Fawn Faerie Costume!

[Squire_Kit]

Salutations all! Kit is now a faerie! (expanding the repertoire, y'know - from peasant to noble to fae!)

This year for the Tennessee Renaissance Festival, I will be playing Awani, a North American white-tailed deer faerie who follows a Native American ambassadress over the pond to England. Here was my initial sketch of the character from auditions...



Antlers - Ideally I want to have a decent-sized rack of antlers (depending on how much weight I can balance successfully on top of my head). That way anyone, even if they're um....slightly or not-so-slightly inebriated (which they will be at faire, unfortunately) they can still tell I'm a deer. The best pair I've seen so far has been from Kato of Steampunk Couture. I'm very tempted to email her and ask how heavy they were.




The trick is going to be making a lightweight, but realistic looking rack of antlers that I can attach to my head without causing neck strain, being too top heavy, and/or attached securely enough that if I decided to get animated - as I do - they won't go tumbling. A headband might be best, though I'm debating between a regular headband or one that wraps around the whole head. If I go the latter route, I might do a fabric wrap with a plastic headband at the top (since plastic headbands have a nasty habit of digging into my skin). Then the headband will be covered with strands of fake teased hair to cover up the fabric.

Ears - I'm getting the Faun ears from Aradani studios ----> http://www.aradanicostumes.com/elf_ears/faun_ears

Makeup - Many tests will be involved to get the right look, I'm sure! But the jist of what I'm wanting to do is similar to the Trill effect from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where the fawn spots will go around the forehead, down the sides of the face, neck, shoulders and end about the elbows. I will do a nose, though I'm debating whether to do a full black nose or a more subtle brown. I'll try both and see what looks better.



Big eyes are a definite! I'm not sure what kind of lipstick I should go with. In my head I see a natural lip, BUT due to the structure of my lips, they have a tendency to disappear in photos if I have no lipstick or a natural colour, especially my upper lip. So I may experiment with some different brown shades.

Dress - This is the part that is up for debate at the moment. The faerie director and I are both leaning towards a simplistic sheath dress in either leather (for accuracy and texture) or cotton flannel (which has a furry texture to it, but surprisingly breathable). We've talked about making it all out of one hide or sewing two different ones together to have that light underbelly of a deer. I do know I want to do side lacing, though I'm debating whether to have any boning built to the torso. This is the inspiration for the dress at the moment....



Bracers - I will have bracers made out of the same taupe fabric as the dress.

Tights - As we are required to wear tights, I want to do a two-toned pair to mimic deer legs. (as they're lighter on the inside. It also works wonder for the illusion of having smaller legs! ) So I'm on the hunt now for a pair of white cotton footed tights to later dye to match  the dress/makeup.

Shoes - Not sure on what kind to get exactly, though I imagine it'll be a matter of simply going with what I can find. All I know for sure is that they'll be brown and have lots of support for prancing about!

Necklace - I have two options with the necklace.
                  1) I wear something similar to what my friend is wearing to signify my attachment to her tribe
                  2) I wear something just Native American looking (in case I can't get something similar to my friend's accessories as she is actually procuring full regalia and NOT a costume). If this choice, I'd either do a collarbone-skimming necklace or a choker. Okay, okay, so the choker would be Kyla's choker from Smallville. I gotta sneak some geekery in there, right?

Wings - I'm unsure which direction to go with on the wings. Part of me wants up upward facing wings and another part wants downward facing wings. I know most of the folks who do faeries for TNRF do custom-shaped wings, but I'll admit I'm leaning towards traditional faerie wings, just with a brownish iridescent colour rather than blue/green/purple/pink.

I think that just about covers it! Any thoughts? Suggestions? Opinions?

[Fireflicker]

I'd suggest looking on etsy or ebay to find axis deer antlers - it's a smaller species of deer that you could probably use. Bone might be a little heavy though, so I would suggest looking into resin casts of antlers, leather antlers (like most mask makers have) or closed cell foam, like the stuff used for the antlers of those hunting foam deers they practice on. You can always paint them yourself to get a more realistic look. Here's some links to get you started:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/80460129/real-antler-hairband-custom-made-to?ref=sr_gallery_11&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=ANTLERS&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

http://moose-r-us.com/Item/Craftsupplies/craftdeerantler.html

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92486383/faux-animal-friendly-antlers-black-on

http://www.etsy.com/listing/89867980/deer-antlers-and-skull-white-tail?ref=sr_gallery_27&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=ANTLERS&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Deer-/71124/i.html?_nkw=antlers&_catref=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m1538

http://www.monoyasha.com/hoovesandhorns.htm

Good luck!

[Squire_Kit]

Oh what fantastic links! Thank you so much, that's incredibly helpful.

[amy]

Hello "Kit"   I can contribute on one item immediately.   I wore th antlers for Halloween one year and I learned that they are extremely heavy and did indeed hurt after a prolonged period even though they seemed comfy during fitting.  I strongly suggest anchoring them to a rigid headband, with zero flex but which only is a crescent over the top of the head and does not continue much down past the ears.   This rigid part will hold the antlers in position and support the weight and tendancy to flop  and tilt, to-and-fro.  Be sure it has a bit of width to the band.   Then pad the heck out of the inside and encase it in a soft fabric sheath which can be drawn under the back of your head like a scarf.  this will keep it secured to the head without the pinch of a band, but with as much pressure evently distributed around your head as needed to hold them firm.    Last years deer did a wonderful job of disguising them by wrapping his hair up around the base.  Very clever. 

I really love the design of your bodice section.   Have you come up with a lay out for that bandage wrap effect? 

[Trillium]

What a wonderful idea. I picture you in low boots, native american style minnetonkas. For wings I see smaller upward flowing wings in browns and golds, perhaps a little green. I can't wait to see this project in process!

[Squire_Kit]

Amy - Unfortunately the bandage bodice was thrown out due to looking too much like armour (I know, I wanted to keep it!). I'm not sure on the antlers yet, I'll back to you on that (as well as your FB message). Unfortunately the deer last year, his were just wire frames with his hair wrapped around it. They weren't realistic antlers in any way. I do want mine to be realistic looking (though they don't have to be real by any means!).

Trillium - Hm, I'll have to check out those shoes. Sounds interesting!

[amy]

I have the word out for antlers now and a lead on one set which might appear by the weekend. As/If they appear quickly, I'll send pics.

[Squire_Kit]

You rock my little costuming world, Amy.

[Niennis]

Hey, there, my sister faun XD

So, Glenda is sending me some antlers that she found, if you haven't already gotten some, I'd be happy to make you a lightweight resin cast of them and paint them to your specifications (or leave them unpainted if you'd like to do it).

Also feel free to let me know if you need any specific help on any of the other pieces! I'm coming down for faire, so I'm looking forward to seeing your completed faun-ness!

[Squire_Kit]

Oo, fun! I've got a friend who's going to be making the hair/headpiece now (as of this morning), but I'm not sure if her antlers will look realistic enough. They might, I'm not sure. She's going to have the headpiece ready for me by the first rehearsals the first of April. If those antlers don't end up working out, I'll give you a call! (Though I'd still love to see the antlers Glenda's sending you. )

I'm so wanting to do hooves right now after seeing this on Deviantart...

http://kanti-kane.deviantart.com/art/Hooved-shoes-208613963

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo3C6iNM5iE&feature=channel_video_title

But then again, Tennessee's faire grounds are really uneven and rocky and that has the potential to be dangerous. But man do those hooves look wonderfully sleek for a deer! Hmm...

[Rowan MacD]

  I don't do fae myself as a persona, but I do have a suggestion about the antlers...
  If you don't already have your heart set on antlers that stick up and out from your head, it might be more comfortable to wear a set that drops more to the sides of your head and perhaps curves forward a bit. 
   I saw a set of 'non typical' antlers at a hunting show once that almost formed a cage around the buck's head.  the antler 'cage' was narrow, not more than 5" beyond the skull,  and the top tines of the rack did not rise more than 4" above the skull.   The tines fanned out around the face into 4 forward pointing tips on each side that curved inward toward the end of the muzzle.   Yours could be further back and curving toward your ears if you don't want them hear your face.
  The balance would be much lower and the rack easier to manage during quick movements, and you could fashion a mock up of heavy wire and try it on to give yourself an idea of where the tines should be and how long/wide you can comfortably manage.