Okay, before I start, I've got another Hitsugaya wig up for sale on ebay. Just something I'd like to remind you folks of (especially those of you folks who wrote me desperate e-mails last week asking me to post another wig. There it is, and if you have any questions about it, just let me know.)
One more thing - I've another tutorial in the works AND I'm still working on the Paine Alchemist gun, (although I've put off finishing the painting for a little bit. I'll post progress pics as soon as I can.)
Now, onto business -- deciding what my Next Big Cosplay Project is going to be. I've got several characters I'm considering, but I'll have to weigh the pros and cons of each one before I can commit to any of them.
Here they are in no particular order:
Nina - Shaman Angel Form from Breath of Fire 2
I admit, this is the one I most want to do. I'm all for huge, busily elaborate costumes that make people's eyes goggle and this one certainly looks as though it would fufill that function.
Pros: Huge Wow Factor
Cons: Obscure character whom very few people would recognize, since it's from a ten-year old RPG. Also, giant wings AND a hoopskirt (--either of these things on their own would be enough of a headache for any costume-wearer. Put them together and you have the cosplay equivalent of Armageddon.) The only thing that would probably be more difficult than wearing this costume is finding enough car space to transport it. ( If I wind up carpooling with other people to my next convention, well, they're not going to be too THRILLED about my character choice, needless to say...)
Nina - Regular Form from Breath of Fire 2
An alternative to the shaman form of the character. This one would be a lot easier to transport as I'd only have to worry about ONE pair of wings and wouldn't need a hoopskirt. However, I DON'T like that her slitted skirt is more slit than skirt. (It's just another sad entry in the "I Don't Care If The Monsters See My Coochie When I'm Fighting School of Female Fantasy Character Design.") If I'm feeling brave and can lose some weight over the summer, I might consider this costume as an option...
Empress Sophia from Last Exile
I don't know why Last Exile doesn't seem to have nearly as many cosplayers as other series (or why it's so damn hard to find reference images for its characters these days.) I do like the noblewomen's gowns from this series. (And it would be nice to make a costume that could pull double duty, both as a cosplay outfit AND as something I could wear to a Renaissance Festival.) The only con I can see is that it has a hoopskirt (but no wings, thankfully.) It's also not quite as flamboyant as I'd want a Great Project Costume to be, which is why I might consider, as an alternative:
Empress Sophia's Coronation Gown from Last Exile
It's definitely something that would get attention (although a lot of it might be negative, since the gown is supposed to have a 25 foot long train that trails far behind the character, making a walk through a crowded anime convention something akin to some grim, velvety death march.) If I'm ever tempted to make this costume, I'd want to make sure the con I wore it to was in a hotel that had an atrium where people could look down on it from above. I'd probably also have to get used to staying still for long periods of time (AND with having people want to sit down and picnic/go for rides on the back of my costume...)
Voldo's Renaissance Outfit from Soul Calibur 2
I've made the mask for this outfit for someone else, and I'd often thought it would be really neat to cosplay as this character (Weird--YES-- but neat.) I sure as hell have the right hips for it. The only problem I can see is that I'd have limited vision with that mask (and with all that padding, I'm sure I'd be hot. ) Also, the character is quite bald in back, and what one can see of his head, ears and back has a zombie-like pallor. This would mean both a bald cap and makeup would be in order (and would I be able to get either of those things to look good?) Also, that codpiece... I just... don't know...(Old-timey fashions were WEIRD...)
Eva from Magnetic Rose (Memories)
Another costume based on an obscure source (a years old but noteworthy anime in this case). Would people be able to recognize the character? Or would they think I had accidentally stumbled out of the historical reenactment section of the Fort Snelling Visitor Center? Perhaps, if I've got a hankerin' for an opera theme, I would do better to cosplay:
Celes' Opera Costume from Final Fantasy 6
It's a beautiful dress and a popular character, (although if I want to make an EXACT likeness, methinks I'll probably have to buy up all the ivory puff paint within a 50 mile radius before I begin. OR I could just drop the 1000 or so dollars it would take to buy enough yardage of fine-quality lace to do the job...)
OR, I could try and make--
Haydee's Opera Dress from Gankutsuou
I wouldn't need a whole LOT of fabric, (aside from the fiber-optic flappy things she has floating about her. Getting THOSE things to work like they do in the series would be a worthy challenge.) I dunno though... I'm usually not one to discourage larger-sized cosplayers from taking chances with their costume choices--and I'm not afraid to take a few chances myself-- but there's an awwwwful lot of skin showing (and no place for me to put boning and other cheats, since the fabric is mostly see through.) If I had a body like Kate Moss (instead of Kathy Bates), I'd definitely put this at the head of the pack.
Pirate Albert from Gankutsuou
It's a cute costume (and I have the right hair for it now,) but do I really want to spend the next 2/3rd's of my life repeatedly painting the word "PIRATE" into a 17th century greatcoat? (Wellllll, maybe...)
Funky Artbook Hinoto from X
Other than the fact that I wouldn't be able to either move or touch anything while wearing this costume, I think it would be a great choice..
LuBu from Dynasty Warriors 4 (yes, I know there's a DW5 version of him, but I prefer the 4 version)
Probably the most impressively dressed and badassed of all the Dynasty Warriors characters. I'd be sure to attract attention while wearing this, (although I don't know if it would be because of my gleaming armor or because my artificially-arched eyebrow makeup job made me look like an ancient Chinese version of Mr. Spock.)
Kushana from Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind
Now HERE'S an armored badass I wouldn't mind emulating. I absolutely love the character and that scale-armor regalia certainly looks as if it would turn the heads of cosplay judges. (The only thing I don't like is her hair-- it's all swept up and braided, meaning I would probably have to construct a wig from scratch and glue all sorts of hair attachments to it a'la Katie Bair. I am a person of many talents, but my wigmaking skills are teh SUXXOR.) I know there are other characters I mentioned above with swept-up or elaborate hair, but in this case, the hair is the ONLY thing keeping me from wanting to jump into this character, whereas with the other costumes it is just one negative factor out of many.
Badass Armor Guy from the Horus Heresy
I'm not sure what this character's name is, but I believe he's from a Warhammer 40k (did I get that right?) game. That's some AMAZING armor but, after all my troubles and trials trying to get into my Alphonse armor at AnimeDetour (and trying to wear it for any length of time,) I'm not too keen to make myself another tank. (Even if that tank IS covered with all sorts of pretty Egyptian designs.)
Yoko Coronation Outfit from Twelve Kingdoms
Okay, enough armor, here's a pretty Chinese robe from one of my favorite anime. (I'd put this higher on my wishlist, but I just recently made another royal-type Chinese costume so I pretty much have robes worked out of my systerm. For now at least.
Hera from Sacred Saga(?) RG Veda(?) I'm not sure. Even Google failed me on this one...
What the-?...Is that a dress or armor? And those tail things...just kind of float around her....I mean, I feel I would have to be able to warp time and space just to get a costume like this to occupy a three-dimensional space. (Hell, I'd have to BE a goddess just to WEAR it, although if anyone out there has ever attempted this costume and succeeded--while simultaneously maintaining their sanity--I'd sure love to see it.)
Bahamut from Final Fantasy X
This one's just a pipe dream I know, unless by some miracle I can clear away enough space in my apartment to make massive latex castings and get enough fundage to build a vacu-forming table. Which isn't going to happen unless I win the Powerball and/ or invent a machine which will project a TARDIS-like interior into my apartment, thus increasing it's square footage by about 3000 feet. (Not to say it CAN"T happen, but it's fairly unlikely...)
So, that's all I've got as far as ideas for my Next Great Project. Which do YOU think I should do? Hm? Hm?
One more thing - I've another tutorial in the works AND I'm still working on the Paine Alchemist gun, (although I've put off finishing the painting for a little bit. I'll post progress pics as soon as I can.)
Now, onto business -- deciding what my Next Big Cosplay Project is going to be. I've got several characters I'm considering, but I'll have to weigh the pros and cons of each one before I can commit to any of them.
Here they are in no particular order:
Nina - Shaman Angel Form from Breath of Fire 2
I admit, this is the one I most want to do. I'm all for huge, busily elaborate costumes that make people's eyes goggle and this one certainly looks as though it would fufill that function.
Pros: Huge Wow Factor
Cons: Obscure character whom very few people would recognize, since it's from a ten-year old RPG. Also, giant wings AND a hoopskirt (--either of these things on their own would be enough of a headache for any costume-wearer. Put them together and you have the cosplay equivalent of Armageddon.) The only thing that would probably be more difficult than wearing this costume is finding enough car space to transport it. ( If I wind up carpooling with other people to my next convention, well, they're not going to be too THRILLED about my character choice, needless to say...)
Nina - Regular Form from Breath of Fire 2
An alternative to the shaman form of the character. This one would be a lot easier to transport as I'd only have to worry about ONE pair of wings and wouldn't need a hoopskirt. However, I DON'T like that her slitted skirt is more slit than skirt. (It's just another sad entry in the "I Don't Care If The Monsters See My Coochie When I'm Fighting School of Female Fantasy Character Design.") If I'm feeling brave and can lose some weight over the summer, I might consider this costume as an option...
Empress Sophia from Last Exile
I don't know why Last Exile doesn't seem to have nearly as many cosplayers as other series (or why it's so damn hard to find reference images for its characters these days.) I do like the noblewomen's gowns from this series. (And it would be nice to make a costume that could pull double duty, both as a cosplay outfit AND as something I could wear to a Renaissance Festival.) The only con I can see is that it has a hoopskirt (but no wings, thankfully.) It's also not quite as flamboyant as I'd want a Great Project Costume to be, which is why I might consider, as an alternative:
Empress Sophia's Coronation Gown from Last Exile
It's definitely something that would get attention (although a lot of it might be negative, since the gown is supposed to have a 25 foot long train that trails far behind the character, making a walk through a crowded anime convention something akin to some grim, velvety death march.) If I'm ever tempted to make this costume, I'd want to make sure the con I wore it to was in a hotel that had an atrium where people could look down on it from above. I'd probably also have to get used to staying still for long periods of time (AND with having people want to sit down and picnic/go for rides on the back of my costume...)
Voldo's Renaissance Outfit from Soul Calibur 2
I've made the mask for this outfit for someone else, and I'd often thought it would be really neat to cosplay as this character (Weird--YES-- but neat.) I sure as hell have the right hips for it. The only problem I can see is that I'd have limited vision with that mask (and with all that padding, I'm sure I'd be hot. ) Also, the character is quite bald in back, and what one can see of his head, ears and back has a zombie-like pallor. This would mean both a bald cap and makeup would be in order (and would I be able to get either of those things to look good?) Also, that codpiece... I just... don't know...(Old-timey fashions were WEIRD...)
Eva from Magnetic Rose (Memories)
Another costume based on an obscure source (a years old but noteworthy anime in this case). Would people be able to recognize the character? Or would they think I had accidentally stumbled out of the historical reenactment section of the Fort Snelling Visitor Center? Perhaps, if I've got a hankerin' for an opera theme, I would do better to cosplay:
Celes' Opera Costume from Final Fantasy 6
It's a beautiful dress and a popular character, (although if I want to make an EXACT likeness, methinks I'll probably have to buy up all the ivory puff paint within a 50 mile radius before I begin. OR I could just drop the 1000 or so dollars it would take to buy enough yardage of fine-quality lace to do the job...)
OR, I could try and make--
Haydee's Opera Dress from Gankutsuou
I wouldn't need a whole LOT of fabric, (aside from the fiber-optic flappy things she has floating about her. Getting THOSE things to work like they do in the series would be a worthy challenge.) I dunno though... I'm usually not one to discourage larger-sized cosplayers from taking chances with their costume choices--and I'm not afraid to take a few chances myself-- but there's an awwwwful lot of skin showing (and no place for me to put boning and other cheats, since the fabric is mostly see through.) If I had a body like Kate Moss (instead of Kathy Bates), I'd definitely put this at the head of the pack.
Pirate Albert from Gankutsuou
It's a cute costume (and I have the right hair for it now,) but do I really want to spend the next 2/3rd's of my life repeatedly painting the word "PIRATE" into a 17th century greatcoat? (Wellllll, maybe...)
Funky Artbook Hinoto from X
Other than the fact that I wouldn't be able to either move or touch anything while wearing this costume, I think it would be a great choice..
LuBu from Dynasty Warriors 4 (yes, I know there's a DW5 version of him, but I prefer the 4 version)
Probably the most impressively dressed and badassed of all the Dynasty Warriors characters. I'd be sure to attract attention while wearing this, (although I don't know if it would be because of my gleaming armor or because my artificially-arched eyebrow makeup job made me look like an ancient Chinese version of Mr. Spock.)
Kushana from Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind
Now HERE'S an armored badass I wouldn't mind emulating. I absolutely love the character and that scale-armor regalia certainly looks as if it would turn the heads of cosplay judges. (The only thing I don't like is her hair-- it's all swept up and braided, meaning I would probably have to construct a wig from scratch and glue all sorts of hair attachments to it a'la Katie Bair. I am a person of many talents, but my wigmaking skills are teh SUXXOR.) I know there are other characters I mentioned above with swept-up or elaborate hair, but in this case, the hair is the ONLY thing keeping me from wanting to jump into this character, whereas with the other costumes it is just one negative factor out of many.
Badass Armor Guy from the Horus Heresy
I'm not sure what this character's name is, but I believe he's from a Warhammer 40k (did I get that right?) game. That's some AMAZING armor but, after all my troubles and trials trying to get into my Alphonse armor at AnimeDetour (and trying to wear it for any length of time,) I'm not too keen to make myself another tank. (Even if that tank IS covered with all sorts of pretty Egyptian designs.)
Yoko Coronation Outfit from Twelve Kingdoms
Okay, enough armor, here's a pretty Chinese robe from one of my favorite anime. (I'd put this higher on my wishlist, but I just recently made another royal-type Chinese costume so I pretty much have robes worked out of my systerm. For now at least.
Hera from Sacred Saga(?) RG Veda(?) I'm not sure. Even Google failed me on this one...
What the-?...Is that a dress or armor? And those tail things...just kind of float around her....I mean, I feel I would have to be able to warp time and space just to get a costume like this to occupy a three-dimensional space. (Hell, I'd have to BE a goddess just to WEAR it, although if anyone out there has ever attempted this costume and succeeded--while simultaneously maintaining their sanity--I'd sure love to see it.)
Bahamut from Final Fantasy X
This one's just a pipe dream I know, unless by some miracle I can clear away enough space in my apartment to make massive latex castings and get enough fundage to build a vacu-forming table. Which isn't going to happen unless I win the Powerball and/ or invent a machine which will project a TARDIS-like interior into my apartment, thus increasing it's square footage by about 3000 feet. (Not to say it CAN"T happen, but it's fairly unlikely...)
So, that's all I've got as far as ideas for my Next Great Project. Which do YOU think I should do? Hm? Hm?
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