Main Project

Overview

My main project will be articulated wings integrated into a corset. I will be buying the corset due to the time constraints of this project. I intend to fashion the wings after large birds of prey or angel wings. This means that the wings should have a decent wingspan but not so large that they are unwieldy. I have a few sketches of what it should look like and the basics of the components. These sketches helped me understand the fundamentals of what interactions and connections I will need in order to make these wings work well. These are just the initial sketches and the design is likely to change slightly to accommodate ease of use or wear. 

Aesthetic of Project

I have chosen to use the gothic aesthetic. Part of this is due to the black and red color scheme I chose due to the available corset color. The other part is the heavy presence of religious and angelic symbolism in the gothic aesthetic. These aspects allow for my project to conform to the aesthetic. Additionally, I already own accompanying outfits that can be worn with this project for expo presentations so choosing this aesthetic will be somewhat cost effective.

Inspiration for Aesthetic

My favorite holiday is Halloween. I have always loved dressing up and creating new costumes. This eventually led me to begin making cosplays which are costumes of any specific character. Cosplay is usually handmade from scratch or an assortment of pieces of costumes cobbled together to create the whole costume. I enjoy the challenges in design that cosplay presents. The biggest of those challenges for me is dynamic props. One that always intrigued me was how cosplayers create wings that move, otherwise known as articulated wings. This project gave me the opportunity to explore and attempt to make articulated wings while taking classes. I am very excited about this opportunity and look forward to challenging myself. However, due to the time constraints and scale of this project, I will likely disregard the high attention to detail usually associated with cosplays.

Materials

I will be using red textured acrylic for the larger feathers, wood for the frame, feathers from a feather boa, and faux fur fabric. I will be using aluminum posts for fasteners. The corset will be steel-boned and leather for additional structural support since leather is stronger than any other fabric that corsets are typically made from. These materials will add up quickly especially since the corset itself will be nearly 200 dollars.

Fabrication

I plan to mostly use hand tools to make the framing. I plan to gut the large feathers from the acrylic using a laser cutter. I will be using an incredible amount of adhesive to attach feathers from the feather boa. I will probably use contact cement for any structural adhesive applications and hot glue for any fabric or feather attachments. I will start the fabrication process by creating prototypes at a much smaller scale out of cardboard to make sure that the proportions that I choose for my frame are functional.