Has it REALLY been a month since I last spoke to all of you? -checks her calendar- Eeek! It has! Well, let’s get the energy going in this column shall we?
RWBY by Roosterteeth is a burgeoning U.S. based anime that has cosplayers in a tizzy! Their lovely costume designs, fun character development and strong plot line have “triggered” costumers the world wide. So, naturally, I had to write a cosplay tutorial for all of you on a costume from this series.
Who did I choose? Why NORA VALKYRIE of course! Nora is stupendous and, seeing as to how I am a bubbly person, she just fit the cosplay bill for me. Let’s get started!
Materials, Supplies and Tools
To make Nora I used…
Reference Images
Every Cosplay is only as good as their reference images. Thankfully, Roosterteeth has a GREAT habit of posting a turn around for cosplayers to use. Below is one such example…
You can find more images of characters by visiting: http://rwby.wikia.com/wiki/RWBY_Wiki
Cosplay Build Summary Video
Writing out EVERY step of this build will take SO MUCH TIME so I decided to create a build video for all of you. Also, for those are wondering WHY I needed a hammer…well, I don’t have a Grommet tool so I use a hammer to put my grommets into my costumes 🙂 Ok, on to the video!
THAT TRICKY SHIRT!!!!!
Many of you will probably watch the above video and go “Ok, I get it…” then move on to making Nora. Some of you will try and hit the dreaded wall of two things…
These are SO tricky. So, to help out, I made a little video for her heart symbol below…
AND I wrote an article HERE showing how to paint clothing and still leave it machine washable.
A Little More Help
For those who are STILL a little confused let me help you out by showing you another INSTRUCTABLE I made with all those pesky steps I mentioned above. They are tedious however, they should help you get through this cosplay build in no time!
Magnhild – AKA Hammer of Doom!
Interested in tackling Nora’s hammer? I’ve made two versions of this costume and in THIS tutorial I touched upon how I made my hammer.
In Conclusion…
Don’t let this costume scare you. Sure, it can be daunting but many of the elements can be simplified, bought and/or created from scratch. We at FGN believe in you!
Happy crafting!
Where did you get the materials for outfit? I know this was several months ago, and you might not remember, but my friends and I are going as RNJR to a convention and I’m going as Nora, so I’d like to know if you remember. Thank you!
Hello Keira!
I keep all of my cosplay builds in a special app called “Cosplanner” so I can tell you where I acquired my materials. The pink skirt is an athletic stretch fabric I acquired from JoAnn’s Fabrics. The white shirt is a stretch polyester blend that I picked up from SAS Fabrics but I would recommend Spandex World instead (their stretch is far more durable). The Jacket fabric (2 way stretch jean and red spandex) was also picked up from JoAnn’s Fabrics.
For the white underskirt I just used some spare white cotton I had but you could use white broadcloth. The elastic in the waist of the skirt, belt and sleeves is 2″ elastic from JoAnn’s. I used grommets and a buckle from a local wholesaler.
Here is where I purchased the boots: http://a.co/jkRLuCD (They run big so I suggest going a size down)
Please be sure to check out the Instructable in this article as it contains more detail on how I made the items I am wearing.
If I did not cover something please let me know and good luck!
~Sam
FGN Cosplay Savant
Thank you!
About how much fabric did you use for the jacket?
Hello Charlette!
I used half of yard of the jean material and half a yard of the athletic red spandex. The pink stripes are bias tape and I used less than a 1/4 a yard of pink to cover the elastic on the lower sleeve.