An Overdue Update for Sakura-con 2011

I realize it has been quite awhile since the last update, due in part to Amanda not having a computer and in major part to my extreme laziness. So to begin, our Sakura-con 2011 adventure. This year was surprisingly relaxed, cosplay for a few hours, then change into "normal" clothes and run around like chickens with our heads cut off. Something made impossible when trying not to break an ankle in four inch heels. So for as much planning as we attempted we actually spent very little time in cosplay, which accounts for the fact that I have almost no pictures! The cosplay fiend that Amanda is remade her I-no costume the night before con and I somehow never got a picture. Sad, really since she did such a good job :( Our plans for Panty & Stocking didn't go to well, Amanda (Panty) had costume failure (she made the costume, it was perfect, then she cut the dress shorter and it might as well be a shirt) and though I (Stocking) was able to wear mine, failure struck in the form of my wig falling off everytime I moved and a very embarrassing instance where the wind blew just right and everyone got a very nice view of my undies. Amanda stood there and laughed as I struggled to hold my skirt down and keep the wig on my head at the same time. Safe to say I changed out of that quickly. The only picture I was able to get was one a friend took of me with her phone in my Miku costume. Which might not have even happened if my sisters hadn't brought the costume to me which arrived the friday of con.

Ta-dah! My pride and joy of con this year. I was only in it for a few hours but it was the most awesome I felt all con. Partially due to the group of very cute guys that insisted on taking their picture with me individually. I was a very happy camper, sans the part where sitting wasn't an option unless I wanted to give everyone another show. Definitely worth it though and I look forward to wearing it again. Now to start planning for next year, can't wait to see what we come up with ;)

Megan's Turn to be a Slacker >.>

I have completely forgotten to keep up to date with this. Glad to see Amanda has not though :P

I see she has updated for all her new cosplays so I figure I will do the same. Unfortunately because of money constraints and having the same indecisive nature as Amanda, I have completely changed my original plans :/

Vocaloid - Color Complex Hatsune Miku

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - Anarchy Stocking

Unlike Amanda who is making all her costumes herself, I have commissioned mine. Miku is being made by cocosilverhk from ebay and I bought the Stocking costume from cleacn on ebay as well. I am keeping my fingers crossed that both costumes arrive in time. I talked extensively with cocosilverhk and they assured me they would have it ready in time while I just bought the Stocking costume yesterday. So we will see how that goes...

Updates! I'm a slacker/indecisive o.o

Amanda Here ^^


As everyone should already know, I'm pretty indecisive (if you couldn't tell from the Title of this post). My S-Con plans have changed (again). I'm going to save Nida for a later Con. The gun intimidates me, and I don't feel like I have enough Cosplay experience yet. Emi will be a kinda 'if I have time' Cosplay. As of right now I'm working on:

Hatsune Miku [Rain Ver.]

Hatsune Miku [山茶花 (Camilla) Ver.]

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt - Anarchy Panty (Left)

I'll post pictures of how I did everything once the Cosplay is completely finished so it can all be up in one spot. As for right now my progress is:

Rain Miku
Bought: umbrella, tie, and headphones.
Need to buy: wig, sleeves, boots, and stockings.
Need to make: top, bikini top, skirt with straps, spray paint headphones, and cover the inside of clear umbrella with light pink cellophane.

Camilla Miku
Bought: pearls, and shoes.
Need to buy: wig, flowers, gloves, stocking, and since the shoes I oh-so-brilliantly decided to get are 5inch platform stilettos (there are no images of her shoes), I need easy-go flats.
Need to make: Hat-thing, and dress.

Anarchy Panty
Bought: wig, eyeshadow, fake eyelashes, earing's, necklaces, 2 bracelets, shoes, and panties.
Need to buy: 2 more bracelets, necklace clasp, red shoe paint, and parts for gun.
Need to make: paint bracelets, put necklaces together, paint shoes, make dress, and make gun.

To Do This Week:
Finish Panty's bracelets.
Order: cellophane, Rain/Camilla Miku stockings, flowers.

Megan and I are going to try and make it down to AX (Anime Expo) this year, so that will add a few more Cosplays to work on.
As for PAX...I'm having some difficulties. With the upcoming release of the new Mortal Kombat this year, I really wanted to add Kitana to my PAX Cosplay list. That would put me at 5, which is too many. I'm thinking about dropping Ibuki/Clair. I've been having a really hard time finding everything in the right shade of blue for her. The wig I ordered is not accurate, I can't find accurate boots, my gloves are off, etc...and I'm starting to get frustrated. All of my Cosplay's excluding Ibuki are for, when PAX rolls around, new(ish) games. Hellequin (Brotherhood Nov 10), Fuuro (Blk/White March 11), Quorra (Tron Dec 10), Kitana (MK 09 April 11). I wanted to cosplay Fuuro anyways, so I could just use her for my Pokemon League character.
I also really want Quorra to be 110% Accurate. That means I want the hexagonal patterns on the fabric of her out fit, the contacts, the designs on the back of the boots, getting the LED-Tape to make sharp turns, etc. She's going to be one where, if it's not perfect, i'm not wearing it. My goal is to get her done for PAX, but she's probably going to cost me around $500 to completely finish, so she's done when she's done.

We'll see what happens. I'm sure shit will change between now and then too X3
Thats it for now ^-^

Moar Planningz

Amanda Here ^^

I've been doing more planning and research. I'm adding a Cosplay for S-Con:
Emi from Dance Dance Revolution

I'll probably buy most of her outfit, as I'm only wearing it to the rave.

The other is for EC3 (Emerald City Comic Con). My friends and I are planning a Sucker Punch group. BabyDoll from Sucker Punch.

I'm not sure how many of us are actually going to follow through, since it's in 2months and there are six characters, but I'm going to try my best to get mine done. I'll need to order the wig soon, and I'm going to use a katana I already own. I'll probably buy a toy/fake gun and just modify it. There aren't very many character designs out yet, and the movie comes out the same weekend EC3 is. Some of the details are going to be off, but I'm just going to do my best and work with what I've got. ^^

Planning and Research

Amanda Here ^^
Just posting some of my research and things I've found and decided on.
For S-Con I've decided on Nida, Rei, and Miku (Rain Ver.). I'm going to drop Megumi. I just don't feel I have enough sewing experience yet, I'll probably get pissed off it's not working out how I want it and start throwing things X3
For PAX the Pokemon Black/White group was already done, so I'm moving Fuuro to the bottom of my list. I'd still like to Cosplay her, but she's not as important for this PAX. I'll do her if i have enough time. That's what she said. I'm on vacation until the 5th of January, but once I get back Megan and I should be getting together at least once a week to work on Cosplay.

I'm going to work on the ones that are going to take up the majority of my time first. I'm not planning on doing a weapon for Rei, so the ones I'm going to focus on first are Nida (her gun more specifically), and Quorra.

Quorra
I'm going to be getting my hair cut just like hers so I won't need a wig.
Her boots are very...decorative. If you look at them closely the top of the sides (near the knees) are curved, while the front and backs are about 3 inches lower and a straight line. They almost look like they're sewn together. The backs appear to have small shapes cut out of them. It would make sense for them to be hexagons, but I don't think they are. I don't know how I feel about cutting random designs in a pair of leather boots, so I'll probably just skip that part. I doubt anyone will even notice. I'm not sure if I'll try using EL Tape or just reflective tape for her boots. I'd prefer EL Tape, but we shall see. I looked through over 1,200 boots, and other than a $630 pair of designer boots, I couldn't find any I absolutely loved. The closest I found that I liked, and weren't going to make me homeless, was the Rylee 2 pair by Fitzwell. They didn't have the best reviews, but Zappos.com has a 365 day return policy. So if they suck, I'll just try something else ^^ I will also, since they are a 3 1/2inch heel, get some sort of insoles. A good thing to do is to always read the reviews on an online item, just to get an idea. I'm not saying always go by other peoples opinions, but it's good to have at least another point of view.
The leggings ain't that important. I've seen the movie 3 times, and you rarely see them. I'm probably going to get 2 or 3 pairs of Leggings, because they're so cheap, and pick which ones fit the best and are most comfortable. This way I can practice on the pair I like the least. Muwahahahaha. XD
My goal for Quorra is to have her boots and leggings ordered by the end of January.

Nida
I'll be getting my hair cut like Nida's, so I won't need a wig.
I've been on the hunt for a pair of boots that look similar to hers, and I've yet to find anything. I really don't want to make boot covers for her since they're so tube like.
I think the BFG (Big F***ing Gun o_o!!) is going to be the most time consuming item I work on all year. It's going to need to be at least 6 feet tall. I'm going to make it relative to my size, rather than trying to make it to scale. I don't know her measurements, but I'm sure Nida is taller than me. It'll look better this way. I want to make sure it's sturdy and can withstand the few bumps and jolts that you get at a Con, but I'm going to need to be able to hold it all day long so it can't be too heavy. I also would like for it to come apart into 2 pieces so that it's easier to get around. The only way I can foresee this option happening is for it to screw together, as I don't trust velcro. My choices I've got so far are: PVC pipe and model magic/cardboard, craft foam, or Plaster of Paris. I'll figure something out eventually. I'm thinking about going to Home Depot and being like "Halp meh plz o_o!!"
My goal for Nida is to have found a pair of boots and figured out a solid plan for the BFG by the end of January.

Other Cosplay's

Ibuki/Clair
I need to have a 'practice run' of Ibuki done in January so that I can give a picture to our event leader. I'm probably just going to cover something I already have. I need to order the wig by the beginning of January. The boots I'll do with boot covers.
I'm going to take what I learn from it, and make an even better Cosplay for PAX.
Hellequin
I'm going to try and get her boots ordered soon, and work on the blades and mask. Everything else is going to come later since it's for PAX.

Rei
I haven't decided on which outfit I'm going to do for Rei yet. All my images of her are back at home. I'll decide once I get back.
Miku
I already have the umbrella, and I know exactly what pair of boots I want to get. The headphones I'm just going to buy a big pair and spray paint them. the socks will be easy to find. For the top I'll probably just get a white bikini top and add black stripes to it. I couldn't find any that I liked the angle or width of the stripes on. I'll need to order her wig soon, and I want to try and find the selves that light up.

Hopefully Teh Blog doesn't eat my post this time. I really don't want to retype all of this over again >.< That's it for now ^-^

Future Plans PAX 2011

Amanda here ^^
I'm going to be working on my S-con (Sakura Con) and PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) Cosplay at the same time, so I figured I'd post those I'm working on as well.


Amanda's plans for PAX '11


Definite:
Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - Ibuki/Clair

Pokemon Black/White - Fuuro

Possibilities (Aka if I get them done in time):
Tron Legacy/Evolution - Quorra

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - Hellequin

The 2 Pokemon ones come first priority since I'm doing Fuuro as a group Cosplay, and Ibuki as a group Event. Since props are what tend to set me back, but what I really enjoy making, I should get all 4 Cosplay done in time. I'll be making the Hellequin's blades and that's it. I've already bought my Identity Disc for Quorra, and for Fuuro/Ibuki i was thinking about just buying a pokeball. Assuming Megan (Aka Android-chan) gets Quorra done for S-con, she'll be able to help me get mine done faster ^-^

Tron Research

I have been doing a lot of research over the past few days for my Tron costume, both me and Amanda plan on making one, however since her cosplay calendar is full for Sakura-con, I shall embark on this adventure first. I really wish that I could draw because it would make the plans for this costume a lot easier. Unfortunately since I can't, I guess everything must stay in my head until I actually have the materials in front of me.


I plan on trying to make Quorra's outfit as accurate as possible. Here are pictures, first concept art from the movie, as well as the final product, and the second is from the game (Tron: Evolution).

 

I figure that for the most part, actually putting together the costume won't be too hard. Find some wedge heeled boots, faux leather leggings, and then create the "dress" part using a pattern and faux leather material. So far I have found the boots and the leggings:

Now for the hard part, making the costume light up. I think the most popular example of a working lightsuit is probably Syuzi. I found pictures of her in almost every article I read for Tron costumes.

I love what she did with her costume, especially that she made the lights removable so she could wash her costume. 

I found a few websites that offer instructions on how to work with EL wire as well as sell them. So far I find Ladyada's website the most helpful. They include pictures with their instructions! Plus they sell EL wire individually as well as in a starter pack for a really good price. If you want more colors than just aqua (which is all Ladyada's offers) then I found a website called Unixsurplus that offers yellow, white, sky blue, red, purple, pink, orange and green. They sell EL wire in 25ft or 50ft and is more expensive, but you get a lot more for the price so it is a plus. 

When I first started researching Tron costumes, EL wire was my first choice. After reading about Syuzi's costume and how she used EL tape, I think that it will be much more useful and offer more of the thick line of the Tron movie costumes than EL wire which would require using something to diffuse the light. Thanks to Syuzi's website, I was able to find EL tape at a website called Glowhut. The only downside I see is they do not offer EL tape in white. As much as I love the color blue, and would be ecstatic to have my costume glow blue, I want to keep it as accurate as possible. Luckily, I just typed  EL tape into Google and found Electro Luminescence Incorporated. They offer EL tape in multiple colors (including white) and varying widths. Electro Luminescence Incorporated takes custom orders, so they don't really have prices available. Other websites are Jab-tech which offers blue, green and red EL tape and Elec 2 Go which offers red, blue, white/pink, aqua, green, lime green, and orange. Elec 2 Go is also very useful for EL wire as well, they offer a special type of EL wire that can be used specifically for clothing if someone did choose to go that route.

Now that I've covered lighting up the costume, I'll move into props. Luckily this is pretty much a give in as you can buy an Identity Disk from Toy's R Us for $19.99 so there isn't much to go into. I bought mine today (super excited about them!), one for cosplay and another to keep solely as a collector. 

The only downside, is the Identity Disk glows blue and not white, so I plan on having some fun and taking it apart, gutting it and installing EL wire inside to glow white. I'll be sure to post pictures and possibly videos of that rediculous endeavor when it occurs. I did find a video of someone who glued EL wire to the outside of the frisbee version of the Identity Disk, and it looks pretty cool.

This ends my Tron research, atleast so far. I'm planning to start on the costume in the next 2 weeks, so hopefully I will have something to show for it soon. Until then, I'll update with whatever new Tron costume information I find.