Here is how I started out in Cosplay... Soi Fong This was the first costume I had ever made. I was still in Highschool and wanted something cool to wear to the local anime convention. At the time I was really into Bleach and wanted to dress up as one of the characters. Now my favourite characters in the anime were all guys and I didn't really have any female characters that I thought were super cool. I chose Soi Fong because she was one of the few Captains in the Soul Society with some kick ass moves and an awesome Zanpakuto (sword). So I thought, why not? I knew nothing about sewing costumes, using sewing patterns, foam work...literally I knew nothing. So I got my Mom's help with picking out some fabric, folding it over my head and marking where I should cut a hole for my head, and pinned where the sleeves should go. Even the pants, I just cut out rectangles and thought...that looks right. Sewed them together, added a drawstring and voila! Pants! For a first time costume I was pretty pleased with myself. It all fit, it was comfortable and it looked the character, overall a win. I even made her zanpakuto in it's final form which was painted craft foam and sat nicely on my hand. I tried to style a wig, but it turned out pretty horrible so I opted not to wear it...ever. If I could go back and do this all again, I would use a proper pattern and finish my edges nicely. Link This was the costume I wanted to make my whole life! Legend of Zelda has always been my favourite game series and I so badly wanted to dress up as Link. Again at this point I knew nothing about using sewing patterns, so I bought my fabric, pinned the edges around my arms and side, and cut out a head hole. I added small fabric details and such which were all hand sewn on, because I drove my sewing machine like a Ferrari...way to fast...and it would eat fabric. I bought the pants, shirt and boots to match as best as possible, bought a cheap wig and sewed some brown fabric to brown 99 cent gloves. The first sword I had I made with my dad out of wood, and painted it myself. The one in the picture I bought at a convention along with the sword. This was my favourite costume and got me into cosplay. There are so many things I would do differently if I ever re-do this one, like using sewing patterns, making each piece rather than buying and definitely get a better wig. Hexidecimal Growing up ReBoot was the cartoon that brought the whole family together. We would sit together in the living room, have dinner and turn it on. It inspired me to get into video games and 3D animation which later in life would lead to my career in Visual Effects. Hexidecimal was always by far my favourite character. I loved how crazy and maniacal she was, but at the same time super sweet, misunderstood and wanting to do the right thing (even if she didn't know how). I found this amazing mask at a Halloween store that looked similar to her and thought, well now I have to officially make her outfit :) I bought everything from dollar stores, halloween stores and thrift stores and pieced it all together. The only thing I made here was the red cowel to cover my head and neck. This one is definitely on my do it again list, and this time it will be 100% from scratch including the mask Zelda This was the first real challenge I ever faced in cosplay. This costume had so many firsts. The first time I used sewing patterns, the first time I painted fabric, made foam armor, made my own sewing pattern, used appliques. I had zero real sewing experience and so I picked out a sewing pattern for the dress and started cutting out the pieces, adding in extra seam allowance, and piecing them together the way I thought they should go rather than they way they were meant to go. I ended up getting help from the costume designer on the show I was working on at the time. She taught me how to read sewing patterns and had me go home every night and work on the dress until I got each bit correct. It was a lot of fun and I'm super grateful for it today! I was really happy how this costume turned out and how easy it was to wear around a convention. If I were to make this one again I would use worbla rather than foam for the armour, use actual fabric paint on the talberd, and make a new vest with a proper sewing pattern. Aerith When I started working on Aerith I finally had a bit of sewing instruction under my belt. I was able to follow the sewing patterns I picked out and even alter the jacket a bit to add a collar, pockets and belts on the sleeves. The wig was the hardest part for me, as it was the first time I had to style a wig. I knew I needed heat and lots of hairspray, but I had no idea that there was such a thing as too much heat. This led to me melting the front of the wig.
Since the debut of this costume I have had to style two more wigs for it. Both didn't turn out the way I wanted them to either being super heavy or not fitting right. I love how comfortable this costume is and how easy it is to look after. If I were to make it again I would order a pre-styled wig and make the bracelets from foam.
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