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Fuzzy!
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Oct. 20th, 2006 @ 04:41 pm
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I'm making a vest at the moment - not a costume piece, but *GASP* Actual Clothes To Wear. (Looks like it'll end up being rather unflattering, but them's the breaks.) I've edged it with fake fur. Here's a summary of what I've learned from working with fake fur:
Never to do it again.
There aren't enough vacuums in the world to get all this fuzz off my carpet.Current Mood:  weird |
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Slightly Fewer Triangle Man
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Oct. 13th, 2006 @ 07:25 pm
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Brought the site down for redesign and total watermarking of everything. MY PICTURES. MINE. I'll probably have an interim, not particularly sophisticated site up within a few days, assuming I remain unemployed, which will hold the place while I learn CSS and try to make something exciting and pretty.
Meanwhile, started working on Kyle's jacket, and noticed something that made me very happy. Disregarding the completely ridiculous tab closure, and the fact that the sleeves don't make any sense, and the fact that the only seams on this thing appear to be the side seams... the triangles don't go all the way around! They stop at the side seam and the back pieces are just bound. This makes my life happier, since any triangles I don't have to draft and sew means faster and easier work for me.
I still don't have any idea where the back bow comes from, though. It looks like it *ought* to come from the white fabric that is criscrossed over his upper chest under the jacket and over his armor and shirt, but if it did that, then the jacket would have to be even shorter and the fabric would all bunch up under his arms instead of lying all pretty like that anyway. It still probably does come from there, but in order to duplicate that look in real life, I'll probably have to make the white business mounted on a separate garment, and put buttonholes through the back for the bow to go through so it will all stay together and aligned nicely.Current Mood:  sick |
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Triangle man, triangle man
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Oct. 8th, 2006 @ 12:13 pm
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Readers of ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) maxineofarc are probably aware that I'm experiencing some urban unemployment angst at the moment. But enough of THAT, because THIS is going to be my costume for Katsu '07:
That's a fanart, but it's a good one and it's the most presentable artwork I've found so far. Is that not awesome? Does he not have amazing hair? Is it not a good thing that I did those two Belldandy costumes and can applique triangles in my sleep? Is it not, perhaps, a good thing that I am unemployed and still have half a sheet of Wonderflex from Siegfried He Who Shall Not Be Named, so I will have all the time in the world to put together those silly decorations on his boots?Current Mood:  excited Current Music: Buck-Tick, "Rakuen" (single version) |
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lol intarwebs
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Sep. 30th, 2006 @ 02:58 pm
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_rosiel_ put a bug in my ear about checking my site traffic to see if it had gone up with my Cosplaylab profile... (my month of glory is almost at an end! *emo tear*), and since I hadn't actually looked at my site statistics in... ever, I went and did that this morning. To my surprise and amusement, I saw that my traffic for September is actually at a low ebb. Usually I get around 6,000 hits a month, and this month I only got about 4,000. It's a quiet little site.
And I expect that traffic to diminish quite a bit since I discovered that many, many people were looking at my old "Wedding Yuna" placeholder page; of course I abandoned that costume ages ago, and the page is hidden, but still there, I guess. A couple of people were even hotlinking my reference image - wtf. "Yuna" is by far the most popular search string, followed by various other characters.
I got a couple of hits in the spring from cosplayfucks, which prompted me out of paranoia to create an account over there and start digging around, but even with the help of my cosplay ninja horde, I couldn't find where those came from. The forum admins over there have a few tricks so that you can't see which forum page the hit came from. But they weren't many hits, and I'm just going to tell myself I was in a "best costume EVAR" thread. And if I wasn't, well, I *do* have some pretty crappy costumes up there.Current Mood:  cynical Current Music: Afro Celt Sound System |
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I'm done.
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Sep. 17th, 2006 @ 01:59 pm
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Every so often there's a new last straw. The latest one, for me, has been the unbelievable fuss kicked up by this high school kid who refuses to own up to stealing my photo. ("I'm sorry, the photos are gone now" and the whole thing could have been over in a day.) I'm done with the cosplay "community," I think. I'm tired of the immaturity and the petty grubbing for awards and popularity. I only do this so I have something fun to do with my friends and get photos taken of me, and my friends tend to avoid the morass of the cosplay intarwebs. I believe I'll follow the lead of people clearly smarter than me. With the amount of stress I'm dealing with in real life right now, I do not need silly self-involved internet stress as well.
So I'm pulling my photos from cosplay.com, I'm no longer dignifying that little girl's posts and PMs with responses, and I believe I'll just try to forget the board exists for a while. I'll be taking down my website soon, but temporarily, for a redesign. I'll still be working on things and posting updates and photos as I have them; but the site design is way outdated, and I'd like to change the terminology I've been working with to emphasize "costumes," not "cosplay." I'll also remain on cosplaylab and ACP, because those sites provide me with an outlet for showing my costume photos and talking about them a little bit, without the drama-soaked message boards.
Also, I've tended to talk about cosplay a lot more on my personal LJ because cosplay people seem to end up over there instead of here - so the split hasn't really worked. If you think you'd like to be over there, let me know and I'll add you to the flist/lock.Current Mood:  frustrated |
| » I feel like I've arrived... |
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It's finally happened! Some nitwit finally stole one of my costume photos to claim as their own! I feel like I've somehow "arrived" in cosplayland now.
The miscreant is "Misarylane," who cannot spell "calendar" or "thumbnail." Witness! http://www.geocities.com/misarylane/Toshiya.html
She's tired of explaining how she made it. I LOVE IT.
I'm letting her know that her theft of my image has been called to my attention, and complaining to Geocities, not that I imagine they'll care. I haven't been watermarking my photos just because it's a pain, but I may have to start. I know it doesn't deter the dedicated image thief, but I bet it would keep off small fry like this.
So, one good thing cosplay.com has done for me: called this fool to my attention.
Sep. 13th, 2006 @ 09:44 am
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| » New photos |
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Crossposted to my personal LJ.
New costume (Robin Sena) & new photos (Matsumoto, Samurai Yuna, & Relena) at my homepage, The Suspicious Closet.
And for those who don't read the personal LJ, I am Miss September at Cosplaylab.
Sep. 4th, 2006 @ 05:43 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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Eeee, remember all that fabric I dyed for the Worldcon group? The masquerade is tonight. Very exciting.
New costumes for 2006:
-Robin, "Witch Hunter Robin"
-Assassin Kirie, "Angel Sanctuary"
Costumes planned for 2007:
-Alenia, "Suikoden V"
-Hazuki, "Suikoden V"
-Okuni, "Samurai Warriors 2"
-Indies Kaoru, Dir en grey, or else I'd better come up with something else to do with a couple of yards of black reptile vinyl.
-Annnnddd.... I think that's everything I know of.
ZOMG, emergency photoshoot this weekend and I have so much stuff to do. Gotta finish Robin's blouse, make jumper, style wig; re-do Unohana wig, style Hinamori wig, paint Hinamori badge, try to find all the parts of all the shinigami costumes, repair waraji sandals, make Haineko guard for that junky old iaito.
I HATE styling wigs.
Aug. 25th, 2006 @ 10:46 am
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| » (No Subject) |
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For a number of reasons, I have several costumes I'm trying to finish within the next week or so. In between trying to sell my car and find a job in DC.
One of these costumes involves thigh-high vinyl boot covers, because they don't make fitted thigh-high boots for fat chicks and I don't have time to go digging around transvestite shops. I've never tried to make boot covers before and am highly doubtful about the eventual outcome.
Meanwhile, I'm also trying to make Matsumoto's zanpakuto, re-do Unohana's wig and finish her obi, make Kirie's coat, and possibly try to finish Robin's wig, blouse and jumper. Robin might be too much for me. We'll see.
I dyed over 100 yards of fabric for a large Worldcon presentation for the costumer's guild a few months ago. The fruits of my, and their, labors, are packed into a van on the way to California. I hope everything goes well. I'm so proud of my fabric when I see it in pictures!
Aug. 21st, 2006 @ 10:18 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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ETA: The costume I saw on A Fan's View actually *wasn't* necessarly better than mine, just had nicer closures for the pants and a nicer bottom border. Costumes with a lot of surface embellishment are not the best choice for me. I don't have the patience or the skill for it; clean lines and wearability are my strengths, I think, and that costume didn't match up with my skills or interests well.
But, uh, Sophitia! Sophitia will be a totally different story!
........yeah.
Depending on how the move shakes out, I may or may not have anything new/good for AUSA. I don't have any spending money right now, so I can't buy all the beautiful fabric I will need for Okuni, and the black twill I was going to use for Hazuki is now going to something else.
Aug. 5th, 2006 @ 08:57 am
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| » (No Subject) |
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Good grief. I just FINALLY got Diane's Seong Mi-Na costume out in overnight mail, so she should have it by Otakon. I am never making a costume for somebody not in my immediate household ever again, and certainly not for free.
Aug. 1st, 2006 @ 01:08 pm
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| » $$$ |
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I am in a serious money crunch. Yeah, yeah. More than usual. I need to try to not spend ANY excess money until we move, because we're going to need it, especially if I still don't have a job. So costume stuff is seriously low on the budgetary scale. I probably won't be able to buy much in the way of materials for a while.
Luckily, I have tons of basic black twill (as always!) and many remnants, so I can probably make the hakama and shirt, and probably most of the front panel, of Hazuki's costume from my stash. I'll need a new wig, some red leather/pleather for the main body piece, a little heavier ivory leather for the trim on that, and some rawhide cord. I think that's it. If that is all I need to buy, I can bring it in completely for under $100.
Robin, I already have all the materials for, plus the wig, plus extensions, plus the necklace, plus the skirt is done already, so really that is good to go.
Beyond that, I don't know if I'll be able to swing anything new for AUSA, aside from either salvaging the Unohana wig (which I'd prefer because Unohana isn't a tool) or turning it into a Hinamori. I think everyone's seen my rack by now (although with all the weight I've gained, there's more to look at now. Yay?) so I can always default to Matsumoto but would rather not.
Once I figure out the financial situation, I'd really like to have Okuni for next con season, and there are a couple of other SuikoV characters that interest me besides Hazuki. Like, say, Josephine.
Jul. 13th, 2006 @ 09:29 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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Things have been quiet over here pretty much because I haven't been making anything. 4 hours of commuting a day pretty much strips me of my will to live, much less sew. I am making Seong Mi-Na's 2P costume from Soul Calibur 3 for darkling_dreams, but only because I promised her I would and I've flaked on enough deadlines for her in the past to feel really guilty if I flaked on this one. In any case, the pants are all embroidered, painted, lined, cut out and half-constructed. I need to cut the shirt before I know how much yardage I'll have to do purple trim on some of the other parts, so that's today's job.
I bought a new Uniquely You dress form, but DAMN, have I had trouble fitting the cover. My mom and I eventually took both of ours to a professional seamstress, and while she got my mother's down just fine, there is a little bubble of fabric over my left breast that NOBODY can get to go away. I'm either going to just topstitch the sucker or duct tape it. So frustrating. And of course I don't have Sally 1 to kick around anymore, since she went to live in Canada, so I have no choice but to assemble Sally 2 regardless of this one tiny remaining fitting problem.
Siegfried and I broke up, but I'm hoping to have either Sophitia (more likely, if only because of the shoe factor) or Setsuka for AUSA.
I won't have any space once we move, but maybe I'll have time. That would be an okay tradeoff.
Jul. 10th, 2006 @ 09:47 am
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| » Desperately seeking |
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Full-length character art or decent-quality full-length screencap of Hazuki from Suikoden V. Name your reward.
Jun. 5th, 2006 @ 11:07 am
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| » (No Subject) |
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After a couple of months of screwing around, here's my verdict on Wonderflex for large projects:
Meh.
It works really nicely on small and irregularly shaped pieces (like my gauntlets). Things get a little stickier when you get to a piece that needs to be large and smoothly shaped (like my cuirass). WFlex becomes *very* soft and pliable when heated, so in order to get a smooth shape, you really need to have something ready to mold it on. It will pick up the impressions of your fingers when you smush two pieces together, and it will conform to the shape of your hands if you hold it while it cools. I imagine it's probably fantastic when used with negative or even positive molds, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it for large pieces of armor. Using two layers helps a little bit, but the layers do need to be smushed together, so there you're running a bit handicapped already.
I'll probably continue and finish the project (though at this point it is anyone's guess when it will be done), but my breastplate isn't nearly as smooth as I would like, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to fix that.
May. 30th, 2006 @ 09:07 am
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| » (No Subject) |
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Not much is happening at the moment. A combination of almost a month's worth of cold, wet weekends and a crippling round of depression have kept me from working on Siegfried, so he may be around for AnimeNext or he may not, or he may end up as a bunch of pieces in a box. Too close to call right now, but it may be that I have to get my head straightened out before I can do something of that magnitude... and by the time that happens I'll be living in an apartment again and won't have a lot of luxury to work with hammers and toxic chemicals. We'll see.
Likewise, may not bother with costumes at Anime Boston. I do have Unohana's wig done, and the main piece of her overjacket. I must say the insignia on the back looks pretty sharp.
May. 20th, 2006 @ 09:05 pm
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| » Curses! |
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I've run up against a foe I simply can't defeat: money. It doesn't look like I'm going to be able to assemble the remainder of the components I need to finish Siegfried in time for AB, at least not without reaching for the credit cards, which I have sworn not to do. And various friends have reminded me that this is NOT something I want to hurry and half-ass with a week to go. So it seems likely that he won't see the light of day now until Dragon*Con, unless for some reason I end up at AnimeNext.
Soooooo.... I'm not sure if I'll have to pull out of the hall cosplay. I'm planning to bring Slightly New, Slightly Improved Samurai Yuna, since she wasn't finished last time I wore her, but because the sword was a commission and it's a major piece of the costume, I doubt she'd pass muster under their rules. Which leaves me desperately racking my brain for something else to bring. I don't have much anime stuff in the closets right now. I suppose I could dust off Nuriko a-freaking-gain, or else I've got Mana/Batolli, which is certainly dramatic but not as impressive on a craftsmanship level. Tragically, I have already worn all of these costumes at Anime Bostons in the past.
I can always hold him off till next year, I guess. AB won't be my home convention anymore, but it wouldn't surprise me if I made the trip for nostalgia purposes...
Apr. 30th, 2006 @ 09:47 am
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| » Ghod, I'm stupid. |
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I wore out my leather punch because I didn't put enough cardboard down between it and the stone surface I've been hammering on. So extremities progress is halted until I get a new one. And then I was going to make a bunch of larger pieces this weekend, but Suikoden V appears to have eaten my life. The end.
Apr. 23rd, 2006 @ 09:58 pm
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| » *gritting of teeth* |
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Q & A with Koumori!
Q: So yesterday you said you were going to try making trim out of Wonderflex scraps. Did that work?
A: Sort of. With something with a lot of long skinny parts, like those scorpions, the pieces get twisted around a lot and it's hard to get them symmetrical before they cool and harden. So there's an excellent chance that they'll look like crap.
Q: Is it better than the Model Magic?
A: For something as fiddly as the scorpions, yeah, probably. It's easier to cut, but harder to shape, and hard to tweak once it's in place.
Q: How does it cut with a craft knife?
A: Not particularly well.
Q: Are you sure those are scorpions?
A: Unfortunately, yes.
Q: Wait. Are there scorpions anywhere else on this outfit?
A: Why, no. Just fancy scrollwork.
Q: Then why--
A: You'll have to take that up with Siegfried, and we're not speaking right now.
Q: Are you going to get off the hands anytime soon? Because that's like 5% of what you need to cover, and there isn't that much time, especially if you want to make that massive freakin' sword too, and--
A: You are not helping.
Apr. 2nd, 2006 @ 10:10 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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So far I've managed to do a couple of things I promised myself I'd get out of the way LAST week. I finished cutting the new pieces for Siegfried's hands, and I finally sat down with the pasta maker and some Model Magic to see if it will do for all of the raised trim and designs. The answer: yes, but...
MM is, as the name implies, designed for making models; it's aimed at children as a permanent alternative to Play-Doh(tm). It is not designed for being cut into small, elaborate, squiggly pieces. Like, say, scorpions, which as near as I can tell are what's decorating Siegfried's gauntlet bells. Actually they seem to be more like scarab beetles, which is weird, because you'd think that was more of a Zasalamel motif, but I digress. I did manage to get most of one done, but it took a very long time and doesn't look quite right, which is when I started thinking, hey, why not make those fancy designs out of scraps of Wonderflex? It would be raised, but only slightly, and you could cut it with scissors and if you're lucky X-acto. So tomorrow I'll try that on the other gauntlet, and if it works OK, I'll scrape the MM off the first one and do the designs that way. It would have to be faster, at least, and there'd be less margin for error in terms of the design getting twisted and squashed between the cutting and the application.
I have SO MUCH work to do on this thing tomorrow. There isn't enough time in the week.
Bleach for AB, of course, because I've *got* it: Hinamori, and hope for a hot Aizen even though I can't stand her? Matsumoto, and hope for an Ichimaru who will give me the time of day? Or Unohana, and be above such silly thoughts?
Apr. 1st, 2006 @ 10:03 pm
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