Becoming Toralei - Self-Portraits

Yesterday I was able to finally finish my costume. The next step was becoming Toralei myself. I started with putting the wig cap on and trying on the wig. I snipped a few wayward strands of hair and decided it looked just like I wanted it to. I took it off again because it would be the last thing I put on when I was finished.

Next was the facial prosthetic. I had two options, in the cartoon Toralei has a cat nose but on the doll she just had a normal humanoid face. I wanted to challenge myself and as I had never used a facial prosthetic like this it seemed like a good opportunity to do so. I cut it to fit and used spirit gum to adhere it to my face. I then used liquid latex to smooth the edges out so they blended into my face better. This took more than one try because the liquid latex would dry so fast that it would start sticking to my fingers and peeling off as I dabbed it. And if I tried to pull a section that got wrecked like this off, the entire thing would pull away from my face. I eventually just used quantity in order to work with it before it dried. The entire thing was not as smooth as I wanted but at that point there was nothing I could do about it. I started applying a base coat of white Mehron cream paint.

What was looking back at me was quite unsettling. I did actually sneak up on my partner while he was on the computer and when he turned to look at me caused him quite a scare! He said that I "looked real". He referenced Skyrim, a PC game he had been playing, which has a race of cat humanoid characters called Khajiit and we later looked at images from the game such as here: http://cdn.gamerant.com/wp-content/uploads/Khajiit-Faces-Skyrim.jpg

I taped a reference of Toralei's face to my mirror. The next stage was to paint half my face orange as seen in the web version of Toralei's face. I also drew an online for where I wanted my nose to be black. With black liquid makeup I painted my nose inside the lines I had drawn and painted my makeup. Orange eyebrows, pink, grey, and silver eye shadow, black eyeliner and mascara.

This is the last of the self-shot images.

Construction: Toralei's Leggings - TOTAL HOURS: (combined with others)

Web vs. Doll Differences noted:
-Cartoon version: Black tight-fitting capris, slash marks with yellow and red showing 
-Doll version (upcoming release): Black tight-fitting capris, slash marks with orange showing

I decided to use the doll version because it meant I could use fabric I already had for the orange slash mark lining. I started with leggings I had bought that were actually the right length. I turned them inside out and referenced a printout of Toralei's clothing to figure out where and what size slash marks I wanted to do. I cut out strips of orange spandex and sewed them on the inside of the pant legs. Once all those were done, I turned the pants right side out and then cut inside the stitching lines, carefully only to cut the top black layer and not the inside orange layer.

Construction: Toralei's Skin - TOTAL HOURS: (combined with others)

Web vs. Doll Differences noted:
-Cartoon version and Doll version (upcoming release) are very similar. Lighter orange base with darker orange stripes on right arm and left legs.

 For Toralei's arms and legs, I first found tights that were a color close to her skin tone. I cut out the stripe patterns seen on her arms and legs out of butcher's paper and after measuring out where they should go with tape, ironed them down. I created the color with various hues of paint and then painted inside the paper cut outs with a paint brush.

 

For the arms, I first screened the stripes then turned them inside out so I could mark where my fingers were. I then used my sewing machine to create gloves and hand sewed any holes that were left once I turned them right side out.

Construction: Toralei's Hair & Ears - TOTAL HOURS: (combined with others)

Web vs. Doll Differences noted:
-Cartoon version: Hair is short tapered looking cut, choppy/kind of wild, clear two tones->red and orange, black tiger stripes on right side. Ears are lighter skin color, right side has stud and additional hoop earring, also small cut on right ear. 
-Doll version (upcoming release): Hair is auburn, chin length, very flat and straight along edges. Right side is slightly lighter orange with a few black tiger stripes painted on. Ears are basically the same as the cartoon version but have silver studs on both side, additional hoop on right side and small cut on right ear.

I knew the wig was going to be complicated for this project. I am not a hairstylist by trade.. In fact cutting hair instills a fear in me. Perhaps this started in childhood when my mother lined up my sisters and I in the bathtub to cut our bangs in the dreaded bowl cut technique (with an actual bowl on our heads to make sure it was done straight. Maybe it was playing hairdresser with my siblings and many cousins for years, snipping off small pieces of their hair whenever they were over and then hiding it behind the TV stand in the family room. Not that persay, but the vocal scolding I received after my mother found a pile of hair the size of a cat after a few years of it going on. Or watching one of my sisters hysterically cry as if in pain whenever she was *forced* to get her butt-length hair cut (we did at times actually think she was being tortured).


Regardless, I was going to cut this wig and it was going to be GREAT. *pats self on head* Getting a wig I could use was actually very difficult. I think there was a red wig famine in Toronto this year. What made it more annoying is that I was searching unsuccessfully for a wig that was actually nearly identical to my own hair! Eventually I did find one that I could work with. I set it up on a wig head and then printed out some reference images of both the cartoon and doll versions. From there, I just started cutting away at the wig, reducing the length and changing the part in the front as to emulate side bangs.  

The next step was to figure out how to do the orange strips of color and the black tiger stripes. I considered using permanent marker on the hair for the black but after experimenting found the color bled like crazy. I found a great alternative, one I had never seen before! In the toy section at Walmart I found a toy by Barbie called "Designable Hair". I couldn't believe it! On the Barbie website provided with the kit, you are able to design a pattern and choose colors through a program online. Then you just load the paper with the hair extensions on it into an inkjet printer and print away! Unfortunately I was running low on ink so I added a bit of color to the back of my extensions to pump them up but overall it's a pretty awesome idea! I drew a pattern inspired by Toralei's hair in Adobe Illustrator and then uploaded it onto my Barbie template. After letting it dry, I tried using hair clips but in the end opted for just sewing the extensions straight into the wig cap.

The ears were created by taking apart some costume ears and using the plastic shape as the base for Toralei's ears. I covered them in flesh colored polar fleece and hand sewed them close. I then used the same hot fix studs as used on the shoes in order to emulate her stud earrings. The hoop was interesting. I wasn't sure what I was going to use but ended up finding some do-hickey (scientific word clearly) in my toolbox that I manipulated to look like an earring. I thought about sewing the ears directly into the wig but decided against it. Instead I attached hair extension clips with hand sewing and they were strong enough to keep the ears on the wig.

Construction: Toralei's Shoes - TOTAL HOURS: (combined with others)

Web vs. Doll Differences noted: these were explained in an earlier post when I got the shoes in the mail!


First I took the laces out of the shoes. They would get in the way and also the laces needed to be red! I used low-tack masking tape to cover the areas I wanted to protect and then started doing layers of acrylic and silk screen paint over the platform. I was surprised it didn't take more to be honest.. Only four coats! The only issue I ran into was that the satin fabric covering the platform started to bubble in some areas but it isn't too noticeable. After  letting the paint dry completely, I put red shoe laces in. Then I took hot fix silver studs and melted them to the platform topline. I've only ever used this tool once to put two studs on a vinyl purse so I was worried it might react badly with the satin/paint combination but it all worked great!

 

 

Sometimes.. I realize that I can't DO EVERYTHING. That finishing the thing I fully envisioned to the extent and quality I wanted is not worth the physical pain I have been putting myself through or the possible health complications due to overextending myself. This is immensely frustrating. I'm high functioning and most of the time I do not display outward symptoms of how I am feeling, but I have a war going on inside my body. Putting all my energy into something that results in a product that I am extremely proud of and also that can be visually admired by others who appreciate all that has gone into it is sometimes enough to bypass the pain and crushing exhaustion I feel all the time.

The past few days have been very hard on me. I'm trying to navigate creating Toralei, an interactive textile project, re-submitting a stage for my MRP protocol, finishing half my MRP, analyzing data from my MRP research, and applying for two conferences my adviser wants me to present my findings at. Oh yes, and working two days a week and another day at an internship. By my calculations, I'm around 67 hours for this project alone.. And I still have to do all these things:
-wait for shoes to dry, melt studs to platform top (may need another paint coat before)
-cut, style wig, color streak portions
-sew ears into wig
-put F/X makeup on, costume, commute down to Ryerson and do photoshoot
-research readings
-write paper

I don't know how but I need to do the photoshoot tonight so I can start writing today. And I'll be suffering for it but what can I do? This class has been extremely difficult for me to absorb and I hope this project will truly show how hard I've been working to understanding cosplay and my own practices a little better.
A few decisions were made that will be reflected in posts on finished garments later. I am not making the coat. A classmate was amazing enough to donate a coat for me to use as I've already spent so much on this project but I just have no time to work on it. I don't think it is an intrinsic part of Toralei's outfit. It will also give me the opportunity to showcase the arm coverings I've done which is a very good exchange! Secondly, her red gloves are supposed to be leather and pretty glam rock with fingers missing and studs on them.. But I'm using what I could find for cheap which are knitted fingerless gloves. These two things and anything else I reduce will likely be done in the future when I have more time after this semester is done. I need to pull back and be smart about how I spend the next few hours. And rest my body to reduce some of the stress.

Construction: Toralei's Dress - TOTAL HOURS: (combined with others)

Web vs. Doll Differences noted:

Basically the Cartoon and Doll versions look pretty much the same when it comes to the color of red and the patterns of rough lines in white and black. The only difference I've seen is with the slit on the bottom of the dress. But that is a difference I've seen between images of the Cartoon version of her dress, sometimes it looks like she has a slit over each leg, sometimes only the left leg. 

 Sometimes it is cheaper to buy a garment to use the fabric from it than buy the fabric from a store. In this case, I found a cheap large dress that was also on sale made of a red jersey. It also was the right length and had a neckline that would work for Toralei's dress. I took the sleeves and tags off and then separated the side seams. The dress was then ready to be screened with the pattern. 

I used butcher's paper to create the pattern on the dress. The lines aren't just lines, they are wavy and rough and each needed to be measured and cut by hand. This took an extremely long time. Once I had enough strips cut out, I ironed them down to the dress, periodically checking the spacing and angle of lines to that of the doll and cartoon. I filled in all the lines with screen ink by hand with a paint brush. The black only took one layer, the white took 4! It was again very timely as I had to wait in between each layer for it to dry before I could start again. I also had a few issues with going out of the lines into the opposite color because some of them were so close together. After removing the butcher's paper I fixed up any of the "boo-boos" I had accidentally made. I proceeded to do the back the same way and then once both sides were dry I ironed them from the inside to set the ink.

In the photo below are only HALF of the hand cut butcher's paper strips after I took them off!

I sewed the sides of the dress up and tried it on with the scarf and belt. It was exciting! I had a visible costume starting to emerge! I immediately ran into the living room to show my partner Matt and dance around. We discussed how the belt looked with the dress under it, I was concerned about looking frumpy. I decided to take the dress in so it was less baggy on me and did this after pinning the appropriate reduction on the sides while wearing it. I also took some photos of myself in the mirror wearing these pieces. I NEVER do this. I felt kind of awkward about doing it because it is weird to see myself as only part of a character, like something is kind of unhinged. Below are photos of the original dress on the left and on the right after I reduced the sides to make it more form fitting.

After the sides were done, I turned the armholes in about 1/2", pinned them, and then sewed them down to finish them. I pressed the side seams open on the inside of the dress so it would hopefully lie more flat. Lastly, I cut a slit in the leg and stitched the edges after folding them in.