Group cosplay vs Couple cosplay vs single cosplay

Ever wondered about doing a couple or group cosplay instead of a single cosplay? Well here's a few points to look at

Single cosplay:

• It's all you, nobody else can steal your spotlight
• All the poses you do will have to consist of stuff the character can do alone
• These kinds of photo-shoots tend to go very quickly

Couple cosplay:

• These kinds of photo-shoots tend to get a bit intimate depending on the characters.
• Yaoi / Yuri / Normal
• You can decide on following the story IC (In character) or go look for ideas in fan-made products like fanfiction, fanart and doujin / doujinshi and go a bit OOC (out of character)
• These shoots can take a while
• If you feel comfortable with your cosplay partner and want to go a bit intimate (I AM NOT REFERRING TO PORN) then go for it
• If you and your cosplay partner isn't that comfortable with each other, then stick to the 'not-so-close' poses.

Group cosplay:

• The organizing of this shoot might take months, seeing as you have a big group to get together and ready.
• When trying it for a convention, the chances are good that a few other cosplayers might join the group, either part of the anime group or random characters from other anime.
• This can turn out to be really fun, doing small skits, funny group poses, etc.

List of characters I have cosplayed

Here's a list of all the characters I have cosplayed and have photos of. Not all entered competitions.

From Bleach:

• Kuchiki Byakuya
• Kuchiki Rukia
• Yachiru
• Unohana Retsu
• Kurotsuchi Nemu
• Hyori
• Chimpette (Zabimaru)
• Nelliel Tu Odelschwank
• Abarai Renji

From Naruto / Naruto Shippuden:

• Itachi Uchiha
• Konan 
• Orochimaru

From D.Gray-man:

• Kanda Yuu
• Miranda Lotto

From Rurouni Kenshin:

• Kenshin Himura
• Kaoru Kamiya

Others / anime/manga/games I have only cosplayed one character of:

• Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket)
• Katsura (Gintama)
• Riza Hawkeye (Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood)
• Rosette Christopher (Chrono Crusade)
• Chizuru (Hakuouki)
• Okita Souji (Peace Maker Kurogane)
• Soul Eater Evans (Soul Eater) 
• Fuu (Samurai Champloo)
• Kadaj (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children)

 

I will update this as soon as I do a new cosplay

Attending my very first convention

As you all know, cosplaying at your first event is nerve wrecking, especially if you do not know what to expect.

So a word of advice: pick a slightly easy character that you know for a fact you can easily act like and try to complete your costume a week or 2 before the time and remember to get lots of sleep before the day! The fans do not want to see cosplayers with black rings around their eyes... unless you are cosplaying L, then by all means, do not sleep.

So my very first character I did for a convention was Kuchiki Rukia from Bleach. The S.A.M. and A.E.X. decided to do a Gotei 13 captains-group and well ... comparing my gender, bubbliness and length to Byakuya (I had the complete costume) I decided to ask a good friend to rather use my costume and be Byakuya, and I'll be Rukia.

So after half a container of gel and a bunch of pins later, exactly a week before UPCON 2009, I finished my Rukia wig. It came out pretty cool. And seeing as Rukia didn't have any extra accessories (like a scarf or headband or kenseikan, etc) I decided to do the sketch she did in the first episode, just for fun.

So UPCON came and we had lots of fun but it was a very long day: we were up at 04:00 to get ready. We got there, took tons of photos, went to Kung Fu Kitchen (where I made the mistake of drinking Sake before a competition) and then had the competition where I was applauded for my hard work in making the whole S.A.M. / A.E.X. Captains' uniforms. It was really a remarkable day!

Arrancar Mask: Grimmjow Jeagerjacues

This is a tricky piece of work

What you will need:

• Pencil
• Paper
• High density foam
• pins
• Latex / liquid rubber
• Paint brush
• Cutters / scissors
• Wood glue
• white paint that will not flake on latex. Fabric paint worked for us
• Spirit gum for sticking it to your face

Now let's start:

1. Looking at Grimmjow's teeth / jaw, sketch the basic  outline as well as the rough teeth onto a paper.
2. Cut it out and hold it to your jaw. If it looks great, go onto step 3, otherwise if it's too big or too small or it doesn't look right, repeat the steps 1 and 2.
3. So now you have a basic image to work from. Re-sketch it drawing the teeth separate from the jaw and upper piece.
4. Now trace all the pieces onto the high density foam.
5. Cut out all the pieces carefully.
6. Trim and Shape the pieces.
7. glue the teeth onto the jaw and upper piece, using pins to keep the teeth in place.
8. When everything is dry, remove the pins, and spread out paper underneath your mask (on your workspace)
9. Get the brush and latex and start covering the mask. Remember if you do not work in a ventilated room, I suggest getting a mask or your sinuses will hurt the following week.
10. Repeat until you are happy with the thickness of latex.
11. Now, when everything is dry, start painting the mask, leaving the back part where you will glue it to your face open (spirit gum does not want to stick so nice when it's not clean latex or rubber) And repeat the painting until it is perfect for you!
12. And there you have it: Your very own Grimmjow mask.

If anything is unclear, feel free to ask.

Arrancar Mask: Nelliel Tu Odelschwank

This was a tricky piece to make, but it came out okay.

So what you will need:

• Newspaper
• wood glue
• water
• White paint (I used a combination of fabric paint and acrylic)
• paint brush
• wire
• masking tape or sticky tape of duct tape (whatever you prefer or have on hand)
• pliers 
• Scissors /cutters
• String / chord / thread (whatever you want to use for the texturing on the horns)
• high density foam pieces
• OPTIONAL ITEM: off cut paper from patterns (yes I keep strange items)

So now for the making part:

1. Make a wire  loop for around your head (as loose as you want it)
2. Now reinforce it over the head with about 2 to 3 wires over the head and 1 across
3. Add another wire in the shape of the teeth part, attaching it to the initial loop you made.
4. Add 2 swirled wire pieces on either sides of the head where the horns should come.
5. If you want to add any more wire to strengthen it, then do so.
6. Now you can put away the wires and pliers and get out the paper (off cuts and / or newspaper)
7. Wrap the paper around the wires to create a dome. 
8. Starting thinly, increase the thickness of the horns, closer to the head.
9. If you did extra wiring and you can actually wrap the mask and keep the eyes part open, it would be really awesome, but it is not a must. We can cut out the eyes later on. To keep the paper in place I used strips and wrapped it (almost like bandaging) and to keep it in place, I used some masking tape.
10. Pour some wood glue into a bowl and add a few drops of water (not too much or the glue won't work that good anymore), and mix it well. If you plan on working on this mask over a period of time, it's best to keep the mixture in a container that has a lid.
11. Rip the newspaper in smallish blocks
12. Put some newspaper under the mask on the surface where you will work
13. Now to get your hands sticky! Dunk piece by piece of newspaper 'block' and stick it to the mask, making sure to cover all over. Decide on doing either the inside first or the outside.
14. Wait for it to dry and do the other side. 
15. If the mask feels tough enough to drive a cutter through without ripping anything, continue to the next step, otherwise repeat #10 and #11
16. Draw the eyes and nose parts (that need to be cut out) and slowly cut it out; making sure that you do not cut too far.
17. Now for the last layer on both sides, sealing where you cut.
18. Make sure it is 100% dry before starting the next step.
19. Get the string or whatever you will be using for the texturing of the horns and smear some of the wood glue onto it.
20. Now starting at the edge of the horn, swirl it around the horn to the head, increasing the gap between the material (view finished product if you are uncertain)
21. For the teeth I cut strips of high density foam (and shaped it a little) and also glued it with wood glue
22. Now when every thing is dry, you can start painting it! Paint it until you are happy that everything is covered and the mask is completely white, not showing any lettering.
23. And there you have it. Your very own Nelliel mask. 

I made the complete Nelliel mask, so if you do the child, Nell, or the green clad Nelliel Tu, make sure to add black paint where the skull cracked and miss a piece of the teeth.

If something is unclear, feel free to ask. 

Requests

Feel free to comment on this post if you want me to do a tutorial of something, give my opinion, advice or help.

Requests I have done so far:

• Arrancar mask tutorials ~ Requested by SewLeigh

Making the Captain's Haori

So you chose a Captain, and what is a captain without his/her haori?

Here is the list of colour linings the different captains have (number will represent squad number):

1. Deep Purple
2. Dark orange
3. Spring green / magic mint
4. Dusky pink / puce
5. Pale Turquoise
6. Cobalt Blue
7. Dark Tan
8. Raspberry Rose
9. Tenne'
10. Dark Green
11. Lavender
12. Olive Green
13. Maroon 

(Info gotten from: http://bleach.wikia.com/wiki/Gotei_13 )

What you will need:

• White fabric (I usually use minimat) preferably 150cm wide, 4m (safety sake)
• Lining colour and material of choice (I use pongee lining) prefarably 150cm wide, 4m (safety sake)
• A pot of black fabric paint
• A paintbrush
• The usual items and equipment needed for sewing
• Measuring tape

 Now for the fun part: Making it!

Haori cutting instructions

1. Following the sketch I added, cut the back, front, and neck band from the white fabric. If your captain has sleeves, cut the sleeves too.
2. Following the sketch again, cut the back and front from the lining. If your captain has sleeves, cut the sleeves too
3. Mark at the back where you want the slit to go up to, and sew the back pieces, leaving the slit part free (for both the lining and the white) Note: sew it separately for a better finish. 
4. Sew the front pieces at the shoulders to the back piece for both the White fabric and the lining.
5. Now, for the haori with no sleeves, deciding on how wide the armhole will be, keep that part open from the shoulders to down, and then sew the sides shut (both white and lining) now skip to part 8
6. For the sleeves, decide how wide the armhole will be and starting from the fold in the sleeve, pin the sleeve to the haori up to the point where the sleeve should close and sew that parts.
7. Close the sleeve at the bottom and sew all the way to the bottom of the haori.
8. So you have 2 separate haori now. So now paint the black detail at the bottom and on the back of the white haori.
9. When the black is dried and perfect, flip both the white and lining so that the rights sides are together and you can see the wrong sides. Pin and sew the sleeves together as well as the haori at the bottom.
10. Flip it right side out and pin the neck (from bottom to neck to bottom), adding the long neckband (2 neck bands sewed together at one of the edges to make a LONG 1 neckband) while pinning
11.  Sew the neckband to the haori. Flip the neckband over and tucking in the edges of the neckband, sew the other part of the neckband to the white side of the haori (finishing off)
12. And there you have it. Your very own captain's haori.

Link to the numbers: kanji numbers

If something is unclear, please feel free to ask. I have made over 20 of these haori so it's second nature for me so I think there might be some unclear points.

Some costumes for sale

I have a few old costumes (still in working condition) that I want to get rid of as well as some new stuff too:

Black Hakama
3 Old in stock: R300 each
1 New in stock: R400

Pink Scarf:
 (ideally made for Matsumoto Rangiku but can be used for any other costume)
2 old, but never used, in stock: R30 each

White Gi:
(they have a few spots on)
3 in stock: R60 each

Black Gi
3 in stock: R60 each

White Armbands
5 in stock: R10 each

Red Armbands
10 in stock: R20 each

Making the Vice-captain armband

So now, for the fun, tricky parts that make up your Bleach Character (if he or she is a vice-captain)

Cutting figure

1. First you should get the material you want to use for the symbol. I used wood, but you can use carton or plastic or foam
2. Get the cutter (scissors,saw, etc) for the material of choice
3. Following this pattern (size not on scale. View anime for appropriate size) : see 'Cutting figure' : cut the pieces you need
4. Get the glue of your choice that will work on the material you chose.
5. Glue the small and long blocks (as indicated) to the big part : see 'first gluing part' and 'second gluing part'  :
6. Paint the inside brownish-yellow with a black border
7. Add your number and crest of choice : See 'Paint example' :
8. Make an armband (white) and insert it between the 2 openings in the back (where you glued the blocks)
9. THERE YOU HAVE IT! Your very own armband

First gluing part

Second gluing part

Paint example

 Here is a link to the Gotei 13 number and crests:
Gotei Flowers

Here are some of the armband(s) I made

6th squad

12th squad

8th squad

Have any questions? Feel free to ask.

Making the Shinigami Uniform

Here are some links to patterns and tutorials for making the Bleach shinigami uniform:

The Hakama (I made 1 black)
Hakama Pattern Only

Note: if you can figure patterns out without instructions, this will be easy. If not, feel free to ask and I'll gladly help.

The Gi: (I made 1 white and 1 black)
Kimono Pattern Only

Note: I shortened the kimono into a gi (shortened so that it goes down and cover my butt). If you look at the image you can figure out what the measurements should be, but any help on that, just ask.

I officially used this pattern and shortened it:
Simplicity 5839
But the above pattern only link looks basically the same as the pattern.

The Waraji (sandals):
Waraji tutorial

The white sash is easy enough.  There is nothing to explain about that.

Tabi (socks):

Tabi Socks 1
Tabi Socks 2

For a little less work, you can use flip-flops instead of making Waraji, and use white socks, instead of making Tabi.

EDITED 2016/08/19
I'm sharing 2 sites that might help with the Hakama-making. I really hope it helps:

• How to cosplay: making a hakama the simple way
• How to make historically accurate authentic hakama

Bleach Shinigami cosplay

For all you Bleach fans out there, most (if not all) want your own shinigami uniform, and trust me, it always looks awesome when a group of friends dressed as shinigami enter a convention together or even just go to the mall! You WILL turn heads!

Though seeing as there are a few people out there who do not know anime, we actually got the following questions when displaying the awesomeness of Bleach:

• Which church are you from? (LOL)
• So are you going to a chinese day or something? (yeah I know.... poor idiots)

But for doing a nice big  group cosplay for a party (we did it in 2008 for a year-end party), even if a few do not know their own characters it still looks awesome in the photo-album. Unfortunately not all our the guests showed up, but the epic ones did!

As for making the costume, for inexperienced users, it takes approximately 2 to 3 weeks. As for those who know how to sew (without attaching your fingers to the garment) you can make a conplete uniform in a week.

Trying to Blog...

So it's 2013 and I decided to do the whole blog thing. I tried last year but I was not very successful, so let's try it again.

I'll post some tutorials, photos, tips, etc.