unlike many cosplays ive seen, this one actually looks realistic. You clearly understand how the wing works and put time and effort into making it.I would gladly pay 900 $ for something like that. you earned my full respect man!

@reragatz

9 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Good observation. I studied bird wing anatomy and feather layout to make the wings. Mother Nature is a great teacher.

Thanks for the quick response. You've inspired me to look at more areas of creativity. Spent time at Michaels, and looking for feather suppliers. Thanks again. Luv, lite, and laughter

@reragatz

8 жыл бұрын

+Dirk Ferlen You want feathers? Ostriches Online was my feather source, which, sadly, has now closed their doors, but they recommend Fancy Feather for all our feather needs.

1500 dollars and 5 years of planning. That's dedication to the craft. Congratulations on a stunning piece.

Just stunning! the details..things that most seem to forget, like the arch of the wing. just...amazing all the way around!

These are without a doubt the loveliest wings that I have seen created thus far. They looked very beautiful and natural, and you looked natural with them I must say! Well done!

Truly a stunning piece of work!

Hi Rachel, Awesome job. Lovethat you posted the plans as well. Thanks for sharing your talent and skills

The best thing is that these wings were 8 pounds and built on a frame with TONS of padding! :) Comfy. I could (and often did) wear them all day at the convention. :)

That is beautiful! I can't imagine the intensive work and planning that went into them. I think that it was certainly worth it! They are stunning.

The amount of work and dedication to make these magnificent pieces of art is truly impressive.

you make me want to continue trying to improve and make wings again! Such time and work put into theses. I love how you added your research at the beginning [I did the same, not always applied]. Brilliant work! I cant wait to see more.

An Avariel graces us mortals with her angelic presence. Wonderful work. Now, lets see....a Drider!

And here I was, looking how to make some wings for a LARP. Gives me a slight idea where to start. Beautiful artwork, very inspiring.

perfect! Amazing job! It's great to see someone with so much dedication make something beautiful!

Wow! You are crazy dedicated and crazy creative and crazy clever! Those wings are easily the most beautiful I've ever seen!

Amazing!! I'd love to see more of the mechanics and materials you used for these. They are lovely, truly a fantastic job!!

This really is the most beautiful costume I've ever seen. I saw her at GenCon when she debued the outfit. It really inspired me to start crafting outfits for LARP. I've been planning wings ever since.

So awesome! I need to favorite this, as I am looking to make wings for a Devil costume in the future. I can't believe how beautiful your wings turned out! Simply PERFECT!

You can tell you spent alot of time on this. I just want to say, your awesome and I respect the amount of time and work you put into your hobby.

You have amazing talent. and I think you for sharing this work of art

An incredible creative project. Very artistic. Best wishes on your health.

It was really fun. The best part of it was seeing the looks on kids faces when they saw dreams come to life! Great message to share with them!

so many people have dreams and imagination , but never see them through , absolutely stunning to see creativity implemented and achieved , fantastic :)

That was outstanding! Nice work, that looked like a true labor of love.

You are amazing. I hope the best for your recovery. Take care.

Fantastic! What a great work!

So very frightening that you were in an accident. I am glad that you seem to be doing well, and I wish you speedy recovery.

I'd really love to see them in motion, and more on how you make them move - the structure is certainly very clear in the earlier parts of the video. I've been knocking around ideas for something very similar off and on for maybe 5 years, and while I've come to different structural solutions for several items, I can hardly hope to make anything as beautiful as your wings! They are entirely stunning.

I'm currently designing my own for an angel cosplay, but i doubt they will look as AMAZING as yours.I admire how much hard work you put into making your wings!

@reragatz

10 жыл бұрын

Excellent! I posted my video for folks like you that want to build their own wings, now they see more of how I did mine. I hope it helps! It was work to build, but worth it! Good luck!

I have no idea how I got to this vid :) Glad I found it. You carry them very well and your poses look great. What a fantastic job! Thanks for posting.

absolutely incredible.. im attempting my first set of wings for a Skarmory cosplay and this is just so inspirational. its awesome to see what people can come up with when they apply good ideas and hard work :) watching this is 2015 and still the best set of wings ive seen :)

@reragatz

8 жыл бұрын

+Zaphy Thank you! One of the main reasons I posted this video was to give others who want to try their hand at making a pair of wings a "sneak peak" as to how I did it. Good luck to you!

Hi Alexandra, I used aluminum screening for the wing "muscles" or "Skin" and wove the flu (feather's hard tail) into the screen. I then gently constricted the screening around the flu and glued it in. In the numerous years the wings have been in existence I believe I have yet to loose a feather! (It works)

Stunningly beautiful! I now have the overwhelming urge to cosplay a character with wings!

Wow.. those are unbelievably stunning. ^_^ I've been a big fan of the Avariel for many, many moons, and love that you've depicted one of the most beautiful, yet one of the least known fantasy races so gorgeously. ^_^ HUGE kudos!! And nice posing, too! It's great to see that not only can you engineer a gorgeous pair of wings, but you know what to do w/them, too! ^_^

That is the most amazing Wings I have ever seen. Drop dead amazing looking. And of course the Beautiful Angel too :P

Rachel, those wings are just fantastic !!!, I just looked over the internet for How to.... and wow !! Your wings are just a real bird moving an looking type, I read too about your accident, and Is great that you are Ok!!, Please when you feel fine and full recovered give us the chance to do our best work to achieve a great pair of wings like yours, I ´m a dreamier and my head is full with fantasy, How I wish to have those conventions in Mexico, My best wishes for you.

I find these wings absolutely stunning. I'm not myself a fan of Articulated wings, due to the limitations with arm movement, and am following a pnuemetic system, but that aside, the simple layout and aesthetic quality of these wings are INCREDIBLE. You really did your research and put incredible care into the layout of the feathers. That alone is a HUGE inspiration and the ability to see this for myself is a great help!! So many wings out there could be so amazing even without motion simply by putting the effort and research into understanding the layout with the same detail as the costume itself. I've seen great cosplays ruined because you just cant stop noticing the terrible wings. Its the same with wigs, but these things are overlooked as less important. I am -really- impressed with what you've done with your Avariel wings, andthankyou so much for this as it will make a great resource for my own wings. I'm making a pair for myself and a friend doing Krad and Dark from DN Angel, so wish us luck :D

@reragatz

8 жыл бұрын

+darklady5 Thank you! Good luck to you! As you noticed, it pays to do one's homework on understanding feather layout and how wings were really built (naturally).

@darklady5

8 жыл бұрын

That it does!

the wings are so pretty! well done!

wow, that costume is so amazingly beautiful

Awesome! Exactly what I was looking for. I will be building an Avacyn costume over the next few years and her wings are very much like yours only white!!

Amazing job. I can really see that taking five years, since it's a very major project for one person to be doing. The research alone must have taken a very long time.

Very nice work indeed and I would not be surprized that others out there in TV land copied your hard work! Anyway, the true sign of a great costume is being able to use it in 'real' terms. This costume not only looks realistic but you can move in it like you actually have had wings forever! That is more than well done!! Thanks for showing your work! I do hope you get credit for all this as well, and I hope you keep creating, perhaps work in the industry with your great imagination! Cheers, from a fellow artist in Canada. Vicki

That is truly incredible. Amazing job.

Holy Moly!! Talk about a labor of love!! Those are hands down, the coolest costume wings I've ever seen. Eat your heart out, Victoria's Angels!! I considered e-mailing you for instructions for one brief moment. Then I saw the picture go by, mentioning the $1500 cost and 5 years of planning. I like costuming, but I don't have your supreme dedication!! LOL

I half expect you to take flight!!!!!! Really, they are beautiful. This is the best cosplay that I've ever seen!

PLEASE let us know as soon as your website is done. These are some of the best articulated wings I have ever seen and I would love to see a step by step tutorial!

Simply Beautiful!!!!! the wings were cool ;)

These are the most beautiful wings I've ever seen! I so want to make them. =D I bet it was an awesome project to start and complete.

wow you're really pretty and good job i really loved the magical part about the wings!!! really inspired me 8D

Rachel, I have to say your wing design is inspired. Honestly, It is superior to many of those I've seen built for film and TV use. Your use of aluminum screening is positively inspirational. Assuming you're still reviewing comments on your video, I wanted to ask you some questions which I don't believe have been asked: How much force is required to move the wings in either direction? How far do you have to pull the lines (fishing line?) in order to fully deploy the wings? How much time does it take for you to safely deploy / retract them? How does the application of force change over the course of deployment (do you apply more force at one time than another)?

truly lovely!

I'll making all the plans for my 50's Bday Party, and Im born on Valentine's day, and I have the idea to dress as a Cupid, and I was looking how to make my white wings, and I found you, so amazing, I don't have words, you just stunning, great job, I'll go to refer to your video to make my white wings. THANKS for sharing your idea....

This is breathtakning, it's just, amazing, the dedication

@ombredeluciole I just watched that. Brilliant job. Thank you.

I made a pair of wings before too, and it's amazing to bring your creation to life, but I can't believe you actually went and got all these feathers....

I can't stop listening to the song, it's so beautiful

Thank you! I studied bird wing anatomy and feather layout to make them. Glad you noticed!

Both your wings and the costume as well are amazing! I hope the wings I'm going to attempt come out as well as yours. :)

perfect! You are an artist!

Agreed, and agreed. Thank you! This just shows that if you chase your dreams, you can (most likely) achieve them. Kind Regards, -Rachel

@SammyXxMonster Good attention to detail! Yes, the shirt has two slots that run down the back, from mid back to the base of the shirt. These slots are lined with Velcro to stay shut everywhere a wing isn't.

Thank you. I have no idea how many I used. About $3,000 worth. I ordered a few, tested and measured them, drew up a design and measured the surface area to cover, calculated the surface area per feather and used that to see how many I needed. It worked! I only needed two orders. As far as lengths go I have long 24"+, medium ~10") and a bag of almonds (2"). Hope that helps!

Those are amazing! Looks like you had a blast :D

I only have one thing to say.. oh my giddy aunt those are gorgeous!!!

Wooooah... I've seen the pipe skeletons for these... but what you did with that basic thing... wooooaaahhh!

Beautiful!

Thank you! Erika, the wings extend through a pull chord system I built. The chords dangle from the small of my back. When I want to extend them, gust grab and go!!

Oops. I'm stupid. I didn't look at the other comments. But now that you say it was a cord, I kinda have an idea on what you did. This is so cool! I've been wanting to make a pair of Dragon wings for a cosplay. Thanks for helping me figure out the structure! Your work is the best!

@reragatz

9 жыл бұрын

Thank you, my work comes largely from learning from other attempts to solve similar problems (be it from other people or from nature). Asking is by no means stupid. :). When we ask, we hear the answer(s) and learn. Asking is a very wise approach to learning.

@hurnethflamefury569

9 жыл бұрын

Indeed it is! I appreciate your work and enjoy your videos. I love learning about new things and wish to expand my horizons as I grow. Thanks to you, I have gained a step closer to my goals! Thank you!

Wow, such complements! Thank you very much! -Rachel

II kinda remember them having white wings... but I still love the look of these and the outfit to go along with it! ♥

Thank you, Helia. They open with a pull string (fishing line). It is hard to see because it is translucent. That, plus a hinge on each wing. Hope that helps!

excellent design!

Phenomenal!!! I'm working on some devil/demon wings w/full movement and the ability for them to come alive and curl a bit from 'elbow to wing tip. No feathers though, wowza! the grace, beauty, and look was very fitting for the woman wearing them.. Thanks for posting, sweet

@member186 you are awesome. Thank you.

Thank you so much! I really had no clue where to look for them. I know where to get most everything else because my dad works construction. Thanks! I can't wait to work on them!

Absolutely stunning... I don't think you'll have an equal until it becomes possible to make actual wings with living tissue for people...

absolutely stunning!!!! :))

wow, beautiful wings and you are also beautiful. so creative.

Thanks! Cosplay is very fun!

Awesomely nice wings!Good job!

you're the definition of beauty, i love it so much

Neat costume concept! I designed/selected the pattern for the clothing to cover the mounting mechanism of the wings. In essence the mounting mechanism is on me, covered by the clothes. The wings come out the back of the clothes so slots needed to be left in the shirt for the wings. Then the shirt stays with the mounting mechanism and is removed at the same time. Hope that helps! Kind Regards, -Rachel

Thanks!! Go for it! The wings only way about 8 lbs, but I wanted as much as possible to go the the hips/waist, just to be safe. As a result, they are really comfortable to wear! (I've warn them as long as 8 hours without trouble.)

Thank you! I actually made this video to help others, such as yourself out at that task. I was also in the process of prepping to help teach "Wings and Things", a group of fast sessions to help others understand how to make wings, but a few months before this class happened I was in a car accident and almost died! Since then I have been on the long road of recovery. I would like to offer a more detailed tutorial, but can't. What I can do is answer questions. I hope this helps! -Rachel

These are fantastic! Well done :)

@BluestormsSong Thank you! It is a work of love/fun for me. Best Wishes!

Hi Joe, I posted this to help others who want to make a pair like mine see how I did it. You can, of course, change steps, but I can say with confidence that the process I have in the slide show works because it is what I did. Good luck!

@peterbradley977

10 жыл бұрын

Hey stranger, whats new? :)

@reragatz

10 жыл бұрын

Hi Peter, A lot! Car accident, near death, fantastic recovery, rising... You?

@peterbradley977

10 жыл бұрын

Oddly enough, last couple years, somewhat similar. Near death, lung illness, recovering.

@reragatz

10 жыл бұрын

To survivors!

@WolfieLovesLiterature

9 жыл бұрын

Hello Rachel! First off i'd like to say these wings are amazing! I am making my own pair of wings for my Maleficent Cosplay,And they are also going to be contractable... Anyway i have a few questions reguarding your layout of wings... >at 1.25 in the video there is some kind of almost transparent material on the frame of the wing. --What is that?Were did you buyit? --Price?How does this improve stabillity for the feathers?/Wing movement restriction? Once again your wings are BeAuTyFuLl! and you did an amazing job on them. i apoledgize for all the questions.. i just couldnt help but ask! Please get back to me as soon as you can! THANKYOU!

Thank you very much! Good work yourself, oh wing-master! My wings weigh 8 pounds. I kept weight down by using Golden Pheasant Feathers, Aluminum screening, PVC tubing, a metal plate and a (Former) backpack. I stabilized the wings with the backpack and attaching the harness to my wide leather corset belt. Hope that helps. best of luck! -Rachel

You have no idea how long it took me to find this video and I am so happy to see this video wasn't lost I wanted to ask and I hope this isn't too much to ask but if you could you think you can make a step by step DIY video on how you made your wings I know there's other videos that make wings but your wings will always be my favorite number 1 on my list so if it's to much I would love to learn how you create such an amazing master piece

I was skipping little by little but froze when I saw the completed product and you in costume. ho. ly. COW that's amazing!!!!!!!!!

Thank you!! You are very kind. Kind Regards, -Rachel

Hi! Thank you for your kind words. My recovery is going well. In answer to you question I first cut a piece of sheet metal to the right size and then attached to flag holders to it (the flag holders made a "V" shape on the sheet metal.) I then attached the metal plate to the outside side (back side away from where someone's back would be) of the back of the backpack (I used machine screws on the inside, the same side as their back, and nuts on the outside by the plate). Kind Regards, -Rachel

Awesome piece of art :D...

@jboj1 Thanks! I studied bird wing anatomy (form and feather layout), and played with materials until I got it right. The feathers are from Ostriches online.

simply AMAZING!!! :D

Absolutely stunning! :O

Thank you for your kindness.

WOW!! I still remember the first costume you did - the one with handpainted dragon on the back of your cloak. - That blue fur wearing Klingon

Your wings are absolutely stunning! I am in awe. :D I would love to be let in on the "how to" of it.

Thank you for the explanation! You are right in that this is my character but in D&D the Avariel are a winged race of elves. I used the name "Avariel" to show respect.