I should never think I’ve seen every possible costume, but when you look at tons of pictures of cosplay, it happens. I remember that I haven’t come close to seeing it all when I stumble upon creations like this giant squid costume by Instructables user Partybot Designs. He made the costume because he wanted something that incorporated tentacles and lighting. The finished costume definitely makes an impression.
He used cross-linked polyethylene foam rubber to make the body of the squid and used contact cement to glue everything together:
The suckers are formed by heating foam discs and pressing them into a cup shaped mold. Thin foam is sprayed with adhesive and applied like wrinkles over the brow line.
The entire body is then coated with Rosco Flexcoat product and allowed to cure for 24hrs. Then it’s painted with a high quality acrylic paint (Sherwin-Williams). Holes are cut in various locations on the mantel and covered with mesh fabric to allow ventilation and visibility. Highlights and shading were added via airbrush to camouflage the holes. A computer fan was mounted in front of a hole in the top
EL wire was pinned into the pattern shown using thin wire. The eyes are punch bowls from a party store with a round piece of black vinyl applied.
He painted the creature with a mixture of liquid latex and acrylic paint and applied it in thin coats. Using liquid latex with the paint gives the tentacles plenty of flexibility.
Read more about the process and see more images at Instructables.
Top photo by Alex Garland Photography.
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