Richard From "Looking For Group"
This project is a custom-designed costume based on a character in a web comic called "Looking for Group." The style is roughly based on a World of Warcraft mage. It features a flared tunic, multi-layer conical skirt, fabric shoulder armor and a large hood with a mask for the lower face. It also included a hoop skirt to achieve the correct skirt shape, a pair of wrist gauntlets, a fabric belt decorated with "jewels" and a large glass pin. The design was created using reference material from the comic.
Most of the costume is made from peachskin, with the exception of the hoop skirt and gauntlets. The pin was commissioned from a jeweler. The understructure of the shoulder armor was made using layers of heavy interfacing hand pad-stitched to achieve the correct shape. The layers were covered with black moleskin and joined at the neck to make a collar-like addition to the costume. Pads were inserted between the layers for extra lift and separation.
The hoop skirt is made in the shape of a Spanish farthengale. The body and boning channels are cotton broadcloth and the hoops are made of clear plastic tubing from the hardware store. They can be removed from the casings for washing.
The costume had its debut at Colossalcon, an anime convention in Northeast Ohio. It has since been worn to a number of conventions. The customer completed his costume with fingerless gloves, glue-on claws and makeup. The creator of "Looking for Group" stopped him in the hall to tell him it was the best Richard costume he had ever seen.