Cosplay help - Miqo'te Hair and Ears!

[LillithCale]

*waves*

Hi there, I'm a first time Cosplayer, and I'd like to cosplay my character Lillith for one of the days at the festival, however, I am running into the issue of being unable to find both a decent wig for her hair style and finding something suitable for miqo'te ears that can be attached to a wig.

As far as craftsmanship goes...well, let's just say my ingame crafting classes don't reflect my real life ability. Most of the time I try to make something it tends to spontaneously burst into flame. (I should really have that looked into...)

Are there any suggestions on where I can go to purchase a good wig for my character, ears included, or a good wig and a good set of ears to go with it?

[Ryuko]

Hi, Lilith. Maybe I can help. For cosplay wigs, I would suggest going to this website: http://shop.cosplay.com/wigs.html ... They have nice, affordable wigs for the cosplay community. In case you didn't know, it's attached to a site entirely devoted to cosplay, and for your more complicates questions, you may wish to make a thread there. Be sure to include reference photos, as not everyone is knowledgable about FFXIV.

Unfortunately, I don't know any places that sell wigs with ears ALREADY on them. What I did is attach the ears myself. If you are cosplaying your character, I can only assume you will be buying some sort of fur for your tail, so you can create your own ears using that exact fur... (which fits in with how the colors of your fur work ingame as well). I'll explain how I attached my ears to my miqo'te wig, and maybe it will be some food for thought.

Step one: buy a Styrofoam mannequin head to place your wig on. I have one that came with a different wig a long time ago, so sadly I don't know where to get more. I don't think it would be expensive to obtain, though. Once you place your wig on the Styrofoam head, style it as you wish. I see you use the short hairstyle, so no styling will be necessary. I use the pigtail one with braids so I needed to style that before moving on.

Step two: measure and cut out a triangle from the fur that will be the 'outside' of the ear (will be facing in, however). You can judge the exact size you want by holding up the triangle you have cut out against the wig on the mannequin head, because this will simulate how it will look on your head. If you are unsure about sizes, I would suggest cutting out a piece of 'test' paper first before actually using your fabric.

Step two: cut some thick-ish wire (can buy at a jewelry or craft store), and bend it into the shape of the outer edge of the fur. Place it on the WRONG side of the fabric (the non-furry side) and sew it so that it is just on the inside and won't show. The purpose of this is to keep your ear 'stiff' once you are done with it.

Step three: now it is time to create the inside of the ear. Using what you've already done as a template, cut some fabric that you'd like to use for the inside of the ear. It should be flesh-colored, or at least an approximation of your own skin tone. When sewing this onto the furry piece, be sure to fold over the edges so that the seam is perfect, and stray fibers don't hang out. Once this is made, you should have a little cone-shaped ear.

Step three: buy some stuffing (once again, can be found at a craft store) because you will need this to give your ear some life. Using your own discretion, stuff the ear as much or as little as you like to. Then, cut out a piece of fabric for the bottom to keep the stuffing from falling out. (This piece of fabric will be the one completely laying flat against the wig, if that makes any sense.) As before, be sure to fold the fabric IN as you are sewing so there are no sloppy fibers hanging out. Pins are helpful.

Step four: the most annoying one! It's time to sew the ears onto the wig. This is why the Styrofoam head is so important. What you want to do is position the ears ON the head AND keep them there so that you can be sure you put them in the right place before sewing them on. I used a LOT of pins and stuck them DIRECTLY into the Styrofoam head, THROUGH the wig. Keep in mind that wigs are made up of strips of elastic covered by fake hair, so you'll want at least a few parts of your ear to be attached to those elastic bands, otherwise your ear will move. Just something to be mindful of.

Step five: once all the pins are stuck into the mannequin head, slowly slide the wig off. You must do this slowly or the pins will come out of the ears/wig and force you to start over. Now, tack the corners of the ears so that they are in place enough for you to actually sew on all of the edges. Do this with both ears, holding the wig in your hands. Once you are done with your sewing, the ears will seem as though they have smoothly transitioned into the wig, or your character's 'head'. Be careful while sewing on the ears, as you don't want to mess up the wig styling.

Restyle the wig as needed, and place it back on the Styrofoam head. The Styrofoam head will help keep your wig and ears intact during travel, so be sure to have a miniature box (possibly the one it came in) to store it in. I did a quick google search and found this... well, even if you don't buy it from them, you get an idea about what I'm saying to get: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=mannequins+head&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=32543717191&hvpos=1t3&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17038391514576295152&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_a95zpqlxd_b

Here is my character's wig, after being finished. I'm not 100% happy with the way the markers came out on the ears, but it is what it is and I'm surely not redoing them:



(Wig was on the mannequin head slightly crooked. The ears aren't actually crooked. Oops.)

Here's my FFXIV WHM 'in progress' cosplay album from last year if you are curious: https://www.facebook.com/via.sapientis/media_set?set=a.846197875977.1073741829.46603927&type=3

[LillithCale]

Thank you! This has been incredibly helpful I am not very skilled at making things, but I'd be willing to try this on a few cheaper pieces of fabric and see how it works. Worse comes to worse, I may have to just wear regular cat ears.

[Ryuko]

No problem. Good luck and I'm happy to answer questions. I don't think I'm an amazing cosplayer but I've figured out a few really nice ways to create items as needed for complex costumes, especially 'cat people'. (I did a few FFXI mithra costumes before my miqo'te one).

My best advice is... GET STARTED NOW. I always end up doing the finishing touches on my costume literally the night before I need to have it done. It's super frustrating, but part of the culture I guess. :P

[Evil-Siren]

I wish I had seen this question before. If you haven't started already here is a tutorial I made for people who asked me how I made mine




I also made new ones for my new wig :3


It works pretty well like that and they turn out nicely.
You can also use thin craft foam for the "core"

I used foam this time for the new wig and they look more thick like that ^^

edit: for good wigs use ebay or amazon :3
I only buy my wigs there. Just check the shop feedback to decide if it's good or not.

[Kos_Mos]

Personally I like the Nekomimi ears. You can make custom ears for them and they'll interact so cute. ^^

[Ryuko]

Personally I like the Nekomimi ears. You can make custom ears for them and they'll interact so cute. ^^

I actually thought of doing that, but the little thing that goes on the forehead seemed too distracting for me... I guess it's okay if you have something covering it (like bangs), though. I first made the wig/ears for my WHM AF, so I was wearing a thick circlet... no place to put the piece that puts on the forehead. But I guess it depends what costume OP wants to make!

[Serileth]

Thank you! This has been incredibly helpful I am not very skilled at making things, but I'd be willing to try this on a few cheaper pieces of fabric and see how it works. Worse comes to worse, I may have to just wear regular cat ears.

I don't have a huge variety of furs on hand, but I do make Miqo'te ears on commission if you end up needing a pair.

[LillithCale]

I wish I remembered to subscribe to this thread! I forgot it about in the wake of flood stuff happening at my house :<

[LillithCale]

-snip-.

dkjfkdsjsfdk~ You are the person with the drop dead AMAZING Dragoon cosplay that I see everywhere! *dies*