Emergency Cosplay Results

So, I did, in fact, manage to somehow make a costume in less than a week. With some help from my boyfriend, of course...!

I will create a few entries on the creation process of the costume, maybe two or so. They will be put up over the course of the week.

To summarize: I made Izumi's costume from Kujibiki Unbalance/Genshiken. I showed up at the Garage in Harvard Square a little before 8pm on Sunday, where the judges had already sort of packed up... but of course, they still let me enter because I was there before 8.

They took my photo and asked me a few questions about my costume. I entered in the novice category. They didn't spend very long looking at my costume, maybe one or two minutes.

In the end, I got an honourable mention for my costume. It was a little disappointing... as does every cosplayer who works hard on their costume and enters a contest, I wanted to place. I was hoping for 3rd. ^_^;;; But that was optimistic, anyway, and I'm really proud that I was able to create a nice costume in less than a week and wear it somewhere where some people would appreciate it. One girl actually know who I was and what series I was from! That was pretty nice.

Here is a final costume photo of me as Izumi, after returning from the event, and a photo of the figure I based my costume on:

More later...!

Emergency Cosplay Project

So I found out just today that Tokyo Kid in Harvard Square is having a cosplay contest on Sunday, Oct. 28. Obviously, I can't pass this up (Tokyo Kid is one of my favourite stores, and it's another cosplay opportunity), but my costumes are at home in CT. >_>
Solution: I ran around to a lot of stores today and got almost everything I need to make Tachibana Izumi from Kujibiki Unbalance (which is, in turn, from the show Genshiken).



I'll be documenting the process of making a costume in less than a week, so I hope everything works out, and that I'll learn some things!

More updates to come. I have a lot of homework to do right now...

More Wonderflex and Feathers

So,
I tried to place an order for some Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic via cosplaysupplies.com, as I had mentioned in a previous post. Their methods are a little strange over there and they confirm your order via email before letting you actually place it. The reply to my order was that they were "having some trouble with their Wonderflex supplier" and therefore I can't place an order with them at this time.

All of this ended up being a blessing in disguise, as it were, because I have found other sources of Wonderflex that are far less expensive than cosplaysupplies.com.

Cosworx has Wonderflex, but their supply is apparently out at the moment. But when it's in, it sells for $30 for a big sheet, which is much less expensive than cosplaysupplies.com. I have also found a theatre supply company that sells it. I'm going to try to buy from one of these two places.

I would like to say that I still think cosplaysupplies.com is a great site and has a lot to offer, especially hard to find things like shoe-making supplies. I just won't be buying my Wonderflex from them, is all. Unless these other things fall through.

I have been doing a lot of research for supply resources, namely for plastics, armour, and feathers. I will need a lot of feathers for my Gwendolyn costume, and I was able to find a promising website or two. At Rainbow Feathers, they will custom dye feathers for you. This seems to be the way to go for this project. Their prices also seem pretty reasonable. I found a couple of other feather websites, but other than Rainbow, the only other one that seemed worth looking into was Lamplight Feathers. They seem to have a bunch of different items at a decent price.

Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic

I've been reading up on this newfangled Wonderflex and its friend Friendly Plastic.
I've been searching for something to make, at the very least, the calf armour for Gwendolyn, and potentially any and all armour for Oswald, if my boyfriend decides to go as him. Both are from Odin Sphere:

After reading the FAQs and tutorials for using Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic, I feel confident enough that this could be a good solution for making armour and maybe even weapons. I am going to order a small sheet of Wonderflex and a small container of Friendly Plastic to experiment with.
I am also going to pick up some Bondo, because (1) I have never used it before, heard some mixed opinions, and want to see what it can do, and (2) I wouldn't use gesso as suggested in the Wonderflex FAQ because there is no way that will not come off in chunks.

Once I get the materials and play around with them, I'll post my results with photos.

Links:

Wonderflex, Fosshape, and Friendly Plastic Purchase Page
Wonderflex and Friendly Plastic Tutorial/FAQ
Wonderflex FAQ

Costume Profile - Haku from Naruto

This is the first "Costume Profile" post, where I, well, profile a costume I have made and finished.
The content of these posts will probably evolve over time, and I readily welcome any comments or suggestions about what you think these posts should contain.



Character Name: Haku (right, shown with Zabuza, left)
Series: Naruto
Worn to: Anime Boston 2007

Total Time: I didn't keep very close track of this one, but I'd estimate about 10-15 hours.
Total Cost: Again, didn't keep very good track, but I'd say about $40.

Easiest things about this costume: Shoes - Purchased for $2 in Chinatown, cut off ugly beads, painted with fabric paint.
Sweater - Found at used clothing store The Garment District for about $10.

Most difficult things about this costume: The pants were the most difficult, but weren't really difficult. I used an old pattern I had for pajama pants (will post the number and brand when I find it), only I made them shorter. I cut out triangular fabric panels and added them into the front to add volume to the pants.

Materials Used and Price Breakdown: -Pants and Sash: Plain cotton, $3/yd, Jo-Ann Fabrics
-Robe: Cotton/poly blend, $2.50/yd, Jo-Ann Fabrics
-Sweater: Found at The Garment District, $10
-Shoes: Found in Chinatown, $2. Fabric paint and foam brush, $3, Pearl Art & Craft Supply
-Hair: Fabric Scrap from making the robe. Modeling clay, $1.50, Utrecht Art Supply. 18ga. Copper wire, $3, Blick Art Materials. Silver enamel paint, $2, Utrecht Art Supply.
-Weapon: Double-ended knitting needles, about $4 for a set of 3, Jo-Ann Fabrics.
-Headband: $8, Ebay. From one of those Hong Kong guys. ^_^;

First Post... oh, how exciting ^_^;

O hi,

This is me.

And this is my brand new cosplay blog.

I hope to use this not only as a place for my thoughts on cosplay and updates on my costumes, but hopefully to also provide a resource to the cosplay community. I hope that through my experiments, successes, failures, research, and whatever else, other cosplayers will be able to make better costumes.

In 2007, I attended two cons; my first two cons. The first was Anime Boston in April, where I cosplayed as Haku from Naruto. The second was ConnectiCon in August, where I cosplayed as Suigintou from Rozen Maiden.

I learned an enormous amount from these two experiences, both about cosplay and conventions.

In 2008, I am planning on attending two cons, but they're both big. Anime Boston in March, and Otakon in August.
I plan on using Suigintou again for Anime Boston, though with some changes. For Otakon, I plan on Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere.

I hope to pass on what I've learned to everyone out there who might read this, whether you're just starting out or have been doing it for a while.

I'll be doing a lot of experiments for my Gwendolyn costume and my first ever weapon, Suigintou's sword! I hope that you'll enjoy following my progress through time and send along any comments or questions you have about cosplay, me, my projects, or anything else.

Long post is loooong... look for more in the coming days!

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