Here is how I made my zebra costume

*Warning* - This costume takes a long time, lots of patience

Materials Needed:

Spandex body suit (Available at costume shops or dance stores)
Zebra ears and tail (I opted to purchase mine, but they can easily be made yourself with some fabric and a headband)
White acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Fishing Line
A good T.V. series to keep you entertained
Black eyebrow pencil
White shimmer eyes hadow

Step 1: Step 1: Let the Painting Begin

Since the body suit was spandex, it needed to be stretched while painting. If you don't stretch it while painting, once the paint dries and you go to put it on the paint will crack. I didn't want to over-stretch the costume as it would become baggy so I decided I should wear the costume while painting it.

So I pretty much sat in front of the t.v. painting crazy white lines on myself. I chose to divert from traditional zebra looking stripes and go for crazy stripes. There was no pattern, I just painted what I thought worked for that area. If you have a dedicated friend willing to help you paint I would go with that. The front of the costume was relatively easy to paint. When it came to the backs of the legs I had to put my flexibility to the test. For the back of my arms and back, I wore the costume backwards.

Warning- Some of the paint bleeds through the spandex material so I suggest not wearing anything under the costume while painting, yes you end up with some painted stripes on your skin.

The painting process took more hours then I'm willing to admit too but I wanted to have a unique zebra costume. I would try and get someone to help you paint to save time and make the process easier.

Step 2: Step 2: Finishing Touches

After hours and hours of painting I finally finished the costume. The ears I bought were a head band, if you make your own I suggest using a headband as well. For the tail I didn't want to poke a hole in the spandex to attach it with a safety pin. I ended up tying it around my waist with fishing line. In hindsight, go with the safety pin, the fishing line over my costume made going to the washroom a total nightmare.

For the makeup I used a white shimmer eye shadow and applied a patch around my eye and forehead. I then drew some stripes on with an eyeliner.

The costume is a simple concept, just time consuming to make. It was a big hit though so well worth the effort!