Who wouldn't want to be HawkGirl!

I have received many inquiries about HawkGirl wings, the answer is Yes, I can make them. One cosplayer decided to go all out and get the fullest, largest set of Fixed Frame HawkGirl wings I could give her. The result was a pair of wings I'd have loved to keep.

"HawkGirl" Wings, 54" Fixed Frame, X-tra Full, Two-Tone Grey

This pair of wings differs from the previous 54" models in that it has more layers of faux feathers. I offer three different faux feather options called "styles": Basic, Full and X-tra Full. This pair of wings is an X-tra Full model, boasting 3 layers of faux feathers for really filled out looking wings. 

These wings are based on an older version of HawkGirl comics. They would also be perfect for a Weeping Angel costume....hmm I see some possible plans for the future. Marbelized effect anyone?

Harris Hawk

So we've seen the "Paladin" but what about some variations?

I had the opportunity to produce three pairs of wings patterned after a Harris Hawk.

It was quite a challenge to tackle the paint job on this set, as each feather had to be individually painted before being set in place, but the results were worth the effort.  

"Harris Hawk" Wings, 60" Fixed Frame

Bigger is Better

And we are back at it folks, with more wings; bigger and better than ever before. So here starts the round custom ordered wings I'm digging up from the archives. 

The "Paladin" 54" tall Fixed Frame Wings

First up, "The Paladin"
These wings are the most basic layout available for 54" tall wings. (54" being the tallest I can ship non-freight) They are essentially the super large version of the very popular "Sentinel" wings. These wings are still one of my favorite designs to date. 

The best part is they are durable enough to run around in and they, like all my wings, are ultra light weight. In fact, the thermoplastic harness weighs more than the wing themselves.

I am happy to reproduce these wings upon request. 

Just Adorable

I was recently commissioned to make a pair of angel wings based on a specific character design. These were a little more tricky to create but at the same time very fun. In the process of making these wings I learned just how easy it is to dye turkey feathers (provided the color intended is pretty straight forward) 

En lien of this project I've decided that its about time I learned how to airbrush. Then I'll be able to create all sorts of fun designs and color palettes.

Maroon

Maroon Fairy Wings available at TruWings on Etsy

Hedgehogs Rule!

So I've decided to make a hedgehog costume. "Why?" you might ask. First off because hedgehogs are just so dang cute! Also, by working on this costume side project I will be able to explore many of the materials frequently used at work that I am less familiar with. This project is a mean of exploring and practicing some new (and some out-of-practice...ahem) costuming techniques.

For starters I've sculpted the head and molded it in perforated aquaplast.

Bumblebee

That's right! And we keep making more. 

Bumblebee - Michael Curry Design

This is what I've primarily been working on at MCD. No, I didn't build all of it, that would be insane. I'm a little crazy but not that crazy. I worked on some of the basic mechanics, carbon & bondo work and such.

Yes, Faux Feathers! Yes!

 Finally, I've managed to come up with a way to make faux feathers that I am just about completely satisfied with. I'm still keeping the specifics under wraps but the gist of it is such: I've switched from fabric to foam.

"Celaeno" Dark Angel Wings available at TruWings

The results are:
1. Saved Time by Not laminating with glues or epoxies and waiting for the multiple layers of fabric to dry, hoping there wont be air bubble spots on the reverse side.
2. Shape. Finally achieved a compound curve, the shape I've been striving to achieve for months now.
3. Texture. I'm still playing with this one, and I think I've got it right on the next batch of white feathers.
4. Durable and still super light weight. Maybe not more durable than laminated fabric but certainly more crowd friendly. Flexible and forgiving.
5. Color. Okay so the black is still not as black as I would like. It's an issue of reflectivity. Real feathers reflect light in a manner which is extremely difficult to replicate accurately in black. This is why I started with black, knowing it would be more difficult to get a satisfying result than working with white.

Purple Fairy

Purple / Pink Fairy Wings available at TruWings

And the list goes on and on...

Pink & Lilac Fairy

Pink Fairy wings available at TruWings

Yellow Fairy

Yellow Fairy Wings available at TruWings

 Because I just never stop.

Spring Wings

 

"Cielo" White Angel Wings available at TruWings

It's spring time now, and even though it's still rainy, love is in the air. So, I'm now concentrating on producing white wings for brides, flower girls and those who simply choose to frolic in white wings because one might as well wear white until Labor Day and one might as well wear it in style. 

For starters I've recently completed a pair of white angel wings. No faux feathers on this set though; those are still in the making and will soon be revealed.

Halloween Wings

My favorite pair yet.

Faerieworlds: Fire Fairy

New Wings Finished

I just yesterday finished this commissioned pair of 4' tall non-articulated angel wings. I love them and want to build a pair for myself - but I think I have enough of my own.

I hope to have wings like these along with some smaller models available on an etsy store within the year. I might be switching to foam feathers rather than fabric though. We'll have to see. Up next will by my experiments with that.

Merchant's Cart: On Stage

Merchant of Venice

To finish up an early thread, the cart I had been working on this spring made its way onto the stage in STC's production of "The Merchant of Venice." It looks pretty much the way I had left it at the end of my internship. Some parts were simplified, which I think is really a good thing - it was a very busy cart before. The cheese wheel, maybe some baskets and the clothesline for meat products and other hanging what-nots was removed. Looks like the pole for the cheese wheel was re-purposed. Definitely some final touches were done after I had gone, like some more set dressing and paint treatment. I'm very happy with the outcome. I'll try to find a photo where the whole cart is visible.

Headless Body: Completed

Severed Neck Detailing

And for the final touches: make it gross. Cloton's head was cut off so, it needed to look like such. I built up the neck with various blocks and coils of upholstery foam. The esophagus was a bit of carved down pipe foam. The bit of spine was simply a piece of white felt cut to shape and given some dimension and sheen with hot melt glue. More hot melt glue was generously.

The painting got a little tricky since one type of paint would stick to the latex but not the glue and the other type of paint would stick to the glue and not the latex. I found that I could apply the first paint and wipe it off wherever it wasn't going to stick and repeat the process with the second paint. This seamed to work alright. In any case everything got tinted and didn't seem to rub off excessively anywhere. I knew that more paint and reel blood was going to be added later anyhow.

Oh yes, the neck also needed to have a hollow in it which I built into the esophagus. In the production of Cymbeline, grief stricken Imogen marks herself with blood from the body, thinking it's the body of Posthumus. Therefore we tucked a little squeezey-toy full of reel blood into the neck of the body so it would be easy for the actor to access without leaking fake blood all over stage.

In the end the fake body still looked like a fake body, BUT it was a pretty darn good fake body with a pretty darn gross severed neck. Hopefully it will see some stage time again in the future.

Headless Body: Skin

Headless Body with Top Coat

Nearly completed now. With all the foam and poly batting in place to build out the form, the headless body was ready for skin. Nylon is the easiest and least expensive material I have found for making skin. We had a lot of large pairs of nylon tights in stock in the shop so I just took a couple pairs and with some whip stitching and clever wrapping I was able to cover the whole body in two layers of nylon quickly and easily.

As a final step in building the skin layer I coated the nylon with a thinned down layer of latex. In retrospect I ought to have skipped this step as it greatly reduced flexibility. I later had to cut back into the form and remove some of the padding to regain the lost flexibility. The intention was to make the nylon a little more durable so that it wouldn't snag and run. The thought was good but the material needs to be even more stretchy or more lightly applied than the latex I used.

Demonstration of Flexibility

Headless Body: Padding

Headless Body with Polyester Batting

After the frame was completed I started to build up the form. Starting with the torso I placed layer upon layer of poly batting to build out a sort of simplified musculature. The arms and legs needed quite a bit more padding than the torso So I began building out the limbs with some cheap 1" upholstery foam. Fabri-tac and hot glue held it all in place. I didn't worry to much about using a super permanent adhesive since I knew that all the layers would be held in place with the final skin.