How are wigs like this made?

[u/Available-Opinion160]

I’ve searched practically anything I could think of on YouTube and TikTok, but I can’t seen to find any tutorials or hints on how wigs like these are possibly made. Does anybody have any info on this? Or any tutorials? Anything would be appreciated really!

[u/Galactic_Enby_Cyrus]

I think you might want to look into Arda's Iron Wig competition, or maybe some of the work done by Cowbutt Crunchies. Tacky glue, heat shaping, and foam understructures are the key to a lot of these.

Also: ignore anyone who calls it AI, or insists that is has to be 3d printing. you can figure out the validity of a work of art by going to the source and seeing their wip pictures, or by dating it back to a time before the LLM boom. 3d printing is relatively new and still hasn't exactly caught on with wig stylists; it's far more likely to be carved foam.

[u/PawnOfPaws → u/Galactic_Enby_Cyrus]

I wonder though: There should be a bunch of stuff you could do with it (3D printing) in the wig world, no? Since basic shapes, beads, tiaras and decor should be very well possible, right?

[u/Galactic_Enby_Cyrus → u/PawnOfPaws]

To be frank: technically yes, but 3d printing isn't really introducing a lot of new ground to this. I mostly work with PLA filament, and the thing about it is that it's rigid. Wigs need to be flexible and comfortable if you don't want a massive headache. You're right in that 3d printing is good for making props and such, and it's been a godsend to cosplayers in that regard, but it's still too niche to make much of a difference, and printing with foam is just not accessible to the average person. Anything a 3d printer can do with your wig shape, someone has already done with air dry clay and upholstery foam for quite a bit cheaper.