Meet Master Crafter Ali Mahou!
Runaan image courtesy of The Dragon Prince
Right photo by Amaleigh Photography
Welcome to Xadia! Mahou makes Runaan!
Hi there! I’m Ali Mahou and I’m a master level cosplayer from Ontario, Canada. I specialize in sewing and wig styling. For WWWIP 2019 I’ll be devoting my schedule to my favourite Moonshadow Elf, Runaan, from the breathtaking new series The Dragon Prince.
Runaan Character Reference courtesy of @thedragonprince via Twitter
Watching the show, I immediately related to Runaan. Not only do I love his colour scheme and his accessories, but we’re both very tall and have wonderfully talented nieces (who can be a little…challenging at times!)
I’ll be creating his entire costume head-to-toe minus his bow. As sad as I am to be leaving out such a character-defining piece, I’m going to be realistic with what I can create within the allotted weeks, and pick up on the bow when I have some extra time in the future. It’s always important not to push yourself into territories you feel are unrealistic in terms of cosplay time management.
This year I will not be attending Katsucon, but I will be preparing a photoshoot for the same weekend so I can share my finished product with everyone at the same time as my US counterparts.
Choosing my materials:
I really wanted to keep my fabric choices to thick cottons and linen looks and more textured solids. Remember that many animators are limited when it comes to rendering fabrics; however, in reality you have so many options and do not need to stick with plain solids. Fabric store clearance sections are your friend, and don’t rule out the drapery fabric sections! I’ve found the perfect fabrics for plenty of my projects in the upholstery section!
That being said, here’s what I pulled! And I even kept under my fabric/notion budget of $100.
Breaking down the character:
I call these “Character Dissections” and they’re always my first step in cosplay planning. The goal of these dissections is to detail every layer of the costume (front, sides and back) so I can draw all the clothing and armour pieces as a mini draft that I can reference when I’m creating my full scale pattern drafts. It also helps me familiarize myself with and understand the costume so I can create it without having to use references constantly. Additionally, they’re great for figuring out how to turn a very 2D outfit into a real-life, 3D, wearable outfit.
The dedicated The Dragon Prince team has been so kind to cosplayers and has provided us with incredible character rotations! These helped me a lot when creating my dissections.
Character Rotations courtesy of @thedragonprince via Twitter
My schedule:
WEEK 1: Introduction and Cosplay Planning
WEEK 2: Sewing Part 1: Tunic, pants, shirt layers (Let’s focus on trims and corners)
WEEK 3: Sewing Part 2: Boot covers and fabric accessories (Bonus! Learn how to make comfortable four-fingered gloves for Moonshadow Elf cosplay)
~Break for the holidays!~
WEEK 4: Runaan’s horns (Using Foam Clay!)
WEEK 5: Wig styling and attaching the horns to the wig
WEEK 6: Body paint (Making stencils for consistent paint application)
WEEK 7: Foam Prop Crafting Part 1: Bracers, belt buckle and pendant
WEEK 8: Foam Prop Crafting Part 2: Spaulder (shoulder piece) and hair accessories
WEEK 9: Foam Prop Crafting Part 3: Quiver and arrows
WEEK 10: Final touches and a full costest. Then it’s time to shoot my finished look!
Thanks for reading! And I’ll see you next week!
- Mahou ☆