Rocksteady – Genderbent punk casual design
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Inspiration: I grew up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 90s cartoon and the original live action movies. Turtles were a big part of my childhood! A friend put together a group of fun, casual turtle costumes to wear in the evenings at conventions, so I was thrilled to join in as Rocksteady.

Materials/Construction Details: Most of the pieces of this costume were store bought and combined to make this punk rock look. I based my selections off Rocksteady’s general color scheme, such as the gray undershirt to match his skin tone and the ripped up yellow tank top to go along with what he normally wears, but with an edge to it. The rest of the ensemble includes: ripped camo pants, studded leather bracelets, combat boots, a shotgun bandolier, plastic grenade, army helmet, and dog tags.

The pieces I did make were the horns and ears on the helmet. The ears are crafted out of felt. The horns were made out of an old pool noodle I had sitting around in the shed. I carved the pool noodle into the shape I wanted and then proceeded to coat the horns in many layers of gesso to smooth out the rough cut foam texture.They were then hand painted with some weathering at the base and glued in place on the helmet.

Wig: The wig is from Epic Cosplay and is their Hestia in Gunmetal Grey.