I decided I wanted to upgrade Rick’s Mad-Eye Moody cosplay by giving him an eye that actually moved on its own. I found this Mad-Eye Tutorial on Adafruit’s website, and since I’ve been dabbling a little in Arduino stuff lately, I decided this would be a good beginner project for me. I used the wiring diagram, recommended electronic parts, and code from the project (although I did tweak the code so the eye’s movements would be more… natural? with pauses in between.) The actual build of the eye was something I came up with. I bought a nice yet inexpensive pair of steampunk goggles online, took out the lens (I hammered it out before realizing the frame had a screw-on too, lenses were actually made to be removable. Oops.) I made a hollow eye out of Creative Paperclay, Mod Podge, and paint, (my inspiration was the old French paper mache medical models at the Mütter Museum) and attached the servo motor body to the inside. I drilled holes in the goggle frame and screwed the arm of the servo to the inside of the goggle frame. This took a few adjustments before I got the eye to move the way I wanted it.

The goggle strap is made of leftover faux leather lined in faux Sherpa from a second-hand vest I used for a Lilith from Borderlands 2 cosplay. (It’s like the gift that keeps on giving; I STILL have leftover pieces of that vest. 😂) I had to shear the faux Sherpa, which was oddly soothing. I used a buckle for the back that I purchase from Brettuns Village, a leather goods shop in Maine that I order hardware from. ( I don’t use real leather for my projects unless it’s second-hand, but I DO use things like buckles and trunk hardware. Brettuns Village has a great selection, and their website cracks me up. I’ve never had a bad experience purchasing from them.)

Rick’s new “enchanted” eye was a huge success at the Chestnut Hill Witches & Wizards Weekend. Kids were especially surprised by it when it moved, it was a lot of fun to see the reactions. I went as Tonks, and as usual, most people didn’t know I was in costume, and asked me to take pictures with Rick 😂. I don’t mind. 🙂