DIY Adult Maui Costume Tutorial

Moana was another smash hit in a long line of Disney blockbusters. You’re welcome! But since the movie came out right after Halloween last year costume-goers had to wait all year to flaunt their favorite characters from the film. So, this Halloween don’t be surprised if you see a boat load of Moana costumes sailing from door to door gathering candy. What father-daughter costume could be more awesome for trick-or-treating than going as Moana and Maui? There isn’t a better one this Halloween, that’s for sure! That’s why we teamed up with Jackie Vest to give you step-by-step instructions to create your own Maui Halloween costume.

Without further ado, your demi-god awaits!

Let’s talk about the time that time I turned my husband into Maui, demigod of the wind and sea. He became the envy of dads who’ve seen Moana everywhere!

Maui Cosplay Costume

This project was very simple! A bodysuit and a handful of sharpies will get you well on your way. I enjoyed every minute of tattooing that muscle suit, and the face on my husband and shrieks from my two boys each time they checked my progress… OH YEAH! Totally worth it. Of course, we didn’t let him bask in this glory alone! This Halloween, I’m joining him as Moana and I’ve outfitted my boys as the Kakamora pirate coconuts. Check out our photoshoot and DIY Moana Movie Costumes here!

The Materials

-This padded body builder costume
This rockstar wig
-This tooth necklace
These ti leaf skirts from Amazon
6 large black chisel tip sharpies from Staples

Maui Cosplay Costume Materials

The Bod

I found some images of Maui’s tattoos via Google (my favorite one of the front here, best one of the back here, arms here), set them up nearby on my laptop, stuffed a box inside of the suit, grabbed a sharpie, and freehanded the suit. Let it be known that I do not consider myself an artist! I truly just took my time with each section, looking at the basic elements I could SEE (circles, lines, dots, angles, curves – aka OiLS) rather than trying to draw what I assumed. And I think it worked pretty well!

Getting Started on Maui Cosplay Costume

Initially, I began with some special fabric markers, but I found that the traditional sharpie was comparable and took me A LOT further. I ran out of two brand new fabric markers in the first sitting, while the sharpies just kept trucking away. I liked the chisel tip best. To keep the suit stable and prevent it from bleeding through, I simply inserted a box inside of it as I colored. I used a milk carton inside of the sleeves.

Finishing the back Maui Cosplay Costume

The best part about copying Maui’s tattoos is that they are imitations of hand-drawn Polynesian tattoos! Meaning, they are very forgiving! No need to make it perfect. They are rough, basic, and still super cool. I started with the back, underneath where his hair would fall so that I could test my skills in a lesser seen area.

Maui Cosplay Costume Front Complete

While most of the suit was very easy to color on with a marker, the hardest area was the stomach. The bodysuit has a built-in six-pack which is hard to color on. Worse, the tattoo in that area was the hardest one to replicate. It was tricky to remember if I was drawing the black areas or the skin areas. But, again, it is extremely forgiving and others will not likely notice the (many) mistakes.

 Maui Cosplay Costume Stomach Close-Up

This took me three evenings. In hindsight, I would have done more on the legs, going up higher to compensate for the areas in which the thighs peek through the leaf skirts. But truth be told, my neck was done, my eyes were done, and so was I.

Maui Cosplay Costume Arm 1Maui Cosplay Costume Arm 2

Just look at that mini-me Maui!

Mini Maui Pulling sun

The Hair

Maui is vainly proud of his silky hair. I thought it would be hilarious to riff on him by using a black rock-star wig in our version. Sure, I could have ordered a standard curly black wig… but where’s the fun in that?

The Accessories

I think I could have made a rough replica of Maui’s tooth necklace, but I liked the one I found online enough to roll with it.

I recommend buying two of the ti leaf skirts – the leaves of a single skirt do not meet at the top and you will need to place one extra skirt over it to keep covered.

The HookMaui Costume Hook

I suggested to my husband that we get the Maui light-up fish hook toy available at Target, and he used a single facial expression to say “I love you and you’ve completely lost your mind.” We ended up building our own life-size Maui fish hook!

It is hulking and enviable. Kids want it, dads gotta have it. Did I mention we aren’t artists? If we can do it, so can you! Find out how to build a DIY Maui fish hook here.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found inspiration to do this even better. For more DIY and to see us as one of the internet’s “cutest Halloween families,” head over to my blog at: www.JackieVest.com

While you sail the seas to find your Halloween costume inspiration, follow Costume SuperCenter on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more great Halloween ideas!

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