Kimono and fox ears- Cosplay from Otome Youkai Zakuro

At Cosvision I realized that Desucon was approaching way too quick and I had two unfinished costumes waiting at home. When I got back to our workshop, I packed one costume away even if I had made more progress with it. However, it was a good call since I had my share of troubles with it in every stage of the construction. I will probably dig it up during summer and finish it for fall conventions.

The second one was a keeper and this past week and a half I have been working my butt off to finish it in time! It doesn’t help that I will be abroad for a week, which means I only have week and a half to actually construct the costume. Gladly summer vacation starts in two days, so I should have plenty of time to get everything done.

The costume I’ve been working on is Zakuro from series Otome Youkai Zakuro. This is the kimono cosplay I mentioned in my previous post. I started the fabric printing the same time I started Kofuku’s skirt, but then went on hiatus because I got carried away with everything else.

Before the hiatus I printed the fabric for the hair ruffles. I used emulsion based fabric color, plastic foil stencils and a sponge. I also added wefts to the base wig and made the skeletons for the ears.

After Cosvision I started to put together the kimono. I used a kimono pattern and really wanted to make the garment as authentic as I could. It proved problematic, since the design on the series has some very interesting details, which alter the look of the kimono and also the construction aspect quite significantly. The hardest part was fitting the two designs together… Actually three, since I was also combining the manga and anime versions together!

I think I managed everyhting quite well, but I still have lot to do! Yesterday I started to pattern and sew the frilly apron. Sometimes it surprises me how the simplest parts of costumes are actually the hardest ones to execute…

During the weekend I will concentrate on the geta, straighten the wig, ventilate a back parting for it and secure the fastening of the huge bow on the obi. I’m still pondering should I try to dye the wig or not. I actually like the wigs original grey color, but should it be darker? If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment!

Deidara is ready for Cosvision

On Saturday I got to try out make-up for Deidara and also got few photos as evidence that I actually have a costume ready week before the deadline! Even if the costume is a simple one, I challenged myself to uplift it with material choices and patterning, which made the project interesting and in the end rather satisfying.

For the clothes I chose natural fiber mixes. The shirt is wool mix as are the pouch and the headband. The fabric I picked for the trousers is most likely viscose. The geta are made from plywood and the forehead protector is steel. I also made a sculpture from clay to pose with.

I got to use some parts of the Akatsuki outfit like the mesh undershirt and the wig. The ponytail was already removed, because I used the particular wig for Yuma.

Handmouth is latex cast. I used a cast of my own mouth to make it. I painted the lips with acrylics and blended the piece to my palm with basic foundation.

I used modified kimono pattern for the shirt. For the trousers I used my basic pattern with some small alterations. The pouch was pretty much cut, measure and sew-project. The belt is just a strip of fabric, but I tried to tie it like an obi.

In my opinion the best part of the costume is the geta! On Friday I felt down since everything I tried to achieve that day on costume front failed miserably. I also realized that there was only a week left to finish the costume with hectic days at work ahead. Working with power tools didn't sound that appealing or saw dust or outdoor working by any means, so I thought I'd cut some corners and cover regular flip flops with fabric and roll with them.

I made one sandal ready, stared at it and just sat there wondering could the shoes break the costume when I tried to head for authenticity? After five minutes of intense staring and reflection I had sudden change of heart. I threw the sandal into the trash bin, gathered myself, packed some clothes on and headed out to the evening. On Saturday I had neat pair of geta ready and they truly were the cherry on the cake. Sometimes all you need is some perseverance and I know that I would have let myself down if I had chosen the easy way over the obviously right one!

I thought of wearing Deidara on Saturday at Cosvision. For Sunday I will most likely pack Kofuku if nothing drastic happens... like contact lenses not arriving on time!

Cosplay is a bang, un!

Cosplay frenzy has taken over me once again! And it’s pretty nostalgic frenzy, too! It all started a week ago, when I realized that there was only three weeks until Cosvision and I had two costumes under construction that I might not be able to finish in time. And they would be too “big” to transport by stuffing them into one suitcase. So, I kind of started a new costume… But this character I’ve already cosplayed and I think he was actually one of the reasons why I got hooked to this hobby.

Of course he is Deidara! We made Akatsuki outfits for Sasori and Deidara as our second costumes in 2007. In 2010 I updated the undergarments and we had a small photoshoot. Then we have all the videos we made dressed as the characters on our Youtube account.

After the first costumes back in 2007, I considered making the flashback version of Deidara. The idea got pushed back, probably because it would’ve been solo cosplay as Sasori’s "camouflage form" was not on our to-do list. But now since I’m going to attend Cosvision without Yoki, I remembered young Deidara. A week later, here is what I’ve got!

I wanted to cast new mouths for Deidara's hands and got rather satisfying results considering it was my first time making a partial facecast on myself. I thought that making a mouth in resting position would be easier and faster for a first timer. Also I wouldn't need to make positive cast from the mouth and sculpt a whole different expression for the latex cast given the time I have before the convention. At Cosvision I'm going to wear only one mouth, because I need one fully functioning hand without a lump of latex glued on the palm.

The only things left are to construct the sandals, add some finishing stitches on the clothes and try out the make-up. I also thought about sculpting the first clay sculpture Deidara presents to the Akatsuki who came to claim him aka. the fat spider.

Textile printing for the God of Poverty

Our last textile printing projects date back three years, when we crafted four laborious costumes in a year. The first ones were Luminara and Barriss and the second batch was Ivy and Yoshimitsu and they all required printing designs or uniform patterns. After we finished Ivy and Yoshimitsu it was clear to me that fabric printing was something I would't have on my to do-list for quite some time. Apparently three years was the required recovery time for me and I’m back on my knees with printing pastes, templates and tapes!

I’ve started three individual projects this year for spring and summer conventions. One of them doesn’t (thankfully) include printing, but two of them just crave it. Textile printing was the only possible choice for me when facing the problem of not finding suitable fabrics, since they most likely don’t exist at all. And after a long time, I really enjoyed this particular printing project even if I had some small setbacks.

The checkered skirt fabric is for a costume I started about a month ago. Recently I’ve had more spare time than I normally do and I’ve spent some evenings reading and watching new series. Even marathons have occurred. One of the new acquaintances was Noragami and since I'm quite fond of pleated skirts and whacky side characters, I immediately fell for Ebisu Kofuku.

I’ve been dreaming of purchasing screens and all the fancy stuff to go with, but with this project I just used the easy stencil and a sponge technique. I used both emulsion and paste colours to achieve the wanted look. For example the skirt fabric has two sets of stripes crossing. The magenta ones are emulsion based so that they are “sheer” and the yellow ones are made with cover paste.

First I made calculations based on the references, taped the long horizontal lines with blue masking tape. Blue is the best in this case, because it doesn’t stick too strongly to the fabric or leave tacky glue behind. After the horizontal lines, I printed the vertical ones and let them set properly before moving to the yellow lines. The yellow lines cross the magenta ones from the middle. After the colours had dried I ironed the fabrics to set the print.

The costume itself is actually ready with basic white shirt, pleated skirt and matching tie. I finished the garments probably a week ago. The brown multipurpose/-character shoes and black knee socks I snatched fron my closet. I still need to have another look at the wig. I think I need to style  it some more. I also thought about crafting Kofuku's shinki, Kokki.

I took a quick snapshot of the costume with my phone. Shame that the ruffles aren't visible from that angle...

I didn’t have any particular convention in mind when I started to make the costume. I just got exited about Kofuku and her outfit, which finally filled my easy-fun-and-cool summer costume void. You could argue about pleats being easy and fun after you have unpacked them from your cramped suitcase, but I try to reassure myself that irons and ironing boards can nowadays be found from the cosplay dressing rooms in major conventions.

I’m not going to reveal the other costume projects yet. They are still so all over the place and I want to have something real to show before making a fuzz about them. But I will reveal that I'm going to fullfil a costume dream I've had since I started cosplaying... I'm goint to sew my first kimono!

The year is 2014. The place: Cosplay workshop, naturally

When year 2013 was almost over I thought of writing an overview of our cosplay year, but then the busy schedule at work with normal Christmas hassle got in the way. For me 2013 was precious with Eurocosplay qualifiers and finals, but I also had quite productive year altogether.

I made four new costumes, finished and debuted two that I had started the year before, competed solo for the second time in my life and enjoyed the hobby more than ever. Yoki crafted two costumes based on her original designs, competed in an original creation class and was picked for Hall cosplay competition, had to make some sacrifices to cosplay goddesses in the form of hair and varied one of her previous costume designs for two different events.

Year 2014 seems to start with a nice buzz. The first convention is closing in and for us that is Desucon Frostbite at Lahti. We are attending only on Saturday and Sunday and will bring two costumes each.

I have been making a costume from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and will hopefully finish that for Saturday. Yoki is still pondering which costume to choose.

On Sunday I was thinking of wearing Amira with one new, major addition… You can’t imagine how happy I am about this… I’m going to have Karluk portrayed by Yoki!

Amira is a character who can support herself just fine, but Karluk being her counterpart and companion I thought it would be ideal to have him around. I carefully introduced the idea to Yoki, saying that I would make the costume myself and she wouldn’t need to worry about that at all. Other that wearing three layers of clothing... and contact lenses, which she just simply hates… But she agreed and I’ve been making Karluk’s attire from the back cover of the second manga issue for few weeks now.

I’ve enjoyed the sewing process a lot! Making Karluk’s costume really brings back memories from Amira, because the materials and some of the techniques I use are pretty much the same. With Karluk I’m making less by hand, but will embroider details on the under shirts and the hat. I’m trying to keep the embroidery styles different, since Amira and Karluk are from different regions. The designs on Amira’s clothes are more or less formed from lines. For Karluk I’m using organic designs and shapes filled with color.

With Karluk I’m also using my freedom as a costume maker to alter and to interpret the costume design. There aren’t many colored illustrations of Karluk and I think the cover art I’m using is the most reliable one there is. I’m combining the clothing details from the chapters and also historical aspects to create the set.

The biggest issue was finding green wool(ish) fabric for the outer robe, chapan. It felt like no one has middle blue or green wool this winter. Gladly one old corner store with its ancient fabric collections saved us! The stripes I sewed from blue and red wool with white yarn details. It took me about three evenings to make the jacket, which was surprising since I thought the decorations would take forever. I think the projects last year really had a positive impact on my sewing technique!

The under garments were the first to complete. I made trousers and an undershirt from linen with embroidered collar. Then I made the long tunic with pin-tuck panels on the edges and on the cuffs. The tunic I made from fine wool mix with nice, silky finish.

The hat is also on its way. I’ve actually made one hat already, which was part of my performance at London Comic Con. Sadly, it wasn’t the style needed so I ended up making a new one. Which is great, because I really do love hats!

Right now I struggle with finding a suitable wig for Karluk. If I can’t find one soon, I’m probably going to dye one from my collections. But next to that and the boots I have under construction, the costume looks quite good!

Death and Karluk are the first new costumes of the year. I have few ideas for upcoming projects and hopefully will debut them both this summer. For the fall we have a pair cosplay coming up from Yoki’s Varjella. I also would like to finish a project I’ve been dragging with me for almost three years now…

Finally, I would like to wish you, my fellow hobbyists a great and productive year 2014!

Onwards with the sound of her wings

After big projects I usually make a statement to my friends and family that I’m going to have a vacation from costume making… Who am I kidding here! Every time I make that promise, I’m back at our workshop few days later! Before I tried to redirect or suppress my urge to make something, but now I think I’m at a point that I don’t even want to fight against it. For me, creativity is just something that keeps me going and makes me happy! So yes, me and my sewing machine have had quality time together during past weekends!

Ten years ago I dressed up for penkkarit, which is a traditional masquarade when you are on your last year at upper secondary school in Finland. I didn’t know about cosplay back then, but the basic idea was the same; I was portraying a certain character from certain comic issue with clothes, props and make-up.

As a teenager I read a lot of fantasy literature and somehow found Neil Gaiman and the comics he wrote. And I totally and utterly fell in love with the character of Death in a form of perky gothic girl. Back then I dressed up as casual Death with jeans and tank top, which is her best know outfit. I was so proud of the costume, even if no one except my friends recognized me. I actually didn’t sew the clothes, because I didn’t have much experience or skills back then. Instead I bought white jeans and dyed them black, because apparently back jeans were really hard to find… Borrowed boots and tophat from my friend, altered a tank top and bought an umbrella. Sadly, I have no photos from the get up. Probably it’s better that way, since there is a high change that time plays its tricks with me and the costume was an utter disaster!

Ten years have passed since my first portrayal of a fictional character. Because I’m still in love with Neil Gaiman, The Sandman and endearing Death, I thought what would be a better idea than to take a second round with her. And now that new volumes are published, I couldn’t have chosen a better time!

Make-up test with white cream make-up and a random black wig.

This time I wanted to make more complex outfit from Death’s wardrobe and chose the formal wear from Season of Mists. The outfit includes a tulle skirts, a blouse with corset and satin gloves.

It was nice to make a corset for a change! I patterned it so that it has some traits of corsets made in 1700’s with flat bust and shoulder straps. The references I gathered shows that Death’s corset has lacing on front. I wanted to make my version so that it would be laced from the back. I wanted my corset to be more of amanipulative one and with back lacing it would be easier to tighten. As a result of this reasoning I made the lacing on the back and a fake lacing on the front. All those eyelets and my fingers… Outch!

With the shirt I made something that I have sworn not to do ever again! I layered organza with another type of fabric. I do like the look, but organza is just so annoying to sew and more so with a material that acts totally different! It’s just nerve-racking! After few seams it fortunately started to be manageable and in the end I had a sheer blouse with organza and fine dotted tulle on top. I covered some old buttons with cotton and stretch satin to match the shirt and hand-sewed the decorative sequin ribbon on the front.

The skirt is still unfinished, because I underestimated how much tulle I actually need to achieve the look from the comic. I think I've used about 6 meters now and I'm still counting.

Next to clothes I’ve made the string of pearls she has on her hip and the necklace. I actually will redo the ankh, because… Well, I tried to use Worbla to make it, but apparently I do not know how to work the material to make it look reasonably good. I probably will try my luck with Fimo. I’m positive that it will be a better choice, since I have some knowledge about it.

The wig is the only component I haven't started yet. I have a reasonably good base wig for the purpose, but Death's updo requires some drastic changes on the forehead. I will finally be able to try making a lace front wig and that is something I'm really looking forward to!

New costume under construction- Yuma from Claymore

In September we are going to attend to Tracon and again I felt that I could use a new costume to debute. Actually I started my current project last spring when I was waiting for a confirmation that I could compete in Eurocosplay Qualifiers. I had Amira half ready and needed something to craft while waiting the reply from my manager. I wanted to make an armor costume to balance out the embroidery heavy Amira.

I returned to series called Claymore. It’s basically a shounen manga with half-human, half-monster warriors who all are female, have huge swords and are more or less kick-ass chicks. The warriors called Claymores work for The Organization, where all the leading positions are taken by men. The Claymores are deployed from requests to destroy Yomas, human eating demons who can take the form of a human being.

The character I chose is Yuma, ex-Claymore who is one of the independent warriors who fled from The Organization after truly devastating encounter with more developed Yomas. The conflict had really shady traits which made the seven surviving Claymores to hide their presence and to evade confronting The Organization. The Claymores in The Organization named the seven warriors who vanished from the battlefield as Seven Ghosts, because their bodies were never found.

Yuma was ranked as number 40 in her time in the Organization. And with 47 ranks in the troops there were only seven Claymores who were weaker than her. Yuma feels insecure and powerless amongst the group of ex-Claymores she travels and trains with. After the seven year time skip from the decisive battle it’s made clear that she can easily fight with higher ranked Claymore’s with ease. The underdog setting Yuma has is also one reason why I like her so much. She gains skills and confidence during their encounters, but also remains bit awkward with people and still sometimes underestimates herself compared to the other warriors.

As the opposite of the white uniform the regular Claymore’s wear, The Seven Ghosts have black outfits with light armor with individual looks and styles. I think that they each chose how to equip themselves based on their fighting abilities and self-confidence. Yuma’s outfit is one of the more conservative ones in the group and she has many pieces of armor even if in real life they wouldn’t protect much, but I guess that is just how fictional armors work. Yuma is also a defensive type fighter, which might refer to her “heavy” armor compared to the offensive types who have only few pieces of armor for agility and speed.

Wow, that was probably the longest introduction of a cosplay character I have ever written. But Yuma deserves it! As I said, I like her a lot! Maybe that’s why the costume is almost done already...

I’ve made the armor and the bodysuit and styled the wig. I also did an early make-up test and have started with the sword, which is something I have never done from scratch! I’ve even used some crazy powertools! So I have sword making ahead, sewing the cape and buying new contact lenses. Then that should be it!

Keeping busy

The first thing I noticed this morning after logging in on our account was that our reader count had reached 100! Thank you! I hope that you find and will find the content we create interesting and useful! We actually had something planned for this particular event, but the 200 kilometers between me and Yoki somewhat ruined it.  Instead I give you a photo of us in pants Yoki made for her next costume!

Last month was a busy one for me with visiting our brother and his family on the other side of Finland, birthday parties and my other hobby, theater. They consumed more time than I expected and naturally slowed down my progress with Amir. But I had made my timetable rather crazy to ensure that I keep my pace. I’m now back on track and bit ahead. I actually made some stage props for the performance in advance.

I finished the hat with the cloth wrappings. Despite the amount of fabric on the back of the hat, it fits quite nicely without any fastenings.

I also forced myself to work on the undershirt, because the sleeves and front are quite crucial part of the overall look of the costume. I think I managed to replicate the design pretty well even if it always looks bit different in every frame. I’m currently embroidering the collar and the back of the shirt.

I baked some more jewelry. This time it was the bracelets.

I also styled the prettiest wig on Earth! I still need to braid it and add the accessories.

Peek-a-boots!

Few days ago I started to work with Amir’s footwear. I chose leather imitation for the boots. I bought three different colors: dark brown for the base and blue and white for the decorations. The blue was obviously too dark and I wanted the surface to remain textured, so I applied the light blue color on the pleather with a sponge. I used acrylic paint, because in thin layer it will not crack even if the pleather stretches a bit.

The progress itself was rather similar to crafting basic boot covers, but instead of base shoes I destroyed pair of old canvas ballerinas for their rubber soles. The “cover” I sew on a separate insole before gluing the rubber sole on. I also made another insole from thick felt, which is like a hidden heel inside the boot. This I thought to give not only few centimeters of height to match my proportions but also a better posture.

I had some problems with the fit of the boots on the ankles. I almost added zippers, but then I heard Yoki’s voice in my ears: “Authenticity! Remember authenticity!”

Seriously, after Yoki made her original costume design and after we discussed many times about functionality and authenticity, I’ve started to notice that I've been affected by Yoki’s way of thinking. I felt bit brainwashed when I took Amir’s finished underskirt and took apart the waistband, removed the zipper altered the fit more loose and added cord fastening. But I do like the skirt a lot better now and more than anything it resembles the reference pictures in more detail. Again, thanks go to Yoki!

Needless to say, I also skipped the zippers with the boots. It took some trimming and redrawing, but I got the fit and look right after a while.

The biggest problem ended up being the tips of the shoes. I never thought that finding the right shape for them would be the most time consuming part. It took me two evenings to get them right; everything else from patterns to sewing and details were done in one day. I finally sew the tips on yesterday after three different patterns and trials.

I’m quite happy with the results. I’m still going to darken the brown parts with black shoe polish and add the red details on the top of the boot. The next phase with the costume is to embroider the red undersuit and to continue with the jacket.

Towards EuroCosplay qualifiers

Last spring I made some costume plans EuroCosplay qualifiers in mind. But I was on the move too late and couldn’t arrange days off from work for Desucon, where the qualifiers have been arranged for three years now. Luckily, I hadn’t started the costume or anything else in that matter.

But having to skip the preliminaries bug me up to the point that last autumn I started to gather materials, fabrics and references for the second act. Last week I also confirmed from my employer that I could have the weekend off even if some of our staff members would be on summer vacation. From last August to this day I have been slowly making something here and there, but now I can say that the work has really begun!

Before I chose the character, I went through different aspects I wanted the cosplay to contain: The costume would suit my skills and knowledge about costume making and also have enough challenge so that I could really push myself to try my best. The character would have similar body type and personality if possible. I would have a rough plot sketched for the performance before constructing the costume and that the character, the story and the setting would fascinate me to the extent that I would be nearly obsessed about it.

Last year I totally fell in love with a certain manga and when I decided that EC it is, I didn’t think too long which character would be suitable for the preliminaries. The character I chose is Amira Halgal from manga Otoyomegatari or Bride stories by Kaoru Mori. I try to keep my calm now, because I could easily flip out from all the gorgeousness the manga embodies and just say that it is well worth reading if you are interested in historical setting and romance with beautiful art and leisured storytelling.

The base for the hat was one of the first things I made last year.

I really want to keep the costume as authentic as I could and also respect Mori’s design and art. The clothes I’m making from wool, silk, cotton and linen but with the shoes and jewelry I’m going to resort to more cosplay friendly and modern materials like pleather and polymer clays. Needless to say, there is lot of embroidery going on right now. I try to do it where ever I have the time to pick a needle in my hand.

For reference I chose cover art picture, where the design and decorations are clearly displayed. I had to use my own judgment on the back; it came together based on the front and how it's drawn on the manga.

What I’ve sewn this far is the skirt, the scarf and the vest. Decorations I’ve embroidered on the hat and on the vest, but there are still meters to go. Today I sculpted the positive mold for the earrings and tried to figure out how the scarf is wrapped on the hat. I swirled it and pinned it and I still got no idea. The top is quite alright, but the back is still a mystery.

There is still much to do, but I couldn’t be more excited about this project! Now that these plans are out, I’m going to write progress updates more often than once in five months.