The elastic you see on the bottom there (I know this image is tough to see, apologies) is to keep the mask from slipping, but as close friends know I had an issue with Repede falling further down on my face when I opened his jaw. This was fixed by adding additional fabric between the center of the elastic strip and the actual wire frame.

The jaw does move; it is a 'hook in cheek' method I use by making two loops of wire where the 'cheeks' or center muzzle wire is, molding the jaw shape, and bending hooks into the end of said jaw piece. I then loop the two together, adding craft wire where my bottom lip or chin would go. Voila!

#2: I hand sculpted the jaws from crayola model magic from Stop and Shop. It's cheap and light. After painting, I sprayed it with a resin coating about... 5 times, so it would be a little tougher than just bare model magic. Also, it makes the gums and teeth look a little shiny. I used my German Shepherd as a reference, and since I figured Repede would be more of a sporting dog, I minimized the size of his canines. The nose is made of the same model magic, painted with acrylic paint and sprayed with resin the same way.

#3: I started placing fur fabric on him. I always start with the muzzle for whatever reason. Be extra careful with the jaw and leave it open while adding fur so he can still close his mouth. I got my fur for this project from ebay for around $30 total.

#4: His eye is crayola model magic, molded and painted with acrylic paint, then sprayed with resin spray. I was an idiot and sprayed the eye while the paint was still wet... And it smudged. So be careful! Not too much resin spray at once either. The same result happens. I usually use cast resin (I did for his bodhi blastia!), but in this case I changed my mind due to his unique anime-style look.

#5: Here he is with ears! The ears are foamies, a very thin and flexible foam material I found at Wal*Mart. I use them for a ton of other props too. He does have one 16 gauge wire running through those ears, so they have some poses too. :3

#6: This is the mask on me! With the eye placed. He still needs quite a bit of fur... I admit, I was not too eager to work on his scar, since I had no idea what material to use at the time.

#7: This is the other side of the mask! Eye placement on the mask is important, but it is also important so the wearer can see! This area would later be covered by a light mesh usually used on dance costumes and such. again, my local WalMart.

He also now has lips! The lips were actually taken from an old pair of pants I no longer wanted to wear. They were made from a cheap leathery material.

#8: After sitting around for a while wondering what I thought didn't look right, I decided it was the shade of gray fur fabric I'd been using. It was too dark, and I ended up ripping off and replacing all of the gray fur fabric with white I had on hand. It was a big deal, but I made the decision while he was still only a head, so it wasn't too much trouble.

#9: Repede's scar is made from a cotton fabric I took from leftovers from my Maha cosplay. That brown shirt? right here. I stuffed it with a tiny amount of poly-fil too. His closed eye is made from the same material I used for his lips. Underneath both eyes is an additional wire to hold both in place.

His mane is made from a long pile white fur fabric scrap I had lying around. I used a dog brush to brush the blue acrylic paint into it, but it will be replaced in the final product. :[

I hope this helped a little! It was kind of fun for me, so... Yeah! If you have any questions, lemme know. I'll try and answer as best I can! =3