My 2010 Halloween costume was inspired by DR. ROCKZO, the rock n’ roll clown, a cartoon character from “Metalocalypse,” a popular Adult Swim show about a heavy metal band that basically rules the world. DR. ROCKZO’s character was supposedly inspired by David Lee Roth of Van Halen.

As far as the costume, here is how I made it:
• HAIR: I ordered a long white synthetic wig online. In order to make it bright blue, I mixed Cyan pen ink with 70% alcohol in a spray bottle and then sprayed the wig in layers. After air drying, I washed the wig out in cold water, air dried again, and then brushed to get tangles out. In order to get the final bright blue I repeated this process a total of 3 times. After getting the final bight blue color, I then had a hair-stylist friend cut the wig to fit my head while wearing it and then teased the hair and sprayed with hair-spray to get the volume.
• NOSE: I purchased a professional clown nose online. In order to get the spikes I used Sculpey oven-baked clay. I formed the spikes with the clay, test fit them and then baked them in the oven. Afterwards I attached them to the nose using Super Glue.
• HAT: I purchased a white officers cap online. I used purple fabric paint to paint the material and pink vinyl to cover part of the cap, attaching with fabric glue. Next I used purple “fun foam” to cover the black brim of the cap and and also cover trim on the hat. I also used bright yellow “fun foam” for the accents and for the police badge, which I attached to the cap using a pin clasp, that was glued to the back of the foam.
• SHOES: I spray painted a pair of tennis shoes bright pink.
• BOOT COVERS: The bright pink furry boot covers were purchased online.
• SPIKED CHOKER: I used two layers of bright yellow “fun foam” glued together to make the choker. I cut holes and attached “bulldog spikes” using screws and washers, and glued velcro to “fun foam” to fit around my neck.
• SPIKED WRISTBAND: I used an old belt that I cut down and covered with pink vinyl. I cut holes and attached “bulldog spikes” using screws and washers.
• JUMPSUIT: I purchased a custom-cut jumpsuit on www.Spandexman.com and then painted purple stripes on the legs.
• MAKE-UP: I used clown make-up which I applied myself. I “set” the make-up using powder and then a coat of hair-spray.
• MIC STAND: I painted a oval piece of wood silver, then attached to a mic stand holder. Actual mic is a piece of wood painted black with a real “wind screen” attached to end with a piece of velcro.
(Photos by Max!mus and PhotoGnome)

Submitted by Mark Baggett, Jasper, Alabama
www.MarkEvanBaggett.com

I have been an artist for years and I love to create and push myself beyond my limits! I have made original costumes in the past, but this year I really wanted to go all out! I am a senior art major at James Madison University, and my focus is in studio art, graphic design, and art history. My classes take up almost all of my time and I am constantly creating art in many forms. Though, I rarely get to do for myself and create art just for the love of art and not just for an elaborate assignment!

This year for Halloween I decided to change this unfortunate fact and do something completely original and completely hobby related. For once, this meant no school assignments, no critiques, no crazy deadlines, this was going to be just for me and I couldn’t of been more excited! I began my research months before Halloween. I surfed the internet for all kinds of characters I loved from all aspects of entertainment. Though, a lot of character ideas I came up with had already been produced and I really wanted to push myself to come up with a creative costume that had never been seen before! In the end, it was between Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon or Slinky Dog from Toy Story. I had to go with Slinky Dog, as he was an old time original and a great character in a movie I loved and that was obviously well known. It’s a possibility that Toothless will be my next year’s attempt I was surprised to see that not one person had taken the time to make Slinky Dog work as a costume, with slinky parts and all. I knew I had a huge task ahead of me, but I was determined to make it happen.

I never even made a single sketch, which is unusual for me, as I normally need some kind of basis. Instead I just studied pictures of Slinky Dog and was on my way. Due to the limitations of schoolwork, I started this project ONE week before Halloween. I did not realize at the time that this was absolutely not enough time for a full-scale paper mache’ project! All nighters were the only way this costume became a possibility and trust me I paid for it the next week!

To start off, I used an exercise ball and pumped it up to maximum size. I decided paper mache was going to be the best medium for my costume in order to get a hard “toy-like” look. I did not want Slinky Dog to look like a stuffed animal, but of the plastic form we know from the movies. Paper dipped into a glue/water mixture was placed all over the ball until several layers were built up to create a sturdy enough structure for the body. This took several days alone, and after it was dry I measured and cut it in half for each side of Slinky.
After there were two halves I used poster board to give depth and create the middles of each side. The hands and feet were done in similar ways yet, instead of having a solid structure I had to create one on my own. I used stacks of newspaper and molded them into the forms of hands and feet. Using old winter gloves and soft garden shoes for the basis, the newspaper molds were taped onto each. A lot of masking tape was used to get the final look of paws before I used a few layers of paper mache’ to harden them up. Next I worked on the head, which was a giant mistake. The head should’ve been done first, as it took me the longest and was the most intensive!

A rounded trash can lid from my apartment was the basis for the very detailed Slinky Dog head. I had quite some problems with this, because once I paper mache’d over the lid I could not get it off! I had to recreate this several times, using Vaseline underneath the layers hoping it would pop off but for some reason this still did not work! I decided to move on as I was wasting valuable time. So, I started shaping his mouth and eyes in the same way I did for the paws. I also used very large amounts of newspaper and masking tape for Slinky’s face, but this turned out to be way too heavy to hold up on its own! I then realized the trash can lid would be perfect to help me hold up the front of his head and I kept it under the paper mache after all! I guess I can say I really got lucky, but in the long run I now need to buy a new trashcan! Once I finished molding his face and eyes I also put towels in the back of the lid to give more balance to the heavy face so it would sit on my head evenly. I then paper mache’d his face as I did everything else.

Last came the final touches and piecing it all together! I hand painted every single aspect of Slinky Dog. I paid special attention to his face and eyes because I wanted his head to be recognizable as Slinky and not some random dog head. I added felt ears and a tongue with a hot glue gun. The slinky body and tail were last and also extremely hard to create. I used hollow tubing and painted them metallic silver to mimic the slinky look. I took an immense amount of thin wire and thread it through the tubes and into the body in order for them to stay in place. Thicker wire was used for the tail so it would “boing” like a real slinky!

I had to leave a good amount of gap at the bottom of the slinky body so I could actually get in and out of the costume. I barely got it to work but after several tries I was successful! Finally I bought dark brown leggings and a turtleneck to wear underneath to mimic Slinky’s dark colored body! In order to get in and out of the costume I constantly needed a friend to help me and I am very thankful I had help or this costume would have never been possible! I wore the costume out on Halloween night and I must say it was a huge hit. I was getting comments everywhere I walked and was constantly asked if I had actually created the costume myself. I couldn’t of been happier with the way this costume turned out and I spent at least 40+ hours creating it! I honestly did not know at the beginning of this massive project if this costume would even be possible! I am so incredibly happy that I somehow made it work! I feel I have achieved something great in my art career and will definitely create more costumes in the future! The only problem with Slinky Dog was the heat that accumulated in the costume. It is quite surprising how well newspaper insulates and I had to take my head and paws off several times throughout the night. If I were to change anything about this costume I would figure out a way to cool myself down so I could wear this for hours and get full enjoyment out of it!

Thanks for checking out my costume, and I really hope you like it and appreciate my efforts! I am willing to answer any questions or give any tips, just comment or contact me at thomp5km@dukes.jmu.edu! ☺

DON’T FORGET to watch my video of the Slinky Dog costume at:

or type in Slinky Dog Halloween Costume 2010 in the search box!

Submitted by Kaleena Thompson, Harrisonburg VA
kaleenathompson.weebly.com/

My 9 year old was adamant about being Megaman for halloween. With no costume to be found to purchase, and not wanting to let him down (how much longer will he want to dress up?), I caved to the pressure and made my own for him.
Painstaking to say the least (I had no sewing machine, yikes!).
The result was amazing, although only the over 25 crowd recognized him, none of the younger kids knew who he was.
In the end it was a great costume and brought alot of smiles to everyone.

Submitted by shelby, Bonita, CA
greenbomb.etsy.com

I used to love the cartoon “The Smurfs” as a little kid and thought it would be fun to be painted blue. It took a little bit of work, but the costume was well worth it! The costume was homemade, as I put all the pieces together, it was a lot of fun!

Submitted by Laura cummins, Savoy, IL

We came up with the idea when we first watched the movie in July. Gru even shaved his head for the part…wore a cut pinnochio nose and knitted a scarf. The Minions donned bald capped…created eyes for their goggles…even added the Gru logo to their overalls…and of course lots of yellow face paint.

Submitted by Darron Kell, Avondale, Arizona

This is 100% hand made from a photo.

Submitted by Suesan Williams, West Roxbury MA

I made this costume for my son who has been growing his hair out since last Christmas in order to have every detail correct!

Submitted by Maria Scarpa, Middleton, MA

I like to be costumes that no one else is. So, I was browsing around characters from early 90′s cartoons, and found Megavolt. There was so much to make and do with it, so I decided I would make my boyfriend be Darkwing Duck, the less involved costume, so I could be Megavolt. We made almost everything. I even made my shirt out of spandex the day of. The battery is an office water jug covered in foam.

Submitted by Lindsey, Anchorage, Alaska

HOMEMADE COSTUME I MADE FOR MY SON!!!

Things You’ll Need:

1 BOX, PEFORATED VINYL
2 ART SPONGES
1 CAN SPRAY PRIMER
LONG SLEEVE YELLOW SHIRT
YELLOW LEGGINGS & GLOVES
BROWN SHORTS
ACRYLICS, BLACK & BLUE SHARPIE
1 PIECE OF SYROFOAM
1 CAN YELLOW SPRAYPAINT
WHITE TEE
WHITE STRIPED SOCKS
BLACK SHOES

Putting your spongebob squarepants Together

Step 1: CUT HOLES IN BOX FOR ARMS AND EYES, SPRAY WITH PRIMER LET DRY THEN SPRAY WITH YELLOW SPRAY LET DRY.

Step 2: CUT PEFORATED VINYL FOR EYES DRAW ON EYES, HOT GLUE TO BOX. PROCEED TO DRAW ON SPONGEBOB FACE. HOT GLUE THE 2 ART SPONGES FOR CHEEKS.

Step 3: WITH THE PIECE OF STYROFOAM SHAPE IT INTO THE NOSE OF SPONGEBOB AND PAINT WITH YELLOW ACRYLIC PAINT AND HOTGLUE TO BOX.

Step 4: PICK YOUR FAVORITE SPONGEBOB PICTURE AND ADD ALL THE LIL DETAILS WITH ACRYLIC PAINTS.

Step 5: ADD YOUR ACCESSORIES AND THAT IS IT YOUR SPONGEBOB IS COMPLETE.

Submitted by jeannette cardenas, oklahoma city ok

After watching “How to Train Your Dragon” my four year old son wanted to be Toothless the dragon for Halloween. I soon discovered that there were no Toothless costumes for sale at the party stores. Nothing even close. So I got busy.

The head of the dragon was made from your basic paper mache’ and a lot of love. (I really dislike the mess it makes! LOL). It was a regular sized balloon, cardboard cut out ears and horns. The mouth was rolled up masking tape. The nose and eyebrows were (you are not going to believe this) cut up breast pads (Im nursing my three month old, what can I say they were the perfect size). I knew he wouldn’t wear a mask so he would have to wear it on top of his head. An old cap did the trick!

The wings were tricky. I eventually (after a few trial and errors) used two wire hangers, cut and formed. They were hot glued to felt along with elastic. I then hot glued the fabric. Elastic was used as wrist cuffs as well.

The most challenging part of the costume was the sewing. I consider myself very creative and crafty but can’t sew to save my life. My first attempt at the body left my son with out arm holes and crying “Mommm…how am I going to get cannndyyyy…my arms are stuck!!” Well I got a good chuckle, cut some arm holes and Bam! the body was complete.

The dragon’s tail required me to sew felt spikes. I then cut a long triangle out of the fabric I used for the body, pinned the spikes and sewed a straight line. (It was way more complicated when I was actually doing it…the tail seriously took me one whole morning to make) I used a pattern I drew for the fan at the end of Toothless’ tail to cut some felt, on black and one brown to mimic the tail that had been repaired by Hiccup. The two pieces were hot glued to a popsicle stick then sewed to the tail.

He was the hit at school ang amongst the trick-or-treaters!

Submitted by Rochelle, Pleasant Hill,CA