You basically have one, and only one, chance to make the join. And I share my knowledge and my experience on this blog with you so that you can become a maker yourself. Lets try an example. When we speak of foams in Cosplay, we speak of three types: EVA Foam (Ethylene Vinyl acetate, or evazote), plastazote, and cosplay craft foam. This provides a good ground for the painting. It is an effective replacement for many materials including felt, neoprene, natural rubber, polyurethane foam, PVC foam, wood composites, mineral wool and fibreglass. Helmet painted with a base coat of flat black, Metallic gold dusted over base coat and crest painted with Metallic Stone® textured spray paint by Krylon. The openings in the face guard are cut by using a ½" punch to make the top and bottom curves, then connecting the resulting holes with straight cuts. This book is my bible for hats and headpieces. Thick or thin, foam will adapt to your different projects. Freehand bevel the straight cuts slightly to the inside so that the grill bars are slightly narrower on the wrong side of the face guard. After painting, you can choose to Seal your Project with a Mat Sealer, Epoxy Resin or a Varnish. My favorite Sealer is Mod Podge Acrylic Sealer. Always use sharp blades. There are many more uses for EVA foam in producing costume props and accessories. Begin by working on the interior of the helmet. EVA foam has many wonderful properties, but it is very unforgiving when it comes to sloppy workmanship. These robust machines can cut up to 12” x 24” of material. Use the X-acto® Foam Board Cutter for this job. The potential uses for this foam are many. I have another article, that goes more into depth about Sealing EVA Foam including a step by step example, including the edges of your foam, are smooth. I have found that if you have a flat surface to work on it is much easier to get the pieces in proper alignment. We would like to know you thoughts about this new feature of our web site and what topics you would like to see covered in future articles. Sculpt-or-Coat®1 and Mod Podge®2, used alone or more usually in combination, are the solution. The short answer is, the foam has to be Sealed Before you Paint it. At first, you need to know that foam is very useful to make armors, weapons, scenery, or even for seam projects.Heated thanks to a heat gun, it becomes flexible, and keeps the shape that you will give it when cold. The side bands of hats will be wider than the width of the head. This opening is not cut completely until later in the construction process. By doing this, the slit openings will maintain a constant spacing from outside to inside when the face guard is curved around the helmet. If you must stop in mid-cut, DO NOT remove the blade from the work. Trace your pattern pieces onto the foam carefully. “Professional Spray Paints” from Liquitex. This practice also allows all balance marks and assembly keys to be on the working side of the piece. you have a good basic foundation for working with EVA foam. I sometimes also add a little bit of weathering but that is completely up to you. This is due to the fact that as you form the flat piece of foam into a tube, the inner surface contracts and the outer surface expands. Make an EVA foam Double Bladed Axe . I usually like to seal all of my paint jobs just to be sure. While Soft and Stable has a little drape to it, this product has a denser structure. Allow to dry thoroughly. So I decided to use EVA foam to get this job done. The pieces are as follows: TIP #2: When assembling the foam components, keep all markings on the outside of the piece. (Links to Amazon) Otherwise known as God’s gift to the Cosplay universe, EVA is the densest, most resistant foam of the three. This will help tremendously when trying to get angles and better seams. My favorite Sealer is Mod Podge Acrylic Sealer. When you're removing the texture (or when heating the foam for shaping), make sure to keep the tip of the heatgun about 2" from the foam. This isn´t always necessary but especially if you are working with a very low-density Foam it is better to Heat Seal the Foam before Sealing it with Plasi Dip or Crafts Glue. It’s kind of like a twice-cooked foam. Concentrate on the line just before the knife blade. You can buy it here on the Blick Art supply shop. Figure 1Top Row: Poorly made straight & bevel cutsBottom Row: Good straight & bevel cuts, Parts of the Great Helm cut from ½" EVA foam (except Vision Screen which is cut from plastic needlepoint canvas). The upper edge of the top sideband is cut at a 45° inside bevel so that when the tip is attached the resulting join forms a sharply defined transition between the two planes. It is a soft, yet durable polymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. This will “close” the surface of the EVA Foam to prepare it for Sealing and Painting later on.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'craftknights_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_6',118,'0','0'])); If your Prop is not moving and does not bend (for example a solid armor) then you can seal your Foam with simple white crafts glue. The plastic model works best since it slides more smoothly over the surface of the foam. In Part II I will discuss the intricacies of fashioning period hats form EVA foam. Craftknights.com is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Working from the inside of the helmet, carefully finish cutting through the foam to remove the vision opening. After painting, you can choose to Seal your Project with a Mat Sealer, Epoxy Resin or a Varnish. Alone or combined with thermoplastics, it will address your needs.Foams that you will find in the cosplay world are usually foam you find as exercise mat or ground sh… WHAT YOU CAN MAKE WITH EVA FOAM. Applying Glue to a Small Piece of Foam. Its still a good alternative if you don’t have thin EVA foam or don’t want to buy some. So when it comes to sealing your paint job on your EVA Foam, then I would generally go with the Acrylic Sealer. Mod Podge® on the other hand is thinner and self-leveling as it dries. EVA foam is floor matting used in dojos and gyms. Using traditional patterning and construction methods, you would pattern the piece to have a round or oval tip 23" in circumference and a sideband with a finished length of 23". You will, however, need to make some adaptations to your to your way of planning and patterning your project. Glue top sideband to helmet. So after reading this article, you will know how to Prepare Foam for painting, how to Seal Foam, what colors to use, and how to Protect your Paint Job permanently.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'craftknights_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_9',116,'0','0'])); So how do you paint EVA Foam? They are both water soluble and dry completely clear. Try this with ½" EVA foam. Sometimes the glue is being absorbed by the EVA Foam (depending on the density of your foam). Sloppy marking and cutting can result in a less-than-perfect finished product. We use Master® Quick Drying All-purpose Cement1. So before you start Painting the EVA Foam you have to Seal it. This waterproof Gorilla Orginal glue by Gorilla can be an amazing glue for Eva … I usually do this while the metallic is still wet. No, that’s not some weird… proclivity, EVA (Ethylene-vinyl Acetate) is an extremely versatile foam material (think: the material used in yoga mats) that’s used for all sorts of costuming and prop applications. Match and attach the CF and CB seams of helmet and band first. And although the Foam Board Cutter comes with a 45° attachment, the blade is not long enough to cut completely through the foam. Acrylic sealer is the easiest and best method for Sealing EVA Foam after painting. I used Createx™ Airbrush Colors2. TIP #3: Always work with the right side of the piece facing up. There are a lot of different paints out there but my philosophy is, that the easiest paint to use, that gives good results, is the one, that I go with. You can buy them from the Blick Art Store right here. This is a brand that is used in the shoe industry and has exceptional strength. You do this by heating the face of the foam with the heatgun. Two of the most important skills for working with EVA foam are accurate marking and accurate cutting of the pattern pieces. But how do you seal EVA Foam paint? Make an EVA foam dagger . Use the X-acto® Foam Board Cutter for this job. Step 3: Add a Removable Adhesive Layer Allow the glue to set completely until it is dry to the touch. EVA can also be made into EVA foam, with the use of a plasticizer. When you are done with painting your EVA Foam Project you can choose to Seal the paint job. It’s actually possible to burn your foam by keeping it focused on a single area for too long, so keep it moving! Just as careful cutting is important, so is the choice of adhesive. For the most part you will want your cuts to be as close to perfect 90° angles to the face of the foam as possible. Remember, "practice makes perfect". Change them as soon as you begin to feel any resistance as you make the cuts. Watch your fingers and hands! Align the edges of the foam and press then firmly together. After I painted the bigger shapes I then usually move on to painting the smaller details with a finer paintbrush and some acrylic color. Liberally apply adhesive, coating both pieces and allow about 10 seconds for the glue to become tacky. Resin is slightly toxic and it is really hard to apply evenly and without any bubbles. You will also want your cuts to be as smooth as possible. In short, you can seal your paint job with a simple coat of Acrylic Sealer, Varnish, or even Epoxy Resin. 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