Cosplayer Shayna Polomchak, a.k.a. Termina Cosplay, has been a fan of the Pokémon Scyther since generation one. The bug-like creature looks a little like a cricket, and Polomchak came up with a creative design to translate the bug’s look to a human costume. She made the armor and blades from Worbla, and the wings were crafted from wood frame, wire, and cellophane. They spread out to 8 feet wide! She shared a tutorial on DeviantArt detailing how she painted the armor; the process requires paint brushes, paint, wood glue, sand paper, and cups:
1. First off, this is going to be a very long process, so be prepared to spend hours on your painting! Start with your piece of armor. In this step I paint on layers of wood glue for a primer. You can also use gesso, but my personal preference is wood glue. How many layers you put on will be determined by how smooth you want your finished piece to be. You put a layer of glue on, wait for it to dry, sand it down, and then repeat until satisfied.
2. In the next step, you can put on a layer of white or black paint as a base for your color if you would like to. It will make your color go on smoother and it’ll make it easier to hide the color of the worbla/wonderflex/whatever your armor is made of. After you have your base on (or not) you’ll put on your first color. Put on multiple coats if necessary. You want this color to be slightly darker than what you want your armor to appear when its done. I’ll normally mix up the color I want my armor to be, and then darken it for this step. You can also use a little bit of water to make your paint flow nicely. I use a larger brush for this, since I’m covering a larger area.
See the complete painting tutorial at DeviantArt and view more in progress photos at Facebook.
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