How to Make a DC: "Mister Mxyzptlk" Baby Costume
Introduction: How to Make a DC: "Mister Mxyzptlk" Baby Costume
I have never made a costume for an infant, but there's always a first time for everything! For the 2020 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, our group of friends wanted to go as a <PERSON> group. However, one of the couples just had a baby so we needed to figure out what to do. We decided to go with Mister Mxyzptlk as the size would totally work.
Mister <PERSON> is a DC character who is often considered a trouble maker to people like <PERSON>. The only way to even defeat him is to get him to say his name backwards. I can't even say it correctly forwards! He posses reality warping powers and is considered to be a trickster of the universe.
However, this is a baby we're talking about here. You have to think about multiple factors when you create a costume: Temperature, textures, ease of getting in and out of it, and the difficulty of just wearing the costume. We soon realized that the baby did not want to wear the gloves and also, BABIES GROW FAIRLY QUICKLY!!!. I made this costume 2 weeks before the con and then 2 weeks later it was super snug LOL.
Supplies
-thin EVA foam
-black fabric
-fluffy cotton
-peach fleece
-purple fleece
-yellow fleece
-paint
-small mini magnet
-metal washer
-sew-on fasteners
- existing baby onsie that fits the baby
-Caulk
-Plastic buckle
-plastidip
-sewing machine or sewing needles, thread, and sewing clips
Step 1: References
Before I ever start ANY costume, I look up a ton of reference photos from various sources and put it in a folder. The more pictures from different angles, the better. Look up:
1. Actual photos of the character from its source (movies, comics, action figure, etc)
2. Cosplay pictures. You can see what has been done, what you like, what you don't like, how to improve on a design. You can also start getting an idea of different poses you think you'd like to do.
3. I start looking at art work. I usually look up things via google images, deviant art, tumblr, etc. This way, you can see different renditions of a character through a new perspective and once again, start thinking about what you like, don't like, etc.
4. Use your own imagination. Think about what you want, how to make it your own original design, what are some tricks you think you'd like to incorporate.. perhaps you want to try out a new technique with this build, etc
5. 348
If you can draw, I sometimes will take all my reference sources and start drawing out my own design.
Step 2: Foam Pieces: Hat + Belt
ffffHat
The little butler hat is made of 3 pieces, a top, a strip, and a rim. (Pic 1)
1. First, figure out the desired diameter of your hat. Grab something circular to use as a guide while you draw it out on a piece of scratch paper. i think i used a roll of masking tape for it. Use the template to cut out the circle from a thinner piece of EVA foam. If you have tread on the under side of the foam, you will need to sand it off. However, you can buy flat foam on both sides. You can also use a dremel to sand off the edges of this foam "disc".
2. Then, figure out how wide of a diameter you would want for the top portion. You can use a smaller circled object to create a paper template.However, when you cut this piece out of the foam, you will want to angle your exacto knife at an angle because it needs to sit "flush" against the middle strip of the hat. You can heat the circle with a heating gun and then press it against something round like golf ball.
3. Now, determine how tall you want the hat. Create a strip from a piece of EVA foam.
4. As you want the rim to be inward, you can use a ball (like a golf ball), and press in the center. You can also heat the rim and encourage it up.
5. Assemble all the piece. (pic 2 +3)
6. You can also add caulk to the seams to fill them in and make the hat seamless.
Belt
7. Cut a long strip of EVA foam. You can probably use a ruler's dimensions and just cut that strip out if you double the length. 276