How to cosplay: Kuchiki Rukia (Bleach)

So you like Rukia and you want to cosplay her? Well here is how I did mine.

So for the making part, let us start at the top:
For the wig, I bought a wig with a slight curl (curling right in the same spots). The only thing I had to do was cut it a bit shorter at the back, Make the long hair piece and gelling everything in place.

Secondly I made my shinigami uniform (look in my blog for that tutorial) and using flip-flops and socks I had my shoes.

Lastly I made the Sode no shirayuki sword (using a bokken, spraying it white and attaching a white ribbon at the handle) and did her famous 1st episode sketch.

This concludes the making of Rukia

As for the convention cosplaying part:
Be very formal and when having a Byakuya (hopefully a friend) there, you can annoy him by calling him Nii-sama. 

How to cosplay: Soul Eater Evans (Soul Eater)

So you saw the 'cool' scythe and you want to cosplay him.... Well here is how I did my cosplay of him.

So let us start at the top. The wig I used looked something like this:

I used gel to get it to lie in the right position and then took Flower Spray (silver and white) to give it the Soul Eater look.

For the headband I bought a white headband and using fabric paint, painted it the right colour.

The two badges on the headband were made with felt. The circle with the squiggly that looks like a mouth was drawn on by a red and black permanent marker. The blue badge that says SOUL was also done with a black marker. After doing that I decided the black did not look good enough, so with a needle and thread, I went over the black (something like embroidery).

Now... the teeth... I had a bit of trouble with that. Go to costume shop and have a look at all their available teeth. Back when I needed a pair, they only had it in silver teeth with black gums. So I used Enamel (Humbrol) to paint the teeth white and the gums pink.

 Secondly, let us look at the clothing. I used this pattern:

Simplicity 3577

Instead of cutting the front piece (of the shirt) on the fold, add extra fabric for the buttons in front, and cut 2 pieces (black) Sleeves are yellow. Remember to add the yellow soul on the chest and the back (I appliqued mine). The yellow rib-trim needed a black stripe so I added it with a fabric marker (or the sleeves and neck) Remember to add the pockets to the jacket.

The pants (also same pattern), I used a rusty coloured fabric. I had to cut a bit off on the sides to make it a bit tighter fitting. Be careful though not to cut too much or the pants will rip and you will have trouble walking.

Thirdly... the shoes. You need that cool shoes... I used these kind of shoes:

Fortunately I used a cheap make and it didn't have a name printed on the back. Using fabric paint, I firstly painted all the black parts that needed to be yellow with white (It was only the heel for me) . After everything was well covered, I took my yellow and black(acrylic / craft paint this time) and went crazy painting all the needed parts in the right colours.

This concludes the Soul Eater Evans' cosplay in the making.

As for the acting at the convention, well... remember to act cool. Hands in your pockets, the teethy grin and the smooth moving. And thanks to the fake teeth the occasional drool will happen to make your Soul even closer to the real thing.

Additional Info from me:

• I crossplayed so I had to do the chest-binding. Remember when doing chest-binding, do not put the bandages too tight or it will hurt you and ruin your act.
• This one got me a 2nd prize at UPCON 2010

Not entering the cosplay competition at a convention

Some will say you are a yellow belly and a coward, but it is not true. For the first time in years of attending conventions and entering the cosplay competition, I did not enter and it felt good.

When you've seen more than 10 competitions and start to feel that the judges of the current competition (s) cannot do the job, don't enter. Nobody wants to listen to someone complaining, but when lots of cosplayers start to only cosplay for the fun of it and avoid competitions, organizers start realizing what is going on and change comes. If you really want to complain, you can, (and I did last year) but nothing really change.

This conventions was the least stressful convention I have ever had.

Feel free to post your comments if you agree or beg to differ.

What kind of paint to use?

So you need to paint an accessory or costume or even your body for a cosplay... and you do not know what to use? Well here is some tips and advice from my side.

Humbrol Enamel

• Very wide variety in colours and a choice between gloss, matt, satin, metallic. metalcote and clear.
• Works great when painting props made from cooldrink cans or metal
• Also works on some plastic 
• Works on Papermache
• Needs to clean brush with thinners 
• Remember to follow instructions on the container.
• Approximately R30 when I bought my new containers.
• Small quantity and easy to store
• Remember: Humbrol is focused on hobbies.
• If the waiting time has passed and the item is still very sticky, the paint will not work, so you will need to clean the item with thinners and use another kind of paint
• Not to be used on fabric

Other Enamel

• might vary in price and quantity
• Not necessarily in the right colour.
• Otherwise: it works exactly the same

 Fabric Paint:

• Available in all shapes and sizes, from pens, to tubes, to buckets and bottles
• Extender / Clear can be painted on first to 'seal' the fabric so that not so much colour will be needed.
• Works great when working on newspaper or smooth surface. Just remember to move the newspaper or the newspaper might get stuck to the wet surface and dry, sticking to it.
• Works on most fabrics
• Note: When painting on coloured fabrics, the colour you are painting may come out different, if you did not apply white in a few layers before putting on the colour
• Can also be used on the face
• Works well on papermache
• Use water to clean your brush

 Acrylic /art paint / pva

• Works on rubber
• works on papermache
• Use water to clean your brush
• Works on basically anything, except face, glass and metal / cooldrink cans.

Nail Polish

• Works on Nails, plastic and basically anything.
• Just use nail polish remover / acid tone to remove it.
• Not to be used on fabric

 Henna

• stains skin
• available in tubes or can be mixed in a bowl
• black / brown colour
• works for tattoos 
• lasts a while (few days) on your skin.
• Remember to do the allergy test before going all out.

Face paint

• liquid: when drying on your skin, it can crack up
• labeled as peel of : it peels off when you least expect it.
• oil based: it's all good and well, but if you run around in the sun all day your make-up will run and you will die because oil does not let your skin breathe. As for cold indoor... well go for it!
• Waterbased: easy to apply and remove and safe.
• If you can use it on the face, you can use it on the body

Kryolan:

This is the water based face paint I use

I'll add when I have more knowledge. Feel free to share experience and advice (Paint wise)

A cosplay love story

Another, non-informative / non-tutorial post by me to share an amazing cosplay moment(s) with you guys!

Well the title did spoil some of that fun.

Anyway, back to what I wanted to say... oh yes, I actually have a cosplay love story.

It all happened in 2011 (February or March) when I got a message from one of the cosplay sites (a member wanted to ask me if I know of any South African conventions. He wanted to cosplay, but did not know when and where). As helpful as I always am, I replied and so it happened that I would meet the cosplayer at UPCON 2011. I was sooooo excited!

UPCON came and I met the guy (and his sister, and 2 friends) and I thought I felt a spark that day. But as most of my close friends know, nothing really happens.

A week or so after UPCON I decided that my Rukia wig should retire seeing as I wished for a couple cosplay, cosplaying her, with Byakuya / Renji. And I got the idea of doing my very first photoshoot, using Renji and Rukia. Only problem was I was missing a Renji. And everybody knows, if you are looking for something / someone, post it on Facebook. And I told myself:

"The first one to reply 'able and willing' will have to be Renji, no matter who it is"

And so the same new cosplay friend replied, saying that if nobody else replies he'll be Renji for me. And guess what? Nobody else replied. So we started referencing ideas (going through tons of fanfiction, fanart, and doujinshi, and mushing my one friend's brain)

While chatting every evening  while searching for info or just relaxing I kind of fell in love with this 'Renji' I was supposed to kiss and look real close during the photoshoot. And the butterflies came, and one fated evening, 18 June 2011, I blurted out everything and immediately took on a defensive position, expecting the worst.... but I did not expect his reply... He liked me too!

So whoever saw us at ICON 2011 know we were all in love and cute, and a while later we had the shoot and from there on we cosplay together. We try cosplaying characters close to one another or be related in some kind or another.

Cosplay for me: 2009 vs 2012

Here is a bit of rambling and my personal opinion. Feel free to comment with your own rambling, comparing 2 of your cosplay years.

I chose 2009 and 2012, seeing as 2009 was the year I started going to conventions, and last year, 2012, is still very fresh in my mind.

2009

UPCON

 

I cosplayed as Rukia from Bleach and I made my debut by making most of S.A.M / A.E.X. members' costumes for the convention. It was amazing and right there and then I got my very first request for a cosplay which we did for ICON 2009. I cosplayed both days, but only uploaded the competition outfit.

ICON 

Sorry for the tilted images but no matter what I do it keeps on turning to the side. Anyway, I cosplayed Yuu Kanda from D.Grey-man. The costumes took us 3 months to complete. This was my very first 1st prize (and if my memory serves me correct, my only 1st prize so far). I felt awesome and I did a lot of networking; having my very own stall to display some of my cosplay outfits. I got the request to go to Japan and represent South Africa in the cosplaying and I turned it down (seeing as I was still busy studying) I attended all three days but I only upload the competition outfit.

rAge

Sorry for the one tilted image. I cosplayed Itachi Uchiha from Naruto. It was a dream come true as we entered the Dome as Exhibitors. People were looking for me and talking to me, knowing my name, and yet I did not know them. I only attended the first 2 days, and only uploaded the competition outfit.

2012

UPCON

Thanks to Dina who took some nice photos of me. I cosplayed Rosette Christopher from Chrono Crusade. I won the random draw prize during the cosplay competition. I was not happy with the cosplay competition results. I saw a few new cosplay faces. The convention was okay. I only went on the first day, thus my cometition / only cosplay outfit is this one.

ICON

I cosplayed Chizuru from Hakuouki, in her geisha outfit... Nobody really recognized the character. I was not happy how the competition went, seeing as NO ANIME cosplay got a place. I cosplayed all three days, but uploaded only the competition outfit.

rAge

I cosplayed Nelliel Tu Odelschwank from Bleach. I was highly unimpressed with the competition and the so-called flash-mob which in reality was a smart-mob. It is never a good idea to try and cram a lot of cosplayers into a super small space. I feel the judging was not really objective, seeing as while the competition was still going on, we made the joke about who will win (because they know the judges personally) and it turned out that we were right:  they won. Thank goodness my best friend came in second! So there might still be hope.  I was sponsored for the competition as the competition had a very high entrance fee (R50 pre and on the day R70). And sadly enough the fee didn't go to the stage as all we cosplayers were made to believe.... Hen Hai gave out free gifts for the cosplayers who did not enter the competition. I cosplayed all three days, only uploaded the competition outfit.

So looking at both years, I enjoyed 2009 much more. Cosplay turned more political in 2012. I miss the good old days, but since this year, I will see who judge and what the fee will be, and decide on whether to enter the competitions or not. But I will still cosplay!

Paint vs Embroidery vs Applique

So you have to put pretty fine detail on a costume and you do not know what to use. Well... look at this and decide.

Paint

Scabus as Shunsui (the detail on the pink haori)

•  It's not that expensive and there is a wide range of colours available
• Easy: just paint it on
• remember to iron it very well seeing as sometimes the colour washes out (and it can stain the other parts of the costume)
• On some fabrics the paint can bleed (run out of the lines and make it look horrible)
• If the brush falls out of your hand and there is paint on it... well you made an oopsy which would probably stay there.
• Depending on the weather, it can dry quickly or take a while. 
• Sometimes the colour does not look the same on the coloured fabric 
• Some layers are required to make it dark / light enough

 Embroidery

WWII German Uniform (the patches on the collar)

• Need to buy thread that is the right colour
• By doing it by hand (needlework) or by sewing machine or specialized embroidery-machine for the fancy work.
• Can turn out to be very expensive when going for the embroidery machine.
• Can come undone
• When you made a mistake you can remove the piece but the fabric might be damaged.
• Tricky

Applique

Itachi (the akatsuki clouds)

• buy fabric of the right colour
• Cut it in the right shapes and iron on interfacing and add it to the costume
• Sometimes the swirls and fine detail can take a very long time to add to the costume
• May make a bubble or be skew if the pattern / detail was not added correctly
• relatively easy to very tricky depending on what you need to do.

Making a short skirt (school girl)

So the character you chose has a school girl uniform and you need a skirt. Well here is how I made mine:

What you will need:

• Scissors
• Fabric of choice (I will give the length in the instructions)
• Interfacing (only for the waistband)
• Sewing machine
• Iron
• chalk / fabric marking pencil, etc.
• measuring tape and ruler
• Pins
• Zip
• Button or clip (fastening top of the skirt)
• idea of the skirt you want

My school girl skirt

The initial figuring out and sketching a pattern:

1. look at the picture of the pleated skirt you want to make. How does the pleats look? If you are not sure what I mean, refer to  'My school girl skirt' image. Mine pleated on both sides. 
2. Measure yourself around your waist / hip (where your skirt should go) and make a note of it.
3. Decide on what the length of your skirt should be, and also make a note of it.
4. Now, by deciding how big each pleat should be, draw up the pattern. Take note: All the front, visible pleats should all together add up to be your waist/hip measurement. After drawing the pattern, remember to add seam-allowance for the ends and bottom. Cut a waist band too (refer to image underneath)

The skirt pattern I used

Another skirt pattern

So you got the idea now, and you want to start making it. So here is the cutting and making part:

1. Calculate how many fabric you will need by adding all the pleats. You can decide if you want to use one piece (everything is attached) or 2 pieces (then you can if the width of the fabric you use is wide enough, get away with only half the length. REMEMBER TO CHECK IF YOU ADDED THE SEAM ALLOWANCE. 
2. Cut a waistband double the width you want it to be plus seam allowance (you will fold it in half to complete the waistband)
3. This is a straight piece so cut, using a measuring tape and ruler and whatever you feel you want to use to cut straight.
4. I used chalk, but you van use a pencil or pins to mark the pleats and pin them together. If you went with the 2 pieces you can pin both pieces together.
5. Before sewing, look at the pinned skirt. If you are happy, Sew! If not, double check your measurements.
6. You can either sew it once, or sew a bit lower than the first part (look at my skirt photo to see. I did the 2 part sew)
7. Add the zip and waistband and fastener of choice and put in the lower seam.

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! Your skirt