The rush is on to get the perfect Holiday gifts for the cosplayer and crafters in your life. Why not head over to Blick? Blick is the idea place to get some for the most popular crafting mediums for cosplayers.
1. EVA Foam Mats
It’s an ideal medium for beginners and experts – what they do with it only improves as their skills improve. It comes in a variety of thicknesses and is easy to cut with scissors and utility knives. After it has been cut to size, HD-Foam can be shaped easily with heat.
Because of its lightweight nature, HD-Foam is often used for making helmets, armor, prop weapons, and other items that are comfortable to wear for long periods of time. It works equally well with CA glue, super glue, hot glue, and contact cement adhesives. It also accepts a variety of paints and primers. The light gray color is perfect for tracing templates with pens and markers and seeing all of the details in work-in-progress photos and videos.
We even discuss some of our choices for EVA in this article.
2. EVA Foam Dowels
Like the material above, SKS Props HD-Foam Dowels are made from EVA and is easy to cut with scissors and utility knives. After they have been cut to size, they can be shaped easily with heat.
Dowels are great for crafting, embroidery, and adding details to props and costumes. It is smooth on both sides, and the light gray color is perfect for pattern tracing.
Available in different shapes, HD-Foam Dowels are sold in packages of two, each measuring 36″ long. They are the perfect tool for finishing or edging a project. They also come in a variety of thicknesses.
3. Foam Clay
This is used to add details to cosplays, props, craft projects, and models or for filling seams. SKS Props Lightweight Foam Clay can be pressed into molds or sculpted by hand. Water can be added to smooth it.
When dry, Foam Clay cures into a dense material resembling EVA foam, and can be cut, sanded, glued, primed, and painted.
Foam Clay air-dries within 24–48 hours, depending upon the thickness of the piece being made (thicker pieces will take longer to dry).
4. Crafting Foam
You’d be surprised how many cosplayers use the same foam sheets you used in grade school. These can be used for a variety of purposes from creating a smooth outer skin to creating small intricate details
Create bright, glittering designs, multicultural faces and figures, and more with fun and flexible. The sheets cut easily with scissors, and pieces can be glued or sewn together. The water-resistant foam sheets are 1/16″ thick.
5. Worbla
Worbla is a Thermoplastic sheet that can be shaped by hand without requiring special safety equipment. It activates at 195°F (90°C), and has a working period of minutes, depending upon the thickness of the piece and the ambient room temperature. Worbla is a great cosplay crafting material because it takes complex curves without requiring a vacuform, and is self-adhesive (Sticks nicely to itself).
Typically a heat gun can be used to shape it; however, hot air, water, an iron, or steam can also be used. There’s no waste because scraps can be conditioned and 100% reblended, and leftovers can be molded to perform like putty.
Worbla Sheets can be painted with just about any paint, wax, or finish. Its natural texture means it can be primed before painting with a variety of methods. They can be heated and endlessly with no foreseeable shelf life. It is a favorite for cosplay.
6. Heat Gun
Of course if you are going to buy them Worbla to work with you need to ensure they have a heat gun. They can also be used to quickly dry paint or foam clay but they can also be used to heat and shape the EVA Foam
7. Scissors
Working with and shaping the various medias required good cutting implements. And you can’t go wrong with a good pair of shears, whether you are buying for a cosplayer, crafter, seamstress or just purchasing them for general use.
8. Cutting Mat
No one even thinks about cutting mats until they realize they have destroyed their table top. A durable cutting mat can save a crafter a lot of grief.
