Introduction: Hellboy Comic Con Costume (For Timmy the ThinkGeek Monkey)
Costumes are for everyone....including monkeys & toys or a combination of both! ; )
A little background on this project,
Last year I made my first ever costume for Comic Con (a personal triumph!) and it just so happened to for a little monkey named Timmy! If you don't know Timmy, he's the adorable ThinkGeek mascot ; ) better yet, here's a short description from their website:
"Timmy the Monkey, on this planet at least, would be catalogued as a codeslinger, a kung-foo monkey coder with more than just bad-ass programming powers and a cute face. We would be humble to say he only invented water."
I stumbled upon a post from ThinkGeek last June stating that they were looking for volunteers to make Timmy some new costumes, and being someone who loves to make costumes and is huge fan of ThinkGeek, I was instantly excited! I volunteered and crossed my fingers that I would be able to be a part of it....! Shortly afterwards I received an email confirming that I would be making a Bowser costume and even received my very own Timmy in the mail!
I had such a great time making his costume last year, that this year I was on the lookout for the opportunity again! I came across this post here, and signed up with a suggestion of my own...Hellboy! I love the Hellboy series and thought it would be such a fun costume to create...and it was!
I hope you enjoy this tutorial as much as I enjoyed creating this project, and if this is something you are interested in being a part of yourself, definitely be on the look out next year! (I know I will be!)
P.S If you ever meet Hellboy or Bowser Timmy in person I would love to see a picture of him in action! Here's where you can find me & tag me!:
Instagram: @sentfrommars
Facebook: SentFromMars
Twitter: @tweetedfrommars
Step 1: Creating the Design
My goal for the Hellboy design was to create a costume as close to the original costume as possible.
I started with a google search and pulled up various images of Hellboy from different angles so I could see all the details.
Next I sketched out a monkey version of Hellboy and made notes on the key details that would make the costume really pop. Since this monkey is roughly 6" tall I wanted to make sure I would be able to fit in as many details as possible but also simplify anything that looked too tiny to re-create.
Originally I had wanted to make detachable horns (as you can see in the photo) but I scrapped my plans for using velcro so I could add detail the surface of the short horns. Sill think I would have been cool though! : )
Step 2: Sewing the Monkey Plush
Supplies Needed:
Tools:
- Sewing Machine
- Needle + Embroidery Needle
- Scissors
Materials:
- Red Knit Fabric
- Red Thread
- 9mm Solid Black Eyes (You can find the same kind here)
- 1/4" Thick Craft Foam
- Poly-Fil Stuffing (You can find the same kind here)
- Black Embroidery Thread
Since Hellboy is red I decided to make the actual Timmy monkey itself so that I could really get the look right!
I created a pattern for the Timmy monkey by laying pieces of fabric over the original Timmy plush and tracing over the seams. Once I had all the pieces traced, I double checked that the connecting seams matched to ensure everything would sew together correctly.
I cut out all of the pieces for the body using a polyester red knit fabric. As an extra detail I thought it would be fun to give the Hellboy plush some abs ; ) I used 1/4" craft foam as a base underneath the front chest piece and stitched on an ab design. (This turned out to be one of my favorite parts!)
Having some experiences making plush toys I knew I would have to sew some of the pieces together by hand as they are too tiny to manage in a sewing machine, however (my personal opinion) the seams look much better when you use a sewing machine so I tried to use mine as much as possible. The trickiest areas were the openings of the hands and the feet as well as the edge of the face which did require some hand sewing.
I used the Poly-fil to lightly stuff the tail before securing it on the center back seam. Other than the tail, everything remained un-stuffed while the body was being sewn together.
For the face I used 9mm black toy eyes (which for some reason I actually already had!) These are really easy to use, you just poke a small hole in your fabric where you want the eyes to go then slide the eye through, securing it in place with the plastic backing.
The nose was created using black embroidery thread and an embroidery needle.
I continued sewing all of the body pieces together and left a small 2" hole opening on the bottom so I could insert the stuffing. I lightly stuffed the entire monkey and hand sewed the bottom opening closed using red thread.
Step 3: Attaching the Hair & Horns
Supplies Needed:
Tools:
- Scissors
- Awl
- Hot Glue Gun
- Needle
- Lighter
Materials:
- Red Craft Foam
- Black Faux Fur Fabric
- Black Faux Leather Fabric
- Glue Sticks
- Black Thread
To create the hair I used black faux fur. This worked really well to get the look right and was also very easy to work with.
The entire hair piece slid over the head (almost like a wig) which allowed me to adjust the shape as I worked with it.
I rolled a small tube of the faux fur fabric to create the ponytail and used black faux leather to create the band in his hair. This was hand stitched in place using black thread, and once in place it was tacked down in a few key areas.
I actually ended up waiting until the very end to sew the hair all the way in place, I was slightly intimidated to tackle this part, not wanting to ruin his face! I used black thread to hand stitch the edges of the hair to the face and the faux fur ended up hiding all the stitching really well. (Phew!) And since the fabric was knit, it formed nicely around the entire head.
The horns were created using red craft foam. I used hot glue to layer three pieces together to get the right thickness. I wasn't sure how the hot glue would stick but it held very strongly to the foam which was a nice surprise!
I also wanted to give the horns some texture so I used an x-acto knife to etch in the details. To deepen the etched areas I used a lighter to heat up the tip of an awl which I used to melt down the foam. This was an experiment but it worked out really well!
Step 4: Creating the Hellboy Costume
Supplies Needed:
Tools:
- Sewing Machine
- Scissors
- Needle
- Pins
- Iron
Materials:
- Black Faux Leather Fabric
- Brown Faux Leather Fabric
- Tan Faux Suede Fabric
- 1/4" Craft Foam
- Metal Studs
- Iron On Transfer Paper
- Small Metal Chain
- Beads
To begin the costume making part, I started by gathering any materials I had that looked like they might work to create the costume. This led to a giant pile of goodies on my desk (fabric, studs, chains, beads, etc.) but I was able to find everything I needed!
To create the costume, I started out by using my little Timmy as a dress form and draping fabric over him to create a pattern for the pants, & jacket. I sewed all the seams using a 1/4" seam allowance to reduce bulk and folded over/ topstiched all of the hems to give everything a clean finish.
I used faux brown leather for the collar and sleeve details. Iron on transfers were used to create the patches on the sleeves. And I also added padded faux leather "leg warmers" to give the pants more details.
The belt was a fun piece to put together. I used faux brown leather for all of the straps and added tiny metal studs to make it look more realistic. I was also able to add a belt buckle by using iron on transfer paper and incorporated some chain & beads to create the rosary necklace.
As an extra detail I added one of my labels so the ThinkGeek crew would remember me! ; )
Step 5: Making the Right Hand of Doom
Supplies Needed:
Tools:
- Scissors
- X-acto Knife
- Awl
- Lighter
- Hot Glue Gun
- Red Acrylic Craft Paint
Materials:
- Red Craft Foam
- Glue Sticks
- Paint Brush
- Paper
The right hand of doom...one of the most important parts! I didn't know how I was going to make this piece but I had a rough idea and luckily it all worked out, and even better than I thought!
This piece is made out of red craft foam. I started out by making a paper model to get the rough shapes and then used this as a template to cut the pieces out of the actual foam. To create the details I used the same steps as I did for the horns, etching them out first with an x-acto knife and deepening the grooves with an awl and a lighter. I used hot glue to hold everything together and pressed the pieces firmly in place.
After the initial hand was created I wanted to clean it up a little, there were a few spots where you could see the hot glue poking out. I used red acrylic craft paint to coat the entire hand which both covered the glue spots and gave the hand a nice shiny finish!
Step 6: The Props!
Supplies Needed:
Tools:
- Sewing Machine
- Scissors
- Iron
- Needle
- Hot Glue Gun
Materials:
- Iron On Transfer Paper
- Blue Canvas Fabric
- Red Craft Foam
- Popsicle Stick
- Foam Poster Board
- Clear Vinyl Fabric
- Rivets
The props...not completely necessary but one of my favorite parts!
Since I am a HUGE supporter of the making of Hellboy III, I thought this would be the perfect time to voice my opinion! Will they they make it? I'll never give up on it...ever!
Both props were made so they could be taken on and off by using a strip of craft foam as a handle. For the Hellboy III sign I used a popsicle stick and hot glued on a piece of foam poster board for the sign. I made the sign in Photoshop and glued it on the poster board. The foam handle is held in place using white rivets.
Next is the Baby Ruth! I always thought it was funny that Hellboy loves candy so I wanted to add this part in. I made a Baby Ruth prop using blue canvas fabric and iron on transfer paper. I added a layer of clear vinyl to give the front a shiny finish and attached the foam handle using a needle and thread. I sewed the front & back pieces together leaving a tiny opening to turn the entire piece right side out, added a little stuffing and hand sewed the opening shut.
Step 7: And Done!
Done!
The last part was to enjoy this little Timmy Monkey while I had him and take lots of photos!
He turned out even better than I thought and now he is out in the world, living it up at conventions and meeting lots of awesome people! Its what he would have wanted ; )
The first picture here is one of my favorites! I posed this little guy with a Hellboy inspired bag that I made ; ) My everyday hand of doom! If you want to see some more fun, geeky inspired accessories that I make, just check this link out here!
Thanks for checking out this tutorial! I hope you enjoyed it!
Make sure to tag me if you ever meet this guy! ; )
Instagram: @sentfrommars
Facebook: SentFromMars
Twitter: @tweetedfrommars
Step 8: *Extra* Last Years Bowser Costume ; )
Here is the first Timmy costume that I made for ThinkGeek in 2015! It's a Bowser costume because I love everything Super Mario and needed to make it! ; )
Photo Credit to ThinkGeek! They were super awesome and sent me these!