There are so many things that can get someone inspired. Firstly you'll want something that ties into your interests. Are you more into Anime? Video Games? MMO's?
I find there is nothing better than a great piece of concept art to really get me fired up. Of course there are more things than just a fabulous drawing that goes into choosing that character for a costume, but the biggest inspiration I find is seeing how an artist rendering can bring a character to life. It makes you really look at what they are wearing and think...how can I make that? One of my favourite websites is creativeuncut.com. This website houses concept art from almost every video game ever designed. Of course I also spend a lot of time on DeviantArt and Pinterest as well, looking at Cosplay's other people have done and fan art of the character I am looking for. Following professional cosplayer's on facebook, instagram etc is also great! You can take a look at what they are doing, and the tutorials they post to give you ideas on what you can do for your latest and greatest project. It's also super important that you can visualize yourself as that character. For example...Just recently I started looking at the concept art for Kingdom Hearts 3. Now I've always been a fan of the series, I've played the games (I haven't finished one yet...but I've played through all of them). I always thought the series was the greatest idea since Disney is amazing and super popular, and Final Fantasy is amazing and super popular (two of my favourite things in life) and now you've combined them into one world. Well, as I was flipping through the images I stumbled upon Sora dressed in his Pirates of the Caribbean outfit. I could literally hear angels signing and fireworks going off. My brain went nuts and this overwhelming excitement hit me! The inspiration was going and the creativity started flowing. This is the reaction you want to get when you see a character. It means you're passionate about the design you have found and it's going to be a successful project. How do you get inspired?
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As many of you will know, there are always too many costumes to make and too little time. The inspiration is always flowing, then you find a project that you become obsessed with and you just HAVE to make it, but what about the other costumes you already had planned? You don't want to continue pushing other projects back because then they will never get made.
SO I've decided to try something a little different, and I could be completely crazy for it, but I will keep you posted on that outcome :D I've got 3 costumes I want to make, one has been waiting for about 4 years, one has been waiting for 2 years and the last one has been my obsession over the last couple of days. So here is the plan.... I'm going to work on all of them, at the SAME TIME. Crazy right? I figure by working on all of them, I can do a piece at a time with whatever materials and patterns I already have, then when I need to pick up more materials or patterns, I'm not sitting around idle waiting to start the next piece. It might make me busier? Or it might just keep me steady? We shall see. Wish me luck! Sewing can be a really big part in making costumes and so I thought it would be a great idea to share some of the tools you'll need to use when designing and sewing your costume!
Cutting mat - These are super helpful! Placing them under your fabric will help to save your desktops and even give you cleaner cuts. Normally you'll use one of these if you have a rotary cutter, but I like to use mine even when I am using scissors or pinking shears. A lot of them will also come with measurements down the side and a grid to help you get more precise markings and measurements on your project! Rotary cutter - These are great for those big long cuts that you don't want a jagged edges on. A starter one is relatively in expensive and can be purchased at most fabric and crafting stores. Scissors - One of your most important tools! Now don't just grab a pair of craft scissors and think they will "cut it", You're going to want to invest in a good pair of fabric scissors. These usually have one blade that is parallel to your cutting surface, allowing you to keep the scissors flat and straight when you are cutting. You also want to make sure that they have a durable sharp edge and won't get damaged easily on the material you are cutting. My tip to everyone, always have one really good pair of scissors for your fabric, and a separate pair of scissors for any other materials you would cut like foam, or wire. Marking pens / pencils or tailors chalk - These are super important for marking your pattern on to your fabric without damaging it. Taylors chalk is great as it comes in white, making visible on most fabrics, but also it wipes off when you are done with it. You can also get double ended marking pens. Usually one end is water soluble and the other end is air soluble. I personally prefer the air soluable pen. It keeps my markings in place for about 24-48 hours and then they vanish. This is helpful if I can’t get to it right away. Gauge ruler - I am sure there is a more technical name for this but essentially it is a small metal ruler with a sliding red marker on it. This is super helpful when you are figuring out your hem allowances and seams. Also if you need to size up or down your pattern. Square - these are usually used for construction or building projects, but I find these super helpful when you need a 90 degree angle on your fabric pieces or self made patterns. French Curve - These are those fun rulers and plastic cut outs you find at a craft store that are all swirly and curly. These are perfect for making and adjusting sleeve holes. Also awesome for creating organic outlines for emroidery and design! Pins - Pins are one of the most important things you will need. They hold your pattern on your fabric, hold pieces of fabric together, mark areas you want to adjust. There are also different types of pins for different uses, but I find that you should pick one that works for you. I prefer to use long quilting pins on my projects rather than the shorter sewing pins because these are much easier to see and work with. Bobbins - Bobbins are mandatory for using your sewing machine. These are the small plastic circular things that hold the thread under the plate and needle. Without them your stitch will only be one sided and nothing will hold together. Sewing machine - A good sewing machine or serger is super important!! This is the tool you'll be using to put all your projects together so you want something sturdy that can handle your project. Now I'm not saying going out and spend thousands of dollars on a machine, especially if you are just starting out. But you want to find something that you know can withstand the stress you are going to put it through. If you are starting out and making simple projects, a basic machine with up to 10 stitches is a great option! If you are going to be doing things that are more complicated, pick a more mid to high range machine. I would suggest going for a serger if you are going for that 100% professional finished look and know that you are investing in years of costumes. Iron / Ironing board - multi sizes - A simple iron is all you really need to get your projects nice and clean and smooth. You'll be surprised at how often you will actually need an iron during sewing projects. I also recommend that you get a small "arm" ironing board along with a normal size one. The smaller ironing boards are great for when you are ironing small details, or need to get into tough to reach areas. I hope this overview is helpful to get you started on your next sewing project! I'm very excited to share with everyone that my Skull Kid was featured on Fan Expo Vancouver's Official Twitter and Instagram this morning!! So very cool!
Alright everyone! So Fan Expo has come and gone and I wanted to share my experience with all of you!
We only spent one out of the three days there this time around, since the last Fan Expo was only a couple months ago. We decided to attend Saturday since it is the busiest of the three days with the most going on schedule wise. I was pleasantly surprised at how many vendors actually came since there was such little notice for them, and some vendors who hadn't been to the year previous came to this one which was great! We wandered around looking at all the vendor's and artist's alley for a while. Next was lining up to get some celebrity autographs. My friend and I stayed in line to meet George Takei for 30-45 minutes, but well worth the wait. He was extremely nice and fun to talk to! Next we went and waited to meet Patricia Sommersett who is the voice of Princess Zelda from Breath of the Wild. Very kind lady. I was super excited that she had memorized the Hylian alphabet and signed my book in it! After wandering around a bit more and grabbing some lunch. I decided it was time to get into costume and go check in for the costume contest. It's funny how the entire con atmosphere changes once you are in a costume. When I walk around as myself I'm just invisible, another con-goer, but once the costume goes on everyone wants to talk to you, take your photo. I had a line up at one point for getting pictures! The most exciting part for me though was when I walked past the professionaly cosplayers, and one group immediately stopped me and asked for my photo. It's so amazing when someone who is more experienced than you, more talented wants YOUR photo, and compliments YOUR work. I was also stopped by one of the Fan Expo officials and asked to do a pose and jig so they could post it on instagram which was amazing! So after wandering around as Skull Kid for a bit, we made our way to the main stage to get ready for the costume contest. There were so many awesome costumes, such talented people. Once we were back stage the nerves really set in. This was the first time I have ever been in a costume contest. I was super concerned about my lack of visibility and the fact I needed to climb stairs BUT it all worked out in the end. I ended up being the last contestant to go on stage. I was mostly surprised at how many of these people were in the novice and journeyman categories. In master's it was just me and one other person. Once it was my turn on stage, the nerves really took over. It's funny how you practice your answers to the questions and when you actually get asked...all the wrong stuff comes out. I had so much more I wanted to say about my costume, and my mouth just stopped working. OH well. I was absolutely thrilled to have my name called as the winner of the master class in this years contest. Such an honour! So overall we had a fabulous time at Fan Expo and are definitely looking forward to the Fan Expo Vancouver 2020 experience. |
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