Mermaid Bra

Year: December 2015
Materials: scuba knit, glass pearls, braid, metal flower pendant, bra
Model: Illumis Creations
Photographer: See Through Sea
Mermaid tail: rented from Finfolk Productions
Event: Mermaid Experience January 2016, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

I cut up an old bra replacing the shoulder and back straps, covering it with with scuba knit and polyester wadding. The gold braid and glass pearls were hand-sewn. The metal flower was glued in place and additional stitches on the petal tips to secure it. I glued a pearl to the centre of the flower and added the hanging pearl strands. Inspired by Ariel from "The Little Mermaid".

Below are photos from the week-long Mermaid Experience held by See Through Sea. This was my first time doing an underwater shoot (in open water too!) and swimming in a mermaid tail. Trying to hold your breath for an extended time was the hardest part. My vision underwater was also horrible - sucks being short-sighted. I almost swam into rocks/coral a couple of times...

Shot in a fresh water lava tube

"How many wonders can one cavern hold?"

I picked up the silver candelabra, fork and leather chest at a Salvation Army store in Kona.

It's all real! Also included in the package was a 30 second video of our time. Watch in HD.

Group photo courtesy of Jim Ward from See Through Sea.

Apple of Eden

Year: 2014
Costume: Juno
Source: Assassin's Creed series
Materials: 12cm plastic Christmas bauble, craft foam, Worbla, Rub n Buff, LED lantern, acrylic paint, gesso, liquid contact adhesive

With the light on.

Early stages. Craft foam pieces were glued onto the bauble and covered in Worbla. The Worbla would be cut away from the grooves.

I purchased the baubles from Pack It In (no affiliation) on eBay which are a perfect size.

The LED lantern was purchased from Daiso. It has two settings - a static white light and a coloured "party" setting, which gives the Apple a pulsing glow.

Testing the illumination of one half of the Apple.

Juno's Armour - Head dress

Year: 2014
Character: Juno
Source: Assassin's Creed series
Materials: Worbla, EVA foam, Wonderflex, Rub n Buff, press studs

I scaled and printed out the texture map from the 3D file I found online, cut it out and pinned it to a foam head.

The head was wrapped in gladwrap and I outlined each piece with a marker.

Using another printout, I traced each piece individually onto tracing paper and cut it out of Wonderflex and Worbla. I used Wonderflex as a base because it has a mesh backing and would hold up better to any stress than Worbla. The head dress has to be as light and slim-lined as possible.

The completed sections were marked off on the second printout.

The grills? Fins? on the side of the head dress were the hardest to do. I did my best trying to get them to sit at the correct angle. You can see mine sit higher and narrower than the reference image.

Juno's Armour - Collar & Necklace

Year: 2014
Character: Juno
Source: Assassin's Creed series
Materials: Worbla, EVA foam, craft foam, Rub n Buff, gesso, craft hinges, D-rings

Modifying the collar pattern from Simplicity 2692.

The centre piece was made from craft foam, while the other two are carved from EVA foam.

Similar to the belt, I needed to be able to store/transport the collar. The solution was to add craft hinges at the shoulder joints to essentially "fold" it away. I slipped them in between the foam and Worbla layers, gluing it with contact adhesive and adding another piece of Worbla over it.

I added small photo frame hangers inside the collar to attach the silver bead strands. The beads are strung on elastic jewellery wire with lobster clasps so they can be removed.

There are also two press studs on either side of the collar centre which attach to tabs on the dress front. This helped stop the front of the collar from sticking up.

Made from craft foam and Worbla

Juno's Armour - Belt

Year: 2014
Character: Juno
Source: Assassin's Creed series
Materials: Worbla, EVA foam, craft foam, Rub n Buff, gesso, press studs

I was lucky enough to find the 3D character file of Juno online and was able to extract the texture map files to help with patterning.

I wrapped my mannequin in gladwrap and duct tape to create a pattern.

1st attempt at creating the central buckle plate. I decided to carve it out of one piece of EVA foam instead.

2nd attempt. Carved out of EVA foam with a dremel.

The belt separates into 3 pieces and joins together with press studs.

I needed a storage/transport solution for the belt and decided to break it into three pieces. I had some issues at first as the studs didn't seem to be strong enough. It was just a matter of ensuring each plate was heat-formed correctly and sat flush against each other. With a bit of fiddling, I managed to get them sitting correctly. I've worn it the whole day at conventions and haven't had any issues.

Primed with gesso and wet-sanded.

The belt was primed in black and silver leaf Rub n Buff was applied. The armour was then dry-brushed and sealed with a clear coat.