Origin:
Black Rock Shooter
ブラック★ロックシューター
Status:
90% Complete
Debuted:
Anime Expo 2011
Got pictures of me in this cosplay? Please e-mail them to me!
This cosplay was a HUGE research filled project. I had to figure out how I wanted to build the sword to be detailed, yet light..and I had to figure out how to make those crazy shoes!
Horns were created using the usual expanding foam, painter’s tape, paper mache, plaster, and painting method. They were then hot glued to felt and then sewn directly onto my wig. I added some varnish to give them a slight glossy feel.
Claws were made using simple armature joints per each finger. The first joint of each finger was created using wonderflex, to keep my fingers from bending because the entire first phalange of the finger was composed of my entire actual finger. The latter finger portions were made using insulation foam. It was all tied together using stainless steel wire and armature joints built out of bolts, nuts, and lock washers.
Jacket, bikini top, and shorts were made using PVC vinyl/matte vinyl. I had to reconstruct the buckle for the bikini top because it was originally vertically oriented, and I needed it to be horizontally oriented. The shorts are extremely low cut, but covered by the belt buckle. Fake zipper made out of painted vinyl glued to wonderflex, which was then vinyl glued to the shorts.
Belt is made out of a regular belt with velcro, with the belt buckle made out of painted wonderflex.
Upper leg armor is entirely made out of wonderflex and craft foam. The knee spikes are entirely made out of carved blue insulation foam, with some parts of it coated in epoxy resin for added rigidity. Lower leg armor completely made out of wonderflex as well.
My shoes were the hardest part of this entire project. The shoes basically are small heels which I contact cemented to a wooden platform which I had to carve to create the “cheese hole” effect at the bottom of the shoes. I added blue insulation foam to the sides of the wooden platform to give it the additional width required by the toes of the foot. Everything was then covered in wonderflex.
The sword is, for the most part, made out of one full sheet of 1″ thick blue insulation foam. I cut a 6.5 foot x 2 foot sheet of foam in half and glued it together, while adding a 3/4″ wooden dowel inside of it for additional support, running through about 95% of the blade. I couldn’t fit the entire blade/hand guard onto the one 1 foot wide piece of, so I at least made sure the more fragile parts were included in the full piece – like the very tip of the blade. Added pieces were glued on using additional blue insulation foam. I added extra 1″ thick blue insulation foam in the hand guard area for additional depth. Hilt was created using two 2″ thick blue insulation sheets, which was them carved/sanded down to its current size and shape, with a hole in the middle to fit the wooden dowel through it. Skull was also carved out of two 2″ thick insulation foam pieces put together. Most of the gluing was done using liquid nails. I then coated the entire sword with epoxy resin for extra strength. And then it was all painted with acrylic paints.
If you have any other questions about this Cosplay feel free to ask in a comment below. :)
Videos
Here are some videos which feature my cosplay!
Work in Progress Photos
Here are some work-in-progress photos from when I was working on Black Gold Saw. Hope they help!
Last Modified: December 14, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Wow you cosplay looks GORGEOUS! I am so mad I did not see you at all during AX this year. >m< Anyhow this has to be one of the best Black Gold Saws I have seen. I am going to try and cosplay her next year so I have been looking up other cosplays like crazy. Mad props to you for going the extra mile to create her armored boots.
If you would like to add me as a friend, I am RimiKisaragi on Cosplay.com~
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Vensy Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
@Rimi, thank you! It really means a lot to me. :) AX was very hectic for me this year and I only ended up being able to wear this cosplay for about a total of 5 hours between day 1 and day 3. @_@;;
Let me know how your cosplay goes. :) And feel free to use any of the information here as reference for your future project~
Haha thanks! I always try to go the extra mile on all of my costumes. ^^
And I’m not sure how to add friends on cosplay.com ><;; rofl that site is so foreign to me. XD
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Rimi Reply:
July 10th, 2011 at 11:47 am
@Vensy,
Ahh okay, that explains why I did not see you.
By the way I stumbled across what may be a photo of your cosplay; http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=gallery%3Anatsuki-ki-ki%2F376897#/d3kpzkc
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Vensy Reply:
July 10th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
@Rimi, haha yeah. :) Ah, thank you!
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you sell? OOO:
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Vensy Reply:
July 26th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
michi » Sell? :O
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Wow looks amazing!
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Great job on everything! Its quite hard to find a guide on anything about Gold Saw so thanks. If you don’t mind me asking how much did all of the materials cost?
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Vensy Reply:
December 12th, 2011 at 7:18 am
@Hadley, I’d say the materials costed somewhere between $300-400.
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Oh wow, I remember seeing you! You were epicly beautiful! I’ve been wanting to do Black Gold Saw for a while now, and now that I have time I want to start on her for AX myself. I was wondering, how did you make the horns? I’ve been trying to look up tutorials, but I haven’t a clue :/
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Vensy Reply:
March 28th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
@Kat, first of all I’d like to thank you for your kind words! :) BGS is definitely a fun project to tackle, so I can promise you you’ll have a lot of fun building her! I hope to see you at AX! ;)
As for the horns, this is an excerpt from this page:
“Horns were created using the usual expanding foam, painter’s tape, paper mache, plaster, and painting method. They were then hot glued to felt and then sewn directly onto my wig. I added some varnish to give them a slight glossy feel.”
The “usual expanding foam.. method” refers to building a prop using expanding foam (which is in cans that you can find at hardware stores such as Home Depot and such) over cardboard, carving it down, covering it in painters tape, followed by paper mache, and then finally plaster (I used Plaster of Paris, which can be found at craft stores or Home Depot).
I think the rest of the excerpt was pretty self explanatory.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask here. :)
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Kat Reply:
March 29th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
@Vensy, This is going to be my first big prop ever I’m going to make, besides the sword, so I’m really excited for this. And thank you for the tip! I think it’s really going to help me with my project! :]
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Vensy Reply:
March 29th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
@Kat, well I know you’ll definitely have fun with this project! You’re welcome, and good luck! I hope to see you at BGS at AX! :)
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hey I have a photo of your BGS cosplay from AX11! someone finally recognized you and let me know who you were Lol
http://aeros15.deviantart.com/art/Black-Gold-Saw-AX11-240844808
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Vensy Reply:
April 16th, 2012 at 3:26 pm
@Josh, Thank you! :)
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Omg your cosplay is awesome! I wanted to know how did you make those horns and how did you put them on your wig o_O they look so cool
I made this cosplay once, but my horns were really uncomfortable, they fell down everytime! :C
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Vensy Reply:
April 24th, 2012 at 11:23 am
@Mane, hello! Thank you for the kind words. :)
“Horns were created using the usual expanding foam, painter’s tape, paper mache, plaster, and painting method. They were then hot glued to felt and then sewn directly onto my wig. I added some varnish to give them a slight glossy feel.”
I created the contour on cardboard which I then covered with expanding foam and carved. Then it was all a matter of layering and finishing.
Taken from the description up top, hope that helps! If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Aww, I’m sorry to hear your horns were uncomfortable! :( How did you do your’s?
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haha thanks for the fast reply! C: I’ll definitely try your method
^^U actually after I made my comment I read the answer above and I was like: oooooh xD
I made mines like a stuffed plushie (with shiny black fabric and some red fabric for the top) and then I sewed them to a black thin headband. It looks good, as long as I don’t look down or move to fast xD
anyway thank you very much! ^^
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Vensy Reply:
April 30th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
@Mane, ooooh I see. XD Well I’m glad I was able to help. :) I wanna see a picture of your cosplay!
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Hi, may I ask how you made the hilt/handle of the sword? Did you cover the wooden dowel with foam?
Your costume looks amazing btw :)
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Vensy Reply:
May 12th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
@Shoe, hello~ I basically had a cylinder of blue foam around the dowel which I carved to its shape. :)
Thank you!
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