How to Make EVA Foam Cosplay Templates and Prototypes for Costumes / Props - Tips and Tricks I Use

Hey everyone since I am creating a prototype build for my Gears of War Armor set I figured I would give you a peek at my prototype creation process. These are a few simple tips and tricks that I use to start the build and hopefully some of these can help you create your own freehand custom templates and prototypes.
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If you are purchasing my HD-Foam from Blick Art Materials please go through my website or these links first because I do receive a small vendor affiliate. Those affiliate clicks allow me to continue to create more instructional videos and fabrication tutorials for our awesome Cosplay Community.
HD-Foam - bit.ly/2NECyrU
HD-Foam Dowels - bit.ly/375zTPs
Foam Clay - bit.ly/2uR9pD5
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Thank you to all of my Patreon subscribers!
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Products used in this video
Links-
HD-Foam - bit.ly/2NECyrU
HD-Foam Dowels - bit.ly/375zTPs
Foam Clay - bit.ly/2uR9pD5
My favorite Mechanical pencil - bit.ly/3eUNxvP
PVC Board - amzn.to/3sBjXlK
Wood Burner - bit.ly/3AwpHgJ
Wood Dowels / PVC Pipes - Lowe's
Plasti Dip - bit.ly/3eZYzOk
Flexbond - bit.ly/2TDVDOM
Super Glue - bit.ly/38zbAgn
Contact Cement - bit.ly/34dyQ0Q
Hot Glue Gun - bit.ly/2Fey6iB
Cutting Mat - bit.ly/2LJuo03
Heat Gun - bit.ly/3jobfoV
Large Utility Knife - bit.ly/3bAbq6M
Small Utility Knife - bit.ly/3413rNI
Hobby Knife - bit.ly/2wQFOLn
Dremel - bit.ly/3fOCXmx
Dremel Flex Shaft - bit.ly/31AJ09j
Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics - bit.ly/2Sce8HK
1" Mop Brush - bit.ly/3f0Xbic
Filbert Brush - bit.ly/2GQfVwK
Liner Brush - bit.ly/2GQfVwK
More Brushes - bit.ly/2GQfVwK
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Website - www.sksprops.com
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Twitter - / sksprops
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Email - [e-mail]
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Blick Art Materials affiliate program, an affiliate advertising program is designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and other affiliated sites.
#cosplaytutorial #cosplay #cosplayarmor

[@SKSProps]

Check out more of my complete builds, walkthroughs, and HD-Foam at www.SKSProps.com

[@limitbreakarts7]

I would love to see a full build of the Gears of War Armor, and template for it

[@JakeBrown82]

What you said about seeing your own imperfections is spot on, i struggle hard with it with my Gears armor. But like you said, it's worth it when you see someone who is in awe of all your hard work.

[@SKSProps]

Absolutely!!

[@zombiespock4512]

95% of fans can't tell how accurate the costume is anyway. Great tips!

[@zombiespock4512]

The joy is in the building!

[@lechatbotte.]

Your my favorite cosplay creator. Bar none. Your pieces well thought out, the instructions clear and concise and easy to follow. The templates are such a bonus.

[@SKSProps]

Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!

[@GeekMomMakes]

Thank you so much for this video! 2 years ago, I used your Baby Yoda Pram template as a base to transform my baby stroller into a pram. It was my first time working with EVA foam and your instructions were so invaluable! What you said about only seeing the flaws resonated so much with me! Last weekend, we went to Comiccon and decided to bust out the pram again to avoid having to carry our toddler around the con floor. When I looked at it, almost all I could see were the imperfect seams and incomplete paint job (because I never had time to fully finish before it was time to trick or treat). What people saw was an awesome idea and a killer way to transport your kid at a convention. This year, I'm transforming my kiddo's Little Tikes car into a Mini Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, and there aren't any foam patterns out there. But I'll use your tips, will create foam rulers (what a genius idea!), will look at paper models, cars, pictures, everything I can get my hands on, and I'll hopefully create something that will be better than my first build. This time, I'm using your foam and foam clay, so that's already a bonus! Thank you for everything you're bringing to this amazing community of creators ❤

[@MrMcGribble]

Years ago I made an iron man suit for my son who was 4 at the time. Obviously, all the templates I could find where scaled for an adult. I ended up using a combination of pepakura and another template I purchased. Essentially, I used pepakura to get the correct scaling. I would measure my son's arm length and then go into pepakura and take a measurement of the part I needed and scale it so it would be a size that would work. From there I opened the PDF template up in Illustrator and scaled the entire template for that part to match the reference scale in pepakura. (PDF templates are so much better because they are made for foam) It was an arduous processes for sure, but when it was all done, it was flawless and I even had people asking me for advice on scaling. My main reason for doing it this way was to avoid printing over and over. I will say, some of the parts would have benefited by knowing about using foam rulers. That is such a great tip and should be in every foam smith's toolkit. GREAT VIDEO as always!

[@SKSProps]

Thank you for the compliment and tip! 👍

[@patbird9694]

Very underrated channel. Thanks for the very useful tips mate. Enjoying your channel so far.

[@SKSProps]

Thank you!

[@tombstone1970]

thank you for being a huge help to the cosplay community....your videos are a massive help

[@SKSProps]

Glad to hear it!

[@BKMakes]

Wow, those little tips are GOLD! Thanks Steve

[@SkylineStarsCosplay]

The use of the foam rulers of different thicknesses is SO SMART! I always wondered why when I measure using my fabric ruler and make a bracer, they never close or fit properly! Definitely going to be making some foam rulers now xD

[@SKSProps]

Glad it was helpful!

[@BryceMunz-Fassler]

This video is HUGE!!! So many amazing pieces of advice I would have never thought of (foam rulers for bulk measurements is genius). Fantastic video as always!

[@SKSProps]

Thank you! Glad the video was helpful! 🙌

[@CyanMadness]

Thank you Steven. I've been hand drawing all of my templates for years, and I've luckily kept them all. I noticed in my earlier builds the shapes were great! The painting and weathering..not so much. I plan on remaking some old builds by tweaking the templates and finishes with what I know now. I've learned a lot by doing and learned a lot from your videos as well! You're of the creators who got me into making, for that I say thank you.

[@SKSProps]

That is fantastic to hear! Thank You!

[@Justrex01]

Sweeet! I can see I'm going to be watching this one several times to ferret out all the information I can. And taking notes. Now all I need to do is wait until my shop is cool enough to work in again. Missouri summers suck!!! And thank you very much, Steve! You're my hero!

[@SKSProps]

You're welcome! and yeah the heat has been crazt my shop ac is the only way I can work out there

[@HeyCaaars]

this is awesome! really love tutorial vids like this! looking forward to the actual build!

[@SKSProps]

Thank you! Coming soon!

[@turtledoc14]

such a great share with the start from the center-outwards, tysm!

[@SKSProps]

You're so welcome!

[@philabot]

Awesome video!! Love the detail on how you pattern builds.

[@SKSProps]

Thanks! Glad you liked it!

[@PERRYS_PROPS]

Thanks Steve, this information is priceless

[@SKSProps]

Glad it was helpful! 🙌

[@ruylopez2102]

I just found out about your content today and daaaamn, your work is amazing! Keep it up king!

[@SKSProps]

Thank you very much! 🙌

[@Geek_TimeX2]

I seriously can’t wait to see this finished and get the templates from you 🥺🥺

[@SKSProps]

🙌🙌

[@themakesmith4322]

I've been looking forward to this video for a while❤❤

[@SKSProps]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@KevlaRnerd]

You are so inspiring person to me, thank you so much!!!!

[@SKSProps]

You’re welcome 🙌

[@Dragonsblood23223]

Thank you so much. I'm going to start on my first cosplay and these are thing I didn't even consider. The ruler honestly is a amazing idea.🖤🦇

[@SKSProps]

Fantastic! Glad I could help you out! 🙌

[@Justrex01]

Dude, this guy is an amazing builder and artist. You can't go wrong watching his videos.

[@goatelope7539]

Love the tips n tricks

[@SKSProps]

🙌🙌

[@SteamCampo]

One of my biggest problems is that I am a perfectionist and meticulous and when I see the incredible things you do and I try and they don't come out the same as what you show us, it frustrated me but over time I have learned to accept that if it doesn't turn out the same, an approximate it's good enough because in the end the experience I gained from trying is the most valuable. ❤ U Work AND thanks for everything you do.

[@SKSProps]

That is exactly what I love to hear! And always remember that I have been building for a very long time and have practiced for countless hours at this point 🙌

[@Catracho415]

Gears of war is coming yeaaaa good job bro congratulation

[@SKSProps]

🙌🙌

[@GamingDad63]

The ten commandments of foamsmithing (and i'm not trying to be sacrilegious in any way). Especially three of them - Have fun, don't get hung up on imperfections only you can see, and finally Have Fun. Great video! 🙂

[@SKSProps]

Thank you very much! And yes have fun! 🙌

[@VincentGonzo]

Well said on how to build bulky armor characters. I've been meaning to make a video to demonstrate a layout on how to build bulky character around your body to be more functional and mobile.

[@SKSProps]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it 👍

[@Robroy333]

Very good information, well spoken and explained. You are an asset to the Maker world!:)~

[@SKSProps]

Thank you very much! 🙌

[@PowerSource301]

Thank you so much tutorial.

[@SKSProps]

You are welcome!

[@diogo.rodrigues.1884]

Another great tutorial Steve. the small scale ruler is awesome and will become very handy in the future for me. the foam rulers are also a great idea. I ran into that issue in the past, as paper does not transfer the measures very well, so I was always leaving more foam and then cut it. P.S.: When you finished the Samurai armour and you said something organic, I wasn't expecting to see you jump something so precise again, let alone a GoW armour with all of its details. Can't wait to see the result and the paint job, which I'm just drooling to see the process.

[@SKSProps]

Thanks! No, my organic build was the dog skull now it's back to crazy details

[@Macattackcosplay]

Omg the foam rulers genius! It's so obvious after you said it yet I never thought of it! Oh man I'm so bad about not picking flaws and trying to make things look exactly like the reference that I get frustrated and I need to remember to step back because no one but me is going to notice that stuff.❤

[@SKSProps]

Spreading that cosplay truth! And I’m glad the foam ruler tip will help! 🙌

[@RoseDeNoire]

I use the foam rulers too! I came up on my own with them before I knew you. But, I'm also working a lit with fake fur and leathers there kinda applies the same. I seriously love your channel. My next game plan is to make a N7 armor from Mass Effect.

[@SKSProps]

Thanks! Yeah it’s crazy that simple tricks I’ve used for over a decade I thought were common place apparently are not. But glad I can share my processes with the community

[@rickywhyte7601]

You are a legend

[@SKSProps]

🙌🙌

[@shawnkarg3794]

Translating body measurements to foam is an interesting problem that came up in the conversation on an Odin Makes live stream. Foam rulers are a great solution to the problem, but it seems to me you can get CLOSE to the right measurement with math. If you know that 12" = X" with a given foam thickness, it is then possible to calculate the difference. You would always want to allow some extra to account for any errors, but it seems like you could make a table to convert regular tape measurements to any given foam thickness.

[@SKSProps]

That is a good thought but has a flaw. It is similar to what I am doing and why I can draw my templates out on poster board. Foam rulers just give people that are new to the creation process the thickness to take into consideration. But that math won't always work because it is going to depend on how far a piece of foam curves vs it being flat. It really all depends on the individual build a flat shield or sword won't have the same change in thickness when compared to a sphere or pumpkin ( as an example)

[@PsychoAxeMan]

Would be a really cool rib cage for the dog skull

[@SKSProps]

Just wait for my part 1 video I think people will really like the base under armor and can use it for much more than the gears build.

[@tedmontgomery3550]

Do you think you can do a guyver build

[@randycheow4268]

Would definitely like to see a Colonial marine armor or UNSC marine armor from Halo in foam

[@SKSProps]

Marines are on my list but who knows when I’ll get to them I don’t have any plans to make halo lots of files available on the 405th website

[@artyomivanhov9719]

Ty i can now upgrade my gears armour my friends in the 26th RTI UK will be in Liverpool comic con

[@SKSProps]

Awesome! I hope to inspire lots of people to get back into gears cosplay!

[@Major_Major_Major]

Absolutely love these tips, especially the foam rulers! I'm think getting pretty good at following and modifying existing patterns, but I still struggle with creating my own patterns from scratch, and dealing with the thickness of the foam was a huge frustration. The foam rulers are such a simple and elegant solution, thanks so much! I made myself a duct tape dummy a while ago, but I'm having trouble with the duct tape I used (3M Scotch Duct Tape) losing adhesion and peeling or splitting. Any suggestions on how to make the DTDs hold up better and last longer? Thanks again!

[@SKSProps]

Thanks! Glad this video could give you some ideas. Notice on my dummy that I have covered with with the shiny 3m tape as well over the duct tape because i use it so often it was pulling off.

[@Major_Major_Major]

@@SKSProps Thanks, that's good to know!

[@gilmeralarconcanari2485]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 saludos desde Perú.

[@SKSProps]

🙌🙌

[@user-eq4tm2qf7b]

This is great! Hiw did you make the duct tape maniquine? It looks so helpful

[@SKSProps]

Thanks! Have a friend come over to help out. You are going to want to wear long sleeves and cover your upper body with cling wrap. Duct tape can them be placed on top and once covered cut up the back and down the arms enough to get out. Then take more tape to cover the cuts and fill it with poly fill, papers, or spray foam

[@pewpew-_-2157]

does anybody know if i can use this to make am m247h machine gun from turret like jorges its not for cosplay i just rlly want to make it

[@wyattbartlett3660]

Do you think you could make a visored barbuta helmet sometime?

[@ArtWorks-bw5db]

Thank you so much for posting this! Is it okay if I ask for your opinion on using templates made by someone elses is it still cosplay if i do because i worry that my crafting is worth less because i use some else's template i do change it by adjusting the size and tweeking it to look better and paint it different but is it still just as good as everyone elses. Thank you for your videos you are a huge inspiration to me.

[@SKSProps]

I’d always recommend to start by using others templates that’s why I make so many available for free. Templates are hard but by using others you can get a grasp of how they go together. The only thing I’d say is if you are competing you need to disclose it to judges because I think that does matter.

[@ArtWorks-bw5db]

@@SKSProps Thank you so much for answering this i feel a lot better about using templates now I hope you have a merry Christmas! 😁

[@nbdysfool3]

Can you make a tutorial on Gene Simmons dragon armor and dragon boots from the 1976 tour? Thank you!

[@SoyYogui]

Could you make a tutorial for Corvo's skin from the game Dishonored?

[@TheVergil06]

Dude, they have a tutorial on that armor from Marcus

[@gilmeralarconcanari2485]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 Manifico.

[@SKSProps]

🙌🙌

[@Keito-san]

Can you make the witcher season 2 armor tutorial eva foam

[@Floki1313]

That is very helpful. I'm trying to figure out how to make Jason form Jason X. I have saved some pictures of him. But not sure how to do the mask or the metal parts on him.

[@SKSProps]

Awesome! Hope some of these tips can help you figure it out 👍

[@Floki1313]

@@SKSProps I'm having a very hard time making a template for the mask

[@SKSProps]

@@Floki1313 check out punished props Bill did a half dome mask for a different character you could use as a base.

[@Floki1313]

@@SKSProps ok thank you so much. I want to cosplay as Jason X because you don't really see it and it's one of my favorite movies

[@ijustwanttobehappy8605]

next content how about human skull mask with moveable jaw. that would be great

[@agente.patogeno]

Hello, do you plan to make the whole costume including the helmet? By the way, I love your projects.

[@SKSProps]

I plan on making all of the armor but Marcus doesn't wear a helmet

[@agente.patogeno]

@@SKSProps Ok but I'm sure you'll look great thanks for leaving the templates free

[@AlexInAJacket-kw5em]

*cries in making a maze runner WCKD soldier cosplay* (I dunno how to do any of this

[@MidnightSlasher]

i would love to see how you made the theron headpiece. It looks like insulation foam covered in ... something??? and then painted

[@SKSProps]

it’s all eva foam covered with fleece and latex for the skin. same process as my WarCraft Orc you can see the steps for that on my website