RAPPY COSTUME.....

[AXL23]

I'm in the planning stages of a rappy costume im trying to get done before next year's fanime and Comic Con. thing is im at a total loss as to how to go about making this costume. i want a full body costume much like a penguin suit. thing is i've looked around and these costumes cost about 1k US dollars. and i even thought about making it out of scratch but even that seems too expensive... anybody have any ideas? im still willing to make it ouf of scratch but i dont know how... any help would be greatly appreciated thanks :D

[biggabertha]

Hmmm....

First of all, you need your complete measurements from head to toe, a drawing (or a screenshot) of what you intend to do and a budget. With those three things, you will be able to make whatever you want if you ask the right people.

Once you've worked out your budget, drawn out a front, side and back shot of what you want to make, then you can think of what materials to use. The Rappy costume is essentially a deformed teddy bear suit. You'll most likely wear it like normal clothes padded out with a LOT of padding.

Padding can either be done with cheap pillows or even better, a duvet cover (I think Maericans call this a comforter... but I'm not sure. You will want the lightest one possible because you won't be able to carry anything that weighs more than around 10kg (around 22lbs) for that long (don't forget you may want props, carry bags, wallet, keys, phone etc.).

The outside materials can be made from either fake fur that comes in rolls (they're around £6 a meter here (around $3 per foot perhaps...)) or with feathers. Feathers will look the most authentic but will cost a lot of money. Somewhere around £40-200 for 1kg of feathers (around 2.2lbs) (also depends on the colour).

The headpiece could be based on a trucker's baseball cap and will need to be reinforced - you can use other hats but this was what first came into mind. You could try using very light foam to craft the beak and use nothing but acrylics to paint the "hard" features of the rappy (beak, talons etc.).

The shoes/feet will need some consideration - if it rains, your costume will potentially make walking anywhere a real mess. If possible, bring a bag or a sack large enough to fit all of the pieces of the costume into then change when you're at the venue so you won't have to worry about this at all.

Ideally, you should sew onto pre-existing clothes so you KNOW they will fit you - the biggest problem I can see is how warm it will get in the costume.

Finally, don't forget to include pockets so you can put pens, cash, wallet/purse, phone, DS/PSP etc. and also make the costume easy to take off so you can go to the bathroom. Do your very best not to eat or drink whilst in costume either or be extremely careful (and mindful of your surroundings) that nothing is spilt on your costume - fake fur/feathers are not easy to clean at all.


If all else fails, make papiér maché moulds for the entire body, spray/paint them a suitable colour and glue fake fur onto it. It may be the fastest way to do it but it could look tacky if the fake fur isn't "thick" enough. Make sure you can move a little bit in it..!

[Zorafim]

All I can say is, good luck, and god speed.

[Mimo]

wow biggabertha! thats awesome planning right there! sounds like alot of fun making that, i would make it, if i had money.. goodluck to the OP ^^

[Lance813]

I think the best approach would to buy a costume that already fits the right proportions of a Rappy and then modify it. For example, a penguin suit could be spray painted yellow and leave the belly white. Then slap some antennae on it.

Sounds good to me. hah.

[Eluvion]

http://media.pc.ign.com/media/890/890125/img_4743873.html

I would go from that picture

Here's what you need.

A cheap dress with big old peasant sleeves, over which you wear one of those suit jackets orchestra conductors wear, except with the sleeves cut off, Yellow sweatpants with a pillow inside ( Half in the pants & half in the dress which is also tucked into the pants), Yellow and white felt, and a whole bunch of synthetic fur. A few trips to goodwill might cover the clothes and craft/ fabric stores can cover the rest. There's the body. For the head just buy a big slightly similar shaped animal mask and cover it with the felt and the fur save of course for the eyes and nose/mouth. The beak can be made from pretty much anything but I would walk into the first office building i saw, go to the water cooler, steal three of those cone shaped cups they always have, cut them all in half and glue the proper pieces together, paint it black, and sew it on the mask. For the feet i would use cardboard of whatever was most free and with a little work cut out only the shapes of the top of the feet and then proceed to sew those to a cheap pair of sandals so that it's only covering your feet, but it looks good enough.

May not be what your lookin' for, but it ain't gonna cost ya a grand. :)