These days, Aquaman gets no respect. Whether it is from haters who think he is worthless or the guys (who we love) from Robot Chicken who make fun of him, he is just under-rated. Many would argue, what does he do and why is he cool? Well, I am here to answer these questions and show how to make an amazing Aquaman costume.

Aquaman is the King of the Seven Seas! The ocean covers two thirds of the world, thus he rules over a majority of the world. Yes it is the ocean, but some serious stuff goes on down and around there. The Navy, pirates, water mutants and giants, and every boat or ship is all under the watch of Aquaman. People would say this is nothing. I would have to disagree. Not only does he keep all of these things in line, the League of Doom is located in a swamp. Now, who would be the perfect hero to sneak into the evil fortress or be able to access it the easiest? I think everyone know what the answer.

But wait, there’s more. His coolest power is commanding ANYTHING underwater. He controls every living thing in fresh or salt water. No one else can do this, not even with animals on land. Many heroes are limited to one animal species, if any. He can throw down and battle too. His skills are not only subject to controlling water dwelling animals, but he knows how to throw a punch and do a kick to the face. Let us not forget that he was the one of the original four in the Justice League along with Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman. Now that you know Aquaman is much cooler than people give him credit for, let me show you how to make a rad hero costume.

Aquaman has a scaled armor shirt in orange. This is the hardest and longest thing to make, so we’ll start with this. You want to find an orange fabric that has a vinyl feel to it and can stretch a little more than cotton fabrics. I found a great pattern in the table cloth section of the fabric store.

Then, measure around the cosplayer’s torso to see how long to cut the pieces of scales. Give yourself a couple extra inches. Cut the pieces with half circles, like fish scales on one side and keep the other side straight. Do not cut between the scale lines to deep. Go down only about 1/4 inch.

Find a tight fighting, long-sleeved shirt in orange. Athletic shirts work well since they are stretchy, but tight. When sewing the scales on the shirt, start from the bottom and work your way up. Use a thread that matches the scale fabric and use a longer stitch.

To do the sleeves, use a thread cutter to undo the previous stitching that forms the sleeve. Use the same technique on the sleeves as you did on the body, starting form the bottom. After the sleeves are full of scales (usually takes the longest up towards to shoulders) turn the shirt inside out and sew the sleeves back together. Use a tighter stitch then before. The finished shirt should be about 12-18+ hours of work, but it looks awesome!

The easy stuff is next. Aquaman wears bright, green pants all the way done to his feet. These pants can be found at American Apparel. They are not tights, but more like leggings to offer more of an opaque look and feel. He also wears black underwear over the pants, much like Superman, Green Lantern, and Batman (classic versions). The best shape and size for these are large women’s underwear, or granny panties. They fit and look the best.

The belt adds the ‘A’ into the costume nicely. Find a thick belt that can be painted (spray paint is your friend!). Check Good Will, Ragstock, or even garage sales. Once it is found, spray paint it a bright yellow. Add the stylized ‘A’ out of wonder-flew, thick foam, wood, metal, or whatever you want. Spray it to match the yellow belt and adhere it to the belt securely.

The gloves can be a little tricky. Many people get them costume made, but that gets expensive. A pair of thick dish washing gloves or thin welding gloves works well. Spray paint them green to match the pants.

The finishing touch is the Sea King’s trusty trident. This can be welded out of metal, made of wonder-flex, or bought at a Halloween shop. We found a good Halloween trident and spray painted it metallic gold. Then, add a couple blue gems to finish the look.

Aquaman Rocks!

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