Scared to Start

[Marcus]

I've never made a cosplay, and really want to get into it, but I don't want to buy foam (15$) and then get stuck and never finish. (I once bought foam mats and couldn't cut them well and gave up). So how long does it take to make just and ODST helmet, and what is a list of all materials, for example do I really need to buy a heat gun, or would a Hair dryer suffice? Thanks for any advice!

 

[PlanetAlexander]

Hey Marcus, welcome to the 405th!

It's hard to make a list of comprehensive materials/tools for foam, because there's a lot you can invest in to really polish your work, if you get that into it.
Reading your situation, I think you'd want the foam (either EVA floor mats or cosplay foam), contact cement (and thus a respirator for safety, plus make sure to work in a ventilated space), a good utility knife and either replacement blades or a sharpener (a sharp knife is key to getting clean cuts), a heat gun (because unfortunately most hairdryers do not get hot enough), and either some sandpaper (with a variety of grits from ~150 - 1200), and/or a rotary tool. You can use either something like Quik Seal to fill in gaps, though I personally like foam clay for doing so.

If you don't want to use/can't use contact cement, you can instead use super glue or contact cement, however, you may find it harder to get flush, clean seams.

Once foam work is done, and you've heat sealed it, you can seal it with something brush on (like Mod Podge or Flexbond) or spray seal it (like Plastidip or Leak Seal). Heat sealing isn't 100% necessary, but greatly helps to prevent future layers (like sealants and paints) being absorbed into the foam.

 

[N8TEBB]

Hi Marcus

My Chief cosplay was my first cosplay ever. First time working with foam too. It's all foam besides the helmet, so unfortunately I can't give you a good estimate for how long it takes to build just a helmet. I can give you a bit of advice though. Before I start a big project, I make sure I have enough time for a few months out where I don't have any other big projects going on. For my chief suit, I had the summer between grade 12 an uni to use. Right now I'm making a suit while I'm working full time over the summer, and I'm trying to get done before school in September. It really helps when you have some time dedicated each day to completing a project. Another important thing to have is a goal. You don't have to know how every detail will look, but it certainly helps when you know what you're working towards.

Timelines will vary wildly depending on the complexity of the project and how much time you can dedicate each day. But for the most part a full suit's timeline will be measured in months, not weeks.

I think there might be some helpful information on my build thread for my chief suit. I've got a cost analysis and stuff there for my first build. Also, I never sealed my chief suit with a heat gun, just plasti-dip. If you don't want to spring for a heat gun, you can still do great foam work! It's also worth noting that a wired heat gun found in the paint section of the hardware store will be much cheaper than a battery heat gun in the tools section.

Here's my build thread: 1st Build - MJOLNIR MK VI Master Chief Armour (Halo 3)

 

[SalLyrisse]

Seconding the comments on setting time aside to work on the project. Never really made much progress on my gear until I started dedicating set times to work on it. As far as a heat gun and foam pads goes, you could check out local thrift/discount shops to see if anything that might work for you has been put up for sale. Think I saw a relatively cheap set of foam pads on sale at Ross a while back that would be good for practicing on.

 

[Arcane]

It took me the better part of a full day to complete the hero's workshop helmet(not including filling seams or sanding), so I think it's something you could space out over a few days or a week

 

[Creativity4ever]

Hello there! Before I started making full armor sets, I used to make helmets with materials like eva foam and paper mache. For your first build I would suggest following youtuber AndrewDFTs ODST helmet tutorial. It's quite simple and you can make it within a few hours. EVA foam is cheap and affordable usually but if you don't want to use EVA foam you could experiment using paper or cardboard maybe for the helmet. Tools you should have are: Scissors/Box cutter tool, heat gun. Super glue or Hot glue or contact cement, EVA foam 8-10mm, or cardboard and paper. You will also need the software Pepakura designer (free) or Armorsmith designer ($30) and access to a printer to print out patterns.

 

[SgtSaint]

Foam and sewing are just skills you learn like any other.
You weren't born knowing how to drive - you learned that.
You weren't born knowing how to ride a bike - you learned through repeated failure until you got better.
Same here. Every time you make something you'll learn something, get better, do better.
Just jump in and start.

And... just accept there's going to be some waste. It happens. That's part of learning anything. So don't let the concern for some waste paralize you from starting. I'd bet the first pancake or omelet you made probably wasn't your best and maybe not even edible. But after some practice you got better.

> So how long does it take to make just and ODST helmet

Personally I always recommend starting at the feet and working up.
You're going to weather and distress the boots more than anything else... and they get looked at with the least critical eye.
Then shins which have to ride on the boots.
Then thighs since you have to avoid joint conflict so you can sit etc.
See how this goes? Up from the boots.
By the time you get to the chest and helmet; the parts at eye level that everyone stares at, looks at first, is right there in your face in every photo - you can make them look stellar.

And if you start at the boots you're looking at parts that are only a day or two per part not 6 days per part. So you can hone your scaling skills.

There are also a huge number of YouTube channels dedicated to cosplay.

• 
  
• https://www.youtube.com/@KamuiCosplay
  Amazing foam work.
• 
  
• https://www.youtube.com/@HawkWorley
  Sewing for cosplay
• 
  
• https://www.youtube.com/@pandapropsncostumes
  A mix of skills for cosplay
• 
  
• https://www.youtube.com/@punishedprops
  Foam, printed, metal, leather, modding toys to props

 

[Marcus]

Foam and sewing are just skills you learn like any other.
You weren't born knowing how to drive - you learned that.
You weren't born knowing how to ride a bike - you learned through repeated failure until you got better.
Same here. Every time you make something you'll learn something, get better, do better.
Just jump in and start.

And... just accept there's going to be some waste. It happens. That's part of learning anything. So don't let the concern for some waste paralize you from starting. I'd bet the first pancake or omelet you made probably wasn't your best and maybe not even edible. But after some practice you got better.

> So how long does it take to make just and ODST helmet

Personally I always recommend starting at the feet and working up.
You're going to weather and distress the boots more than anything else... and they get looked at with the least critical eye.
Then shins which have to ride on the boots.
Then thighs since you have to avoid joint conflict so you can sit etc.
See how this goes? Up from the boots.
By the time you get to the chest and helmet; the parts at eye level that everyone stares at, looks at first, is right there in your face in every photo - you can make them look stellar.

And if you start at the boots you're looking at parts that are only a day or two per part not 6 days per part. So you can hone your scaling skills.

There are also a huge number of YouTube channels dedicated to cosplay.

• 
  
• https://www.youtube.com/@KamuiCosplay
  Amazing foam work.
• 
  
• https://www.youtube.com/@HawkWorley
  Sewing for cosplay
• 
  
• https://www.youtube.com/@pandapropsncostumes
  A mix of skills for cosplay
• 
  
• https://www.youtube.com/@punishedprops
  Foam, printed, metal, leather, modding toys to props

Super helpful, thanks a lot!