HOME | DD
CosmicalFox — Automail Hand and Forearm
Published: 2012-03-17 18:40:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 4093; Favourites: 39; Downloads: 51
Redirect to original
Description
Oh my gosh I'm so proud of this. I'm about a week into working on it, maybe 8 days... After I made a prototype hand I decided to make a real one. It fits, but I believe I need a thinner glove (I made a temporary one out of thick winter leggings, and I'm assuming I need something my like lycra to really get it right).I'm really proud of it either way. This is just the hand and (mostly) finished forearm. I spent so much time on this over the last week xD
Also, just so you know this is actually Ranfan/Ran Fan/Lanfan/Lan Fan's automail arm (which happens to be her left). It looks different than Ed's, and is on a different arm. So don't get me there.
Also, this is the first time I've ever made a big prop like piece for something like this. I'm really proud!
Related content
Comments: 21
Hey where did you find the paper craft cut out patter for this? I would really appreciate it if i could get my hands on it. ~thanks
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
[link]
There should be links towards the top of that tutorial. I referenced it somewhat for making my automail, and like I said used the pattern. Hope that helps!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
ME WANT! 
I am gonna cosplay as Lan Fan for Animation on Display 2013 (I know it's like a year away but no harm in getting started too early) I want to do the automail but I don't think I have the skills to make something that impressive...
Craft Foam was a good choice and it looks like it worked well. Is it easy to use? I've never used it before and I might want to try it now that I saw yours.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
haha thanks!
Uhm, let me think. Craft foam isn't terribly hard to work with, but you have to be really patient. There are tons of good tutorials out there that I referenced. Here is one to a general craft foam armor tutorial:
[link]
I didn't follow it exactly, but it was a good basis before getting started. You also might want to check out this automail tutorial, as it has patterns (for Ed's automail, but I did use the patterns she had for the fingers as they are basically the same):
[link]
Just buy a large pack of craft foam (the like 12 large sheets in different colors seems to be cheapest) and just make a mock up or a hand or something to get used to the material (that's what I did). At least it's not an expensive medium
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'll check those links out, thanks. So far my costume has cost around $100 (well the boots were $80 and my mom said they could be a present) so I've spent about $20. I only have about $7 left for this month though... (I spent all of the cash I was saving up when I went to Animation on Display earlier this year. I cosplayed as San from Princess Mononoke)
I am so excited to try making the automail! I just need to hit the craft store even though I was just their yesterday to buy black paint for painting the Kunai. Which I still need to do...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
haha awesome. Never heard of Animation on Display. You can always try to make a pattern (actually. please do this) out of paper first if you don't have the funds right now. It will give you a good place to start and also save you money on foam later.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Good advice. I don't want to ruin it on my first try.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
ah! XD i see someone is getting ready for animemazement! its a beatiful arm by the way, your detail is great!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yep yep, just a couple of months away. Kind of bummed that I'm staying in a hotel that isn't within walking distance this year T-T Eh, it'll be good though!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
yeah, although that traffic really is killer, hopefully we will all have a safe journey and no one will get their foot caught on their costume tail while driving x3
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Whoa, has that happened before?
And yeah T-T We'll probably leave early, or take the bus. I'll have my car but I hate city driving, and I hate RIDING in a car that is going through the city even more. It should be okay though...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
it will be intresting to see how many people look at you weird while your in costume XD
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
yeah, I actually have to break a social norm this weekend for a Psychology project. Might be fun to do something like that mwuahaha!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This is amazing! How did you make the outer shell, is it plastic or foam core or what?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Ah! Thanks! Let's see:
I actually used craft foam xD I bought a large pack of it a while back (maybe 10 sheets in five different colors) for a cosplay that I worked on last april. I didn't have much success with it, so I stashed the stuff away. When I decided I'd be trying to complete a Lanfan cosplay for AZ2012 I took it back out.
That said, it's just craft foam, painted with a couple of layers of glue. Then primer (two layers), and then silver (one layer so far). I still plan on taking some sort of floor polish to it.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's really good materials, I never thought of glue then paint. I'm guessing that makes it look shiny? (Sorry for asking so many questions, I'm just interested in making my own props one day!) Is craft foam hard to get hold of and then use?
Here's a joke to thank you: Hey Ed, how much does a mother's corpse and a brother's soul cost?
...An arm and a leg! 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well, I think it's the type of spray paint I used. I'm using "Rustoleum" or something along those lines. It's a silver paint, costs about six dollars (you can get it at Walmart, lowes, AC Moore, etc). Craft foam you can buy anywhere pretty much. I bought this from Walmart, and bought a few more sheets from Michael's yesterday. Using it just takes practice I think. From the mock up hand I made to this one there is a lot of improvement, and it's getting better as I continue to work on the rest of the arm. I have links to a few tutorials posted in reply to another comment here that might be worth checking out!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thank you! I've worked hard on it so far! It saddens me that I still have to finish the forearm and make the upper arm T-T Another week of work at least. Boo!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
