HOW TO MAKE YOUR PROPS MORE GOOD-

ERMajo & Elina

WHO WE ARE

Majo ECC 2010, WCS 2012

Nitpicking enthusiast

Could sand things forever

Will sand things forever if not stopped

Elina ECC 2014, WCS 2012

Nitpicking padawan

Mostly here to do the talking

…and for the Faxe Kondi

WHY WE’RE HERE

To tell you WHY you should spend extra time finishing your props spoiler: because it just looks nicer … and makes everything look more authentic

To tell you HOW to finish your props so well everyone on the internet will worship you as the next cosplay god We’ll get to that in a minute, keep your pants on

MATERIALS

Worbla/other thermoplastics

PROS: Fast and easy to use once you get the hang of it Everyone uses it, so help/tutorials are easy to find Durable

CONS: Needs a lot of extra work if you want it to look like something other than Worbla/etc. Easy to mess up and hard to fix

MATERIALS

For changing the surface texture Sanding Gesso Different structure pastes Wood glue Others

Worbla on craft foam, sanded

Gesso + sandingWood glue

Paint + weathering

MATERIALS

Foam (craft foam, etc.)

PROS: Easily available and affordable Excellent for simple shapes Versatile and flexible

CONS: Not very durable Hard to make more complex shapes

MATERIALS Foams NEED to be primed Extra durability Less foamy surface texture

Unpainted & unprimed

Craft foamGessoPaint

MATERIALS

Clays and other sculpting materials

PROS: Excellent for small details And some bigger ones as well Any shape possible

CONS: Frail Require a ton of work (also a pro, at least if you ask Majo)

MATERIALS

Sanding

Sanding

Sanding

Also sanding

Gesso, structure paste, glue,

anything really

Unsanded paperclay

PAINTING

Spray paint or the bottled stuff? Spray paint for large even surfaces The bottled stuff for detailing: smooth, even surfaces harder to achieve

To weather or not to weather? Consider the source material: would whatever it is you’re making look weather-worn or would it be shiny and pristine?

Check your reference pictures and use common sense What material would your prop be IRL? How would that material age? Not everything can be “weathered” by splashing black paint all over

Weathering = more than paint: scratches, battle-damage, tears

PaperclayCarved SandedPainted (black, silver,green, dark gold)

PAINTINGElina’s Super Easy Guide Weathering Metallic Things

1. Paint your thing black and let it dry

2. Take your accent colour (green/brown/whatever suits you) and add a few dashes of it on top of the black paint.

3. Rub with tissue paper.

4. Add metallic paint & rub it in with tissue paper.

5. Repeat ad infinitum.

Questions? Comments?If not, THANK YOU. ♥

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