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So you want to be Thor at the comic con.....
This is very cool. This guy makes his own super-hero costumes. Good ones.
Man behind the mask
Central Ohioan brings superheroes to life with thread, needle, ingenuity
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Marla Matzer Rose
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Scott Crawford, with a sampling of some of his X-Men superhero costumes that he makes in his home
Scott Crawford creates detailed comic-book superhero costumes from his cluttered duplex in what he calls the "neutral zone" between campus and Clintonville.
He even dons Superman’s cape himself, at times, braving cracks about his muscular 5-foot-8-inch frame not being tall enough to pass for the Man of Steel.
The 40-year-old Columbus native, who calls his operation Alienated Productions, can earn more than $2,000 for a single handmade creation. He makes latex masks from scratch and developed a technique of spray-painting the spandex outfits he sews to enhance muscle definition.
He sees possibilities in found objects, using trash-picked mini blinds, for example, to make X-Men character Arcangel’s wings and a saucer sled to make Captain America’s shield.
Crawford conducts costume contests at regional comic-book conventions, but he can’t legally market costumes based on well-known characters.
Copyright lawyers are his Kryptonite. Crawford’s work remains restricted without a licensing agreement from the top comics companies such as DC and Marvel.
That hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his passion, however. Next week, he expects Superman suits to be soughtafter commodities as Superman Returns opens, just as his costumes were last month with the opening of the latest X-Men movie.
Jeff Frank, president of Drexel Theatres Group, says he plans to hire Crawford for a Superman appearance at the Arena Grand Theatre the weekend of July 1-2.
"He’s been really fun to work with. We feel it adds to the atmosphere," said Frank, who has worked with Crawford for X-Men and Spider-man appearances since being referred to him by a local comic-book shop.
Crawford only wishes the work were steadier.
"It tends to be feast or famine," Crawford said. "I get calls when the comicbook movies are coming out, and things really pick up for Halloween. But often, I either don’t have any work, or I’m inundated with requests to do too many things quickly."
Since he was a child, Crawford has taken his fascination with superheroes more seriously than most. His mother helped teach him to hand-sew scraps of cloth into capes and masks to transform his GI Joe action figures into his favorite characters.
"My first year in junior high was when they decided boys should take home ec and girls should take shop," Crawford said. "I kicked everyone’s ass in home ec."
His passion for the world of superhe- roes has remained constant as he’s worked at various jobs after dropping out of Ohio State, where he majored in robotic engineering. He has held jobs with sci-fi store Star Base Columbus and local mascot maker Costume Specialists. But lately, he said he finds the job he holds, installing low-voltage wiring for Mid Ohio Pre Wire, to be more flexible and conducive to pursuing his own creations.
"It pays the bills, and I don’t find it creatively draining," Crawford said. "When I worked for the costume shop, I just felt I didn’t have the energy to work on my own things when I got home. Plus, I learned I can work with people doing costumes, but I can’t work for people. I want to be in charge and in control."
That makes it unlikely Crawford will fulfill a dream of creating costumes for Marvel or DC. Those comic-book companies, which control nearly all of the famous superheroes who form the basis of hit movies today, are big corporate businesses now. Although they encourage fandom, they tend to have formalized processes in place to address use of their characters’ images.
Paul Levitz, president and publisher of Time Warnerowned DC Comics, says DC works with a single company that makes costumes of its characters for various uses. "It’s just easier that way," Levitz said. "We just deal with one company that has all the patterns, trademarks and everything."
Christine Valada, a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer and wife of Len Wein, who created the Swamp Thing character and the X-Men’s Wolverine, said a fan costume creator such as Crawford is unlikely to be prosecuted. However, the comicbook companies will aggressively go after people who are using their characters to make money.
"Creating costumes is such an institutionalized part of fan conventions," Valada said. "DC and Marvel give out money for the best re-creations of their characters at top conventions. But they are very sensitive about companies associating their product or service with their characters."
"I can’t put up a Web site and tell people, ‘I’ll make you a Batman costume,’ " Crawford said. "That’s not legal. But if you come to me and say, ‘I want you to make me this costume’ and send me a sketch that’s essentially a Batman outfit, I can make that. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but that’s the way it works."
If Crawford were to have to abandon superheroes, though, he has other plans. He’s designed but never made a "Captain Ohio" character that he’d love to see make appearances as a mascot at OSU football games.
"I’d like to get into games for free," he said.
Man behind the mask
Central Ohioan brings superheroes to life with thread, needle, ingenuity
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Marla Matzer Rose
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Scott Crawford, with a sampling of some of his X-Men superhero costumes that he makes in his home
Scott Crawford creates detailed comic-book superhero costumes from his cluttered duplex in what he calls the "neutral zone" between campus and Clintonville.
He even dons Superman’s cape himself, at times, braving cracks about his muscular 5-foot-8-inch frame not being tall enough to pass for the Man of Steel.
The 40-year-old Columbus native, who calls his operation Alienated Productions, can earn more than $2,000 for a single handmade creation. He makes latex masks from scratch and developed a technique of spray-painting the spandex outfits he sews to enhance muscle definition.
He sees possibilities in found objects, using trash-picked mini blinds, for example, to make X-Men character Arcangel’s wings and a saucer sled to make Captain America’s shield.
Crawford conducts costume contests at regional comic-book conventions, but he can’t legally market costumes based on well-known characters.
Copyright lawyers are his Kryptonite. Crawford’s work remains restricted without a licensing agreement from the top comics companies such as DC and Marvel.
That hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his passion, however. Next week, he expects Superman suits to be soughtafter commodities as Superman Returns opens, just as his costumes were last month with the opening of the latest X-Men movie.
Jeff Frank, president of Drexel Theatres Group, says he plans to hire Crawford for a Superman appearance at the Arena Grand Theatre the weekend of July 1-2.
"He’s been really fun to work with. We feel it adds to the atmosphere," said Frank, who has worked with Crawford for X-Men and Spider-man appearances since being referred to him by a local comic-book shop.
Crawford only wishes the work were steadier.
"It tends to be feast or famine," Crawford said. "I get calls when the comicbook movies are coming out, and things really pick up for Halloween. But often, I either don’t have any work, or I’m inundated with requests to do too many things quickly."
Since he was a child, Crawford has taken his fascination with superheroes more seriously than most. His mother helped teach him to hand-sew scraps of cloth into capes and masks to transform his GI Joe action figures into his favorite characters.
"My first year in junior high was when they decided boys should take home ec and girls should take shop," Crawford said. "I kicked everyone’s ass in home ec."
His passion for the world of superhe- roes has remained constant as he’s worked at various jobs after dropping out of Ohio State, where he majored in robotic engineering. He has held jobs with sci-fi store Star Base Columbus and local mascot maker Costume Specialists. But lately, he said he finds the job he holds, installing low-voltage wiring for Mid Ohio Pre Wire, to be more flexible and conducive to pursuing his own creations.
"It pays the bills, and I don’t find it creatively draining," Crawford said. "When I worked for the costume shop, I just felt I didn’t have the energy to work on my own things when I got home. Plus, I learned I can work with people doing costumes, but I can’t work for people. I want to be in charge and in control."
That makes it unlikely Crawford will fulfill a dream of creating costumes for Marvel or DC. Those comic-book companies, which control nearly all of the famous superheroes who form the basis of hit movies today, are big corporate businesses now. Although they encourage fandom, they tend to have formalized processes in place to address use of their characters’ images.
Paul Levitz, president and publisher of Time Warnerowned DC Comics, says DC works with a single company that makes costumes of its characters for various uses. "It’s just easier that way," Levitz said. "We just deal with one company that has all the patterns, trademarks and everything."
Christine Valada, a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer and wife of Len Wein, who created the Swamp Thing character and the X-Men’s Wolverine, said a fan costume creator such as Crawford is unlikely to be prosecuted. However, the comicbook companies will aggressively go after people who are using their characters to make money.
"Creating costumes is such an institutionalized part of fan conventions," Valada said. "DC and Marvel give out money for the best re-creations of their characters at top conventions. But they are very sensitive about companies associating their product or service with their characters."
"I can’t put up a Web site and tell people, ‘I’ll make you a Batman costume,’ " Crawford said. "That’s not legal. But if you come to me and say, ‘I want you to make me this costume’ and send me a sketch that’s essentially a Batman outfit, I can make that. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but that’s the way it works."
If Crawford were to have to abandon superheroes, though, he has other plans. He’s designed but never made a "Captain Ohio" character that he’d love to see make appearances as a mascot at OSU football games.
"I’d like to get into games for free," he said.
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Now I'm all tempted to save up for a custom costume....
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Details. Looking good in the costume is the best incentive I've had for a while. ;)
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