"Final Fantasy" Rainbow Brite
Rainbow Brite / Fanart by Gamoogah

After going to conventions for 10 years, I could think of no better way to celebrate than doing a "modern" take on my "breakout" costume: Rainbow Brite. This costume is called many names, such as Warrior Brite and Rainbow Cloud. I got inspiration from Gamoogah's beautiful fanart.

The wig was surprisingly difficult. Seeing that the hair looked like a character's from Love Live, I ordered from three different suppliers, only be disappointed each time. Then I bought a similar wig with clip-on pigtails from The Five Wits. I took wefts from one pigail to make the side strands at the temples and straightened the other. The crown was two layers of EVA foam with a resin jewel glued on. A clear comb is glued to the bottom to keep it on my head and hide the giant clip.

The dress and undershirt are modified commmercial patterns. The undershirt's sleeves were cut normally for the lining, but then cut apart for the different colors and pieced together. The light blue scarf is part of the undershirt. The dress pattern was modified to make the slits higher up on my thighs. The obi is a long strip of red twill from my scrap bin, with the rainbow and star embroidered on. The stars on the collar are resin-casted, with pin backings glued on them to make for easy removal and washing. The boots simply had scraps of white satin and broadcloth glued on. Add in a pair of brown leggings and my outfit is complete.

The bracers and sword were my initiation in armor- and prop-making. The bracers are EVA foam, cut from safety floor mats. After heating, cutting and sanding, I added strips of thinner EVA foam. Then added more resin-casted jewels. Those had lots of air bubbles, but I like the effect because they look kinda sparkly with them. Then I attacked it with Plastidip, autopaint and acrylic.

The sword was a wild, mad experiment. I originally intended to make it from insulation foam, but I didn't have a way to get it home from the store. So I took a page from my brother's playbook and used display boards. After cutting out the shapes and making a slot for a big dowel, I smushed them all together with a lot of Gorilla glue. Then I carved out the curve of the blade with a drywall knife. Next was sanding, lots of gesso, even more sanding, a layer of fiberglass resin, bondo, and more sanding. I painted the sword with autopaint and house paint. The pommel of the sword is some scrap EVA foam and the grip is a package of bias tape. It's little heavy, but I've gotten to the point where I can swing it over my head and look all badass.

I learned three new skills just for this costume: resin-casting, shaping EVA foam and prop-making. I can't wait to apply them to future projects!

Model: Kat

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