How to Make a Mortal Kombat: "Sub-Zero" Costume

One of the "coolest" ninjas around, Sub-Zero is a fan favorite character of Mortal Kombat. He's part of the Lin Khuei, adversary to Scorpion, and freezes things! come on, how awesome is that!

Well, my bestie needed a costume for the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, and I just couldn't let him go to the ball without the right attire. We joke that he has the superhero arms for most characters, so who is a sleeveless character that he likes? Solution: Sub-Zero. My friend wanted the classic version of Sub-Zero so that's what i gave him.

Costume for sale. Please write spicypandacreations@gmail.com for inquiries. Costume was made for petite body frame. willing to sell in pieces. full costume for $100 + shipping.

Let's get started shall we??

Material

- EVA foam

-black sleeveless shirt

-black pants

-black balaclava

-worbla

-elastic

-glue gun/ glue sticks

-Plastic wire mesh

-heat gun

-black shoes

-metal craft rings

-black shoe laces

-mini black plastic buckles

-black fabric

-craft foam

Well, my friend wanted the classic version of Sub-Zero so that's what i gave him.

Gauntlets
1. Start with grabbing your measurements. You will need with length from your wrist to wherever on your forearm you want the gauntlet to end. Then i take a rough estimate measurement of how wide to make it.

2. Transfer those measurements to a piece of paper and fold length ways in half. Folding it and drawing the design on the half will allow for symmetry once you cut it out and unfold the pieces. Draw your design on the half piece of paper, cut it out, and then unfold(pic 1)

3. Use that paper template from step 2 and trace it onto the EVA foam. Cut it out. (pic 1)

4. Heat the cut EVA foam piece with your heat gun and then curve it. Hold in place until cool. it will retain it's form. (pic 1). you now have your gauntlet base

5. Now take your paper template from step 2, refold it in half, and cut off any detail (usually the base) that you don't need. this should give you anything that is elevated on the gauntlet. I used a dremel to bevel the edges i was creating. (pic 2)

6. glue the accents onto your base (pic 3)

7. I then glued mini buckles onto the gauntlet to close it up. (pic 3, Not from this build, but premise is the same)

Shins

1. Repeat the entire process that you did for the gauntlets. its just a longer scale. (pic 4)

2. once you have your base, use your paper template to trace onto EVA foam and cut out the next layer of details. (pic 5)

3. glue the accent pieces onto the base (pic 6)

3. i glued on my metal craft rings along the edge of the shin pieces. After you prep and paint it, you can use your black shoe laces to tie it up (pic 6, Not from this build but premise is the same)

1. The belt is just a strip of EVA foam with a buckle along the back. Just make a rectangle and glue it to the front for the buckle.

2. The tunic is a rectangular piece of fabric that is glued in for both the front and the back.

1. Take your measurement from the top of the shoulder to the waist line. Since the chest is somewhat angled, you need the middle of the waistline to the middle of your side. From there, you will need to cut your angles in and also cut for the place where your arm would fit. Cut out of EVA foam 2x and glue the tops and sides together. (pic 1)

2. Use your paper template and draw in your blue segments. I used blue craft foam for this part. (pic 2)

3. Repeat process for other side.

4. We turned the chest piece into a vest, so we put some fabric on the inner part of the backside so you could put the chest piece on like a jacket. In order to have the vest stay closed, we actually glued the bottom of the chest piece onto the belt itself.

1. Start with a measuring tape and figure out how the dimensions of your face. Fold the paper in half and start drawing in your design. the reason you fold it in half and draw is so that everything is symmetrical once you cut and unfold the paper design. Included in this section is the mask we referenced. (pic 1)

2. Use the paper template from step 1 and transfer to craft foam. In pic 2, the green layer is your base. (pic 2)

3. Use your paper template to start cutting out the next layer (in pic 2, the pink craft foam is your layer).

4. keep adding layers and putting them over and under your base layer till you get what you want. (pic 3)

5. Because we wanted a hardness to the mask, we covered it in worbla. Heat the sheet of it until its soft and place on your foam mask (pic 4)

6. Use whatever tool you like to get all the curves and indentations. Some people use a metal butter knife, others use wooden sculpting tools. Use whatever is available and gets the job done. (pic 5)

7. We pushed in the worbla for the mouth section and eventually covered with a black plastic wire mesh. (pic 6)

8. Add some elastic to the edges to secure around your head

1. You should have everything built now. With all your pieces, you need to prep them before painting the foam. You can either use plasti-dip spray, or you can use modge podge matte on each piece to create a nice paintable shell on the foam.

2. You can either go with long sleeve or sleeveless.

3. IF you want to be a superstar, you could get some super blue contacts to hide your pupils. You could even use some airbrush and spray your hands an blue/whiteish color for some frosty-ness. or you can get a blue light up ball and attach it to some invisible fishing wire to wrap around your finger for an "ice ball".

4. You can technically use this as a duo costume if you create/ find a Scorpion.

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