Mantis Shrimp Punch! (Halloween Costume)

I became fascinated with mantis shrimp after reading about them in The Oatmeal. Earlier this month, I saw one in real life while scuba diving in Indonesia on vacation. So I decided to make this costume. It took about 10-12 hours to make (up to this point). 

What you will need:
Lots of cardboard
5 brightly colored poster boards
1-2 rolls of brightly colored wrapping paper
Brightly colored craft feathers
2 pairs of costume butterfly wings
Two large balls (i.e. Christmas ornaments or foam balls)
Light pink glitter
Gaff tape
Spray adhesive
Scissors
Exacto knife or circle cutter
1 backpack

The back piece consists of cardboard sections glued together in segments, so it moves like a shrimp!  Pretty much everything is connected with spray adhesive, then covered in poster board and wrapping paper to cover in color. The legs were cut out separately and attached to the body pointing inward. The eyes are clear Christmas ornaments covered in light pink glitter using spray adhesive, attached to the tubes with Gaff tape. The tubes are leftovers from a finished roll of wrapping paper that were also covered in blue poster board. The eyes are held against the back with Gaff tape.

The sonoluminescent punching action is captured with battery LED lights controlled by a switch in my glove. When I punch people the circuit is connected and the arms light up just like a mantis shrimp! Check out the video below to see sonoluminescent punch action.