Teens and tweens tend to obsess over video games and my two sons are no different. So it didn’t surprise me when my youngest son ask me to make a DIY Genji costume from the video game Overwatch.
I have to be honest, just like with Fortnite I had a learning curve when trying to design this Halloween costume. In fact this Overwatch costume seemed even harder because there seemed to be several versions of the character. This made it a little hard to create an Overwatch Genji costume.
Overwatch Genji Costume
As usual, I was just overthinking it. Our Genji costume ending up being a mixture of various character and retail costumes I found online. I think it’s mostly inspired by Overwatch 2.
The inspiration and start of the Genji costume was a Genji costume shirt I found at a local thrift store. As soon as Elliot saw it, he asked me to buy it and make him a costume to go with it.
We already owned a long sleeve gray shirt with hood to wear underneath it. You could just combine the two and buy a Genji costume hoodie.
Genji Costume Details
- Genji costume shirt
- Hooded long sleeve gray shirt
- Gray pants hemmed to the knee
- Knee high black socks
- Gray gloves and black shoes
- Genji mask
- Genji sword with DIY scabbard
I shortened a pair of gray sweat pants to the knee and we already owned tall black soccer socks, gray gloves and black shoes.
Genji Helmet
I might have splurged on a Genji mask but there wasn’t any available separate from the costume jumpsuits so close to Halloween. So we had to improvise and I was quite happy with how it turned out.
We upcycled an old Power Ranger mask into a Genji costume mask. I found the blue mask at a local thrift store and the first thing I did was spray paint it gray.
We cut the visor section of the mask using a Dremel tool for better visibility on our updated one. I also lengthened the head strap so it would fit the big head of my tween better. 😀
I found a picture of a Genji mask online that I used as a template. First, I enlarged the image and traced it on to the craft foam before cutting it out. I used plastic from a transparent green folder for the visor on the new mask design. I hot glued the green plastic to the craft foam and then the craft foam to the old mask. Voilà a simple Genji Mask for just a few dollars.
Genji Sword and Scabbard
We splurged on a Genji sword, or I should say my son did. He used his allowance to buy one online. We worked together to create the scabbard
My son already had an old black scabbard from a smaller sword. It split a little as we put the Genji sword in it but it ‘almost’ worked. So we wrapped the split in black duct tape and then added black craft foam at the top to make the scabbard long enough to the contain the blade.
We then used wide gray ribbon from my craft stash to create a shoulder sling for the scabbard. I did use my sewing machine to add a couple loops to hold the sword but honestly if I did it again, I might have just used duct tape. Instead we used hot glue to keep the scabbard more secure to the loops.
How did we do? I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned out! Maybe we will make another Overwatch costume next year.
Video Game Costume Ideas
- Minecraft Costume Ideas
- Free Guy Costume
- Dark Voyager Fortnite Costume
- Doggo Fortnite Costume
- Fortnite Tomato Head Costume
- More Fortnite Costumes
This post was originally published November 1, 2021.
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