mdb costumes

So.. it’s happening. Finally some good progress on my Lekku of Dooooooom!

Check ‘em out! They reach my knees! Some of the super curve I had in early stages fell out, but I know what I did and I don’t think I could have avoided it under current circumstances.

Also photo of my latest purchase! the perfect packable sized containers from the local Daisco (or $3.50 japan shops in Auckland- super excited one opened local to me XD). These are pill containers and I have filled the larger panel with the main body colour for (left to right) Rachi, Liara and Talon/Shaak Ti. The smaller panels I am filling with highlights, liners and colours for patches/markings. 

So for Rachi I have (clockwise from top right) pink, white, dark purple and then the final panel will have black for line work.

For Liara (ditto) I have white then will mix similar shading and line work colours (dark blue and black).

For Talon/Shakk Ti I will have two for white and two for black as both require a fair amount of one or the other.

Then I can pack my small carry kit (seen in an earlier post, check the tags (make up) with all the brushes and shading powders in there along with mascara and regular make up..

As a balance of cost type of comparison, you need two NZ Airbrush Tattoos bottle to make about the same as one RC large colour pot. So if you are on a budget you can buy the local stuff and slowly build it up if you are not mixing colours. If you want to head straight into the colour pots then expect to pay about 2/3 extra for shipping. At least if you are buying say 4-6 pots.

Other Talon updates: The strapping has been fixed :) I need to trim some extra bits but the greaves and bracers now have black velcro (don’t ask how I wound up with white as I don’t even know…) and the fixed strapping has been glued down. 
I have cleaned the bikini and will need to take in the leggings and gloves. I left the top edge raw as the fabric is scuba stuff so it hard to hem, I am hoping like heck the bikini bottoms still fit as the legs have been hemmed and I don’t fancy unpicking so I can take them in.
The belt still needs to be taken in and I hope I have enough rivets to do so! I may not. I have the snaps but the leather is thick. I am pretty sure I had issues trying to get them to work last time. 
Tattoos are being redrawn! I hope to get the line work able to fit fewer pages but if not, I’ll have to use two types of paper. I am flitting between files and artwork and think redrawing them is going to work out the best as I can then use unsharp mask to make sure the edges look hand painted. And the files I made last time were slightly oversized.

oftheforest:

grimsperation:

Michele Caragher 

Embroidered details in Game of Thrones 

‘Michele Carragher is a London-based Hand Embroiderer and Illustrator who has been working in costume on film and television productions for over 15 years. She studied Fashion Design at The London College of Fashion, where the course incorporated design, pattern cutting, garment construction, embroidery, millinery and illustration. At the same time she attended a three year evening course in Saddlery at Cordwainers College learning skills in leatherwork.

After leaving college Michele worked in Textile Conservation, repairing and restoring historical textiles for private collectors and museums, specialising in hand embroidery. She then moved into a career in costume for film and television, initially working as a Costume Assistant/Maker on productions such as the BBC’s Our Mutual Friend, ITV’s David Copperfield and Mansfield Park. She soon gravitated towards the decoration and embellishment of costumes, using skills in hand embroidery and surface decoration, taking inspiration from the many historical textiles she had encountered working as a Textile Conservator. 

The first production that saw her undertake the role of a Principal Costume Embroiderer was for HBO’s 2005 Emmy Costume award-winning production of Elizabeth 1. Her most recent work has been on HBO’s 2012 Costume award-winning television series Game of Thrones, working on all three seasons.

As a Costume Embroiderer Michele specialises in hand embroidery and surface embellishment, using traditional hand embroidery techniques, smocking, beading and surface decoration. She works directly onto the completed garment or starts with motifs and textures on silk crepeline/organza, which are applied to the costume and then worked into once on the actual garment. She also works on existing machine embroidery designs that are not too dense, adding some hand stitching and beading to give a more authentic, hand-finished look.

Michele finds hand embroidery has more flexibility and diversity than that of embroidery created by machine, as there is a greater variety of thread choice and colours to use. It is also possible to work more easily on garments that are already constructed. However, machine embroidery in combination with hand work can be very useful when completing many repeats by creating light outlines or a less dense machine stitch, work can then be completed by hand and again can be carried out on a finished garment.

Michele is a highly creative Costume Embroiderer, producing original designs as well as working closely to a costume designer’s brief to create their desired look.’

Text and images from  http://www.michelecarragherembroidery.com

God, that embroidery is so gorgeous! I had no idea that third dress was so detailed after seeing it on the show… Amazing work.

I’m so glad her work is getting recognised! I’ve been so wanting a Game of Thrones in Detail ;) (Ummm.. the V&A has several costume books called “X in Detail- I have two of them but there are more). This is a really good example of how much is lost on screen so you do need to have all that texture in the fabric and surface treatments to make a costume look- for want of a better word- real. 

Her work is glorious, so many techniques and all seamlessly worked in and blended. Amazing blend of art and artistry.