A surprise

While I was working on props today (which I finally got the remaining items that I needed, flat pen heads, beads, gold paint.) An old friend messaged me. It was so nice talking to her and I realized good things can happen when things are bad. I'm so happy by that conversation we had. We planned a few things like having a Black Butler cosplay group for next year. And me getting her a autograph and maybe a phone call from Vic during Sakura-con if she can't come with us. She reminds me so much of my childhood best friend. But in all the good ways. I'm going to try my hardest to be a good friend to her this time because we are both the type of people who are overlooked, ditched and ignored. So maybe this was fate. We both need the support built by friendship. I'm so happy she contacted me and I'm even happier I answered.

Any way.


Cosplay update since its so close to the con.

Kumori-con is only 34 days left! (Counting day zero) Our costumes are about done I believe because the tailor has just e-mailed us making sure the address is correct. They believe they'll be here by August 24th since its by plane its a bit hard to really say if it'll come earlier or a few days later. Although most reviews say they have gotten their orders earlier then thought. So I hope we get them early too!

We ordered four things.

My Sakura hanfu
Nic's Syaoran costume
Sakura's matching headdress
And my Sakura wig

So it'll be a BIG box. And its coming straight to my house! I'm so excited. The timing couldn't be better in case I get bad news from my neurologist appointment. Which is on the 23rd. I suspect I might have epilepsy. My mom had it when she was little (only had one episode and never had a seizure since.) so it might run in the family and would explain why I've been having issues lately. So I hope if I do have it that this package will perk me right back up.

We've also joined a gym! We've been going everyday (expect this weekend. ;_;) and I've been getting addicted to it. Working out has never been so much fun. It's hard to calm me down when I'm stressed but it does the trick and I feel so much better about myself! I'm aiming to lose at least five to ten pounds before the con so I can have a little boast in my ego. XD

All of my goals for this con have been meant so far. I'm on track to lose weight. Been trying new things and am trying my hardest to meet and befriend people. I feel really good! Although the job isn't going to work out I'm not going to give up on finding a job. I'll just try harder! So I can get married by next April. I'm so ready to settle down, move in my my high school sweet heart and make a family with him. Plus a job means I can start sewing. I want to help my friend out with her costumes and sew them for her.

Cosplay isn't just about dressing up and prancing around as beloved characters. Or spending ton of thousands of money on costumes and props. It's about learning to be comfortable in your own shoes. To open up and befriend new people. To accept and smile. I've never felt so happy. And its all because of cosplay. If you read the paragraphs above you can see everything that is good has something to do with cosplay. This hobby isn't just about making the perfect costume. It's about being yourself, openly and having fun. That's the most important part. FUN.

So when your getting ready for your con, maybe it's your first, try to remember. HAVE FUN! Because if you do, I promise you'll feel so pleased with your work, with how you spent all those waking hours with a hot glue gun. Smile and be free. Let go of all your stress and smile. It'll be the best time you've ever had. I know I've been grumpy in the past. But now that I'm coming into my shoes I feel like I'm truly happy and I'm not afraid to show it. Even if you are depressed like me or have anxiety you can do this! You can let lose and have fun. I have.

So good luck with your up-coming cosplays. I'll update with pictures soon!

No PH for Kumori-con

After having issues with the wig I ordered and realizing the temp job I had manged to get is NOT the right one for a person like me, I talked it over with my cosplaying hubby to be and we realized we would be saving a LOT of stress if we simply saved that cosplay for Sakura-con. We have focused a lot of money and attention on our new Tsubasa cosplay and props. So that'll be out main cosplay this year. I highly doubt I'll want to take off Sakura's Hanfu anyway. It's so pretty! Well...I'll see it on August 24th when its supposed to be here.

But we're not going to buy contacts or new boots for Break this time. I might wind up bringing the costumes just in case. But I highly doubt we'll wear them. No one really knows Sharon from PH at Kumori-con anyway and that outfit is very STRESSFUL to wear. So taking a break from it will be awesome. I'm really excited about going to the con even through this job isn't going to work out.

Sakura sphere prop

Now that I have the supplies I'm going to start on the last few touches of my props. Gold paint will be painted on the sphere and while it dries I'll be making the two sakuras that are on the sides. I'm very excited and I'll update soon.

Wigs...

Since I basically damaged my Gothic Lolita wig by trying to add some curls to it (Then getting upset about how they turned out....poured more hot water on them.) I have to buy another wig for my up coming con. I really don't trust most wig stores on Ebay so I really have no choice but to buy from Gothic Lolita wigs again. I'm afraid of not being able to make enough to buy another wig (All my earned profit from today at the garage sale is going towards a wig) since I only made it into the thirties today. I'm really nervous and sort of upset about it. I really did love how my wig was but I just needed something to do...and I royally fucked it up.

It was my fault really. Not the wig. I rushed into it and made a poor choice. It was a pre-styled wig and I should have left it alone. So this time I'm trying to decide on which wig to get. I have many choices but its really frustrating not being able to help my hubby out with the con costs. I feel bad since we have to get contacts for both our cosplays since the last ones we bought were not good and I kept having issues throughout the con.

I'm hoping to make at lest 50 or so. So I can buy a wig that has pigtails. I love the look of those. So very pretty and girly. Prefect for my pink and white lolita outfit. So I have a lot to think about so I'm off for the night...

Wish me luck! I'll be needing it!

How to chose a character to cosplay

Congratulations. You've decided to cosplay. Cosplaying is a wonderful world and I'm sure you'll enjoy it very much. Especially your first con. Walking through the convention's doors in full costumes is one of the best feelings. You'll be excited walking through those halls wearing the costumes of a beloved character.  When people stop and ask for a picture you'll feel not only honored but pleased knowing your hard work has been paid off.

Cosplaying is a awesome, but expensive hobby. But its worth it. As a cosplayer the world is a huge, wide place open to all sorts of possibilities. Whether your cosplaying with friends or by yourself. It's a lot of fun. But you might be thinking "Who should I cosplay?"

Picking a character is easy. But you should keep a few things in mind when choosing.


1. Pick a character YOU like.

Perhaps your going with a large group of friends or joined a cosplay group and they want you to be a character no one is. Sure its easy to say yes and make your friends happy but cosplay is expensive and it should be a character YOU like. If you want to be Ciel and there is already two other Ciels, be Ciel. More than likely there are numerous other outfits of a certain character you can do and still be different from the rest.

 See? Lots of outfits and there is even more of them.












2. Only do costumes your comfortable with

Don't like showing your stomach? Arms? Thighs? Then don't. Chose an outfit that suits your tastes. You don't want to be walking around a three day con feeling uncomfortable. There are lots of ways to modify a costumes to suit your modesty level as well. Layered Nylons work well for that bare leg look, especially if the character is showing thigh.

3. Are you buying this costume? Or making it?

Keep in mind if you are buying they might not make the outfit you want. Some do commissions and will make the outfit for no extra charge, but always look at reviews before buying from someone online. Especially if its from Ebay, where people like to steal others' pictures.  If your making it, you should keep in mind if your willing to find or piece together different patterns. Or make your own. If you make your own you can enter it in cosplay contests!

4.Weight, height and skin color doesn't matter.

If a character, let's say Sailor Moon is super skinny and you've got some serious (But hawt) curves, it doesn't matter. You can still cosplay that character. Do keep in mind what I said on number 2. If your tall and want to cosplay Edward Elric, then do it. It doesn't matter. So what if your black and want to cosplay Miku, it doesn't matter! Don't let these things get in your way of cosplaying. Your, race, weight, height, skin color, gender should never be the one thing to stop you from cosplaying someone you love.

5.Money

Sadly money can be a big wall blocking you from your dream cosplay. Make sure you don't over do it. If you want to do a big cosplay then don't do a bunch of little ones. Save up and take your time. So what if you only have one or two cosplays for a three day con. There is no rule that you can't wear the same cosplay over and over. So do what you feel is best for yourself.

6. Learn how to "become" the character

Characters each have their own personality, their own poses, their own way of speaking. These can be helpful for con. Learn from them. You don't need to talk like them but listening will help you understand their personality much better. Mannerisms are very important. You can use this information to create poses. If you really want to get some good pictures I suggest having about three different poses to do. (I'll talk more about posing later) 


Here are some good sites for choosing a character and or a outfit.

http://www.minitokyo.net/
 http://animus-panthera.deviantart.com/journal/Cosplay-for-Beginners-214230893


(Always check on the convention's forums! They normally have a thread for "Who should I cosplay")



For me it was easy to chose. The main manga I was reading was Pandora Hearts. I fell in love with Sharon's outfits and her willingness to help others. I cosplay with my fiancee so we choose couple cosplays or pairings. So I let him chose which pairings to do. Our choices were Oz and Alice or Sharon and Break. He chose to cosplay Break first and I was very willing to cosplay Sharon.

With us we take turns choosing who to cosplay. Our next cosplay is Sakura and Syaoran from Tsubasa. We of course make sure we are both into the manga/anime/movie, ect that we are interested in cosplaying. Luckily for me I got him interested in Tsubasa AND XXXHolic.  

Prop update

Oh man it's getting so close to Kumori-con. I seriously cannot wait. Our costumes and my wig have been ordered. It'll take 15 days for our lovely tailors to make. I'm really hoping these guys do a good job so we can buy from them again and again. We're impressed by not only the pictures but the prices. So our costumes, my wig and my head piece should be here by August 24th. I sure do hope so!

Now on to props!

I've been working my tail feathers off. Syaoron's staff is almost done. I just need to stop being lazy and put on varnish on the needed areas. Besides that it is done. And man does it look wonderful. I just hope I don't drop it anymore. I have a bad habit of dropping it when I get hyper and play around with the staff.

(I'll update with a photo later.)

The feathers are already done. Although I might put on some fresh paint and a layer of varnish before the con just so they look good. they are mainly for pictures so they weren't my main focus. I do wish however I took more time painting them because I did mess up a few times on the design.I cut one of the feathers shorter so it fits inside the sphere.

Now the sphere....Holy crap this was a hard prop to make. I should have done it all in wire but for now the magic clay model will have to do. Although I might start on making a full metal version in case the clay one breaks during the con. It's very delicate so it'll be used only at certain times for pictures. I had to re-do this once already. The paper mache didn't work for this piece so the second model is made out of magic model clay, gesso to make it hard and firm and varnish to stop any cracks from happening. Then it will be painted gold. Each swirl was made by hand, piece by piece was glued with hot glue. Sadly my hot glue isn't very good. Its cheap and is coming apart quickly. I may have to glue the parts coming apart with super glue in order for it to stay together for the con. I still am working with keeping the sphere in shape and staying together. So it's not painted yet.

The base is done (Finally!!!) and is a bit delicate. So I'm working on finding out how to keep it steady and from cracking. The hot glue is an issue so I'm thinking outside the box with it.

It sure does look good in pictures! I'm so happy. It still needs some touch ups but I'm just glad its staying together (for the most part) and is able to be held without having issues.





Right now I'm working on the hook that will be attached to the bottom where the tassel will hang. I use a wire base inside the clay so the clay keeps shape. Unlike the swirls I reenforced the base for the hook twice then wrapped (neatly) more wire around it so it's heavy and wont fall when the tassel is on.

 It's very firm and isn't too heavy. I just put on the clay and it's looking very nice now. The hook will be attached on the bottom with super glue so it wont fall apart like the swirls have with hot glue.

Here is the tassel for the bottom. It's not as long as I would have liked but the Asian market didn't have many tassels. So I had to get what the very kind man sold. We got one huge one for the staff and this one which matched the larger one for the sphere. I think with it being smaller it'll be less pressure on the bottom of the sphere so it will work out in the end.

This is a good luck tassel!

It's very fine and soft. I love running my fingers through the bottom.




Of course there is still something missing. The sakura flowers on the side of the sphere. I don't have fabric to make them yet. This will be a easy project. Simple sewing and gluing. So this will be the finishing touches on the sphere.


I'm so excited!!!!!

Things to come

I want to start getting into this blog more (as well as my writing one) So I'm throwing around some ideas right now of things that I could post either weekly or every other week. Besides updates on my own projects (There will a update on props in the next day or two) So I decided since I'm getting ready for Kumori-con and everything is going great I'll focus on the character I'm cosplay.


Topics I'll be covering over the next few months.

1. Make-up -Tips,brands,character make-up, tutorials, everything from fake nails, to fake eyelashes.-
2.Sewing -What should be in your sewing kit, some good sites to learn how to, and more.-
3.Bought costumes -ProsVSCons, Good sites, How add on to the costumes, ect.-
4.Wigs -How to style, wash, prep and pack, put on, Long wig care/how to keep them on,ect.-
5.Poses-Tips and tricks,ect.-
6. Body image-Sites for safe weight lose, good apps (Kindle Fire/android), how to be comfortable.-
7.Props and accessories-Everything from which to pick, from where to buy/how to make.)
8.Reviews- Cosplay costumes/wigs/make-up products/everything that is somehow related to cons.-
9. Con review -I'll TRY to do during the con, blog about it each night during the con weekend.-
10.What to bring/traveling-How not to over pack, what's important, how to be organized. -
11. Dealing with big costumes- How to survive the heat, dirt and how to keep neat.-

I'll be starting with this very soon. Starting with make-up.



Upcoming cons

September- Kumori-con
December- Newcon
(2013) April- Sakura-con

Cosplay check list

Shoes []
Syaoron's wig [x]
Sakura's wig [] Ordered
Sakura's hanfu dress [] Ordered
Syaoran's outfit [] Ordered
Colored contacts []
Sharon wig []

UPDATE: Our costumes and my wig are booked to come to my house around August 24th!!! 

Prop #1-Memory feathers [100%]
Prop #2-Syaoran's staff [99%]
Prop #3- Sakura golden sphere [70%]





The two characters I'll be going over are Sharon from Pandora Hearts and Sakura from Tsubasa. I found it funny I chose two characters that are both royal (Sharon=Duchess, Sakura=princess) and are both starting with the letter S. Truth be told I love BIG dresses, fancier the better for me. Even if they are a pain in the royal arse. Of course I chose the characters because I like them. That's most important. So I'll also go over how to chose a character as well.

So that's just a little what to come. Right now I need to go get ready to go see the job guy and hopefully the job I want is still open. Wish me luck.

-Jessica

Goals for Kumori-con

1.Lose ten-twenty pounds

Losing weight is very important for me right now. No ladies I'm not about to complain about my pant size. I'm having health issues and am feeling bad in my body. I'm not doing it to be skinny or to wear the latest jeans. Although it'll make me very happy to see the sleeves on my Sharon gown baggy.

My plan (Eating a healthy diet. No added sugar/salt. NO SWEETS) is
5.min of jumping on the mini trampoline
5.min of cardio (I have a awesome free app on my Kindle Fire for this)
5.min of toning yoga. (Yes, yoga does help you lose weight.)
 Walking three times a week. Running/jogging twice. 

2.Practice my photography.

I've been getting back into photography and want to start taking photo shoots at cons. So I really need to show what I  got and learn the in and out of my camera. Although it's not the best it's what I have and I need to learn how to use it better.

3. Get a job

Two years of searching has gotten me no where. Maybe I'll be lucky and find one before the con. I have a wedding to plan after all. We're hoping to get married next year on April 27th, our seventh year together.

5. 50k

I badly need to catch up on my writing. Its my dream of getting published I have to really work on focusing on it. I'm having health issues right now but hopefully afterwards I can focus back on my writing. If I have to bring work with me to K-con so be it. I really need to get it done. Luckily my word count goal is only 70K. I think I'll be able to do it now that I've switched up the plot a bit.


 Goals make those three days of con time even better, especially if you've been able to complete them all. I didn't add any cosplay goals to this because with losing weight I'll be busy enough. My only real cosplay goal right now is finish my props.

Vic Mignogna

Is coming to Sakura-con 2013!!!! I better plan a FMA themed cosplay. Plan to wait in LONG lines to sit in on his panels in order to get his autograph, which means more huge ass lines. This was the whole reason I wanted to go to Sakura-con when I was younger. We barely missed him during our first Sakura-con, he went the year before but not that year. I'm really excited for this. He's one of my favorite voice actors. Who plays much loved characters from many good animes, such as FMA and Tsubasa. So I'm really pumped up now. Can't wait to see who else is coming. Maybe the lovely voice actor of Yuko.

Oh goodness I would die and very happy girl.

Photo shoots

I am officially doing photo shoots for Kumori-con 2012. I'm so excited. This is really going to be good for me. Until then I'll be practicing and learning how to use my beast of a camera so I'm able to create the best works of art I can possibly do. I'll be posting my examples and shoots on this DA account

http://coswitchphotography.deviantart.com/


I decided on the name Cosplay Witch because I'm magical. ;)

And it may had something to do with Yuko who is now my favorite manga character. But anyway. I'm still thinking of how many openings I want to do and what times, ect. So I won't know how many people are signed up just yet. Although I did post on the forums. I already have two people interested and I might be the official photographer for their group as well.

Photo shoot, posing tips.

So since we never got our pictures from the so called "professional" photographer (Rant to come) I've really wanted to get some good photos of our costumes but am not willing to trust another person to do so for us. So I decided since we wont have anything to do on day zero of Kumori-con that during that day (We'll leave early) we'll set up my camera on a tri-pod and do some photo shoots during that day as well as day one and maybe day two. Since we wont be able to change while waiting to check into the hotel (around 3-4) the first part of the shoot will be lolita. I'm really loving my lolita outfit now that I've finally figured out fake eyelashes and added fake gems under my eyes. I have a lot to do to my wig, that has tangled because of the wind during Sakura-con. I'm going to try the boiled water curl technique to make big curls. 


So this is the plan so far. I'm really excited because I might start doing photoshoots for cons and this will give me a good chance of showing my skill off.


Day zero:
Morning/afternoon: Lolita (Sweet lolita.)
Late afternoon/evening: Sharon/Sakura (Maybe. Might not have time.)

Day one: Sharon (Pandora Hearts) and Break

Day two: Sakura and Syaron. (So excited for this!)

Day three: None, maybe more Sakura. Unsure.


I'm really thinking of doing small shoots for Kumori-con or Sakura-con. It would be fun for the those moments where there isn't much to do. Plus once I gain the skill and the friends/clints I could charge a small fee. Most likely around 5$.


Now on to posing. Because you can't have a good picture without POSING!!!! Believe me we made this noob mistake and our pictures always turn out the same. Sadly we changed this for our picture shoot and never got the pictures (They were so cute!)  But we learned if we want good pictures to enter into cosplay contests we need to pose. And believe it or not but posing is rather easy. (I might be going off topic and jumpy, forgive me I'm not well right now. Going to the doctor this week.)

Since Tsubasa is our new cosplay I'll use that as an example.

Since we do couple cosplays posing is rather simple and easy, we can do the same type of posing for each cosplay. It also helps we're engaged so we aren't shy of holding each other. I'm going to link a few good posing examples from DA at the end but I may not post all of them now because I'm starting to feel icky again.

Here are some poses we plan on doing for our Tsubasa cosplay

Fierce....



He's ready to attack, keeping Sakura close with his staff drawn. Sakura looks worried, maybe scared. Those emotions should show, even if your using your eyes. And yes, you can put that emotion in your eyes. It will show up in photos.

 
Romantic...

 Again Syaron's expression is fierce, he's ready to protect her. While she's more in awe, loving staring out at the camera. Both are turn sideways but are making sure to face the camera while holding holding each other close, their hands touching. It's softer than the first one, more personal. You can sense they are in love but are still a bit shy.

Fun...

Big smiles. Wide, open eyes. Even the pose, how their bodies are is fun and care free. Notice Syaron is still in character. He's smiling but it seems off, maybe forced or caught off guard.








-----Will finish tomorrow.-------

Kumori-con plans and goals, plus Sakura-con ideas

I haven't written on either of my blogs for a while and it's annoying me that I have more views than posts on here. So I'm going to try to post more. Since there is only...two months left until Kumori-con I thought that might be the best topic to write about.


[x] Booked hotel room
[]Ordered costumes
[x]Ordered accessorizes (Wigs, shoes,ect.)
 [] Finished props


Day 0- Lolita
Day 1-Sharon (Pandora Hearts)
Day 2 Sakura (Tsubasa)
Day 3 Sakura/lolita (Undecided)

For day zero I've planned on doing my pink lolita outfit since it's moveable and we won't be doing much besides packing up and driving over to the con space. I really need to get some good pictures of this outfit so I'm hoping after we check in and settle down in the hotel room that I can have my hubby take some of me in the park near the hotel.

Day one is when the fun starts. Although Sharon's outfit isn't very fun for me. It gets dirty easily. Plus the wig is....LONG. So it's a bit stressful to wear. If my friends from high school don't do Pandora Hearts this year then I'll most likely only be wearing it in the morning and afternoon or until I get sick of it. I plan on making more of Sharon's outfits. We may not be going to the photo shoot either if our friends don't go.

Day two is going to be the best day. I'll finally be able to wear my brand new cosplay, Sakura. I'm really looking forward to wearing the Hanfu since I've always wanted one. Plus it's light weight so I won't be dying in it like Sharon's gown. We will be going to the photo shoot in this cosplay.

Day three always seems to be dead so I think either Sakura or lolita will have to be my choices. Last year we left early. This year I really don't want to so we'll most likely hang out in the park doing some photos of ourselves. Since I no longer trust "professional" photographers (I will do a huge rant about this later.)


Goals:
1. Make some new friends
2. Do one thing I wouldn't normally (Cosplay Chess!)   Doing photography (Private shoots) instead
3. Go to at least two panels
4. Take photos (Of us and other cosplayers)

Not many goals but maybe I'll come up with more as time goes on.








Sakura-con 2013

Will be very awesome since Sakura-con is ALWAYS awesome. So far we're planing....

Sakura
Yuko (XXXHolic)
Sharon (Pandora Hearts)

Maybes

Undertaker- Black Butler
Antoinette- Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar
Riza Hawkeye- FMA




I'm really hoping to get more involved in cons. Doing cosplay chess, panels (Although none this year, sadly. ;_;) ect. Just to get the full affect of cons. I'm also planning on starting up sewing and embroidery, so if I'm able to do so I'll try to make our costumes for Sakura-con. :D