If you are tired of bodypainting (Inspired by 'What do you sleep in?')

B.Barber

B.Barber

Adept
Also this came up in conversation with someone today...

I was really thrilled to see that some people are interested in airbrushing bodysuits for their characters. Its great for those characters that have a habbit of being naked for whatever reason but also for people who play characters with a lot of skin to cover for whatever reason but still want to be low on the clothing count- like summer outfits.

THIS is the best place to start http://www.zentai-zentai.com/white-...-spandex-cotton-zentai-suit-products-272.html

There are many items on this site that will work, but I link specifically to the cotton lycra one for a few reasons

-Its a stretch fabric made of Cotton, this makes is Matte and not shiney.
-For the same reason, it takes paint and dye like a dream. Jaquard's Dye-na-Flow works great because even if you dont have an airbrush, if you are handy with a regular brush, you can spend some time blending and working to get markings contours and other details on there anyway and it will act like dye (heat set, eithr in a dryer on high or with an iron... I like to iron) ...you can also get away with heat-setting very watered down acrylic.


-It breathes

I really really like useing bodysuits, gloves and sleeves like this kind of thing instead of body paint- it just saves so much time AND helps with markings consistency if you have complicated markings, skincolors or tattoos.

Also Abs. lol

So, yeah that site offers just about anything, and theres lots of customization options, you can add stuff, exclude stuff, even get stuff made with your specific measurements.

Anyhoo, hope this helps : )
 
If you're tempted to go for the sheath: Don't.
 
Naw, not fabric paint- atleast not the kind that sits on the surfaces and gets hard/shiney/stiff/plasticy (thats what I think when i hear "fabric paint", forgive me if I am mistaken!) .

What you wanna do is use that Dye-na-flow stuff, because it sinks into the fabric and looks more convincein plus keeps the fabric nice and soft and stretchy (like dye!), and you just use a small paintbrush to put on your spots- use short strokes and a minimally loaded brush if you want to get a hairy effect with your stroke- if you are careful it can be done. Or you can airbrush the stuff on, feeds great right out the bottle. Your best-best bet is to actually be wearing the bodysuit while doing so, or have help with the painting -while- wearing it.

THere are also fabric-ink markers on the market these days, most craft stores have them now and they are great for fine-detail that wont bleed on ya. I like to use them for final touches after useing airbrush or regular brush to lay down my major color sections.
 
Just a thought. Eastbay.com makes some pretty good and relatively inexpensive compression clothes. About $15 for tops or bottoms. Much cheaper than under armor. Under armor is better quality and better for the cold, but for strictly costuming purposes, I'm very happey with eastbay. I'd stay away from zipper backed zentai suits unless you are not wearing any clothing over your crotch/waist area. Much easier to use the facilities in a two piece.
 
Yah, separates are good too- just finished up a project doing just that . Though the closefit style of the zenty/rootsuit buisness is better for a more streamlined aesthetic because theres no chance of bunching and everything stays very smooth and you get rid of certain separations/bunches from areas where it would be unflattering/unrealistic (across the tummy,mainly) It also affords the opportunity for seamless color. So that combination is what you want for, like, loincloth wearers or whatever. But the separates option is good for if you want the arms, legs and probably also chest coverage but are otherwise wearing clothes to cover the separation in the middle.

Also you can get a zipper in the crotch on the bodysuits anyhow so facilities are no problem. This became important as a resource for cosplayers in recent years since it meant nolonger having to hold it for freeking hours or taking off the entirety of elaborate costumes in the middle of a con in order to not die.

Although, if people go for the hand coverage of the attatched gloves, I recommend nipping the tips of the fingers off to keep your dexterity at 100%- then just reenforcing the seams there to prevent things coming undone (although if they used a proper stretch stitch that shouldnt be a huge issue)
 
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