While testing out Varaform for Cosplay Supplies, Amanda (Elemental Photography and Design) created these Maleficent Horns with two different finishes.
While casting your own horns does give you some of the best results, it’s a complex process that requires a lot of time and materials. If you don’t have time for curing, you can build Varaform horns quickly that can be wrapped in fabric Maleficent style or quick coated with an air-dry clay.
Build a base from tape and paper, wrap in cellophane.
Cover in strips of Varaform. Let cool, remove form.
Make a skullcap by wrapping your head in plastic and then having a friend help cast your head with Varaform strips. Don’t wear makeup on project day and hide face with something silly. Attach horns with strips of Varaform.
Wrap with straps of stretch faux leather. Glue lightly at overlap. Larger pieces used to cover the skullcap.
Time: 3 hours total. Weight 13oz (0.8lb).
Ability to headbang: Yes.
If you need a more organic horn, you can skip the fabric step and instead cover with an apoxie clay or air dry clay. We used Smooth-On’s Free Form Air which was a learning experience. It dries quicker than we expected and is more toxic than other clay we have used, so the skullcap was not quite finished smooth.
Time: 4.5 hours, not including cure time or paint drying. Weight: 1.6lb (27oz)
(Note: Yes, the horns are lopsided. This is the result of building fast, not careful. At least the clay method did help even it out 😛 )
One thing to note about the clay method is that you want to make sure you don’t push the clay through the mesh too far or it will shrink your headpiece. This happened with these horns and while I could fix it with some dremmel sanding, Free Form Air requires a proper respirator to sand and we don’t have one on hand at the office.
The clay through the mesh of the Varaform, especially at the edges of the skullcap, shrunk it juuuust enough to no longer fit.