Here I am, I have not forgotten my destructoid crew... nor the costumes for my kids. This is just the start of the story.


After some research and careful planning we decided on making a Yoshi mascot costume. A mascot costume being something a little more than just your average suit. Yeah I could have just tweaked a dinosaur costume, or made a yoshi hat, but I like a challenge, and I wanted it to be proportional. The other reason I thought I could pull this off is I have my mother-in-law helping me with the sewing (and she is awesome at it). This would be a combined build of ingenuity and tailoring.

I am a fairly good 3d artist so I felt confident that I could recreate Yoshi based on some imagery I found online, along with some drawings I made for sizing purposes.

With the head being the most challenging part I started with it. After the success of last years costumes I knew that I wanted to make the costume fuzzy and cute. So it was going to get covered in fabric again. I decided to construct the head out of wire and plastic mesh for the foundation.


I started with the front view outline and then slowly built up a wire frame of Yoshi's head. This took a few hours (not to bad).


I then cut out the plastic mesh to lay over the wire frame and attached it by weaving a thin wire. This took FOREVER. Looking back I might have just been able to use yarn.


All the while I was testing the fit on my boy... but... I didn't really let him carry the weight until I got towards the end. It was heavy for him. It was a little over two pounds, and when you weigh just 32 pounds... that's heavy. I hadn't worked on the mounting or anything yet, so I figured it just needed to be stabilized.

My solution? I thought 2lbs was too much for his head to support, so I decided to let it rest on his shoulders and then have a stiff harness system that would come down his chest/back and attach to a belt.


What the hell was I thinking. Well... I was thinking that I have just spent a long time and I didn't want it to go to waste. I probably could have added a head support system to help. But at this point I was feeling like a terrible Baba for making my son wear such a monster of a head, and it didn't even have its skin yet. It would be great for someone that is older, but for my 4 year old... yeah, not a solution.

This video should get the point across...



After sulking about my failed first attempt I tried to talk to my son about choosing a different costume. The conversation went something like this:

"We might have to do something else for your costume" I said.

"Why?" he responded.

"Because this is too big and heavy for you."

"You will make it lighter baba." stating with complete confidence.

"I don't think I can make this one lighter." Feeling pretty low at this point.

"You can do it." As he walks away.

This was one of the first times I really got to see how my son looks up to me and thinks that I can do anything. I remember feeling that way about my dad, mom, and older brothers. What was I to do? Shatter that image at 4 yrs old, or man up and figure it out. I obviously choose the latter.

So I got to researching and after some good advice and more idea's I started over... with precious little time left.

It has been a long while since I have been around these parts, but I am in need of motivation. For those that are new around here, or don't remember... I did a custom set of costumes last year.

I have the idea for the costume this year, but I am so busy with life and work that I am having a hard time finding the time to work on stuff. Since I don't want to let me kids down, and I don't want to let myself down, I am going to start writing articles here. This will hopefully give myself more motivation by knowing that you all will be counting on my costume prowess powers as well.

The costumes this year are not 100% set, but I have some thoughts.

Eldest son (will be 4 by Halloween): Yoshi
But not some simple costume... this is going to be more like a mascot costume for a 4 year old. I have a good idea of how to make it as well.

Youngest son (will be 2 by Halloween): Mario or Toad
I am not sure what I want to do here. I first thought to make him Toad which the size will work well. Also the big mushroom head would look super cute. Then I thought about making him Mario, because the size would work there too, and it would then be more recognizable.

Me: Mario or Bowser or None
At first my youngest was going to be Toad and I was going to be Mario. But the size really doesn't work. Then I thought I could just not dress up. Then I thought well... maybe Bowser if I have the time. If I make Bowser... then this would be more about the bowser costume than anything, and I really want the focus to be on the kids. I don't want to take anything away from them. Plus I really don't think I will have the time for Bowser.

So what does everyone else think? Going with the Yoshi/Mario theme what would be good costumes for me and my youngest?

Come one come all to our fun night of Wii games and Skype mayhem. Looks to be a decent crowd so far... please add your info in the comments below as the Wii is a steamy pile when it comes to online play.

Mario Kart:
Mine Kart Kode: 3738 0140 6156
Bomberman:
Mine Code: 0044 6227 4344
Medal of Honor Heroes 2:
Nicknames: craineum
Skype: kevin.craine
Time: 10pm EST

That is right, after a long hiatus, we have returned! Since we will have some visitors from across the pond, it will be a Kart and Bomberman event (mostly Kart).

And like I have said before, our FNF's are more about the gathering and less about the games, so if you don't have a Kart, actually if you don't have a Wii, grab a white TV remote, load up some Kart YouTube vids and join us on skype... hell we won't even have to dick with Kart Kodes that way.

If you are going to play and we haven't hooked up in the past, make sure you post your Kart Kode below (or just do the YouTube thing).

I think ryu89 might be doing the Brawl thing too.

Mario Kart:
Mine Kart Kode: 3738 0140 6156
Digtastik Kart Kode: 2020 0092 3270
Bomberman:
Mine Code: 0044 6227 4344
Digtastik: 4167 7948 3525
Medal of Honor Heroes 2:
Nicknames: craineum, digtastik, groebo (ie they all match our dtoid nicks)
Skype: kevin.craine, digtastik
Time: 10pm EST


ryu89 Hosting
Brawl Code: 0817-3428-3165
Skype: Ryuh89
Time: 11pm EST

A little while ago, and now I can't remember where I read it (probably facebook), it sounded like Mikey needed some funds. This sparked a thought in my head... I really wanted a custom piece done by him for me and the kids.

My idea was to take us in our Halloween getups, and then add a little Mikey flare to it. I sent him a few images of us to work from like this:


We worked out an agreement for compensation based on what I was looking for, then he got to work. First he put together a few different rough sketches that showed us in different poses.


After I selected one with a few tweaks to it, he sent me a final pencil rendering before going to ink and color.


Finally the results...


I am going to print this out and put it on my desk at work. Truly Awesome!

Here is a little comparison shot. I think he did an wonderful job catching just what I was looking for.


So this article comes down to nothing more than a fan gushing all over Mikey trying to get others to give him some money for a creation so full of awesomeness... you may just explode. Mikey does a lot of things here free of charge because he is cool as shit, so if you like someone's talent and want to support them... do it!

Mikey, you rock!

At the First ever show of FingerBangTastik much more than games and friendly banter transpired. It was a night of angry meltdowns and drunken words... and of course... Titties.

If you missed the show, hold onto your hats, because live and in person tonight... FingerbangTastik reunites for a special encore presentation. And yes... now we have groupies.

This evening will be... well... do we even really need to play games? Probably not, but we might as well. Since we will have some international flavor again, it will be either Kart or Bomberman.

Mario Kart:
Mine Kart Kode: 3738 0140 6156
Digtastik Kart Kode: 2020 0092 3270
Bomberman:
Mine Code: 0044 6227 4344
Digtastik: 4167 7948 3525
Medal of Honor Heroes 2:
Nicknames: craineum, digtastik, groebo (ie they all match our dtoid nicks)
Skype: kevin.craine
Time: 10pm EST


ryu89 Hosting
Brawl Code: 0817-3428-3165
Skype: Ryuh89
Time: 11pm EST