Jan Valentine Guide

Currently darkelements doesn’t have working contact forms due to the site’s redesign, but requests still get through to me. This morning I got a tutorial submission from a  form that has nothing linking to it! I also got messaged on gaia to do a character guide for Jan Valentine from Hellsing, and so I am:

Hat
Well he wears a toque. If you wait for winter to come around then you should have a variety of black winter-hat and toque options for a fairly low price. You could also find them in the summer months by checking thrift stores or going online. If you want to make the hat and can knit then that would be the best option for making. Here is a pattern for a basic knitted mens toque – http://hipknitized.blogspot.com/2009/12/mens-sleek-toque.html If you can’t knit and buying is not an option, then you can experiment with other fabrics to achieve a similar look. This is a basic fleece hat tutorial and should work as a good pattern.

He also has an eye on his hat. There are lots of ways to do this so I’ll go over a bunch of them so you can choose what works best for you.
– If you are knitting you can knit the design into the hat
– Create an Applique
– Paint it on with acrylics or fabric paint
– Get a squeeze bottle with a fine tip and fill with fabric paint, then squeeze the paint (like drawing)
– Create with craftfoam and hot glue to the fabric
– Use iron on transfer paper to iron the design onto the hat
– Screen Print

Piercings
Most people don’t want to go get their faced all pierced for a costume, so this part is a challenge if you don’t have the piercings already. However there are ways to have fake piercings, which have a great secondary use of freaking out your mom.

– One option is buying a fake piercing. You can get them at dollar stores and accessory stores like icing and claires that target a pre-teen audience, and around halloween you can find them at costume and party stores, you can also find them at body art stores. There are also many places online that sell fake piercings, you can look at theatrical and costume websites or sites that focus specifically on fake piercings. I havn’t bought from this site but came across:
http://mypiercing.stores.yahoo.net/fakbodjew.html

– This tutorial explains how to use a notebook ring to make a fake piercing and this tutorial uses earrings and wire cutters

Eyes
Contacts. There are tons of colored contacts sites on the intenet and possibly at optometrists near you, so I’ll just list a couple that I found here.
– Costal Contacts Yellow
– Costal Contacts Crow
– 9mmSFX Yellow Devil
– 9mmSFX Crow
– Fashion Contacts Yellow Bastard
–1 Save on lens Angelus
–1 Save on lens Angelic Color
–1 Save on lens Crow
–1 Save on lens moony
– Vamp Fangs Moony
– Vamp Fangs Crow

Hair
His hair is fairly simple since it is under a hat and isn’t too crazy. I believe you can get away with using your own hair if it is the same length and color. If you go to a hairdresser and ask for layers it should help with styling layer on, since it makes it easier to do the spiked tips. His official haircolor is black.

Some wig sugguestions are:
– Cosworx’s Bob. This wig would require some cutting to get the nice layered spikes he has but is a good length.
– Cosworx’s Hanna. This would need to be straightened, and would probably need a bit more work to look like his hair.
– Amphigory’s Fae. This wig is longer than needed but is a excellent choice, just needs to be cut and styled.

There are also a ton of black wigs on ebay that will work.

Shirt & Pants
For making his costume I sugguest using sewing pattern McCall’s Civil war pattern #M4745. It has two patterns in it but the one I sugguest is the one below. It has the collar needed and shape, and it is very easy to just make a closed front and add in a zipper (in fact I have done that several times)

Otherwise check thrift stores, online or your local mall for similar looking shirts or jackets. They will probably need some modifications. His pants can also bemade using that pattern.

Gloves
White gloves might be a bit of a challenge but you should be able to find them around winter time, or online.  If you are looking to make them, this site is the go-to website for gloves:
http://www.glove.org/default.php
and in case that isn’t enough for you, I also have links to these two glove tutorials:
http://sew-ing.com/make/gloves.html
http://ladythesta.deviantart.com/art/Lycra-Glove-Sewing-Tutorial-134664983

Guns
Now this is a bit of a challenge to explain since there aren’t any tutorials around for the specific guns.  Apparently the weapon is an FN P90, so that should help with obtaining references, or even papercraft files.

As for how to make it, I have seen a lot of suggestions for buying them. Not the real guns silly! There are airsoft variants of that gun available and you should be able to find it online. However, check your con’s weapons policy since some cons do not allow airsoft weapons, or have strict rules about them. You don’t want to buy something you can’t use!

Another option is to make it out of insulation foam which you can carve and attach wood, plastic, or other scraps to build the shape of the gun. Then finish it off with a good paint job. Since these guns are so large, they should be easy to carve the base of.

And if you can find the papercraft, you should be able to fiberglass over it for a solid replica.

Have any questions, sugguestions or comments? Feel free to post them 🙂

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