Well, momocon is over and now its back to business as usual, aka
back to our regularly scheduled programs. Thus, we have an
awesome post for you today about cosplay armor. Many of us are
new to the cosplay scene and still buy several of our cosplays
because we do not know how nor have the creativity to make our
own cosplays.
In the world of creating cosplays, there
are lots of options to choose from. We have worbla, Eva Foam &
Wonderflex to name a few. In today’s article, we are going to focus on Eva
Foam. I plan on releasing some other articles about additional materials
but for today lets stay focused. So let’s check out the pros and Cons of EVA
foam for creating cosplay Armor.
Price
First off we have probably the most important factor when it comes to
cosplaying and that’s price. Of all the options, EVA Foam is probably the
cheapest. This material comes in a variety of sizes and thicknesses and can
vary between $40 and $10 dollars. Its extremely durable and can vary
between 1mm and 10mm in thickness. Obviously, for areas such as chest
and thigh pieces, you want a much thicker foam to make the armor look
larger and to have some playroom for adding designs and or L.E.D strips.
Along with being budget-friendly, EVA foam comes in a variety of colors.
Specifically, a subdivision of EVA foam is Craft foam, and that’s where you
usually see the assortment of colors. This foam is slightly thinner allowing
it to be a lot more flexible. The assortment of colors also means you can
save money with paint. I know it may not seem like much but saving 5
dollars here and 10 dollars there all adds up when you’re creating massive
armor builds. A commonly crafted armor build from EVA Foam is the N7
armor from mass effect. Side note, if you haven’t played this game,
definitely check it out!
Easy To Form
Another extremely important aspect of picking your desired cosplay
material comes in the form of user-friendliness or flexibility. You can heat
EVA Foam to create different shapes which are obviously important when
designing your cosplay armor. This allows you to cut down on the amount
of sanding you have to do get that perfectly smooth texture for any required
painting. It also means you will have more room for errors because let’s
face it, no one is perfect and we all make mistakes. But as we discussed
earlier, EVA foam is cheap so that means you are allowed to make some
mistakes since you will likely have extra sheets and can replace any
destroyed pieces for the low.
Durability
The last pro may not seem important to many but trust me, outside of price
its likely the second most important aspect to consider. Eva Foam is
extremely durable. This means you will not have to be tiptoeing around at
conventions to maintain that perfect con, cosplay look. There’s nothing
worse than putting in tons of hours on a cosplay to only have it destroyed
by a shipping accident or being bumped into by a fellow cosplayer.
I have
seen this happen several times and watched the despair that ensued.
Imagine finally getting that one awesome cosplay photographer to take
your picture (Aka Boundlessperception 😊) and having to turn him down
because your cosplay isn’t photo ready.
I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy so long story short, strongly
consider EVA Foam when creating your next Cosplay Armor. But its brother
Craft Foam is nowhere near as durable and must really be integrated
wisely into your cosplay. As stated, it does have the pro of coming in
different colors but this pro comes at the cost of being more fragile. So, I
would advise only using it for areas you know are not going to be
constantly getting bumped or nudged.
Thickness
Now for the cons! Well, that pro we spoke about earlier is a double-edged
sword. Sure, you can buy different widths or thickness levels of EVA Foam
but in general, your going to need some power tools to get you down to the
thickness you desire. This means lots of sanding and dremeling even after
you have heated and molded your piece.
You will also possibly need to saw
some of the pieces to get it just right. But do not be discouraged by all of
this. It sounds like a lot to undertake but like anything, it gets better and
you will become faster with time. Look at the image above and below and
tell me its not worth it? Your cosplay armor will be inciting looks of wonder
in no time!
Accessories
The final con to EVA foam and craft foam is the required accessories. To
effectively work with this material, you’re going to need more than the
foam and a knife. Specifically, you’re going to minimum need these 3 items.
The first being a heat gun. In order to create those perfectly rounded edges
or odd shapes, you will need to heat the foam to a certain temperature
before you can mold it. Just make sure you don’t burn yourself, trust me it’s
a lot easier to do than you think.
Next, we’re going to need some Bondo. This stuff is nothing more than
automotive body filler but drastically increases the appearance of your
cosplay armor. It will also decrease the flexibility of your EVA Foam so
make sure you give some thought before you apply it. Maybe directly over a
knee or elbow piece of Eva Foam isn’t the best place to start Bondoing.
Lastly, you may need some mod podge. This essentially acts as a primer for
spray paint. It creates less texture meaning you won’t have to do as much
sanding to get that piece just right.
A lot of the images in this post were created using EVA foam and show
what the possibilities are. You can create anything you have seen or
possibly imagined on a budget with Eva Foam. All it takes it some practice
and patience. I hope you enjoyed this look at the pros and cons of Eva
Foam. With any luck, this post will help you make the troubling decision of
which type of material to choose for your next armor build. If you enjoyed
this post please leave a comment below, I would love to hear your thoughts.
And for more cosplay fun, check HERE! Well, that’s it for today, until next
time, stay BOUNDLESS!!!
PS: Many Of the PHOTOS Show the Importance of a good cosplay
Photographer! :). Also, I included a list of what you should be looking for
when determining which thickness to select for your Eva Foam.
