Cosplay Background
For a while now I’ve wanted to jump into the fun world of cosplay. I’ve been interested in non-traditional/editorial makeup for a while, but I really got the bug when I designed and built a few costumes for Mardi Gras last year. I had such a great time building an idea from scratch that I wanted to do it more often than once a year. Additionally, I’ve always been pretty crafty and into DIY projects and artistic outlets. When I decided I wanted to learn how to play League of Legends and watch the LCS, I had a great opportunity to dive in to cosplay.
Why Taric
Besides the Mardi Gras costumes, I have no experience in any kind of costume design, so I wanted to start out with something easy and fun, but something that would require me to try something new. I think the Armor of the Fifth Age Taric skin is pretty dope. What can I say, I really wanted to wear pink fur leg warmers. I thought I might try making those, but they’re so easily found at pretty much any Party City I decided to spend my time and energy elsewhere, namely on Taric’s necklace and headband. Putting together the leg warmers and accessories would result in a costume that was still fun but more appropriate for the event I’d be wearing it to (NA LCS Week 7, NOT a cosplay convention!).
Time to Learn
I started doing some research and decided the easiest way for me to make Taric’s necklace and headband was with resin and polymer clay. I hopped onto Amazon, ordered my supplies, and dug in as soon as they arrived. I started my resin very late Thursday night for a Sunday morning costume. I didn’t know resin required at least 24 hours to cure, so in the future I’ll definitely be getting a head start on resin making!
Resin Gems
Taric has two fuchsia gems I needed to make, so I ended up going with a square mold and clear resin. To color the gem I tried a number of methods. Painting the back of the clear gem with nail polish yielded an ideal result.
Polymer Clay Setting
Nest I needed to make some kind of setting for the gems. I decided to use polymer clay. I found clay to be extremely difficult and frustrating to work with! Most likely because I have no clue what I’m doing! After many failed attempts at getting a reasonable design, I finally figured out my design. My big takeaway from this experience is that thicker clay pieces are easier to work with (for a beginner) than thin pieces. Once I figured out my clay thickness and shape, things started coming together quickly. I painted the clay to give it a bit more of a metallic look.
Documenting my Process
Before working with the resin or clay, I searched for YouTube tutorials. While I found a lot that were very helpful, most were by very experienced cosplayers. I thought it might be helpful for beginners to see and hear a total noob’s experience working with these materials, so I put together a video showing my process. Check it out if you’re interested in seeing how all of this came together for a total beginner!
Building a Final Product
Once my resin and clay pieces were cured, baked and painted, all I needed to do was assemble the pieces. For Taric’s necklace, I glued one gem into the setting I had poked a hole in. Then I created a jump ring from a piece of scrap metal wire, and threaded that through a gold chain. For the headband, I glued the second gem into the setting without a hole, then glued the embellishment onto a purple satin headband. In the future I might try using velcro or pins instead of glue to be able to swap out different embellishments. I completed the look with purple nail polish in lieu of Taric’s purple gloves, some purple leggings and some reeeeally purple eyeshadow!
The Reveal
I was so pleased with how everything turned out! As I mentioned before, I wasn’t wearing this to a convention or really to anything cosplay related. LCS games are mostly attended by dudes in jerseys like any other sporting event. I thought this had the right amount of costume and familiarity to the audience without being super over the top. I’m sure I was still “the weird girl” that Sunday, but I had a great time. Life is too short to not wear the furry leg warmers!
Feedback and Advice
If you have any feedback about my process, materials or general advice I’d love to hear it! I’m so new to the game I really am working from scratch!