Hello again!
Today's tutorial is for Yang Xiao
Long's Ember Celica Bracelets.
Now, most people that made props out of
EVA foam use thick sheets of foam, at least 6mm thick. However, I
found that more difficult to find. The way I make my Ember Celica,
both the full version and the bracelets, is by doing multiple layers
of thinner foam, about 2mm. It is less expensive and much easier to
find. The kind I use is .99 cents a sheet.
Supplies:
- 3 12x18 inch sheets of yellow foam
- masking tape
- black paint
- paint brush
- white glue
The first step is to measure your wrist
to see what size you need. These slide off and on over your hand, so
make sure to account for that size as well.
Once you know what size you need, you
can start measuring your foam. The ones I'm making for this tutorial
are for a wrist size of 8 inches. You need to measure that out on the
sheet of foam. The wrist band is 1 & 7/8 inches by 8 inches. I
always make the thickness of the band 1 & 7/8 inches, but you can
adjust it if you'd like.
Now, since we're layering the strips of
foam, you'll need to account for the size for each additional layer.
I add 3/8 of an inch to each layer. Meaning, if the innermost layer
(the layer that will rest on your wrist) is 8 inches, the next is 8 &
3/8 inches, then 8 & ¾ inches, and the last is 9 & 1/8
inches. The wrist bands are 4 layers in total.
Take the shortest strip and tape the
ends together like this:
Then, take the next layer and glue it
around the first strip. Let the glue dry for at least an hour. Do
this for each additional layer until you have your band that is four
layers thick. Make 2, one for each wrist.
While your waiting for the glue to dry,
you can start on the top piece for the bracelets.
Trace this onto your foam, again, I do
this in layers. You'll need four pieces per bracelet. Eight total.
Get the template HERE.
Now, as you glue these layers together,
you'll want to make them curve to fit onto the bands. I use poster
tubes to achieve this. However, you can use anything that is
cylindrical such as a 2 liter bottle.
Again, let each layer dry for an hour.
With this piece, we don't account for
the size difference between layers before hand, so you'll need to
trim the excess off afterwards. You can trim it off with scissors.
Once your band and top piece are
constructed and dry, you can glue them together like so:
I allow this piece to dry overnight.
The last piece you'll need to cut out
is the detail to the bottom of the bracelets. Now, the length of
these will be dependent of the size of your bracelets. Just measure
the bottom from the ends of the top piece like so:
The ones on these are 5 & ½ inches
long. The are 1 & ½ inches tall, regardless of length. The ends
are ½ inch on each side.
This part has two layers. Measure again
after gluing the first layer in place to get the length of the second
layer.
After you've assembled all the pieces,
you just need to paint the detail. You can use black acrylic paint or
a black paint pen. I've used both. You'll need two coats whichever
you choose.
Finished product:
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Let
me know what you think, or if you have any questions.
If you'd prefer, you can purchase them
in my Etsy shop HERE.
