Cartoon/Video Game Character Hair (Dr. Light Costume)

by craineum in Craft > Costumes & Cosplay

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Cartoon/Video Game Character Hair (Dr. Light Costume)

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To complete the costumes this year I wanted to dress as Dr. Light from Mega Man (the creator/father of Mega Man & Proto Man).  Most of the costume was easy, lab coat, button down shirt (stuffed tummy), blue tie with white polka dots, brown pants, and dress shoes.  The hair and beard are something that I wanted to look cartoony like the Mega Man and Proto Man costumes.  I tried on a Santa wig and beard, but that mostly just frightened my 3 year old.  I decided to try something a little different from what i am used to seeing.

Over all I am happy with the results.  I wish I was better at sewing (or really just had my mother-in-law here for this), but I did the best i could with my skills.

Yes it make look more like an Old Elvis Santa, but that is basically what Dr. Lights hair looks like.

I am mostly writing this instructable as a generic way to create cartoon like hair, not specifically for Dr. Light.

Materials & Tools

Well there isn't too much to this, so it should be easy to get everything.

Materials:
Plastic Mesh/Canvas
White Flannel Fabric
White Yarn
White Thread
Fabric Filler

Tools:
Yarn Needle
Thread Needle
Fabric Chalk
Scissors

Plastic Mesh Base

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I started by cutting 6 strips of plastic mesh that were about 1" wide.  I then made a little hat type piece that followed my hair line.  Use your own face and a mirror to get everything arranged properly.  Then sew the pieces together with yarn.

The one mistake I made here was to make it a snug fit.  You want a snug fit, but not until after the fabric is put in.  It just just be a little loose.  Make it snug, then back off a hole or two in the mesh.  This hat took 4 strips, the other two I used for a chin strap that was to hold the beard, mustache, and chin pieces.  Again I made this a little to tight, follow the same procedure as above.

Next I made the mustache, chin, and beard pieces.  The beard and mustache were simple flat pieces.  For the chin I took a rectangle shape cut down the center halfway and overlapped the two sides of the cut.  This gave it the shape of a box corner (just not as hard edged).

With the lower part done I put on a couple of pieces to shape the hair so it would match Dr. Lights.  Its a kind of Elvis looking hairdo with a Mullet in the back.  To get the big puffy thing in the front I made a loop with another wider (about 1.5") strip.  I then cut a flat piece that was the shape I wanted.  I sewed this into the middle of the circle so that it would hod that shape.  One lesson learned here was I probably should have cut two shapes and put them on the ends of the circle giving greater support.

I then took a couple of more wider strips and put them to the sides of the big application in the front.  This was just to ease the puffiness from the high point in the center down to the sideburns.

Before adding the outside fabric I added cotton to the inside of the hat piece which would hold the filler in.

Wrap With Flannel Fabric & Stuff

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I cut a large rectangle piece of fabric and tried to pull it around so I could get the look I was going for.  I knew that I would have to put a couple of seams in for the big puffy thing in the front.  I sewed it to the plastic mesh with the regular thread.  Stuffing, pulling, and cutting as I went to get the shape that I wanted.  There were a couple of seams on each side above and around the ear.  Almost like what you might see on a baseball.  The back of the hair (the mullet) was basically a stuff pillow.  It ended up being one piece used for the hole hair piece.

I cut another large rectangle for the mustache and beard.  I started at the top and sewed it to the center of the mustache then worked my way around.  I brought the fabric from the mustache up the sideburn across where it met the top hair piece down the other side of the sideburn and to the beard.  The beard was a more rounded pillow than the mullet in the back.
Again, this was one large piece for the entire front.  I cut a slit for the mouth and sewed it to the plastic mesh on both the top and bottom.

Tie and Rest of Costume

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Just in case someone wants the steps for the rest of the costume, here they are.  This has nothing to do with the hair.

I picked up a tie from a local Tie store.  Match the color as close as possible.  Also got some white fabric paint.  I then freehand painted white polka dots on the tie.

For the tummy, I just used a stuffed santa suit tummy from the store, although this would have been extremely easy to make.