temminkAU
New Member
Hi All,
Firstly let me say the community here is a big inspiration and is largely the reason I decided to attempt this myself. I have picked something relatively simple for my first project so I don't get overwhelmed and I would love some feedback and ideas for how it could be improved.
Why Bane? First reason, as I mentioned above there aren't a lot of elements to fabricate. Secondly I'm a big guy so many costumes aren't really a great fit, I'm not really muscly enough but I'm confident enough to walk around in a singlet at a con, admittedly not one as low cut as in the reference above. Thirdly but probably really the main reason, my girlfriend is cosplaying as Poison Ivy and this will be her first Con so I wanted to find something that would work together.
That all being said I always liked the aesthetic of Bane though I don't have a huge history with comics. Most of my exposure has been via TDKR, the Batman film which shall not be named, and games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Injustice. This led me to look a bit more into the character as depicted in the Comics and I found that I really liked it.
Anyway, on to the build such as it is:
The Mask:
So I looked online and there were a few places selling actual luchador style Bane masks on eBay and the like but they all looked pretty terrible. The biggest problem is that they lack any real shape or definition and even though Bane traditionally wears a luchador mask I would argue that it is drawn more like a rigid mask in most of the really evocative artwork.
I stumbled upon Ammnra's project on deviant-art where he had used a paintball / airsoft mask as a basis and I liked the result and also thought that making minor modifications would be something I would be able to do as a beginner. I hunted around online and eventually found one that is actually really similar to the one he used and ordered it in. I'd like to have attempted some sculpting but considering the time frame I didn't think I would get it done in time or that my results as a first timer would be up to scratch.
Here I was also wearing a morphsuit mask that I had, I have since got a warm weather balaclava to use which should be better and won't obscure my vision any further.
I also test fitted some lighting for the eyes. I tried a few things, EL Wire, edge-lighting some red safety glasses, but I didn't have a lot of success. What I ended up trying was some EL Panel I had lying around and it actually worked really well. The way I have it set up I can actually see over the top of the panel really easily and it has the bonus effect of making the eye shape a little more angular and villainous.
I only had blue EL Panel on hand to test but have ordered some red for the real thing.
My next step was to paint the mask to reflect the iconic shape. I took a few liberties when masking it out to conform to the shape of the mask but I think it mostly captures the shape. One thing I did miss was the horn like raised corners and I'm kicking myself for forgetting. I'll have to see if I can add them though I actually painted the mask with white Rustoleum Peel-Coat (another brand of Plasti-Dip) so I would have the option of peeling it off if I wanted to use the mask again for a different design. This means the edges are a little rough and I'll have to be careful about it peeling off too early. Also that it might be difficult to add to the design now that it has set up.
Here it is again painted with the Peel-Coat. It looks pretty good but as I mentioned the edge is a little rough, I carefully ran a stanly knife along the masking tape before pulling it off to try and get it as sharp as possible and it mostly worked. I suppose the best thing about using the Peel-Coat is if I need to I can peel it all off and start again on the paint.
Other Accessories and Costume:
So I have put together a few bits and pieces to build the Venom tubing and the hand pump mechanism.
I haven't got very far with this stuff yet, I'll try and get the arm control done next I think and the piece where the tube will go into the back of my head.
Any feedback or ideas are welcome, I will keep the thread updated as often as I can make some decent progress.
Firstly let me say the community here is a big inspiration and is largely the reason I decided to attempt this myself. I have picked something relatively simple for my first project so I don't get overwhelmed and I would love some feedback and ideas for how it could be improved.
Why Bane? First reason, as I mentioned above there aren't a lot of elements to fabricate. Secondly I'm a big guy so many costumes aren't really a great fit, I'm not really muscly enough but I'm confident enough to walk around in a singlet at a con, admittedly not one as low cut as in the reference above. Thirdly but probably really the main reason, my girlfriend is cosplaying as Poison Ivy and this will be her first Con so I wanted to find something that would work together.
That all being said I always liked the aesthetic of Bane though I don't have a huge history with comics. Most of my exposure has been via TDKR, the Batman film which shall not be named, and games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Injustice. This led me to look a bit more into the character as depicted in the Comics and I found that I really liked it.
Anyway, on to the build such as it is:
The Mask:
So I looked online and there were a few places selling actual luchador style Bane masks on eBay and the like but they all looked pretty terrible. The biggest problem is that they lack any real shape or definition and even though Bane traditionally wears a luchador mask I would argue that it is drawn more like a rigid mask in most of the really evocative artwork.
I stumbled upon Ammnra's project on deviant-art where he had used a paintball / airsoft mask as a basis and I liked the result and also thought that making minor modifications would be something I would be able to do as a beginner. I hunted around online and eventually found one that is actually really similar to the one he used and ordered it in. I'd like to have attempted some sculpting but considering the time frame I didn't think I would get it done in time or that my results as a first timer would be up to scratch.
Here I was also wearing a morphsuit mask that I had, I have since got a warm weather balaclava to use which should be better and won't obscure my vision any further.
I also test fitted some lighting for the eyes. I tried a few things, EL Wire, edge-lighting some red safety glasses, but I didn't have a lot of success. What I ended up trying was some EL Panel I had lying around and it actually worked really well. The way I have it set up I can actually see over the top of the panel really easily and it has the bonus effect of making the eye shape a little more angular and villainous.
I only had blue EL Panel on hand to test but have ordered some red for the real thing.
My next step was to paint the mask to reflect the iconic shape. I took a few liberties when masking it out to conform to the shape of the mask but I think it mostly captures the shape. One thing I did miss was the horn like raised corners and I'm kicking myself for forgetting. I'll have to see if I can add them though I actually painted the mask with white Rustoleum Peel-Coat (another brand of Plasti-Dip) so I would have the option of peeling it off if I wanted to use the mask again for a different design. This means the edges are a little rough and I'll have to be careful about it peeling off too early. Also that it might be difficult to add to the design now that it has set up.
Here it is again painted with the Peel-Coat. It looks pretty good but as I mentioned the edge is a little rough, I carefully ran a stanly knife along the masking tape before pulling it off to try and get it as sharp as possible and it mostly worked. I suppose the best thing about using the Peel-Coat is if I need to I can peel it all off and start again on the paint.
Other Accessories and Costume:
So I have put together a few bits and pieces to build the Venom tubing and the hand pump mechanism.
- Green UV Watercooling Tube and some fittings (90 and 45 degree pressure fittings)
- Black studded fingerless gloves
- Some sheets of EVA foam to build out the various elements
- A black weightlifting belt which I'm going to wear backwards with the circlular belt element which I will make out of EVA.
- Black singlet, black boots and black cargo pants.
- A hose timer, I got this at the hardware store because it has a cool dial and was only a couple of dollars, going to use it for the arm control.
- A cheap iphone armband to use as the base for the arm controls. Was only a couple of bucks and saves me some time.
I haven't got very far with this stuff yet, I'll try and get the arm control done next I think and the piece where the tube will go into the back of my head.
Any feedback or ideas are welcome, I will keep the thread updated as often as I can make some decent progress.
