Tiki God - Eva Foam Costume
Intro: Tiki God - Eva Foam Costume
I love Halloween, and try to come up with a cool costume each year. Well this year, my inspiration came from a couple tv shows and this site... Face Off and Heroes of Cosplay. I saw a number of really great costumes and decided that I wanted to go big and ambitious. I read through a number of really great Instructables on how to create a costume from Eva foam, and I jumped right in... And I'm very pleased with how it turned out.
STEP 1: The Concept
I came up with a number of ideas for this costume, but finally decided on the "Tiki God". I had my wife take a front and side photo of me so that I could sketch out the correct proportions of the costume. I sketched over top of the 2 photos on my iPad and had a plan.
I originally planned on doing foam covering my arms and legs as well, but after putting on the main part of the costume, I decided to go bare due to the heat I was already feeling. Also, knowing that I wanted to go out dancing and drinking, I needed to make sure I designed something that was somewhat functional, without having to remove the costume to drink or use the restroom :).
I originally planned on doing foam covering my arms and legs as well, but after putting on the main part of the costume, I decided to go bare due to the heat I was already feeling. Also, knowing that I wanted to go out dancing and drinking, I needed to make sure I designed something that was somewhat functional, without having to remove the costume to drink or use the restroom :).
STEP 2: Starting With Eva Foam
Like I said before, I read a number of other Instructables on how to work with Eve foam, but had never actually worked with it myself. The best one of these was"Creating a Costume/Cosplay from E.V.A Foam" by ToweringProductions. He listed supplies and where to get them, and that came in very handy for creating my costume.
I started off by heading to Home Depot and bought a couple packs of the colorful children's foam flooring. You get 4 2'x2' pieces per pack for about $18. Check availability online. The Home Depot nearest me didn't have any, but the one near my work had dozens.
Next I did a little math to figure out the circumference of the tube of foam that I would need to fit around my body, and luckily it came out to be about 4'. I say luckily, because the foam pieces are 2' x 2', so I just connected the teeth of the floor tiles together and used some duct tape to hold it together. I made sure the seams were on my sides. Once I got the tube on, I felt for where my face would be, and marked it with a marker. Then after I got the tube off, I cut out an initial face hole.
I started off by heading to Home Depot and bought a couple packs of the colorful children's foam flooring. You get 4 2'x2' pieces per pack for about $18. Check availability online. The Home Depot nearest me didn't have any, but the one near my work had dozens.
Next I did a little math to figure out the circumference of the tube of foam that I would need to fit around my body, and luckily it came out to be about 4'. I say luckily, because the foam pieces are 2' x 2', so I just connected the teeth of the floor tiles together and used some duct tape to hold it together. I made sure the seams were on my sides. Once I got the tube on, I felt for where my face would be, and marked it with a marker. Then after I got the tube off, I cut out an initial face hole.
STEP 3: Sketching Out the Design and Blocking in the Face Shapes
Based on my initial sketch, I started sketching out the parts of the face on the tube of foam.
Next, I started cutting out the various face shapes from the extra sheets of foam flooring. Since my project is meant to look like carved wood, I didn't need to be as precise as someone that is doing body armor or the like. I used a pair of poultry scissors to cut the foam, which made that part go very quickly.
I built up layers of the foam to vary the depth of the piece of the face. I also picked up a pack of 1/8 inch thick foam sheets at Michaels, which I used to smooth over the built up layers of the eyes and nose. I also used the thin foam sheets to cover up the duct tape seams that I still had that was holding the foam squares together.
I used hot glue to glue all of these pieces onto the main tube of the costume. I recommend that you get a good large hot glue gun if your going to build costumes. I had the little craft glue gun in the beginning, and I was constantly having to to reload it with those tiny glue sticks. I got a medium size gun, but with really log glue sticks and that made the rest of the project go much smoother.
WARNING! Hot glue works great, but it burns like a *#)$%*^! And when it drips on you, or you press a piece of foam together and a nice steaming hot glob of hot glue sticks its self to your thumb, just make sure that there aren't any kids around to hear the colorful language the ensues. I ended up with 5 small burn/blisters on my hands during the creation of this project, but they were worth it.
Next, I started cutting out the various face shapes from the extra sheets of foam flooring. Since my project is meant to look like carved wood, I didn't need to be as precise as someone that is doing body armor or the like. I used a pair of poultry scissors to cut the foam, which made that part go very quickly.
I built up layers of the foam to vary the depth of the piece of the face. I also picked up a pack of 1/8 inch thick foam sheets at Michaels, which I used to smooth over the built up layers of the eyes and nose. I also used the thin foam sheets to cover up the duct tape seams that I still had that was holding the foam squares together.
I used hot glue to glue all of these pieces onto the main tube of the costume. I recommend that you get a good large hot glue gun if your going to build costumes. I had the little craft glue gun in the beginning, and I was constantly having to to reload it with those tiny glue sticks. I got a medium size gun, but with really log glue sticks and that made the rest of the project go much smoother.
WARNING! Hot glue works great, but it burns like a *#)$%*^! And when it drips on you, or you press a piece of foam together and a nice steaming hot glob of hot glue sticks its self to your thumb, just make sure that there aren't any kids around to hear the colorful language the ensues. I ended up with 5 small burn/blisters on my hands during the creation of this project, but they were worth it.
STEP 4: Clean Up, Detail, and Paint Prep
Once I had the basic shapes all in place, I went in first with a dremmel tool to smooth out all of the edges. The scissors were great for speed, but they left choppy edges, so I smoothed all the edges, ground down any corners, and even cut some chips into the top and bottom portions of the Tiki Head to give it a distressed look.
Once I felt good with the clean up, I sketched out where I wanted to carve in some deep grooves to give the wood some distinctive aging. You can use any pen for this, since your going to paint over it soon.
Next I used my soldering iron to melt some 1/8 inch deep grooves running from top to bottom. I also used it to melt the grooves for the teeth. Foam melts very easily, so be careful that you don't melt all the way through the foam.
I read that foam doesn't take paint too well on it's own, so you need to coat it in Plasti Dip. I got it in spay can form. Basically, it's a liquid rubber that serves as a base coat or primer for the rest of your paint. Give your foam a good even coating of Plasti Dip and let it cure over night.
Once I felt good with the clean up, I sketched out where I wanted to carve in some deep grooves to give the wood some distinctive aging. You can use any pen for this, since your going to paint over it soon.
Next I used my soldering iron to melt some 1/8 inch deep grooves running from top to bottom. I also used it to melt the grooves for the teeth. Foam melts very easily, so be careful that you don't melt all the way through the foam.
I read that foam doesn't take paint too well on it's own, so you need to coat it in Plasti Dip. I got it in spay can form. Basically, it's a liquid rubber that serves as a base coat or primer for the rest of your paint. Give your foam a good even coating of Plasti Dip and let it cure over night.
STEP 5: Painting and Adding the Visor Screen.
After the Plasti Dip cured over night, I brushed on an even coating of acrylic house paint "Nutmeg". I knew acrylic would have some flex to it and be more forgiving than enamel. Let dry for a few hours, then the real fun begins.
Once the Nutmeg was dry, I broke out my .69 cent bottles of Acrylic craft paints, Dark Brown and Black, and started to paint in the aging and distressing. I started out with the dark brown first, and slopped it in and around all of the edges and grooves of the various face elements. I like using a simple foam craft brush for this, it soaks up a lot of paint, and does some nice dry brushing afterward. Before the paint could dry, I would then take a shop rag, and wipe the dark brown over the surface of the whole Tiki, just hard enough to wipe the dark brown almost off of the undercoat of Nutmeg. Then I went in black to darken all of the edges and creases. Again, wiping away any black that got on the front surfaces. Despite the size of the costume, I got through the wood texturing in about 2 hours.
After the painting was done, I found some plastic crochet mesh at Michaels, cut and glued it in place to cover the face hole in the middle of the Tiki headband. I painted the outer mesh to match the wood as much as possible.
Once the Nutmeg was dry, I broke out my .69 cent bottles of Acrylic craft paints, Dark Brown and Black, and started to paint in the aging and distressing. I started out with the dark brown first, and slopped it in and around all of the edges and grooves of the various face elements. I like using a simple foam craft brush for this, it soaks up a lot of paint, and does some nice dry brushing afterward. Before the paint could dry, I would then take a shop rag, and wipe the dark brown over the surface of the whole Tiki, just hard enough to wipe the dark brown almost off of the undercoat of Nutmeg. Then I went in black to darken all of the edges and creases. Again, wiping away any black that got on the front surfaces. Despite the size of the costume, I got through the wood texturing in about 2 hours.
After the painting was done, I found some plastic crochet mesh at Michaels, cut and glued it in place to cover the face hole in the middle of the Tiki headband. I painted the outer mesh to match the wood as much as possible.
STEP 6: Adding the Grass Skirting
I wanted to disguise the arm holes a bit, and attach the grass skirt directly to the costume. I bought a 24' table grass skirting, since I knew I was going to use it all over the costume. Much cheaper than buying multiple skirts. I stared by spreading a generous amount of hot glue inside the costume above the arms, then I glued 2 layers of grass skirt above each arm hole. Then I did the same to the bottom of the Tiki, but I went for 3 layers on this part.
It's funning. Looking at the Tiki on it's own it looks like it has hairy ears and a beard.
It's funning. Looking at the Tiki on it's own it looks like it has hairy ears and a beard.
STEP 7: Fire... Fire... Fire...
Originally I wanted to have blowing silk fire, like the fake fire in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. But I couldn't find any battery operated fans that were strong enough to do the job, nor small enough since it has to sit above my head in the costume. So I decided on shaping the fire with hot glue, and then illuminating it. I bought red thin netting, and orange silk and cut them into triangles. I then proceeded to glue, fold, press, burn fingers, repeat.... till I had the red and orange glued all the way around the top. The fire looked cool in bright light, but just didn't have the wow factor till I had illuminated it.
How to illuminate the fabric from inside above my head??? This had my scratching my head for a couple hours, then I remembered that I had a bunch of LED tea lights left over from my wedding. Now I just needed to figure out a way to get them to float a couple inches away from the sides, and a couple inches down from the top to get the best illumination on the cloth. The answer turned out to be a simple metal hanger. I grabbed a metal hanger from my dry cleaning, then stretched it out to better fit the oval of the inside of the TIki. I bent the hook down and glued it to the inside of the Tiki. I cut the hook off of another hanger, and glued it in place opposite the other hook to give it support. I then glued 6 LED tea lights to the hanger. They don't weigh much, so the hanger works just fine. Then all I need to do is turn on the LED's and the fire has that inner illumination that I was looking for. Also, I still have plenty of air flow above my head since the Tiki gets pretty dang hot inside fast.
How to illuminate the fabric from inside above my head??? This had my scratching my head for a couple hours, then I remembered that I had a bunch of LED tea lights left over from my wedding. Now I just needed to figure out a way to get them to float a couple inches away from the sides, and a couple inches down from the top to get the best illumination on the cloth. The answer turned out to be a simple metal hanger. I grabbed a metal hanger from my dry cleaning, then stretched it out to better fit the oval of the inside of the TIki. I bent the hook down and glued it to the inside of the Tiki. I cut the hook off of another hanger, and glued it in place opposite the other hook to give it support. I then glued 6 LED tea lights to the hanger. They don't weigh much, so the hanger works just fine. Then all I need to do is turn on the LED's and the fire has that inner illumination that I was looking for. Also, I still have plenty of air flow above my head since the Tiki gets pretty dang hot inside fast.
STEP 8: How to Get in and Out of the Costume
I couple people have asked a some great questions regarding the back of the costume and how do I get in and out of it. I wrote the original instructable at 2:am... so please forgive my forgotten step.
I originally thought that I would cut the back of the costume up the middle, and then use Velcro straps to close the seam. I did cut it about a foot up, and proceeded get into the costume, but discovered to my dread, that I could not get out of it. After a couple attempts, and some short anxiety attacks, I handed the scissors to my wife and told her to cut me out of the costume. I told her to cut a straight line from the bottom to the rear corner of one of the arm holes. In doing this, it became extremely easy to get in and out of the costume. I then glued the original cut that I had done to the back of the costume, and reinforced this repair with a piece of the thin foam from Michaels.
To close up the new seam under the armpit, I took some 1" velcro that I had from a previous costume, and cut it into 1/2" strips. I then glued the two sides of the velcro to each side of the new seam, trying to keep the seam as hidden as possible.
So now I can open the seam, climb into the costume via the armpit seam, and once inside, I just press the seam together and it almost vanishes. This turned out to be a much better solution to getting in and out then I had originally planned. Thanks to good ol claustrophobia and scissors :)
I originally thought that I would cut the back of the costume up the middle, and then use Velcro straps to close the seam. I did cut it about a foot up, and proceeded get into the costume, but discovered to my dread, that I could not get out of it. After a couple attempts, and some short anxiety attacks, I handed the scissors to my wife and told her to cut me out of the costume. I told her to cut a straight line from the bottom to the rear corner of one of the arm holes. In doing this, it became extremely easy to get in and out of the costume. I then glued the original cut that I had done to the back of the costume, and reinforced this repair with a piece of the thin foam from Michaels.
To close up the new seam under the armpit, I took some 1" velcro that I had from a previous costume, and cut it into 1/2" strips. I then glued the two sides of the velcro to each side of the new seam, trying to keep the seam as hidden as possible.
So now I can open the seam, climb into the costume via the armpit seam, and once inside, I just press the seam together and it almost vanishes. This turned out to be a much better solution to getting in and out then I had originally planned. Thanks to good ol claustrophobia and scissors :)
STEP 9: The Tiki Torch
After putting on some more skirting on my arms and legs, I grabbed a Tiki torch from... yes my Tiki Bar at my house and posed for my finished picture. But then I realized that the TIki torch needed the same cloth fire treatment. I basically did it the same way as the top of the TIki costume, just with only 2 LED's and a simple frame glued inside the empty torch... yes made from scraps of the extra hanger that I had left over.
So that's my first crack at working with Eva foam and fabricating an entire costume from it. I still have a month to go before Halloween, so I'm sure I will come up with something else to make before then. Oh, and I made the whole costume in about 7 evenings after work.
So that's my first crack at working with Eva foam and fabricating an entire costume from it. I still have a month to go before Halloween, so I'm sure I will come up with something else to make before then. Oh, and I made the whole costume in about 7 evenings after work.
STEP 10: BONUS! Tiki Priestess Chest Plate
Actually, I made a Tiki priestess chest plate this weekend. I did it the same way that I did mine, but just much much faster. I did it all in about 8 hours. Here are the pics of the step by step. I'll save you the same description as before.
I hope this inspires someone else to try some fabricating with Eva foam. It's a lot of fun!
I hope this inspires someone else to try some fabricating with Eva foam. It's a lot of fun!
101 Comments
MacalDuran 1 year ago
wvulovejoy 1 year ago
itr325. 6 years ago
Eric
caparsons214 1 year ago
Djunker 2 years ago
maritinafelix 2 years ago
caparsons214 1 year ago
maritinafelix 2 years ago
caparsons214 1 year ago
Eye Poker 2 years ago
Aholly3742 3 years ago
GrandmaDewdew 5 years ago
Use an electric carving knife to cut the foam.
GrandmaDewdew 5 years ago
The easiest way to cut the foam is with an electric carving knife. Like cutting butter.
Gemxprt 7 years ago
Love these...
Already started fabrication...FEB!
Question...How does the Tiki Priestess affix her chest plate?
AP3D 7 years ago
Gemxprt 7 years ago
AP3D 7 years ago
I am really blown away by how many people have come up with their own variations of this costume!!! This is exactly why I posted the original Instructable... and thrilled to see what you all have come up with! :)
hyoung 8 years ago
this instructable is baddassery and awesome sauce. love it. great skills indeed.
boymowgli 9 years ago
AP3D 8 years ago
I'm just now catching up on replies. I'm really glad the design worked out for you guys! That was exactly what I was hoping for when I posted the Instructable. :)