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.
hmm have you tried paper mache or craft foam? It can make it so much lighter and you wouldn't have to use a heavy material such as you used. You can do it! Don't give up :3
I really need to get my sewing machine skills up to snuff before my kid realizes how lame his store bought costume is. Even if it didn't work, it still looked amazing.
Oh man ... I'm super excited to see where you go with this one. You set the bar high after last year's incredible costume. I have a feeling this one might be even better!
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about me
I'm old, I have kids, and damn proud of both.
I am a Nintendo Fanboy, as I have grown up with them, and they with me. I finally got an Xbox 360!!! Wish I had the money to pick up the PS3. My gaming has changed a lot since the early days. Now I am more of a pick up and play when I can.
Name: Kevin
Age: 34
Location: Atlanta, GA
Kids: 2 (boys)
Wife: 1
Systems in use:
NES
SNES Mini
N64
Wii
DS
XBox 360
Genesis
Dreamcast
Atari
Games Being Played:
Puzzle Quest
Fav Games:
Dragon Warrior
The Legend of Zelda
Final Fantasy
Kid Icarus
Civilization
Warcraft II
Carmageddon
Soul Caliber
Animal Crossing
Mario Kart DS (For Friend Fun)
Wii Sports (For Family Fun)
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
Awesome!! I'm glad to see you posting the costume design stuff again!
hmm have you tried paper mache or craft foam? It can make it so much lighter and you wouldn't have to use a heavy material such as you used. You can do it! Don't give up :3
Your kid's adorable. This is incredible so far, good luck.
@Aiya, I have moved onto styrofoam, its lighter, and still the same size. It will be done soon.
I really need to get my sewing machine skills up to snuff before my kid realizes how lame his store bought costume is. Even if it didn't work, it still looked amazing.
Pretty clever with the harness system, but yeah, all that wire is pretty heavy. Looking forward to seeing the lighter version!
Oh man ... I'm super excited to see where you go with this one. You set the bar high after last year's incredible costume. I have a feeling this one might be even better!
Damn.
oh my gawd
Jiminy Christmas, man!
This is an adorable story.