I am a little behind on blogging, and have not made entries that show all of the work I've done over the past week toward figuring out what I need my final screen art to look like. I'll get on that eventually.
But, the news today is that I finished the artwork up tonight based on all of the research, and submitted it to Westar, who is going to burn the screens.
All told, this will be the largest single outlay of cash for this project. The two screens, plus shipping, are going to run me about a thousand bucks. Yikes. I hope I can get some good use out of them.
Because of the weirdly high costs, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be offering a run of fabric for fellow Superman Returns enthusiasts who want to make a really accurate suit.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Diamond Pattern Decision
After a lot of testing, and a lot of squinting at reference photos, I've decided which patterns to use in the creation of the final screens.
I'll post some pics later of my progress and experimentation, but just wanted to make a note that I've made up my mind.
I need to get the artwork finalized and sent out to Westar asap so that they can start burning them. I would like to get that done by tomorrow night.
I'll post some pics later of my progress and experimentation, but just wanted to make a note that I've made up my mind.
I need to get the artwork finalized and sent out to Westar asap so that they can start burning them. I would like to get that done by tomorrow night.
Diamond Pattern Decision
After a lot of testing, and a lot of squinting at reference photos, I've decided which patterns to use in the creation of the final screens.
I'll post some pics later of my progress and experimentation, but just wanted to make a note that I've made up my mind.
I need to get the artwork finalized and sent out to Westar asap so that they can start burning them. I would like to get that done by tomorrow night.
I'll post some pics later of my progress and experimentation, but just wanted to make a note that I've made up my mind.
I need to get the artwork finalized and sent out to Westar asap so that they can start burning them. I would like to get that done by tomorrow night.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Rolled Hem Experimentation
Recently, I've been putting a lot of thought into how to recreate the hem seen in this picture.
It looks like it's stuffed, and thanks to some advice from some online costumers, I've gotten some ideas. First, I'm going to try to line the briefs with swimwear liner, and I'm also going to use a thread called "wolly nylon". I have ordered both of these online over the past few days, and expect them to arrive shortly.
In the mean time, I wanted to do a little experimentation of my own, with what I had onhand. I have never used a rolled hem foot on my sewing machine before, but as luck would have it, mine came with one. I loaded it in, and got to work.
Though it's a bit sloppy, this is pretty much exactly the effect I was hoping to get. I don't even know if I need the lining, but I suppose it could only help to make it a little more puffy. I guess all I really need to do is practic my technique so I can get a straight hem every time.
Most surprising is the amount of stretch I get out of the straight stitch that I used to sew this hem, even though it was regular cotton thread. I imagine the results will only be better once I fire up the wolly nylon.
In other news, I picked up a few supplies from the fabric store the other day. The seam ripper is something I've needed for a long time, though an exacto blade has been filling in for it in the interim. The no-fray stuff is all for serger chains that I will sew back into themselves using those big-eyed needles. Just building the tool set, I guess.
It looks like it's stuffed, and thanks to some advice from some online costumers, I've gotten some ideas. First, I'm going to try to line the briefs with swimwear liner, and I'm also going to use a thread called "wolly nylon". I have ordered both of these online over the past few days, and expect them to arrive shortly.
In the mean time, I wanted to do a little experimentation of my own, with what I had onhand. I have never used a rolled hem foot on my sewing machine before, but as luck would have it, mine came with one. I loaded it in, and got to work.
Though it's a bit sloppy, this is pretty much exactly the effect I was hoping to get. I don't even know if I need the lining, but I suppose it could only help to make it a little more puffy. I guess all I really need to do is practic my technique so I can get a straight hem every time.
Most surprising is the amount of stretch I get out of the straight stitch that I used to sew this hem, even though it was regular cotton thread. I imagine the results will only be better once I fire up the wolly nylon.
In other news, I picked up a few supplies from the fabric store the other day. The seam ripper is something I've needed for a long time, though an exacto blade has been filling in for it in the interim. The no-fray stuff is all for serger chains that I will sew back into themselves using those big-eyed needles. Just building the tool set, I guess.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Leg Pattern Is Looking Good.
I finished my first attempt at the new leg pattern, and overall I'm very satisfied with the results. As with all of these things, there are some minor tweaks to make, but in essence, it was a success. Let me walk you through the steps.
First of all, it is currently snowing in Columbus. Which makes doing ANYTHING pretty much a total nightmare. And I'm not just talking about the traffic. Psychologically, it's just really tough to get out of the house where it's nice and warm. I hate digging snow or ice off my car. Such a bore.
Despite the snow, I made it down to Kinko's where they printed out my pattern. Because I had resized it, the dude was able to print it out on two pieces, rather than four this time. That will make my job much easier once I get home. Here's a pic of the large format printer at the Kinko's.
Here are the sheets as they came out of the printer from Kinko's. Because I was expecting there to be four parts, and have no advanced knowledge of where the page breaks would be, I put in a series of registration lines that I could use to align the diffferent pieces. Because there were only two pieces, most of those lines became unnecessary. You can see where I have overlaid my previously made leg pattern on top of the new one. It's scaled almost perfectly to it.
Here's the pattern pieces all cut out and taped together.
I then rolled out some fabric I had, and traced around the pattern.
Here is the final product. Obviously, you can't really tell much from this photo, but the fact remains that they are pants! The fit is pretty good. I guess my scaling job worked rather well. I will need to do some adjustments around the legs, and I will probably eliminate the feet, as those are not needed in this suit.
Overall, very happy with the results.
The step I'm anxiously waiting on right now is to complete the screen print tests. Once those are done, I will be able to kick the screen printing stuff into high gear.
First of all, it is currently snowing in Columbus. Which makes doing ANYTHING pretty much a total nightmare. And I'm not just talking about the traffic. Psychologically, it's just really tough to get out of the house where it's nice and warm. I hate digging snow or ice off my car. Such a bore.
Despite the snow, I made it down to Kinko's where they printed out my pattern. Because I had resized it, the dude was able to print it out on two pieces, rather than four this time. That will make my job much easier once I get home. Here's a pic of the large format printer at the Kinko's.
Here are the sheets as they came out of the printer from Kinko's. Because I was expecting there to be four parts, and have no advanced knowledge of where the page breaks would be, I put in a series of registration lines that I could use to align the diffferent pieces. Because there were only two pieces, most of those lines became unnecessary. You can see where I have overlaid my previously made leg pattern on top of the new one. It's scaled almost perfectly to it.
Here's the pattern pieces all cut out and taped together.
I then rolled out some fabric I had, and traced around the pattern.
Here is the final product. Obviously, you can't really tell much from this photo, but the fact remains that they are pants! The fit is pretty good. I guess my scaling job worked rather well. I will need to do some adjustments around the legs, and I will probably eliminate the feet, as those are not needed in this suit.
Overall, very happy with the results.
The step I'm anxiously waiting on right now is to complete the screen print tests. Once those are done, I will be able to kick the screen printing stuff into high gear.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tiny Screen Update
For sake of thoroughness, I wanted to inform my dear readers of some last minute progress tonight. I did some measuring of the artwork for both the body suit and the briefs, and wrote an email to Westar to get a quote. Though I have not finalized the measurements, I am close enough to request a quote, so at least I know what I am getting myself into.
I also did some tiny changes to the legs artwork shown in my most recent previous post, and transferred it to a flash drive. I will try to get over to Kinko's tomorrow to get it output.
I also did some tiny changes to the legs artwork shown in my most recent previous post, and transferred it to a flash drive. I will try to get over to Kinko's tomorrow to get it output.
Paper Pattern Work
In this thread, I discussed the process I went through to put together a drawing for the leg pattern. A few days ago, I managed to make my way over to Kinko's to get it printed out.
Because the printer wasn't big enough to do it in one shot, I got four pieces printed out.
And after a little bit of cutting and taping, I ended up with the completed pattern. This picture is upside down, so whatever perspective mess it makes, I'm hoping that the payoff is that it's recognizeable as legs.
Flash forward a few days to tonight, where I was thinking about how big the screen will need to be in order to get the diamonds printed onto a piece of fabric this wide. The paper pattern you see in the picture above is REALLY wide.it's like 70" or something rediculous like that. That seemed like an awful lot.
But then I had something of a brain storm, and realized that I had already put a lot of time into developing a very form fitting single leg pattern for the lower half of the body. I laid that on top of my new pattern, only to learn that my instinct was right. I had grossly oversized my new pattern.
Not really a big deal at all, as the paper print out cost me under 20 dollars. So it was only a few bucks lost. The other thing I realized is that there was a problem with the original artwork that I needed to correct. On the spiderman suit, from which this pattern is taken, the waist has a v-taper on the back. This is to match the web patterned belt-thingie that spidey wears. I corrected that in my drawing, and also scaled it all down to match the measurements of the single leg pattern I had drafted previously.
Also from the lessons learned the first time around, I added in some registration lines so I can get both halves lined up perfectl. Here's what it looks like now:
I will have the dude print out two of these, then I will tape it up, and it should be much closer to the size I need. Its also MUCH smaller, which means I won't need such a huge screen for the final artwork.
Because the printer wasn't big enough to do it in one shot, I got four pieces printed out.
And after a little bit of cutting and taping, I ended up with the completed pattern. This picture is upside down, so whatever perspective mess it makes, I'm hoping that the payoff is that it's recognizeable as legs.
Flash forward a few days to tonight, where I was thinking about how big the screen will need to be in order to get the diamonds printed onto a piece of fabric this wide. The paper pattern you see in the picture above is REALLY wide.it's like 70" or something rediculous like that. That seemed like an awful lot.
But then I had something of a brain storm, and realized that I had already put a lot of time into developing a very form fitting single leg pattern for the lower half of the body. I laid that on top of my new pattern, only to learn that my instinct was right. I had grossly oversized my new pattern.
Not really a big deal at all, as the paper print out cost me under 20 dollars. So it was only a few bucks lost. The other thing I realized is that there was a problem with the original artwork that I needed to correct. On the spiderman suit, from which this pattern is taken, the waist has a v-taper on the back. This is to match the web patterned belt-thingie that spidey wears. I corrected that in my drawing, and also scaled it all down to match the measurements of the single leg pattern I had drafted previously.
Also from the lessons learned the first time around, I added in some registration lines so I can get both halves lined up perfectl. Here's what it looks like now:
I will have the dude print out two of these, then I will tape it up, and it should be much closer to the size I need. Its also MUCH smaller, which means I won't need such a huge screen for the final artwork.
Screens and Inks
No pictures today, just a logistical update on the silk screen action I'm working on.
I got an email today from Westar telling me that both of my screens are on their way, along with some white plastisol ink I ordered from them. This is a different blend of Plastisol, and is kind of the "standard" ink for screen printing on fabric. it's a little thinner than the stuff I used previously, and doesn't stack up the way the other stuff does. It will make for an interesting experiment.
The two screens on their way are the sample screens for the different diamond patterns. One for the briefs, one for the body suit.
I also ordered four different colors of speedball inks to help out with the She-Hulk project that Laamberry is doing. I got some black and white, so that I can mix a light grey. I also got some blue and red so that I can mix a good purple for the sides. I'm going to have to move quickly with the testing of the screens so that I can order the final screen. LB needs the screen printed fabric by end of month so that she'll have time to sew together the costume for her event.
So basically, I've got a bunch of stuff coming in the mail.
End of line.
I got an email today from Westar telling me that both of my screens are on their way, along with some white plastisol ink I ordered from them. This is a different blend of Plastisol, and is kind of the "standard" ink for screen printing on fabric. it's a little thinner than the stuff I used previously, and doesn't stack up the way the other stuff does. It will make for an interesting experiment.
The two screens on their way are the sample screens for the different diamond patterns. One for the briefs, one for the body suit.
I also ordered four different colors of speedball inks to help out with the She-Hulk project that Laamberry is doing. I got some black and white, so that I can mix a light grey. I also got some blue and red so that I can mix a good purple for the sides. I'm going to have to move quickly with the testing of the screens so that I can order the final screen. LB needs the screen printed fabric by end of month so that she'll have time to sew together the costume for her event.
So basically, I've got a bunch of stuff coming in the mail.
End of line.
Friday, December 31, 2010
And Now, BLUE Diamonds!
There has been a flurry of activity lately on the silk screening process, and I'm really motivated to continue to push forward based on all of the progress. To that end, today I drew up some artwork for a screen that will let me de-bug the blue diamonds that will go on the main body suit.
I'm taking the same approach that seems to be working with the briefs diamonds. The artwork I just sent over to westar includes ten different samples of diamonds. Here's a peek.
Just like with the trunks diagram, I am following the same formula. The five samples at the top represent my original artwork, with the edges stroked in different amounts, and different colors. This will allow me to allow for seepage and still get a very accurate final product. The bottom 5 have the inner diamond enlarged by 10%, and then the same stroke weights applied.
The artwork for the blue diamonds was created directly from a scan of a fabric swatch, so I am feeling very confident about its accuracy.
For comparison, this image shows the difference between the blue diamonds and the red. The red are smaller, and more tightly packed. Pretty cool.
I sent my artwork off to westar just now, and hope that they will be able to burn the screen and get it out to me pretty quickly. I'm now under the gun to get the blue diamond screen all worked out, as I have committed to helping a friend with her She-Hulk costume that she hopes to have completed by mid February. We came up with the idea of silk screening the micro-diamond pattern onto the fabric she will be using as the body suit. We figured this way it would bring something new to the costume, and give it a little more visual diversity that you wouldn't normally get from straight up white milliskin.
I'm taking the same approach that seems to be working with the briefs diamonds. The artwork I just sent over to westar includes ten different samples of diamonds. Here's a peek.
Just like with the trunks diagram, I am following the same formula. The five samples at the top represent my original artwork, with the edges stroked in different amounts, and different colors. This will allow me to allow for seepage and still get a very accurate final product. The bottom 5 have the inner diamond enlarged by 10%, and then the same stroke weights applied.
The artwork for the blue diamonds was created directly from a scan of a fabric swatch, so I am feeling very confident about its accuracy.
For comparison, this image shows the difference between the blue diamonds and the red. The red are smaller, and more tightly packed. Pretty cool.
I sent my artwork off to westar just now, and hope that they will be able to burn the screen and get it out to me pretty quickly. I'm now under the gun to get the blue diamond screen all worked out, as I have committed to helping a friend with her She-Hulk costume that she hopes to have completed by mid February. We came up with the idea of silk screening the micro-diamond pattern onto the fabric she will be using as the body suit. We figured this way it would bring something new to the costume, and give it a little more visual diversity that you wouldn't normally get from straight up white milliskin.
FAQ - Superman Returns Costume Recipe
I get asked fairly frequently if I sell items from my blog or website. I do not. Well, Ok, sometimes I do, but I don’t make a habit of it. The truth is, the projects I am working on are for me. I’m not doing it for profit. Because I have so little free time, any I might find is dedicated to working on projects that I want to finish, not to building pieces for other fans and enthusiasts. I have been offered some decent money to sell things I show on my website, but always decline. I’m not in it for the money, and making something for someone else would simply take time away from making something for me.
With that said, I to tend to get asked a few of the same questions over and over again, so I thought it was about time to put together a recipe for how to build your own Superman Returns suit based on what is currently available.
For briefs, body suit chest emblem and cape, I recommend The Bronze Armory. They can be found here.
The body suit they sell is decent. It's not perfect, but it's VERY well made. Whomever their seamstress is, she/he does great work. A really well crafted suit. The colors are not quite perfect. The base blue is a bit off, and the diamonds are the wrong shade. The racing stripes do not quite match what is on screen, but they are still very nice. The diamond pattern is also not quite right. The inner diamonds tend to wander around within the outer diamonds, where on the screen used ones, their positions are fixed toward the top. The inks used for the printing are not the right type. With all that said, it's still a REALLY nice suit, and is the best one on the market that I am aware of. Please don't take my hyper-critical comments as dismissive criticism.
The briefs are sort of the same. The colors are off, and the diamond pattern is not quite right, but they are constructed very well, and are the best on the market. The cut is also a bit off. It looks as if they used a standard pattern for briefs, and didn't account for the low cut on the legs and low rise waist that was seen on the Routh suit.
The chest emblem is a direct descendent of the piece I own. It's the real deal, and it's very nice. For a while, they were selling a different chest emblem which was not right, but I think they have stopped selling those. Buy this chest emblem!
The belt is a fan sculpt, and is decent. It's not quite right in a number of ways, but it's the best one that is commercially available. A pal of mine named JBrown did a sculpt of his own which was more accurate, though he does not offer them.
For the cape, go to Ricky Broussard, of Ricky’s Custom Costumes. His ebay store seems to be closed right now, so contact him directly at rickyb574@bellsouth.net. I cannot confirm that this addy is current, nor if he is still producing capes.
Ricky is the ONLY person I know of that is producing a Superman Returns cape. As with the Bronze Armory stuff, there are a bunch of things great about it, and a few things that are not right. PLEASE keep in mind that my criticisms come from the perspective of someone who is attempting to recreate in EVERY excruciating detail the production made and screen used costumes. For the casual observer and costumer, and perhaps even the more sophisticated costumer, the pieces I describe here are absolutely wonderful, and even quite pricey.
Ricky's cape is heavy. It's made of what looks like a burgandy pleather or naugahide, lined with a cotton interior. The colors are actually really darn close. The inner lining is almost spot on to the brighter parts of the real deal capes, though he is missing the ombre. The outer skin is a good color, though it does not have the micro-diamond texture. The construction of the cape is also not right. Ricky sews his lining to the inside, and uses an under-arm strap system similar to the Reeve style Superman capes. It's VERY functional, but it's not accurae. There's also some kind of steel rod in the neck to keep the shape of the cape. Also inaccurate. After having dissected one of the real deal capes in person, and realizing how incredibly complicated it is, I have to give Ricky a great deal of credit for devising a creative solution to what is a very difficult look to reproduce.
For the boots, go to www.superheroboots.com. I found this place via a friend, and they were just starting to develop a Superman Returns boot. They had made great progress, but there were some details missing. I offered up ALL of the reference material that I had collected over the past few years, and gave them some pointers on how to make the boots better. They totally ran with it, and have produced a boot that exceeded my expectations. They're also working hard on a newer version that will include custom sculpted soles that look really amazing.I'm really impressed with the work they are doing, and I think this will be a huge asset to the small community of dedicated Superman Returns costume fans who are looking to put together a very respectable suit.
My only criticism of the boots they are producing is in the materials. They work with vinyl instead of leather. The good news is that this keeps the price WAY down, and makes them much easier to produce. Their boots do not include the micro S's or the inverse micro-diamond pattern that are found on the real deal boots. BUT, they do use two different types of textured vinyl to simulate the look. Again, to anyone but the most discerning collector, these will come across as very high end, well made boots. Which they are.
I think that about covers it. If you have any questions, or if something requires further explanation, please don't hesitate to ask.
Christopher Reeve Style Superman Costume
If you are looking for this suit, the BEST place to go is here. www.actioncostumes.com. Hands down, they make the best, most accurate suit ever. A few years ago, fellow Superman enthusiast Chris King collaborated with this company to develop the best Superman replica, using a confirmed screen used suit as reference. Chris painstakingly took measurements and photos of everything, allowing them their replica what it is today. If you order, you'll need to ask for the "CKing Version" of the suit, which is not advertised on their website. It is expensive, but if you want total accuracy, this is the place to go. I own one of their suits, along with the Reeve accurate boots, and it's just great.
With that said, I to tend to get asked a few of the same questions over and over again, so I thought it was about time to put together a recipe for how to build your own Superman Returns suit based on what is currently available.
For briefs, body suit chest emblem and cape, I recommend The Bronze Armory. They can be found here.
The body suit they sell is decent. It's not perfect, but it's VERY well made. Whomever their seamstress is, she/he does great work. A really well crafted suit. The colors are not quite perfect. The base blue is a bit off, and the diamonds are the wrong shade. The racing stripes do not quite match what is on screen, but they are still very nice. The diamond pattern is also not quite right. The inner diamonds tend to wander around within the outer diamonds, where on the screen used ones, their positions are fixed toward the top. The inks used for the printing are not the right type. With all that said, it's still a REALLY nice suit, and is the best one on the market that I am aware of. Please don't take my hyper-critical comments as dismissive criticism.
The briefs are sort of the same. The colors are off, and the diamond pattern is not quite right, but they are constructed very well, and are the best on the market. The cut is also a bit off. It looks as if they used a standard pattern for briefs, and didn't account for the low cut on the legs and low rise waist that was seen on the Routh suit.
The chest emblem is a direct descendent of the piece I own. It's the real deal, and it's very nice. For a while, they were selling a different chest emblem which was not right, but I think they have stopped selling those. Buy this chest emblem!
The belt is a fan sculpt, and is decent. It's not quite right in a number of ways, but it's the best one that is commercially available. A pal of mine named JBrown did a sculpt of his own which was more accurate, though he does not offer them.
For the cape, go to Ricky Broussard, of Ricky’s Custom Costumes. His ebay store seems to be closed right now, so contact him directly at rickyb574@bellsouth.net. I cannot confirm that this addy is current, nor if he is still producing capes.
Ricky is the ONLY person I know of that is producing a Superman Returns cape. As with the Bronze Armory stuff, there are a bunch of things great about it, and a few things that are not right. PLEASE keep in mind that my criticisms come from the perspective of someone who is attempting to recreate in EVERY excruciating detail the production made and screen used costumes. For the casual observer and costumer, and perhaps even the more sophisticated costumer, the pieces I describe here are absolutely wonderful, and even quite pricey.
Ricky's cape is heavy. It's made of what looks like a burgandy pleather or naugahide, lined with a cotton interior. The colors are actually really darn close. The inner lining is almost spot on to the brighter parts of the real deal capes, though he is missing the ombre. The outer skin is a good color, though it does not have the micro-diamond texture. The construction of the cape is also not right. Ricky sews his lining to the inside, and uses an under-arm strap system similar to the Reeve style Superman capes. It's VERY functional, but it's not accurae. There's also some kind of steel rod in the neck to keep the shape of the cape. Also inaccurate. After having dissected one of the real deal capes in person, and realizing how incredibly complicated it is, I have to give Ricky a great deal of credit for devising a creative solution to what is a very difficult look to reproduce.
For the boots, go to www.superheroboots.com. I found this place via a friend, and they were just starting to develop a Superman Returns boot. They had made great progress, but there were some details missing. I offered up ALL of the reference material that I had collected over the past few years, and gave them some pointers on how to make the boots better. They totally ran with it, and have produced a boot that exceeded my expectations. They're also working hard on a newer version that will include custom sculpted soles that look really amazing.I'm really impressed with the work they are doing, and I think this will be a huge asset to the small community of dedicated Superman Returns costume fans who are looking to put together a very respectable suit.
My only criticism of the boots they are producing is in the materials. They work with vinyl instead of leather. The good news is that this keeps the price WAY down, and makes them much easier to produce. Their boots do not include the micro S's or the inverse micro-diamond pattern that are found on the real deal boots. BUT, they do use two different types of textured vinyl to simulate the look. Again, to anyone but the most discerning collector, these will come across as very high end, well made boots. Which they are.
I think that about covers it. If you have any questions, or if something requires further explanation, please don't hesitate to ask.
Christopher Reeve Style Superman Costume
If you are looking for this suit, the BEST place to go is here. www.actioncostumes.com. Hands down, they make the best, most accurate suit ever. A few years ago, fellow Superman enthusiast Chris King collaborated with this company to develop the best Superman replica, using a confirmed screen used suit as reference. Chris painstakingly took measurements and photos of everything, allowing them their replica what it is today. If you order, you'll need to ask for the "CKing Version" of the suit, which is not advertised on their website. It is expensive, but if you want total accuracy, this is the place to go. I own one of their suits, along with the Reeve accurate boots, and it's just great.
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