Continuing to finally document and post what I've done in the past few Halloweens, we move on to year 2016, where I decided to bring it down a notch. In order to do that, I had to decide for a character that uses regular every-day clothing (just in very specific color schemes).

I don't remember using this outside of one Halloween party and a Superhero day at work (yes, I know The Riddler is not a superhero), so the main purpose was for it to be low-effort, economical and comfortable to wear.

Picking up from my previous post, I try to document what I did all these past Halloweens since I did not bother to do it back then.

As you may have assumed from my MS-Paint Beetlejuice from 10 years ago (ouch!), I am a fan of the bio-exorcist and it was only because my wife promised she would endure the process of painting my face for all three outings that I was able to do this. My costumes require little to no make-up and that's a conscious decision. Anyway, she fittingly went as Lydia Deetz in her wedding gown from the film. At first I did the film version which had a white shirt, whereas the animated series version sported a pink shirt instead, so the next day I decided to switch it up and now I can say I did both.

Learning how to run away from reality by dressing up as my favorite fictional characters has been an annual aspiration to buy things I definitely do not need for many years now. It was not up until a few years ago, the only excuse that I could get away with was to do it at Halloween and if you add my signature style of "Oh I have no real responsibilities lemme drink until I learn how to socialize properly" and it instantly became my favorite time of year!

Well, these past few years the tradition has somehow stayed alive but I have not been bothered to continue posting about it so I'll try to make up for it in a few upcoming posts, starting with this one.

Halloween 2014: Mortal Kombat II - Raiden

This was actually the second Raiden costume I had because the original did not live up to my standards and I lacked the drive to improve it. So I bought a white gi on eBay, have someone sew the blue and black apron-like fabric and the rest were hand-wraps both on my arms and legs.

The WHAT

I made my own Batman suit. Or costume. Or cosplay (I mean, it just means costume player but whatever). It is a low budget one and it is not accurate or without its shortcomings for both the person wearing it and those that look at the details.

The WHY

Ever since my 3rd birthday I've had at least some sort of evidence that I'm a Batman fan. Prior to this one could only assume looking at paint dry and angling my rectum in the perfect direction as to shit out my diapers were my only past times. I don't know. I don't want to know. Having been a fan for so long, I've bought Batman-related merchandise in some way or another throughout my life. Be it t-shirts, sneakers, cereal, action figures, wallets, you name it. I'm not the biggest or the most ambitions fan, not by a long shot, I'm just a very big fan of Batman, period. I'm also  a fan of Halloween and the opportunity to dress up, I've previously covered in this very blog the various disguises I've donned over time such as V for Vendetta, Cobra Commander, The Riddler, Ghostbusters, etc. One thing I had never contemplated for longer than 5 minutes at a time was to dress up as Batman, this thought would cradle back and forth for YEARS mainly because anything under $300 was a very pathetic attempt at a costume:

Or at the very least just not a decent version of one:

But then there were some expensive ones that while they didn't really turn any heads other than to say "Wtf?!" they just were not worth the money.

Then I discovered cowl replicas (Batman's helmet or mask) and this opened up a whole new world of Batman cosplaying to me. I had not imagined there would be people out there sculpting and molding replicas of movie cowls, comic cowls, cartoon cowls, video game cowls, and everything else imaginable. Same goes with the gauntlets, its fins, the shin guards, chest pieces, capes, etc. A pretty average  price for one cowl is around $200 and most of them are made of a type of rubber called urethane but there are others made of latex, I've yet to buy either one of these so I can't really vouch for one or the other. When I decided to tackle this project, my main thought was "If I can't make the cowl work, the whole thing is doomed" and that it needed to be done within $300-$200, no more maybe less (but unlikely). So if I didn't shell out $200 for a cowl what did I do? I'm glad you didn't ask.

The COST

I had a lot of research done, I would go back and forth video games, movie stills and ideas from groups such as Becoming: BATMAN and Brotherhood of the Bat, but it was also a LOT of trial and error. To be honest, after a while it stopped being research and it was just a mish-mash of anything I could wrap my head around and create a low-budget version of. Below you'll find most if not all the components used and a link to the website I got them from:

HEAD AREA

Batman Arkham Origin Mask = $22.00
Notice it does not cover the back of the head, so you will have to think ahead and figure out how to cover that. Plain cloth could work but it will not look convincing at all.
eBay Link

Batman Returns Rubies Mask = $27.00
This was actually the first thing I purchased. My mentality was that if I couldn't make the cowl work, nothing would. I wanted to do the Keaton version first and foremost and without shelling out $200+ I thought this was as close as I could get. Boy was I wrong... Keep in mind that both styles below are actually meant to advertise the exact same product. The grossly exaggerated poor craftsmanship of the second version is inaccurate with both the actual product and the product it tries to imitate.
eBay Link 1 | eBay Link 2

Ultra-thin Balaclava = $2.50
I have long hair so this helps keep it in place, as well fill in the gaps that will inevitably show up when tilting my head.
eBay Link

CHEST AREA

Compression Shirt and Pants (Link) = $18.00

This specific texture was a very nice starting point for the actual bodysuit. Of course, the photos are using an amazing specimen of some mannequin I bet, but it's still decent. And come on, you're not going to find a bodysuit for less than $20.00!

Foam yoga mat (4mm) for the Bat Emblem (Link) = $5.00

CLASSIC GAUNTLETS
Faux Leather Opera Gloves (Link) = $3.50
Archery Arm Guard (Link) = $2.50 x2 = $5.00
9-inch Black Zipper = $1.00 x2 = $5.00

ARMORED GAUNTLETS
Craft Foam (6mm)
Craft Foam (3mm)
Tactical Gloves (Link) = $10.00 (approx.)
Soccer Kids Shin Guards (Link) = $4.00

BELT
10 Pocket Utility Pouch Cartridge Ammo Tool Rugged Cotton Canvas Adjustable Belt (Link) = $15.00 (Approx.)

MISC.
Mannequin head (foam) = $5.00
Heat Gun = $16.00
Dremel / Rotary Tool = $10.00
Precision knives = $8.00
Velcro = $5.00
Contact Cement = $6.00
DAP Rapid Fuse Adhesive = $6.00
Plastidip = $7.00
Tall combat boots = $35-$55
Upholstery Foam = $ Varies
Upholstery faux leather fabric (at least 6 yards) = $ Varies

Well folks, this year has been a bit rough. Some ups (getting a new full-time job) some downs (being broke for the year's first quarter), some ups and downs (getting kicked out by a nagging bitch forcing me to grow cojones and do things my way) but the time where it affected me the most was Halloween.

I couldn't invest a lot in this year's costume, so I had to find a smart, cheap way to make myself a recognizable character that I could have fun with. As the previous "hinting" posts laid out, I decided to go as Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura. The character was something I could do as a kid even with my eyes closed, in terms of quoting him, walking like him and even being out of place in certain public events was right up my alley. So I decided to invest $8 on a pre-owned Hawaiian shirt (or Aloha shirt, as it is supposed to be called), $2.50 on a faux-leather belt (I hate leather belts so I had none that could look the part), dirty black tall boots I already had (I used the same boots for the V for Vendetta and Ghostbusters costumes) and the two most difficult things were the hair and pants.

I looked up and down endlessly for pants that resembled anything close to these:

Chef pants came to mind, but the stripes weren't thick enough and the damn things were $30 or more. Even worse, the ones I found locally were always black and white, not black and red (or burgundy) so that's a double insult. Next, I tried 90's exercise baggy muscle pants, but again the colors were a problem.

The title pretty much says it all.

More to come, hopefully.

After almost a year without posting, I figured I'd do an extended post of one of my favorite activities.

Besides laughing at the suffering of toddlers.

I mean Halloween. It's that one thing that surpasses any other date in my entire calendar and any other life event, like when I got my job, or when I bought my car, or when I found out Mr Rogers died, or when I lost my virginity, my birthday (or anyone else's), the only exception is any day that is a payday.