The Costume Designers Toolkit explores the wide-ranging skills required to design costumes for live performance in theatre, dance, opera, and themed entertainment. Arranged in chronological order to create a design, each chapter describes tools, strategies, and techniques costume designers use to create lively and believable characters within a story environment. The book provides a step-by-step outline of the costume design process beginning with developing as an artist and creating an artistic vision for a script. It covers a wide range of topics, including: * Assessing the scope of a production * Understanding design thinking and the creative process * Project management and budget forecasting * Collaborating with and leading creative teams * Current practices in costume rendering and communication * Mixing purchased, rented, stock, and built costumes to form a design * Designing a garment with impact * Fitting costumes on performers * Combining grit and grace for a suc