PART II: How to make an oversized board-based race costume

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For image prep and intro to board printing, please read:

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Well, you now have your board. How do you transform this into an actual wearable costume, and to **gasp** actually run in it?

Disclaimer: Well, let’s get the bad news out of the way-- running in a board costume is not comfortable. But I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you dgaf about comfort. Just be prepared that running holding a board and having one attached to you will change your running gait and posture. The board might hit your knees with every step, your arms might feel locked up, your traps might get sore. It is what it is, just a small price for deciding to look ridiculous.

Second disclaimer: !!!DO NOT BE A DICK!!! You are planning on running a (most likely popular) race with a giant board. There are a lot of other runners on the road so swear to me that you will run with etiquette, respect, and awareness. You don’t want to accidentally poke someone in the eye with the corner of the board because all of a sudden you had to stop to change the music on your phone, and then runDisney might start banning board costumes. Use hand signals for stopping and walking breaks, do not weave people extensively on course, cover the corners with your hands if you’re passing someone really close. Be aware of the space you and your costume are taking up. Don’t be That Guy.

Third disclaimer: The reason why I have shitty progress photos is because I do all of this last-minute and these methods are the product of me winging it and figuring it out on the fly, so I don't really have nice planned photos of this.

Anyways, there are two easy ways to make a board into a “costume”:

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The Handle Method

Where you run by carrying the board in front of you using handles in the back that are attached to the back of the board.

You will need:

• 2 grout smoother or grout floats
• double-sided mounting tape (I prefer Gorilla brand)
• extra duct tape

Pros:

No jiggling/bouncing, more range of motion for arms because you can adjust how close/far you’re carrying the board. Easy to hand off to other people if they want to post with the costume.

Cons:

You’re not entirely hands-free, and always have to be carrying something. 

A lot of different types of grout floats out there. Best to go with the sturdier ones made of wood and plastic. Don't go for the flimsy metal ones.

Get two flat and light grout tile smoothers (which in writing this, found out that they're called "grout floats")  from a hardware store, preferably ones where the handles feel comfortable in your hands. After figuring out the right and comfortable placement for your handles, use heavy duty double sided mounting tape to attach the handles onto the board. Then as extra backup, secure the outer surface of the handle bases with duct tape.

You can see the "handles" in the bottom center square. 

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The Backpack Method

Where you stick a backpack to the board and wear the whole thing backwards, in front on your chest.

You will need:

• a small backpack with normal straps
• double-sided mounting tape (I prefer Gorilla brand)
• extra duct tape

Pros:

Can switch to carrying the board on your back since it’s a backpack for comfort. Better for longer runs.

Cons:

May jiggle or bounce uncomfortable since it’s not directly attached to you. Chest area will feel constricted.

Get a small empty backpack (do not use drawstring, we're looking for good arm straps.) I use a small Camelbak with the water bladder taken out but I've also used a $6 kid's backpack from Ross. The key thing is to have the plainest pack that has a nice flat front surface. Wear the backpack backwards so it's in front of you.  Adjust straps and height, and do this in front of the mirror to determine placement of where your board goes. The top of the board should be at around clavicle height, leaving enough room for it to bounce up without hitting your chin. Cover the front face of the backpack with heavy duty double sided tape. Attach the now-taped sticky backpack front to the board. Then tape down the backpack part in a nice asterisk shape.

And there's plenty of room to jazz it up! This is just a base, after all. I've graduated onto adding more pizazz like adding scent to the costume, and installing EL-wires for glowing effects.

Voila! It’s going to suck running like this, but it will still be somehow fun.

PART I: Karen's Guide to Board Printing

What is board printing?

Board printing is getting a large printed piece of artwork on (in this case) a foam core board. Foam core board is a flat piece of foam core with varying thickness sandwiched and strengthen between two piece of paper cardboard. It’s light, very sturdy, and easy to cut and work with. The artwork is usually printed from an oversized printer or plotter onto a big piece of paper, then that piece of paper is mounted onto the foam core board with adhesive. So the printing doesn’t happen directly onto the board. Depending on your desired size, you can always buy a blank foam core board separately and mounting yourself but know that the bigger the size, the more margin of error when DIYing.

So this is what the board is made of. PC: http://printshop.tenderedge.com.au/foam-core/

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1. Sizing prep work

Before jumping into the printing action, best to do all of your homework first. Most importantly, figure out what size you want. Go dig up that measuring tape and determine the overall dimensions of the board you want. Since print shops only offer a few standard sizes, find out which of the standard sizes fit your needs. In general, working with the 24”x36” or 20’x28” sizes works for me (and still under the spirit of runDisney’s costume safety rules). 36”x48” might look appealing if you have a “go big or go home” attitude like me, but trust me, it is TOO big.

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2. Basic image prep work

I won’t try to get too nitty gritty about the technical specs, but if you want to get a specific image printed, make sure what you’re working with is a large, high resolution file. Ever zoomed into a photo and it starts becoming fuzzy squares? That will happen when you’re taking a small image and blowing it up: the image will not retain definition. If you’re using Google image search, filter results by clicking on TOOLS which will then prompt the size filter. Select “Large.” Choose the image you like that has the largest dimensions.

Oh yes, I search for clearly *very* important things.

Optional advanced nitty gritty

Standard web resolution is 72dpi, images for print should be at least 150dpi, and the ideal is 300dpi. Now, it’s hard to find images on a search engine that’s *that* high in resolution. So you might want to vectorize or even illustrate in vector the image you want so that it can scale without losing definition. I tend to run everything through Photoshop and manually tweak colors, spacing, and legibility. Some of the stuff I do include: increase saturation, update lighting curves and contrast, overlay a layer of the same image under High Pass, and getting rid of watermarks and/or touch ups.

You can see my Photoshop process step by step here to make my Splash Mountain souvenir photo costume

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At this point, if you have an image and have decided what size you need it to be, and that you are not at all tech or print savvy about any of this, then you can head over to the print shop and get some in-person help. Most places will layout the image in the most efficient way for printing to get the your achieved size, and effect. But if you want to do it yourself for full control, read on ahead.

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3. Layout

I like to be super prepared and give the print shop the exact layout and resized file (PDF) for them, rather than have them do it. I use Photoshop or Illustrator, but you can use PowerPoint as well. Set the dimensions to the actual board dimensions (example: 2’x3’ at 150dpi) and plop your image in, resize to desired size. I hate cutting or trimming foam core, so I tend to use the board’s straight edges as the ends of my image. Save your file as a PDF, and it should be print ready. Doing your own layout is best if you have a lot of smaller things that need to be printed and you can place them efficiently into one layout to print one board, versus spending money printing multiple boards with wasted space.

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4. Going to the print shop

I have only used FedEx Office (formerly known as Kinkos). Now, I am not local to Anaheim or Orlando, the two places I go to the most for costume races, so I can never pack and fly with a board costume with me. Instead, I order online via FedEx Office where they offer local delivery to the hotel I’m staying. So most of the time, my boards are there when I check in. If you don’t need delivery, then you can go to a local print or sign shop, Costco, or big office supply stores like Office Depot or Staples that offer printing services. It usually takes a business day or two for the finished project.

Hope this little explanation helped! But now that you have a board, what to do next? Read on:

TNT: Thank you PIZZA PORTRAITS!

My streak was broken and didn't get into the Nike Women's race lottery for this year, but you know, I run so many races, I might as well do some good with it. So I decided to run Nike Women's under a charity and raise some funds for cancer research! The cool people who have been donating get some weird prizes that I have in store. (You too, can donate here.)

A round of snaps for 
MARY KATE + ALEX!
These cool cats not only donated money but they also wrote my next studio hit: 

"Karen, our emblazoned Asian persuasion racin' liaison, Is running for funding - so cunning! She's stunning. Her plot to trot is well wrought with thought So holler at this baller, call her with some dollars!"

PS. I reserve the right to work with Chingy. What happened to that guy?

And here is their reward, along with my deepest thanks.

I bet you never thought a cartoon pizza portrait is what's missing from your life.

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And here's to fellow Team Pizza Racer Heather! Now baked into a pie of BBQ turkey sausage and garlicky deliciousness.

Brainstorm: Dopey 5K 2015

What I'm currently thinking... Was just easier to put my thoughts in Photoshop!

How to Make Race Costume Noses

Two real concerns when doing costume noses: Will it survive a race? How annoying will it get?

I don't want to brag, but I'm sure I'm one of the world's leading experts in fake noses for footraces, and well on my way of getting a PhD in said field. Thanks to Disney's cartoon cornucopia of anthropomorphic animals as costume choices, I've done enough experiments to find the right fake nose.

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Option 1: Waterproof Eyeliner

Probably the easiest and fuss-free way for black noses. You can just paint an oval or turn it up to 11 by drawing down between the nostrils for a more cutesy animal look. Waterproof eyeliner is lasting and very easy to wash off. When it dries, it kind of becomes a thin rubbery film on your skin and it comes off in big pieces. No staining at all. 

BEST FOR:

• Mickey Mouse and the classic gang
• Dalmatians, Lady, Tramp, Si & Am
• Pooh
• Bambi
• Ewoks
• Oh! Great for facial hair as well - Jafar, Hook

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Option 2: Foam Sheet

So while planning for my White Rabbit costume, I realized that I needed to pull off a red nose. Waterproof eyeliner in kooky colors are hard to come by, and I wasn't going to get body/face paint just for a dab of nose. I ended up using a hardcore long-lasting lip color. Bad news: it stained my nose for two days. I looked like I just did a shitload of cocaine. In Disneyland, no less! So while working on my Piglet costume, I realized I needed not only a pink nose but something that had more volume to it to get the mini snout feel. I played around and came up with a trick using a small piece of craft foam sheet. I'd cut an oval, then a pie slice out. Foam sheets are so easy to work with that it's easy to trim and tweak to get the right shape. Then I connected the ends together with UGlu or any strong solid adhesive and stuck it onto my nose using eyelash glue. It stayed on like a boss. It survived 26 miles! Boss Piglet.

My Next runDisney Costume is...

I've done so many Disney character costumes, maybe it's finally time to dress up as Disney food. 

Ah yes, what if I ran my next runDisney race (Dumbo Double Dare in Disneyland) as the beloved Dole Whip? So I've already been slowly dissecting this concept for months now, and I've been busy thinking of ways to engineer a costume that I can run in *AND* that is recognizable as Dole Whip (and not just look like a plop of pale yellow poop). So currently, I've imagined two ways to do this:

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1. 2D image-printed foam suit. 

Similar to my store-bought Mike Wazowski costume from Princess 2014, I can probably make my own body overlay. Find a high resolution photo of Dole Whip, do a bit of photoshopping, and use an oversized textile printer service to print out 2 copies (one reversed for the back), line with sheet foam for sturdiness, and attach some shoulder straps and maybe velcro spots for security. And there you go, wearing it like a sandwich board or overalls.

PRO: Should be comfy  //  CON: Oversized printing is $$$

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2. 3D prop costume 

So this is way more ambitious, but I think if executed well, I will really look like I'm wearing an official professional Dole Whip costume. The idea is to physically make the one main 3D extruded tube, and swirl it to look like Dole Whip. I came up with the method of stuffing yellow pantyhose legs with stuffing multiple times to make one long soft yellow tube, and swirl it around with holes for arms. I'll have to find a clear plastic planter or something similar for the cup. Not sure if this will work, but it'll look rad if done successfully.

PRO: Will look AWESOME  //  CON: Tricky construction

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I haven't decided or done any experimentation yet. But I think it's down to these two options! Aloha for now.

Avengers Half 2014: Costume Idea

Let's face it, there aren't lot of fun Avengers costume options for the ladies. So I'm stepping out of the box for this one.

Ah, the ladies of Avengers. Full black suits, a doofy face vise, and a slutty bee. Decisions, decisions! So instead of dressing up as a character from Avengers, I'm thinking of mashing up the vibe of a superhero with a familiar Disney character.

I'm still tooling and thinking, but I think a superhero Ariel would be something interesting. Something in line with Aquaman (YES, I KNOW HE'S DC) - an aquatic superhero with weird fish details. I think I can get most of the costume base parts down pretty easily. Add some fin accessories, maybe seashell epaulets and a mini cape. It could work. Surf's up, yalls.

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Hello World!

I'm finally starting a site to document my running costume shenanigans.

In this space, you will be seeing posts about:

• Process, brainstorm, and ideation of my upcoming costumes

• Tools, tips, and tricks

• My dumb adventures in running

Adventure is out there. Caw, caw, rawr!