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How to Make Costume Elf Ears
By Zeldaness
879 Favourites209 Comments157K Views
Hooray! My first tutorial!
Inspiration: I was looking to buy elf ears, saw the prices and Bam! Inspiration. In my first attempt I used aluminum foil, double stick tape, and plastic wrap. Later, as I got addicted to craft foam by making armor, I came to this method. I just had to make this tutorial for the good of my fellow deviants (and for fame and fortu...well, fame.)
But enough of my silliness, here's the link to my patterns: [link]
I hope this tutorial is helpful, and if you have any questions, just comment or note me.
Inspiration: I was looking to buy elf ears, saw the prices and Bam! Inspiration. In my first attempt I used aluminum foil, double stick tape, and plastic wrap. Later, as I got addicted to craft foam by making armor, I came to this method. I just had to make this tutorial for the good of my fellow deviants (and for fame and fortu...well, fame.)
But enough of my silliness, here's the link to my patterns: [link]
I hope this tutorial is helpful, and if you have any questions, just comment or note me.
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© 2009 - 2021 Zeldaness
Comments208
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This is such a useful, easy to follow tutorial! I was able to whip up a pair of elf ears for MAGfest this weekend, and I think they'll work even better than the store-bought ones I initially had. One thing I found super helpful in finishing my ears was using colored pencils to shade in shadows and highlights, to give it a more natural coloration. I also used blush/toner on the ears to soften the shine and get it even closer to my skin coloration.
Thank you for such a great tutorial!
Thank you for such a great tutorial!


Length is no problem. Two thicknesses of craft foam is very sturdy, and it's very possible to add designs in the top part. Making designs where the foam covers your ears is trickier, though. I have not yet found a good method. You might experiment with heated tools—craft foam becomes quite malleable when heated.

Ha, I know the feeling. It looks like you're going to have fun with colors! Heads up: craft foam generally revolts against being colored a shade lighter or duller than its original shade, so you might want to test around with different foam and coloring devices before gluing the whole ear together.
Have fun!
Have fun!


Hello, I hope you don't mind that I translated your tutorial to Slovak language and posted it on my blog ( japanese-dream.blog.cz/1307/el… )! I gave you full credit! :33 I had to translate it, since it was on request from a person who doesn't speak English + this tutorial is really good and useful! ^_^
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