Costume Craftwork On A Budget

Part of your job as the costume designer is to be creative and use what materials are available to you to execute the design elements in a production. This book will show you how to use inexpensive materials to create durable products in a short amount of time that are practical and technical. It is written in an easy-to-follow manner and each step is shown with a wide array of illustrations and photographs. From creating armour out of laundry baskets, to detailed tricks to create a prosthetic nose for a witch, this book will show the techniques needed for you to produce end results that are beautiful, economical, and fast to make.

Part of the costume designer's job is to be creative and use what materials are available to execute the design elements in a production. Learn how to use inexpensive materials to create durable products in a short amount of time that are both practical and attractive. From creating armor out of laundry baskets to detailed tricks for creating a witch's prosthetic nose, this book provides the technigques needed to produce end results that are beautiful, economical, and safe.

Costume Craftwork on a Budget demonstrates how to use inexpensive materials to create durable costumes and props in a short amount of time. Fully illustrated step-by-step instructions teach readers how to use 3-D makeup and create teeth, wigs, masks, hats, nonhuman costumes, leather products, and other accessories. This new edition features updated introductions for each chapter and project, expanded chapters on 3-D Makeup, Wigs, Masks, Headdresses, and Animal Costumes, and projects from shows such as Shrek the Musical (latex ears), Orphie & the Book of Heroes (headdresses), and Side Show (a lizard costume). From creating armor out of laundry baskets to detailed tricks for creating a witch’s prosthetic nose, this book equips aspiring costume designers with the techniques needed to produce costumes and props that are beautiful, economical, and safe.

Publisher description

Many beginning and hobbyist costumers believe that professional costume/prop builders have unlimited and specialized resources with which to ply their craft. Actually, the pros create things in much the same way that hobbyists do, working as resourcefully and creatively as possible with a limited budget. Creating the Character Costume dives into these methods to showcase how to achieve expert looks with limited means and lots of creativity. Part One explores tools, materials, and construction methods.

Successful costume design requires a solid foundation in general artistic principles and specific knowledge of how to apply those principles. Cunningham presents readers with just such a foundation and develops it to expose beginning costume designers to the myriad skills they need to develop in order to costume successful stage productions. She begins at the most basic conceptual level—reading plays from a costume designer's perspective. She then follows through with the practical considerations that must be considered at every stage of the costuming process—research, development, sketching, and costume construction. Cunningham has built on the long-standing success of the outstanding first edition with new figures and updates throughout the text, including 24 pages in full color. Examples have been selected from a wide range of stage productions representing a variety of designers, styles, and approaches. Interviews with award-winning designers from stage, film, and other media show the practical importance of the book's concepts. Every chapter incorporates material reflecting the ever-increasing impact of technology, especially computers, on costuming. New to this edition is an ancillary download package (available here), giving students a selection of basic figure drawings to serve as the base layer for digital renderings, ready-made forms and checklists for assembling and organizing costumes for shows, and a list of research and reference websites with easily clickable links.

Offering both hands-on instruction and theoretical information, readers learn about various forms of media, how to choose and make the best use of them, and the techniques used to create a media project. With an emphasis on the creative, aesthetic, and technical aspects of creating media, this new edition sheds light on why the reasonings behind production choices are as important as knowing how to push the right buttons and turn the correct knobs.

Academic researchers who are working on the development of composite materials for ballistic protection need a deeper understanding on the theory of material behavior during ballistic impact. Those working in industry also need to select proper composite constituents, to achieve their desired characteristics to make functional products. Composite Solutions for Ballistics covers the different aspects of ballistic protection, its different levels and the materials and structures used for this purpose. The emphasis in the book is on the application and use of composite materials for ballistic protection. The chapters provide detailed information on the various types of impact events and the complexity of materials to respond to those events. The characteristics of ballistic composites and modelling and simulation results will enable the reader to better understand impact mechanisms according to the theory of dynamic material behavior. A complete description of testing conditions is also given that includes sensors and high-speed devices to monitor ballistic events. The book includes detailed approaches and schemes that can be implemented in academic research into solutions for ballistic protection in both theoretical and experimental fields, to find solutions for existing and next generation threats. The book will be an essential reference resource for materials scientists and engineers, and academic and industrial researchers working in composite materials and textiles for ballistic protection, as well as postgraduate students on materials science, textiles and mechanical engineering courses. Discusses the fundamentals of impact response mechanisms and related solutions covering advantages and disadvantages for both existing and next generation applications Includes various methods for evaluation of ballistic constituents according to economic and environmental criteria, types of green ballistics are considered to enhance sustainable production of applications as well as hybrid composites from natural wastes Discusses selection methodologies for ballistic applications and detailed information on the use of textiles for reinforcement fabrication