My current Merrin build

[AlfheimCosplay]

Hi, everyone! I've recently finished my first version of Nighsister Merrin and wore her to a con. I wanted to come here and share photos of costume pieces, fabrics, textures, etc., and see what other people have used for their builds or if you have any advice. Warning, this 'bouta be a long post!

As is, there are some things that definitely need replacing, namely - the pants (the color is too brown, the fabric too thin and the texture is missing), the collar (it was done last minute and my cutting isn't very straight) and, possibly, the boots (Merrin's don't have any sort of zipper but mine do and it may not be approvable).

 

 

 

While on the topic of seams and fastenings, I had to find a workaround for several items that have no visible closing system in-game: the belt, the collar and the boots. For the belt and collar I just used a simple velcro system with the belt having the added advantage of the smaller middle piece covering most of it. I'm really interested in finding out if these items can be approvable with visible seams, as I'm sure the game developers did not have us cosplayers in mind when creating the character model, and as such have not given much thought to the real-life practicality and ease of wearing of some of them 

 

 I'll just attach all the close-ups I have now:

 

The vest (the velcro bits are to keep the collar from lifting)

• it's made from a semi-elastic red fabric (doesn't fully match in-game texture)
• it has the 3 channels you can see on her bias tape type seam, that have been accentuated with airbrushed shadows
• the rest of the vest has also been shaded, but should probably be even darker
• the shoulders were made pointy with the help of two Worbla panels glued underneath the fabric

 

 

 

 

The shirt

• it's made from a non-elastic fabric and was the closest thing I could find to the in-game texture
• because it's not elastic, the neck bit fastens with a piece of velcro, as it can't be pulled on & off the head

 

 

 

 

The belt & hip panels

• the belt is made from 5mm EVA foam covered in pleather
• the hip panels have been made with the same technique, but with 3mm craft foam
• the pleather has been painted to match the references
• the thread has been sewn manually (RIP fingers)
• the rivets are googly eyes painted gold
• the belt fastens with a velcro system, as well as through the thinner, middle belt that closes over it and under the gold buckle
• the gold buckle is 3D modeled and printed, then painted and weathered
• I've attached the 2 red panels in the front and back (front being narrower than back)
• finally, shaded the red panels as well

 

 

 

 

The collar

• the base is made from 3mm craft froam, while the beveled lines are made from 5mm EVA foam
• it fastens with velcro in the back and is quite visible, but, as the in-game model has no closing system, it was the only option
• the necklace has been 3D modeled and printed, then painted and weathered and a silver chain has been painted black
• (pants can be spotted underneath, but I'll not include them in this post since they need to be remade)

 

 

 

 

The bracers

• are made from pleather, with a piece of Worbla inside to keep the shape
• the pleather has been painted to match the reference
• I've attached dark brown bands all around them, in the same material as the triangular hand covers (seemed to be the same fabric in-game)
• the triangles connect to a golden ring each (also 3D modeled and printed)

 

 

 

 

The boots

• were custom made, but I altered the soles by adding the 'peak' bit at the front (made from Apoxie Sculpt) and by painting them gray
• I also darkened the leather with leather paints and added weathering
• painted the zipper red in hopes of less visibility

 

 

 

 

Other details and info:

• the wig is a platinum blonde lacefront that I darkened the roots on with eyeshadow and has been styled in Merrin's signature bun (not a donut-type bun, but rather a lazy, not fully pulled-through ponytail)
• her nail polish is a matte brown (mine was a dark glossy brown at the time of the pictures, but I've since acquired the right shade and finish)
• her hand tattoos have been made with liquid liner and eyeshadow, but I suspect natural henna might work as well (though it might not be as dark as the reference)
• her lipstick is a dark grey with slight tinges of brown (I used black and lightened it with white and brown eyeshadow for added dimension)

 

Here are some final 360 photos (excuse my squinting, it was sunny):

 

    (the belt wasn't fastened properly, hence the visible seam gap)

 

 

And that's about it! Thank you for reading so far, if you have

I'm eager to hear what I can improve on this costume and whether anyone has found better textured fabrics and solutions to her invisible seams (belt, boots, collar, etc), and I really hope I can get Merrin to an approvable state and help create the CRL.

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2021 by AlfheimCosplay

[Toran]

Waiting on dem comments and oppinions like...

 

[DarthValkyria]

Yeah most of the commentary has been getting forwarded to the build group of Facebook for active responses.

 

I spoke with your partner about the red fabric and how it looks like the first major difference in texture to the files. The rest looks good, but there is a crap ton of reference shots from the files and screenshots in the FB group to compare to.