There are so many cool things you can do with foam, and foam is a great tool to start out with if you are making your first set of armour or prop.
There are lots of different kinds of foam, and each of them is good for specific things. The foams that you will most likely use for your cosplays are craft foam, eva foam and clay foam, sometimes even upholstery foam or insulation foam. We will go over each in a bit more detail! Craft foam is super easy to find in dollar stores, craft stores and department stores. It's usually super affordable and generally comes in one or two thicknesses. This is a great starting place if you haven't worked with foam before. It's cheap, easy to find and easy to work with. It absorbs paint well and works with most glues, but you probably won't want to use heat with craft foam as it will melt pretty easily. Craft foam is also great to use as interfacing under layers of fabric to make something stiffer. EVA foam is a much denser foam and works well with heat. It comes in multiple thicknesses and is very durable. You can find this in most craft stores in the states, but in Canada it is easiest to oder online. EVA foam works really great for armour sets and props because of it's durability and flexibility. You can use a dremel on it to get nice fine details carved in, and hold it all together with contact cement. Clay foam is one of the newer forms of foam on the market. It starts out like a putty that you can mold and form, then after it dries it turns into a dense foam. It's a little similar to Crayola model magic in the way that it air dries and becomes a stiff foam, but Clay foam is more durable, and in my opinion much easier to use. Upholstry foam is great for things like making large shoes or gloves. It's soft and pliable so it's easy to move in and comfortable. It does take a lot of cutting to get the shapes just right, but it is definitely worth the work! Insulation foam is a great tool to use for props since it is super sturdy. I think most prop makers started out with this and have since started moving over to EVA foam since there are more choices in density, but this is definitely a good material to try out! It's affordable and easy to come by at any hardware store. Good luck in your prop and costume making endeavours with foam!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2020
Categories
All
|