Brak Costume
"Best Brak ever!"
Let there be no doubt about the following: Brak is the funniest cartoon character on the planet. He's got the voice, the look and the pals that make him a hilarious addition to any TV programming schedule. Also for the record: everything you see here is real. The Brak costume you're about to become privy to was created from scratch in south Tacoma backed by the pure will to make it the best #&$@ Brak costume anywhere.
Posers
I began my quest by searching the web (much like you probably found this site) to find out two things: 1) what sort of Brak costumes are out there of either the store-bought or the homemade variety; and 2) if I find something, how could I do it better?
Well, let me tell you, I wasn't impressed. As of October 2001, no Brak costume on the web was truly a worthy representation of my animated hero and yours. (See photo at right) It was now officially my job to show up all those Brak posers out there and make a costume that would convince even the animators themselves that Brak lives.
Poser update: I think there may be another Brak costume created by someone with the same admiration that I have for that lovable cat-something-creature. Check it out at http://www.skateminnesota.org/~tam/brak/ My critique would only be that the head is far too small. Our dear Brak's noggin is largely out of proportion with his body and adds greatly to his persona. Nice work here, nevertheless. But I digress...
The pure magic of cardboard (2001-10-26)
At first I needed a template. I've never fancied myself much of a sketch artist but I set out on the web to find me a sample Brak mug to use as the basis for the head of my costume. I found nothing (thanks a lot Google images) worthy of being used so I instead took a low-res image and vector traced and colored it in with Photoshop. With that I could begin. The dimensions for the outer portion of the cone-like portion of the head would be cut from a 40" x 10" slab of cardboard (Figure 1.1). |
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I transferred the sketch onto the actual cardboard piece and began cutting off the non-essentials. Now, the only thing that will be cut out from the cardboard is the hemisphere that makes up the cavity below Brak's upper jaw. The remainder of the outlines will be guides for cutting out the material used to give brak his muppet-like color. |
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A sketch of the lower jaw section was made and cut out as was a plate to cover that immense hole in the head. Notice in the lower jaw there is a small silver dot. That's a nail. I have a small rectangle of cardboard mounted perpendicular to the front of the jaw to use as a means for connecting his lower jaw to mine. Yes, this puppy has comes rigged with the much-hyped lower jaw action! The curve on the head cover was achieved by precisely bending the piece to conform to the curve of the edges of Brak's head. Nothing fancy but, I must say, I'm quite the cardboardsmith. |
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![[image] Brak in the making...](img/brak_01.jpg)
![[image] Brak in the making...](img/brak_02.jpg)
![[image] Brak in the making...](img/brak_03.jpg)
Cartoon neurosurgery (2001-10-28)
I didn't do much more than use a few more nails to create cardboard supports that would help hold Brak's head on mine (Figure 2.1). A normal cap will be used as a snug way to fix the large exo-head of Brak to mine. The hat in Figure 2.2 is just a stand-in. Auditions for the role of hat will be held by project's end.
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![[image] Brak in the making...](img/brak_04.jpg)
![[image] Brak in the making...](img/brak_05.jpg)
"Head! Felt! Now!" (2001-10-29)
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Using various colored sheets of felt for Brak's vibrant colors would pose a challenge. Since I had sketched the shapes needed directly onto the cardboard I needed some way to transfer those shapes so I could accurately cut the felt. Solution: clear plastic transparency sheets! I used these to again outline the needed shapes and make the cuts in the felt. I used a spray adhesive to stick felt to cardboard but utilized push pins to hold the material in place while the adhesive dried. Although unconfirmed, the number of brain cells lost in the spraying of adhesive numbered in the millions. |
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The evening dragged on long into the next day but felt was now applied and Brak began looking an aweful lot like himself -- minus eyes and an orange coating of felt for his lower jaw. (Figure 3.2) Tonight I first hung the cape-like yellow curtain for the sides and back of the head. With this done, I worked on the upper and lower jaw pieces followed by his red head and black mask. Tonight's difficulty was with the spray adhesive and the felt. Everytime I sprayed the cardboard I had no way to avoid getting some on my fingers which then stuck and pulled off lengths of felt fluff. If you try this, do your best to keep your fingers clean. Good luck though since the adhesive once in pseudo-liquid form would actually soak right through the felt. "Mmm... free goo." |
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![[image] Brak in the making...](img/brak_06.jpg)
![[image] Brak in the making...](img/brak_07.jpg)
"Trick or treat, ev'rbody!" (2001-10-31)
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I hadn't much time today to pull things together so the pictures begin at my assembly of the costume. Final preparations included piecing together the body portion of the costume. A layer of black sweat pants and a black turtle neck shirt went on first. Next was the blue straps fashioned out of a choir or brides maid dress purchased at Goodwill for scrap material. The blue "boots" were this same material wrapped around my feet and lower leg and held in place by some clothes pins and the sandals I'm wearing. This is by far (in my opinion) the most dissappointing part of the costume. I couldn't within a reasonable time find boots of this color that weren't about four kids sizes too small. Such is life in improv costume fashioning! The jaw is held in place with two perpendicular straps of our surplus blue material and the cardboard extension of the lower jaw. And my friends in elementary school thought they looked funky wearing that dental headset. Ha! |
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A final touch to the costume was some blazing red vixen gloves purchased at a South Hill Mall temporary Halloween supply store. Although advertised to be the perfect accessory for a devilish female costume these gloves nearly made up for this Brak's shabby excuse for boots. But what this all leads up to is a great night out and the following pic (soon to be a grotesque animated GIF) |
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![[image] Brak in the making...](img/brak_08.jpg)
![[image] Brak in the making...](img/brak_09.jpg)
![[image] The final Brak costume in cut-out form.](img/brak_10.gif)
Comments (34) | To Top
1/28/2004 @ 4:23pm
you are a buffoon/ goon
by asdfh
6/24/2004 @ 1:16pm
i like it!
by ???
10/17/2004 @ 5:43pm
i like beans
by me
10/20/2004 @ 10:23am
i am going to make it soon i love brak
by me
10/20/2004 @ 7:38pm
how do you see out of the mask?
by amdrew
10/21/2004 @ 2:25pm
I saw out of Brak's head via two /tiny/ slits just between the green eyes. Since the holes were in the black area of his mask they weren't as noticable as they couldn've been. Although it was difficult, I did manage to go to class, work and a movie that day.
by KevinFreitas
10/26/2004 @ 9:55pm
Man. all i have to say is that the head has no contours and he's missing the top of his helmet with the yellow underside. im making mine with papier mache. i will link the finished product soon.
by jerm
10/29/2004 @ 3:38pm
Can't wait to see it! I was only going for big, bright and cheap with mine. The shape of Brak's head is pretty hard to figure out from most still shots. Wish I had a 3D model to work from!
by KevinFreitas
10/30/2004 @ 1:02pm
check out my version of the brak costume:
http://www.rpi.edu/%7Elaveye/GZ%20halloween/dani.jpg
http://www.rpi.edu/%7Elaveye/GZ%20halloween/dani_speaks.jpg
http://www.rpi.edu/%7Elaveye/GZ%20halloween/winner.jpg
in the last one, you can see i have an ice pack in one hand. that's because i burned myself hot gluing things...it was worth it though. i would recommend not rushing when using things like hot glue so you don't make mistakes and you don't burn yourself.
by dani
11/1/2004 @ 6:30am
Looks great, Dani! Did you use this page as inspiration/guidance for your costume? Are those boots made from blue painters tape by any chance? I could see that working really well for Brak's belt and straps too! Mind if I snag those photos and post 'em locally for posterity?
by KevinFreitas
11/3/2004 @ 1:31pm
thanks! i did use this page to get me started. i just used blue fabric for brak's straps and belt, and the same blue fabric was put on the bottom of my pants (which were long enough to cover most of my shoes). i think if you used blue painter's tape, it would work well for the straps as long as it didn't un-stick. that stuff is meant to be temporary. you can use the photos, sure, as long as you give me credit.
by dani
1/7/2005 @ 5:01pm
I want your costume! Or atleast.. follow the intructions to make my own..
by Brie
1/10/2005 @ 9:17am
im going to make this thanks so much great job to both of you. i love brak!
by Chet
1/18/2005 @ 5:59pm
I LOVE YOU.
by Zorak the Frikkin' Evil Mantis
1/19/2005 @ 3:51pm
Here's my brak costume from this year.
http://www.technobohemia.com/albums/DragonCon-2004/dragoncon2004_2415.jpg
by Another brak guy
2/2/2005 @ 6:26pm
looks.... okay..... alright, not as good as kevin's, it looks like its made completely of duct tape
by Zorak the Frikkin' Evil Mantis
2/2/2005 @ 8:07pm
And I still contend that the heads of nearly all the ones listed above (Dani comes close) are too small. The best thing about cartoons is that they don't have to be in realistic proportions (e.g. Jessica Rabbit).
by KevinFreitas
4/8/2005 @ 10:30pm
Yes SIR!
Sorry, I just felt like posting here again. Hi, Kevin Freitas!!!
by Zorak the Frikkin' Evil Mantis
6/22/2005 @ 8:07pm
Very awesome costume! It looks excellent for being such short notice. I can't get Dani's pictures to show, but I like the boots on Another brak guy's costume alot. Thos boots combined with Kevin Freitas' costume would be awesome. Me and a friend were planning costumes, him being Brak and me being Space Ghost, but his probably won't be nearly as good as the ones on this page.
by SpaceGhost
8/23/2005 @ 11:02am
Not bad, but far from the "best brak costume", i'd imagine. i like the colors but the head needs a lot of work. and his boots are supposed to go all the way up his legs
by Mike
8/23/2005 @ 11:42am
Maybe I should change that to "Best Brak ever made in a couple days". ;) Yeah, there'd be plenty to work on if I ever go at this costume again. It was certainly fun though. Brak does have a pretty big head though, and I think I got the scale close. Didn't get the full geometry going though.
Ah, the memories...
by KevinFreitas
9/8/2005 @ 8:21am
I like Another Brak guy's. Course, I'm pretty biased, considering I know the guy. Your costumes look really similar...I was about to yell at you for claiming his work as your own. Glad I didn't. ~_^
by The cat in apartment 2B
10/26/2005 @ 11:28am
brak is NOT the best cartoon ever, but if you like him, buy the new dangerdoom cd. he actually kicks off the album. the whole thing is inspired by adult swim. also, that suit looks like you'd molest children in it or something.
by douche
10/31/2005 @ 8:54pm
My own version of the Brak costume that my fiancee and I created this Halloween... seeing Kevin's costume definitely inspired this one!
by Michael Russo
11/16/2005 @ 8:43am
weirdo
by me
11/28/2005 @ 1:58am
hey i guess i didn't realize that person took down the pictures of my brak costume. here is where you can see them now: http://www.rpi.edu/~kumpud/brak
by dani
6/8/2006 @ 4:07pm
That Brak costume "cuts the cake"! Go to my
homepage at the above URL to see something
else that "cuts the cake"!
by Robert.
9/6/2006 @ 4:38pm
who is this guy and where did he come from?????
no, seriously....what show is he from?????
by whats my name
9/11/2006 @ 4:19pm
That is awesome! Great job!
by Woofer
3/12/2007 @ 2:02pm
ok, the mask in the first picture is way better. your mask just looks stupid -_- his head isn't a freakin bucket -_- the first mask was better becuase it has a taper on the sides.
by fasdfasdf
9/23/2007 @ 10:50pm
do you still have that Brak costume? and would you be willing to sell it?
by Joshua Adams
10/22/2007 @ 11:57am
Very nice job, I'm struggling to make my own, and the boots are the bugaboo
by The Dark Overlord
10/22/2007 @ 11:59am
check this out and no I didn't make it.
by The Dark Overlord
10/22/2007 @ 11:59am
http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/~tskirvin/pics/bestof/2004/tn/brak.jpg.html
by Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Flim