Fiona Cosplay Tutorial

Since the Dallas Comic Con is this weekend (woo!) I decided to make a master post showcasing my Fiona cosplay. I have posted bits and pieces of the process, but this is a full detailed look at all the hard work I put into this costume. I didn’t get a chance to take any finished photos with the green body paint because I am nervous I won’t have enough for the convention. So after Saturday I am sure I will have plenty of pics to share of the completed look! But for now… enjoy this tutorial/process of Fiona’s costume from Shrek Forever After!

Warning: Lots of Photos!!

I started out by making the armor first, because I figured this would be pretty difficult for me. I had never made armor before.

It required a lot of steps. First, I made a pattern out of paper, cut out the foam, and glued some gauze to the back.

Then I gesso’d it (which acted like a primer), and then painted it. I did a couple coats so I could get a rustic look.

To bend the pieces of (now thick) foam I let them sit in these cups for a couple days.

Then, I punched holes in the sides and tied hemp string through it like shoe lace. This way I can tighten the armor as much as I like.

My next project was the necklace. I used Crayola Magic Mold to make the beads and claws. I also made the hilt of the dagger this way.

After painting it, I realized the green was way too dark.

So I redid that!

And here is a look at the painted hilt and the belt buckle. The buckle and blade of the dagger are made from foam, then gesso’d, then painted.

 

I hot glued the blade to the hilt.

Then made a holster for the dagger. This is secured with more string in case I want to take the dagger off for another project someday.

The next big step was the shirt, skirt, and belt. This fabric was from JoAnn’s.

Pixie was less than helpful, but oh so cute.

I traced a shirt I knew fit well onto the back of the light brown fabric.

Sorry this is upside down, lol.. Then I cut it out and sewed it.

This material was kind of hard to work with..

Here’s one sleeve finished!

Two sleeves and the skirt finished.. I was kinda happy with this, but the shirt was uncomfortable and the skirt looked a little long.

I decided to leave it as is.. so this is a look at the finished items so far. Just needed to do the belt and axe next.

The axe was made out of a cardboard pole and styrofoam.

I freehanded the shape of the blades on the foam.

Then made a huge mess cutting it out.

I stuck wooden sticks in the foam horizontally and hot glued it to the pole for support.

Then I gesso’d that bad boy.

Next, I painted the blades silver and bronze, and the pole a textured brown. I added sheet foam to the top of the pole to make it look like a broken piece of wood. The final steps were glueing on the rope and the fabric around the pole.

I wear my pajamas a lot when I work on projects.

The ears were made out of foam which I gesso’d and painted green. I drew a large lightbulb-ish shape and folded the skinny part at the bottom and hot glued it together.

Then I glued the ears onto a wire headband. I painted the headband with my bronze paint to blend it in with my hair better.

So here was a final fitting with all my pieces.. But I still wasn’t happy with how the shirt and skirt fit.

So I decided to remake the shirt. Oddly enough, I had a hard time finding a plain brown tshirt. I found this Zelda shirt at Ross Dress For Less in the little boys section. It was obviously way too short for me, so I bought two since it was only $4.

I turned the shirts inside out and lengthened it. Then I cut the neckline and added the stitches to the front.

The green skirt is the same one from before, but I decided to shorten it a little so you could see the dagger and holster on my thigh better.

I’m really happy now with how everything fits! The costume is very comfortable. That’s important when you go to a convention. I will be there all day Saturday as Fiona. The last thing I’ll need to do is apply the green body paint, and fluff up the wig some. I sure hope the makeup turns out okay.. Here’s to hoping!

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Are you going to Dallas Comic Con 2013?

Will you be in costume?

Have you ever made an entire costume before?