Court of the Dead Malavestros Ruff
Court of the Dead is an internet comic that was made popular by Sideshow Collectibles. Its a very creepy macabre story about the forces of good an evil making such a ruckus that the middle ground, Death, has to step in. The Character I made this ruff for, Malavestros, is sort of a harlequin harbinger of death. He keeps the chronicles of the struggle. My good friend Courtney “Velma” Ripstein set out to create three characters from this franchise and enlisted my help in making the elizabethan style ruff that Malavestros wears. I’ve made ruffs many times before but this was by far the coolest one. The ruff is 100% linen and the skulls were resin cast.
Prepping the Linen
A good rough has horsehair all along the edge so that It bends beautifully and donts collapse under its own weight.
Practice Coils
I wasn’t sure how big to make them so I tried several different lengths before settling on this.
Making Uniform Coils
I had marked previously where the coils were supposed to join up and thats how i got them all to be so uniform.
Neck Check
Layed out
Double Checking I’ve made enough coils before I add the collar piece and making the set up more permanent.
Skull Placement
Had to make sure the skulls would fit before I committed to stitching all the coils down.
Test Fit
My sister got enlisted on being a fitting dummy.
Final Costume
After it was constructed I handed it off to Velma for weathering. You can see Velma’s gorgeous craftsmanship on this whole costume. You can find more of her work on Instagram under @velmaripp and @velmarippDesigns
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