Cosplay-vania is now on Facebook and Google+

Today is Pi Day!!!!!  Woot!  AND, I have finally finished making a very simple logo for us!

If you haven't got the idea yet, we were inspired by Castlevania when we came up with the name for our blog.  To go along with the same concept, I designed our logo with a creepy castle.  I know it's not perfect or cool like some other logos, but this is a temporary solution until I cross paths with better ones.

With the completion of our logo, we have also officially launched our Facebook page HERE, please "like" us *puppy eyes*
A Google+ page also exists but it is rather confusing, if you are a G+ user, you could follow us by clicking on the button on the right.

That's all for now, Animazement finally announced some more of their guests!  I'm pretty excited about KOTOKO and Masao Maruyama.  If you are curious, check AZ's guest list out HERE.

More exciting things soon to come!
Mimi

Cosplay Progress - Mask Construction and Gloves

Ahh progress, it is nice to finally post you again, hehe.  Since my last update, I've added plenty more craft foam and hot glue to continue the formation of Deus Ex Machina's mask.  At this point, the task is a little more strategic than just gluing foam everywhere I could.   I am still constantly looking back at the reference photos to make sure I am accurate with my shapes, but through this process I am getting a better sense of how to make the angles work for me.  Mimi has offered plenty of her help in creating this mask in the form of advice and some hot gluing (even acquiring some burns in the process Q_Q).  

Anyways, here's my updated progress gallery:

Created the upper eye framework.

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Built the cheek and chin frame work. Also replaced his "tooth" under the eye framework and bent the chin.

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Also in progress news, I received some hockey gloves that I will use as a base material for my MZMA gloves.  I got the idea for using hockey gloves from this Instructables tutorial on how to make Hell Boy's RHoD. These things are HUGE on my hands, so they will work perfectly for MZMA.  I plan to cover the tops in red fun foam and maybe spray paint an orange gradient on to it afterwards, but that's just me thinking.

We cut off the BAUER logo part to make room for the craft foam that  we will use.  

The most pressing issue for these used hockey gloves is to remove their intense smell of sweat.  If anyone has any good ideas on a deodorant for these, let me know (THEY REALLY STINK!!!! X___X)

Thanks, I will keep you guys updated! :D

-Stuart-

[[[For reference, here's a link to the last update]]]

Insane Black Rock Shooter: Progress 2

So here is a quick update on my costume~ :D
You will see that I'm super ADD when it comes to making costumes and I like to work on everything at once...without finishing anything >.>

Anyhow, first up are the shoes!  Shape-wise, I have pretty much finished the very bottom part of the boots, the wings need to be reinforced and the entire thing needs to be either painted or covered with vinyl (have to decide what to do...)

I have also made one piece of the knee part, it needs a lot of calculations that I have no patience for right now.

Second, the bodice of my armor~  Since Stuey made that body form for me, I really wanted to test it out.  I dug out some old patterns and made a preliminary shape for the bodice armor.  It will become thicker eventually.

Front view

Side View

Back View

The taped areas are places that I want to insert a buckle-type thing for so that I could  easily put on/remove the armor.  Now that the body form has been sitting for a while...it has gained a ton of fat rolls O.O;

Last but not least, the claws!  I have a pair of gloves that have a small hole on it.  My dad bought me some replacements for them, but I'm still rather attached.  It is made of really soft leather...anyways, the point is that I don't want to glue anything onto my gloves.  I made "knuckle rings" as claws to put on my fingers.  I haven't made the very bottom part of the gloves, which will cover up the flower motifs.

The big piece is velcroed at the palm area to hold it.  Anyways, I might glue the claw parts onto the gloves eventually...or not...we will see.

That's all!  Let me know if you have any questions!!
Mimi

Cosplay Progress - Masks and Half-People

Getting stuff done feels good, and blogging about it feels even better, lol.  Recently I have been working on my Deus Ex Machina mask/headpiece. I have begun to collect pictures of the mask in its formation from start to beginning.  Hopefully I will be able to write a tutorial once I am finished, but for now, I will describe the process as it has been occurring.

The first step was to create a basic mask framework.  Mimi helped me shape thin strips of cardboard to my face shape and size. 

After this, the nose and chin components were built as guiding points and anchors from which to build more facial components.  Fun foam is our material of choice.

The next part is a little hard to describe, because at this point we basically just took fun foam scraps and glued them to places to help the mask take a little more form, in no specific order.  The goal for this transition was to create a little bit of "sunken-cheek" look and to connect the nose to the bottom half of the face.  This was done wonderfully with lots of help from Mimi. :D

If there's anything I have learned from Mimi in the crafting world (other than glue gun burns can hurt a lot), it's that I should think of this project as sculpting with small pieces of fun foam,and  that fun foam can be used for anything and everything.   At this point it looks like the mask could either belong to Deus, or the King of All Cosmos haha.   

The other awesome thing we did recently is to create a body form for Mimi.  She was very patient as I duct taped around her for about an hour and a half.  We followed this tutorial from Threadbanger, but used regular duct tape instead of water-activated packing tape.  

Look, it's a ghetto Saber :P

After Mimi had a couple or so layers of tape on her, we cut through the shirt and tape body mold, re-taped it together, and stuffed it with some old shirts and pants of mine.  The final result? :

A wonderfully shaped figure that Mimi will be using for future sewing and armor-related endeavors.  I call it SeMimi, because it's more of a half  Mimi than a mini-Mimi.  Hehehe.

Well, that's all for now people.  We will be sure to keep you updated on anything cosplay related, or maybe just whatever tickles our fancy for the day.  Thanks!

-Stuart-

EDIT: [[[Here's a link to the most recent update]]]

The General Consensus - A Pseudo Rant

There comes a time in every cosplayers life when he or she is either verbally harassed or gets very rude stares from passers-by. This negative attention typically comes either from other cosplayers, non-cosplayers at conventions, or the so-called "normal" people you run into outside of the convention space.

For the most part, other cosplayers are more understanding than the other two categories (Although you will probably get judged regardless). However, you will always run into the occasional incredibly stuck-up individual who, sometimes regardless of talent or costuming ability, will take an immediate dislike to you - possibly because you are cosplaying the same character.

But I digress. I have decided to share some experiences that I/we have had at cons. Notnecessarily bad ones, as I don't want this to turn into an angry rant- just things I have heard people say, be they amusing or not so amusing.

This was taken somewhere in the "normal" part of town, right before the extreme social awkwardness of the moment became evident.

While cosplaying as the Witch at Animazement:

• Our group of Left 4 Dead cosplayers accidentally wandered too far away from the convention area and into "normal human territory" while looking for food (actual food, not zombie food). We knew we had gone too far when people in cars were stopping and staring, a cop seemed like he was trying to decide whether to arrest us for something, and people who were clearly not at all affiliated with the convention stopped us and started taking pictures of us in front of a restaurant with their phones. Awkward times.
• At one point some guy came up to me and said something along the lines of "You've got to have balls to wear that." Thanks...I think? Regardless, it was only afterwards that I realized how incredibly naked I looked. Definitely glad I did that cosplay with a group.

We knew what we were getting into.

While in our Panty and Stocking cop outfits at Katsucon:

• Small child comes up to us with his parents in tow, pointing, and says "Look mommy, are those policewomen?" Parents looked very awkwardly at us in our slutty cop outfits. I almost died. Also, I'm pretty sure this happened twice.

• Catcalls. Not unexpected, but I just try to ignore them.
• Male hotel staff members telling us to "Please arrest us, officers, we've been very bad." Temporarily amusing, if also vaguely uncomfortable. Also, like we hadn't heard that one before.
• It was dark by the time we headed back to the hotel, and random people who definitely were not with the convention started taking pictures with us. They may or may not have mistaken us for streetwalkers.
• Also, the looks we got from the hotel staff were somewhat less than friendly. You'd think they would be used to Katsucon by now. We're not eating babies or skinning cats, so please don't look at us like we are scum.

What many people don't seem to understand is that we are cosplaying characters - Characters whose personalities and clothing choices have nothing to do with our own. It doesn't make us crazy, it doesn't make us immature - it's a hobby, just like playing an instrument, or watching football, or crocheting, or base jumping. Okay, maybe not exactly like base jumping. What could be scarier than looking up and seeing cosplayers inexplicably falling from the sky?

I appreciate it when I am dressed up for a con and people on the street ask us where we are going. They're curious, and I'm happy to explain to them. Sometimes they look at you like you're crazy, sometimes they nod and smile nervously, but sometimes they seem genuinely excited. It's the people who scowl and move away that really bother me - but what can you do other than try to be polite?

Cosplay is something we do because we enjoy it. People tend to be wary of or hate things that that they don't understand, and I feel like this is such a shame - and not just in regards to cosplay.

But you know what, in the end...

This.

~Kathryn

Hey, I want to make a post too~

Mimi and Kathryn have both announced their cosplay plans for Animazement '12, so I guess I'll be a copy cat :3

From the BRS series, I will be doing MZMA (pronounced Mazuma), the second of the Seven Apostles.

Oddly shaped sword, giant hands, non-matching boots, what's not to like? :P

  Since there aren't many pictures of MZMA beside this one, I will be using this video as a reference for any other details.  As for progress, I jumped on Mimi's wig and contacts orders and got a red wig and red contacts. We also bid on a pair of hockey gloves to use as the base for the hands.


From Mirai Nikki, I will be going as Deus Ex Machina, the deteriorating god of time and space.

I'm really liking the hair, and the large chin.

I am planning on, and currently creating, a mask for his face (no human face looks like that).   I have not quite decided what to do for his hair yet, but whatever it is, it will be awesome.  

I am really excited about this year....maybe it's because I will get to carry a huge sword and dress up as a god.  But it also might be that I feel that I will make the transition from Cosplay Noob to Sort of Somewhat Experienced Cosplayer-ish Person.  Also, if we are able to do a skit at the masquerade this year it would be AMAZING, but we'll see how that turns out.

Anyways, I'll keep you guys updated on the mask making for Deus (hopefully ending up with a progress gallery/tutorial).  If Cosplay-Vania reaches to 5000 views, I'll make a little victory composition for us :D.  Thanks Everyone!

-Stuart- 

Animazement Cosplay Plans

So our AZ plans for this year have been decided: We're doing group cosplays as characters from Mirai Nikki and Black Rock Shooter (and hopefully signing up for the Masquerade this year, which is exciting).

I had a bit of a change of heart regarding Dead Master. While her scythe is beyond awesome, the rest of her costume (read: her shoes) seemed a bit boring to me, so instead I'll be going as Black★Gold Saw, whose boots are suitably absurd:

Who wears short shorts? We do, apparently...

There is no logical reason why I should be so excited to learn how to make giant weapons. But I really, really am.

Who doesn't want armored thigh high boots, I ask you?

As for Mirai Nikki, I will be cosplaying the militant atheist terrorist who really enjoys blowing things up, Diary Holder #9 - Minene Uryuu.

Why am I always cosplaying the antagonists? I think this says something about me...

Unfortunately I will not have much time to work on the costumes for the next few weeks (curse you, MCAT!), so I can't really get started properly until March 25. Assuming my brain hasn't seeped out of my skull by that point.

But there has been some progress! I have ordered contacts (from Pinky Paradise - reviews will be forthcoming) and wigs, and I am currently still looking for a pair of high-waisted faux-leather shorts (not the easiest thing to find, mind you).

Updates will be coming...until I go into panic mode.

~Kathryn

Insane Black Rock Shooter cosplay progress part 1

(Second part of the progress is out!  Read it HERE)

So I have decided to do the IB★RS for AZ this year along with Murumuru from Mirai Nikki.  Below are the pictures of both characters.

IB★RS with her awesome weapon!

Murumuru without pants Q_Q

I am a little anxious about how much detail I could put into IB★RS since I have never made armors before.  As for Murumuru, she doesn't wear pants!!!!!!!  And...wtf are those leg thingies that float around her legs????  I have some idea for how to make this weird magical pants, but we will see.  Otherwise, her outfit is pretty simple.  I have one white plastic bangle already, woot!

So I have started to shop for IB★RS's costume.  First up are the boots that are going to be the support pieces for the leg armors.  (pls ignore my messy room)

I fount them at Kohl's for about $40, they have the small heels I want for the cosplay and the tightness.  Also, the boots have no buckles, so I don't have to take anything off~ 
I'm planning on making the armors for the boots with craft foam.  


I ordered a BRS wig from Cosplay Wig USA.  You can get the same wig HERE.  It is a pretty standard black wig that needs to be restyled so that one side of the pigtail is longer than the other.  (I have gotten several wigs from this website before, I think their wig quality is definitely higher than the ones on ebay)

picture taken from Cosplaywigusa.com

I ordered my contact lenses from Pinky paradise, I guess there will be a review for it once it gets here.


Other than that, I also purchased the leather pants I need from HERE.  

Since I weigh soooooooo much more than this model (obviously), I just hope the shorts would look half as good on me as they are on her. Q_Q


Humm, I also got some glue from Michaels, one of which is specifically for craft foam.  We will see how nice these will work in holding my armors together.  

Craft foam glue, Krazy glue for attaching things to less porous material, and glue sticks!!!! 

That is all for now, my actual making of the costume will start....tomorrow! XD


Mimi