Cardboard Lego Batman Cosplay

Cosplaying is extremely fun! but getting costumes ready/buying them is too much of a hassle. this is a simple instructable which shows how to make an extremely cute Lego Batman cosplay using everyday materials (cardboard,hot glue etc) which looks absolutely amazing!

1. Big cardboard box that covers entire torso
2. Thin cardboard sheet (A1 size approx)
3. scissors/ blades
4. Hot glue gun
5. black spray paint
6. black chart paper
7. yellow chart paper
8. gray paint
9. pencils, markers, rulers
10. black cloth (for the cape)
11. thermocol sheet
12. thin translucent white cloth
13. strip of velcro

There are 3 main parts of this cosplay -

1. BODY
2. HEAD
3. CAPE

To make the body first take a big cardboard box. make sure it is made of a sturdy and thick cardboard so that it holds it's shape well. make sure it's big enough for you to fit in it.

Lets start making it!

ARM HOLES - first, cut holes on each sides of the box for your arms. Each arm should have a diameter of about 25 centimetres depending on your arm size. mark a big circle on each side using a marker (as shown in the picture). using scissors or a blade, slowly cut away at this circle to form a nice hole for the arms.

HEAD HOLE - now mark a hole at the top for the head. my head was about 20 centimetres in diameter. mark it using a marker and then cut using scissors.

The shape of the lego batman isn't perfectly rectangular. he has slanting edges on the sides. to make that mark two slanting lines on the sides of the box and two on top connecting them and cut them on the box (as shown in the pictures.)
Make sure to cut only from 3 sides (not the base). Then, push these cardboard flaps inwards and stick down with hot glue. use the hot glue liberally to make it super strong and durable.

For the base of the body, cut out a huge oval hole at the base of the box to fit yourself. make it big enough so that you can easily slide into the box. this step may require a few trial and errors till you find the perfect fit.

Using spray paint, cover the entire box is a smooth coat of black paint. you can even use acrylic paints but spray paints just give a better finish.

i covered the front of my box with a black chart paper which i glued on to it to give it a smooth and even appearance.

BELT- Use a piece of yellow chart paper to cut out a thick yellow belt. Cut it out according to the design shown and make the borders thick and prominent using a black marker. Stick this on the base of box using hot glue.

ABS- Using a normal pencil, draw the outline for the abs for the body. Once the outline is drawn, apply grey paint and paint the abs properly. Make sure that the outline comes out symmetrical on both sides (this may take few tries).

BAT LOGO - i had a friend of mine create the logo for me and then printed it and glued it on. You can even download the logo from the internet and print it. Or you can even paint it on!

YOUR LEGO BATMAN BODY IS NOW DONE!

To make the head take a big cardboard tube (which has a diameter big enough to fit your head in). i couldn't find a tube like that, so I took a thin flexible cardboard sheet and rolled it up and stuck it with hot glue to create a tube for myself. It should be a little big to allow ventilation. Cut the height of the cardboard cylinder according the height of your head. Make sure you have a few free inches on top so that the Lego head is in proportion with the Lego Batman body. Make sure the cylinder tube is a little heavy so that it fits perfectly.

Use ample hot glue so that the head is sturdy and holds it's shape well.

On a thermocol/ styrofoam sheet, cut out a circle the size of the head and stick it to the top of the head using hot glue. this gives a nice top to the head and closes the opening.

eyes and nose - cut out holes for the eyes and the nose according to the picture shown. Again you'll have to get the position of eyes and nose holes right by trial and error. I suggest starting out with small holes and seeing whether they fit your eyes and nose correctly. If they do, then make the holes bigger in proportion to your head and in the shape shown in the picture. You can cut it using a nice sharp blade and make sure the borders are smooth and not rough.

ears - Cut out two huge triangular ears from thermocol sheet or thick foam. Stick these to the sides of the head. Make sure their height is at least half the height of your head. Give them an early coat of black spray paint before you stick them onto the head. also make sure there is a little extra cardboard below the ears to help you stick them onto the head. use hot glue to firmly stick them to the head.

ventilation holes- the head can get quite stuffy and suffocating. to overcome this, i make three big ventilation holes at the back of the head to provide air flow.

Now paint everything! Use spray paint because gives a nice and smooth finish. Apply at least 2-3 coats for a deep black colour. Make sure to paint the top of the head also. (I ran out of spray paint mid-way and didn't have time to go and buy more so I used a thin black chart paper and stuck it all the way around the head using hot glue. Lucky for me this looked pretty good and had a smooth finish)

I would advise you to cover it with a chart paper (even though it is more time consuming). this gives a much much better overall finish.

by now it should start looking like the real deal!

EYES- For the eyes, use a super thin cotton cloth. Speaker fabric works pretty well. Make sure it's in white. Stick it around the eye holes on the inside of the head using hot glue. Don't worry so much about vision, if the cloth is thin enough you'll easily be able to see outside.

NOSE- cut out a big triangular piece of chart paper. Fold it in half and stick the corners to the inside of the head. Make sure the front is popping out. This should give the nose a 3D appearance and make it look like the real thing.

FINISHING TOUCHES- Take grey paint and paint the rectangular area below the eyes with grey paint. Also add grey highlights for the eyebrows and forehead as shown in the picture. This gives a nice 3D look to the head.

Now for the mouth you can paint a typical Batman smirk on it. My painting skills are a little poor so I googled a photo of a Lego Batman mouth, printed it on thick card paper and stuck it on using hot glue. (This was way better than any painting could ever be).

This completes your head and I hope it looks as good as mine!

use a huge and thick piece of black cloth. Make sure it's heavy so that it gives a nice fall to the cape. I found an old thick black curtain and cut it up the way I wanted. don't skimp on the size. the bigger the cape the better.

Take a white pencil and draw the bat shape on the cape (as shown in the picture). This acts as an outline while cutting. Make sure it is wide enough and covers you from tip of one hand to the tip of the other. It should be long enough to reach your knees. (Yes I know this is pretty big, but big is good.)Now cut along the lines and give it a stitch to make it look good. if you can't give it a stitch, just run a thin line of hot glue to seal off the border.

I added a Velcro strip to the top of my Lego body and to the head area of the cape (using hot glue) to hold the cape in place to the body. Initially I was a little doubtful whether the Velcro would be able to take the load of the cape, but it turned out to be super super sturdy and did a super good job.

THIS COMPLETES YOUR CARDBOARD LEGO BATMAN!

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ALSO, FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR DOUBTS, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AND I'LL HELP YOU OUT WITH ANYTHING YOU WANT.