I wish I could go to Comic Con in San Diego this weekend 7/21-7/24. There's supposed to be 120,00 people there. I wonder how many Na'vi will be there?

I'd love to join but I won't be able to come up with the money to go to the exhibit with ya.

You've got a year. Start saving.

- Mikko

I'm not all that great at making things, unfortunately, and with something like silicone, I wouldn't even know where to start...

Well, first you'll need a good amount of silly.


... And a cone.


- Mikko

:P
Just look at a few tutorials and buy some silicone and clay (for mold making) Then just find an online craft site.

Na'vi ears are higher than human ears. It's best to pin the real ears back and hide them under wig hair/sheets of latex and put the prosthetic ears further up.

Hmmm good point..If you do it that way though 9/10 times it's easy to tell that the ears are fake because they are way too thick...
I wonder if anyone came up with a thinner version..

Well, I'm going to be trying to make my own sometime soon. Using advice and notes given to me by my go-to person for all this stuff, a prosthetics supervisor who worked on the Academy Award winning makeup on LOTR...

I'm stupid. What does LOTR stand for? Lord of the Rings? I bought some Reelmagik ears. My lobes stick out of the bottom. I'm going to have some made bigger. Did you ever see the Reelmagik FEMALE face prosethic? I don't think you use one. Everyone complains that they can't see my eyes. You and Sarah I think just paint your faces. Reelmagik has a female Avatar. It looks much better. I going over to my make guy this weekend and cut my old male back so the eyes look better. If that doesn't work I'll get the female.

Are you going to try to make ears and nose? I'm going to have my tail cut down too. It gets stepped on a lot. I see that you have the same tail, right? What is the link to the video with you in the house. I saw it once with your tail on. Also I think it has that girl who did that long video dancing

Yep, Lord of the Rings.

My first attempt (November 2010) had no prosthetic and I was wearing the standard Reelmagick ears.

Second attempt (April 2011) had a (pretty unsuccessful) home-made facial prosthetic. Same ears as before.

Third attempt (November 2011) will have a new improved home-made facial-prosthetic and home-made ears (both composed of silicone).

This is true, but deciding whether or not the individual wants to put ears over his ears or higher up is a matter of opinion. With costumes, aesthetics must also be taken into account. Although having the ears higher up would be "more true to form," if I tried to hide my ears under my wig, it'd create a bulge.

More importantly, even though these are the proportions of the Na'vi, I have the proportions of a human, and so does every person onlooking. Viewers would sense the mismatch and on a subconscious level think "something's not right." Above all the Na'vi are beautiful, and to achieve the most beautiful costume you need to embrace your limits and incorporate human beauty as well. This is also why I don't wear a face prosthetic. I'm sure it can be done well, I personally just don't think it's worth it.

I'm also on a shoestring budget and this stuff costs money :P, the above rant may just be my justification for not buying it.

How did that silicon work out for you? I asked my guy and he said it was heavier than the foam, but it fit better. He said the foam breathed better and could be reused more. Can you get more than on wear out of your prosethics? Do you have any pictures of your new stuff?

I absolutely agree with Sarah that everyone should find a version of the costume they are happy with. Everything from a single dab of blue paint to crazy stuff like animatronic tails is fine if it is worn by someone who enjoys it and embraces the Na'vi spirit :)


Edit: Am just recording some short vids of prosthetics, both the (not very good) version I wore in April and a more recent iteration. Will put them on youtube shortly.

You just use the fangs that come in the coffin box, right? I used them for a Vampire and just CA them on. You use what adhesive again? You have nice teeth. That helps!

Your stripes look good too. The wider stripes are correct. Mine aren't wide enough and need to be more symmetrical.

I'm fine tuning the costume, and my body. Both are always a work in progress.

I work my butt off. I'm willing to spend the money. But money doesn't a good costume. Sarah makes beautiful stuff, and Venture Star has the body, and is innovating his prosethtics. It takes many avenues to tweak it and get it right.