Catra Cosplay
After a year missed from Comic Con, thanks to the pandemic, I made sure to take more time and consideration over my next cosplay project. The hit Netflix TV series She-Ra and The Princesses of Power was a series that had resonated with me in a way that only The Legend of Korra had ever done before. The series had helped me round a very difficulty corner of my life and I had become immensely involved with the character of Catra. I could really relate with her emotionally and on a personal scale, it was undeniable that she had to be my next cosplay, and not only that, I was going to make it ALL myself.
I converted my friend to the series, she fell in love with it hugely too and she agreed to join me in my She-Ra cosplaying mission as Glimmer.
The clothes was a close imitation to the top I made for Korra, except for having to patch together two fabrics, but the leggings had been a solid challenge as I had to pull them all the way down over my feet! Both the badge and the belt buckle were made from EVA foam, shaped with a dremel and painted with acrylic and spray paint. The tail was created with a similar design to the wig's fur, but bulked with stuffing and the fur had to be trimmed and designed and then strapped around my waste through two holes created in the trousers and the top (did not make it easy to visit the toilet-!). Lastly, the wig, my biggest challenge yet, and the first I had ever made! All designed from fur, scuba and a lot of patience. It consisted of creating a cap, a scuba-fabric stuffed pouch to give the wig volume, hundreds of fur spikes stuck to the 'twi-lek' looking pouch, a pair of cat ears and the head piece which was 66mm EVA foam and worbla. The head piece was attached to the wig with Velcro to allow it to be detachable. All finished off with a metallic red spray paint. The wig was fairly heavy, but mostly very warm which contrasted with my cold bare feet.
I was a little dubious about wearing coloured contact lenses so I formed my eyeshadow makeup to replicate Catra's eye colours, and I was really happy with the results.
Catra has by far been my most ambitious and most successful cosplay yet. She has been the first character I have felt I have resonated with, and the convention was full of incredible She-Ra cosplayers which allowed me to connect and network with a lot of lovely and talented people. Thank you Catra.
A little behind the scenes
Glimmer's Staff
My friend decided to come along as Glimmer to Comic Con, making it our first themed cosplay. As she has never done cosplay before I ended up selling my very first cosplay commission to her, having made Glimmer's staff from scratch! I made it detachable in order for it to fit into luggage for travel and to fit the MCM's weapon and props guidelines. The design and making of the staff happened thanks to hours of carefully studying cosplayers I admired. This took me just under a week to do and I was so excited to be officially a cosplay commissioner.
The bulk of the staff was made from EVA foam, the star comprised of 6mm EVA foam with clay foam in the centre. The head of the staff was held together by a bendy PVC pipe and had clay foam to form the shape, all the way down to the point (the point being shaped and held by a metal pipe). The bottom of the handle was shaped with several layers of EVA foam and a lot of Dremel work. The long handle has 2 layers of 1mm EVA foam wrapped and glued around an extremely strong cardboard tube. The two parts are magnetically held together, the handle slipping in behind the head and clipping together. The colouring was done with spray paint, airbrush paint and acrylic paint.
It was light to carry round the convention and blended well with Glimmer's attire in the end!
