Attention to detail is the most crucial thing to cosplay creation. That and taking your time.
When I decided to make a Skyrim cosplay, I researched characters from the game (which I've played, but it's been a while) before deciding to make a variant of the Eryniel Epic Elf follower mod.
I always like to put my own spin on things so, since this was already a mod, I figured I could get away with making a green elf-like dress, brown cape, and the Skyrim bow and arrows.
The dress was the easiest part. I didn't use a pattern, I just traced from a dress I already owned onto some green fabric and sewed it at the seams. The leaf patterning was sewn on after. The brown corset is a steampunk version from my collection--I liked the way it went with the brown and green accents. (I can't seem to figure out how to add pictures without linking to them, so we'll have to make do with the final pics from my shoot with KuzPhotography!)
The hooded cape was extremely simple to make--I used a pattern from my Daenerys cape, but you can find many of those online (e.g. here). It's all about finding the right fabric to do the job!
I then moved onto the bow and arrows. Using long rounded wooden sticks, I roughly wrapped them with masking tape to create a knobbly texture, then painted them brown and sealing. The arrowheads are cut from EVA foam (I heated them after cutting and after adding the notches to seal the foam and give it a hard texture) and then painted brown and sealed. Then I used a hot glue gun to attach the feathers and the dried arrowheads to the sticks.
[One tip with EVA foam if you don't have a glue gun--the oven works just as well! I put it in for 1-2 minutes at about 300-350 degrees. Be sure to keep an eye on it because you don't want it to be too floppy or shrink! Just don't cook in the oven immediately after, use a face mask, and let it air for a while after using.]
The bow was the hardest (and longest) part. I used a Skyrim bow pattern by Storm the Castle found here. Then it was all a matter of sanding the foam, gluing all the pieces together, priming, painting, and sealing. I used twine for the bowstring, a metallic gold paint for the body of the bow, and traced the details with brown paint. I also found that using masking tape on both ends of the bow helped keep the structure sturdy (nobody wants a floppy bow). The result:
For finishing touches, I sewed some fur wrist and boot covers, added some elvish jewelry, and matched it all with a white wig and anime elf ears from Aradani.
And there you have it! One fully fledged elf cosplay. This cosplay was worn by me at Calgary Expo 2016, during promo for Eek Fest 2016 on Global TV Edmonton, and during a shoot with KuzPhotography. I hope you like the pictures and enjoyed the tutorial!
