Con crunch catches many cosplayers out, when things don’t go to plan or “one more thing” takes hold. It got me good at the last comic-con, as I mentioned earlier in the week. In the wee small hours of Friday into Saturday, a thought came to mind. What if con crunch was actually a mischief making character who comes to visit. I imagine them feeding on the nervous energy build-up to con and causing havoc to make that increase.
Capt Con Cruch – thanks to junkohanhero for the destroy x font and to Joanne for taking my crunch / car crash idea and bringing it to life.
Introducing Capt Con Crunch, they are the personification of the things that go wrong on a cosplay build. Paint that takes too long to dry, 3D prints that go wrong. Ideas for extra props that take hold of you so strongly, you put aside what you are working on. New techniques which you decide to use unpracticed, etc. You know the sorts of things – comment and tell me your stories.
It is like the man with the hammer who you meet on poorly planned, long bike rides.
Cycling folklore speaks of “The Man With the Hammer”. He will cause you to go from smoothly spinning your pedals to pedaling squares. He strikes when your mind takes more from legs than your body can provide.
Airbrushing at 2 am, finished at 4 am
The idea is never to meet him. Con crunch isn’t great, though the urgency of it all can feel like fun. It leads to doing things in a rush, skipping the second layer of primer etc. This time around, rather than rushing Dagur, I’ll do it properly and have a costume I’m happy with and not one I’m disappointed in.
I’ve also created a silly new character from all of this, so I expect Capt Con Crunch will return in some form over the next few months.
We made Max’s Heather costume which was a success, photos coming. My own Dagur costume got parked, as Max needed my help. This has given me time to reflect and approach building Dagur as an open learning process, aiming for May next year. Doing two at the same time was too much pressure on time and space.
There are a huge number of skills that you need to make a cosplay from scratch. I’ve made a few props and some costumes already, but there is still a lot to learn, so I’m going to take advantage of this and document my process as I complete Dagur. I need to work in a sustainable manner, not try to do everything. Con-crunch only gets you so far and some processes, like sealing, priming and painting foam have built in delays for drying.
Dagur’s Skrill emblem
So far, I’ve traced weapons shapes and armour designs from screenshots from RTTE. I’ve been using Adobe Illustrator and comparing it with Lunacy from Icons8. I’m going to make a video explaining how to trace a pattern from screen to generate a blueprint for an eva foam prop. I know there are some out there, but they seem to show everything quite quickly. So I’m going to slow it down and explain how pen tools work and about Bezier curves for people doing this for the first time.
Beyond that, I’ve taken those tracings and made 3d prints from them, in fact the Skrill about became a 3d print, as it is too fine to cut from 2 mm foam.
Then I’ll pull out over the coming weeks tutorials and examples from
different approaches to prototyping and pattern design using paper and card
Foam clay and leather work for belts and straps
a simple free 3d design workflow to create basic objects and when to use that
airbrushing, painting and weathering
I’ll create samples of these as I go showing the results from each process, as a work towards a finished costume and prop, rather than the focus being the actual finished item. Working in the open and showing my work in progress is the plan, borrowing form my day job.
I’m also going to put the patterns I have made up on Etsy, starting with the forge hammer from Leo Valdez.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have ADHD. Since then I’ve been thinking about how to better communicate how I see the world to others, so that I can work or live or hang out with them.
Over the last year or so, I’ve got back into photography, partly to film content for the upcoming electronics props course content, Update on that and cosplay character for comic-con soon. Thinking about photography and ADHD together led me to seeing ADHD as offering me a different viewpoint, which I’ll expand on over the rest of this blog post.
Camera lenses and field of view
A quick recap on how the lens on an interchangeable lens SLR or mirror-less type camera operates, as I know many people use their phone to take photos, so this is less obvious. The focal length of a camera lens determines the angle of view and thus how much of a given scene the photographer will see in the viewfinder. A wide-angle lens like a 24 mm will show more of a scene than a 105 mm telephoto lens, which will pick out detail in the scene. The image below shows an wide angle view moving through a normal view to a telephoto of my garden in late summer. The composite image ranges from 24 mm to 48 mm and through to 120 mm, I’ve used my phone to take these pictures, so the same principles apply.
three images of my garden moving from 24 mm to 48 mm to 120 mm, taken with my iPhone
The image in the middle will feel most natural to look at, as human eyesight has a normal viewpoint of around 45-50 mm.
ADHD and attention
Using the idea of field of view helps show how attention and perspective are connected. People with ADHD don’t lack attention, despite what the name suggests. In reality, we focus on many things at once or dive into one thing. Directing that attention and managing focus is what people with ADHD typically find difficult.
So in a park where there are groups of people chatting; birds flying past; the hum of the ice cream van; the cyclists and runners passing by; plus the person I’m talking to beside me. I can sense all of that. Like you would see if you looked at a wide angle picture of the park.
The trinity of lenses
In this analogy everyone gets a zoom lens to enable their perspective in the world. In professional photography there is the idea of the trinity of lenses (link to Canon, as I shoot Canon). I’ve aimed to flatten out camera gear differences in this example so that all the lenses are at the same level of quality. Everyone gets a version of the Canon L glass f 2.8 professional level lenses.
These are the pro-level ultra-wide zoom, the normal zoom and a telephoto zoom. The exact focal lengths are 15-35 mm; 24-70 mm; and 70-200 mm.
Which lenses do humans come with?
None of us, as human beings, have all three. Most people who are neurotypical have the middle one. The 24-70 mm is a fantastic lens, it’s the one most photographers aspire to first. It gives a wide angle view and a short telephoto view, plus the normal 50 mm view point in the middle. They can see the big picture from their wide angle view and dive into detail with the telephoto viewpoint. It is also just the one lens, so simple to move from overview to detail. For some neurotypical people they will think this is the only view of the world, which everyone will share.
I think people with ADHD have a different setup. They have the wide angle and telephoto pair from the above trinity. They are known for having a hyperfocus and the ability to dive right into the detail, the 70-200 mm covers that perfectly. ADHDers are also always attending to the world, as I noted above. So they see things in the environment which others can miss. This view of the world is reflected by the 15-35 mm ultra-wide zoom lens.
We can see both the wide view and the close detail from the first and last images in the set of three above, but we also have some different viewpoints.
14 mm view of my garden from same view point as the above set 200 mm viewpoint on the same area of the garden, showing the detail in the blossom on the verbena bonariensis
What those of us with ADHD lack are two things, we don’t have the 50 mm normal view point. We also need to swap lenses to move from a wide view to a deep view or interpolate to get the 50 mm viewpoint.
How does this help with communication?
Neither of these lens setups are bad. In fact they have their separate strengths, which is good as no-one can go and simply buy another lens to change their how their attention operates.
This analogy helps me understand how I see the world. It reminds me that I need to be aware of the need to swap lenses. Also that colleagues and friends might be expecting me to come from that 50 mm viewpoint. I’ll need to interpolate, not just point out the big picture or the fine detail, at 15 mm or 200 mm.
I’m aware that there are individual differences between all people. Some people without ADHD might well have a 24-105 mm lens or be able to see bit wider, some might have a tighter zoom 28-80 mm. I’m using lenses as a metaphor to show what i think is a helpful way of understanding how someone with ADHD sees the world.
I’m writing a manual of me for work and thinking about how I communicate and how to explain that I can see both big picture and also be down in the details.
If you have ADHD, does this make sense as a way of describing the world? If you work with ADHD colleagues, does this help you understand why they might sometimes answer a question with a big picture response, yet later that day give you a down in the detail answer, when you are looking for the 50 mm view?
My next character will be Dagur from the how to train your dragon tv series. I loved watching the programmes with my son Max, when he was younger. We both went to see the live action remake of the first film earlier this summer, which was also great!
Dragons: Race to the Edge
The tv programmes ran between the first and second films, expanding on the lives of Hiccup, Stoick, Astrid and all the other Berkians, with the Berserker tribe set in competition with Berk. Dagur becomes the leader of the Berserkers and over the seven series of Race to the Edge, he gradually becomes an ally to the Dragon Riders led by Hiccup. Neither Dagur, nor Heather appear in the films.
Dagur synopsis
He’s such a lovable idiot, as he reforms through the tv series. I’m going to choose how Dagur looks during the Race to the Edge seasons, when he’s trying to obtain the Dragon Eye and slowly becoming an ally to the Dragon Riders, led by Hiccup. The quote below is from the Dreamworks synopsis of Dagur for Race to the Edge.
Dagur is obsessed with Dragons and hates Hiccup. After his defeat, Dagur the Deranged was imprisoned on Outcast Island for three years. But rather than rehabilitate his fractured mind, Dagur instead focused solely on his next attack on the Dragon Riders. Dagur packed on considerable muscle during his time in jail, making him an even more formidable fighter. He finally escaped from his cell and the archipelago, eventually finding a new fleet of ships. With a new armada now under his control, Dagur is ready to launch his final assault on Hiccup and Toothless, and he’s going to use the mysterious Dragon Eye to do it.
Quick breakdown of how I’ll approach the costume
The costume has a lot of elements with a fair amount of armour and quite a centurion vibe to the look. I will also make his asymmetric double headed axe too.
Bracers
The arm bracers look simple enough, EVA foam and some straps, with the tin foil technique to make the foam look like leather. Warm the EVA foam and press the a ball of foam to make random indentations and make an edge from the sheet of foam to mimic the metal rim.
Bracers
Lower body armour
The skirt has pteruges, those heavier panels of leather with a metal edge in the image above. These are a greco-roman armour element, which Hollywood loved in its heyday. Think of Ben Hur or Spartacus. Actual archaeological evidence is scare, as linen or leather doesn’t survive. The Hollywood look is one which was led by style, rather than historical accuracy, but it is what the 20th century has left us with as Roman!
It is a little odd that Dagur, as a Viking, is cosplaying a Roman legionary. However that’s his costume, so I’ll create a panel based armour with 10-15 cm pteruges made of foam with an edge defined by a groove in the foam, rather than cutting dozens of strips and attaching them. I’ll then layer this over a short, semi a-line skirt using a pattern from New Look (6843).
Lower body armour showing ptergues
I looked a viking era dyes and materials, out of curiosity, There is a bit of disagreement over whether vikings had a reliable green dye for clothing. Some claim green came from Greater Knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa), others a yellow dye and an over dye with woad. Reeds do work as a green dye, but this wasn’t found until later. So it’s a little unclear if that green could have existed, but it’s a good colour, so we’ll use it. I should be using either linen or wool, but I’ll cheat a little and use a lighter fabric, as comic-con at the Excel is warm, even in October.
October update: I found a lovely video of viking dyeing processes, showing blue dyes and examples of greens on the table.
Lastly there is the body armour. I’ve spent a lot of time watching RTTE to figure out how the different panels work and how many layers there are at front and back. My understanding is that there is a shoulder piece, then a front and back panel which link through the strap you can see in the photo. They then connect to the cuirass, which is in close to the body. I’ve probably spent most time thinking about how this works and how to assemble it. I’ll use a mixture of worbla for the main shoulder section and 3 and 5mm foam for the rest of the armour.
Dagur in armour
Cardboard prototyping has been really helpful in figuring out how the different sections work together and which layers interconnect.
Boots
The boots are a fabric wrap with an armoured panel, similar to the bracers. Leggings will be bought woollen stockings and then there are also metal knee pads, which I’ll make from EVA foam.
Double headed axe
The double headed axe is a type of bearded axe or Skeggox, skegg is beard and ox is axe. These alledgedly come from wood working tools, but make for a good and dramatic weapon. Dagur’s is suitably large and has a fun shape, if not one that’s particularly historically accurate, but as a cosplay prop, it’s brilliant.
Metal wrapped axe head shafts in reproduction on right and the archaeological find from Langeid on left
The main purpose of the leather or metal wrapping is to strengthen the shaft in its narrowest part, which is most prone to cracking. An important fact is that metal-wrapped axes are basically always mounted from the top and not from the bottom. When mounted from below, the length of the entire shaft must be narrowed to the size of the axe eye. The installation from above allows the manufacturer and the user that the shaft does not have to be thinned along its entire length – it is thinned only at the intended top and at this point it is reinforced with sheet metal
I can imagine the heavy double headed axe which Dagur wields would benefit from this design approach, so i’m going to borrow this idea and retrofit it to the axe design. Looking at the screengrab above, I think it’s reasonable, as the handle for the axe does widen towards his hand.
Wrap up
I realise I am doing historical research on a tv programme which has flying dragons in it, but I’m enjoying this process and feel like it’s getting me into the character. Five weeks to comic-con and I’ve got materials and patterns bought or made for the main items and made a cardboard mock up of the main armour.
I’m also going to make the Dragon Eye, but more on that later in the week.
A few years ago, pre-Covid, I did a quick screener for ADHD. I got quite a high score and I considered getting an assessment. However, we’d just moved house, I changed jobs later that year and then Covid arrived. So I left it for a while, yet with the background notion that I could have ADHD. I’d get to planning an assessment, but this would take time. Waiting list times for assessment on the NHS were already long back then.
Over the summer I’ve finally had that assessment and I do have ADHD. In between there’s been a lot of coordination between lots of different NHS and private medical practitioners. Most of the assessment has been private, but initiated from my GP practice via a referral.
Fixing my eyes first
Starting with my eyes, I have a family history of glaucoma. My optician got his optometrist to assess the angles in my eyes to see if I could develop glaucoma later in life. ADHD medication generally increases intraocular eye pressure, which can cause the same outcome as glaucoma. I’ve got the narrow angles, so needed to have peripheral iridotomy. This is a laser operation on my eyes to create a drain to allow the fluid to cycle and not let pressure build up.
On the way to that in January, my right eye decided that it needed a starring role. The vitreous fluid inside my eye detached and made a small tear in my retina. A call to 111, then a video consultation with Moorfields suggested strongly that I needed to get the swirly black spots checked and treated.
I saw my optician the next morning who confirmed the horseshoe shaped tear in my retina. If untreated this could lead to a detached retina. I was able to get laser eye surgery (retinopexy) that afternoon, which was good, if slightly too much in less than 24 hours.
If you are in your 40s or older and you suddenly see swirly black shapes, contact your optician!
Getting to a diagnosis
With that fixed properly, via a second round of surgery in February, I was able to get the peripheral iridotomy in the spring. That just left coordinating between my GP, therapist, psychiatrist and assessing clinical psychologists. Last autumn, my psychiatrist indicated that I probably had ADHD. This encouraged me to get the eye surgery. However there’s a key computer based test requied to get a formal diagnosis, which I needed a different provider to do for me.
I’ve now had my assessment and as part of that you do a development review to show that the symptoms have come with you from childhood. My mum as part of this told me that an educational psychologist said I was a bit hyper, when I was eight. That was quite a while ago, so it’s good that mental health awareness has improved somewhat since the late 70s.
My being hyper was never picked up and quietly forgotten about. In my teens, 20s, 30s and into my 40s, despite recurrent anxiety and intermittent depression, I didn’t connect it to that primary school assessment. GPs were and still are quick to write it down as stress.
Diagnosed, but not done yet
I’m now at the diagnosed and awaiting ADHD medication part of the journey. I have Combined type ADHD. I believe I’ve got a shared care arrangement agreed, if not completely established between my GP practice and my psychiatrist. Shared care allows medicine to be prescribed from an NHS GP, but be managed by a psychiatrist. This is not always possible, as funding and local policy sometimes get in the way of Right to choose.
Work are being supportive and understanding, having supported other neurodiverse colleagues. There has been quite a bit of re-processing, alongside a bit of burnout, looking back at things which have happened and realising that it was ADHD. I’m getting good support and finding compassion focused therapy very helpful. Finding things like goblin tools and Endel which seem to be helping too.
Alongside this I’ve been giving a hand with the ADHD Pathfinding team. They are looking at why this process is so difficult and puts such a large volume of admin and chasing on to the person who might have ADHD. Aiming to understand the current experience and show how it can be improved. It’s been great to join a few calls where everyone has ADHD.
I’m seeing my diagnosis as a point of renewal, an opportunity to understand myself better and make the best of my strengths with therapy and medication supporting where ADHD makes things harder.
Much as I liked the earlier “code and components” branding, I’ve decided to change to a more straightforward gavinmakes. This is also the new handle for my main YouTube channel too.
So that allows for gavinmakes 2040cosplay and gavinmakes 2ndmagpiefilms (in time).
The main thing I’ve been working on in the intervening time has been a YouTube based course on how to make props with LEDs, sounds and buttons. I like teaching people how to do things in my job. From looking at youtube and going to comic-con, I think there is a gap on the electronics side of cosplay, which hopefully I can help fill.
I’ve got 12 episodes planned, which will grow, as I continue developing the material. I’m focusing on blaster type props, but will also cover swords and similar weapons, as I’ve made both types. It will cover
RGB LEDs from strips to individual one
Power management and power sources
Buttons as triggers and power on or mode selection
Amplifiers, speakers and making sounds
Which micro-controller to use
What kit you need covering soldering and no soldering options
How to put it all together into a prop
Programming the prop in circuit python
I should have the first videos starting this May, this autumn, as ADHD slightly got in the way. If there are things you’d like to see me cover, then please do add a comment.
Next is a build for comic-con, actually completing Buggy, but also possibly a new character, Stoick!
I’ve started scripting videos for my you tube channel on 2040cosplay and have got drafts for the following.
glues, primers and why they are complex and country specific with a guide to each country
Which microcontroller to chose for different lights and sounds props
Expanding on the microcontrollers video to show five different ways to include lights
How to put sounds into props
Let me know which of them sound the most useful?
I’ve also been learning a huge amount about making videos, recording audio, lighting, scripting, editing and generally setting up a youtube channel. There is a LOT to think about. I’ve also had the most shocking sinusitis, thankfully that was back in June.
It was great to go to the launch of the Artangel show “Come as you really are“, last week in Croydon. So many amazing objects in one room. Such a lot of creativity which Hetain Patal managed to bring into one building. The Guardian review writes nicely about the quiet sense of joy which the exhibition offers.
Above is the sword hanging below a sesame st sign and below is the hammer hanging out with Pikachu.
I’m delighted to say that 2040cosplay work is going to be in an art exhibition. The Blackcliff slasher great sword from Genshin Impact and the forge hammer from Leo Valdez have been selected to be in “Come As You Really Are“, run by Hetain Patel for ArtAngel.
The show opens on 18 July 2024 with 1000s of objects from hobbyists filling the space of Grants of Croydon in an exhibition that celebrates everyday creativity.
Blackcliff slasher
It’s been a lovely experience to take part in and I’m looking forward to going to the opening with Max. Really pleased to see the props get another showing outside of comic-con. Last night at the Cosplay Academy there was a good conversation about getting outside of the pure-con focus that cosplay can generate. So lovely to have this opportunity already. It will be great to see the other exhibits too at the show.
Hammer and Sword
Tickets are free and available now, the show runs from 17th July until 20 October in Croydon in South London. It’s approximately a 10-12 minute walk from either West Croydon or East Croydon train stations.
I was all set to be Buggy from Onepiece, but life intervened and took me in a different direction. The clown pirate will return, probably in October or around season 2 of onepiece.
So this comic-con I’ll be playing a combination of the war journalists Lee and Joel from Alex Garland’s 2024 film Civil War. I’m in the process of setting up a youtube channel for both here and 2040cosplay, so I have a nice new camera for that. I intend to cover costumes, code and components and shoot more of the making of things, rather than write up once it is made.
I think I can play a sort of Lee as photographer with Joel as audio journalist cross with my youtube channel. We’ll see how it works.
My plan on Saturday is to walk the floors (searching for the President) and interview lots of people, then edit and post a compilation of the people I met at comic-con.
Should be fun, find me with the 2040cosplay mic flag.
gavin makes 
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