So you want to be your favourite superheroes huh? The beauty of todays technology is it’s easy to become Captain America, Batman, Superman and Spider-Man in just a few easy steps.
Now, there are a number of ways on how to get your own super suit. And they all come with their own budgets, which can benefit you, the buyer! This is a process called Dye Sublimation.
So the first step…
…is buying your print pattern. This is a digital design of what you want your suit to look like and the pattern to be sent to get printed and sewn up. There are a number of creators out there such as, Frontier Costuming, Gun Head Design, Arachnid Studios, Spider-Bite Design, SuperGeekDesign, just to name a few, who design super suits. These can be their own personal designs, or a design from the characters comic, TV show, movie etc.
Each creator add their own unique touch on the characters suit design, so there is a wide variety and choice when it comes to deciding which design suits you best. The prices of these designs range, from around $20 to $40, but if you’re commissioning a pattern to get printed then price depends on how complex the design is and what the rates of the designer are.
Getting it made
Step two in owning your own suit is that now you have your pattern you’re going to need to get it printed. There are multiple different sites you can use, but I’m here to walk you through some of the sites and the services they offer and the price range of each site.
Zentai Zone
The first site I’m going to talk to you all about is called ZentaiZone these guys offer a full print and a sewn service starting at $75 with free custom tailoring to your own size. Of course this comes with extra pieces that you can have with your suit, such as extra zippers, a thicker fabric which is an extra $30. I highly recommend selecting this option when purchasing a suit, soles and shoes for your suit, even shells and lenses if it’s for a Spidey suit. Now of course if you add all these extra pieces this can total up to around $230. That’s with extra zips, a shell and lens set, shoes inside the suit and the thicker fabric. The turn around time for these guys is really good also, getting your suit within around two weeks.
Frontier Costuming
Frontier Costuming offer a similar print service but instead of owning your digital pattern they print the pattern onto lycra for you. Similar to ZentaiZone they offer two lycra services. A standard lycra and an upgrade thicker lycra (again I recommend upgrading to a thicker lycra) for no extra cost.
Once that’s been printed you then have the option to get it sewn up by whoever you want! An extra bonus if you can sew the suit yourself. The price for these prints are £180. I use Frontier Costuming when I want a more personal design, which hasn’t been done or seen before.
The RPC Studios
The RPC Studios is the next site on our list, and offer a similar service to Zentai Zone, where they offer a full print and sewn service for suits starting at $210. RPC offer more variations when it comes to what you want on your suit, including an embossed emblem on your suit (for you Spidey costumers), puff painted textured webs, as well as shells and lenses. They are also known for offering screen printed textured suits, especially for the Spider-Man Homecoming suit and Black Panther suit, where the entire suit is textured and printed onto coloured lycra which starts at $630. But they do offer a screen printed hexagon pattern that can be put on to a standard suit for an additional $120.
The production time with RPC studios varies as a standard printed sewn suit takes 4-8 weeks, whereas a screen printed suit takes 5-10 weeks.
I’ve been lucky enough to own a suit from all three of these companies and I truly recommend all three, but it depends on what you want out of your suit. If you’re looking for a personal suit, where you can put some of your own input into the design then I recommend Frontier Costuming, but if you’re looking for a more budget, but still durable and strong suit then Zentai Zone is the place for you. Now if you’re looking for a strong screen printed suit, printed onto coloured lycra, then I would recommend RPC Studios.
Again, this all depends on what your budget is. All three sites are great, but it entirely depends on what you want to get out of your costume.
I do hope this guide has helped you and hope you are now well on your way to becoming your favourite Heroes!
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