Flight has caught our fancy since the dawn of
time. Ancient Greek myths detailed Daedalus
strapping wax-and-feather wings to his arms.
Leonardo da Vinci diagrammed wearable winged
mechanisms in the 15th century. Otto Lilienthal
helped launch the sport of hang gliding at the
end of the 1800s, and modern wingsuits have
been around since the mid-1990s. This is to say,
humans have always wanted wings.
Some members of the costume community
feel the same way, and have built their own
ornamental winged accessories. These always
capture great attention due to size, realistic
articulation, and that basic human desire to flap
ourselves into the sky.
Putting articulating wings onto a costume can
be a big undertaking. You’ll need a harness, an
inner framework for the appendages, a method
of motion (be it manual, electric, or otherwise),
and outer materials for the visual aspect. The
following wing projects will help get you started;
all use a simple principle of geometry where the
angles of a parallelogram change when its shape
is skewed. Push a side in one direction and an
attached appendage will stretch outward. Pull the
side back in and the pieces fold back together.
A
MANUALLY ARTICULATING WINGS
By Rachel McConnell instructables.com/
Articulated-Wing-Framework
This is a good starting point for a build. Rachel
McConnell uses lightweight balsa wood for
her wing framework, and attaches them to the
wearer's arms. Raise and lower your hands to
make the wings open and close, and pull your
arms forward for a flapping motion. “Suitable
for angels, bats, demons, birds (but not so much
for butterflies or other insects),” she writes.
“Decorate them with leather, feathers, streamers,
gold paint, whatever strikes your fancy. Mine
ended up with a 9-foot span when open fully.”
B
PNEUMATIC WINGS
By Ted Bruyere instructables.com/How-to-build-
pneumatic-costume-wings
Once you've got a moveable set of wings, you
might want to give them a power source. Creator
Ted Bruyere uses a pneumatic 4-inch throw
piston to apply force onto the square aluminum
tube wing frames, expanding them open.
The wings then fold back in when the piston
compresses. A canister of CO₂ supplies power,
tucking into the backpack that the wings mount
to. Bruyere strongly advises to limit the pressure
on the system —the pneumatics will pop the
wings open extremely quickly at full power.
C
ELECTRIC WINGS
By Willow Creative willow-creative.nl/build-logs-
tutorials/build-log-animatronic-wings
Using a more optimized parallelogram-frame
construction, Willow Creative’s approach
substitutes an electric linear actuator for manual
or pneumatic power. Batteries and control
switches are routed strategically through the
costume. The arms themselves are made from
PVC, using custom 3D-printed linkages.
Willow Creative also includes tips on finishing
the wings, both as leathery demon-styled and
feathery angel. Her work is top notch, and it’s
those finishing touches that take a costume to the
next level, so pay close attention.
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A.Z.Production @azproductioncosp, Rachel McConnell, Ted Bruyere, Willow Creative
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