Tag: comic books

Marvel craft: DIY LED Tesseract

Tesseract tutorial by Venessa Baez

Did you know that in geometry, a tesseract, also called an 8-cell or regular octachoron or cubic prism, is the four-dimensional analog of the cube? According to Wolfram MathWorld, in Madeleine L’Engle’s novel, A Wrinkle in Time, the characters in the story travel through time and space using tesseracts. According to Google, Tesseract is also probably the most accurate open source OCR engine available.

Of course, in the Marvel universe, there is yet another use of a Tesseract – as an Infinity Stone, one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe. It can open rifts in space, which ties in nicely with Madeleine L’Engle’s use of it. While Odin keeps watch over the Tesseract in Asgard, you can create your own replica based on this quick project by Venessa Baez (complete with 3-1/2 minute video). With an acrylic photo cube, a few swipes of paint, some LED garden lights, and waxed paper, you can have a great geeky decor item for your desk or bookshelf.

If you could open a rift in time and space, where would you go? And would you make the “Vwoop, vwoop!” sound effect like a TARDIS?

Scott Pilgrim craft: Ramona Flowers hammer

Ramona Flowers hammer by Mia Moore

At the cons I have attended, I see a ton of creative cosplay (people dressed up in costumes representing characters from books, movies, TV, manga, etc.). I can pretty safely guarantee I’ll see a variety of fandoms represented – almost always Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who. I always enjoy seeing other characters, however, and recognizing their references. Makes me feel a little self-righteous in my geekhood.

That’s why I was tickled to recently find this tutorial on a Ramona Flowers cosplay, from the graphic novel series, video game and movie, Scott Pilgrim. We have enjoyed watching the movie several times at our house, and my daughter has read the books. Mia did a great job breaking down the steps to creating the iconic hammer in her tutorial, right down to the bell on the end of the handle – great attention to detail! She also gives tips on how she was able to travel by plane with the hammer!

Be sure to check out other examples of Mia’s cosplay wizardry – such as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, Fiona from Adventure Time, and Female Engineer from Team Fortress 2.

Female cosplay worthy of the name of Thor

Female Thor cosplay by Anna Lee Mueller

With Marvel’s recent announcement that the Thor comics will soon have a female lead, I thought it might be fun to see if there was any female Thor cosplay out there. The internets did not disappoint.

Not only did Anna Lee of Glitzy Geek Girl put together a great Thor cosplay costume, she also provided a tutorial for creating the winged Thor helmet and beveled armor plating out of craft foam! I would not have thought of using gesso for a primer before spray painting – great tip!

What do you think of Marvel’s choice to make Thor female? What do you think of females cosplaying as male characters? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Links of Interest:

Superhero Comic Book Magnets

In nearly all flea markets, you can find a stash of comic books. What to do with them after reading them? You can make magnets! Amanda over on Crafts by Amanda has written a great post that gives you a tutorial on making them!

Comic Book Magnets

 

After you’ve made your plethora of magnets for yourself and friends and gifts, she has a link to learn how to make comic book coasters!

So the next time you’re at a flea market, hunt down those comics, and let the fun begin. Amanda also has 2 craft books, be sure to check them out!