Alphonse Elric Cosplay

I made this last summer, but I never got around to actually taking some high-res close-up photos of it to post haha. So here it is! It was a fun challenge to make and very rewarding to get some great feedback at conventions. :]


for those who are interested in how it's made:
It's mostly made out of craft foam, with cardboard inside for support and extra durability. the round part for the top of the head which also serves as the base that everything is attached to is made of paper mache. and the horn in the front is just cardstock paper. the only glue I used was hot glue, because it hold well and dries almost instantly, which was useful in assembly.

I made the design by first creating a miniature pattern out of paper to figure out how everything would fit together. For example, I had to figure out how the piece with the eyes would overlap and fit underneath the piece above it. Also, figuring out just the right angle and shape of the jaw piece was a challenge and took several tries. Then I made a life-size pattern out of paper to figure out how it would fit on my head, and make sure the eyes would line up properly. I had to tweak the design just a little and move the eyes closer together, because the real Alphonse's eyes are too far apart to properly see out of. Then I used the patterns to cut pieces out of craft foam. Most of the craft foam pieces are actually two pieces of thin foam with cardboard sandwiched in between. The cardboard helps give it shape and durability.

Ones the pieces were complete, I gave everything several coats of primer and paint. (the paint is a metallic blueish green craft-grade acrylic paint) Then I glued the whole thing together. Assembling the whole thing was extremely nerve-wracking, since hot glue is not very forgiving! one slip up could mean having to start over entirely. But luckily I was careful and everything worked out. After the whole thing was assembled, I used black paint and a light metallic color for highlights, grease smudges, and other weathering effects such as small scratches and chips here and there. That's about it!