Sunday 29 June 2014

Furisode Girl Lienna (Pokemon Trainer) - Photographs

When: March 2014
Where: Minami Con 2014, Southampton, UK
I have to admit I have never played Pokemon X or Y. This was because recently I've bought the games and then never had time to play them. But I loved the character design for this pokemon trainer and decided to try doing her costume as it seemed like a fun challenge!

I was a little annoyed because I didn't realise until after that my fringe was facing the wrong way. Also the lighting made my skin really shiny and the costume looked a lot brighter than it was. I wish I had photoshop -_-

I wore a petticoat under the skirt to give it some volume, and I tied the obi in a regular bow as there were no references for what her obi looks like in the pictures. I also made earrings using the same fabric for the obi.


Furisode Girl Pokemon X Y Cosplay

Saturday 28 June 2014

Furisode Girl Lienna (Pokemon Trainer) - Construction

When: February/March 2014
Where: UK

I have to admit I have never played Pokemon X or Y. This was because recently I've bought the games and then never had time to play them. But I loved the character design for this pokemon trainer and decided to try doing her costume as it seemed like a fun challenge!

You can see the final cosplay here

Reference Picture:

There were practically NO reference pictures for this character and they were all very small with off colours.

Sunday 22 June 2014

Saki Morimi - Eden of the East (Closet Cosplay) Photographs

When: March 2014
Where: MinamiCon
Photos by ManyLemons

Eden of the East was an anime that I was really looking forward to when it started. Then the ending happened...and then the movies... But the start of the series was a lot of fun and I really fell in love with the main female Saki.

I'd been wanting to do a cosplay of her for a while but didn't have the time to make all the stuff. This was the fist time I'd made a costume by buying all the components. You can't see in these pics but I actually got the pink turtleneck as well. Unfortunately the coat I got was a really bright red where as her original is quite dark. I think if I wear this costume again I will dye the coat a darker red and re-take the photos.

The great thing about this costume is that I can wear it out any time I want to and it won't look out of the ordinary. Yay closet cosplay!

Reference Picture:


Saki Morimi Eden of the East

Photographs:

Saki Morimi Eden of the East Cosplay

Saki Morimi Eden of the East CosplaySaki Morimi Eden of the East Cosplay


Saki Morimi Eden of the East Cosplay



Sunday 8 June 2014

How To Win Cosplay Competitions

I must admit that I have not won any big cosplay competitions (but I haven't entered any large ones either). I do know a number of people who have won big competitions, interviewed cosplayers who are also judges for a University project, and last year I interviewed Euro Cosplay contestants. So although I can't say this is 100% guaranteed way to win competitions, but is more of a guide put together using other people's experience as contestants, judges, and lovers of cosplay.


Depending on the competition the following points will have more weight than others. Some competitions focus more on impressive techniques, others  on props, and there are often prizes for amazing sewing skills alone. A good bet is, if you can't apply all of them to your costume, use a mix of the following points. 


Made By You
This is probably obvious but the costume needs to be made by you. No commissions, no items made by other people are allowed. A cosplay competition is to show off your own skills, not someone elses.


Recognisable Character
When the judges know what the character you're cosplaying is from the more likely it will stick out in their minds. But recognisable doesn't have to mean popular. For example, there are so many Frozen and Attack on Titan cosplays now that it's hard to pick any one from the crowd, and in a competition there is likely to be more than one of those entries. Avoid them because judges are less likely to pick out something they have seen 100 times before. But likewise a costume based on an original character might be impressive but it's less likely to stick out to someone compared to a character they recognise.