Materials and Techniques for Costuming - Safety and Pepakura

I will be making a series of posts laying out some of the techniques and materials one could use to complete their desired project. This first one will be covering some of the basic materials needed to make a costume.

First off, you will need some basic safety equipment. Remember that safety always comes first, and protect yourself accordingly. If you're beginning with a pepakura file, you will need some plastic gloves to protect your hands. At first you will be working with just paper and glue, but even the glue can get kind of nasty when on your bare hands.

Continuing down the line of safety, you will need to get an organic vapor respirator. You will be working with resin and bondo at some point in your costuming career, and these things will kill you in 30 to 40 years. So protect yourself now, and wear a respirator. It needs to be an organic vapor respirator in order to chemically neutralize the vapors from the resin and bondo. You can pick these up from any hardware store for about $20. You should probably also pick up a pair of safety goggles just to cover all of your bases.

On to actually make your costume. Most importantly, you will need your pepakura file. Browse around on the 405th website for files that are provided by the kind community members. Remember to keep track of who made them so you can give them due credit when you post your work in progress!

In order to read this file, you will need either Pepakura Viewer or Pepakura Designer. Both of these can be downloaded for free, but you need the full version of Pepakura Designer in order to save any changes you might make. I personally suggest Pepakura Designer, as it will allow you to scale your file to fit your body. You can pick either of these programs up at Tama Soft's website.

Next, you'll need paper to print on. Normal paper, while possible to use, is not advisable. The commonly accepted best material to use is 110 lb. cardstock. You can pick this up at most office supply stores. I was able to get half of a ream from Staples for $15, but you can probably find it cheaper if you're willing to look.

Finally, on the paper materials angle, you will need something to cut the cardstock with, something to glue with, and a board to cut on. Any sort of thick plastic will work as a surface. I was lucky and had a board used in chain restaurant menus to use, but any thick surface will work. To cut with, I suggest any hobby knife. These can be found at any hobby store, such as Michael's. For glue, any sort of superglue works very well. It sets fast, and doesn't require much glue in order to provide a tight bond.

That's it for this post. Next time I'll cover how to scale your pepakura file, and techniques for constructing said file.

Until next time,
-Jake/Zaeldren