Doh!

Halloween has come and gone and I COMPLETELY FORGOT to update with pictures of the final costume!

As soon as the snow melts a bit around here and I can lock down one of my photographer friends, I'll get some shots of what I feel turned out to be a kick-ass costume up on this thing.

In the mean time, if you want to check out my opinions on what cool stuff is going on in and around NYC, my favorite places to drink, and anything else that catches my fancy; check out my new blog: muthafuckinrockstar.blogspot.com.

Quick Update

I didn't get the costume done before NYCC due to a series of bad luck, unexpected expenses, and a day full of random photo and video shoots.

So, instead of being my costume for 2011 NYCC, this is instead going to be my Halloween costume and for whatever cons I happen to make it to in 2012!  The costume is coming along really well and should definitely be ready for it's premier at the multiple parties I'm going to this weekend (and at The Home of Happiness's screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in Montclair, NJ...  Where I'll also be MCing and playing Riff Raff on Friday!).

Not going to post any more photo updates until after the weekend, though.  I've decided to keep the final costume as a bit of a surprise just in case anyone going to the show is actually reading this thing.

Mask 2.0: Now with Less Suck

Updated 9/27:  I added the whites to the eyes.  Took about an hour per eye to hand-stitch in stretched out dollar store knee-high sock material.  Have a look:

(Intergalactic super hero by night.  Corporate cog by day...  And no one will ever be the wiser!) 

I'm not entirely pleased with how this looks.  I might try adding some black fabric over part of the whites to give it a better shape, but another part of me is saying to leave it alone so I don't potentially ruin all of my progress to date (maybe wait until some later project to make a Mark III from scratch).

In any event:  The next step is going to be the "profile" for the chest triangle.  I've got a few ideas.  Hopefully the first (and simplest) will be the one that works.  After that:  It's cape time!

Original Post:  So I decided that there were a lot of things I didn't like about the mask I made last night...  Which is to say the fact is was black was the only thing that really worked for me.

So, This evening I went back and modified the pattern some more to a) more closely reflect the ginormitude of my head and b) add some more Space Ghost specific details.  This is what I came up with:

The main things I changed were making the neck larger (both vertically and circumference) and adding what I was hoping would end up looking like the chest emblem.

Here's how it turned out:

I'm much happier with this one.  The chest emblem curled up a bit, but I think the addition of the red profile should help that (and if it doesn't, I'll velcro it to the body suit).  I also think I did an infinitely better job on the eyes.

So, tomorrow I'll try and get the eyes done and hem what looks like it needs hemming.

Mask / Cowl

9/13:  PROGRESS!  After getting through an unexpectedly busy week and working through a few technical difficulties (IE:  Messing up a bunch of times), I've come up with this:

As you can probably see, I had to add about 4 inches of fabric in the neck area.  I've adjusted my pattern accordingly for future use.  

Over the next couple of days I'll hopefully add the chest emblem, sew white into the eyes and accomplish a bit of hemming.

9/6:  Thanks to the majesty of the internet, I've found a very generous individual who has posted not only an instructional video, but also pattern for making a cowl!  I've traced her basic pattern off of my computer screen and tomorrow night I'm going to try and modify it to include the Space Ghost mask and maybe cut & sew if I have time.

I think the cape IS going to be a separate piece and use the SG profile chest piece as the clasp...  But not actually attached to the mask.  We'll see.


9/7 (1pm):  What better way to spend a lunch break than working on sewing patterns?  Attempt at modifying a cowl pattern into a mask and cowl that will accommodate my somewhat sizable schnoz:

(Ears marked out in case this works and I want to make different costumes in the future).

Tonight, I sew!

Power Bands

9/5:  Figured out the pattern and dimensions for the powerbands (10" long bands with 8" x 2" button strips) and cut out the bands themselves.  I just realized that I own neither red nor yellow thread, so I'm going to have to pick that up.  Tomorrow night I hope to hem the edges of the bands, but not going to sew the seam up the middle until the buttons are on.

(I know...  I'll hold the whole thing together with SAFETY PINS!)

(Every sewing journey begins with a single snip... /sniffle)

Also, I'm not cutting out the "buttons" until after the cape is done.  I've got enough material for the button strips and the cape...  Just not sure where to cut from yet.

The project so far...

I decided earlier this year that I was going to make a Space Ghost costume out of spandex for New York ComiCon (October 13 - 16) partly because I haven't made a costume in a while and partly for the motivation of getting my body back into shape enough to be seen in public wearing spandex.

(Doesn't exactly leave a lot to the imagination.)

As of today (September 5th), I've got another 30 pounds to lose (but down 30 since coming to this decision) and a pile of yellow, red, and black spandex.  The way I see it, I've got about a month to lose the weight and make the costume.  This blog is to provide me with further motivation, keep track of my progress, and hopefully end up being a showcase for bragging rights.

(SG used a mad scientist from the Ghost Planet.  I used Spendex House in the Garment District of NYC)

The current order of pieces to be made seems to be cape and cowl (as one completed piece), gauntlets, and finally making the belt and buying the body suit as close to the con as possible for... let's call it "accurate sizing".

I've currently got an e-mail out to someone I found on you tube who posted an awesome tutorial on making a spandex cowl that I'd only have to modify slightly and said she'd e-mail the pattern to anyone who PMs her.  Here's hoping that works out.  If anyone reading this wants to post a link to a PATTERN (not someone selling the completed mask... sorta defeats the point of this project), I'd appreciate it.

Well, that's it for now.  In case you don't know who Space Ghost is or what he looks like (yet still felt compared to read this blog), check-a-check out his wiki page.  Good stuff.