The first prop I'll be talking about is the "staff" Since this is the only picture I could find of the weapon I'm calling it a staff since it doesn't seem to be a sword covering. (We're cosplaying the outfits from the picture) This prop is for Nic who has decided to cosplay as Syaoran.
Items
Long wooden dowel (We found a 8 foot one at the local hardware store.)
Acrylic red paint
Varnish (Clear)
Wooden ball toppers
Golden paint
Magic model clay
So first thing we did is have the top part sawed so it reached to Nic's shoulder. Guessing by the picture that's where Syaran's should stand. Since the wood is already smooth I didn't see a point in spending three to four hours re-sanding it, so I skipped that and went right to painting. If you've used acrylic before you know its basically like plastic when it dries. (It stains too!) but when painted on wood it will need many coats because the wood absorbs it quickly. Which on a plus side means it dries quicker! At least until you put on the second coat. Now it'll start looking shiny.
We got a huge bottle of paint so I'm planning on painting at least three coats. The red color is dark in the picture so the more coats I add the better it will look. While it was drying I started on painting the wooden ball toppers gold. The round wooden balls we bought didn't have a lip under as seen in the picture so I created one out of the magic model clay we bought for the sphere. So while that dries I kept coating the staff in new coats of paint. Make sure you do one side at a time so you have a place to set it without getting red paint everywhere.
The only thing we haven't gotten for this is the red tassel. We're planning on finding that in a few weeks when we go to the mall and Asian market. We'll also been looking for a red tassel for Sakura's sphere as well.
So the "staff" is taller then me (5'2) so I'm guessing its around 5'5. The two gold toppers are on and are being fixed (hence why they are white on the base) with Gesso and then will be painted gold.
A close up of the topper. The gold ball didn't have a lip under it like the staff has in the picture so I created one out of magic model clay. Its coated in two coats of Gesso so it's firm and wont dent easily.
Moving on...
Sakura's Sphere and feathers.This is tricky. The sphere is hollow with a memory feather inside. It seems firm but flat with two sakura flowers on the sides. At first I wanted to find something like a round glass jar or perhaps a ball but I realized both of those will not work. How would you put the feather in? The ball is useless without the feather.
We looked for a foam ball but with a price tag of $20 I decided not waste that money and to get a plastic toy ball at a store for the mold.
Items:
Plastic ball (I use a small metal cup, like for serving fruit at parties to hold the ball in place)
Magic model clay
Wire
Gold spray paint
Paper mache materials
I started by using the wire for a base. Its firm and hard to break. So I first started by wrapping two strands of wire around the ball (careful of sharp ends, I have really cheap hot glue and I put a little dab of glue at the end to keep the points from popping the ball) This way I had a firm base to work off of. Once that was down I started creating the swirls. Once I had a few done I decided to go ahead and start wrapping the wire in the magic clay.
It looked like this. Now I'm planning on removing the ball later. the ball slips right out from under the sphere. As you can see the clay made some of the curls stick up. I decided the only way to fix that and make the clay stronger is by wrapping it in paper mache. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy a mix or make a mix of the paste myself yet. But we'll be starting on it today.
I made sure to start on the top. I'm not going to work on the bottom until the top is done and is firm. So nothing breaks while turning it over. When working with the wire I suggest having pliers with you, as well as wire cutters (My dad fixes cars so we have lots of tools) I'm planning on spray painting this since we have a can of gold shiny paint still. But if you decide to do paper mache as well be sure you use white paper. this way you can paint over it without having to use many coats.
Update- 6/3/12
Today I focused on fixing cracks (Magic Model clay cracks VERY easily.) And creating a firm base so I can move on and start on fixing the curls, plus adding more. As you can see in the last picture the lines were thin and weak looking. When I woke up a lot of the lines were cracking and bad. So I quickly started to work on it, adding a thicker layer of clay.
The lines are now thicker (Its starting to look more like how the prop should) but the spirals are not staying up and the smaller ones (See front) is tilting outwards. After I left it to dry and went about my day I came back and noticed it was cracking. Not only that but it was falling off the base. I went to wash my hands and my boyfriend was spazzing. It turns out the whole thing slide off (Luckily it wasn't broken because it was fully contented yet) So I quickly made the discussion to gather everything up and start with paper macheing the boning I had created.
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I read that home made paper mache can mold over time because of the flour in it. Since this is such a complicated prop that I'll most likely never want to make again so I grabbed a bottle of Elmer's glue and a paint brush and some newspaper. This is a cheap way of making a firm paper mache without having to stand over a pan boiling gunk that stinks like no other. The photo above is the outcome. Its not only staying in place but its firm and nothing is leaning outwards. Its still drying but I'm very pleased with how it went. All my hard work has paid off and I'm really excited to move forward to finish this piece.
I'm planning on starting on the smaller tighter curls after the piece dries. I've learned that they need to be connected to the base in order to stay in place and from falling all over the place. So the next step is starting with the wire. This time I'm going to use two lines of wire, making the base thicker and firmer. This way it'll be harder for it to fall off of the base, which is covered in paper mache. Then add the coat of clay (Thicker this time, don't be afraid of using it) then paper mache. Four steps.
1.Cut and form the wire and connect it to the base.
2.Form the clay around the wire base
3. Let dry and add a layer of varnish
4. Add paper mache layer
After these steps I'm planning on trying to spray paint but if that doesn't work I'll be hand painting the whole thing by hand. After that I'll decided how to crate the hook on the bottom to hold the tassel, which we're looking for this weekend. The feather for the prop is already done but I'll post the pictures later.
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Yesterday I added on the last bits of swirls to the top which is now covered in paper mache and is done. I noticed because I had to take off the boning of the sphere from the base (plastic ball) it had slipped and wasn't even. So I took it off the base for good. Although I did put it back on to make sure the shape was in fact correct because its hard to tell with it being on its own. This morning I covered the newspaper with varnish so it stays hard and the bits of clay that are seen don't crack before I can put on the gesso.
Gesso was a last minute discussion to put on because of the newspaper is uneven. I got the idea from FIRELILYCOSPLAY's DA. She also used the glue and newspaper for her paper mache project. Gesso dries hard like canvas. It'll go on smooth too. Its normally used for painting but works great on projects like this. Instead of using something more expensive to create a hard and smooth surface to work with Gesso is the best choice.
I can't post the pictures today thanks to the camera being dead at the moment but I'll make sure to update them tomorrow when I can also take pictures of the staff and the feathers.
Staff-70% done
Feathers-99% done
Sphere-40%
--- 6/8
So today we got more supplies, model magic clay and Gesso. The top part of the sphere is looking good. But I noticed a issue. The newspaper used for the paper mache is sticking up in some places and looks bad with the Gesso over it. Luckily we got some paper mache pulp too. So tomorrow I plan on re paper macheing it so it's smooth. I also started creating the bottom half of the sphere. Since I have to do this in parts so the I wont have to press the top part down while working on the bottom. I'm guessing this will take a while to figure out how to get it smooth but hopefully this paper mache pulp is easy to use. Its late I'm tired as hell and I still couldn't find the camera so tomorrow while I'm waiting for the paper mache to dry I'm doing a huge clean up of my work space and room.
Tomorrow we're also going to start our search for red tassels for both of the props. I hope we can find some!
---6/10
So still looking for that camera....Anyway The sphere is on hold until we have a full day to start the paper mache I think I'll do it tomorrow since I'm not doing anything after I go to the job center. We decided after not being able to find red tassels for both the props that I'll be making those as well. We also plan on entering both the sphere and staff into a prop contest in Dec. I'm pretty pumped for that since these are my first fully made props. I'm pretty proud of them. I'll post the pictures as soon as I can. I also got my ear pierced (Industrial) yesterday so I'm in a bit of pain and kind of wozy so work will be slow right now. We're planning on going to a cosplay picnic in July so hopefully I'll have the props done by then! I'll update tomorrow with pictures (If I find that blasted camera!)
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