Thread: Dragon rider costume

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Well, this is my second post and I'm going to ask my first question.

I'm making a dragon riders costume and I need some help. I found this costume while browsing on the DragonCon site and I have fallen in love. It is a rider on a dragon. His legs are the dragons legs and the dragon is built around him. The head is mounted on a long tube and moves up and down and side to side. I have most of the costume laid out, but I need help with the head movement. I noticed in watching the Dragon Rider on YouTube, that the face/eyes always stay level no matter which way he turns the head. If he raises the head, the head stays level, if he moves it down the head stays level. How does he do this??? I can't seem to figure it out.

Sorry for such a long post.

This is the site to see the Ryder



Any help would be greatly appreciated.

By the way. This dragon mask is no longer made and I am looking for one. I just think this mask suits this setup. I've seen other riders costumes with different mask but they seem to loose something.

If anyone has one or knows where I could find one please contact me. I hope to post pictures as I go along.

Hello again. I guess I will use this to keep everyone who is interested up to date on my progress.

Well after much thought and conferring with some amazing costume builders I think I have figured it out. All I have to do is build an armature. I'm using two long strips of aluminum and two short strips of aluminum on the ends. I drilled and bolted them together and it works perfectly. It was so simple, I can't believe I could figure it out sooner. I guess, sometimes, you just have to take a step back and think about it for a while. When the lower part is attached to a stationary object the two long pieces move, but the two end pieces stay in place. I just used some scrap aluminum that I had left over from a camper that I built. I should have a lot of what I need to build this. I think that and finding a suitable mask for the dragon's head are going to be the hardest part. the rest will be time consuming. Well, hope to post some pictures soon and hope you enjoy the build.

Wow, that guy has an awesome costume! I can't wait to see yours....!!!

Hello again. I'm sorry for my long absence on here. It's been crazy around here since before Thanksgiving. I'm back and starting back up on my Dragon Rider costume.

Just wanted to give an update as to where I am with it. I made a waist band out of wood to fasten the wings, head and tail to. I will fit inside the waist band and the material for the legs will be like pants. It will be held up with a heavy duty shoulder harness. I have the frame for the neck and am getting ready to make the swivel for the mask to fit on. It is fairly involved. I have the mask that I plan to use. I have the wings framed out and they operate pretty good for PVC framed wings. Have to wait and see how they will work with material hanging from them. I strung a heavy cord through the PVC pipe for a pull cord to operate them. I am planning on purchasing the shoulder harness sometime this week I hope. I found a good heavy duty one at Lowe's. Should distribute the weight pretty well and be comfortable. As soon as warmer weather gets here, I will finish up the neck with the swivel and post some pictures. Hope you guys like it. I'm getting more and more excited about it.

The one thing I didn't see in the video that I thought would be a good addition would be if you could get the wings to extend somehow. Sort of like the gargoyle wing post that Titaniumedge had Gargoyle Wing Design

I for one can't wait to see what you come up with. I'm trying to start a bit earlier than i did last year myself but I'm still bouncing ideas around before moving forward.

I have the belt and neck made for the dragon. I have also made the frame for the wings. They will be able to move with the pull of a rope/string. I'll try to post pictures as soon as possible. Not a whole lot to show though. I think the armature for the neck will work great. I'm thinking the hardest part will be the legs. They will need to be extra large to look right. I have the mask and I think I have a good way to mount it. I will have to do some light welding for the mask to move back and forth. The neck will move it up and down. What little I have done looks cool I think. It will probably take until Halloween to finish. I'm glad I started early.

I've been working on a costume for my grandaughter and have even started another one for myself. It is a Blood Elf from Worlds of Warcraft. Should be pretty cool. A lot of work before the end of this month. We're going to a con at the end of this month and I was hoping to wear it then. We'll see. I don't think I will have the dragon ready. I think I have too many things I'm working on right now. LOL

I'll try to post pictures of all of the costumes as soon as possible. Keep checking back.

I cannot wait to see what this costume will look like when you have finished. Its such an amazing costume.

Well, it has been a long time since I've posted on here. Sorry about that. I'm still working on the Dragonrider costume. Not much to report on that. I have started on a different costume because I had the materials on hand. It is a tall demon type character. It will have large folding wings, diggrade stilts, large homemade horns, large pointy elf type ears and a forehead prosthetic that will go across the bridge of the nose and onto the cheeks for a deep hollow look in the eyes. I will also have a muscle suit for the torso and pants just below the knees. The rest of the leg will have fur that will hide the stilts and lead into a hoof for the feet. Oh yeah, it will have a long salt and pepper wig with a big ponytail on top. I'm hoping it will be cool. The stilts are my biggest challenge at this point. Building them and then learning to walk in them. LOL Hope this description gives you an idea as to what it will look like. I hope these pictures turn out. I am posting some pictures of the wing frames that I have built.

Those are some nice looking wing armatures!