Evil Ted Live: Making a Basic Foam Helmet & Face Shield

Four years ago I made a video on how to make a foam helmet. Over the years I learned new technics and tools I want to share with you. Both patterns basic helmet and face shield are available in my shop.
Basic Helmet.
bit.ly/2r1fub3
Face Shield.
bit.ly/2S1abUg
Here is the list on this build
Floor matts.
amzn.to/1ZSjR1U
Cosplay Pros Foam
thecosplaypros...
Knife-Box-cutter.
amzn.to/2SJS5tn
Blade sharpener.
amzn.to/1ZSlBbd
Heat gun
amzn.to/2P7m5wY
Glue Pot.
amzn.to/1M8230p
Barge cement.
amzn.to/1X4TXWS
Contact cements around the world.
Canada:
LePage & Dura Pro.
UK:
Evo-stick .
Germany:
Pattex & WA 39 Kraftleber.
New Zealand:
Ados F2.
Italy:
Bostick 99.
Netherlands:
Bison Kit.
Caribbean:
Dunlop cement.
Australian:
Sika contact adhesive.
If your new to cosplay, you should Join the Foam Fanatics.
A great friendly group of fellow makers that are there to help.
Be sure to answer the two questions before joining.
/ eviltedsfoamfanatics
My website eviltedsmith.com
Twitch / eviltedsmith
Facebook / eviltedsmith
Instagram / evilted_cha. .
I’m a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

[@tonypower9692]

Its so good to see an expert sharing and helping the beginner :)

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thak you for your support!

[@davepool3698]

Thank you for taking the time to teach noobs such as myself Evil Ted! 🙌

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thank you for your support and subscribing.

[@arturomendoza8171]

I have seen all your videos, after that I started working on my armor and I already finished it. I think the result was great 😂 I used it in a costume contest and I got the second place, not bad for a beginner😅😂 Thanks for all your videos, they helped me a lot.

[@EvilTedSmith]

Congratulations, happy to help. Next year will be even better for you

[@Legotrocity666]

Using the face shield pattern to work on my first big costume build! A cyberpunk mercenary. Thank you so much for the tutorials, I've seen just about every single one, and am always humbled by your generosity to share such amazing information, step by step, with the rest of us. You rock! \m/

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thank you. It's people like you that keep me going. Thanks for you're support.

[@mfeldheim]

Have to come back after watching the video. Love it. Thanks for all the tips and tricks and explanations. So entertaining to follow!

[@EvilTedSmith]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Nakawanga]

Hi, I'm from Germany and I can recommend "UHU Kraftkleber Gel". as contact cement. It dries really fast, like really in 1 Minute. That might be too fast if you are doing larger parts, because if it dries too long, it won't stick anymore. So if you can't make to apply it on both parts in under 10 minutes, you might wanna use something different. But for normal builts it's really great. no more waiting!

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thanks for the tip.

[@teremel81]

I love your channel and have bought some of your amazing patterns. I discovered something by accident when I was transferring a pattern to the foam. I had a bottle of 100 % acetone sitting on a shelf above my workstation. Well long story short it spilled all over the patterns that were laying on the foam mat. Well after cussing up a storm, I began to clean up thinking, "well the acetone is going to ruin the damn foam!" Well it didn't and it transferred the image perfectly on the papers that were facing ink down on the foam and with no damage to the foam! Now I've done this on wood but I always thought that the acetone would ruin my foam. So now I do this and the key is to use one of those pens that artist use to fill with ink. They look like empty sharpie markers. Well I fill that with acetone and trace the mirror image of the pattern to the foam. The pen helps to saturate and and give pressure to line being transferred. See before I was using a brush followed quickly by a bone folder. I've done this on floor mats as well as craft store fun foam. Maybe you already knew this but thought I would share anyways. Bonus tip: if you print from home like I do make sure it's a laser printer! Make sure you use a good quality copy paper and you do the darker setting for your print. This will ensure multiple uses for the pattern. I've done up to 10 per pattern piece before the ink fades with this tip. Also if your taping it together tape it from the back of the pattern and use thin masking tape on the seems so it's easier to read when cutting out the foam. Oh and once you get the acetone started the paper becomes translucent and you simply tape the top and lift as you if you get last. Hope this helps you or someone else. Happy holidays to you and yours.

[@EvilTedSmith]

What an awesome discovery, Thank you for sharing with us

[@wesleytener3425]

Hey how long did it take for you to receive the patterns after your purchase?

[@GUARDIANA01]

@@wesleytener3425 Immediately for me, arrived in my inbox straight away ;)

[@GUARDIANA01]

Totally agree, what an awesome discovery....definitely going to try this !! Thankyou :)

[@pest-alt-account]

Thanks for the help! Planning on making a gabriel cosplay from ultrakill, this helped a lot!

[@EvilTedSmith]

Glad to hear it!

[@alias555aka]

I always thought you guys printed directly on poster board. I have troubled every print shop guy iny area for it only to find out today that you spray adhesive the paper to the poster board. Thanks for the simple, yet amazing tips Ted.

[@EvilTedSmith]

Happy to help.

[@AnimeBoyVFX]

Cool but add Head size to your download patterns!!

[@EvilTedSmith]

Ok next time..

[@digitaldude969]

Practice really does make perfect. I realised that one of my biggest mistakes after working for so long was not giving my barge enough time to dry. I live in a very humid environment. So hair drying the barge became a necessity! It would take almost half an hour for one coat of barge to set. So I'd just blow some cool air on it.

[@EvilTedSmith]

Glad it worked out!

[@vampireotaku4172]

Same here and I applied it to thick.

[@KpopOrigami]

This video is great. I'm happy you showed all of the steps!! So excited to make my first helmet :D

[@EvilTedSmith]

You can do it!

[@barrydevlinred]

Soooo glad youve made the large helmet pattern mate i bought the basic one a while back and im afraid its a bit to small for my heed so thanks again

[@EvilTedSmith]

You are welcome

[@husk79]

Cool video!! just bought some patterns to work on for the holidays!! woohoo

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thank you for your support

[@GreenbeardtheEnt]

Thanks for posting this video

[@10thLegionPictures]

Great stuff. Used your template to make the helmet for our upcoming Sci-Fi short Doomsday Kids

[@EvilTedSmith]

Very cool!

[@zacharypederson6816]

For the glue, I usually use loctite and 3M 77 spray adhesive. Works well enough for me

[@EvilTedSmith]

Good to know.

[@GUARDIANA01]

Perfect brother, thankyou very much for your time and effort ;) 1 new subscriber and i purchased a few of your patterns today - made this helmet no problems at all and looks fantastic. Cheers !!!

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thanks for the sub!

[@gabesteamcore]

I'm in france, i'm not pro but i use Neoprene as glue, it works great and you can find it in big cans!

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thanks for the tip.

[@satpalmodinagar7172]

Can we make it less flexible and strong like plastic by coating of anything?????

[@DIYtryer]

So cool! thanks!

[@EvilTedSmith]

It’s so cool that you subscribed! Thanks for the support

[@BlueStarBrony]

Excellent video! It's so cool to see what techniques you've picked up.I really appreciate this video since I'm going to be essentially remaking my costume and I want to get it as good as I can this time. Things I need to remember...Sharpen the blade at a slight angel not 45 degreesHeat both sides of the foam. 1:18 123 blocks? Oh those look cool! Yeah no more pins! We're free! :)7:43 You killed your heat gun! Why Evil Ted Why! lol Yes just got a heat gun! A basic one isn't that expensive (like $20-$30) and is way more effective than a hair dryer. 13:50 I've tried using a smaller heat gun for that (since I didn't have a hair dryer laying around) and barge + heat does not work very well. Defiantly adding a hair dryer with a cold option and some 123 blocks to my wishlist. :)

[@jessiepayne9217]

Awesome video im in the process of making a foam helmet

[@EvilTedSmith]

I’m happy that it helps.

[@travismcgee9333]

I wish you had given an example on how to add eye holes on the face shield

[@dozer88finn]

Awesome video Ted!!

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thank you for subscribing!

[@Auhailbree]

it LOOKS like the shape i need to put under my jacket on each shoulder. I think I am going to repurpose this for shoulder pads. i need HUGE shoulders

[@EvilTedSmith]

Glad you like them.

[@cherylbrown6746]

Guess what I am doing RIGHT now!!! I watched the video a couple of days ago.... here I am to mold!!!

[@akunamii4823]

Exelent work

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thank you and thanks for subscribing!

[@thai7em]

Hi Ted! I met you at Renton Comicon in 2017, not knowing anything about cosplay with EVA foam (I was in my first cosplay outfit ever as Awesom-o 5000, made out of cardboard haha). Here I am a couple of years later and am so glad to have found your channel again :) I had a question for you: Are your basic helmet shoulder and elbow patterns available also in a larger size or will I just need to print and blow it up to fit? Thanks so much in advance, and thanks for making such awesome videos for us to watch.

[@EvilTedSmith]

Yes, blowing up the pattern is a good way to go.

[@BrotherNo]

How would you go about making the face shield open and close?

[@Crazycupcakes234]

So that EVA stuff I see on the internet is tough enough? Is there something specific you recommend foam wise? Tyia

[@EvilTedSmith]

Yes! Cosplay Pros Foam thecosplaypros.com/?ref=pdyq8g01

[@aizanx]

Hi Ted, need your advice.. planning to make the new bumblebee costume, however, I am a bit confuse on how to make the body part (the one with headlamp), how to mold the EVA as such... Thanks.... Keep up with the videos...

[@MailOrderMaven]

I've been looking for something that isn't dumb for a hollow knight cosplay. I was going to repurpose a face shield I got for work. But this is far more elegant. Now I just have to figure out how to put the shield on a track or something so itslides up when I wanna eat.

[@mazafesioelmadafaka1935]

You could use a thin hollow plastic (no pun intended) tube, cut it about the thickness of the 2 foam pieces, heat it from above and the plastic will start melting and create a limit Basically its a swivel :D

[@MailOrderMaven]

@@mazafesioelmadafaka1935 I was thinking of a slide, but this works! Thanks!

[@seandonovanthegreat7608]

I could try to make my own helmet of Gate from Megaman X6. I just needed some of those tools and all. but, how am I going to make those silver parts on the helmet?

[@karajito]

awesome

[@williamvouk2911]

Did you get that plastic dome from a plastic punch ladle (hopefully someone knows what I’m referencing)?

[@romdos11]

Some of those product links are broken such as the heat gun

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thank you. I fixed it.

[@paulpethers4234]

Ted, i know you work in the film industry did all the EVA foam building spawn from there or was it someone in a garage late at night with an "eureka" moment

[@EvilTedSmith]

Foam fabrication has been around from years, I think it was Japanese super hero television that started it.

[@paulpethers4234]

@@EvilTedSmith thanks ted :)

[@mfeldheim]

Wow. As stupid it may sound.. it never came to my mind that you could sharpen carpet knife blades. To be honest so far I even didn’t bother to get replacement blades (or use those often placed inside the cutter) it’s just easier to buy another cheap cutter. I hate myself thinking about that.. 🙈

[@EvilTedSmith]

Foam dulls a so fast, once I found the blade sharpener it was life changing for me!

[@wesleytener3425]

Hey ted, Is there any way to find out what head circumference size your patterns will fit?

[@EvilTedSmith]

The basic helmet fit a 22" circumference witch is a bit small so I made the larger helmet.

[@shotaaizawa8988]

Well i was gonna make the face sheild but the template isent free

[@EvilTedSmith]

No, its not...

[@morebirdfluskiper1314]

Hey ted can you show me how to make the horns for loki’s helmet?🥺

[@EvilTedSmith]

I have horns patterns in my shop at eviltedsmith.com/shop/

[@genhchen6739]

where

[@EvilTedSmith]

Basic Helmet. bit.ly/2r1fub3 Face Shield. bit.ly/2S1abUg

[@ericalove2715]

Do you think that you could make a helmet template for the Aaron Aikman Spider-Man suit in one of your videos?

[@urdessstardancer9598]

How would you go about adapting this helmet to fit a child's head?

[@EvilTedSmith]

I have children's patterns in my shop. eviltedsmith.com/shop/child-basic-helmet-shoulder-elbow-patterns/

[@urdessstardancer9598]

@@EvilTedSmith I bought that pattern - it's working out great, thanks Ted

[@rainiconic5801]

I didn’t hear but where do you buy your foam for helmets?

[@EvilTedSmith]

You can use floormat foam from a hardware store or craft store. I have links for it below the video.

[@warriorsheartcosplay3016]

Why don't you tackle the helmet of Cersei Lannister's Queensguard from Seasons 7-8 of Game of Thrones?

[@EvilTedSmith]

Or you could be the one to tackle that project!

[@lordcaptain73]

Is that an updated pattern as well Ted? I like that you’ve done this again, your original large helmet pattern and video started my passion for making

[@lordcaptain73]

Also I’ve never had luck finding an acrylic dome so I have a plastic bowl a bit smaller than my head and I push it in to give it a curve

[@darrellmailes9198]

Id like to see a cyrax helmet im working on a cosplay of the mortal kombat annilation cyrax

[@anunc8797]

How is he hiding the seals when painting?

[@EvilTedSmith]

I do my best not to have bigger seam when building.

[@niap4082]

What size head does this helmet fit?

[@vilmoscsontos4054]

I’m sorry,do you tell me what glue you use? [This is great vid]

[@EvilTedSmith]

It is listed below the video.

[@maikymadnesskreation8646]

Where our how I find the hole puncher for the registration mark, what's is the size?

[@EvilTedSmith]

Do you mean hole cutters like this. amzn.to/2W2cwEX

[@maikymadnesskreation8646]

@@EvilTedSmith I mean when you make the patterns first you make the registration marks with a exacto but later in other video you use like a hole puncher is that the one you use?

[@michaelamaya9032]

What size should I print the template in? Lengthwise.

[@EvilTedSmith]

It’s just a standard letter size.

[@michaelamaya9032]

@@EvilTedSmith Ah okay. Thanks.

[@tiroskassie1592]

Is there a way not to buy the helmet and just get the pattern? For free I mean.

[@EvilTedSmith]

You could get one of your friends to buy it for you!

[@stanlistan5312]

Hi where can I print out ur paper patten so easy to use

[@EvilTedSmith]

You can print them on a standard printer!

[@stanlistan5312]

@@EvilTedSmith Thax do u have the outline of the pattern

[@armusx]

With the face shield down, I can't see. How am I supposed to fight?

[@EvilTedSmith]

Just use the force..

[@TheMandalorianGhostYT]

What size paper did you use?

[@EvilTedSmith]

Size of paper?

[@TheMandalorianGhostYT]

@@EvilTedSmith never mind I figured it out.

[@alexmillette]

Do you use a software to do the 2D patern.

[@PlanetAlexanderProjects]

I can't remember if Evil Ted still uses it, but he (and many others including myself) have used Inkscape, a free drawing program or Adobe Illustrator. Personally I love Inkscape.

[@alexmillette]

@@PlanetAlexanderProjects i know illustrator, but i was wondering if theres a software that take your 3D pieces and put it on a 2D pattern just like UV maps in 3D for texturing.

[@PlanetAlexanderProjects]

@@alexmillette I think what you want is Pepakura Designer, for Windows. It takes 3D meshes and unfolds them into flat shapes so that you can print, cut it out and assemble it.

[@alexmillette]

@@PlanetAlexanderProjects thanks ;)

[@genhchen6739]

can you put the template

[@EvilTedSmith]

I have the pattern link just below the video.

[@ravenxbmc1456]

hi want to order an helmet and the Inquisitor Helmet Patterns via paypal will i get both as 1 is free ? thx

[@dileepnarayanan6622]

this looks like magnetos helmet

[@anthonygeorgiou3926]

How am i supposed to see through the Visor thougg

[@rockinHurley777]

Cut eye holes...

[@jochenwuerfel]

You don't.. Dredd style :D

[@MailOrderMaven]

You can cut out the exact shape of whatever sunglasses lenses you want. Or just a cutout. Or 7se see-thru fabric and cut whatever shape you want. Get creative

[@rockinHurley777]

@@jochenwuerfel dredd has a visor at least

[@danielperezpimienta8592]

How thicc is that foam??

[@EvilTedSmith]

1/2 inch.

[@jesusgrillasca2475]

please free template

[@EvilTedSmith]

Here's a free pattern for you. eviltedsmith.com/shop/paladin-helmet/

[@HopiTrails1]

ahhhhh the PC meter is high here lol.....there is most definitely a right and wrong way to do things......thats why we come to listen to someone who knows the right way from experience instead of reinventing the wheel......the better the teacher the better the student.....just sayin

[@EvilTedSmith]

Thank you for watching and subscribing.

[@536767676533766]

i can do it WAYYYYYYY better period and that is fact. here where i live they call me the QUEEN OF FOAM i tell them i am the GODESS OF FOAM Give me a challance

[@EvilTedSmith]

Hello Foam queen.

[@536767676533766]

@@EvilTedSmith hello ;) you want to challenge me