Oh man, am I actually making a post? Yeah. Don't fall out of your seat.

Life is nuts right now. Really. Here's a costume-related update.

• Connecticon is this weekend! Yay! Since I already ordered the wig from limebarb.com (I just can't do wigs, at least not now >_>), I decided to bring out my Pokemon Gijinka costume for the occasion. I only have a few days to fix it up. I did a test run the other night with what I have done, and, well... it makes me look fat! D: Let's just say it needs a little help. Additionally, everything still needs fasteners and the like. I'm going to try to fix up the vest to give a little more waist definition. The nice thing about this costume is since it's based on someone's interpretation of a Pokemon, I can modify it however I please! I'm thinking of a lower vest neckline, and maybe ribbon or some other kind of tie around the waist. The shoes are also a bit problematic, but they will likely stay as they are, unless I find some kind of miracle solution at the craft store today. The stores in this state are awful, though, so I'm not holding my breath.


• My job future is a bit uncertain, so I've had to stop production on my WoW Druid costume. However, I've already bought lots of planning materials and books, so the planning will continue. Patterns will be made! Techniques will be learned (in theory at least)! Horray. Horrah. In this vein, I'll be making one or more posts about leatherworking techniques in the future, so look out for that.


• I ended up with no photos from Anime Boston this year, as I broke my camera about half an hour into the event. Boo! It was a complete whirlwind this year, anyway... so strange...


• And, finally, once I DO have some certain money again, I will be posting a list of upcoming projects. It seems I won't have anything done for Blizzcon this year (again >_>), but hopefully I can still pull off a costume for the Harry Potter premier!

That's my world right now... a bit all over the place, but the costumes are finding their way into the shuffle. Hopefully things will stabilize for me soon. I also have some tutorials in the works, which I know I always talk about and rarely post. But they're in progress. Truthies.

Leave a comment if you're going to be at CTcon next weekend... we'll look for each other!

Costumes for the New Year!

Happy New Year! I don't know about you, but I've had a crazy couple of months. I'm ready to start fresh and break open the packaging for a fresh new 2010. That last decade is old news, man.

I've graduated from school and even managed to get myself a job (for now), so things are going pretty well. The only unfortunate thing is that I'm still in the tiny living space I was last year, which makes costume creation extra-challenging. I'm hoping to be in a larger space by halfway through the year, but... who knows. I'm sure I'll be moving at least once this year.

So what's on the cosplay docket for Triene this year? Well, let's see!

The big news in the convention community of the Boston area and, honestly, the east coast as a whole, is that PAX is coming to Boston! We're all very excited about it. I haven't decided if I actually want to cosplay for it... I might just ride it out and use it as a networking and learning opportunity, as games are my career of choice, and I think I could learn a lot at the con without having to think about costuming. Plus, it could leave me more free to report on any cosplay there for your enjoyment! :D

Anime Boston is immediately after PAX. I think it's finally time to pull out the Pokemon Gaijinka costume that I created oh-so-long ago! I can actually afford the wig commission, and there is very little other work to do on it, so I think it will be perfect for a con that's so close to already being here.

Further down the line are the "up-in-the-air" cons... i.e., the cons I plan on going to unless something (new job, moving, sudden loss of funds) prevents me from going. These are Blizzcon (woo!) and Connecticon. Will I be able to create my Stormrage gear by Blizzcon? In this little room, probably not. But I'll see how it goes. For Connecticon I usually pull a costume out of the costume closet that hasn't seen much love lately, or that is convenient for me to wear. My friends and I will likely enter the Rockband tournament again this year... will we come out on top again? We shall see.

The idea of Otakon this year was batted around, but like the aforementioned two cons, I don't think I'll be able to commit to it as early as I'll need to to make it happen. Next year, then.

Finally, if you didn't know, the second-to-last Harry Potter movie comes out (it had better!) in the fall of this year. I have wanted to make a Bellatrix Lestrange costume, and I may seize this movie as my opportunity. Or, it may have to wait until the last movie comes out next summer.

At any rate, we shall see how this unpredictable year unfolds for me. What are your cosplay goals for the year? What cons are you going to?

Pokemon costume progress

My sister's wedding is over, so I've finally had time to get back to costumes and putting up my portfolio site, which I just finished today (finally!).

I've been working on my Gijinka costume. I decided on Gabite. Here's what I've got so far:



I still have to sew the sleeves on the shirt, and put fasteners on the shirt and skirt.

This was my first time making a "proper" collar. I did my best, but it didn't turn out that great. It's passable, though. It's one of those things that I would only redo if I found myself with a bunch of spare time before the con (read: not gonna happen) but I won't be too disappointed if I don't.

For the skirt, I used a pattern I had from high school. The skirt is simple with a waistband, and isn't too full. I modified the pattern by (1) making it shorter, and (2) making the skirt even less full, though only slightly. I just folded on of the pattern pieces down to about half its width, effectively removing about a foot of fullness.

Instead of installing a zipper, I elected to leave a slit and close the skirt using velcro. I wanted more flexibility to adjust the waist size so the shirt would sty tucked in and lay flat. I also just wanted something that was just fast and easy to sew and to use. I left the slit where the zipper would have been installed, then folded under and finished the edges.

On a side note, I keep all of my patterns in their own plastic bag, which I label with the pattern brand, number, and sizes. Then I can keep everything organized without having to worry about fitting the pattern pieces back into the little envelope. :<

If you're planning on modifying a pattern, read the directions for the pattern first, especially if you aren't very familiar with garment construction. It will teach you more about the way clothes are put together, and can save you a lot of time and trouble. You can see what pieces are unnecessary and, therefore, you don't have to waste fabric cutting out. You can also look ahead to see what steps are skippable and what steps are a good idea that you may not have thought of.

I hope everyone else's costumes are going well!

Pokemon Gijinka

So this whole Pokemon Gijinka thing seems to be pretty popular nowadays... about as popular as Gurren Lagann cosplay is right now, it seems. This is a costume someone designs for a person to look like or at least exude the essence of the Pokemon.

Personally, I am completely into it; I love love Pokemon, and I don't love fur suits. :<

Also, I am interested in fashion and costume design, and the ways artists are translating pokemon into interesting costumes for males and females is really interesting and inspiring.

I'm planning on doing one of these designs if I manage to get myself over to Connecticon this year. Depending on how much time I have, I'll be doing one of these three:

Gabite: Probably the most time consuming/complicated of these, but its a cool Pokemon.

Azumarill: Cute Pokemon, cute costume... it would probably take second longest of the three.

Drifloon: My favourite Pokemon (really), and a simple costume to do.

I downloaded all the designs in a .rar file that was posted on 4chan in /cgl/... however, I believe they came from this site (it's in Japanese... but if you look for the links on the left that are numbered 1-50, etc, you should be able to see them easily). Other artists make these as well; however, this seems to be the most widely known and used.

What do you think about this trend? Or the Gurren Lagann trend? What cosplay trends are you into or would you like to see?

I can't wait to go to Otakon this year and see what costumes are there.

Also, Zabuza's Sword step-by-step instructions are almost complete... should be posted soon.