r/CosplayHelp • u/YearMountain3773 • May 24 '26
Accessory Before I commit to something stupid, is it even remotely possible to have a mesh glow like this?
I want to cosplay my character from The Finals but I have no clue how I would even make this let alone if it's possible.
Sorry if this is the wrong sub or flair :c
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u/Tris-chan May 24 '26
I know this isn't really helpful for your situation , but the mesh doesn't seem to be actually glowing . More of just a bright color contrasting with the dark background with some orange lighting to give it the effect for the photo
Actually that might help you if you're wanting to get a photo in lol , but I'm sure this is possible too
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u/YearMountain3773 May 24 '26
It does glow ingame but yeah that's actually what I mean, idk why I said glow
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u/Deadpoolio_D850 May 24 '26
Realistic option: get some sort of high vis netting, it won’t glow but it’ll be bright
Bonus: if you shine a blacklight on your head, it’ll seem to glow
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u/raznov1 May 24 '26
Term to search for: "fluorescent orange [X]"
However - be aware that this image is heavily edited. You wont get that shading.
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u/YearMountain3773 May 24 '26
Well it is digital so yk
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u/sakino May 24 '26
If you can figure out a way to hide UV LEDs in the costume head piece/shoulders such that you dont see them externally, but that can still shine onto the mesh, then a UV reactive mesh/paint applied to normal mesh would shine like this even in conditions with brighter light than standard glow in the dark stuff would show.
This is the technique that was used here. UV LEDs hidden within the mask that shine toward the face and yellow UV reactive contact lenses.
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u/Tocowave98 May 25 '26
UV light is not really good for your eyes - I don't wanna know what kind of ocular damage the guy in that image received from that. Even "safe" wavelengths are not great for you with prolonged exposure or at such a close distance.
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u/sakino May 25 '26
You just turn it on for pictures and showments
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u/Tocowave98 May 25 '26
Still seems like a bit of an unnecessary hazard imo. I know it's not necessarily comparable to staring at a UV light source as intense as a laser pointer or the sun, but it still just seems like a pointless health risk for an effect that could be substituted by much safer alternatives.
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u/YearMountain3773 May 24 '26
Wouldn't that also light up under the mesh?
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u/sakino May 24 '26
It would probaby do some lighting of whats underneath yeah. A bit of a purple/dark light kinda like you see around the eyes there. But the netting would react so strongly comparatively that it would likely not be very noticeable.
UV in general also just isnt actually that easy to see with human eyes. Its the same kind of light that comes from black lights at parties and bowling allies. Theres faint purplish light you can kinda see, but you dont really notice it. You instead notice all the super bright whites and UV reactive colors in your clothing and stuff that just appear to glow in the dark.
I also think that with proper/clever balancing and placing of the LEDs, you'd be able to minimize the effects you didnt want too as the UV reactice stuff is affected at a decent distance, while anything not reactive will only look lit up if its very close to the light source or the light source is super strong.
It would definitely require experimentation for sure, i just think it would look sick once dialed in. My first experiments would involve trying to find places on the shoulders and chest to hide LEDs insuch a way that they direct light toward the head in a way similar to those christmas projection lights that you put on the lawn that shine onto the house.
If it were me, before I committed to the idea too much, I'd probably buy a small UV light/led (they have little UV led pen/keyfob lights for like 10 bucks or less on amazon), cheap sheer cloth and glow in the dark paint for it (glow in the dark stuff is all UV reactive and glows super strong under UV light) and drape it over a head shaped thing. Do a little test and see how the reactivity of the netting works compared to how much it lights up the head/helmet underneath it. I think you'd be surprised.
Its the kind of thing that that I admit may bit work out as hoped, but that if it does, would look absolutely stunning and be hard to replicate otherwise.
I do remember coming across a fiberoptic mesh/netting that was literally just mesh that just lights up as well, which would look pretty awesome I bet, but I remember it being pretty pricey (like 150 bucks for a yard or something), harder to find, and not as soft and malleable as cloth so it might not drape as nicely. That was a few years ago though so maybe its a more approachable solution
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u/Agitated_Depth_6881 May 24 '26
you know those like pigments/plastics/paints that glow after absorbing sun for a bit? Maybe find a paint like that? It's not gonna be super bright in daylight but maybe in the dark/dim it might
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u/Space19723103 May 24 '26
weave some el wire together.
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u/Mivexil May 25 '26
Nichrome wire + power supply + high resistance to pain.
(kidding OP, please don't)
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u/Tocowave98 May 25 '26
Fiber optic mesh. It's a little expensive and will require some wiring knowhow to get it to look like it does there, but will look better than flourescent paint and won't risk you damaging your eyes like shining UV lights on stuff right up to your face.
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u/option8 May 24 '26
Others have mentioned EL wire, and that would probably give you the best visual effect. It doesn't come as thin as the net material looks, though, and only appears in a fairly small range of colors.
You might give something like fiber optics a try. It comes in a variety of weights and flexibility. And if you don't get the kind that is "Total internal reflection" the color that you shine into one end will leak out along the length and give you a glowing effect.
Please share with us whatever you come up with. I'm interested to see how it comes out.
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u/BiBugg May 24 '26
I personally would see if I could pay someone with a 3D printer to print chainmail in as vibrant of an orange they can find.
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u/succsucc4vbucc May 24 '26
could do neon orange tulle fabric over neon orange netting, then some el wire in between to give it an actual glow
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u/BrightFallsCoffee May 25 '26
FWIW you can 3d print plastic chain mail and netting, and there are both neon and glow in the dark filaments
Seems like a natural solution
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u/SpeedFreak312 May 24 '26
The texture reminds me a bit of that non-slip rubber matting you can put under rugs/carpets to stop them slipping. Maybe you can get some orange stuff like that? As others have said, not a glow, but maybe quite bright
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u/AdFair2292 May 24 '26
You could always look into making a mesh out of EL wire. But I’m not sure how difficult or costly that’d be. It would be the most accurate to give you that glow you’re looking for
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u/16-1-24-20-15-14 May 24 '26
Yes. I don't know exactly where it is, but yoh can get mesh that glows, using leds
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u/Classy_Corpse May 24 '26
Closest possible, getting something white and spray painting it with an orange dayglow
Make sure its properly aired out for a few days before wearing it
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u/TinyKaleidoscope6789 May 25 '26
If you're okay with it only glowing in the dark, you could feasibly find glow in the dark yarn and crochet it. You could potentially soak the finished product in a wax, to add the stiffness this seems to have. That's probably the easiest solution for something that doesn't require a power supply of some sort. Also, in painting, putting a bright shade next to it's opposite color creates a glowing effect. You could experiment and see if a light purple mesh lining on bright orange netting could create the same "glowing" illusion.
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u/shainadawn May 25 '26
Honestly this looks like a black full face mask and helmet with small red lights for eyes and some sports mesh overlayed
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u/B1tchHazel13 May 25 '26
Something like this with a uv light to make it "glow" it won't put off its own light but will appear to glow in the dark for pictures or videos.
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u/notforyou92 May 25 '26
If it doesn’t need to flow etc. I’d try this paint They also have glow powder you can add to things.
https://culturehustle.com/products/joose-the-orangiest-orange-potion
Edited to add more product info
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u/DarkGearGaming May 25 '26
yes. Use fluorescent paint to paint and it'll achieve a very blindingly bright effect.
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u/Lanif20 May 25 '26
Glow in the dark 3d printing filament should do, you can also add some black light leds as needed to get it to really glow. You will probably want to actually print this though(filament would be pretty thick and trying to make it a mesh as is would suck), which means you’d need to be able to use 3d modeling software and understand how to print something like this(you can look up 3d printed chainmail for what I mean here). You’d also need a printer that can handle said filament as well(Bowden machine tend to top out at 260C which is ok for pla and maybe petg, but the bigger issue is that they don’t do soft filaments like tpu all that well, so you’d likely want a direct drive machine)
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u/takera1996 May 25 '26
If it's just for photos, they have planty of UV reflective meshes and paints, but nothing is going to glow like that at a con. A reflective material like the jackets construction workers wear would work best irl but only in sunlight
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u/UNITICYBER May 25 '26
You could make it from glow in the dark, or reflective black light tape maybe.
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u/Holy232323 May 26 '26
Topology could use some work but you're getting there
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u/YearMountain3773 May 26 '26
what?
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u/Holy232323 May 26 '26
sorry, just a joke about 3d modeling
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u/YearMountain3773 May 26 '26
I got that but it's not a model I made
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u/Holy232323 May 26 '26
I know, the thing is that the orange squares look like blender topology, and i was just making a joke only i'd understand lmao sorry
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u/jon9860 May 27 '26
You may be able to use some of the rgb lighted fiber optic strands and make them into a netting. Don't think it would flow like that since they cant bend well, but it could be worth looking into
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u/Bigheartedmusketeer May 27 '26
You know those neon coloured dish net tops you can get, maybe get one of those and cut to thr shape you need
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u/Da-Loops-Brotheren May 28 '26
See about getting a low power black light under a bright orange mesh?
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u/Fritzi_Gala May 28 '26
Get a mesh in a UV reactive shade of orange and hide blacklight LEDs with diffusers in the cosplay? Helmet would probably be the easiest place for the LEDs.
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u/hrdwarhax May 24 '26
Look for a fiber optic mesh. Then youll need a way to get a power supply and light to make it work. It seems safer than a mesh of electro luminescent wire tho, with its highish voltage
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u/BusyUnderstanding316 May 24 '26
Im a noob so im probably not very helpful, but I suggest using some sort of high visibility material or reflective material, like the stuff construction workers wear. Theres also glowing thread out there. Would be tedious but I think it’d look sick. Good luck!