Curiosities of Cosplay: Foodzorz

Pure love is often the major driving force when the time comes for a cosplayer to focus on their next project, and Foodz—known as Foodzorz on Twitter—was no exception when the Shadowbringers expansion dropped in Final Fantasy XIV. As the heartbreaking tale of a hero’s loss unfolded, Foodz started planning how they could bring the character to life. From the battle wear on Ardbert’s axe to the smallest minutia on his armor, every stitch in every layer accounted for and even the wig carefully and painstakingly styled, Foodz ensured no detail of XIV’s beloved hero, much like his tale the tale of his companions’ adventures and sacrifices on the First, went forgotten.

Of all the characters in Final Fantasy XIV, what drew you to cosplay Ardbert?

Foodz: When choosing a bigger build, I have a few criteria it has to meet before I commit: Do I like the character and the source material? Would I enjoy making it? Would I enjoy and feel comfortable wearing it?

First off, I really, really like Ardbert and his journey in the Shadowbringers story. Would dare to say he’s my favorite character overall in the game. He’s a good guy who was dealt a bad hand but in the end managed to pull through. And I hadn’t seen many cosplays of him!

Looking at the outfit and while sketching, I could visualize how the pieces could be made and fit together. Or at least felt confident enough in my knowledge that I could figure it out when I got there. And lastly, I like the aesthetic of the gear set and was so excited to get to wear it throughout the entire process!

You have created armor and even large-scale weapons for previous cosplays, such as your Drakengard and Nier costumes, but in what ways did this cosplay challenge your skills? Did you learn any new techniques that you can apply to future cosplays?

Foodz: With all the beveled edges on the armor, my biggest takeaway is that my Dremel is my friend! I don’t do much sculpting but this was pretty close to it. XIV designs have always been a bit intimidating, with all their protruding details on everything, but I feel more ready now.

Was there any particular part of the cosplay that was more challenging than you expected?

Foodz: I knew patterning the armor would be a pain, but the details on the upper hip plates and forearm piece had me stumped for quite a while! Also the shoulder armor will need some more work, but it still scares me…

I’m obsessed with your use of suede to cover the abdominal and back plates, rather than priming and painting the armor; I’ve never seen someone use fabric for brown armor before. Can you talk about your thought process behind covering those sections of the armor in suede?

Foodz: I think I got the idea from Kamui Cosplay’s Summoner build. But I was also inspired by the technique where you wrap armor pieces in metallic vinyl, instead of painting them. I always interpreted those pieces as being leather-y, rather than some kind of metal. So instead of doing all the work to make them look like leather, I could just wrap them in it and call it a day! It was also how I made the brown pieces on the shoulder cape, so it was good for consistency.

In your build thread, you also highlight your use of costuming Velcro for rigging the pieces together. I’ve seen Velcro used very often in cosplays, especially with armor, but I hadn’t heard of costuming Velcro specifically, which seems much thinner than your typical Velcro. Do you use any other products more specialized for costumes/cosplay that have improved or changed your building process?

Foodz: The costuming Velcro was a really lucky find. I added it to the cart just to try it and ended up loving it for its holding strength. And yes, it is thinner than ordinary Velcro. It was mainly supposed to be used to close the chestplate but ended up pretty much everywhere on the costume. The spikes are molded with foam clay and I also used it to reconstruct any parts where I had sanded too much. Foam clay is something I’ll probably use more in the future; it’s nice as both a filler and building material.

Your patterns for Ardbert’s armor include a lot of small and complex shapes. How have you developed your skills for drafting armor from your early cosplays until now? Did you study other cosplays and tutorials, or was it just a lot of trial and error?

Foodz: I have pretty much always made my patterns, both for sewing and props, myself, either by drafting from scratch or adapting from pre-existing one. I’ve been cosplaying for about 12 years, have studied a bit of 3D modeling and been drawing for as long as I can remember. So I’m used to thinking in visuals and breaking things down.

Since I tend to cosplay lesser seen characters, identifying shapes and adapting techniques is a very important skill. There will most likely never be a perfect guide for what I need, but problem-solving is my favorite part about making a costume, so it’s a self-inflicted challenge. I love watching other people’s work and being inspired by what I see so that it might be used in the future. But in the end, it’s a lot of trial, error, and masking tape.

Most of Ardbert’s armor was drafted from scratch on paper. Similar to making clothing patterns, it’s about curves, taking things in the right places and figuring out seam placements. For the forearm piece, I started out with sort of an egg shape, refined it and added the details.

The shoulder armor was a weird case of reverse engineering. It was way too complicated to start from nothing. So I traced a screenshot of it in profile, printed it and then piece-by-piece tried to rebuild it, using masking tape to extend pieces as needed. I don’t know how it worked out, but it somehow did.

With an armor set like Ardbert’s, which consists of so many separate pieces, how do you ensure the finished armor set looks cohesive? Not only in detailing like color and texture, but also how the pieces—their proportions, their rigging to keep them in place, how they fit together, the silhouette that they create—form a unified set when worn as the full, finished cosplay.

Foodz: A lot of pre-planning and sketching, and testing! Once I set for a project, I spend a lot of time doodling and just thinking about everything and running simulations in my head before starting on anything big. I sketch out all the pieces and try to get a feel for how they interact. What materials and fabrics I want to use. Where fastenings would need to be to make it secure and easy to take on and off. That way I have a battle plan to refer back to, which is really helpful when time starts to run out. But it’s also important to check things as you go, to make sure everything looks and feels right and works as intended. Sometimes I catch something not sitting well or looking off, and if I can tell it would be bothering me when I wear it, I try to make the adjustments or start thinking about how to remake it. 

You have a beautifully graceful style of shading and highlighting on armor pieces like the scales in Ardbert’s armor. Your detailing is precise and effective without being too heavy on detailing. How do you know when you’ve polished enough to achieve the effect you want without overdoing it?

Foodz: I guess it has always been my style to make things simple and clean, and the projects I choose reflect and allow for that. My inspiration comes from the hand-painted style of anime-styled games, such as the Tales of series. The colors are bold and a lot of the shading and highlights are in the paint work to help define shapes and make details pop. But not too much that it looks too cartoon-y. What is too much is always dependent on the project of course. FFXIV has a rather muted color palette, without being gritty, so I kept the shading subtle and functional.

You handstitched a lot of details on the pants that, by your own admission, no one will likely see (aside from your WIP photos!) due to the armor covering them. Has that attention to detail been important for you in your cosplays since you first started?

Foodz: I make most of my bigger cosplay projects with the intention to compete, so following the references has always been in the forefront when planning out all the pieces for a costume. It is also, in a way, for my own peace of mind. I want to be able to take off parts of the costume if needed and still have it looking good!

What part of your cosplay are you particularly proud of?

Foodz: Perhaps the axe. It was a very fast build, I did it in the last week before the convention (not recommended), and was very self-conscious about it. But once the blood was on, it finally came together and I ended up liking it a lot! 

Do you have a favorite memory of wearing your cosplay?

Foodz: I didn’t get to wear him much, but the reception and getting to connect with other FFXIV fans was great! 

Any future FFXIV cosplay plans?

Foodz: Next up is my Warrior of Light! Some version of Thancred after that and someday, the Chicken Suit from the 2021 Hatchingtide event.

Tell us a bit about yourself in-game and how you got into FFXIV!

Foodz: I was always curious about FFXIV and liked the art style, but was never interested in playing any MMOs or multiplayer games. It wasn’t until I became friends with two fellow NieR fans who played it and they slowly convinced me in around 2018 that I started playing. We casually did roulettes once in a while, but I didn’t really get into the story and game proper until 2020.  The abundance of white-haired characters was a contributing factor, not gonna lie.

In-game, I mostly do quests, have spontaneous gpose sessions, and explore the world and story. My character doesn’t have any lore (yet), but she is kind, cute, and loves all her minions very much.

You can find Foodz, aka Foodzorz, in-game on Cerberus (Chaos) as Elaine Eura, or check out their Twitter and Instagram!