Costumes! Costumes! Costumes!

Movie  Makeup…It’s Evolution

I came across this video about one of the old masters of makeup in the 30’s and 40’s.

Baked foam rubber….I never heard that one before, but then again, it was before my time.  I am curious as to what he meant by ‘foam rubber’.  It is what we consider foam rubber today or something else?

My first experience with ‘rubber’ masks was ordering a 50 gallon drum of latex and a 5 gallon drum of a cataylist to build my own masks and other prosthtics.  Every once in a while, I think maybe I’ll try that again.  The drawback?  You can get a LOT of masks out of 55 gallons of latex products (remember the math 50+5), and I would only want to make a few dozen masks.

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Man of 1000 Faces

Lon Chaney was a master of makeup in the silent and early movies.  In this video you’ll see a 3 minute crash course in what Lon Chaney did with real makeup.  I love prosthetics and the realistic results you get from them, but can you image this being done with nose putty and grease paint?  

Over the next few days, hopefully we can find a few videos on how to makeup some of those early movie characters.  

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Make Your Own Fangs

How does this video fit into the theme of this site?  Simple,  Can you imagine making fangs or some other type of ugly teeth for your next Halloween party?   Converting this concept into fangs or decaying teeth might take a little creativity and imagination, but the end result should be fang-tastic.

Did I see a bottle of Gorilla Glue in this video?  Did he actually use Gorilla Glue to hold his newly made teeth in?  No wonder his teeth stay in for days.  This is highly NOT recommended as the means of affixing these fake teeth.  If you pursue this, I suggest using Dentucreme or some other product that is made specifically to affix dentures.

What I did like about this video, however, was how he formed the teeth to his own liking, and the natural coloration of those teeth.  CLICK HERE for more on masquerade and theatrical costumes. 

Make It Yourself Costume Tips

Make a list. Check it twice.  Find out whose naughty or…..opps….that last part doesn’t pertain to this video.

This young lady explains everything you need to start sewing your own Halloween / theatrical costume.  There are numerous elements to preparing a do-it-yourself costume, but they are all pretty easy to do.

Sorry, she didn’t get into the sewing process itself, but that might have taken a few hours longer.  (:>)

Also, for me, the background music was a little distracting. Hope it isn’t for you.  

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Belly Dancing Costume Fabrics

Going shopping for fabric for your belly dancing costume?  This video is like a going to a fabric store to see all the options, or flipping through the pages of a fabric sample book.

You will notice that we will be focusing on fabrics for your Hallween costume or theatrical costumes or for any other specific costume needs for the next week or so.  This series, hopefully, will correspond with the addition of our new affiliate, Hancock Fabrics.  We will try and keep you informed with updates as to specials on fabrics, coupons, discounts, etc.

The only drawback to this series on fabrics is that you need to have at least some minimal sewing skills or the ability to drape fabrics to acheive whatever you want to achieve.  Me?  Can’t sew a stitch.

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Bootcamp for Mascots

Not quite as intense as the  bootcamp I attended many years ago.  

This is another in the brief series on schools for mascots and some of the rigors these mascots have to go through.  I failed to mention in a earlier post that this is a hot and physically demanding ‘occupation’ or ‘hobby’

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Masot Costume Crash Course

Much of the thinking and process of making a costume is contained in this less than 2 minute video.

More time could have been devoted to how the head is constructed, but I like that he speaks of the eyes, the expression and the colors and how critical they are to the overall personality of the mascot costume.  

I live in a college football town (unnamed) and the local university has the absolutely worst mascot I have ever seen. The eyes are spacey and the smile (if you want to call it that) is bland.  A few minor changes to the eyes and the mouth would at least give the hometown mascot some personality.  Right now, the only personality that it gets is from the guy/gal wearing the costume…and at least he or she is animated.

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Costume Mascots 2

Well acted out, and a nice costume, I might say.  Notice the fake fur has a tencdency to overlap and blend in with itself.  Almost seamless.

As to dressing, He did this correctly….from the bottom up.

On the costume, I saw the same engineering flaw in the head design that I saw with a costume head in an earlier video. Engineering plays a major part in the design of these costumes.  There must be adequate visibility and adequate ventilation.  

For instance, some designers set the eyes so as to see straight ahead, and unless there is an offsetting opening in the mouth  (so as to look downwards), the character will be percieved as looking downward or the wearer is looking to take a tumble.  Instructions need to be included as to how to walk, talk and play the part.  A mis-step on a staircase because of the oversized shoes/feet might cause a trip (literally and figuratively) to the local ER.

The head must be secure so as to not fall off, and the wearer must feel secure that it won’t fall off; otherwise he’ll be playing to the costume and not to his audience.

For more on theatrical and maquerade costumes, CLICK HERE

Mascot School

Well, we’ve all got to start somewhere.  You don’t just put on a suit, shoes, gloves and a funny head and WOW your audience.

It involves much more than that.  You’ve got to excude personality.  Yo’ve got to play a role.  You have to stay in character.  You have to be animated.  Where do you go to learn all of this?  Mascot school.

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Caveat Emptor on Mascot Costumes

Hmm…I wonder if the Disney folks relaxed their policies on the sales of Mickey Mouse costumes?  I came across this video which prompted this comment.

  In the past (20-50 or more years ago), it was a huge copyright No-No to duplicate, rent, buy, sell or manufacture Disney characters, and most other copyrighted characters as well.

Disney and any other companies who have copyrighted characters want to maintain a certin integrity for those characters; and it would be really bad publicity if the public saw a drunken Goofy, or Donald Duck robbing a bank, wouldn’t it? That’s why they maintain an iron-fist when it comes to their characters.

Back in the olden days, I understand there were 20+ typewritten pages (remember typewriters?) with details as to how the costumes would be worn, how often gloves would be changed, etc.;  and especially never, never remove the head, and always, always keep in character.

Does this apply to those famous character costumes sold at Walmart or Target or your favorite grocery store?  I assume that the manufacturers of these costumes were licesnsed to manufacture and sell them, so you are likely OK.  You might check the labels to be certain though.

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