Friday, October 28, 2011

Oogie Boogie Costume - Building the Mask (Part 4)

Hi All,

With the structure of the mask complete, it was time to add some burlap skin to my mask. I picked up a number of yards of dark burlap from Jo-Ann, so I cut a couple of decently-sized strips to drape over the mask and get an idea of how it would fit.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Oogie Boogie Costume - Building the Mask (Part 3)


Hi All,

OK, now to finish up the structure of the mask.
To make sure that the "peak" of Oogie Boogie's head retained the distinct cone-like shape, I used a foam cone that I think was designed to make little decorative Christmas trees. Keeping the theme of the movie alive, I stole something from Christmas to serve Halloween. :)

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Macey and Jackson's Costumes Arrive

Hi All,


So the kids' costumes arrived today. We were worried that Jackson wouldn't want to wear his costume, but we had to fight to get it off of him. Hopefully he'll like it as much when it's Halloween-party time.
As I anticipated, the costumes are way too big for the kids. In Macey's case, we had no choice, but in Jackson's case, I was hoping that the larger size would better represent his character's outfit. It should do just fine.
Good thing that Granny is excellent with a sewing machine - these costumes shouldn't take too much work to alter. (Thanks in advance, Denise!)


Of course, more pictures of these two cuties will follow. :)


-Nick

Friday, October 14, 2011

Oogie Boogie Costume - Building the Mask (Part 2)

Hi All,


After I completed my base "helmet" of plaster, I turned my attention to the facial features. Granted, Oogie Boogie is nothing but a burlap sack full of snakes and bugs (cussin' awesome), but his facial features make him one of the memorable characters in the movie, IMO. 
To give me the most flexibility, I decided to try my hand with Styrofoam, thinking that it would be light enough to wear for a long period of time, while at the same time keeping its shape well. I picked up a bunch of hobby Styrofoam, a foam cutter, and foam-specific hot glue from Hobby Lobby. 
While there, I couldn't help but notice that I was the only Y chromosome in the store. I think I caused mild confusion and an overall general disruption with my presence. It probably didn't help that I was buying a bunch of random foam.


The next night, I started with the mouth. 


To make the Oogie Boogie mouth, I cut a piece of foam into the general  mouth-like shape, cut notches, broke it, and used hot glue to shape it into a curve. Then I carved out the area around the nose and under the eyes so that I had a good surface to glue it to the plaster.

Oogie Boogie Costume - Building the Mask (Part 1)

Hello All,


I've spent some late nights this week working on the mask for my Oogie Boogie costume. I figured that the mask would be the most challenging part, so I thought that I'd start there.



While doing some research on the internet (where else?), I stumbled upon another blog where a girl detailed the creation of her Oogie Boogie costume. I thought that she had some great ideas, but I had some refinements in mind.


I started by taking detailed measurements and then did some sketches to scale, so that I had a reference while working. Also, I dug up a bunch of pictures of Oogie Boogie and other costumes for inspiration.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

First Post - Halloween 2011

This year, the family decided to go as characters from Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas. It was Macey's idea, as she really wanted to be Jack Skellington. Courtney and I thought that it was a great idea.

Here's the rundown:


We already have Courtney's costume, and the costumes for Macey and Jackson are in the mail. They will both need some minor alterations when they arrive, but it should be pretty easy.

I couldn't find an Oogie Boogie costume anywhere, so I decided to roll up my sleeves and make one. 
I've taken pictures of my creation progress, and will share them here.

As the costumes for each of us come together, you can anticipate plenty of photos.