Another great year has gone by and I have made leaps and bounds in terms of cosplay construction and performance! I made a great variety of costumes this year not only for myself but for some of my friends as well! Without further ado, here are my accomplishments!
First Attempts -
- Vlogging
- Video Tutorials
- Audio Editing
- Photo Editing
- KATSUCON!!! :D
- Cosplay Panel
- Cosplay Group
- Crossplay
- Hand Applique
- Bought Costume
- Glued Hairline
- Self Painted Tattoo
- Sewing Feathers
- Sewing Beads
- Clay Jewelry
- French Maid Outfit
- ARMOUR!
- Sword
- Seifuku
New Things Learned -
- Cosplay groups are the best! :D
- Katsucon is amazing and I want to go back so badddddddd!!!
- Hand applique takes a very, very long time
- Crossplay can be so much fun
- Vlogging is quite challenging!
- Driving for fourteen hours to a con is not worth it, next time I'm going to fly
- Working with feathers is a tedious process
- Sewing beads is also tedious, though working with large beads are not so annoying
- Keeping mock-ups are a great pattern resource for similar bodices/skirts/pants/etc
- Ebay is a good and cheap wig source for costumes with simple wig styles
- Mops are a great stage prop for funny skits... and for confusing con attendees
- Traveling to cons with more than one room worth of people is the best experience!
- Scheduled shoots at conventions are really fun and rewarding
- Large armour makes walking through crowds difficult
- Large armour also attracts lots of attention, especially when in a group with other large amoured cosplayers!
- Curly wigs are so freaking adorable!
- Giving a panel is more fun with friends :)
- Under water shoots have very distinct challenges - such as keeping wigs on heads and preventing skirts from floating :P
- Need to organize more out of cosplay evens with cosplay friends
Cheapest Cosplay - Mukaido Manaka
This cosplay only required a dress to be made and a wig so my costs were reduced by buying from ebay and fabric discount stores. In total it cost me about $45 CAD.
Most Expensive Cosplay - Fuu Hououji
It's very understandable as to why this costume was the most expensive. It involves armour, lots of fabric, and a giant sword. While this costume is not complete (missing the sword), the price of it only lands in the $120 CAD range, which makes this cosplay not all that expensive.
Longest to Construct Cosplay - Fuu Hououji
Again, this makes a lot of sense in terms of cosplay construction time. I worked on this one for 52 hours so far and the sword will probably add another 10 hours on top of that. The most time consuming part was probably the painting of all the armour. I had to paint many layers and of course there is drying time between each layer as well.
Quickest to Construct Cosplay - Mukaido Manaka
I made this costume super quickly before Halloween. It took about 11 hours to make and is a great comfy costume to bring to faraway cons.
First Favourite Cosplay - Fuu Hououji
I really love wearing this costume, despite the huge armour that makes it hard to walk through crowds. It's actually really comfy and doesn't take forever to get on and off. Fuu was one of my dream cosplays and I'm so happy I got to make her! Still working on that massive sword though! xD
Second Favourite Cosplay - Maid Saber
Despite this costume being annoying in the form of making sure it doesn't tumble off my shoulders, it is a really fun costume to wear. People had great reactions to it and I've made some really cool friends because I was wearing this costume. I can't wait to make another Saber cosplay!
Third Favourite Cosplay - Howl
Crossplaying was surprisingly fun, I have to admit! I loved portraying Howl's flirtatious character, especially in photos I took that involved girl characters. His shirt was voluminous enough that I didn't need to bind my chest which helped a lot with the comfort levels. Maybe one day I'll change things up and throw together a FemHowl :)
Favourite Commission - Twilight Princess Zelda
I spent so much time working on this costume and I had so many doubts about certain things but when I finally finished it, the whole costume looked spectacular! I loved working on the armour and painting the tapestry. I'm super happy with the final look and I know what I would change should I ever make this costume again!
Favourite Convention - Katsucon
Need I explain this?! Katsucon was such a freaking blast! It was the first time where we actually made friends at a con that we hung out with, went to party with and rode a mechanical bull with! Not to all the awesome cosplays I saw! I really want to go back again and next time I'll bring some really spectacular costumes as well!
Best Masquerade Performance - Hyrule Dreams
If you haven't seen this
footage, please go and check it out. The video speaks for itself :P
Biggest Cosplay Challenge - Working with Expanding Foam
I have never worked with expanding foam before and boy oh boy was I ever in for a ride! I used it to form the super complex hilt for Hikaru's sword (pictured below). Applying it was the easy part, getting it to the shape that I wanted, err not so much! Not to mention that it was incredibly itchy when I was trying to form it over my lap! Maybe next time I'll try working on a more simple shape with expanding foam :P
Fondest Cosplay Memory - Fate Gathering at Anime North
I was so nervous going to the Fate gathering! I had just started getting into the fandom, I hadn't played any of the games and I had only seen the original Fate/Stay Night anime. I shouldn't have worried though because I was warmly welcome by a bunch of fate cosplayers even before I got to the shoot location! I had so much fun that I decided that I needed to make another Fate cosplay, just for that one event at AN in 2016, and perhaps for every other years after that!
