Pre-Aya
Another long period with no updates... oops! I have done quite a bit recently though, so let's get up to speed...
Firstly, the last time I updated I mentioned I was making a Team Rocket Grunt costume for May Expo. Despite assorted work issues trying to get in the way, I did get the costume mostly sorted out, and here's how it looked in the end:
I'm not happy with the boots - wasn't able to buy any suitable ones beforeand and my attempts to make some boot covers went horribly wrong so I ended up making them in a hurry and duct taping them to my thighs so they'd stay up. Funnily enough, right after Expo there were loads of decent boots on eBay, so I'll get some at some point and have some more photos taken. I don't have a full group photo unfortunately but there are a few videos on YouTube of the masquerade performance, and this is probably the best one:
I'm the one who's second from the right of the screen there, and the lovely lex_is_evil and white_leviathan were the Jessie and James (and the real stars of the show I think!). We won best performance, which was cool :D
Right now I'm concentrating on Aya costumes, which is as you'd expect with just four weeks left till I have to pack up and head to Coventry! I'm going to London to stay with kuro2shiro the night before the con so I'm operating on an "if it's not done by then, it's not getting done" basis. Fortunately, I think things are going quite well. I'm working on the following costumes:
- Ginrei (Giant Robo)
- Viola (Eternal Sonata)
- Crona (Soul Eater - for Luke)
- Medusa (Soul Eater)
Haven't started on Medusa or Crona yet but they're both pretty straightforward costumes, so I've been concentrating on Ginrei and Viola. As it stands, I've styled Viola's wig (yay!) and have an almost-complete base dress for Ginrei, as well as appropriate shoes for both characters.
Here are the Ginrei pics, first of all. Here's the dress as it is right now:
It's based on the same Chinese dress pattern I used for Chun Li (McCall's M4369, which is now out of print apparently - I had to buy it from eBay), but with the shoulders cut in further. It still needs to be shortened (I need to work out a balance between short enough for accuracy but long enough for modesty), have the collar and trim attached and have the rose embellishment appliqued on but it's looking pretty good so far, and I might even be able to put this one on and take it off without needing an extra pair of hands!
I also have these shoes (if you'll excuse my horrid legs):
They're a tiny bit too small but they're wearable, and I'm sure a day's worth of wearing won't do any lasting damage. If they weren't so absolutely spot-on for the costume I would have looked for something else, but I love them!
As for Viola, I still have yet to work up the courage to do anything with my suedette and start putting the costume together properly, but I have commissioned a bow for her (I suspect it'll be a masquerade-only thing, but oh well) and successfully styled her wig:
I'm not 100% satisfied with it, if I'm being honest - I made the stubs far too low and the ox horns do look to be a bit too long and narrow (and I think they're a bit too far back), but it's too late to do anything about it at this stage, and it'll do. It's definitely much more of an accomplishment than I'd have thought I'd be capable of a year ago! I still need to attach the ribbons round the ox horns but that's a pretty simple job. I took photos as I constructed the wig so I'll put up a guide at some point, probably after Aya. I also got these shoes for the costume:
They're going to need some minor adjustments for proper accuracy but if I don't get time to sort them out they'll be fine as they are. They're gorgeous shoes, and they make me feel very tall! I think the heels are just high enough to push me over six feet tall, which is an interesting experience. They are also quite comfortable to walk in though, which is a plus! So yeah, this'll be a masquerade costume if it's finished in time, but hopefully I'll be able to get some nice posed photos outside the masquerade too (may have to sneak off somewhere with the bow, I suspect...).
So, that's all I have to show off right now. I do also have wigs for Crona, Medusa and Ginrei but I haven't styled them yet so I'll keep those for another time!
And now I just have to keep working at the pace I've been going at and all should be well...!
Firstly, the last time I updated I mentioned I was making a Team Rocket Grunt costume for May Expo. Despite assorted work issues trying to get in the way, I did get the costume mostly sorted out, and here's how it looked in the end:
I'm not happy with the boots - wasn't able to buy any suitable ones beforeand and my attempts to make some boot covers went horribly wrong so I ended up making them in a hurry and duct taping them to my thighs so they'd stay up. Funnily enough, right after Expo there were loads of decent boots on eBay, so I'll get some at some point and have some more photos taken. I don't have a full group photo unfortunately but there are a few videos on YouTube of the masquerade performance, and this is probably the best one:
Click to viewI'm the one who's second from the right of the screen there, and the lovely lex_is_evil and white_leviathan were the Jessie and James (and the real stars of the show I think!). We won best performance, which was cool :D
Right now I'm concentrating on Aya costumes, which is as you'd expect with just four weeks left till I have to pack up and head to Coventry! I'm going to London to stay with kuro2shiro the night before the con so I'm operating on an "if it's not done by then, it's not getting done" basis. Fortunately, I think things are going quite well. I'm working on the following costumes:
- Ginrei (Giant Robo)
- Viola (Eternal Sonata)
- Crona (Soul Eater - for Luke)
- Medusa (Soul Eater)
Haven't started on Medusa or Crona yet but they're both pretty straightforward costumes, so I've been concentrating on Ginrei and Viola. As it stands, I've styled Viola's wig (yay!) and have an almost-complete base dress for Ginrei, as well as appropriate shoes for both characters.
Here are the Ginrei pics, first of all. Here's the dress as it is right now:
It's based on the same Chinese dress pattern I used for Chun Li (McCall's M4369, which is now out of print apparently - I had to buy it from eBay), but with the shoulders cut in further. It still needs to be shortened (I need to work out a balance between short enough for accuracy but long enough for modesty), have the collar and trim attached and have the rose embellishment appliqued on but it's looking pretty good so far, and I might even be able to put this one on and take it off without needing an extra pair of hands!
I also have these shoes (if you'll excuse my horrid legs):
They're a tiny bit too small but they're wearable, and I'm sure a day's worth of wearing won't do any lasting damage. If they weren't so absolutely spot-on for the costume I would have looked for something else, but I love them!
As for Viola, I still have yet to work up the courage to do anything with my suedette and start putting the costume together properly, but I have commissioned a bow for her (I suspect it'll be a masquerade-only thing, but oh well) and successfully styled her wig:
I'm not 100% satisfied with it, if I'm being honest - I made the stubs far too low and the ox horns do look to be a bit too long and narrow (and I think they're a bit too far back), but it's too late to do anything about it at this stage, and it'll do. It's definitely much more of an accomplishment than I'd have thought I'd be capable of a year ago! I still need to attach the ribbons round the ox horns but that's a pretty simple job. I took photos as I constructed the wig so I'll put up a guide at some point, probably after Aya. I also got these shoes for the costume:
They're going to need some minor adjustments for proper accuracy but if I don't get time to sort them out they'll be fine as they are. They're gorgeous shoes, and they make me feel very tall! I think the heels are just high enough to push me over six feet tall, which is an interesting experience. They are also quite comfortable to walk in though, which is a plus! So yeah, this'll be a masquerade costume if it's finished in time, but hopefully I'll be able to get some nice posed photos outside the masquerade too (may have to sneak off somewhere with the bow, I suspect...).
So, that's all I have to show off right now. I do also have wigs for Crona, Medusa and Ginrei but I haven't styled them yet so I'll keep those for another time!
And now I just have to keep working at the pace I've been going at and all should be well...!