March 31, 2012

Started working on Ichito

Pfhah. 

I Finally stopped procrastinating working on cosplays and actually did something.
Oh sweet, I have the whole April, May and beginning of June to fart out an Okita and Ichito cosplay from scratch.. here goes!
I decided to tackle Ichito first because he is the more complicated of them two and will take longer to make. Surprisingly when I showed mom a picture of him she went "oh god that's SO PRETTY!!". You know, I was pretty sure she'd kill me because it was yet another kimono wearing character.. but nope, she didn't.

Okay, so to my joy we already had 3 meters of white fabric lying around in the house that I could use for his "kimono jacket". It rocks to have a mom who used to own her own fabric store and be a former sewer... that means we have an outside storage full of leftover fabric and more sewing supplies than I can use up in my whole lifetime. XD Love you mom. lol

So, this is what I'm trying to make:


The game he is from is very unknown and err, I don't have many references to go by. But I'll find solutions to everything~

And well, this is my new friend, say hello to mom's overlocking machine!

Saumuri on hyvää puuta~
I've never used one of these things before and I was scared to use it at first but gosh, this thing makes sewing so much easier! It cuts of excess fabric automatically and it makes the seams look professional and stuff. I'll need to use it more in the future.

So, regarding the costume... me and mum cut out the pieces for his "jacket" today and it's starting to look as it should, but I still need to fold in the hems or what you call them, the edges. The collar is attached but the sleeves are not. No decorations are done yet and his flap thingy we haven't cut out. I'm sorry but I don't really have any progress pictures more than one shot of the sleeve.

Wide sleeve is wide.
Sorry not so much more to say, hopefully more progress photos next time!

Desucon 2012 cosplay plans!

Alrighty. Here comes my cosplay plans for Desucon in Lahti, Finland, 8-10 June 2012!


Friday 

Character: Jushiro Ukitake
Series: Bleach

It seems our Finnish Bleach group decided Friday to be our group's "main day" so I'll bring my signature cosplay, Ukitake, then. He is my favorite character from Bleach! I will do the default captain version complete with shikai swords.


Saturday

Character: Ichito
Series: Asaki, Yumemishi

Oh sweet Jesus. This will be one of the most obscure cosplay choices I'll ever do... but I don't care because I drool buckets over his design, period. I don't care that he's a cursed psychopathic immortal missunderstood forever alone spirit... he is awesome.


Sunday

Character: Souji Okita
Series: Hakuouki

Ah, Okita. One of my favorite shinsengumis, if not my favorite. I decided to do this version for now because it's a chill "Sunday cosplay" and yeah, Ichito will be quite some work... and I'm a procrastinator.

March 29, 2012

Hijikata wig

A wig for Saitou wasn't the only one I ordered from Moemall, ordered a wig for Hijikata too because I know for sure I'll cosplay him someday too... although when and what con is a question mark. I've been thinking about Animecon in Kuopio this year, but I have no clue if that's even possible.. so expensive to travel to the south... train tickets to Kuopio and back would cost me around 120 €... ugh. I probably won't have any summer job (lol never had) and thus no income.. and it's not like I can fart out money either. Too many cosplays to do but not enough cons to wear them too... and not enough moneeeeeeey.

Oh well, have a Toshizo Hijikata WIP photo.

derp
It's mostly just a wig and make-up test. I need to make a dark purple kimono.. I used a light one I had from an earlier cosplay as a substitute. I also need gray hakama and shinsengumi haori for this one too. I might need to trim the bangs... we'll see.

March 28, 2012

Got my wig for Saitou

Whoops, just realized I forgot to make a blog post yesterday about my Saitou wig... sorry about that, ahah I will do it now instead. Two posts a day, wow.

So err, what to say... got my Saitou wig yesterday and because I got home pretty early I had to try it on. Hey, no one was home and I was simply too excited, couldn't resist!



Most of this cosplay is actually done, I just need a juban/shitagi/under kimono/whatever (I'm just using a random white t-shirt as a substitute on the photo) and fix his white hair tie... I had one but it fell off after a while and I didn't bother to tie it back again. I do have the scarf too, but it kept being mildly annoying so I took it off.
I still need to make the iconical sky blue shinsengumi haori of course and the headband thingy that he only wears when wearing said haori. Otherwise than that I'm done. It was a pretty easy cosplay because I managed to find a good condition cheap vintage tsumugi silk kimono.. and a black one at that that was of a decent length for me to wear. Yay. You know, men's kimonos have incredibly boring color choices 85% of the time, if you find anything else than blues, grays and browns you should grab it. Black kimonos are often formal and have kamons on them.. but I found one without.
I already have two swords (metallic, but dull) that should work decently for it even though they are dark blue and not standard black and I have shoes and the sash too. At least it seems that the con where I'll debut Saitou at accepts dull metallic weapons (seems most cons don't) as long as you only unsheath it for photos and yeah, not swinging it around and being a threatening noxious idiot. Common sense.

Sengoku Basara second season finished... and Hanbei.

Finished watching Sengoku Basara's second season and it was pretty awesome.
But Jäärä trolled me, haha. At one point when we watched the anime we said something about Hanbei, I don't remember what exactly but she said something along the lines of "You will end up relating to him and liking him anyway. I promise." and I was all "Why?" and a bit confused. Well, he was kinda semi-cool and all but not like instant OMGWOW. Of course I had my suspicions what it could be but err, I couldn't really believe it would be that... but it was... and I was like "OH SHIT WHAT THE HELL MAN??" to say the least. OTL Dafuq. Totally didn't see that one coming...

Hanbei Takenaka
But yeah, I must admit Hanbei was the most likable of all the "bad guys" to me, even before knowing about  *coughcough*, he had the coolest clothes too and white hair and well, now when I know that I guess I feel a need to cosplay him. XD But one thing...

Jäärä, have you been planning all this too from the start?
I guess it's just really easy to figure out how my brains work when it comes to possible cosplay candidates... xD Oh well~

And I actually wonder if there even is any "bad guys" in Sengoku Basara, I mean, everyone were fighting with everyone for different reasons and sometimes two fighting clans would suddenly be allies. *shrugs* I guess Nobunaga and Hideyoshi were seen as the main evil ones, but about the others I don't really know... except for Matsunaga, he was a disgusting ass.

March 24, 2012

Sengoku Basara and Dokuganryu

WUUUUU started watching the first season of Sengoku Basara with Jäärä yesterday and although she have watched the show before I have not. I think it was the day before yesterday (or was it two days before?) when Jäärä even kind of brainwashed me into cosplaying Masamune Date. I didn't have anything against cosplaying him back then either because I've been interested in Sengoku Basara for quite some time already and planning to watch it.. heck, I even have the Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes game for Wii although I haven't played it yet. It just seems I ended up watching it earlier than I had thought. Date did end up being my favorite character, by far, so now I'm pretty certain I want to do him and seriously, it's almost enough reason to cosplay him just because of that smexy über awesome crescent moon helmet (hey can't deny it's effin' cool man!) and the chance to wield six swords at the same time... SIX SWORDS. AHGFDFSAFGJHS. Mom is going to kill me when I have to make all those, she already believes I have too many swords. 

Date as seen in the anime
I don't think I'll have time to do his iconic outfit this year seeing it's quite difficult and most of my cosplay plans for this year are already set and also to what cons I'll wear what. So 2013 hopefully for his battle outfit. Although I could maybe cram his kimono version to this year's plans seeing how simple it is.


 C'mon, it's just a white kimono and dark blue-ish hakama.. I have a feeling my kendo hakama would even work for it...
And what makes me happy is that Jäärä will maybe cosplay Kojurou Katakura, Date's right hand man. Personal assistant hurrdurr.
 
Date and Katakura fighting ~



I want to do that... spinning.

 I think that's enough for now.
Ahahah my cosplay list keeps on growiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing, must add Dokuganryu -the one-eyed dragon- to my list. Stop me someoneeeeee, I already have too many cosplay plans. XD Too many cosplays, too little cons to wear them to.. and too little money...

March 20, 2012

Hajime Saitou derp.. err, I mean update


ARGHJGGJHGDFJHS SAITOU WIG I WANT YOU SO BAD, Y U NO HERE YET?
 Eh, sorry about that. Great way to start a blog post neh?

Well, anyway... home again from school early and a ridiculous desire to try on my vintage kimonos that I ordered from eBay some time ago. What I do? Put them on.
It seems they both would work for my Saitou cosplay, but I think I'll go with the tsumugi black one. I don't have the wig yet (like you noticed...) and I still have the shinsengumi haori left to make.. but I tried what I had on anyway, just to get an idea of how it will look when finished and if there is anything I need to fix. 
WARNING FOR A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE BELOW.

Oh god ain't I pretty? lolnope.
Eww mirror shots. Do not like. But there aren't other options to take full-body pics when home alone...
Yes, I censored my head with a meme face because it was derpin' herpin'.
Ignore the weird pose and the walrus that is me. I put everything on very quickly and so it looks like crap. :'D Oh, and yes, if anyone noticed I didn't take off the basting threads.. too lazy.
I noticed I will probably need to get myself a new white juban for this because the sleeves are too big on my current one and they bunch up and won't behave and just generally looked fugly. Oh, and the black kimono's sleeves are kinda short on me and they look extra short on this shot because I'm holding my hands awkwardly, but it's hard to find a perfect match vintage kimono... *shrugs* And there's no kitsuke police at conventions anyway.
I'm surprised my random long cotton sash thingy held up both my (metallic) swords... but I guess it will loosen when I walk around a whole day at the con and well, I won't use these swords for the cosplay anyway. And if anyone have missed it Saitou is one of my coming Närcon cosplays for this year.

Nothing more to say, see ya.

March 19, 2012

I might be able to attend Uppcon after all

My twin told me earlier today that our father won't be going to Thailand this summer after all... and that means if I decide to go to Uppcon in Uppsala (Sweden) I could sleep at their place instead of having to pay my ass open so I can sleep at a hotel. I'm too nitpicky for "sleeping accomodations á la class room floor"... And that's a huge save for me because the tickets to Uppcon are ridiculously expensive compared to all other cons we have in Sweden/Finland.. it's like... I can go to 2-3 other cons for the same ticket price I can go to just Uppcon. Bleh, my poor wallet doesn't approve. But Uppcon is awesome anyway and has a special place in my heart because, after all, it was the first con where I ever cosplayed and the first "proper" con I went to.. not to mention all the awesome memories and people I befriended there!
I will try to go there this year (if I do it will be my third Uppcon!), despite the fact that Uppcon starts the day after my last school day before the summer vacation. D'oh! Bad date is bad. I will have to get to Luleå somehow and take the train/airplane down that very same day after school has finished, ahaha I will need to hurry... but it'll be worth it.
Now I just hope mom approves me going to both Desucon and Uppcon... why? Desucon is held the weekend before Uppcon and err, one is in southern Finland and the other in southern Sweden. Go me, I am crazy. But what won't you do for cons?

My cosplay plans are pretty much decided too, although changes are still possible.

March 18, 2012

Byakuya's scarf finished

Hi!

So, after dinner I started working on Byakuya Kuchiki's scarf. Oh lord we had this whole pretty white fabric at home and I ran around the house wrapping several meters around my neck in front of the mirror, with the bolt in my left arm, testing it and asking mom if it draped good enough. I probably looked silly. ._.
Oh well, then I just measured around 2,5 meters of that fabric (yes, the whole width, huge scarf is huge) cut it out and sewed it, very easy.
Damn, it feels like I'm having a curtain or something wrapped around my neck! xD I hope this thing doesn't get hot... and it keeps slipping of my shoulders. I hope I won't need to pin it in place. lol Damn you Byakuya and your über-precious-family-heirloom-crème-de-la-crème scarf...

Bye!

March 16, 2012

Early cosplay WIP is early...

Eh, I stayed home from school today because I've been feeling really down lately. I had the house for myself most of the morning because mom is working like usual and stepdad has morning shift so he probably won't be back until lunch time at the earliest. I wanted to test my new navy blue kimono that I received a few days ago and hell, it's close enough for a Masamune Date cosplay from Brave 10 and besides that guy is cool and I want to cosplay him anyway. I already had the wig so I took a few quick WIP photos just because I didn't have anything better to do.. and cosplay cheers me up. There is lots of stuff still left to do like his belts, eyepatch, pants, that weird hooded cape thingy and whatnot, but it wasn't too bad I guess...and the funny thing? This cosplay isn't even part of my summer cosplay plans! The heck man, the heck. -.- I can't start working on Date until earliest at the end of this year and maaaaybe finish him for a con 2013. Needless to say early WIP photo is early.


Oh, and yes, it was blowing like hell outside. Actually, it's been blowing like hell the last three days or so I think.  I keep hearing the wind pretty much all the time even though I'm inside...

Bye.

March 9, 2012

Byakuya test + Kenseikan tutorial v.2.0

A few days ago I modified my kenseikans for my Byakuya cosplay and now they sit much better and are easier to attach.. although I could use a friend's help to fasten them.
Here's a tutorial how I made them: Kenseikan tutorial

I took some more test photos yesterday and I'm actually pleased with how they turned out, even though I'm not quite done yet; I'm surprised how disturbingly easy it seems for me to pull of his typical facial expression... even though he has as many expressions as a potato...


I don't have so much more to say more than I can't wait for Chibicon!

March 6, 2012

Chibicon cosplay plans changed...

 Sup!

Remember I said I was going to bring Ichigo back? Well, plans changed.
I'll do haoriless!Byakuya to acccompany Jäärä as Rukia instead. I'm too scared of doing Ichigo and bringing huge-ass Zangetsu with me because it might end up collecting dust all con day in the... eh, "narikka" (that place you leave huge props and other stuff in during the con) and that would be kinda uncool. Actually, very uncool, Ichigo just isn't Ichigo without his oversized butcher knife. Chibicon's rules don't like big props it seems... so I figured to hell with it and play a safe card and do Byakuya instead; I only need to make the kenseikan and the scarf and voilá - first appearance version done. I don't have time to do the haori because the con is less than a month away and a captain's haori is a pain in the ass to make.

I made those kenseikans, or as I like to call them, "hair bananas", today as soon as we had discussed the change and agreed. lol And oh god how troublesome they were to attach, I guess I'll need to modify them and maybe shorten them too so they fit better... afghdgsdhag.  The scarf is just a random scarf, I need to make a proper one too.

Here's a WIP photo. Yes, I'm holding my hand to keep it in place. lol



Tested out some make-up and yeah... I think it is decent enough... considering how much I suck at make-up, ahaha...
See ya!