In this week’s chapter of A Steampunk Guide to Hunting Monsters, The Werebeast of the Wild West, our hero, Percy, is hired by a group of ladies to protect their Wild West town from a werewolf. I wanted to share a behind-the-scenes look at the costumes, props and photography of the chapter!
Percy’s Costume
Here is a look at Percy’s costume for this chapter:
It features a brown coat, black silk cravat, white shirt and a custom made chest belt, this steampunk outfit mixes hand-made and purchased elements.
The chest piece is made out of an oversized watch clock, a pendant and leather pieces cut by my costuming assistant Catey.
Thunderboy’s Costume
Songwriter Alberto “Bert” Malcom stepped into the role of Thunder Boy, a character who replaced the Steampunk Samurai after numerous failed attempts to set up a samurai shoot.
Bert brought life and energy to this character, and he rounds out the Monster Hunting cast quite expertly, and heroically.
Thunderboy’s first costume features many vintage Wild West pieces including red cowboy chaps that I splattered paint on, a traditional Indian Thunderbird Belt buckle (seen above), a black leather vest, some dreamcatchers and a fancy antique fox pelt that I made little steampunk goggles for. The costume includes altered goggles and a custom necklace by Jen Driver and a beat-up felt hat.
Bert took a liking to the fox pelt, and he named it “Justin Bieber”
Below you can also see a clearer view of the goggles which have a Thunderbird detail in the center front.
The wolf belt buckle was purchased for a different character, but was replaced by a Thunderbird buckle in the final costume.
Bert continues his adventure as Thunderboy in numerous costumes influenced by steampunk throughout the book. Stay tuned for more posts, and be sure to subscribe!
The Skinwalker’s Costume
The werebeast of the wild west turns out to be a Native American skinwalker. When Alisa Kester was helping design costumes, she produced the first sketch of the monster which you can see below.
I also did my own version trying to add more steampunk elements.
Using these sketches, I started to build the creature in real life. I used a real coyote face for the mask.
I also used dozens of railroad themed pieces for the costume, such as ties, padlocks and badges.
Bert Malcom also took on the role of the Native American monster who is Thunderboy’s cousin in the story. Covered in body paint, gore-fx, steampunk tech and furs, Bert had quite a challenge to play two characters in one chapter.
The only thing he didn’t seem to like was when we were molding the fangs to his teeth, which took a long time and tasted unpleasant.
One model playing two characters is not new to the project. Kat has played both a ghost and mummy. Lizzie has played both a witch and a monster hunter. Jake has portrayed a Mad Doctor and Genie.
The fun with Bert will continue for quite a few chapters!
Thunderboy’s steampunk Native American Indian props
Recently I shared a tutorial about the Steampunk Axe I made using craft foam. That was not the only weapon that has been made for “A Steampunk Guide to Hunting Monsters”. Our Native American hero, Thunderboy, has quite an arsenal including a Thunderbird themed hatchet, a spear, goggles, a shield and a sword.
The hatchet or tomahawk was originally a toy to which I added craft foam. It was given a Thunderbird theme to reflect Thunder Boy’s supernatural ties.
Thunder Boy’s spear was an upcycled fantasy spear that I purchased. I added copper leafing to the handle and findings to the blade.
Steampunk Spear for Thunder Boy featuring feathers and dreamcatcher.
In this close up you will see the metal wings and steampunk-gear that I added to the spear’s blade.
The native hero also has a steampunk themed shield that he wields.
The shield is made from a wood circle, craft foam gear and real feathers.
I also added a thunderbird to the center of some purchased goggles.
Saloon Girl Costumes
Steampunk designer Alisa Kester provided many costumes for the photos in the book. Some of her most delightful costumes appear in this chapter on the Saloon girls.
Alisa created a velvet birdcage themed showgirl outfit which we used.
She also provided a fantastic steampunk saloon girl outfit.
Below you can see our models from the book wearing the outfits.
Philomena’s Costume
Alisa also provided the costume for the heroine, Philomena. We used various bits and pieces from the costume she provided.
Below you can see the various pieces I changed. I bought a hat, and made some suspenders.
Photographing the Heroes
Our photoshoot took us to Nevada City, Montana, a wonderful museum with a very friendly and helpful staff. They allowed us to shoot in the famous ghost town which is actually a collection of some of the oldest abandoned buildings in Montana which were gathered together to preserve History!
Nikki Ice and Leah Stembler modeled as the Saloon Girls.
The Nevada City staff was very friendly, and opened buildings for us to look in and shoot in.
The also allowed us to use things around town, like the benches and swings and the coffin!
Brin spent most of this shoot looking dejected.
Thanks to the staff of Nevada City for making our shoot so pleasant!
I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at Chapter 10. The Werebeast of the Wild West!
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