Choosing your material.
After your design is complete, and you know what you want your costume to look like, the first step is to choose the material that you costume will be made from.
There are three great options to consider:
- Poly Lycra Spandex
Poly Lycra Spandex is formfitting, and comes in a variety of colors. It's also a great base for more complex superhero costumes with raised textures and effects.
- Shiny Metallic Lycra Spandex
Another great option, this material is formfitting, just like the Poly Lycra, but as the name implies, looks shiny and metalic. This can create a unique style that is eyecatching and futuristic.
- PVC Spandex
This material is shiny, but unlike Poly Lycra, looks like leather. A great option for superhero costumes that require an edgier look.
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Note: It is often necessary to mix and match materials. For example, the costume itself might be made out of Poly Lycra, but the cape could be made from PVC Spandex.
Note 2: Most movie-ready superhero costumes layer on raised effects over the base material, often creating an almost rubber-effect. The advantage of working with Poly Lycra is that those raised rubber effects will adhere to the material.
The three costumes in the picture below were made to look like silver-age superhero costumes. All three materials were used. The base for all three costumes is Poly-Lycra. Chris Ember's red coat, and Apple Orchard's black cape were made from PVC Spandex, and Timothy Note's cape, while hard to see is made from Shiny Metallic Lycra Spandex.
