The DIY corrugated cardboard costume boasts an incredible amount of detail and movement—despite the restraints of the material.
March 17, 2020
Artist Warren King proves that cardboard doesn’t just have to be for boxes. With some creativity and engineering know-how, the packing material can form spectacular works of art. Or, if you’re an imaginative 6-year-old, it can make for a fantastic knight’s costume. King fashioned a set of Gothic-style armor for a kid.
To produce the armor, King used a few basic supplies. Aside from the cardboard, he gathered hot glue, paint, elastic bands, and velcro. From there, he cut out pieces of the front breast plate, arms, legs, and helmet. Each body part was made up of several smaller pieces, which allowed for more movement in the suit. Because just like its 15th-century inspiration, cardboard doesn’t have a lot of give to it—too much bending would cause the joints to break. To mitigate this, King created cutouts for the arms, and he also angled pieces for the shoulders and thighs. Each joint adhered together using tiny pieces of cardboard that were layered across the seams like a piece of tape.
The end result is spectacular. King’s engineering produced a cardboard costume tailored to the fantasy-loving kid. And while we enjoy seeing the kraft-colored cardboard, the final iteration of the armor was painted black and silver to give it a metallic look and feel.
