Designing for the Lab chraracters

Costuming our chracters in the Lab is very important. Costume Design was my field before teaching and writing curriculum so it’s always one of the most fun things I get to do!  Sometimes I design before I make or find the costume pieces. Other times I find the items and shape the character around what we have. It’s like a treasure hunt and I can literally watch as pieces of each characters personality reveal themselves and the make the stories more and more interesting. It’s just like watching a puzzle come together. 

For one of our Zootopia characters, the Princess from Belkenbop, I discovered an awesome golden dress in a thrift shop while on vacation in West Virginia. It will be the base for the applied recycled materials-turning a terribly trendy Princess into a fabulous fashion statement made by kids!  The kids are going to find this challenge HILARIOUS! Especially when the Princess enters the court dressed in their hand made gown as a surprise to the King. 

And for the Prince, before he don’s his disguises to appear to the princess later in the week, I found a pair of binoculars and magnifying glass that were sitting in the corner of my writing hideaway! These accessories inspired our curious Prince character to become our Kingdom’s  Royal Zoologist! They’ll be perfect for our Prince as he watches the Endangered Species of Snizz (the kids- once again,) though he might also use them to spy upon the Princess since she’s the most outlandish creature he’s ever seen!

Next up is items for our adventure, “Up, Up and Away”...nothing wild-just cave-kid outfits, a hippie alien and a sheep herder costume! Whaaaa? There is a lot of work to do!