My Big Daddy Halloween costume was #1 on Digg.com yesterday [Archive]

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alienate

11-02-2007, 02:38 PM

Thought I'd share some pics and links of our Big Daddy/Little Sister Bioshock costume from the NYC Village Halloween Parade.

I was bummed out I missed the official 2K costume contest, since my timeline for construction had Halloween as the deadline. Ah well. Hope you like it..

Here's the Digg.com article:

http://digg.com/xbox_360/Spectacular_Bioshock_Big_Daddy_Little_Sister_Hallo ween_Costume_Pics

And the Flickr set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathan_awesome/sets/72157602822524814/

With a making of (and an instructables.com how-to coming this weekend):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathan_awesome/sets/72157602470542352/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2079/1814409066_3ac1f67e27_b.jpg

BioShockWins

11-02-2007, 05:23 PM

Nice work!
Did you e-mail our Admin yet?
She'll put them up on the CoR main site.

alienate

11-02-2007, 05:27 PM

Yeah, Mona (Little Sister) did yesterday, but haven't heard back anything.

BioShockWins

11-02-2007, 05:30 PM

It takes time.
She's usually swamped with requests for free stuff. ;)

Feist

11-03-2007, 11:55 PM

Wow, great job! I designed the Rosie costume that got posted on the front page a few weeks back - I have to say brother, your Bouncer looks great! I *completely* understand what it took to get this done, and what's it like in the suit; congratulations!

We've got to compare notes :) :) But actually, had a few questions about the suit. It looks like you used vinyl for the overall shell - how did it hold up? How difficult is it to get in and out of? I *LOVE* the weights - we wanted to use styrofoam for our weights, but we figured it would destroy itself (Rosie uses rope to attach weights to suit). Now we have a more durable solution! I like how you handled the issue of visibility with lighting; however, I noticed on your Flickr pictures that it's difficult to see the red lights. Was there a visibility issue, or was it the flash on the camera? The paint job is very well done, and the foam is used to great effect!

Joe

Tremula Metacarpi

11-04-2007, 12:47 AM

WOW.
That looks awesome.

vrap

11-04-2007, 07:51 AM

Yeah, I've been seeing your images getting comments in other communities ;) congrats!

sinistersmog

11-04-2007, 10:14 AM

Criscokilika

11-04-2007, 01:03 PM

wow... just, wow :eek:

junoluver

11-04-2007, 04:36 PM

That must have taken SO much work. Holy cow.

Just awesome, great work. o_o

Xerxes III

11-05-2007, 05:47 PM

That is so cool.... I bet you could make some money on eBay by selling that behemoth!

Peace

alienate

11-06-2007, 06:38 PM

It looks like you used vinyl for the overall shell - how did it hold up? How difficult is it to get in and out of? I *LOVE* the weights - we wanted to use styrofoam for our weights, but we figured it would destroy itself (Rosie uses rope to attach weights to suit). Now we have a more durable solution! I like how you handled the issue of visibility with lighting; however, I noticed on your Flickr pictures that it's difficult to see the red lights. Was there a visibility issue, or was it the flash on the camera? The paint job is very well done, and the foam is used to great effect!

Joe

Hey Joe, thanks! Your costume was pretty fricking sweet.

The vinyl held up very well, fastened with vinyl cement to itself and drilled holes with cable ties to other things. The cable ties were the hero of the day.

I wouldn't use hard styrofoam for the weights unless you're sure you won't be knocking them into things. Carving soft foam would be the way to go, and it takes painting well. I used soft foam strips for the armbands.

You can't see the red lights due to the flash, they were very visible in the relative dark of the parade. I think there's a couple shots of black with red spots. That's the eye glow hehe.

Next time around, I'd make either a one-way view port like theme park characters use, or hook up a webcam/mini lcd screen to see. The eyelets don't provide enough visibility to get around on your own.

It's not that bad to get in and out of, you just sort of dive into the suit as it's upside down and lift it over your head, then slide your arms through the arm-holes. That part needed some help, as the added bulk of the black suit made it tricky to get the arms through by myself. Then the arm bands are slipped on. I do need to get a better way of fastening the bands, I noticed they slipped while I was walking around and we needed to do some on-site fixing to keep them in place.

bioshock_fan

11-06-2007, 06:42 PM

Alienate- Nice job with the costume man;) ! I'm definitely putting this on my "day in the life" thread:D ! Certainly looks like it would have taken a lot of work to re-create it so perfectly:eek: ! Congrats!

alienate

11-06-2007, 06:46 PM

Wow that is one of the best Big Daddy Costumes I've seen before.

A few questions though.

1. How do you see through it?
2. How do you get in it?
3. How much overall did it cost
4. What is everything made of?

Anyways amazing costume.

Thanks!

1. Not very well.
2. Sort of diving into it while it's upside down on the ground, then lifting it over your head. There's some new pics in my "making of" on my flickr site linked in the OP where I put the suit on.
3. I don't want to think about it. I wasted a lot of money because I didn't really know what I was doing so I bought a lot of stuff I didn't use, and figured out cheaper ways to do things after the fact. It was a few hundred at least.
4. Vinyl, plastic, foam of various sorts and densities, chipboard for the drill and the waistband and a few other spots, PVC plumbing fixtures, PVC tubing, cable ties, security camera domes, a worklight reflector for the tank top, a 5-gallon bucket, foamcore for reinforcement, batting filler fluff stuff for furniture, battery-powered fluorescent lamps, red acetate, erm.. And various other things I'm forgetting at the moment :)

alienate

11-06-2007, 06:47 PM

That must have taken SO much work. Holy cow.

A month and a half, about.

bioshock_fan

11-06-2007, 06:47 PM

I don't know if you already mentioned this, but how long did it take to completely finish the costume?

bioshock_fan

11-06-2007, 06:49 PM

A month and a half, about.

Lolz, you just answered my question:D - At the same time I posted it:eek: ! Schweeet:p !

alienate

11-06-2007, 06:49 PM

I don't know if you already mentioned this, but how long did it take to completely finish the costume?

About a month and a half, all told. Though most of the work in the beginning was planning and trying to figure out what and how to make the thing. So it was mostly a couple nights a week and weekends to start. Things got really insane the last week. I was working on it up until about 5pm Halloween night.

bioshock_fan

11-06-2007, 06:55 PM

About a month and a half, all told. Though most of the work in the beginning was planning and trying to figure out what and how to make the thing. So it was mostly a couple nights a week and weekends to start. Things got really insane the last week. I was working on it up until about 5pm Halloween night.

Was that your deadline for the costume?

alienate

11-06-2007, 06:56 PM

Was that your deadline for the costume?

Yep, I was making it for the NYC Village Halloween Parade, which started at 6pm Halloween night.

StevetheBigDaddy

11-06-2007, 07:02 PM

You did an excellent job too. XP
A month...I don't think I could stay hooked on it that long.

ROSIE COSTUME PLZ <D>

alienate

11-07-2007, 12:12 PM

Hehe, yeah it was definitely challenging. And stressful. Etc.

collegehumor.com is coming by tomorrow morning to do a little interview about the costume. The internets is yay.

bioshock_fan

11-07-2007, 04:36 PM

Hehe, yeah it was definitely challenging. And stressful. Etc.

collegehumor.com is coming by tomorrow morning to do a little interview about the costume. The internets is yay.

Your an internet celebrity now, lol:D ! Anyways, you deserve all of the fame as you put alot of time and effort into designing the costume! Just look out for the paparazzi:p !

http://www.jossip.com/gossip/Paparazzi%20--%20sm%20rec.jpg

OMG they are everywhere:eek: !

StevetheBigDaddy

11-07-2007, 04:39 PM

collegehumor.com is coming by tomorrow morning to do a little interview about the costume. The internets is yay.
You deserve it. X>
The internets is yay with a touch of E-drama icing here and there.

alienate

11-07-2007, 06:35 PM

Thanks!

I'll let you all know how the interview goes. Should be amusing at the very least. :rolleyes:

Admiral_Needa

11-07-2007, 11:59 PM

Feist

11-08-2007, 12:36 AM

Hey Joe, thanks! Your costume was pretty fricking sweet.

The vinyl held up very well, fastened with vinyl cement to itself and drilled holes with cable ties to other things. The cable ties were the hero of the day.

I wouldn't use hard styrofoam for the weights unless you're sure you won't be knocking them into things. Carving soft foam would be the way to go, and it takes painting well. I used soft foam strips for the armbands.

You can't see the red lights due to the flash, they were very visible in the relative dark of the parade. I think there's a couple shots of black with red spots. That's the eye glow hehe.

Next time around, I'd make either a one-way view port like theme park characters use, or hook up a webcam/mini lcd screen to see. The eyelets don't provide enough visibility to get around on your own.

It's not that bad to get in and out of, you just sort of dive into the suit as it's upside down and lift it over your head, then slide your arms through the arm-holes. That part needed some help, as the added bulk of the black suit made it tricky to get the arms through by myself. Then the arm bands are slipped on. I do need to get a better way of fastening the bands, I noticed they slipped while I was walking around and we needed to do some on-site fixing to keep them in place.

I agree, soft foam is definitely the way to go. Lucky me, the wife is an interior designer, and distributors LOVE packing with that stuff.

Oh god, no. Now you've got me scouring the web for spy cameras and LCD screens!! :P Actually, that's a great idea. We're working on a Bouncer design to complement my new Rosie, and visibility was a big issue (since we want to light each porthole independently); mounting a small camera might just do the trick. It's actually not too pricey (considering the outfit), and would be easy enough to hide.

If you're going to revisit the outfit, I would consider a permanent attachment of the armbands to the outer suit. You could also go the way of industrial-strength velcro, button snaps, or hot glue.

You were talking about getting it ready right up to the parade. Same here - we were hot gluing belts on right before the show, and DURING the show one of my hoses fell out; we were super-gluing the hose in place right before we got on stage!! :)

Feist

11-08-2007, 12:42 AM

alienate

11-08-2007, 08:55 AM

That is definitely the best Big Daddy costume I've seen, hands down. :cool:

More questions:

-How much did it weigh?
-Where did you get the dimensions/measurements from? Or did you just guess?
-Did you hook up an audio track to make the BD moaning sounds?
-Have you thought about using a car's backup camera with monitor to see through the helmet?
-How many people in the parade knew what you were?

Lastly...... How do you go the bathroom (http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13518)in that thing? :p

Thanks!

-I'm bad with guessing weight, but I could easily lift the thing over my head to slide it on. So maybe 30 pounds. If I had a scale I'd measure it but I don't.
-I based all the measurements proportionally off the dome. There are (at least) three different non-elite Big Daddy Bouncer designs, the in-game, the LE figure, and the life-sized in-store statues. I used bits from each but tried to stick to the in-game and in-store mostly. Mostly though, I just made things up as I went. I had no idea what I was doing ;)
-No audio track. With more time/money that would have been an option, but I was still trying to assemble the cage on the day of the parade, and the patina hadn't even set as I loaded the suit into the cab.
-I think a car backup cam/screen might be impractical. I feel there'd be easier and cheaper ways to get, say, a USB webcam plugged into some sort of battery-operated portable video device.
-From what I was told by people who could see, and what I could hear, lots of people knew who I was. People who didn't know asked, and still didn't know, but said they liked the costume anyway. Some old dude on the street thought I was an astronaut :)

alienate

11-08-2007, 08:57 AM

Lastly...... How do you go the bathroom (http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13518)in that thing? :p

Almost forgot. The painter's suit I wore underneath zipped all the way down to the crotch. No problems there. The bigger problem was drinking, I didn't rig anything up for hydration. That took me out of the parade early from dehydration.

alienate

11-08-2007, 09:04 AM

I agree, soft foam is definitely the way to go. Lucky me, the wife is an interior designer, and distributors LOVE packing with that stuff.

Oh god, no. Now you've got me scouring the web for spy cameras and LCD screens!! :P Actually, that's a great idea. We're working on a Bouncer design to complement my new Rosie, and visibility was a big issue (since we want to light each porthole independently); mounting a small camera might just do the trick. It's actually not too pricey (considering the outfit), and would be easy enough to hide.

If you're going to revisit the outfit, I would consider a permanent attachment of the armbands to the outer suit. You could also go the way of industrial-strength velcro, button snaps, or hot glue.

You were talking about getting it ready right up to the parade. Same here - we were hot gluing belts on right before the show, and DURING the show one of my hoses fell out; we were super-gluing the hose in place right before we got on stage!! :)

Haha! Nice. Yeah, I actually had industrial velcro, but cut it out of the assembly stage due to time constraints. It was one of those, ah well, let's just wing it and hope nothing explodes things.

I don't think you'd need to light each port independently, unless you found some neat way to do that (we were trying out push-button battery lights that you see on TV for like, closets and stuff, but they were LED lights and very dim. Check out my "making of" set, there's a bunch of pics of my lighting setup, which I thought worked very well. The red lights were very visible in the suit, they just don't come out in the flash pics. If you think of another solution that works better let me know!

In other news, any thoughts on what I should do with the thing now? A lot of people are suggesting I try to sell it on eBay or something. I don't really want to let it go since we spent so much time on it, but I have a very small apartment with no storage, so I'm kinda at a loss as to what to do with it... I don't know of any conventions around NYC to go to, and no car limits traveling the country on a Big Daddy tour. Though that would be fun. Scaring the heck out of hicks in Boise. RAR!

alienate

11-08-2007, 09:08 AM

I had a double zipper on the coveralls,

Oh, one last note alienate - if you were having problems with the lens fogging up, rub a thin layer of liquid dish soap on the inside of the lens. Works great!

I wish I'd gone with coveralls. I was trying to save $, but ended up not being worth it.

OH YEAHHHH, liquid dish soap is the ONLY defogger that actually works. But I didn't think about condensation until after it started to fog up and it was too late :/

Back when I used to play ice hockey and had those clear I-Tech face shields, we tried every anti-fog goop we could find, and clear dish soap was the only thing that worked. Good call, I'd forgotten about the wonders of dish soap :)

PlushZombie

11-08-2007, 09:31 AM

Woah.

Way to make my costume look like crap...Great job!

alienate

11-08-2007, 11:02 AM

Woah.

Way to make my costume look like crap...Great job!

I aim to please :D

biohazzard

11-08-2007, 10:39 PM

O_o
M O G!

Feist

11-09-2007, 12:42 AM

Haha! Nice. Yeah, I actually had industrial velcro, but cut it out of the assembly stage due to time constraints. It was one of those, ah well, let's just wing it and hope nothing explodes things.

I don't think you'd need to light each port independently, unless you found some neat way to do that (we were trying out push-button battery lights that you see on TV for like, closets and stuff, but they were LED lights and very dim. Check out my "making of" set, there's a bunch of pics of my lighting setup, which I thought worked very well. The red lights were very visible in the suit, they just don't come out in the flash pics. If you think of another solution that works better let me know!

In other news, any thoughts on what I should do with the thing now? A lot of people are suggesting I try to sell it on eBay or something. I don't really want to let it go since we spent so much time on it, but I have a very small apartment with no storage, so I'm kinda at a loss as to what to do with it... I don't know of any conventions around NYC to go to, and no car limits traveling the country on a Big Daddy tour. Though that would be fun. Scaring the heck out of hicks in Boise. RAR!
wish I'd gone with coveralls. I was trying to save $, but ended up not being worth it.

OH YEAHHHH, liquid dish soap is the ONLY defogger that actually works. But I didn't think about condensation until after it started to fog up and it was too late :/

Back when I used to play ice hockey and had those clear I-Tech face shields, we tried every anti-fog goop we could find, and clear dish soap was the only thing that worked. Good call, I'd forgotten about the wonders of dish soap

Gotcha completely. I was going nuts the week before trying to figure out the backplate of the Rosie. There's this wicked-looking baton thing (anyone know what the functionality of this is? Kind of looks like a vent or something), and all sorts of tubing hooking to the back (along with the air tank). We made the baton thingy, but it turned out REALLY bad and figured "screw it, we can live without it." In the end, we just hooked up the air tank (a trick in and of itself - thank god for zip ties!) and it looked great. We're working on the designs now for "Rosie Mark II", which is going to be a complete makeover of the outfit, so we'll be adding the backplate items in again. But about the armbands, funny story: we're doing some last minute attaching, and tying on the weights on the arm. My wife busts out the hot glue gun and drops a bit on some spots; little did she know how HOT that glue was; I now have this great scar on the back of my arm where the glue cooled off!!!

What I was thinking about for lighting was hooking up 1-2 5mm LEDs on each lens edge. The lens would actually be 2 pieces; an outer clear lens, and an inner lexan piece with 1-way visibility. The bulbs would be inserted between the two sheets, so that the light comes through and the bulbs are not visible. That, or EL sheets wrapping the edges beneath a slightly frosted lens. The wiring is actually really simple; you just need to make sure that you have the LEDs hooked up in the correct series, solder in some resistors, and link in the power source. You may need to split it into multiple sets of batteries, but the switch can be soldered to all sets and control all the lights. The end result would be clean, bright, low-powered, lightweight, and durable.

The coveralls are completely worth it. I ended up going through Dickie's Direct, since they were the only folks who had my size (I'm a big bastard, needed 60L!); but there are several places on the web that sell coveralls dirt cheap. you can also find some great used coveralls at the local Goodwill/Hospice stores, and those go for pennies.

Yeah, I wish I had thought of it too. :P I forgot about it before I put it on; by that point, there was no use. The fogging didn't actually bother me as much as the HEAT. I was cooking in that thing - I think I lost 5 lbs just walking around in it! I'm SERIOUSLY considering some 120mm computer fans in my Mark II. :P

LOL! Just take it on the subway! *ahem* leave the drill, though - NYC cops might not appreciate that part :P Honestly, I don't know what to tell you there. You can sell it, keep it, or toss it (not recommended). I personally kept mine; I put all the foldable and small stuff in a Rubbermaid bin in my closet, the parts and materials in a second bin, and the helmet is sitting in my bedroom; we're thinking about getting a mannequin and throwing it on it, but I think our dogs might freak out . :P Maybe hang it from the ceiling, like a bike? :)

For me, this is just the first of many outfits. We have plans to make this a full time hobby, maybe even a side-business. We have a lot of friends that do cosplay and such, and are always looking for someone to help with their costume. We just so happen to have the resources, time, and drive to do it. Our first priority is to remake the Rosie into our original vision; then we're working on a Bouncer. After that, I've got friends requesting an Iron Man movie suit, Halo weapons; heck, one of my friends wants me to help him make a Gene Simmons KISS Destroyer Era outfit (which I have to say, sounds like a ton of fun!). We've got a lot of projects lined up, and I'm excited to get started.

japester

11-09-2007, 01:02 AM

alienate,
WOW! Props where props is due, my man. I've done a little costume design in the past, and this is great work. Final product looks amazing! :)

I didn't read all the replies, but I sure hope you do a version 2.0 for next year. Heh. Make better eye holes for yourself, and switch the lighting to colored LED's so you can go from "yellow and happy" to "red and menacing". :D

Thanks for sharing!

alienate

11-09-2007, 07:07 PM

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1788429

Here's that video interview. Came out kinda neat I thought.

CollegeHumor.com commenters are mean :/