Poison Ivy’s Monster Staff

Methyl Ethyl Cosplay made a wonderfully creepy monster staff for her Poison Ivy costume and shared her process with us!

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Tools used:
Heat Gun
Utitility Knife
Scissors
Dremel
Sandpaper
Rolling Pin
Sculpting Tools
Spoon
Paint Brushes
 
 
 
 
Materials used:
Worbla
Expanding Foam
Paper Clay
Wood Filler
Styrofoam Ball
2 Polyethylene Cylinders (diameter: 1.5ā€, length: 70ā€)
3mm Craft Foam Sheets
Mod Podge
Acrylic Spray/Liquid Paints
Spray Filler Primer/Plastic Primer
Tape/Cling Wrap
Clear Acrylic Spray
Pledge Floor Care

I began by making the monster head.

First I took the Styrofoam ball and cut it in half. Using a spoon I hollowed out each half to create the mouth area. I then heated scrap strips of Worbla with a heat gun and connected the two halves by adhering them to the Styrofoam, while holding the halves into the desired position (creating an open mouth effect) and letting the Worbla cool. Once cooled, the base head shape was complete.

Next I used rocks to hold the Styrofoam base in place (mouth down) and sprayed the back of the head with expanding foam. Once dried, I carved the foam with a utility knife and smoothed it with sandpaper. I then repeated the process on the front of the head around the mouth area, propping it up with rocks, spraying it with expanding foam and carving/sanding it once dry. I filled in the grooves left from air pockets in the foam with wood filler.
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This next step is optional, but I wanted to achieve a smoother surface before covering the head with Worbla, so I took paper clay and rolled it into a very thin sheet with a rolling pin. I then covered the outside of the head with the clay sheet, let it dry, and sanded it smooth. Next, using my heat gun I covered the outside of the head and the inside of the mouth with Worbla.
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To make the lips I measured the lengths I would need to cover the bottom and top edges of the mouth. I cut the end of one of the polyethylene cylinders to the length of the longer of the two lip measurements. Using scissors I then cut this cylinder in half, width-wise, to create the base of the top and bottom lips. I further cut the lips into shape, tapering the ends, and making sure each fit around the mouth edges properly. I then covered the lips with Worbla and adhered them to the head via heat.

Next I sprayed expanding foam onto a work surface (I used carboard) into the rough shape of a tongue. Once dried, I carved and sanded the tongue into shape using a utility knife/sandpaper. I filled in any grooves with wood filler.
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Using the same method as before, I rolled paper clay into a thin sheet using a rolling pin. I covered the tongue with the sheet, let it dry and sanded it smooth. Then, using paper clay, I made teeth and plant tendrils to cover the top and bottom of the head.
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Finally, I covered the tongue, teeth and tendrils with Worbla and adhered them to the head via heat. I heated scrap strips of Worbla and rolled them into thin cylinders and created organic root/vine-like details snaking off of the head tendrils; and with that the head was complete.
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Now, to form the rod of the staff I took the two polyethylene cylinders and cut them to the desired length. Using my Dremel I narrowed the cylinders in the grip area of the staff so that, once formed, my hand would be able to fit comfortably around it. I cut leaves out of EVA foam to attach to the staff (4 for the base of the staff and two for the middle section of the staff). Using my heat gun I then covered each cylinder with Worbla. (*Note: polyethylene does not take to heat well and does deform when it gets too hot. This step has to be done with caution. If I were to try this again I would experiment with wrapping the cylinders in duct tape to mitigate the heat applied to the foam.)

Once the cylinders were covered, I snaked the two cylinders around each other and heat formed them together. This step takes patience. The Worbla has a tendency to rip when being twisted in this manner, so taking this step one small portion at a time (heating, carefully, intertwining and letting cool) slowly working your way along the length of the staff is highly advised. I also had to make sure I aligned the two sections I narrowed for the grip together correctly to ensure I’d have a comfortable area to hold the staff.
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To further smooth out the Worbla scrap pieces (as shown above) I later heated the area and smoothed out the edges with sculpting tools.
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My staff was then fully constructed:
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Thanks again to Methyl Ethyl Cosplay for sharing this with us!

Embossing Worbla with a Die Cut Machine

Xaljira Cos(tumes) recently shared this quick tutorial on how they used their Sizzix machine to emboss their Worbla for their Phoenix Staff, pictured below:

The Embossing Process:


It is actually a very simple process if you happen to own an embossing tool like a Sizzix (I own this one) You simply cut the Worbla to the size of the textured impression folder – that’s the plastic thing on the left. Then you warm up the Worbla, don’t overdo it, and place it in the folder and run it through the machine.


You can see above that it works with Worblas Finest Art, Worblas Black Art and Worblas TranspaArt.


Once you’ve embossed the Worbla you can reheat it and form it into any shape you want as long as you don’t press on it too much.

When I first tried this I was concerned that the Worbla might stick to the folder after having been pressed onto it so hard, but if you let the WFA cool down a little before you open the folder, there’s no stickiness problem at all. With WBA and WTA you don’t even have to wait for it to cool because both materials are less sticky than WFA.

About the staff:

The staff itself is a paper tube, thickened at the top and bottom with foam and then covered with WFA, which I embossed with my Sizzix embossing tool. The glowing flowers are made of WTA that I first painted with yellow glass paint, then cut to size and heat-shaped before hot gluing it onto a push-light. The petals around the flowers are once again made from WFA. On the staff is an acrylic sphere filled with a Mini-Led chain and painted with glass paints. The cage sphere around that is made from leftover WFA rolled into long strings and formed over a bigger acrylic ball.

With thanks to Xaljira Cos(tumes) for sharing this with us!

TranspArt Examples

When standard Acrylic isn’t viable, Worbla’s TranspArt (WTA) is a clear thermoplastic that offers amazing flexibility and resilience that is solvent-stable, as well as Non-Toxic and Skin-Safe. TranspArt can be vacuformed, both on an actual machine/table as well as by hand with simple tools, can be tinted and dyed, and is incredibly difficult to tear, dent or rip. Look below to see examples of what our customers have done with our product.

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Ice Queen Original Design by Alix Cosplay. TranspArt ice details on the crown, collar, scepter, and shoes.
Photos by Martin Wong, Sometimes I Cosplay Photography, and Obscura Vista

Stella Chuu (also on Instagram) used TranspArt for her Saikizo Frozen Witch headpiece. With photos from Anna Fischer photography, Kaze Photography, and Jwai design

These amazing Coffee Splash and Milk Pour props are frozen in time and made from Worbla’s Transpa Art and Worbla’s Deco Art. Finished with Heritage glass stain and acrylic varnish. Created by Rochelle Redgard with Lida Marx from The Worx Distribution.

Abraham Levy created these amazing TranspArt water pieces, inspired by designer Iris Van Herpen. Videos can be seen here, here, and here. The yellow dress was created for Shea Couleé and used in her Crème Brûlée video seen here (explicit), the pink dress was photographed by thedragphotographer and featured on Drag Race All Stars 4 seen here.

Kuchiki Rukia Bankai Version by LadyShuCosplay, photos by Harui.

Zeratul’s Blade by Nightshift Cosplay

This amazing crystal sabretooth skull was created by Naruvien Art&Design using Worbla’s TranspArt and Worbla’s Finest art, and has a red and green led for interior lighting!

Here’s a video of the lights in action!

Erza Cosplay used Transpart and Worbla’s Finest Art for her Heavy Luminescence Armor and Sword from Guild Wars 2.

TranspArt rose by Calypsen Cosplay

TranspArt Phoenix Headpiece by Gothichamlet of Cowbuttcrunchies.

Celestial Staff by Whimsy-Mimsy, dyed with iDye Poly

TranspArt Visor with Worbla Helmet, and Demon Horns by Melting Props, Cosplay and Projects

These ice crowns were made by Lightning Cosplay

LED Butterfly Wings by Whimsy-Mimsy Cosplay.

TranspArt Bluebird headpiece by Atelier Licorice.

Javakat Cosplay created these glowing apples from Once Upon A Time with TranspArt.

Omni Blade from Mass Effect by Vmachina.

Dungeons and Dragons Rose Cross by Careko

Dragoon Meru from Legend of Dragoon bySpyrah. Wings made from TranspArt, armor made from Worbla’s Finest.

TranspArt flowers and leaves pressed into sillicone moulds, by Worbla Latinoamerica

Worbla’s Finest art bracers covered in TranspArt for an ‘encased in ice’ appearance by Naruvien Art&Design

Sue Storm figure made of clay and then gently vacuformed with TranspArt. Plugsuit made with Finest Art, by the team at Cast4Art. Note the TranspArt even picked up the detail on the bra!

Aurora from Child of Light Crown and Wings made by Maija Cosplay, photos by Patrick Rotthier.