Hey fellow Readers. My name is Michael (aka MW Cosplay), I am writing this article to share my journey on making my #ScrapEpicChallenge Samurai Giratina from Pokemon. To start off let me break the ice and introduce myself! I’m 27 years old and have been Cosplaying for over 7 Years working on Cosplays from Various Games including the all popular Pokemon, Most of my Cosplays Focus on Pokemon Gijinkas (Humanization), basically turning something non-human to A Human. Many Gijinkas focus on turning their designs into various styles of characters such as Warriors to frilly outfits focusing on their chosen Pokemon.
So the #ScrapEpicChallenge is to use scraps and spare materials all around the house as well as a £20 budget to make a brand new Cosplay from it. On my journey, I would admit this was a very fun challenge to do due to the materials I had salvage or just kept because I am a massive hoarder and hate throwing stuff away I decided to Cosplay Giratina From Pokemon. Because I had various colours for that specific Pokemon, To start off my Pokemon Gijinka Designs I like to think of a “Theme/Trait” as then I can build around the said theme and add parts of Giratina then I thought “hmmmm….Samurai!”.
Here are the materials I used for Making Giratina:
Red/Black Silky Fabric which was used to make the Chest, Back, Shoulder and Side Pads which were just Cardboard with the Fabric Glued on.
Yellow and Grey strips (offcuts of fabric I think) which I found whilst on Holiday which were the main ingredient for attaching all the pads together using the traditional threading technique that Samurai have punching holes and using a Single Crochet Needle. This took me hours (at least 3 seasons of FRIENDS) but was so worth it as the armour itself is very secure and held up just these Fabric Strips.
Eva Foam Which I had various Scraps To make the Helmet, then threading Red Fabric for that Samurai Design on the back of the Helmet
The Sword was made from a single piece of wood used to support fences, sanding it down to a smooth finish and making it as close to an ōdachi (Long Sword). The Clothing underneath the Armour was just normal Black Trousers and Shirt, followed with a Poncho that I already had as well as another Grey Thick Blanket which I bought to use to cover the legs.
Photographed by Ga Chun Yau Photography 
Photographed by Ga Chun Yau Photography
Here is also the full Price list and the hours and the Complete Cosplay!
- Red/Black Fabric – FREE
- Cardboard – FREE
- Poncho – Already Had
- Foam – Already Had
- Wood for Sword – Already Had
- Grey/Yellow Fabric Roll – £5
- Grey Blanket – £3.25
- Hot Glue – £4
- Various Crochet Needles – £1
- Total Cost – £13.25
Hours worked on making this costume
- Sword – 6 Hours
- Armour – 100 Hours
- Helmet – 72
- Total – 178 Hours
To conclude this challenge I would like to say that it shows you do not need expensive tools or materials to make something impressive. When I started telling other Cosplayers about my journey they were all impressed that it was just cardboard and fabric.
Doing this Task, I learnt many different techniques as well as bringing previous skills to make this Outfit (which survived MCM London with just a few threads snapping), which I would like to say bust the myth that you need to spend lots of money on your Cosplays and can still look visually awesome. Anyone can do this challenge and I hope you fellow cosplayers take it on too. Be Proud to be yourself!
Article written by MW Cosplay who has given his time to write this article. Thank you.
Disclaimer: all images used, do not belong to FnC and belong to their respective owners.
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