Blood Elf update

Three weeks to tracon and I'm switching between being quietly confident and totally freaking out every day. I want to get my costume ready in two weeks so that I'll have the last week for trying it on and adjusting things that need to be changed in order for the cosplay to work. I'm gonna make a longer post with the progress soon, but for now I will only tell you that the skirt and most of the armors (arm and shoes) are ready.

The most critical part left are the shoulder armors... I had to try two different tecniques before I decided how to make them (I'll make a separate post for this).

I also had a wig and makeup test! Contact lenses and lash extensions are still missing in the picture, I hate putting them on so I think I saved myself a lot of tears by ignoring them, literally.

those eyebrows! And I love the ears!

The ponytail was in just the right place! Now that I'm trying to get it back the way it was before the test run, the wig just keeps derping... Ugh more work for me :(

The ears were ordered from Neraluna and the wig is the same one I used for my Rapunzel cosplay.

Four years of my cosplay past, PART 1= 2009 & 2010

Hi thar! Warning: long post is long.

I know I said I wouldn't be doing this, but I actually think it's high time for me to introduce some of my old cosplays. Mainly becuase I went through some pics yesterday, and realized I actually do have some things worth showing of (Sort of). I'll add a few lines about what I think I succeeded in with the costume and what I would have done better now. I think this would be a healthy excercise for any cosplayer really, It's sometimes hard diggin in the past but it can be really usefull at the same time!

I will do this in the order from oldest to most recent. I will leave some costumes out that I think failed so much theyr'e not even worth talking about (or rather, I would only start dwelling in self pitty after critizising them).

Romano (or South Italy)- Hetalia. Animecon, July 2009
yeaahhh, even I have been part of the Hetalia sceen... Though I'm not entirey happy about it. I am however pretty happy about how the costume turned out! This was my first time sewing the costume all by myself (I mean I had always done my costumes myself, but together with my friend who knew way moore about sewing than I did). It's not perfect, for instance some of the seams are really derpy, but over all I think it came together nicely. The wig was bad, but I got it like two days before the convention, and had limited time to cut it. This was my first time styling a wig.

hi, my collar derps!

Black Star- Soul Eater. Cosplay Gaala, January 2010
This was a character I absolutely adored, and loved bringing to life. It was so much fun being in charcater all day (it was painfully easy for me, I practically am Black Star). I think the end result was really neat, some of the details on the inside of the costume are pretty bad... I'm selling this, and have to fix them before I do, but it's nothing big. The only thing big in this costume is me! I was at my biggest here I think, I tried on the pants recently and I could fit two of myselves int there I think. Thats why I can't wear this costume again... I also like the wig! It's not completely accurate, but I like this rather than a very styled wig that is exactly like Black Stars hair.

divine lights much! Ps. I know I am tiny, but I'm bigger than right now trust me!

Gokudera Hayato (casual wear)- Katekyo Hitman Reborn!. Kikucon, May 2010
By far the costume I feel most comfortable in, not only because it's simple, but because Gokudera is my soul mate. I promise, he is. My personality matches him perfectly, I can't say I've ever identified with another character this much. I adore him and always will. I had actually made another version (the ring conflict) before, but that was derpy to the extreme (pun intended).

as usual Yuki took a great picture of my cosplay!

Ciel Phantomhive (smile version)- Kuroshitsuji. Kikucon , May 2010
man am I tired of seeing Ciel cosplayers, and to think I was once part of the boom. Not cool. But yeah, the first costume with lots and lots of parts to it. I'm fairly pleased with the result. I just think some material choices were bad due to the fact that there are only two fabric shops near me, and they had nothing good for me to use. In heinsight I also could have styled the wig more...

one of the few shots, were Yukis dog wasn't in the picture!

Mammon (adult version)- Katekyo Hitman Reborn!. Tracon, July 2010
Well the fabric choise was poor to say the least... The wig was too thick, but the way I wore it, it looks pretty decent in the pictures... But this just.... well sucked... Thats Yuki as Fon, she was actually really good! I wasn't.

faptastic picture by Katri

Ciel Phantomhive (casual green suit)- Kuroshitsuji. Tracon, July 2010
Man I made a lot of costumes this year... But yeah this was the colonnel of bad wig styling... The wig is a mess in almost all the pictures, and there's only one picture of this costume worth showing... I sold this costume recently, and the girl who bought it was very pleased, that makes me unbelievably happy! It was very well made, just too big for me and too Ciel for me...

I have to start choosing characters that match my personality better than this...

SF - A2 Miki- Vocaloid. Tsukicon, November 2010
Even if this doesn't look that good it's a very important costume for me, which I won't ever forget. I made it during one of the hardest times of my life. In the end of the summer of 2010, I ended up in the hospital with a muscle condition. I had to stay there for over a month. My muscles were dangerously inflamed and I could barely walk. I was in a weelchair for half a year, and wasn't able to leave my flat. I was alone during the day (my boyfriend was at school) and had only this costume to work on to keep me active. The diagnose they came to was dermatomyositis, a chronic inflammation of the muscles. This is something I am going to have to live with my whole life, but the medicin keeps it pretty much under control and with physiotherapy my muscle condition is actually pretty good at the moment, I can work and go to school, just not do any sports or walk long distances!
Anyway after that heart wrenching story *sob*, this costume is far from perfect, some parts are actually really good, but some just... aren't xD My face was swollen from all the medicine at the time as well, so I wasn't exactly at my prettyest either. But making and wearing this costume made me so incredibly happy at the time. For a person who had their world shaken, and then realizing I can still do all the things I love. I don't think I can ever explain how good it felt, being at Tsukicon with my friends, and not sitting in a wheelchair alone at home or in the hospital.

cosplay keeps me sane and makes me insane at the same time. My life, why you have no balance??

I think I will leave this for now, and make part two with the years 2011 and 2012 soon! I'll also make a post about the progress of my Blood Elf costume in the near future!

Making of the Blood Elf Paladin (small parts and wig part 1)

Man, I'm gonna need to hustle if I want to get my Blood Elf Paladin ready in time for Tracon. I'm not completely screwed yet, I have done some things and I'm even writing this at work to save time (I'm not slacking off, there are no guests at the museum and nothing to do right now).

Sooo, as I mentioned in my previous post, I'm currently working on the T2 judgement armor for a blood elf paladin from World of Warcraft (which is actually funny becuase I play a warlock myself...). I haven't been working on this for very long (on and off for about two weeks). The parts I have made are mostly small jewlery and accessories. I will however try to present what I have done so far (and make it seem like a hell of a lot more than it actually is)


The Wig and the eyebrows
Took some work, and I still haven't tried the wig on my head as it is right now. I have a very small head, and that makes most wigs very ill fitting for me. I'm gonna have to stuff my wigcap with newspaper or something in order to fill out the empty space under the wig.
This wig is a very long one without any previous styling (I got it for my Rapunzel costume), so I'm pretty pleased with the result (it still needs some brushing up in the back, though).
Also: the eyebrows. They are made out of the damaged tips of the wig. My friend thought I was making a female version of wolwerine when she saw them lol xD
I have ordered the ears, and they were posted on tuesday so when they arrive I'm gonna have a wig and make-up test!

here's MaoMao working the wig and brows.

Some of the jewlery
well most of it actually. The only jewlery and accessories missing are the chains and the red stones.
The red-and-gold-stones took some work. I redid them twice, becuase I wasn't happy with the result the first two times.

the old uglies and the new slightly less uglies.

The daggers for the shoulder armor (and other stuff)
This took some thinking and planning... First I thought I could buy some toy daggers and paint them the right color, but apparently children don't play with the same kind of toys as I did, cause I coudn't find anything good anywhere... I ended up making my own daggers from markers, leather, some FIMO-clay, isolation foam and foam-sheets. they are still in parts, but look rather promising seeing that the only props I've made before where tonfas (which are a piece of cake really...) I dislike the uneaven clay part, but in a way it kind of looks like a slightly used piece of armor so I guess it kind of suits the concept...

the accessories so far. The handles of the daggers are the ones sticking out from under the gray thing

The armors for the arms
Now this is something I've made before (for my Ashe costume). I made them the same way as before, using foam sheets. I thought the armor would be the pricy and difficult part of this costume but one arm armor ended up costing roughly two euros, not bad for a cheap person like me!

1. I cut out the armors and shaped them by heating them over the stove...

2. ... Then I applied some fabric to the back of each piece to make it stronger...

3. ... And added five coats of glue mixed with water to further strenghten them and seal of the foam.

Finally I painted all the parts black and glued them together, after which I added a final coat of black paint. I then applied the clay decorations and now I just have to paint the whole thing golden! I'm gonna try to give them a slightly rusty color to make them look more genuine (like I did with the daggers).




Right now I'm working on millions of things at the same time, but hopefully I will be able to make a post with actual finished parts soon!
I must say I am really enjoying myself! This costume is tons of fun to make, I just hope I get it to the convention in one piece...

the wonderful wizard of COS answered my prayers during a funk.

what else are you supposed to do with your work out equipment?

Always stick to the plan- and mostly I actually do!

So, as I promised here's a list of upcomming cosplay projects! This list is so not complete, the only things set in stone are my own projects, the ones I'm doing with others are still pretty much question marks. I will propably add a few words about each project as well (they are listed in the order of the conventions)

Tracon 8-9. 9. 2012

Saturday:
Femme! Captain America.
This is part of a "femme! Avengers feat Loki group". This costume is ready apart from the mask and the shield, however I am going to have to fix the shirt that ripped at the last convention I wore this to :(

this version has the wings on the shoes

Sunday:
Concept art version of a paladins judgement armor from World of Warcraft (few, that sure was a long sentence...).
Well, I've started working on this one, but I still have oh so many parts left... I'm working with materials I've never used before, so I have no idea how this will turn out. That's why I'm not promising anything, if the costume isn't ready in time for Tracon, I will postpone this to desucon frostbite, and wear my Ashe costume
instead.

lots of work but also lots of fun

Ongoing project for the "cosplay recycling" challenge.

I'll be telling you more about this once I get started, but I'm participating in a project where you are supposed to make a costume entirely out of materials you already own. The rule is, you can't buy anything new for the costume! This project depends entirely on the wig and if it decides to co-operate with me. The character I'm trying to do is Princess Shirahoshi from One Piece. And dear god, this costume will never se the sweet light of a convention! I dont have the self esteem to prance around half naked infront of people, I cant even wear a bikini in public... So I will only have a photoshoot with this costume, with my trusted photographer and best friend Yuki who I'm sure could make me look good in a picture even if I wore a garbage bag as a dress and my ass as a hat...

my boobs aren't that big, so don't get excited.

Desucon Frostbite 16.–17.2.2013

Day 1:
Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series. This costume will be easy to make and easy to wear, and god knows I need one of those for a change... The only thing I'm actually really making is the cloak, and what a cloak it will be!

shes so cute ;_;

 

Day 2:
For the other day I have lots of ideas, but I haven't made any desicion yet... I am, however leaning more and more towards Pixie from X-men, but for this I would like to actually have a group with me- the more the merrier!

I can't wait to get strated on this!

Heather Mason- Silent Hill 3 for a random photoshoot with Anniina. This will also be made entirely out of materials I already own, I'm doing it only for a photoshoot, I have never played Silent Hill and propably never will. I'm very easily scared and have a phobia for being chased so I don't think I would enjoy it...

pretty simple, but the make-up is half the fun in this one

Super awesome secret project
with Sandra from Swan Song Cosplay. This costume will be for some convention next summer ('cause we will be needing lots of time) But I smell a contest comming...


I don't even want to get into my "dream cosplay"-list right now, becuase it's terrifyingly long and changes all the time! But I'm pretty sure I'll be posting something about costumes I've always wanted to make at some point :)

Thats all for now, and I'll be back with my first "making of" post soon!

Love, Peaches