Fanime 2011 Cosplay Report (Days 587 - 603)

I survived Fanime Con 2011! (Read my full review here.) My lack of updates is due primarily to trying to finish costumes in a panic. Unfortunately, I didn't finish everything on time, but it's didn't greatly impact the weekend.

(Photo by Steven)
Koffing was finished on Day 0 of Fanime, most of the waiting was because my mom said she'd make part of it and then said that I didn't remind her in time, or something to that effect, so she finished it the day-of. Made it in time though. I ended up not getting a hammer for Koffing and opted for a grenade instead, both because a grenade was surprisingly easier to find, and I didn't feel like explaining the hammer to everyone who didn't understand it. My Koffing cosplay is ridiculously comfortable. It's so comfortable that I don't even care that I was only recognized about 10 times the whole weekend while my boyfriend was swarmed by photographers, because I was so comfy and he had to wear a wig and hop/shuffle around all day as Magikarp.

Magikarp was about 99% finished, I only didn't make the side fins/ears, which is probably why more than half of the people that saw him thought that he was a red Gyrados. Whoops. I'll make them before the next time that he wears it, though who knows when that will be. Also, the tail got really dirty from, well, just being on the ground. Luckily, the fabric we used was intended for outdoor furniture, so I should be able to scrub out the dirt and red tanbark gunk that got on it.

Fun fact, my sewing machine broke Wednesday night when I was finishing Magikarp, and I blame that for not finishing the ears. Luckily, my boyfriend's mom let me borrow hers to finish what I could.

(Photo by Branden Kong) Pac-Man and Clyde were already finished, though I need to re-iron the letters on the back of the Pac-Man shirt, probably because my boyfriend always carries the Con Backpack, so the letters got worn off more than the Clyde ones on my shirt. I meant to do that before the convention, but never got to it, unfortunately.

Franziska von Karma still needs some major work, I need to completely remake the cravat (necktie thing), including the gem on it because it just doesn't work, and I always have to hot-glue it together while I'm wearing it or it just doesn't stay up right. I'd still like to get a color-accurate riding crop, but it's money that I just don't have right now. Speaking of the riding crop, a Fanime staffer (actually two of them) who didn't know what they were doing decided to zip-tie my riding crop to my belt loop, even though the forums (and other staff) say that they don't do that. I got it taken care of thanks to my buddy FoxBerry and her boyfriend. Also, my shoes for Franziska are just getting old. I'm considering taking them to the shoe repair shop in my local mall, but it's probably cheaper to get a new pair. And I sat in chocolate in my white Franziska pants. I washed them, but I haven't looked at them since, so I don't even know if it all came out.

I didn't have a cosplay for the Black & White Ball this year, I just had a tradition Chinese dress, and I put on the Magikarp wig because my hair was bleh. I'm actually considering gettng my hair cut like the wig now though, I think it looked cute! I found out that the dress (which I bought at a second-hand shop) is actually home-made, based on a lot of the stitching, and did come apart in one place, which is why it was in the second-hand shop. A dart that should go all the way to the bottom only goes to the waist. It's not horribly noticeable, but I would like to fix it before the next time I wear it (whenever that is).

Overall, Fanime was fun, I was only stopped for photos a ton as Clyde with Pac-Man, so it was a really relaxing weekend, and my only really uncomfortable costume was Franziska, which I only wore for a day.

READ MORE - Fanime 2011 Cosplay Report (Days 587 - 603)

Pokemon Fever (Days 487 - 493)

It seems I've disappeared off the grid again. I miss blogging every night, I really do, I love writing and getting my thoughts out. Perhaps this is why I haven't been sleeping very well lately.

Anyway, not much to talk about on the cosplay front. I might not be going to WonderCon, but I do still really want to cosplay Terra, so I might not cosplay Panty for Fanime. I would still like to cosplay Panty this year, or next year at the latest, while Panty and Stocking is still popular, but before the mega popularity hits. However, I think I'll have a lot of fun cosplaying Terra as well, and it's a more comfortable cosplay as well. Of course, with Terra, it will be more difficult to find a gathering to fit into and people to take pictures with, but that will make it so much more rewarding when I do find people. I also enjoy seeing the looks on people's faces when a lesser-known or older character is cosplayed, it makes me happy to be told that I made their day. =] I enjoy making other people happy.

Speaking of Fanime, I am for sure bringing Franziska von Karma, but I still doing know if I will be cosplaying her the entire day or just bringing her out for the gathering. Chances are, I'll be her the whole day. She's still a lot of fun to cosplay, especially now that I have a riding crop. I haven't gotten into any "antics" with it (and I don't really want to), I just enjoy having it and carrying it around. I like the way it feels to hold it, as odd as that sounds. It feels.. Elegantly powerful, is the best way I can think to describe it.

Anyway, I'm sort of in the process of setting up a photoshoot with a girl who cosplays 18-year-old Franziska, the same girl I met at Animation on Display. I was delighted when she suggested that we have one, she was really nice and her cosplay was very good, she even had a whip prop as well, the two of us looked really good next to each-other, our wigs are the same color, and we have an appropriate height difference. I say I'm "sort of" in the process of setting up a 'shoot because I'm not really actively setting anything up at this point. All that we're going to have to do is set a time and find a photographer, but I don't want to start planning something like this so far in advanced, in case things change.

My goal for Fanime this year is to go to a bunch of cosplay gatherings. I've only been to one (the CLAMP gathering at last year's Fanime) and it was a lot of fun. I really enjoy getting pictures with cosplayers from the same series, as many cosplayers do. I think it took me a whole to realize how much fun it is to take pictures with other cosplayers, because when I began cosplaying, I was very shy, and people asking for my picture was very weird and intimidating to me. However, now that I've gotten used to people asking for pictures and to asking people for pictures, I've realized that it is a lot of fun!

So far, I plan on going to the Pokemon gathering as Pikachu, the Ace Attorney gathering as 13-year-old Franziska von Karma, and the CLAMP gathering as Chi. Originally, I had planned to skip the masquerade and attend the Comedy Club and then Rum Party instead, but since the masquerade is on Sunday this year, I may attend, depending on how it overlaps with the Black & White Ball. In any case, I plan on attending the Rum Party in a sort of closet pirate wench costume (don't ask how/why I have a closet pirate wench costume, I just do), and I believe I'll be attending the Black & White Ball in a traditional Chinese dress that I managed to find in the thrift store a few months ago.

Oh, and as to the reason that I dropped off the face of the planet, I actually would have posted a few days ago I believe, but Pokemon Black and White came out this past Sunday, and I've been superglued to White since then. Yes, it's been giving me crazy new cosplay urges (particularly gijinkas), but I'm trying really hard to resist them, since I feel like I'm already stretching my budget too far.

READ MORE - Pokemon Fever (Days 487 - 493)

AoD (Days 468 - 479)

7:50pm - Well, it's been a while since I posted. I went to Animation on Display on February 19th, con report coming soon. I also went to the Pokemon Black & White Promo Tour in San Jose on February 12th, I'll do some sort of write-up on that too.

As for actual cosplay progress, I finished Franziska (again), but part o fit fell apart (again) and I'm still now happy with it (again). I'm not sure if I'll ever get this right. I need to buy a little bit more fabric and try making the neck piece again. I might also remake the jewel for the neck piece. As much as I love the one I have, it's very heavy, and it's hard to attach and never sits right. So I'll figure something out.

I also finished my new Pikachu tail, but I'm not happy with it either. It's too thick and heavy, and there are seams everywhere. That aside, though, it's very cute. Once I accepted that it was going to flop to the side no matter what I did, it grew on me, and now I think it's pretty cute. I may try to make a thinner one before Fanime, but we'll see.

I've also confirmed that I am going to WonderCon, not sure which day though. I'll be going with my boyfriend, his brother, and his brother's fiance. I don't think we're spending the whole day together, but I'm expecting to ride there and register with them, and probably eat lunch with them, but that's all. Regardless, it was really cool of them to offer to take us. I'm not really close with my bf's brother or his fiance, so I'm actually looking forward to spending time with them outside of a family trip and in a place where we're all comfortable and have something to bond over.

I'm going to be cosplay Terra from Teen Titans (pictured right) at WonderCon. the funny thing is, I completely can't remember if I liked her or not when I watched the series. I don't remember ever really disliking her (the way I remember disliking Starfire -.-), but I don't remember loving her either (the way I loved Raven =D). I'm sure I got annoyed with her, the whole Slade thing, but, well, duh, haha.

In any case, I was torn between her and a Star Trek (season 1) Vulcan Starfleet Officer with a tribble. I've always wanted a Star Trek uniform, but I'm much more partial to The Next Generation, a season 1 female uniform is a super short dress, and there's no "set" design for a Vulcan officer. Given a choice, I would actually rather have a red or yellow uniform, but because of Spock, all of the Vulcan officer cosplays I've seen are blue. I know I could do whatever color I wanted, but it's more widely accepted as blue, and I just don't want to deal with sci-fi nerds telling me I'm wrong when I know exactly what I'm doing.

Also, all of the parts that I need to buy for Terra I can re-use in other cosplays (except the belt, which I don't know how to do yet). The long-sleeved crop-top black t-shirt I need for Gardenia, and I've been wanting a pair of yellow shorts for Pikachu. So that all works out well. As for the belt, I'll see what the thrift store can provide as far as parts to put something like that together. I believe there are hiking boots in my house than I can use, as well as gloves, and I can use my Chi wig.

I'm still trying to figure out my cosplay schedule for Fanime. I'm all over the place with it. Because I'm going to be putting together Terra, I might not make Panty and just take Terra instead. I have a backup dress for the Black and White Ball (which I originally wanted to wear Panty to). I'm also still trying to figure out if I'm getting an Artist' Alley booth, which will determine my cosplay for Friday. I will figure this out!

On a side-note, our Magikarp panel went rather splendidly at AoD, so we're going to submit it to Fanime as soon as we can. Fingers crossed!

READ MORE - AoD (Days 468 - 479)

Franziska and Pikachu (Days 457 - 467)

11:20 - So considering the amount of time that's passed since my last post, I haven't really done a lot. I made another online sale, but the person's PayPal isn't verified, and they payed with an "echeck" (or something to that effect) so I'm waiting for it to clear before I send the hat. I'm a little upset because they seemed so eager to get the hat, I made it as soon as I could and contacted them as soon as I was finished, and now I have to wait. Ah well. As long as they don't start sending me angry e-mails, it's alright. I told them that I was waiting for the payment to clear before I sent it.

I tried to buy a riding crop for Franziska on ebay, but I hit a little snag. Despite it saying "Ships to: Worldwide", apparently in the description, it said "Ships to UK only." Apparently my misunderstanding was enough to prompt the seller to send me not one, but two what I felt were very rude and condescending e-mails. I can understand her frustration at the mistake, but since her settings were officially set to worldwide shipping, ebay did not notify me at any time during the checkout process that it was UK shipping only. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.

I have also contacted someone on Cosplay.com about a wig they're selling that I would like for my boyfriend's Magikarp and Matt cosplays. I need it by next weekend, and the seller hasn't responded yet. I know that it's sort of my fault for waiting so long and that people are busy, but I'm getting anxious about it. At this rate, it doesn't look like he's getting a wig. I feel like it's my fault, but in my defense, he never looked for a wig either.

Speaking of people not responding, I found a second place that sold brown riding crops, but the style that I needed appeared to only come in black, even though it said "assorted colors". So I e-mailed the seller and, you guessed it, no response. Granted, the automated e-mail that I got said it may take up to 48 business hours to respond, and I only e-mailed them yesterday, but I'm getting anxious!

So I bought a different riding crop, with a buttload of shipping costs (okay, only like $7), but it's the color I want, I'm hoping the size I want, and it will be here in 2-3 business days, so by Wednesday. My backup plan is to buy leather from JoAnn's and a wooden dowel from Micheal's and just wing it from there.

Also, I figured out why it was ridiculously hard to find the right style of riding crop in brown. It's an English riding crop. For those who know nothing about horses, horse tack(equipment) comes in two styles; English and Western. From what I remember from when I used to ride horses, in the Western Hemisphere (where I live, of course), English riding gear is mainly used for show jumping. Western tack is used for everything else. So the only riding crops I could find were either around $40, because they're for show, or the black fetish gear. Now, I'm not above buying from a fetish shop. It's whatever. But the fetish shops only sold in black, because black is "sexier" or something.

The crop I ended up buying was from a tack shop in Florida, and only cost $13, plus shipping, for a total of a little over $20. I was only looking to spend about $15, but for express shipping, I decided that I'd pay more. I just hope that it's the right size. It'll look silly if it's only like.. a foot long. Should be at least 15" to look right. So we'll see what happens.

I finally bought the foam I need to make a new Pikachu tail with the female Pikachu "heart" indent. However, for some reason, I can't seem to draw the tail correctly on paper to transfer onto the foam. I don't want to buy any more, so I can really only cut it out once, maybe twice based on the amount of foam I have. I also can't find a single female Pikachu cosplayer with the heart indent tail, so I have no one to ask about it.

This weekend is the Pokemon Black and White Tour in San Jose! (Which is why I need the new tail.) I'm so ridiculously excited, and I don't even know why. They're giving away Celebi on Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, in addition to the Celebi that they're giving away on the 27th in GameStop, so I'll get two! So excited...

READ MORE - Franziska and Pikachu (Days 457 - 467)

...Or Not (Days 450 - 455)

1:20am - So I guess I'm still "almost" done with Franziska ("almost" is really a relative term here). Some time in the past few days, I decided that I was still not happy with my Franziska ruffle, and so I took it apart. Well, I took some of it apart. And now I'm super annoyed at it because it's fraying and I remember how much of a pain in the butt that fabric is to work with. It just won't stay still! Sliding all over the place..

Anyway, I think I figured out what I want to do with it to get it to be the right shape and such. I can't quite explain what it is that I'll do, I'll just have to try it and hope that it works.

Still haven't straightened my wig, but I'm hoping to do that some time in the next week or so. My grandma has been staying with us, and I didn't want her to have to deal with a random blue wig laying in the shower all of the sudden. I'd much rather wait until I have my bathroom all to myself again.

READ MORE - ...Or Not (Days 450 - 455)

Almost Done (Days 447 - 449)

11:20pm - I'm actually almost finished with Franziska, which is weird, because the con's still not for almost a month. I finished the outer, long vest today, I'm annoyed at my hand stitching on the bottom, but it's not noticeable unless you're about two inches away from it. And if you're than close to the back of my knees, you need to back off.

All that's left to do is straighten the wig. If I was more experienced at dying wigs, or if I at least had another wig to practice on, I might give dying my Franziska wig a shot, but that's probably not going to happen. I am painfully aware that my wig is way too bright, and that it should be a duller, gray-ish color, but, bleh, I can't afford a new wig, and I'm afraid to dye the one I have. I'm hoping that the rest of my costume makes up for it.

Oh, and good news from AOD (Animation on Display), my boyfriend and I can both enter the cosplay contest separately, even though I'll be making both of our costumes. The catch is that only I'm eligible for construction awards on either of them, and I can only win one. So if I win a construction award for my cosplay, I can't win one for my boyfriend's. Which makes sense, I can't hog all of the awards (not that I think I'd win twice anyway). So now all I have to do if make my boyfriend's Magikarp cosplay and hope that our panel gets scheduled for Saturday so that we can participate.

READ MORE - Almost Done (Days 447 - 449)

So Much to Do, So Much Time (Day 446)

3:00am - I'm now going to start adding timestamps to my posts, mostly to make it easier for me to tell which days are accounted for, since I sometimes post after midnight.

I'm really impressed at the amount of progress I've made recently. I shortened my Franziska outer vest / cape thing (after five months or so, I still don't know what to call it), and I'm almost finished sewing it back up. The bottom of it is sewed except for about eight inches, where I had to turn it inside-out to sew the lining on and now have to close with hand-stitching. I had to open small holes in the top of the front so that I could get the yellow ribbon off to move up and reapply it after shortening.

I have to reapply the ribbon before I can finished sewing it, because I have to sew it into the top of the front (where I took it out before), and to do that, I have to be able to turn the whole thing inside-out, which is why the bottom has to stay open. I ran into to small hitch in the plans when reapplying the ribbon, the bottom of the vest is now shorter across (because it basically fans out at the bottom, similar to a cape or poofy dress without pleats). So when I went to reapply the ribbon, it took less across the bottom and folded at the corner sooner than I expected, which left a crease in the middle of the vertical stripe and the remains of the previously used Heat-n-Bond visible. I ironed off the leftover Heat-n-Bond, which, yes, made my iron sticky (I wiped most of the stickiness on the ironing board for now), and the rest was fine.

I kept getting distracted by the computer, though, so I stopped applying the ribbon and turned everything off so that I wouldn't get too tired and forget.

Also, I cut my thumb! With scissors! And it hurt! (duh?) Not sure what exactly happened, but I guess I snipped the skin on my thumb with the tip of the scissors. Weird thing is, I laughed at myself for about a minute before getting up to get a bandage. At least I know what an idiot I am for cutting myself. Also, I think the worst part is that it was with my fabric scissors, which I only use on fabric to avoid the blade getting dull, and now I feel like I have to get new scissors. Ah, well, I've also accidentally cut paper with them (the paper was hiding under the fabric), so I'm probably due for some new ones anyway. But first, pinking shears! I need them! I'm looking at this pair, they're nice and cheap. I just hope they work.

(For those who are unfamiliar with the term, pinking shears are a type of scissor that cuts fabric in a zig-zag pattern so that the edges don't fray. They're most commonly used for sheer fabric, but can used on pretty much any fabric. An overlock machine / surger, which I have, could substitute, but personally I'd rather not use an overlock on something that's going to be on the inside of a garment, as in, inside of the lining, and won't ever been seen. Plus, overlocking a bunch of stuff would add unnecessary weight, which probably wouldn't be too noticeable, but could add unwanted bulk to areas that should be flat.)

So all that's left to do for my Franziska costume before AOD is finish adding the yellow to the vest and sew it up and straightening my wig. When I bought the wig, it was relatively straight, but from sitting on a normal/short wig head, it's curled under and inward. I don't know much about the wig, having bought it hurriedly in the Dealer's Hall of Fanime and not getting any instructions with it (they barely sold it to me, were reluctant to take it off of the display). So I'm going to try straightening it with hot water. I'm told that you dip it in hot water ("hot" meaning burns to the touch, but not simmering or boiling), and then lay it on a flat surface. I figure the best place to do this would be in my bathtub, with a bucket for the water, and then laying it on the bottom of the tub, but my bathtub's kinda, well, not dirty ('cause, well, it's a bathtub), but it's got soap scum and stuff in it, so I have to clean it and then make sure that all of the chemicals are rinsed off before I'll be willing to put my wig anywhere near there.

READ MORE - So Much to Do, So Much Time (Day 446)

More Ruffles! (Days 443 - 445)

My new neck ruffles for Franziska von Karma are finished! Well, until I decide that I want to remake them again, which I might. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get any of the fabric that I tried to mimic the exact shape that Franziska's ruffles are. I just plain don't know how to do that. Suggestions would be lovely.

In any case, I'd like to think that my result is a real-life equivalent to what Franziska's was intended to be. I'd like to think that, but I really have no idea. And what's worse, I can't find a single other Age 13 Franziska cosplayer to ask about this or even compare results with.

All of that being said, I think that I like my new ruffle better than my old one. I just like the material better, really (as much of a pain as it is to work with..). It's lighter and just looks more elegant, though, yeah, in the picture, it looks almost exactly the same as the old one. But I swear it's different!

I probably do need to mess with it some more to get the pleats to stay so that they'll have depth on-camera instead of being all flat.

READ MORE - More Ruffles! (Days 443 - 445)

Ahead of Schedule!? (Day 442)

I'm not entirely sure that the phrase "ahead of schedule" is in my vocabulary, and yet it's true. Since I finally decided that I'm going to wear Franziska to AOD, I actually started fixing her up. I needed to make a new neck ruffle because the one I had was too big and flawed in various technical ways, and I need to shorten the outer vest by about two to four inches. Shortening the vest shouldn't be a problem, since I'll just be opening up the bottom and re-sewing it. Now, if I had to re-do the arm holes or something, I might have a problem, but, nah.

Today, I began remaking the neck ruffle. I got as far as pleating and poofing the actual ruffle part and cutting out and hemming two sides of the part that goes around my neck. Throughout the process, I was reminded of how much I hate pleating, especially box pleats that are only two inches wide on a piece of fabric that just refuses to be a perfect square.

I also used a different type of fabric this time than I did last time. Last time, I used this lovely fabric that creased like paper, yet ironed out really well, and was rather stiff. It was sort of a cop-out to get the volume that I wanted. This time, after wearing the cosplay and seeing photos, I realized that it didn't need that much volume. So I returned to what was actually my original fabric for it. I found it in the section of JoAnn's where the fabric for suits is (the fabric I used for Franziska's vests), so it also mixes well with the fabrics I have and just makes sense.

I like the texture and weight of this fabric a whole lot more too, but it's a pain to work with. It's somewhat stretchy, so when I pinned it down to the ironing board to measure or iron it, I needed a bunch of pins, and yet it was still nearly impossible to get straight lines (which is how it refused to be square). It's also sort of slippery and clingy at the same time. It would slip against my fingers, but then cling to itself and it was hard to get it to fold the right way. It also didn't like the iron and doesn't crease easily. Yet once it does get a crease, it's hard to get it out.

I'm fairly certain that I'll be able to finish both the collar and the vest in two days' time, the only thing that's left to be determined is what two days I'll actually work on it. Then all that's left is to continue the hunt for a brown riding crop and black leather women's gloves. I actually found a brown riding crop online for only $5 (forget what shipping was), but I'm very suspicious of it, since their usually between $25 and $50.

READ MORE - Ahead of Schedule!? (Day 442)

Cosplay Survey II

Most Accurate Cosplay
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney)

Most Difficult Cosplay
Amaterasu (Okami), so much foam and fur and cardboard and hot glue guns and razors and PAIN! (Totally worth it)

Easiest Cosplay
I think Lady Mario. It just sort of fell together.

Most Out Of Character Cosplay
Chi (Chobits), I don't think I'm capable of being an airhead. D=

Most Fun-to-Cosplay
Franziska von Karma, so fun and easy to get into character.

Sexiest Cosplay
Swimmer Girl (Pokemon Platinum), it's a bikini for goodness sake.

Most Comfortable Cosplay
Clyde (Pacman), believe it or not. Sure, the head is a bit awkward, but it's not that bad at all, and the rest of it is just normal everyday clothes.

Least Comfortable Cosplay
Amaterasu (Okami), with the wig and the wig cap and the mask and the teeth (which make it so that I can't close my jaw all the way), I get a major headache by the end of the day. Chi is a close second, because the elastic for the ears cuts into the backs of my ears.

Costume with longest hotel room prep time
I think Chi (Chobits), because I have to lighten my eyebrows and get the ears, wires, and wig on.

Costume Garment you wear out of costume
The undershirt that I use for Chi

Favorite Wig/Hairstyle:
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney), it's so blue and beautiful.

Favorite prop
Pokeball beach ball, it's lots of fun =D

Favorite accessory
My ocarina for my Link cosplay, even though I bought it way before I decided to cosplay Link. It still counts, right?

Ever been in a group cosplay?
Eh, not officially. I've run into people cosplaying from the same series, and I cosplay with my boyfriend, but I've never followed through with a plan for more than two people.

Ever cosplayed a pairing with someone?
All the time =D Hideki/Chi (Chobits)

Pairing support=y/n?
Sure, why not?

Ever been to a photoshoot?
All the time =D So much fun.

Ever entered a contest?
Five times, Super-Con, Comic Arts and Anime Teen Expo, Kin-Yoobi Con, Holiday Anime Faire, and Animation on Display.

Ever won an award in a contest?
Four times, Comic Arts and Anime Teen Expo, Kin-Yoobi Con, Holiday Anime Faire, and Animation on Display.

The Costume you'll never finish
Navi (The Legend of Zelda and the Ocarina of Time), even though I want to so badly!

The Costume you've always wanted to make
A mascot suit, though I haven't decided what yet.

The Costume you'd wear if it weren't for your body type
It'd like to think that I don't like my body type stop me, so I'm gonna say pretty much any male character. =[

The Costume that you can't make for lack of money
Harley Quinn (Batman), unless I make the body suit on my own, which I'm not ready for.

Show us your best cosplay photo
Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney), taken by [visual pie] studios at Yaoi-Con

READ MORE - Cosplay Survey II

I'm Not Dead! (Days 362 - 377)

Despite my lack of blogging, I'm not dead. I don't know why I've been disappeared lately, but Ah well.

So I went to Yaoi-Con (review coming soon), and it was way better than last year. I did indeed finish my Franziska cosplay before then (at 3 in the morning) and I'm really glad that I did. I got a lot of recognition and a lot of praise. Not to mention one of the funnest photoshoots I've ever had. =] I don't wanna say too much 'cause it should be in my convention blog soon.

So now I'm preparing for AOD and Fanime. (Mostly Fanime) Yes, I've decided to go to AOD, but I'll probably just lobby-con it. Unless my boyfriend and I manage to pull together the panel that we want to do and it gets approved. 'Cause we ain't payin' to get in.

For AOD, I'd like to cosplay female Link (Legend of Zelda). I found an adorable design on VeryDemotivational.com, but I have no idea who the artist is, and I'd like to credit them, so if anyone knows where the picture came from, it'd be great if you linked me to it. I feel a little hypocritical, because, no, I don't like over-sexualized female versions of male characters. I have felt that tinge of disgust and looked the other way when I've seen them. But cosplay is definitely still a learning experience for me. I've learned about so many things, and I've learned to accept and respect so many different and new things, this is just one more thing that I'll have to learn to respect. Yes, the fact that I want to do this is making it more relevant for me to respect, but if that's what it takes, so be it. At least I'm learning to respect it, instead of judging forever.

That being said, I still probably won't like super over-sexualized versions of characters (regardless of gender). There will probably always be a limit, and that's just something I'll have to learn to deal with.

I'm tweaking the design quite a bit, starting with lengthening the dress. I'm going to make it to about mid-thigh, so still short, but not short enough to show my booty >_< The slit up the side will probably come up about as high, to just below the hip. I'm also going to wear white tights under it, for several reasons, mostly accuracy. I'd also like to get some type of gloves, but I'm not sure which kind. I'd like them to be brown and leathery-looking, but the actual design is totally up in the air. I may or may not make the sack shown, it would be nice to have to hold my ocarina in. I don't have money for new shoes, so unless my mom has some that I can borrow (which she just might >_>), I'll end up wearing some little brown Ugg-looking slippers, which are so ridiculously freaking comfortable OMG! I also don't have money for a new wig, so I'll either end up wearing the wig I originally bought for Pikachu or my Chi wig. Either way, I'll pull the long air back into a bun and hide it (and the showing netting) under the hat.

I have some elf/fairy ears that I can wear, even though they're not super accurate (they point upward instead of downward), but unless Spirit Halloween Stores are still open, they'll have to do. For some reason, I really, really want the sword to be a cute little dagger, but that's up to debate right now (let me know what you think!). I will be wearing a bra, though there clearly isn't one in the picture, and so the cleavage-revealing diamonds will be moved up a little higher. Originally I wanted to find and buy a dress, but, haha, pain, green, short-sleeved dresses don't exist (especially in Winter), so I am going to end up making it (bought the pattern today).

I think I'm most worried about the hat, though. I'd like to make it more detailed, like the Twilight Princess version of Link's hat, but shorter. People are already teasing me that I'm worried about making a hat, what with my hat-making business and all... But I've never made a hat like this, there's no pattern for it, and quite frankly, it intimidates me.

READ MORE - I'm Not Dead! (Days 362 - 377)

Nerd Rage! (Day 358)

Wheee! So I went to JoAnn's to get the ribbon I needed for Franziska's long vest, the FIMO (Sculpey) that I needed for Franziska's neck jewel, and some new fabric for Franziska's neck ruffly.

By some miracle, they actually had the exact ribbon that I've been looking months for. *headdesk* I wonder how long that was there...

I'm pretty happy with the FIMO that I got. The blue I chose is the exact same blue that I used for the buttons. I actually think it's supposed to be a lighter blue, but they didn't have anything like that and I'm not up to painting it. For the trim or whatever that is around it, I got a metallic brown/orange. It's not exactly what I envisioned, but I like it a lot anyway. It seems more realistic.

For the new neck ruffly, I got a thicker fabric than I got before. I don't like the texture as much (seeing as there isn't much in the way of texture at all), and it is a little heavier, but it stands up on its own more so I should be able to get the volume I want without all the extra weight or the tons of layers and ruffles the first one needed.

After JoAnn's, I went home and started again on Franziska's long vest. First I had to take off the failed yellow ribbon that I had started months ago. When I did it, I somehow managed to cut it too short and pieced together parts of it, so it wasn't one long piece all the way around. And that just wouldn't do, so I took it all off. Then about halfway into it, I ran out of Heat 'n' Bond no-sew Hem! Oh noes!

So back to JoAnn's it was! I also got those little concealing flower petal thingies as Franziska's design doesn't allow me to wear a bra, and that was quite evident when it got, umm.. Chilly. I just wish that there was some way that I could still get support. =/

In addition, I learned about the many types of Heat 'n' Bond. Not that I understand all of them, I just now know that there's more than one type in addition to different widths. I stuck with the "hem" kinda because it's the kind that I know how to use. There was a "decorative" kind, which is probably what I needed, but it's too late in the game to learn how to use a new kind. The directions were a little different.

Anyway! Back home again, I finished applying the yellow parts and began sewing. Ah, everything went beautifully until the lining went in. I always seem to mess this part up and then can never remember how I did it the last time. I've made two vests and a jacket with lining and I still can't get it right.. Hmmm... At this point, I gave up. It's too late to think about how to fix it. I've had a long day, and I'll deal with it tomorrow.

But no matter! I made more progress today! *clapity clap*

READ MORE - Nerd Rage! (Day 358)

Yaoi-Con Photoshoot? =D (Day 351)

So, being awesome like I can be sometimes, I set up a mini photoshoot for Yaoi-Con with a Phoenix Wright cosplayer who's a friend of a photographer that I'm friends with. Yeah. That made sense. I'm extremely excited, but the whole thing makes me feel terrible about my boyfriend's Miles Edgeworth cosplay not being completed. Even though it's not my fault, I feel like I got his hopes up for something that's not happening. And I was really excited for him to cosplay it too!

In other news, still no progress on my Franziska cosplay, though I may have some black women's gloves that I can use, so that's at least some forward progress. Assuming that I actually have them.

READ MORE - Yaoi-Con Photoshoot? =D (Day 351)

Miles Scrapped (Days 340 - 350)

I think I'm getting worse about posting. And I'm certainly running out of titles that say "I did nothing, sorry."

The Miles Edgeworth cosplay that my boyfriend was going to wear to Yaoi Con has been put on hold, if not scrapped altogether. We failed to find a red men's suit or a blue men's vest. Hoping that all was not for naught, we bought a pant pattern (I've never made pants before) at the thrift store for 69 cents (I just discovered their fabulous pattern section), and headed off to the fabric store to do some budgeting.

If I were to make the entire Mile's Edgeworth (18-year-old) costume, it'd mean making a jacket, pants, and a vest. I already have the fabric for the neck rufflies and the undershirt is just a white t-shirt. While this doesn't sound like a lot, taking into consideration the lining of at least the jacket and the pants, we were looking at about 10 yards of fabric. Plus there's a plethora (16!) giant buttons. Our end result (including tax on all but the buttons) was $83. If we had started right after Fanime (like I wanted to!) that would have been easy. But. With Yaoi-Con two weeks away, there's no way we could scrape together the money. And I had already promised to pay for his wig (which I estimated at about $50) so I'm pretty tapped for cash too.

On a side note, at the fabric store, we found out that the fabric that we used to make my boyfriend's Hideki jacket now has a label on it that says "may cause cancer." Fantastic. Next time I go to there, I'll write down the name of the fabric and the brand and post a proper warning here. In any case, I'm considering remaking his jacket for Fanime. This saddens me because I'm still so proud of that Hideki jacket. It wasn't terribly hard to make, but it had some snags and still turned out flawlessly in my eyes. *sniffle* And I'll probably end up throwing it away now.

All of that being said, I still plan to cosplay Franziska von Karma (13-year-old) to Yaoi-Con. I still need to finish the ruffles, gem, buttons, and coat (/long vest). It doesn't sound like much but somehow.. It's daunting. I think it's the buttons that are intimidating me. They must be exactly the same or I'll freak out every time I look at them. And I'm still overwhelmed with school.

READ MORE - Miles Scrapped (Days 340 - 350)

Commissions Galore (333 - 338)

So I was asked to make three more pairs of Cheshire Cat ears and a tail for my cousin's friends. Money for meeee~! I finished them all today and I'll be getting my money tomorrow.

I've also been asked to make an Ash Ketchum vest and hat, but those don't need to be done until December, so I'm not worried at all. And making the vest will give me practice for when I make one for my boyfriend.

Still haven't done anything on my Franziska costume, or my boyfriend's Miles. Bleh. I feel stuck. It's more of a mental thing, but boy it sucks.

Also, my fleece hats are now on facebook!

READ MORE - Commissions Galore (333 - 338)

Challenger Defeated! (Days 331 & 332)

I actually did finish the Cheshire cat ares and tail Friday night. I sold them to my cousin on Saturday, along with the four heart plush things I made. Yay, money! Unfortunately, on the same day, I was introduced to the fun of playing a 12-hole ocarina, and now I want one >_< Bye bye money....

My birthday is coming up, on which I will be getting a DS, Pokemon HeartGold, and a Pokewalker, all thanks to my boyfriend and his mom o.o I feel so spoiled now. I may purchase an ocarina and a songbook before then as well, but I like my money! And I need to save it for Fanime! D= I'm so torn...

The good news is that I've given up on my secret Fanime cosplay (which shall still remain a secret)! I'd like to do it some day, but I'm not ready for it yet. I don't possess the skills, money, or tools to make it, so it will be put off. This is good news though, because the replacement cosplay cost much less. My boyfriend and I are going to cosplay Magikarp Gijinkas! They're so cute! ^-^ And, yes, we do totally and completely plan to hop around in potato sack-like bags all day. Thursday (in line) and Saturday. Yeah, we'll probably going to be too tired for the rave Saturday night, but it'll be so freakin' worth it! (And I actually haven't chosen which night I want to go to the rave...)

I'm also making my boyfriend into Ashchu, because, well, it needs to be done. I'm sure he'd much rather be Magikarp all weekend, but.... >_> He'll thank me... Someday. So he'll basically be Pikachu with Ash's hat (ears coming out of the top), yellow/blonde bangs, and Ash's vest. I'd like him to get yellow pants, but from what I've seen, they only make yellow skinny jeans >_< So, erm.. We'll see how that goes.

And I still need to finish Franziska and Miles for Yaoi Con! Barely a month away! Ahhh! I haven't even started on Miles! And my boyfriend's out of money and can't fund it! Ahhhh! Officially freaking the F* out!

READ MORE - Challenger Defeated! (Days 331 & 332)

Day 312

I always tell myself (and sometimes blog) that I am going to do stuff "tomorrow" but I never do. So, of course, I did nothing today either. Although i did browse online for the type of ribbon that I want for my Franziska cosplay, but I couldn't find it. I may have to just settle for something "close" and re-do what I've already done. In all fairness, the ribbon I have might not be accurate.

The problem with Ace Attorney games is that the artwork and the in-game clips are not only not consistent, but they're not awfully detailed either. I'm working from images similar to the one on the left, and the ribbon is for the yellow lines. The lines are clearly yellow, but it's hard to tell just what shade of yellow. I had previously thought that it was a bright, solid yellow, but looking now, it seems as though it has an orange tint. Further, I thought that it was textured, but there's no telling whether it is or isn't.

READ MORE - Day 312

Franziska Jacket (Day 305)

Now, I suppose I can't really call Franziska's jacket a jacket because it has no sleeves. What it really is is a redundantly long vest. Because, really, who needs a vest that goes down to their knees? And why?

Anyway, I finished the lining for the long vest, and worked on a lot of the outer part. I sewed together the pieces except for the shoulders, and I added the yellow around the sides and bottom. I'm using thin yellow ribbon and no-sew iron-on seams. I prefer the iron-on seams because, well, you can't see any thread.. Because there isn't any! It just looks cleaner to me and you don't have to worry about the edges sticking up. But I ran out of yellow ribbon! I'm going to JoAnn's tomorrow to get more ribbon to add around the arm holes because sewing everything together. I figured it would be easier to iron on the yellow while the fabric was flat, though around the sides and bottom, it didn't really matter and I ended up sewing the pieces together before I could finish.

It's funny, putting the ribbon on the vest really reminded me of when I helped my mom make my Riza Hawkeye (FMA) costume. Probably because I was using the same yellow ribbon and applying it the same way on a similarly-colored fabric. I was actually thinking about working on that cosplay again, fixing it up and buying a wig, but I don't have the money, or anywhere to wear it, so I don't know.

I'm a little concerned about my Franziska wig, I left the bobby pin in overnight to hold the bangs up. I was hoping that I could just leave it in until the con so that it would be pretty stable the day of the con, but it seems like the weight of the pin pushed it down more than the pin actually held it up. I repositioned it and am going to check on it again tomorrow. If it holds up, I'm going to take it out during the day and see how long it holds up without the pin, to see if the bangs will last a day at a con.

I would also like to correct yesterday's post, I said that I learned to hang the wig upside-down from the Cosplay.com forums, but I remembered later (as I was trying to fall asleep) that I actually learned that trick from a ridiculously good Hiei cosplayer at Fanime. My boyfriend and I were in the elevator with her and I noticed her ridiculously amazing wig and complimented her on it and asked how she styled it to be so perfect. She said she hung it upside-down and gelled it and let it dry overnight. I really wig I could find her again to link to her from here, that wig really is worth seeing.

Also, an update on my friend's Lolita Pokemon cosplay. She decided that she doesn't want to do it. I had previously warned her that she may have to pay for fabric, but when I reconfirmed this today, she said she'd just rather not at all because she isn't in the position to be spending money. Would it be wrong of me to make the cosplay (or even just the Lolita outfit) for myself after I refused to pay the full amount to make it for her? I'm in love with the design and would really like to see it happen, but if I made it, I'd be wearing it the day she was supposed to wear it. My only argument is that she's bigger than me (as is everyone over the age of 12 >_<) and it would've taken more fabric and more money to make it for her. Ugh, I don't know what to do. =[

I'm not sure if I've done this yet, but I've figured out my costume schedule for Fanime already. I'm pretty dead-set on this one, especially since I only have three new costumes to make for it (one for me and two for my boyfriend), and one is super ridiculously easy. The only issue is that the other two are in a completely new territory for me, I have almost no idea how I'm going to make over half of them. *sigh* Anyway, this is what it looks like:
Thursday - *Secret Cosplays*, Friday - Pikachu(Me) & Ashchu (Bf), Saturday - *Secret Cosplays* (again), Sunday - Chi(Me) & Hideki(Bf), Monday - None
If all goes according to plan and I finish the secret cosplays, the only things that may change are the costume for Sunday, we may do something else during the day and save Chi and Hideki exclusively for the Black & White Ball, and then maybe we'll cosplay something simple on Monday.

READ MORE - Franziska Jacket (Day 305)

Of Hats and Wigs (Day 304)

(Random fact that no one cares about: The Day number, 234 today, finally matches up with the actual number of posts I have.)

I actually worked on cosplay today! I'm so proud of myself. My friend came over, originally so that I could start on her Pokemon Lolita outfit. We're going to make her into Mijumaru (pictured right). Unfortunately, the English name isn't out yet. Or if it is, at least I can't find it. I found a Lolita outfit that I really, really liked in New People yesterday, so we're tweaking it and changing the colors.

Unfortunately, we had no one to drive us to the fabric store, so we couldn't start on the outfit. So instead, I made another Pokemon hat! I plan to sell at Fanime if it's possible to only sell one day. I'd like to only sell Friday, but who knows. Anyway, I made a Totodile! He's quite adorable. I don't have a good picture though. He has little teeth that come down over the sides of the wearer's face =] So cute! I'll get a picture, ehh... Soon.

I've been asked a ton of times if I have a website. Am I allowed to have a website that sells things if I don't own the, umm, inspiration(?)? Anyone have any advice on this? As far as I know, I can only legally sell through places like Deviant Art or where it's abundantly clear that I am an artist and not a commercial brand. Otherwise copyright gets really, really messy.

I also styled my Franziska von Karma wig!I didn't cut it myself, had that done a while ago. I just used hair spray and gel to make the bangs stand up and fall the right way. In the picture to the left, she has a belt around her neck because I had her hanging upside-down on the shower curtain rod so that I could gel the top part of the bangs and let them dry in such a way that clearly defies gravity. I little trick I'm sure I picked up somewhere in the vast forums of Cosplay.com. They're almost perfect. I'm glad that I got them cut longer than I thought I needed to. I may have to clip them back to get them to stay exactly where I want them to, but I may be able to do it in a way that hides the clip. That would be really awesome. If not, I can just push them out of my face all day >_> Really. Not annoying in the least. -.-

READ MORE - Of Hats and Wigs (Day 304)

Cosplay Drama; I Has It (Day 293)

Do today I went for my wig styling / fitting for my Franziska von Karma wig and my Pikachu wig. My Franziska wig didn't turn out exactly the way I planned, but I still love it and do not want it messed with anymore for the sheer fact that I love it and don't want it messed up T_T My bangs can my imperfect. It's fine. Really. Bite me.

My Pikachu wig is a-freakin'-dorable, and I love wearing it and being a hott blonde again xD Is the most fun ever. My only beef(s?) with it is that it's hot, and you can see the wig line in the front because of the way the bangs are. Other than that, it's great =D

So, here's the interesting part I know you all care about. Dramaaa~!

A couple of weeks ago or so, I found out that a "friend" stole my Eeveelution group cosplay idea pretty much down to the letter and is doing it without me. She claims that her friend came up with it and she had "forgotten" that I came up with it before. Regardless of what actually happened, she's still going through with the group (or so she thinks) and isn't speaking to me, as though it's my fault.

Now, this girl clearly has no idea how the cosplay community works. She is, of course, planning on doing this group (An Eeveelution schoolgirl group) at Fanime. Last year, I wnted to do this group at Fanime. Now, my group fell through for various reason, but she had bailed on me right along with everyone else. Now I can't do my Eeveelution school uniform cosplay group until at least a year after Fanime, otherwise all I'll freakin' hear is "Did you see that group at Fanime??" Yeah, no thanks.

Now, I say she thinks she's going to do this at Fanime because she doesn't know how to sew. Sure, she knows how to alter, but not sew. She always came to me for sewing instructions. Without me, she's gonna get stuck a lot. In addition to that, she's flakey. Sure, she thinks she's going now, but who knows? She's a big fan of the line "something came up." Also, groups are hard to deal with in general, and she's always running out of money.

But, wait! There's more!

On Friday, when I went to the wig store to buy my Pikachu wig, who should I run into but the idea-stealer? She's with a couple of friends and acts like she's not not speaking to me, coming over and giving me a hug. However, her initial reaction of stopping in her tracks and saying "Oh shit!" when she saw me probably gave her away. I quickly paid for my wig (well, half of it) and high-tailed it out of there.

But wait! There's still more!

As mentioned before, I had my wig stylings today. So while I'm getting my Pikachu wig styled (which took for-freaking-ever), the lady at the front counter asks my boyfriend if he can pay for the rest of my wig since they're closing soon. I give him my purse and he goes. When he comes back ten or so minutes later, he tells me what the nice lady told him.

Apparently, after we high-tailed it outta there Friday, my former friend ambushed the poor sales lady and started asking her what I was doing there, what was she helping me with, and what did I buy? Excuse me? What business is it of hers? And if she wanted to know, why didn't she ask me? And if she didn't ask me because she thought that I wouldn't tell her, obviously she knows that I wouldn't want her to know!

RAGE!

That is all. I love my wigs. And people suck.

READ MORE - Cosplay Drama; I Has It (Day 293)