All Calgary Quest School students drew their favorite Halloween costume on a piece of paper, then three were chosen to be made by Inside Out Theater costume designers.

For the second year in a row, the two groups are teaming up as Quest School students come up with some pretty interesting ideas.

“At first we thought it was a robot,” costume designer Krista Willott said of her design. “But then he kind of turned into an alien fish, which is way more fun!”

The alien fish idea was submitted by 14-year-old Joshua Dickinson, who worked with Willott to come up with something that could be made into a wearable costume.

Willott says the challenge was coming up with colors and a spooky design that looked like a fish from another planet.

“He was very clear about what he wanted,” she said. “Then I just drew different things, we looked at different pictures online, like an anglerfish and a clown fish.”

Dickinson did not want to wear makeup and insisted that the primary colors should be black and yellow.

On Halloween morning, Dickinson and the other students got to see their costumes. Willott says it has been a learning experience.

“Oh my God, there are no words to describe it,” she said. “It was so great to see his face and he gave me this big smile.”

Black cat

Emme Lottermoser, 15, wanted to look like her cat and drew a black cat for her costume. It went from head to toe and his face was painted to look like a cat.

“I love him so much,” she said. “I have pink lips, white whiskers and a few dots.”

The Calgary Quest School teaches students ages six to 20. It doesn’t have grades, but children are placed where they fit best socially and academically, so teachers can better meet their needs and skills through a modified version of the curriculum of Alberta.

Anna Fitzgerald is Dickinson’s teacher and says Halloween is a big event at the school.

“We all dress up in costumes, we trick-or-treat at school, which is a really cool activity,” she said. “Because sometimes these guys don’t get the opportunity to trick or treat outside of school, it can just be too overwhelming sensory-wise, so it’s a nice community we have here.”

Fitzgerald is impressed with how the costume designers interacted with the students to learn as much as possible about their ideas.

“The creators were excited to hang out,” she said. “Because sometimes it’s like (kids) don’t know how to say something, so they just say yes or no and so taking the time to actually get what they want is great .”

Victoria Pon, 17, had her zombie wedding costume made by Vanessa Taylor. The two worked meticulously on the smallest details of the costume, down to a handbag that resembles a brain that Pon invented and Taylor made from scratch.

“It’s so good, I like it,” Pon said. “The outfit is nice, it’s so awesome.”

“I loved meeting Vicky and talking to her and pitching ideas and her vision,” Taylor said. “And it’s all her, she’s the one who put this whole thing together.”

Pon wears the costume all day at school and plans to save it for a “trick or treat” party.