Showing posts with label OMGCon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OMGCon. Show all posts

Monday, October 18, 2010

I live!

Seems like my last post started this way, but apologies for the lack of updating, hopefully I can get myself back into the habit.  Life has been … hectic to put it mildly.
First and foremost I feel like I need to apologize for something else, unfortunately life got in the way and it became unfeasible for me to attend Dragon*Con.  I feel rather bad, guilty to be exact.  I had told a lot of people that I would be there and I feel like I flaked out.  But I was having a severe eczema problem so I would have been probably as un-photogenic as I’ve ever been, my costume that was to debut was not as far along as it needed to be.  Part of that was due to the medication I was taking to try and help my skin which made me very tired, part of that was due to the hours I was working.  Another thing that didn’t aid in our trip was the vehicle we were going to be taking was having a/c problems and I dunno about you, but I had no desire to drive 10+ hours in September weather with no a/c.  Especially to Georgia.  We could have possibly rented something but I know I didn’t really have the spare cash to do that so in the end we opted to stay home and let me get some more R&R in and just enjoy the time off together.  Again I feel terrible I was unable to make it and feel kinda like a failure but theirs nothing that I know to do but apologize and hope that next year we’ll not have any hiccups and we’ll be able to attend without my skin throwing a fit and with a vehicle that won’t double as an oven.  So that said, lets move on to less depressing things.
I suppose I should talk about OMGCon as that’s the last thing I attended.  It was fun, overall.  We weren’t planning on any meet ups or photoshoots with other people which was sorta a bummer but also gave us the time to do some other shoots of our own.  The first would be the more unusual Seras I wore.  Pip opted (at the last minute, at the hotel) to not wear his Pip costume.  (*laughs* that sounds so awkward) so I grabbed his hat and scarf, and went as “Captain Seras” kinda a hybrid idea.  I mean she did eat him and then bring him back later… seems logical that she’d take on a few of his quirks.  Here’s where the photo’s begin.  I still have probably 20 or 30 to edit but hopefully I’ll have them done before the end of the year.
The second day I debuted Revy.  Now I was very self conscious in this costume.  Not because it’s revealing (though I did wish I had heels to make my legs look a little nicer) it was my skin.  I’ve been able to photoshop most the redness out, but I felt it was very noticeable.  And such I had to really concentrate and rely on Pip for pointers for tweaks to my pose.   I still have a LOT of Revy pictures to work on, and as she doesn’t have nearly as many pictures as my Seras I’ll probably work on hers first.  You can take a look at this page if you’re interested in the ones I’ve managed to get uploaded. 
But I did say life has been hectic, here’s a quick rundown.  Two of my close friends got married about a month after OMGCon.  Since Pip was a member of the wedding party I became the photographer, it was a fun role reversal, and an exercise on how hard it is to get a ninja on camera.  I did manage to get some really neat shots, and that’s part of why I don’t have my OMGCon pictures up, I had to get those done and uploaded first.  If you’re interested click on the link to my flickr.  I think it’s the most recent set I’ve created. 
Outside of that, I’ve been working… a lot.  Lots of drama there (as usual).  But drumroll please!  Pip and I are getting an apt!  *squee*  We have one that we looked at the other day that I really like, and another that’s not sending me but it did have a massive living room which did kinda make up for some of the other things I didn’t like.  So I’ll post which we get but cross your fingers for us that its our first pick!  The best part of this will mean I can work on my costumes anytime, currently our spare bedroom doubles as my dad’s room some nights (when Mum is up at 4 am for work you’d sleep in another room too) so I can’t sit up till the sun comes up working on this and that.  That and I’ll finally get to use my dishes, decorate my own place, and best of all get to annoy the holy shit out of Pip whenever I please.  ^_^
On a completely un-related note, I have been working rather hard on one of my fiction pieces.  Not fan fiction for once, one totally in my head.  Unfortunately I don’t have anything really up and available for people to read just yet, I’m still mapping out a lot of things and learning the world.  Yes I know I have to ‘learn’ the world that I made up.  Its not quite that simple.  I see it, I understand it, but even then I don’t always explain so that other people can.  Pip has been privy to a lot of the stuff I’ve read and that’s one thing he’s pointed out, is the world feels small and that he doesn’t understand what drives my main character.  When in fact the world is rather massive and her motives, while not just one thing, should be fairly clear.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get a sample up sometime soon, actually I think I’ll go see if I can find anything that’s been edited and post it. 
Alright here we go, for those of you who have never had the opportunity to meet his character you can read a bit about here on my fictionpress page.  For those of you who’ve met Camina, well, enjoy.

    It took hardly a conscious thought to extinguish the flickering candles in the tent.  The guards that had been stationed out front yet remained but were glamored, both would venomously deny seeing the black wraith enter their commanders quarters, and neither would hear the ensuing conversation.  The Paladin’s themselves were hard to glamor, their unyielding faith made fudging fact difficult but fortunately for me, the bulk of the armies they lead lacked that blind of a devotion.
    The tent was large, it was three tents really, interconnected.  High Doyen Daryun’s war room, study, and sleeping quarters.  Of course the leader of the Eshire division of Royal Paladin’s would not fall easily into my influence, but I did not go to harm charm him.  I wanted to meet my enemy, for once this one was competent.  Most tried to use their numbers or their faith as their primary weapon, and we’d developed strategies to deal with their feeble attacks however they came.  But Daryun was smart positioning all of his troops in a perfect formation.  For once my men had been forced to rely on their demonic nature to survive the fight, not waltz though it as we usually did.
    My eyes could see in the void I’d created.  Maps and parchments laid haphazardly across the main table, part of me wanted to pause and take in my enemies tactics, but I wanted the challenge of a fair fight.  To my left I could hear the High Doyens steady breathing.  He was still asleep.  I could kill him where he laid, but that would be no more honorable then killing an infant.
“High Doyen, please wake, we have some things I wish to discuss.” He started awake, grabbing a crossbow and aiming it at the entryway, at me.  He was dead on, if he released the arrow then it would hit me, strange how accurate it was as I knew full well he couldn’t see.
“Who’s there?”
“We have yet to have a proper introduction High Doyen.”  I let the candles light slowly begin to return to their former glow.  Not so much so his eyes could slowly adjust, but for mine.  “Please put the weapon down.”

“How did you get in here?”
“Well I walked by your guards of course... Don’t bother yelling, I’ve gone to some length to ensure our privacy.”
“What do you want?”
“Just a conversation, nothing more.”
“Who are you?”
“I suppose an introduction is in order as I do know of you but not vice versa.  My name is Camina Wistar, daughter of his highness Casimir Wistar, King of Pulsia.  I am his heir and his equal.  He has charged me with the leading of the campaign against the Paladins.”

“Their is no way that a woman, that your a ...”
“Not human?” I smiled.  “I get that a lot.  We come in all sizes and colors High Doyen.  My flesh is meant to mimic the most desirable traits in your kind.  Others are modeled after animals and plants still others seem to have no similarity to anything.”
“You cannot be the one I saw today.  You’re a woman.”
“For us gender does not play the role it does among your kind.  A lioness is at its most fierce when its protecting its cubs.”  He started seeming to take in the information.  “Please, get dressed, let us talk.”
“And why would I want to talk to you?”
“Wouldn't you like to pick the brain of your enemy?”
“Why are you doing this?  What are you up to devil?”

“My reasons are my own High Doyen, but if I didn’t come here to talk look at it this way, I could have killed you in your sleep.”  His eyes narrowed, hearing the challenge.  “I’ll be in the other room.”

Friday, May 28, 2010

Lots to say



Been awhile since my last update, my apologies, life has been wild.  A combination of being laid off, working on costumes and a commission have taken their toll on my time to post anything.  So lets see if I can get you up to speed.
First, I'm sure you've seen my Motoko Kusanagi pictures, if not here's a link to the set on flickr.  I sent a few to the company I bought the jacket from (Abbyshot) and was featured in their blog.  You can see the article here.  I was floored, both from their compliments and the fact that's the first time any of my costumes have received anything like that. 
I just booked our rooms for InvaderCon next year.  Yes next year, I'm already working on costumes for next year, even when this year isn't finished.  I figure for one day of the con I'll wear a Gaz costume, the other day... well that's a suprise for now, I have plans but I'm still at the planning stage for the moment.  Looks like Pip is going to have a Gir costume for one day and we're still in debate for the other, I'd like to have a full cast of characters, so if anyone is interested shoot me an e-mail and we'll see what we can work out. 
I did attend the local con this year, and got to meet up with a fellow SCF person, actually we met last year but didn't know who each other were, of course I wasn't a member of the site then so its not surprising.  But I do have some pictures from that convention.  Not many of me though, most were of the costume contest.  I didn't have the new version of Ivy done in time so I wore the old classic Ivy costume.  I did find a place where I can get the tights so before Dragon*Con I'll have to grab a pair.  Fun part of the whole thing was after we left the convention Saturday we ran by Pip's so I could change then went out to eat, and ran into the Con Chair for KawaKon.  So we ended up talking with her and her table for quite awhile.  And looks like I'll be seeing her at OMGCon too.  ^_^ 
Speaking of OMGCon, I ended up cutting one of my costumes for it.  I'm just not going to have the time to get my 1st GIG Kusanagi done.  And done right.  Trust me I will have it done, but Revy got very expensive very quickly.  Thankfully Seras just needs some tweaks.  But Revy will be kickass.  I still need to cut her shorts and her top, but her holsters arrived today, real leather.  And yes they are gorgeous.  I will definitely be going to him for any other leather costume related stuff I need.  NyghtCraft Custom LeatherCraft, is the company in case anyone else is needing something made.  Be prepared for a nice price though, he's totally worth it because its the really nice saddle grade leather he uses, but it isn't cheap.  
As for the costumes I'm taking to Dragon*Con, they haven't seem much progress, I've been trying to save a bit of money for OMGCon.  But I did run to Lowes the other day and get a piece of PVC pipe and some paint for Hawkeye's staves.  You know the ones she totally ninja'ed from Mockingbird?  I was asking my dad about how to cut them to size, and wouldn't you know?  He has a special saw for PVC.  I love my Dad.  I just have to figure out how to seal the ends.  It can't be something that is like a cap, so I'm not entirely sure, I have a couple of ideas and PVC piping is only like a dollar or two for a 5 foot section so if I mess up I'm not concerned.  Its not like its gold. 
Now I do have a new costume that will be going to Dragon*Con, at my nagging Pip decided to do Evecutioner for us.  Yea this guy:

I pretty much went 'Honey, look at all the guns, and you get a mask!' and he was !!! OK!  I'm psyched.  First time we've costumed as a hero and villain from the same series.  We usually do the couple thing, Seras and Pip, Revy and Rock.  So this will be a fun change. 
Only other thing I can think of at the moment is how grossly overpowered my Paladin is in WoW.  I mean yes, she has 1 piece of Heirloom but still, she's sick.  Taking on 4 things 2 levels above her and raping them?  Yea I'm OP, and I love it.  Its a big change from how she was when I quit playing her, that was Pre-Litch King but still.  Its just night and day.
Ok at the beginning of this post I was talking about costumes for next year, here's what I have lined up.  No idea which costume I'll wear any of this two but ... Kasumi from Dead or Alive, Pip being Ryu Hayabusa (The Ninja Gaiden version).  Starfire, the animated Teen Titans version, I'm batting the idea of finishing my Nariko costume but I really want a Kai for that.  I know the boys are wanting to make Space Marine (Warhammer) armor, if they do then I'm going to try to find the most dainty, girly costume I can... I'm thinking Princess Aurora from Disney's Sleeping Beauty or maybe Kaylee's pink frilly dress from Firefly.  Not sure yet.  They have to do something other then talk about it before I'm going to dedicate the time to it. 
Someone on the forum was talking they had 30+ costumes they wanted to do, here's my 30+ list, mind you these are in no order then alphebitical.

 
Alice (Resident Evil: Extinction)



Arslan (The Heroic Legend of Arslan) Yes, a male character.

Ayame (Yotoden AKA Wrath of the Ninja)
Black Widow (Black Widow)

Char Aznable (Mobile Suit Gundam)

Columbia (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) This one only really works if I'm going to the movie, and if who I'm going with will dress up with me.

Ed (Fullmetal Alchemist)  I know its been done, but I want an Al that has the suit, so I doubt I'll ever do it.

Farah (The Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones)  Yes the game, not the movie, though I am curious about it.  I'd really like to have a Prince too.

Faye (Cowboy Bebop)

Haruka (FLCL)

Howl (Howl's Moving Castle)  This one is about 90% complete, I just need to finish the jacket and find a Sophie.

Igunis (Jingai Makyo)

Iria (Iria vs Zeriam)

Julia (Cowboy Bebop)

Kagura (InuYasha)

Kurama (YuYu Hakusho)

Lacus Clyne (Gundam SEED)

Leila (Vampire Hunter D)

Lina Inverse (Slayers)

Mireille (Noir)  The costume is acutally almost done, I just need a Kirika.

Queen Emeraldas (Queen Emeraldas)

Rally Vincent (Gunsmith Cats) Need a May for this costume too.  (Anyone noticing a trend?)

Re-L (Ergo Proxy)

Riho (Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective)  Need a Shido for this.

Siryn (Marvel) Very much a possibility as my big costume for D*C next year...

Talho (Eureka Seven)

Tifa (Advent Children)

Violet (Ultraviolet) Yes I have a bit of a crush on Mila Jolovich 

Yuffie (Final Fantasy or Advent Children, not sure)

Monday, March 22, 2010

KawaKon Review (Sunday)

Alright, sorry about the delay in posting, guild weekend and all, I may have been at a computer but I was otherwise occupied, I'll get to my weekend later, first I'm going to finish the KawaKon reviews. And I am going to make a separate post about the masquerade, I'm currently working on it, so I haven't forgotten.

So we got up a little later then we should have Sunday, but we were scheduled for a photo shoot at 10 which meant we had to get our shit together and get checked out and get into costume. I know checkout was 12 but we figured we could get it all done so we could just leave when we got bored... or more likely when the calling for IHOP got to strong. (I will try to remember the whole IHOP obsession later in the post.) We failed at getting checked out but we figured the person we were supposed to meet would understand if the photo shoot ran long cause they would need to checkout too, and if so inclined then we could resume after we were all done with that. So I think it was about 10:20 when we got to the lobby. Now mind you none of my costumes had I gotten the chance to wear, so I may have tried on pieces but I'd never seen it all together until I got it on. And let me tell you, their is a draft in Seras's skirt. Yes, you read that right. V's skirt wasn't that bad. I think I'm going to tweak it a bit before OMGCon, I need to work on the collar of the shirt anyway.
But we got down to where we were supposed to meet and couldn't find who we were looking for, we figured since we were late that we missed them and they were in the dealer's room or a panel or someplace. Well we, or well I, had plans to glomp Alucard all the while screaming "MASTER!!" .... only to find no Alucard. We were supposed to have an Integra too. Only we couldn't find them. I pouted awhile. I found out when I got in that night... or well Monday morning that some things had come up and kept them from meeting us. She was at least nice enough to pm me about it, but I was still kinda sad, we're going to try to do a shoot later, but I don't know when Pip and I will have time off again where we can do something like that.
But not finding Alucard we wondered around the con some, he bought a knife and had the Hellsing crest engraved on it. It doesn't look bad, I think in pictures it will be really neat, up close its not bad, and considering the girl free handed it its nice. I think I'm going to contact her about engraving a couple of Hawkeye's arrows. Just for pictures. I think a shot of me going to shoot, and having the camera focused on the arrow then seeing "Hawkeye" or something written on the arrow would be cool. I'm afraid it may effect its flight though, I may buy one extra for it or something. Leave it blunted so I can use it for photos. Unno, we'll see. Cliff maybe able to do it for me so I won't have to send it to her. But we bought some other stuff, I'll post pics on flickr once I get all of them edited. (I'm though Kusanagi and about a 1/4 of Seras atm, just got V's from Pip this weekend.) He got a pic of Optimus Prime, it looks really neat, and its the original art, not from the movie. Then from the same vendor we got some badges, two Repo! ones and one of someone in a Gir hoodie holding Gir. It's cute, we're going to take it to InvaderCon next year. I love my Repo! one, shows Graverobber holding the Zydrate gun and across the top it says Zydrate and next to him near the bottom is says "Comes in a littel glass vial". And its good artwork on all of them. And since we bought Sunday we got a deal on it. ^_^ We thought about getting some tee's, if we hadn't been starving then I would have gotten a pic in my Seras costume with the "Team Alucard" shirt.. I may see if I can find it online, it could make for a fun prop in a photo shoot. But other then that it was a rather slow day there, at least to me. I know Pip and I were two of the oldest there, but we were some of the only people in costume, and awake and not zombiefied and we got maybe 3 or 4 hours of sleep.
We got our shit together and checked out. I think it took like 4 or 5 trips to get it all out, it took us less to get it in, strange. Anyway once we got the car repacked we did a quick photo shoot in the parking garage, we stopped when I started shivering, it was cold and misty, and although the overcast worked great for Seras, I can't tolerate the cold that long, especially in such a short skirt. We did get a couple of neat candid photos, I ran back in after we were done with pictures to get my jeans on, so think Seras's top with jeans, came off really neat.
After that we headed to IHOP, only to be thwarted by the lack of parking. I swear that was the most jacked up IHOP I've ever seen. People were parking illegally to get into it. So we said fuck that, and found another one on the gps and went there. Now I got some funny looks going in because Pip took off his jacket and was just in his green shirt and khaki's. But I refused to take off my wig because I knew my hair was a mess because it wasn't 100% dry when I pulled it up in the wig cap. Being a blonde was kinda fun. And the waitress complimented my eyes (the orange contacts). And side note here, I used fixodent to hold my fangs in. And OMG I wish I would have done that years ago. They were so sturdy and held so well. I wasn't slurring in my speech because I was afraid I was going to loose my fangs or anything. It was definitely worth the 3+ minutes it took to set. I think I'm going to get some sort of paint or something for them before OMGCon though, they were to yellow to match my teeth. In pictures they look fine but if you were next to me they weren't so believable.
I don't know what time we got back to town that night, I know I wasn't crawling into bed till after 1 that morning. And I'm still not unpacked. All in all it was a fun weekend. The quality of costumes didn't seem to be on par with what was there last year. And the crowd was younger, or maybe I'm just getting older and pickier. Don't get me wrong their was some nice stuff there, but nothing sent me, none of my fav characters or anything. So if you're looking at my flickr and don't notice a lot of pictures of other characters, we weren't that egotistical we just didn't see a lot that wow'ed us. A lot of VK people and I'm sure those costumes are a pain to make, but you see one and you've seen them all. I think that's part of the reason I pick unusual characters, is just to be the only one. That said I don't know if we will be returning next year. We may check out animestl, or maybe or Memphis con. Depends. We didn't care for the venue and none of the panels really interested us, and since their was a very limited area to do pictures we had a lot of down time where we were just like umm.... what do we do now?
Ok I said I would explain the IHOP thing. You see we *gasp* live in a town with no IHOP. Now to most of you that doesn't seem like a big thing. But you try it, just a Denny's and a Huddle House. I'm sorry but I have never been desperate enough to go to Denny's and I have been to Huddle House once, they weren't bad, but they don't compare. So when I found that their was an IHOP less then 1/2 a mile from the hotel you better damn well believe that we were going. Of course we only went once and we never made it to Bellachino's but oh well, that's for another trip.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Update!

The con is less then a week away, I need to attach V's cuffs, and give the masks a coat of poly.  Kusanagi needs to have her zipper put in.  Seras needs buttons and some tweaking to her collar plus a hem, and Tuxedo Mask needs a jacket vest and cape.  Yes I'm stressing.  However I'm not going to think about it for a few minutes. 
I know I have posted saying we are going to Dragon Con but I thought I would update you on what costumes I will be taking.  Obviously Hawkeye will be going, but I have one new one and one update.  The update is Ivy.  I have a couple figures of her in a bikini rather then the leotard type thing, and I've really wanted to do the bikini version.  I think I'm going to take both versions though.  One night the group I'm with is doing a villain get together, but it has to be from the comics no movie or cartoon editions.  So no bikini Ivy for that.  But for a Superman/Batman type photo shoot I'm going to wear it.  ^_^
The big one I have to announce is Nahrees of th Inhumans.  Now I didn't know who she was, I simply asked if anyone needed someone for a group and after a few minutes of deliberation they all said I would make a good Nahrees.  Best thing about her costume is that I'll be able to wear the same wig I'm wearing for Hawkeye. 
Lets see, currently I have a commission I need to get started on next week, plus Hawkeye to get going on once this con is over.  Her debut is a local con so if its not 100% I won't be to upset, I mean I will be but I'm more concerned with her for DragonCon.  I think I've already said I'm going as Revy for OMGCon, Pip is going as Chang/Rock.  Speaking of Pip I dunno what he's wearing to DragonCon.  He wants a Shadow costume and I know someone in my group was talking about brining a Margo if he decided to.  And wow I'm totally scatter brained.  -_-" I have 3 things to organize at KawaKon, costumes to do and the brakes on my Jeep just went to shit.  Yea I'm swamped. 
Hopefully the Jeep won't be to expensive to fix.  I was wanting to use my tax return for a netbook, and since the government saw fit to take $400 more then they did last year I'm not exactly hurting for money, but the little amount I had saved up for KawaKon looks like I will have to use for something else.  And of course if one thing goes wrong with the vehicle 5 more things will.  >.< I don't make enough to pay for all this shit!!!  Ok rant over.  If I quit sleeping and keep breathing I may make it though.  Cross your fingers. 
I probably won't have the time to update till after the con, I'm at work and posting atm.  If all goes will I will have the chance to update my flickr during the con but we have a pretty set schedule so no promises.  Otherwise next week I should have a ton of pictures. 
We do have another guild weekend planned for the weekend after KawaKon.  I'm working a local home and garden show though, I will probably pop in for the evening though.  I'm sure we'll have more pictures from that.  Busy, busy, busy!

Monday, February 15, 2010

More good news.

Gimme a minute, I have to chatter, then I'll get to the good news.  Ok, so I worked till close Sunday night.  No biggie, we close an hour early so I get home at a decent time to go to work in the AM Monday.  I'm not insane about the idea but its better then midnight like I did all Christmas.  So here it is Sunday night, maybe five or six, and it starts snowing.  Now it wasn't just snowing, oh no, it was doing that freezing rain, sleet, bullshit.  So what happens?  We get a layer of ice on the road and then a layer of snow.  Assuming no one has driven over the snow you can get traction, but if they have, well it turned into an ice skating ring.  So I call Da before I left and he said my mother had taken well over an hour to get home in this mess, so he advised that I stay at Pips.  Now that wasn't really a problem to me, it was Valentines Day and I got to spend awhile longer with my Valentine, but that also meant that I had to get up at the crack of dawn and hope that the road crews had gotten the road cleaned.  Now mind you I had no clothes with me, no makeup, thankfully I leave some of my stuff at his place so I had a toothbrush some mascara and I found a clean tee in the Jeep.  (And oh lord is that thing full of random jackets o.O)  But that also means I have to be at about six in the morning (which I don't usually see unless I haven't been to bed yet!) shower, and get on the road.  Best part was I wouldn't know how the roads were until I got going, so their was no way to predict exactly how long it would take me to get home.  Could be that the crews had it all clear, could be a lot worse then it was when Mom started home.  So I had intended on getting on the road about 6:30-6:45 it was a little closer to 7 then that when I actually did, sorry I had to have some coffee I was running on less then 6 hours of sleep.  And thankfully I the roads weren't too bad, I mean they weren't great by any mean and I had to take my time, and I saw where PLENTY of people had gone off the side of the road.  But I made it home a few minutes after eight, had enough time to throw on some make up and grab some clean clothes (thankfully I thought to shower at Pip's) and skid into work right on time.  >.<  Stupid snow!  I'm tired of it.  It can go away.  It's against my will!!
But on to the good news.  I have the hotels for DragonCon reserved!! *squee* We will be arriving on Friday about two or three and leaving Monday sometime, probably three or four in the afternoon.  Atlanta is a seven hour drive from here so we had to factor that in.  That was actually something new for us, most con's we've been to are only a couple hours drive.  I dunno what we will do to entertain ourselves.  I know he's never been there, I myself have only driven though on my way to Florida, and that was at four in the morning so I didn't exactly get the best feel for the place. 
As for costumes, with me getting snowed into town yesterday, and being so worn out today I haven't done much.  I cut out a couple patterns, one for the formal of Sailor V and another for Kusanagi, but that's really it.  I'm going to be heading to bed here in a few so that I can catch up on a few hours sleep so hopefully I will be rested enough to get some things accomplished tomorrow.  Hopefully my girl will be in on time to work tomorrow so I can get going early.  We'll see though, seems like she's usually a bit later on Tuesdays then she is on Wednesdays....   I did upload a few new progress photo's to my flickr that I'll post here.  Just to show them off a bit more


This is (most) of what I have done with V.  I'm working on her top at the moment.  After that I'll just need to get her shoes and get them dyed, then tweak both the shoulder guards and mask a bit more.  ^_^ So close to the finish line!!


I know its no Harkonnen, but it will have to do till I have the chance to make one.  It's not entirely painted in this pciture but its a good idea of what it will look like, assuming I have time I'll go ahead and paint Hellising Arms or whatever is on her gun in white down the side.  *needs to research that more*

And notice a difference between eye to eye?  Yea that's the orange in one eye and my natural color on the other.  It's really nice for Kusanagi, not spot on for Seras in my opinion, but I don't have the $75 on hand to buy the red ones I want.  Maybe before OMGCon, or at least before the proper photoshoot.  And mentioning Seras, as today was a holiday the mail didn't run but hopefully tomorrow my Hellsing patches will arrive...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Ideas?

Since it looks like its going to be another slow day here at the store I'm going to take the time now to update rather then when I get in so that way I can get going on a costume.
I spent most of my evening working on Sailor V's collar, took me a bit to draft it out, I used the guide found here as a start.  Since Codename's collar is a little different I h ad to mod it slightly.  I'll post pictures once I get it done, I have it cut out and sewn together, I just need to finish getting the red trim on it.  I have one side done but it takes me awhile to get that spandex to bend to my will.  I didn't work on anything else.  Well I did take a look at how much blue fabric I have left over and I think I'm going to have enough to my my Formal versions dress out of it... it would make me happy to be able to use it and know it will all match... We'll see.
The other week I was out at Pip's and he had an anime on I'd never seen, called Black Lagoon.  And well I fell in love.  Revy is foul-mouthed and a badass... kinda like Rally from Gunsmith Cats only updated.  Anyway her outfit would be a really simple cosplay and I was thinking about making it and Pip could do Rock, and we could take them to OMGCon.  It would be something cool to wear... I unno though.  I'd have to ditch one of my current costumes to wear it... And Kusanagi's 1st GIG outfit is already slated for that con... Like I said we'll see.  I want to make it, and waiting till next year on something so simple seems a bit much... that and I'm sure by next year I'll have decided on what other big costumes I want to make.  I also thought of Kim Possible.  It would be mega easy (not even needing a wig)... it'll probably just be for a photoshoot though.  Hopefully I'll have some money by OMGCon and I know they used to have a nice outdoor store near the con center (I used to live near there) and if memory serves they sold climbing gear, that could make for a neat photoshoot...
Of course speaking of Rally that's a costume I've wanted to make for awhile, I just need a May.  >.<  Same with Noir.  I've wanted to do Mireille for a long time (already have a wig and a top!) but not a Kirika.  And I have Nariko from the game Heavenly Sword nearly done (the costume not the sword) and I could wear it without a Kai, but I would like one.  /pout.  Why is it I can get boys to cosplay with me but not girls?

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Yay for more cosplay updates!

All right lots to say lets see how much I can get out before I forget everything I was going to say... First, a new con added to the usual lineup.  OMGCon.  Its in Paducah, which for me isn't that far away.  I've wanted to attend for about three years now but something kept getting in the way.  (Yes Rob I'm still upset you had to pick THAT WEEKEND to get married. :p) But I have mine and the new b/f (yes, yes we'll get to him in a bit) badges bought.  So no skipping out this year.  Its June 11-13 for anyone interested, and if you get on it quick badges are $25 till Dec 31st.
Next on the agenda, the costume list for Kawa Kon has been revised.  Remember how I said I was just going to do two costumes?  I lied.  -_-" No I didn't lie, I was talking to someone on the forum and they are doing an Alucard costume and it just so happens that I'd already be attending with a Pip, then they told me that they had an Integra so it only seemed natural to be Seras.  Anyone shocked?  No I didn't think so.  I'm planning on going with the yellow costume, and keeping it very close to the manga.  Meaning black and white patches.  What's that you say?  Black and white?  Yes if you look at the front cover of the second issue you'll notice Seras's patches are black and white and not in color as seen in the ova.


Picky detail I know but I wouldn't be me if I didn't worry over such things.  Currently I'm hunting for said patches.  I'm not having much luck, most places that will take custom orders require a minimum order and as between Pip and I we will be needing a max of 5 or 6 that doesn't work.  Hopefully someone on etsy will be willing to make some for me.  Dunno if I'll be making the Harkonnen, at least in time for the con.  Unfortunately I have a lot of work to do with Sailor V and Kusanagi, so it will depend.  I do want to have it for photos though.  And am I the only one who hears Harkonnen and doesn't think Seras but I think House Harkonnen i.e. Dune?  I read (most) of the series years ago and loved it but in my world Harkonnen=bad.  I know I'm crazy.  But as for the creation of the costume itself I think I have it pretty much mapped out.  Some stretch twill for the uniform, I'll be able to reuse Kusanagi's boots for this costume and her and Sailor V's contacts (red and blue respectively) which will make for some neat pics.  I think I'm going to go with white gloves a la the cover I posted above.  I know a lot of Seras cosplays I've found on Cosplay.com have gone with brown boots and brown gloves with a black belt.  Unfortunately I have this issue with black and brown being on at the same time so therefore I have to do black or the fashion ninja's will get me >.>  <.< 
Thankfully the cost of Seras's wig won't be up there with Kusanagi's or Sailor V's.  A very nice lady on cosplay.com who has already done a Seras cosplay was nice enough to respond and tell me where she got hers and what she did to modify it. 


You can find her on Cosplay.com under the s/n DestiniteLuna. But not to nitpick but you can see see did the brown gloves, which is correct if you do the OVA Seras, but I'm (as always) being different and doing the manga.  You'll also notice her Pip is in green, mine will be in khaki.  Why?  Hell if I know.  He saw some picture of Pip a year or two ago when he made the costume in brown and loved it.  It worked on him first time, I'll just need to find him the scarf and a few other minor things for this time.
But while I'm on the subject of Seras and Pip I ran across a couple rather racy pictures of the duo someone did (I can't find credits).  Dunno if we'll post them but you can bet we'll probably do our own variants of these:






And how are we going to do these semi racy photos?  Well ladies and gentlemen you'll be happy to know that we're investing in a new SLR.  A Sony 330 to be precise.  We're picking it up Thursday.  Sadly I don't think we'll have any fun lenses before the con, maybe a filter depending on price.  But they will be coming.  Splitting the cost of it made it a lot more reasonable for both of us.  And my bff has one as well that we can use if we need a second camera (why we'd need a dual camera shoot is beyond me but I'm just the stupid model he's the photographer).  And yes that's pretty much how it will be.  I don't mean to be egotistical but expect to see a LOT of  me and very few of him unless he has a mask on or is facing away from the camera.  For whatever reason he's mega shy about cameras.  /shrug
But as I'm thinking about variant costumes, have I prattled on endlessly about my Sailor V Artemis Variant?  No?  Hope your seated, this will take awhile.  The costume idea started when I was telling ... how should I refer to him... my photographer?  No.  My b/f?  No, even though he is.  Pip?  Meh its short, it'll do.  It all started when I was telling Pip about the plushie I commissioned for my Sailor V costume.  He loved the idea of doing some pictures with the plush then we started acting ... like ourselves and came up with this shoot I cannot wait to do.  Ok you all know the whole Family Guy Peter vs the Chicken thing?  Yea, same idea.  V vs Artemis.  Me 'fighting' a stuffed animal.  Figure first time V will win and he'll have to continue being the sidekick, but what if he won?  And had his own Sailor fuku?  Well then V would just have to be the kitty... Ok so imagine this



Only in white plus ears and a cat tail.  Expect to have a good laugh once we're done.  I'll post more details about the Sailor V Variant later have other things on my mind.
I finally, FINALLY got to dye my fabric for Kusanagi tonight.  I'm testing out a satin.  I plan on using the dull side for the costume but I can't find any satin in my hometown in a pale purple like hers so I bought a white and some purple RIT dye and went to work.  The first piece I used came out way to dark which was a major shock because about two years ago when I was making my Nariko costume I had to dye some satin to be the shade I needed and for the life of me I couldn't get that stuff to take color.  I ended up just having to setting for a paler color then what I wanted.  So knowing that I made it at full strength, and left the fabric in the dye bath maybe two minutes, pulled it out and rinsed it just out of curiosity.  The stuff was way to dark to salvage.  Before I gave the next piece a try I dumped about half of the dye out and refilled the pot with water so it was at about 50% strength.  This time I dipped it for maybe 30 seconds before I pulled it out and rinsed it.  It matched the thread I bought which is a very, very pale purple.  Which is what I'm going for.  I hope it dries that way.  See my idea is when I'm wearing the 1st gig outfit (the bikini bottoms and thigh highs) for the top to be questionable if its white or purple, but if I'm in the 2nd gig outfit (the white jeans) then it will be obvious that it is a very light purple.  So cross your fingers that it dies even and the color I need.  Otherwise I just wasted 3 yards of satin and a box of dye on nothing. :/
Alright on to the thing that most of your probably suspected from the last post but wasn't confirmed.  No I'm no longer single, but no I'm not telling you his name.  We'll just call him 'Pip' and be done with it.  Yes for those inquiring minds I'm extremely happy and finally able to gush this as we will probably still have ex-bf problems for awhile.  Hopefully he will get it that I'm done with him before the local con so we can hang out again this year.  I feel kinda bad I didn't mean to break it off with him the way I did, but I was unhappy and frustrated and didn't see things changing.  I felt it was better to nip it in the bud, besides he started the whole 'where are you and who are you with' type line of questioning and the only person who can ask that is my mother and she doesn't even do that.  That and he asked for me to 'think long and hard on if I wanted to be with him' I think he expected me to say yes so it was a major blow to his ego when I didn't.  But as for what happened with Pip, it was a total accident.  Just kinda happened, and although I'm extremely happy about it a certain part of me has reservations about it, I'm afraid of something going wrong and loosing a friend that means the absolute world to me.  (And no I'm not talking him up or exaggerating, we went 3 months without talking once and I was about to loose my mind I missed him that much.)
But one last thing and I think I'll have caught everyone up.  Christmas presents.  I got many, which was unusual, last few years have been... blah.  A Kohl's gift card and some amazingly warm socks from the paternal grandmother, a beautiful vase and a Hancocks fabrics gift card from Dad, a pre-paid gym membership from Mom (I may just be in Kusanagi shape yet!) and some money toward the white leather jacket (which was the only thing I asked for).  An XM radio from one of my jobs which in turn was a present from my grandmother because she didn't have anything for me under the tree so she gave me some money for it even though my boss gave it to me as my bonus o.O yea that was a twisted one.  $100 from the grandparents as well, $50 from the aunt and uncle (all of which is going toward the SLR), a funny little outdoor spinny decoration from my cousin (I'll post a pic when we get the new camera, it'll be something to take a picture of) And a kickass mug from Pip, with a quote from Alice and Wonderland "Somebody's head is going to ROLL for this!" Anyone who knows me knows how true that is in the morning.  And the very best present of all...


Everyone, let me introduce you to the newest member of my family, Lucky.  My parents found him when they were leaving my Grandparents Christmas day, he was running in the field covered in ice from some of the cows, which apparently thought he was a towel wearing terrorist.  And as soon as I set eyes on the lil guy he was adopted.  He also is going to be my Hellhound for my Seras cosplay.  Oh yea, double duty.  But in all seriousness he's the cutest and sweetest puppy I've been around since Rex was born.