Jump to content

Pony cosplay problems: What in the name of celestia am I going to do about the ears and the tail?!


Recommended Posts

Hi all! I have most of my doctor whooves costume planned for BUCK, and it is pretty good if I do say so myself. The only think I would have liked to have added is a timey wimey detector. The sort that goes ding when there's stuff. I have the t-shirt with the cutie mark, the 3d glasses, the sonic screw driver (11ths), a sound effect machine that plays the tardis noise, and the brown coat is in the offing. I even spent the past 2 months cultivating the sideburns and I'm going to bring along some pears and Dashie cup-cakes with a jam filling :D.

I would have been satisfied with my whole ensamble until someone asked me what I was going to do about the ears tail. And I have no idea.

I've tried looking on ebay for ears, but they're all those odd furry fox ones, wich are fun but not what I'm looking for. The people whio I am going to the convention with seem to think that they can build them out of clay and yarn and want to spend the Friday doing it. I can't even build lego.

To top the stress off I'm on holiday and won't be back untill the 11th (coincidence??). Any one have any ideas?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you could use a hair-beret that's been attached with a set of ears made from fabric, craft-wire, and maybe something for stuffing. it would probably be very in-expensive and fairly easy to make, most of these can be found at a local craft store but if you can't get craft wire you could always substitute a wire hanger (it'll just be a bit harder to form).

for the tail you could make a pretty convincing one by using colored thread of your choice and cutting multiple lengths of fairly long thread and folding them in half. after lining them up you would need a long and not so wide piece of durable fabric about 6x3-4 inches (depending on the desired size) placing the lined up thread about an inch in on the fabric(short side) then fold the fabric over the thread. After every things lined up stitch around the edges in a box about 1x3-4 inches (you'll go around the edges of the two ends sewing them together then an inch up go across to make a complete rectangle) this will keep the thread in place, especially if you stitched a little lower going through it twice securing it even better. This will create a thread horse-hair tail with a belt loop. this is pretty cheap but time consuming(a hour or two).

I hope this helps if you need any more help or clarification I'm happy to try and help. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Professional here to the rescue. :20:

You will need:

A bit of foam (upholstery)

hair-band

Small amount of fur

A4 sheet of Felt

hot glue gun.

If under 18, a parent/adult to assist.

You can get nearly all of the above from your local HobbyCraft shop and a haberdashery

Careful with knives and never leave a hot glue gun unattended!

Click images to enlarge

Carefully cut the foam block into two equal pieces and, using a marker, draw the shape of one of the ears.

post-374-0-94628300-1343715437_thumb.jpg

Once the right shape is drawn (I've gone for a slight Arab/Thoroughbred look here) cut out the shape.

Then, using the 1st ear you've just cut, place on the other piece of foam and use as a template to draw the next one.

(a good bread knife works quite well, but I use an electric carving knife for foam work)

You should now have two similarly shaped ears.

post-374-0-97350900-1343715633_thumb.jpg

What I've done here is give them a little slope from the tip to the middle of the back of the ear to give a slightly better shape.

Scoop out the middle. You can carefully score with a knife and simply pick out with your fingers.

Be careful not to take out too much, the foam needs to be sturdy when you've finished.

post-374-0-61913100-1343715848_thumb.jpg

Here you can see I've scooped out the middles and rounded off some of the corners so it's not quite so squared off.

Now is an OK time to attach to the hairband using the hot glue gun. With mine I tend to cut away a little of the bottom of the ears at an angle so the ears still point up when sat on a curved surface. You can have both pointing in the same direction or at different angles.

Fur softens the shape so don't go too mad with rounding corners.

First add felt to the insides with little beads of the hot glue. You may need to shape the felt so it fits and lines the inside of the ear cavity (see right ear).

post-374-0-40135200-1343716067_thumb.jpg

using the same process, start adding the fur. You can cut the fur to size using a stanley knife on the back of the fabric.

NOTE: Make sure the fur is running from the base up towards to the tip. This is how real animal ears are furred and will prevent a 'bald patch' at the very tip of the ears.

There... that's a rough guide for now.

You can fur the hairband a little if you want or even use it as an anchor point to make your own mane, too!

Post photos of your progress and result!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Time to make the tail!

You'll need,

Sewing stuff (needle, tread, patience or sewing machine)

More fur (longer the pile/furlength the better).

Stuffing (plushie stuffing)

A belt

Wide elastic.

What you're essentially making here is a very simple plush-tail with some way of attaching it to your body.

In this case, using the elastic to make a hoop to thread a belt through which can then be attached about your waist.

On the back of the fur, draw the rough shape with a marker and cut with a stanley or craft knife being careful to only cut the backing and not the fur itself.

Use the first piece as a template and to do the same. Place other way up so you have a mirror image so they can be joined together.

post-374-0-85333500-1343717239_thumb.jpg

Note, that I clearly marked the direction of the fur.

Sew the two pieces together with the fur facing inwards and leaving enough of a gap to put at least a hand in so you can fill it.

Once sewn, turn inside-out and fill with plushie stuffing.

You'll now at least have something to hug at this point if it all goes wrong. :halo:

post-374-0-68793200-1343717245_thumb.jpg

Now make a loop of fabric or elastic at the top and sew securely onto the tail. This doesn't have to be amazingly neat as your t-shirt or other top will most likely sit below your belt-line and hide it.

Note: If your trousers/jeans have a belt loop in the very middle of the back, you can add two loops to your tail to sit either side of the belt loop, this also has the advantage of preventing the tail from going off center and moving around too much.

More info & notes (not by myself):

beltloops.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, both ideas seem pretty good, thanks for replying. The former sounds like it would be more doable within my time limit and skills set, but the latter cirtaintly looks more proffessional. Is there anyway I can do it without a hot glue gun? I could try and concoct one out of a hair drier and a print stick, but otherwise I've got nothing :/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, both ideas seem pretty good, thanks for replying. The former sounds like it would be more doable within my time limit and skills set, but the latter cirtaintly looks more proffessional. Is there anyway I can do it without a hot glue gun? I could try and concoct one out of a hair drier and a print stick, but otherwise I've got nothing :/

Other types of glue should work. PVA will be fine... but takes some time to set. Hot Glue is just like PVA but sets as soon as it cools so you don't need to hold onto stuff for ages. It's also thinner the hotter it is so it's good to have it seep into the foam/fabric slightly for a better hold.

You could probably get a glue gun at a £1 shop. I didn't pay any more than £4 for mine at a 'circle7' (one of those dirt-cheap tool shops) :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Other types of glue should work. PVA will be fine... but takes some time to set. Hot Glue is just like PVA but sets as soon as it cools so you don't need to hold onto stuff for ages. It's also thinner the hotter it is so it's good to have it seep into the foam/fabric slightly for a better hold.

You could probably get a glue gun at a £1 shop. I didn't pay any more than £4 for mine at a 'circle7' (one of those dirt-cheap tool shops) :P

I shall see what I can find, but I don't have any sort of arts and crafts things in my town. I might get lucky at home bargains or B&M I suppose. I'll definayley give it a try, thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...