Never Compromise, Even in the Face of Armageddon

     And now, Dear Readers, it's the moment you've all been waiting for! The final, epic installation in the "How Does one Dress up Like Rorschach Trilogy." We've been through details about the importance of the character in geek culture, the significance of the various aspects of his costume, and the difficulties one encounters when trying to recreate his uniform. At long last, we get to see how one can go about learning the proper techniques and assembling a fully-functional and totally bitchin' Rorschach cosplay.

In case you were wondering, Maggie is Rorschach. 

The other characters are a story for another time.

Unless you want to read the book, which you should. 

     So, Comic Con isn't for another two months and three days (not that I'm counting down the seconds or anything) so my costume doesn't have to be finished for a while. That being said, I've always taken costuming events like Comic Con and Halloween very seriously. Last year, for instance, I started my Halloween costume the week after the previous Halloween. (The event is sort of like Christmas in my family, but that's a discussion for a different post.) Naturally, I've begun preparation for my Rorschach outfit already. 

     For this particular costume, and really for any costume or similar undertaking, there are a series of steps that one should follow for the best possible final product: 

1.      Research- You can't completely become a character until you know enough about him or her. It also doesn't hurt to learn some techniques and materials that other people have used, because they can always contribute to your design. 
2.      Making a plan- I will never forget the motto of my director when I had an internship at a film studio: "You need to plan the shot and then shoot the plan." The same goes for crafting a fictional wardrobe: you need to design your costume and then execute the design as accurately as you can. (Not accurate to the source material, mind you, accurate to your plan, which should be inspired by, but not copied from, your source material.) 
3.     Gathering materials- One cannot fabricate a costume without the appropriate clothes, props, accessories, and makeup. This ties directly into the research, because nobody can go out and buy something without first looking up what it is they need to buy. It would require some combination of telepathy, black magic, or time travel. 
4.     Putting s**t together- Gathering a trench coat, gloves, purple slacks, a fedora, a pair of tights,  thermochromic pigment,  acrylic base, P.V.C. tubing, spray paint, plywood, and brown loafers will do you very little good unless you assemble it into a cohesive product that at least moderately resembles your design. 
5.      Getting into character- It isn't enough to just dress like Rorschach; one must become Rorschach, in all aspects of his physicality, mentality, and spirituality... in all actuality. 

      So, I bet you're wondering:

     But Almost Average Teenager, how do I do all of these things? I mean, you've provided me with this helpful outline, but I need to know in more detail! 

     Have no fear, Dear Reader, I was getting to that. Patience is as virtue. So, as I was saying... 

Research: 

     This is perhaps the most important part of the cosplay project. If you screw up here, it will derail the entire enterprise. Fortunately, the Internet Gods have graced upon us mere mortals the divine gift that we call "Wikipedia." If you haven't read Watchmen, or even if you have but don't feel like going back through it to get details about Rorschach's character, Wikipedia is a good jumping-off point to start the rest of your research, although the movie and book are really the best place to start. 

     By reading- sorry, skimming- the Wikipedia entry on Rorschach (aka Walter Kovacs), we are able to discern key elements of his super-hero persona. Firstly, we discover that his mask is a perpetually-shifting rorschach inkblot test, which presents an interesting dilema for the humble cosplayer. How do I create such a mask? one might ask him/herself. We also learn that the rest of Rorschach's costume is a piece of cake compared to the mask. It's really just a getup for a shady street gangster when you take the mask away: a fedora, a trenchcoat, some gloves... nothing to it. 

     After going through Wikipedia, it's helpful to jump to a Google Image search, just to find pictures of the character from various angles, with both the movie and comic book interpretations as references. By going through Google Images, we make yet another key discovery... 

From the movie.

From the comics.

Have you spotted the trend yet? 

     He's always carrying a grappling hook gun! This features more prominently in the promotional art for the movie than it does in the comics at all, but he uses it just as frequently in both incarnations. Most cosplayers choose to exclude the gun from their costume, mostly because it's bulkier than your average Derringer and, really, who wants to carry around something like that all day? 

     I'll tell you who: HARDCORE FANS, that's who. If you're going to dress as Rorschach, or any character, you have to be willing to go all the way. There are several directions that one can go when one is endeavoring to acquire a Rorschach-style grappling hook gun. Firstly, Warner Brothers sells a replica version of it molded from low-density resin that you can purchase from their online store, although this one is extravagantly expensive for what it is: a single piece of plastic sitting on a display stand. Alternatively, their are plastic toy versions with no moving parts that you can buy. They go for about $30 new, but they're sold around Halloween to buy with a store-bought Rorschach costume, and no self-respecting geek would be caught dead at Comic Con with a store-bought costume. In addition to the resin model and the plastic toy, they also sell an aluminum replica with moving parts that actually fires. This one, though, is priced in the hundreds, and is in no conceivable way practical. There is, though, a fourth option: build your own. This is the direction that I chose to go in, as I am both a cheapskate and a know-it-all. 

     Buy a pre-made prop-gun? I said, internally and indignantly. Never! I will not stoop to the level of mere casual nerds. Perish the thought! 

     Well, you're going to have to get a gun somehow! the more rational half of my psyche tried to explain. 

     I'm sure I can build a model of the grappling hook gun from scratch that is as realistic and impressive as any of these consumer-grade phonies, huffed my pompous side. 

     Good luck with that, bro, conceded my practical half. I'm going to browse e-bay for a used model of that expensive but badass working gun.  

     Well, good riddance! You're just a stick-in-the-mud, anyway! and my arrogant side stormed out of the room with his nose sticking in the air and proceded to peruse the interweb searching for reference images. 

     Luckily, my arrogant side is a persistent little bugger, and he found a whole mess of reference images which depict the grappling gun from various angles and in relation to Rorschach and other objects, so that I could determine how big the different pieces of the prop needed to be. 

    Aside from the gun, the one other major element to the costume was the mask. Because the mask is, by very nature, a moving entity, I knew I couldn't rely on Google Images this time. I had to venture into the bottomless, rainbow-colored chasm that is Youtube. I was aware that moving Rorschach masks had been created before, although I can't for the life of me remember where I first read about them years ago. At any rate, Youtube, as it always does, had an answer for me... although it was buried under several heaping tons of flying, rainbow-excreting space cats from Japan. 

Tune in tomorrow for the next installment in the Increasingly Inaccurately Titled Rorschach Costume Trilogy! After that, I promise I'll write about something that isn't superheroes. Unless you like that sort of thing. (Feel free to comment one way or the other.)