My Cortana Build
- Thread starter Bexi
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Finelargeaxe
Jr Member
...there ARE shoes in that photo somewhere, yes?
If they're there, I can't see them, and you've done it right.
If they're there, I can't see them, and you've done it right.
Shoes are inside the suit. I glued them in
There's no fabric covering the soles so I don't slip, but I made the feet completely continuous with the rest of the suit.Nice touch on the shoes Bexi, there is a company called Kryolan who make a water based, very sheer silver (http://www.sillyfarm.com/store/index.php?p=product&id=1191&parent=0) Load your sponge with it and then the blue and it will add a shimmer effect without altering the colour. If you wanted a more drastic effect, while the blue is still damp sprinkle with a shimmer powder in either clear or blue (http://www.sillyfarm.com/store/index.php?p=product&id=707&parent=439)
Next time you put on your make up, before you wash off, take a damp sponge or cloth and gently wipe the off the hairs of your eyebrows, might be a more consistant way of getting them to show better than applying more make up over the top.
Next time you put on your make up, before you wash off, take a damp sponge or cloth and gently wipe the off the hairs of your eyebrows, might be a more consistant way of getting them to show better than applying more make up over the top.
Your makeup advice is the best! I'll absolutely be looking into that shimmery stuff. When I put it on the sponge, do I just do half blue and half silver? Or would it be mostly blue with just a hint of the silver?My boyfriend's actually making a Halo 3 marine suit. One of our buddies is making a Mark V Master Chief. No Mark VI Chief though, which makes me a littel sad...
but what can ya do? Before I go to cons I may try to find myself a Chief on here, at least for a few photo ops Bexi, I do makeup for a living ;-)
Load up an end of your sponge with the silver, then load the same end with blue. They will blend as you apply, have a practice on the back of your hand. This Kryolan silver is so sheer it wont overpower your blue at all.
Glitter is your other option but its a pain to photograph well.
Load up an end of your sponge with the silver, then load the same end with blue. They will blend as you apply, have a practice on the back of your hand. This Kryolan silver is so sheer it wont overpower your blue at all.
Glitter is your other option but its a pain to photograph well.
Shoes are inside the suit. I glued them in
Not that I spend a lot of time looking at Cortana pictures *coughcough*, but what you've done with the shoes is probably the best-looking solution I've seen so far!
Woot! Thanks so much!
Awesome! I will defiantly be buying some. Do you think the silver might adhere to my gloves? I’d love to have everything be a nice matching shiny.
Not that I spend a lot of time looking at Cortana pictures *coughcough*, but what you've done with the shoes is probably the best-looking solution I've seen so far!
Thank you! Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of costumes that have feet and they’re painted, but they don’t have shoes, so if you wanted to walk around (for example at cons) you’d still need to wear shoes and then you might look a little silly. Cortana in converse anyone?
Are they latex, pvc or nitrile? I'm sure there will be a suitable product to add a shimmer to match up.
Kryolan silver (in the UK is called 'Silber') is very sheer but as it is water based it will not stay on the gloves and because the gloves are not porous it will go streaky.
You could mix a bit of silver with some clear liquid latex and dab on with an old sponge (it will be binned afterwards). If you go this route, clean the gloves with 99% isopropyl alcohol and let it dry naturally. Only a very thin coat required. When dry you will have to powder off with talcum powder as dry latex will stick to dry latex like its been playing with crazy glue.
Are they latex, pvc or nitrile? I'm sure there will be a suitable product to add a shimmer to match up.
If your planing a photoshoot, I would skip the gloves and paint your hands. A darker blue on your nails will help.
Kryolan silver (in the UK is called 'Silber') is very sheer but as it is water based it will not stay on the gloves and because the gloves are not porous it will go streaky.
You could mix a bit of silver with some clear liquid latex and dab on with an old sponge (it will be binned afterwards). If you go this route, clean the gloves with 99% isopropyl alcohol and let it dry naturally. Only a very thin coat required. When dry you will have to powder off with talcum powder as dry latex will stick to dry latex like its been playing with crazy glue.
Are they latex, pvc or nitrile? I'm sure there will be a suitable product to add a shimmer to match up.
If your planing a photoshoot, I would skip the gloves and paint your hands. A darker blue on your nails will help.
They are nitrile. I will definatly be painting my hands when I ever find a photographer for a shoot
I want to be one shiny blue lady!Hello all! Sorry for the slight necro posting, but I’m continuing progess on my Cortana suit. I’ve run out of materials fro my MK VI armor and am also currently out of money to buy more, so I’m redirecting my attention to my Cortana for the time being. My plans are to improve my wig, and build a chestpiece and padded bottom for the suit. If I can ever find more of the suits material again I will also be making matching gloves.
As pointed out by the lovely Kiotoko-Solo, who has a beautiful Cortana costume in progress, there are certain aspects of Cortana’s anatomy that are more exaggerated than on regular folks.
Materials that will be required are:
One pair granny panties (try to get them a size larger than you normally wear as you will be filling this extra space with padding. Can be obtained anywhere that sells underwear. I went with walmart because they’re wicked cheap and I don’t plan to wear them everyday. Go with either white or a nude color because you don’t want these to show through your costume.
Regular density foam- found in the foam/pillow section of most craft stores. You’ll need about a 2 foot square (this gives you a bunch of room for error) and aim for the inch thick stuff. I was lucky and got a rememant chunk for only $3. Woot!
About an 8inch square of any scrap fabric or waxed paper/parchment paper. Whatever you have lying around will work really. This is just to make an outline with.
Measuring tape
Black Sharpie
Glue of choice -I used tacky glue because it’s what I had available. Note that tacky glue is water soluble so you’ll never be able to wash these. Plan to either wear different underwear beneath these ones or invest in a different glue.
Scissors and/or exacto knife
Since every body is a different size please customize your measurements or you’re going to have an odd looking bottom.
Your goal is to have 2 tear-drop shaped pads approximately 6-8 inches tall and 4-6 inches wide depending on your natural butt size. Start bigger than you think is necessary because once you try them on in the underwear you can really see where you need to shrink and shape them. Mine started out as 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide but by trying it on and shaving down the edges it ended up being 4.5 inches wide and 6.25 inches tall.
Make a pattern that looks something like this:
Trace the pattern onto your foam. You want 2 foam teardrops. Arrange them so the flatter sides are together like so.
Now, try on the underwear and stuff the pads in. Use a friend or a mirror to get them even. Note where they are too thick and stand out from the body too much. I had to trim the top half of mine down to about a quarter of an inch thick so it didn't stand out awkwardly from my body. Now it;s all shape and shave off bits until you get the desired look. You are shaving off the side that will be glued against the panty. Taper all the edges for a nice rounded look. If you're using scissors, basically all you have to do is cut all the edges at an angle out from the center. Picture it like you're making a really short mountain.
Once you’re happy with how the foam sits and feels, bust out some pins. Pin the foam chunks in place and start to glue them. I started with the thin top of the tear shape so the glue would hold the pad in place. You are gluing the shaped side to the underwear, so the flat side with no tapering is against your own skin. Apply glue directly to the foam not to the panty unless you want to deal with one heck of a cleanup.
Repeat for the other side. Now you just have to wait and let them dry. Mine took about an hour. Try them on and make sure you’re happy with them.
My final result
I hope this helps any future Cortanas get their desired shape!
On that note, I'd also like to share my wig 2.0. Notice the new cut and added beads I've also fixed up my technique for the makeup a bunch.
As pointed out by the lovely Kiotoko-Solo, who has a beautiful Cortana costume in progress, there are certain aspects of Cortana’s anatomy that are more exaggerated than on regular folks.
Materials that will be required are:
One pair granny panties (try to get them a size larger than you normally wear as you will be filling this extra space with padding. Can be obtained anywhere that sells underwear. I went with walmart because they’re wicked cheap and I don’t plan to wear them everyday. Go with either white or a nude color because you don’t want these to show through your costume.
Regular density foam- found in the foam/pillow section of most craft stores. You’ll need about a 2 foot square (this gives you a bunch of room for error) and aim for the inch thick stuff. I was lucky and got a rememant chunk for only $3. Woot!
About an 8inch square of any scrap fabric or waxed paper/parchment paper. Whatever you have lying around will work really. This is just to make an outline with.
Measuring tape
Black Sharpie
Glue of choice -I used tacky glue because it’s what I had available. Note that tacky glue is water soluble so you’ll never be able to wash these. Plan to either wear different underwear beneath these ones or invest in a different glue.
Scissors and/or exacto knife
Since every body is a different size please customize your measurements or you’re going to have an odd looking bottom.
Your goal is to have 2 tear-drop shaped pads approximately 6-8 inches tall and 4-6 inches wide depending on your natural butt size. Start bigger than you think is necessary because once you try them on in the underwear you can really see where you need to shrink and shape them. Mine started out as 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide but by trying it on and shaving down the edges it ended up being 4.5 inches wide and 6.25 inches tall.
Make a pattern that looks something like this:
Trace the pattern onto your foam. You want 2 foam teardrops. Arrange them so the flatter sides are together like so.
Now, try on the underwear and stuff the pads in. Use a friend or a mirror to get them even. Note where they are too thick and stand out from the body too much. I had to trim the top half of mine down to about a quarter of an inch thick so it didn't stand out awkwardly from my body. Now it;s all shape and shave off bits until you get the desired look. You are shaving off the side that will be glued against the panty. Taper all the edges for a nice rounded look. If you're using scissors, basically all you have to do is cut all the edges at an angle out from the center. Picture it like you're making a really short mountain.
Once you’re happy with how the foam sits and feels, bust out some pins. Pin the foam chunks in place and start to glue them. I started with the thin top of the tear shape so the glue would hold the pad in place. You are gluing the shaped side to the underwear, so the flat side with no tapering is against your own skin. Apply glue directly to the foam not to the panty unless you want to deal with one heck of a cleanup.
Repeat for the other side. Now you just have to wait and let them dry. Mine took about an hour. Try them on and make sure you’re happy with them.
My final result
I hope this helps any future Cortanas get their desired shape!
On that note, I'd also like to share my wig 2.0. Notice the new cut and added beads
I've also fixed up my technique for the makeup a bunch.
Starvinartist80
Well-Known Member
You've put together a nice little tutorial Bexi. It surprises me how every builder finds ways to conquer different challenges. Of course I'm sure there is some sort of social commentary in this particular challenge but I'll leave it alone. Keep up the great work Bexi.
Keep up the great work Bexi.- Status
