Just a Pause

Hello all.

I have sad news to tell you. I will not be continuing this blog any more. As you can tell, I am new to the blogging community, but the experience has led my eyes wide open to another side. I never really enjoyed blogging before because I thought typing out all the thoughts and message to the world is quite troublesome. However, I started blogging because of my English class, it was an assignment and I am really happy to have this experience as an assignment.

Before starting to blog, I had to research different types of blog and how to blog because I am such a newbie. However as I continue the blog I felt the enjoyment of letting readers know my experience and how I could help them learn a new things. Thank you all for supporting me till today.  I really had fun doing these cosplay tutorials and giving you more information about the cosplay community. During this semester I really looked forward to write a new blog for you guys to see because it had become an enjoyment for me. The reason I won’t be continuing the blog is because I do not have enough experience yet. Maybe in the future when I am ready I will start blogging again but as of right now I am going to put blogging on a pause.

                As a blogger I learned how to send my thoughts to the readers. Whenever I post a tutorial post, I only have one goal in mine to help someone. There could be only one person reading it, but if it helped him I am satisfied. My mission is finished.  Also I learned as a blogger you have to put in a lot of effort and time into one single blog. Before I start blogging I always skim people’s blog and just get that tiny information but now I am going to read most of the stuff that is put out there because it is someone’s hard work. People put hours and hours on the blog and we should appreciate it.

                Before ending this blog officially I would like to emphasize the awesomeness of cosplaying. I just went to a cosplay gathering today. I could not stop smiling whenever I met a new friend there. People are always friendly and it is exciting to meet people with the same hobby as you.

                Thank you guys for supporting me, even though I am a beginner cosplayers I really hoped my blogs helped you guys on figuring a little bit about the cosplay community. I will see you guys in the future.

Have a great break!!!

Two Choices

Picture taken from Gundam Cosplay
Cosplayers cosplaying from EFSF Soldiers vs. Shingeki no Kyojin.

There are often many who are cosplaying the same character. When attending popular conventions such as Fanime, the chance of encountering the same cosplay is higher. However, even though the characters they are cosplaying are may be the same, their costume and detail might not be.

Being able to buy a costume can be a savior to those who haven’t learned to sew or handcraft props. They can go online and search up the costume you wanted and they are one click away from finishing their cosplay. On the other hand making a cosplay is really stressful at times and difficult because you are planning the whole outfit from scratch. In the cosplay community the biggest question is “Should I make or buy this costume?” There isn’t a correct answer for this question because it can vary. Factors that affect this are time, quality and budget.

·         Time

Creating a quality outfit consumes a lot of time because you need to scout for the materials appropriate for the character you are trying to cosplay. Then you have to sew, pin, build, and cut to finish the outfit. The time needed to finish an outfit ranges from a day to few months while purchasing an outfit can take just seconds.

·         Quality

Purchasing an outfit online can risk quality and it’s different for each online store. Some stores have decent materials such as fabric and color that matches the anime while others have materials that are off color and cheap which will have loose strings and missing details. Looking for a good store with decent prices is not hard but requires a bit of research. Although sewing your own outfit is painful but it is guaranteed to have promising results if your skills are up to par.

·         Budget

Nami's outfit for 57$
  Picture taken from cosplay deals

Assassin's Creed's outfit for 155.99$ from azcostume

When you step into the cosplay community you should hope your budget is not going to be small due to the fact that a decent cosplay is going to be quite pricey but it differs for each cosplay. Purchasing an outfit online is not cheap and it cane range from a simple costume like the dress of Nami from OnePiece for 57$ or 155 .99$ for a full outfit from Assassin’s Creed. Aside from purchasing the full outfit, picking out each material for the outfit is not cheap can add up to over 50 dollars or more. Although the price might sound insane, people actually purchase it anyway. Price is one of the few reasons why cosplayers create their own Cosplay and by making it themselves, the materials all together end up lower than store purchase.

Taking the three factors into mind, purchasing an outfit online is the easiest for people who want to cosplay but have a busy schedule or are new to cosplay. Personally, I don’t prefer an online purchased outfit because of the possible drawback of the outfit not fitting you. You’d have to either modify your outfit or mail it back while making an outfit that is guaranteed to fit you.  It’s not impossible to find a good store that sells decent outfits but budget is an important factor which is why I decide to make it myself.

Here is a blog that explains more into it - cosplaytutorial

The Difference between Materials

            After much anticipation I will now show you the difference between using materials for props. I know you’ve all been wondering about how to make a prop for your cosplay. In order to make a decent prop, you must know the different and how to use the materials for each prop. Common materials include spray foam, cardboard, or worbla. 

Worbla. Picture taken from cosplaysupplies
A webwite that sells worbla.

          Worbla is the thermoplastic plate and modeling material which enables you to shape it into any desire shape with heat, therefore it is the most expensive but proven to be the best, be/cause of its functionality.  Although worbla is listed as the best material for crafting cosplay props, I only choose to use it for armor, because it’s not strong enough for making weapons. Here is a Simple Worbla Tutorial

A quick look on how to use spray foam. Picture taken from Angela Clayton

Aside from worbla, spray foam is the second most recommended before worbla was well known. Spray foam insulation is an alternative to traditional building insulation; however cosplayers have found another use of the material which is shaping the spray foam for their props. A way to use spray foam for your prop is to spray it on a stencil of your desired design then carve it when it’s dry. While worbla is expensive and weak for weapons, spray foam is affordable, durable, and more effective for making weapons. One can of spray foam is enough to for me to make a durable and long lasting prop.

Card board: a common material that can be seen everywhere, it's traditionally used for packaging. However, cosplayers have used their creativity and have found a way to transform this plain brown paper into something amazing, which is making it into a cosplay prop. Making a prop out of cardboard is a bit difficult compare to the other two materials. Crafting with cardboard not only time consuming but also require a lot of energy. Worbla and spray foam are light and easy to shape, unlike cardboard that is hard to cut into desire shape because it is a heavy duty paper. However, making cosplay prop out of cardboard is probably the cheapest material with a decent quality. 

My Akali sword I made with cardboard.  (Quick tutorial) I cut out my sword shape on a peice of paper, then I repeat the steps 4 time but with cardbaord. Then I put paper mache on to the cardbaord that I glued together. After it dried up. I paint my sword with acrylic paint.

                     As people say "quality comes with price" this saying can also apply for making props. The pricing for all three materials is quite different. Obviously, worbla is the most expensive out of them due to the material quality and functionality, therefore the price for a piece of worbla range from $18 for a 14.5" by 9.8" a sheet and $88 for 39.25" by 59" a sheet. Second is spray foam at $7.63 for 12 ounces. Last but not least is cardboard which can probably be found anywhere in your house from boxes. Price being the factor here, spray foam is the more desirable material for me.

                     After comparing all three materials, I would like to conclude that spray foam is my favorite material for props. However you guys should experiment with the different materials. Knowing the pricing for the different materials and its function, I hope you guys will try it in the future.

Now I’m going to teach you how to make a basic prop. 

HOW TO MAKE A BASIC PROP!

         You now know some common materials that are used to make props.  Coming up are some pointers on how to make a decent prop. First step of creating anything is making a draw out the design, blueprint, and size. The prop should be adequately sized for the intended user. With an outline of your desired design, you can use it as a stencil to cut out the shape. With one of the three materials, you can now shape the cutout to your design. Be careful to not to apply it all at once but to apply it slowly in layers. After you finished your draft prop with either material. It is time to strength the prop with paper mache, prime, or other idea you have. To finish the prop always PAINT it because it creates the realistic feel. No one will know what it is until you color it.

Tips: When using spray foam, remember to wait for it to dry before carving it and for cardboard, remember to use paper mache to strengthen the board. Last but not least, paint is your best friend; you should generally be trying to make it look as realistic as possible.

•  For more great tutorials: tripleacosplay.com

Starting Out Slowly

Picture took from humorsharing.

Creating a cosplay outfit is not easy, especially when you are just starting out. Most of the time, people buy their first few cosplay outfits because they don’t know how to start. Some times when people can’t afford to buy the full outfit, they use their creativity and imagination to create a low budget outfit!
These are some of the creative outfits people made!

These outfits are quite creative, but I will try my best explain the process to help make better ones!

Before you start planning you’re next cosplay remember to always do a little RESEARCH on the character!

 Most people tend to skip this step because they think they already know it all.  It is a huge mistake. Doing research not only help you see the details of the outfit but also help you realize the background information of the character and their usual pose. These little details help you a lot during preparation because you will know what to buy and during convention you will be able to easily explain who you are when people ask you. 

Here is a picture of my Luffy cosplay that I did
 not make a pattern for. It was sloppy. 

After you research, it is time for you to prepare the material for your outfit. Having a picture of the character printed or in your phone helps a lot during preparation. Before you go shopping for the cosplay, try looking through your closet and see if there is any old clothing that you don’t need and can be modified.  It will surprise you to see how many items you can use!

Now it’s time to decide whether there are enough materials.  Also, ask yourself if you want to start from a piece of fabric or buy similar shirts to modify. Now, keep in mind that not all outfits are easy. I started cosplaying by modifying my old clothing most of the time or buy from thrift stores. (Yes! It is my new favorite place to go) Most of the time I will find what I need in the thrift stores or at Goodwill.

Here is a picture of the Luffy outfit made with a pattern.
See the difference?

Having all the materials gathered up, now it is time for patterning and sewing or modifying the old clothes. Getting a few angles of the character’s clothes that you are trying to create helps a lot because there are times you might not notice the details of the clothes from just one picture. The patterns are a must for me! When I create the Luffy shirt from OnePiece, I did not even measure my own size and I just started cutting the shirt I brought from Goodwill. It was a horrible idea. The shirt ended up unfit and sloppy, I thought the measurement wouldn’t have been so off because the shirt didn’t seem that large. Boy was I wrong. Creating a pattern not only helps save fabrics but it also saves time because all you need to do is just put the pattern on and start sewing. On Cosplay tutorial  there is a big more detail of explanation on how prepare. 

Creating armor and weapons is another interesting and difficult process that I will explain in the future posts!

It Builds On

I would like to start with introducing some professional cosplayer so you can see their amazing craftsmanship. I look up to these cosplayers from time to time.  Most of time they handcraft the whole outfit completely custom and it looks amazing. At times, it seems like the costume came from right out the anime.

Picture took from flipgeeks.
Alodia posing for photoshoot.

First person I am going to introduce is AlodiaGosiengfiao aka cosplay queen, she is a cosplayer in Philippines. Her hobbies are art, cosplay, fashion, video games, photography, collecting toys and figures, gadgets, and playing the piano. Alodia is known as the cosplay queen because of her amazing cosplays. Alodia did not start as a cosplay queen but she worked her way up there. Alodia became involved in cosplay because of anime and video games, and later she was encouraged by her friends to start cosplaying at the age of 15 in 2003. She has joined many competitions, and her first cosplayed character was Priestess from a game. She started to get attention when she won 3^rd place in a C3 Convention as Gun Mage Rikku. Later, she and her sister were featured in magazines, after that she continued her cosplay journey and made her way of being the cosplay queen.

I admire her because she brings the characters to life. You can check out the cosplays she has done and every single cosplay she’s does has amazing detail. However, what shocked me the most was that she created all these beautiful costumes even though she has a busy schedule.

Sometimes you can tell who puts effort and time into their cosplay just by looking at the outfit itself.

Worbla. You can use heat to shape any thing you want with it.
Picture took from Worbla's Finest Art post.

Cosplaying consumes many hours. When you start the project of creating your outfit, you don’t even realize how much time you have to spend on it. I remember I had to make a sword for my outfit and it took me around 2 weeks to finish it. When I was half way through it, I almost gave up on finishing the sword because how time it took. However, after I have completed my sword I was super satisfied with it. Below is a picture of the sword, I used cardboard, paper, hot glue, and paint. I used very cheap materials because I could not afford worbla, a thermoplastic modeling material that can be any shape you mold it to. Many cosplayers use worbla or spray foam to make weapons because it is stronger and cleaner.

Making the weapon prop is the most important part of a cosplay for me because it represent the character you are trying to cosplay. However, making the weapons is the hardest part of the process of creating the cosplay for me. Crafting the weapons requires close attention to the detail because every little detail counts. The shading and color paint for the weapon is important too because shading creates a realistic feel for the weapon. Maybe in the future blog I will show you some prop making process. 

                                                           Stay Tune!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Passion

            Do what you feel is comfortable and do not let anyone tell you otherwise.  Doing something different might lead to negative attitude from people. Cosplaying is not normal. Cosplaying is something that requires courage and positive attitude.

My friend Anna was cosplaying Nami from One Piece.
I was Teemo from LeagueOfLegend.
My friend took the picture and we had no pose,
 so we just didwhat ever we felt like.
The picture was during a Animefair at Japantown.

            When you first start to cosplay you might be afraid, nervous, embarrassed, and ashamed because you are doing something different than other people. Let me tell you! Don't be afraid because there is whole community of cosplayer standing there with you. Cosplay may not be a normal thing to do, but we still love it. Cosplay helps us stand out, enjoy our moments and meet many more people with this hobby.  

Majority of people think cosplayers are fans dressing up for anime, movie, books, and comic character running around conventions and taking flashy photos.

Well… For me is more than that.

As Patricia Hernandez said in the article "Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There's A Darker Side To This Community, Too." Cosplaying is a passion. Non-cosplayers only see the end results of each cosplayer. They do not know who is underneath the costume. Many cosplayers have their own stories, their reasons on why they chose that cosplay. They have reasons on why they put their self on the spotlight for everyone to see their art.

            Being a cosplayer is like being a #1 fan, you need to have knowledge about your cosplay. You need to learn their actions, lines, postures, and every little details of the costume. Just randomly throwing on something that might look like the outfit of the character is not really considered cosplaying for me. No one is asking you to be a professional, however please respect the character you are cosplaying.

When I go to the convention with a cosplay on, I tend to wear my whole outfit the night before and try a cosplay test aka costest to check if there are anything wrong with it. Most of the time I would find button, string loose, makeup wrong and some other small details I would not notice before trying on the cosplay. Most importantly I practice my cosplay posture because most of the time when you go to convention with a cosplay on, people will ask for pictures. 

Believe me, practicing the pose beforehand helps A LOT.

No practice = no posture, expression, unprepared for random shots.

 Let me tell you the how big the difference of having practicing posture beforehand and no practice is. The picture above was taken by my friend when we were at JapanTown. I’ve cosplayed as Akali from LeagueOfLegends for JPOP summit, an small anime fair. I did not practice my pose beforehand because I was rushing the outfit the night before. On the day of the event I did not know how to pose and when people ask me for a picture all I did was standing there with a dull face and clinging on to my prop. When I saw the pictures my friend took, I wanted stick my head in the sand and never come out.

In this picture, I had the right position and expression.
 Both of the cosplay is from LeagueOfLegend.
He made the costume all by him self.

Here is a picture of me at Japan Expo. I cosplayed as Akali again for this convention but, this time I  had practiced the poses and makeup the night before. The practice made my trip to the convention smoothly, I knew what pose to use when people went up to me for pictures. When I saw the pictures my friend took of me during the event, I was satisfied. 

The Beginning of my Cosplay Journey

          My friends and I enjoy being on the computer and playing games together. However, we spend much of the time on anime, which is basically any Japanese animation. I used to watch a lot of anime when I was younger and would get very excited when Halloween drew near because I could dress up. As I got older, I no longer went trick-or-treating and dressing up but then I came across an activity called cosplay. Cosplay is a term for costume play. It’s an activity which allows you to dress up as a character from anime, television, manga, etc. I have been cosplaying for about half a year now and I can say that the experience has been life changing and amazing. The goal of my blog is to help others learn more about the world of cosplay and share my personal experiences.

The source of this picture is from http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/manga-and-anime-are-you-interested. The people in the picture are different main characters from different anime.

            Cosplay might look like a childish activity for some people but it is actually a way for cosplayers to escape from reality. People who cosplay and go to conventions get to dress up as the characters they admire or enjoy so they can be that character for the day and escape from who they really are. Sometimes people get so attached to their character they would talk and act like them. However, cosplaying for me is a way to release stress and a way to express myself to others by not showing my true self. 

Another reason I cosplay is that I can take many unique pictures with others so I would have something special to treasure and remember. Cosplaying is an amazing activity and experience that many people enjoy. Preparing a cosplay requires much research, crafting, acting, and it brings happiness.

This picture was taken during my Sophmore yea, I dressed up as a mouse.

My first cosplay was wearing a costume when I was 7 or 8 years old. I still remembered the feelings I had at the time. I was wearing a fairy dress and a wig from Walgreens. I picked that outfit because I wanted to be a fairy.  After that year, I started to prepare my costume because Halloween was getting near. I had dressed up as a cat and Mickey Mouse. During high school senior year, I had my first time to attempt cosplay. I tried to make an outfit of Luffy, an anime character from One Piece for myself starting from scratch. The costume was not a success because it was my first time crafting something myself. I had to buy a shirt from Good Will just to cut it up and after I had finally finished the outfit, it was Halloween already. I wore my outfit during class and it was a hit. Most of the people recognized the cosplay which made me feel very happy especially when they shouted the name Luffy as I walked by. After that year, I started to make more outfits.  

I hope my blog has helped you understand more and perhaps get you into the world of cosplay.