Universe Dress

After doing some designs i decided to try and create one, so i decided to try and create the universe idea that i had. I did it by creating a wire frame that i then attached giant circles to which are made out of chicken wire and then covered in paper mache. I like how the costume looks as it big and quite striking but the costume doesn't work that well practically as the circles are heavier than i anticipated so the wire frame that i made so that the rings can be worn doesn't hold the weight that well making it hard to put on and hard to move about when wearing the costume. To make it work i should have made it lighter by either using a different material such as cardboard or foam or making it lighter by taking the chicken wire out of the paper after it has dried.  

Alternative Miss World Designs

After doing experiments with different materials i then did some designs for alternative miss world costumes. The first few designs i did were just random based in different shapes and materials that i thought would work well, i.e bubble wrap, cardboard. I think that these designs are okay but don't work that well as they are not very eye catching and impressive which don't go with the theme as amw is more flamboyant, expressive and more impressive. 

I then did some more designs but made them large and more impressive, doing this makes them work a lot better as it has made the designs more impressive and i think makes them work a lot better with the theme.

Theme as the other theme for the project is "play/through the eyes of a child" i then decided to create some characters based on the theme and have some fun creating funny designs, i.e "miss nacho angel" (left), "miss universe" (middle) and "miss spaghetti western" (right). 

Playing with Materials

To start of the alternative miss world project (amw) i started off by playing with materials as the theme for the project is also play/through the eyes of a child. Doing this worked quite well as it got my ideas flowing for costumes and designs for the amw with out thinking too much. The experiments don't work well as pieces/costumes on there own as they are not very well created but work for the purpose of idea generation.  

Weta Workshop

Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.

Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Weta Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess and effects for films such as Meet The Feebles andHeavenly Creatures. A digital division, Weta Digital, was formed in 1993.

Weta Workshop's output came to worldwide prominence with director Peter Jackson's film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, producing sets, costumes, armour, weapons, creatures and miniatures.

Weta staff working on a giant tree

Dan Hennah

Dan Hennah is a set decorator, art director and production designer form new Zealand. He is most noted for his work on the lord of the rings trilogy and the hobbit trilogy wining an Oscar for the return of the king for best art direction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnc3PdQVCFQ

Mechanical Hand

After looking in to ways of a making puppet mechanics i found a video where an umbrella was used to make a mechanical leg, so i then got the idea to use an umbrella to make a hand. I used the metal arms that hold out the fabric which i cut off and used the end two third of the arms as fingers. I then attached all the fingers together and constructed a hand around them i then used metal wire to attach to the fingers so that the fingers can be opened and contracted. I think that the hands work quite well as they retract and open well but are quite stiff to open so it isn't that practical. 

My Talchum Mask