- Awards: Star City Anime, 1st Place costume craftsmanship competition, Honorable mention in Masters Tsubasacon 2014
- Character(s): Mikasa Ackerman
- Series: Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin
- Estimated build duration: hundreds of hours, especially on the props
She’s a strong, protecting character who has gone through tragedy to be a talented soldier. She is imperfect, trying to muster such strength in such tragedy. I love cosplaying characters that have such strength.
I learned that I loved making heavy props with making these costumes, so I wear it every chance I get. I made mostly everything, and the 3DMG especially was a labor of love.
Can you guess what the most expensive material was?
Media/Materials used for entire costume
- Thick cardboard (for moving. I got it for free from Wine stores, who have cardboard appropriate for moving fragile items securely)
- Leather tape for the harnesses
- Paint strips and foam for swords and blades
- Used CDs, pocky boxes, and carved styrofoam for the motor
- Foam for all added parts
- Cotton for the jacket
- Pleather for skirt
- Heated transfer pattern for the Survey Corp symbol
- Black wig
- White shirt, pants and boots were pulled
Notable Construction Notes
Like any heavy-props build, weight is crucial, and materials dictate how heavy the prop is, along with how long you’ll stay on the con floor. For this build, I chose heavyweight cardboard, and it was both lightweight and durable. The core of the props were rather inexpensive. In the portfolio notes for props, I share the most expensive part, which is very reasonable. Here are more details on the 3d maneuver gear builds.
The jacket and pleather skirt was a fun build, as I explored a mix of both inexpensive and fancy materials to generate a low-status, military garment that may end up being in a Titan’s stomach.
Results
This build was what made me love heavy builds. They’re impressive, detailed, and such a stand-out in conventions. I was the proudest of the gear built. It was lightweight, durable, and any potential bend can easily make it battle damage. I could easily navigate through cons, as well as one can, wearing boxes on legs.
Mikasa was such a delight to cosplay; once Attack on Titan finishes the final season, I’m tempted to watch the entire thing again; maybe the cosplay bug bit me again for version 2.0!
Image gallery
