Swiss game designer and passionate cosplayer Martina Hugentobler attended the Fantasy Basel Comic Con in her spectacular Anubis costume. Flaunting a complex costume design that appears to come straight out of CGI game, her creation became a crowd favorite. And participants expected that Martina will win the Cosplay Contest. In the end, Martina’s incredibly detailed Anubis costume won second place, trailing behind a contestant in an Alphonse Elric costume.
However, when photos of the winners were posted on social media, people got mostly interested with the Anubis costume. Of course, people are quick to find out the person behind the incredible cosplay costume. Martina’s Instagram page quickly earned more followers while photos of her Anubis costume are drawing thousands of likes and shares. She may not have won first place but she’s definitely winning on social media.
Many curious people are wondering how she created the amazing Anubis costume. And where did she get the inspiration from? Martina reveals that the character was based from Hui Zou’s God Within Steel Anubis for R-One Studio. After getting permission from the artist, Martina decided to bring the CGI design to life. She started designing the Anubis costume by making templates in Blender (a 3D software).
The Anubis costume is actually Martina’s only third attempt at making costume for cosplays. The budding cosplayer admits that she still has a lot to learn about costume-making. But she adds that she loves the craft and she enjoys the challenge that comes with it. Despite working full-time, she still spares some time for her hobby. This is why it took her a year to finish the impressive costume, spending a total of around 1000 hours. After the final design was completed, she gathered all the necessary materials from a local hardware store. At her spare time, she would work on the costume.
She constructed the Anubis costume with PVC material which is lightweight yet durable. These attributes are essential because she’ll be wearing the costume herself. And a woman could only carry a certain amount of weight. In addition to its lightweight characteristic, PVC is also a rigid material which makes the components easier to attach. Martina used epoxy resin to stick all the pieces together. In order to have a clear view of the outside, she used a see-through reflective vinyl on the Anubis’ throat part. With the costume on, she feels as though she’s looking through sunglasses.
After winning second place at the prestigious Swiss Comic Con, Martina did not expect to receive overwhelming praise from people. Furthermore, interested people are asking if she’s putting the costume up for sale. But Martina courteously refuses to sell her masterpiece. Although she still entertains the idea of producing cosplay costumes for business purposes in the near future.
“The response has been overwhelming, especially since it’s not a well-known character from a specific game or movie that has a big fandom. I knew from my previous costumes that people seem to appreciate the polygonal aesthetic but I would have never thought it [would] blow up like this.”, she humbly states.
Martina’s Anubis costume is built from PVC and vinyl materials
Source: Instagram page