Of all birds, I think ravens are my favorite. They're absolutely beautiful, for one thing, and for another, the mythology surrounding ravens is so close to that of coyotes that I couldn't help get interested in them.

This is probably the most realistic costume I've done so far. I had a lot of fun, both building and wearing it; it's a surprisingly light and comfortable costume. (It helped that it was exceptionally cold this Halloween, but still, wearing an all-black costume around in Phoenix and not being uncomfortable is really something!)

Most of the techniques I used on this costume were things I've done before; the mask was made out of plastic mesh, yarn, and foam, covered with fake fur and papier mache. The bodysuit is all either short or long-napped black fur. The wings are made of fur and different types of felt.

As for things I did differently with this costume... Well, it was almost necessary to make it in only two pieces, but it was a nice change, only having to worry about the neck seam. I also discovered the joys of a hot glue gun, and what a handy thing it can be when sewing simply isn't an option.

Obviously the wings were something new, too. Basically, they're similar to the ones on my red dragon costume; they're just my arms, and then a dowel that I hold out to extend the wings. Everything else is just different types of fabric and detailing.

For the long feathers, I found a type of stiff felt at a craft store (Michaels), that held its shape perfectly. The smaller feathers are just regular felt, and then there's a fur sleeve that my arm goes into. The back of the wings are furred. Since I knew I was going to be wearing this during at least one class, I needed to figure out a way to work while in costume. There's a pocket of fur where my hand goes, the opening of which is overlapped by the fur sleeve. While my hand is inside of the pocket, the opening is invisible, but I can slip my hands out of the opening. (That was also handy for putting the mask on.) The second-to-last picture on the left shows what I'm talking about.

The mask is, like I said, very similar to how I've been building them lately. The base of it is made out of plastic mesh, and I attach a piece of foam around the back to build up the neck. That helps make the neck look a little longer, and makes it look a little more realistic, less like a person in a mask. The beak is papier mache, sanded down and then smoothed out with spackling. The only problem with that technique is that the thin areas tend to be brittle; you can see a small cracked area on the left side of the beak in a couple pictures. But the rest of the beak held up just fine, and that part won't be hard to fix. The eyes are made out of the clear-plastic parts of those googly eyes they sell at craft stores.

The rest of it is pretty straightforward; the tail is made of the same stiff felt that the long feathers of the wings are. The feet are made out of the soles of a pair of slippers, fleece, and plastic bear claws that you should be able to find at craft stores.

That's pretty much it for this bird. Hope you like her!

More Pictures:

Sketches:

Construction: