MCM London May 2015

Hey!

So after lots of driving, running around and preparing the weekend was finally upon us. I can’t say I went all that excited at first, I think mainly because I wasn’t overly confident about myself. The thing with any form of anxiety, even those not suffering it as a disorder, is that you don’t always know it’s creeping up and then it can hit you. So I think it hit and then the morning I got into the car and packed it all went, why? Well because I am happy to see my friends again!

Travel – Getting from Nottingham over to London could not have been easier! The day before I had done the usual traffic checks and was in fact prepared for a lengthy wait but we sailed through. Myself and travelling companion (dressed as Constantine) arrived in good time. The travel back was not bad either, unless you count the M1 here. It’s entirely annoying  to be stuck on a Motorway, something designed for speed, to be doing 40-50 for the best part of 60 miles in length per time. It’s even worse when on the good open road trucks have some overtaking war and then end up slowing everyone down. I know they have long drives and it’s not an easy job but it can get you a bit grumpy after 2 plus hours and you want to be home. Fortunately my travel companion has accepted that Diggy Diggy Hole and the Trololol song are par for the course.

Hotel – My friend stayed with me at Custom House, Ibis and it was okay as always, it was nice to catch up with someone I don’t see as regularly as I would like too. The only problem you face near that area is the DLR works… I like a lay in but 4.30am start was the option! Oh well at least the following night I slept like the dead. I am quite jealous of the room mate who slept through the noise! It’s not too unreasonable for cost but the concern for most of us now is that the hiked up prices are putting people out of the market not the actual event.

Friday – I got my wristband and the hotel room wasn’t ready so I went for a wander to see who was around. It was lovely and not too busy so I had a look around, spotted some friends and then headed back to change. I wore my Anya Stroud outfit, I’ll be honest the Gears stuff really seems more about the gun! And who can argue with it, the lancer is pretty epic. I saw friends, and we had a nice wander. It wasn’t too hot and the event halls were laid out well to get inside. It was a lovely end to the day to meet up with friends, chat and get a drink.

Saturday – Usually I dread stepping into the main halls due to how busy it is but this time it was lovely. The changes and the fact it was sold tickets only seemed to make it so much better. I didn’t feel crushed due to a ton of people squeezing in. The entry system on both sides worked well as it seemed more free-flowing. There was a lot of popular stuff to go around and loads to see! It was lovely to have a variety and it shows how much the convention has expanded in interests, you have comics, films, anime and so much more.

Sunday – After a night at the Fox (the pub of choice) we got up and met for the next day. Costumes on and off we went, it was busy but not crowded and the weather up until the last hour or so was wonderful. I even brought a couple of bits as we had time to look around the stalls and then sat in on the Capcom panel as they revealed a look at the new re-mastered HD version for Devil May Cry 4. It was a nice end to the three days of convention and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The downsides – not that many but I will say the worst thing seems to be that the lack of courtesy from the public towards one another. It’s not like MCM are responsible for them but its infuriating when someone pushed into you especially when you have expensive props or even goods you have brought there. Some of the things people buy on stalls are going to be delicate and that guy/girl running after their friend like a marathon runner on the home stretch does not impress many people. In fact if I am honest it’s annoying… If I could ask one thing from people going, think of the people around you.

Cost – It’s getting silly for some things. I now bring my own water because most of the vendors (again not MCM’s fault) are charging £2 or more for a bottle of water. I can buy that for 57p or 6 for £1 in the supermarket. The problem then becomes is it worth you carrying it all day, yes! Food too, £10 for a Subway hastily shoved at you is not worth the money. At least there seems to be more options about that but I still end up packing extra into the car.

Overall the event for three days was so much fun! I don’t book photo-shoots as I am just not that bothered about it. I go for fun but I am always so happy when people stop me to say hello, the pictures are an added bonus but the main things I love to do are to take pictures of others and just generally see friends and make new ones.

So the overall haul of the weekend? Mostly World Of Warcraft based. Thanks to a lovely card stand I have two new vanity pets for my collection and I also have a glowing hearthstone key ring. I didn’t’ see anything to add to my Gears of War Collection, I suspect because I really have brought most of it. Good news being there’s a new re-master on the way and yours truly will be glad to spend the money I don’t have supporting my favourite game!

Hope that you all have a wonderful time on your travels!

That Gears Girl.

YCC7 Review

Hey!

So it was the weekend for Yorkshire Cosplay Convention 7, due to the success from previous years Kitty and Jon expanded into the Magna Science Museum, accommodating a larger audience than the Dome. It must be truly frightening to manage these things even if you are experienced because you end up having to manage so many things that can be out of your control by a long country mile!

The convention set up had a much better space than the Dome, there were side rooms, activities galore and so many stalls! I think if you were prepared to wait for the initial rush to go you were in for a treat.

As you may know from following my blog I was given the honour of being voted in as Miss Yorkshire Cosplay Con 2015. Apparently people think my humble £5 Death Knight sewing is worth a vote! Pretty awesome, it shows you we can all have a go at these things and I hope you do! The cosplay competition was a fun watch too, there were two parades for the adults with made and brought costumes and there was also one for the children (one of the judges being the lovely Sketch McDraw).

One of the problems that became apparent within minutes of opening was that the ticket system, the organisers paid for the box office and this would mean they should be arranging the original entry and filter through for everyone but this was not the case. The doors opened and it was chaotic, it was certainly not the fault of the people behind the desk or those inside the halls. I know people are angry about the messy entry system and it’s being addressed ready for August.

The second thing that came up was the lighting in the main hall, the hall had several lights out, which I am reliably informed were supposed to have been repaired before the thing opened. The organisers had no control over this but it caused traders problems as it meant their stalls were not presented it the ‘best light’… however to be fair, I still had a good luck and the light was not going to put me off buying something if I really liked it, but it’s a shame that the venue didn’t sort it as promised.

In regards to the rest of it, lovely day! For the most part everyone was kind and friendly. My lovely Retro Lancer was more in demand than I was, this is nothing new, it’s an awesome gun after all! I saw some regular faces and friends, and made more friends as well. It’s always lovely to see the amount of effort that goes into costumes from the starting cosplayers to the more professional.

We watched the cosplay entrants; I am simply not brave enough or confident enough in my skills to do something like that. I commend anyone that has a go! And then we watched the performances, listening to some songs I hadn’t heard before and soaking in the atmosphere. Theslowsniper was funny too, he jumped on stage for a little silly dance, Jack is a youtube gamer and a really nice guy, I have succumbed and subscribed… see these events do work!

I hope that if you had a good day like me you’re coming back for August and maybe I’ll get to say hi, and if you didn’t have the best of times please keep an eye on the events and pages because you will see how the feedback is used to improve things.

And that’s all from me for now.

Adios Cowboys…

That Gears Girl.

Image courtesy of : https://www.facebook.com/gonzography?fref=ts go take a look amazing!!!

Yup time for me to put data on the internet…

So I’ve been quiet for a while, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been active. Far from it, but one of the things that being busy does it mean I don’t get to blog as much.

The first even we went to this year was Telford MCM in February, we went off all packed up as usual. I took my Dante out, I admit it’s one of my favourites and I get to pay homage to a gaming franchise I have played since the very first day.

It was a nice day out; I saw some friends and I got to see some that had even been placed in the cosplay masquerade and to see new costumes that had been brought out. One of my favourite things to do is to talk to people, we get to socialise and speak about things we are passionate and despite being quite the internet worm, and being happy snuggled up on the sofa with the cat, it gets me out of that trap.

I probably come across as very confident, but I am not, I talk too much because I am nervous, because I don’t want to be seen as boring… I know it’s silly, I even know that most of the paranoia about that is on my shoulders but I also know that the longer I have been doing this the better I seem to get at handling it.

I got a very lucky break and got to go to Capcom HQ here in the UK, for a second time. This time we got invited over the DMC HD release, and were invited to go in costume to see everyone and get to play some games. I bowed out of the gaming aspect as sadly all the driving can put a strain on my heavily operated wrist. I think we can all agree it’s better to be fully operational behind the wheel!

It was actually not a bad travel either, other than one set of road works, which any one travelling via road in England may well think is like winning the lottery! The roads here are notoriously bad for road works, the more you travel the more your optimism about getting there on time flies out of the window. I have been caught in a 5 hour tail back on the way from Heathrow, a 3 hour jam at Birmingham and so many more… when I get a clear run I feel like I need that fanfare you get with Ryan Air that lands a plane on time.

So Saturday was very good, it was a fun day out, we saw friends and made some new ones. Which meant I came home tired and ready for sleep because the plan was to go to Em Con the next day. So the following morning I got up and dragged out my lancer, found the blond wig and headed off to meet friends at the Capital FM Arena.

Now those of you that follow my blog, or went last year, will remember that there was an issue with the capacity and so many people were left in long queues which did not guarantee you got in. That wasn’t so much an issue this time at all, the capacity of the Arena was far greater and the layout meant that you could get around better than the last place.

The queues seemed to be fairly free-flowing; the only thing that felt odd was that you had to produce your paper ticket to move in and out of the arena. It seems that they controlled it with scanners and that was how it worked, it wasn’t an issue for me but I can imagine if you are on limited pocket space or in something complex you’re going to get annoyed by it; however that’s the system employed.

I found out about Feel the Force too, this amazing charity work that basically arranges conventions for people with disabilities, such as the deaf and blind to be able to get involved. For instance it was explained to me that those of us who cosplay can come along and get involved, we can wear our costumes and the deaf/blind or otherwise impaired are able to touch and feel the costumes. This sounds amazing! Imagine being a storm trooper who can help a blind person to understand what you are wearing, or simply put anything that allows someone access to what you do where it might not always be possible. This is something I am happy to do at any convention but this seems to bring the idea to the forefront.

So I am now quite tired, all walked and driven out and need to sort out for the weekend ahead, Birmingham MCM is the next on the list.

Happy New Year

Time for an end of year round up?

As I write this I’m thinking about a lot of good things that have happened and I am however drawn inevitably to some of those lower moments too. A hit and run on my car, thanks mate I needed the insurance claim! and bad mental health that has put my plans for dieting back so I need to get back to that. But on to the good!

* Another year with my wonderful partner.

* Cosplay, meeting new and old friends thanks to the hobby.

* Mental health is back on track… for now 😉

* Changed job and moved house.

Cosplay wise I got to meet so many people and share a passion with them, it’s just been fantastic. I have even been nominated for Miss Yorkshire Cosplay, if you get time do click on the link HERE and vote for me. I would really appreciate it, and to be honest I am utterly flattered people have voted at all. It’s so much fun to be part of something like that, I never dreamed it would happen to me anyway.

Gaming wise – more Gears of War, a tantalising news event of the possibility that there will be more for X Box one from the Gears world; this means my year of co-operative gaming and hilarious deaths in multi-player were worth it!  Well to be honest any time with friends is worth it.

I got to revel in the new Wolfenstein, also to play new games from Gold that I might not have before. One of those which still amuses me now is Battle Block Theatre, the chaos platform gaming just seems so much fun. I also like my Steam account as it means that I can go wild playing on that too.

World of Warcraft and running a guild is also a blessing, sometimes it feels a little curse like when I am having a rough day and cannot get everything properly organised but the guild I run has amazingly tolerant and mature players for the most part. I like it when I can get time with them as a group for raiding etc… now I really should sort that poor guild bank out!

I really do wish everyone a great 2015, and I hope that you get the most out of a new year.

That Gears Gal

Facebook Page

Birmingham MCM and Voting

Hey all!

Big beg first of all – Could you vote for me? http://www.yorkshirecosplaycon.co.uk/ Rea Nero Bridge. I was voted in by a friend and I thought it was incredibly sweet.

Time for an update 🙂 I’ve moved house with my partner, now we live with a friend and it’s been such a nice change. The area we were in before was worryingly rough so we’re in a nicer part of the county. I changed jobs too and am so far enjoying the new role.

This weekend we went to Birmingham MCM Comicon so here goes with how it all went and all that jazz!

First day – I had a priority ticket but we took my friend, she’s 12 and she had to get a ticket on the day, there’s a big old price difference there between £16 and the £7 on the day. Like many people in the queue we were stuck there a good while, it can be so frustrating and the only reason we did is because there was no pre-entry on there for that age range. It’s not very family friendly feeling if you are forced to pay for either a full family ticket or for a full adult one… I would like to see a junior pre-ticket option in future…

We got into the hall, it was rammed full but none-the-less good fun. I was dressed in my World of Warcraft costume. I don’t think it was very popular but I had fun. I made the costume out of scrap materials and things already in the house, which equates to basically costing me about £5… aside from the skin paint.

We took some pictures, saw the Marvel photoshoots that were going on and then we wandered around. It was a long day but we left right at the end. One of my friends even won the Masquerade with her group so that was damned awesome!

On the second day we headed in, I was dressed like Meg from Family Guy. The top was hand-made as I needed the longer sleeves thanks to my tattoos… The group of us seem to go down well and people were sayin “Shut up Meg” at me, it was a great idea for the group of us, suggested to me by Buster Boy Cosplay. We had a great time and lots of people stopped us, it was also more comfortable than the day before!

Recently I decided to launch a Facebook page too in matching with the name I use here – That Gears Gal

So pop on over if you are also interested.

 

Conventions, Convention and Con-fidence

Hey tis me!

So how are you all? It’s been a convention packed year again, more of them coming up and I think it’s time to be realistic about the number I attend. Darn you real world eh?

So recently we went to a couple, one was Sheffield Comicon and it was fun. We went along without tickets, took the queue hit but fortunately it was pretty good and we got in within about an hour or so. The large layout was a good thing, the stalls were varied and it was great to see so many people out and happy about their favourite films, anime, cartoons, comics etc.

We also went over to J-Con at Derby, it was so nice to see a panel with cosplayers talking about how they make things (Iron-Manda and Darkiekun) and I came home feeling more inspired. I do however find one thing a little frustrating about this convention and that is the ticket price if you are not going to be at all the evening events…

I went to Nottingham Comicon too with my friend Buster Boy, and met up with some of my other friends there (Check out this page). It was a lovely day out, not many cosplayers but those that did were met with staff that gave real encouragement. It was quite a highlight to walk in and get a cheer from the staff over our costumes. As an amateur trying to learn yet more skills it’s nice when someone compliments what you have done. Incidentally I was also featured in the Nottingham Post.

Conventions are fun, but the expectations on what to deliver is high and I also feel bad for the independent artists who go and people aren’t buying things off them. The art is good, they are passionate and even buying a few of them often doesn’t cover the stall money, yet a My Little Pony toy that you can get from a local store drags people over in droves. I brought a couple where I could afford it and I thoroughly loved the interaction with those artists. At Nottingham Comicon I brought from Dark Pond Creations, signed, picture drawn in the cover and only a few pounds. Come on!

Conventions are getting bigger, they are getting more popular and with it comes media attention. Good or bad you are at risk of getting it as a cosplayer. Don’t be afraid of one comment about your cosplay that’s negative, remember it’s for you, it’s for fun and if others love it it is a big bonus. Don’t shy from what you love, if you get up and plan a new costume instead of panicking about a random internet troll get your glad rags out and get creating!

Confidence is your best ally, and I didn’t have it when I started. In fact I went into this in order to build it up. What I have got out of cosplay and conventions? Friends, new ideas, new ways to get creating… people who cannot understand what you do aren’t always going to agree with it but I don’t spend my time taking drugs or causing people trouble so I consider it a win!

With lots of cheer for all,

Rea

High Street “repairs” no thanks

Hey tis me!

Part of the thing I tend to consider on my cosplay essential list is my trusty Nikon camera. I take it because I like to snap pictures for Cosplay Without Bias, our page on Facebook. We just hit 1000+ likes and whilst to some this may not seem a lot to me it’s wonderful. 1000 and more people who truly believe it’s okay to just do it for fun, to not let other people’s judgement bring you down and to celebrate creativity.

So what’s this got to do with the title of this entry? The Nikon camera… my trusty baby has even been to the USA and come back. It’s not the most amazing one, it’s definitely however attached to my side when I got out taking pictures at old places, cemeteries, and cosplay gatherings. So when it stopped working the last week or so I was understandably unhappy.

Me and my friend Kyle took the camera, dressed up for a meet, off we go and BLAM the camera decides nope… nope you can’t have that! If you turned it on and then pressed the button to take a picture it would just shut down. Change of batteries to Panasonic, no changes…

So off we go to the camera repair experts, you know the shop that’s meant to know all you need? Ha! BS I shall cry, and cry it loudly. I was told they no longer repair in store (so it’s not a repair store is it?) and to send it off to be looked at was £35 plus the repair. Then I said so… at this cost surely I get it back in a fair time? Up to six weeks? Colour me stupid but if you wanted one for your job that’s up to 6 weeks to repair? Oh and about £80 if it was something minor…

I went to the shop next door, £25 and the same issues as they send it off. I walked out annoyed, not only was I convinced this was all terribly over complicated I was quite sure unless I was Harry Dresden’s lost sister or I was somehow missing the point there must be a cheaper way to restore my technical sidekick…

Thirty minutes of digging around the manufacturers forums and a little Google searching and here is what I find… Nikon camera takes a lot of power so cheap batteries drain like much needed pee after waiting for a rest-stop 15 miles down the Interstate… what you actually need to do is check you have really good ones loaded all the time. Duracell purchased from the local store, camera is now fully functional again.

Lesson for me? Check the internet for sensible suggestions before being ripped off at the high street. Well played Google! Well played.

GearsGirl

 

Picture Courtesy of Nerdfest 2013.

London Film and Comicon 2014

Hi all!

Wow what a weekend, mostly good thanks to friends but this was a story of all that could go wrong probably did!

LFCC was on 12th July 2014, we set off that morning and turned back twice due to things being missed or hiccups but off we set! Queue the usual comedy of the damned lorries on the motorway hogging lanes trying to overtake each other doing the same speed and off we went into London. The underground had some closures and so the area around Earls Court was terrible for traffic, buses all over for replacement services and then a 45 minute trek around that mess to get a car park we could use. Of course the one I picked happened to be closed that day, I am sure you can see where this is all going right!

We finally got parked up and walked down, and then my gosh the queues!  If I hadn’t got a ticket for the day there is no way I would have waited around in line. We walked around and finally found one poor harried assistant outside who managed to get us directed to where we could get in without facing the lines…

We walked along and the queues were not moving as we did, inside it was stifling hot and I was later informed that the air-con wasn’t put on as no one fancied paying the extra costs. If the posts on social media are to be believed then the police had to go in and order it turned on because of the implications of health and safety and that some people did in fact need emergency treatment, I can believe this as we saw paramedics with an ambulance arriving around midday. This is pretty shameful given that it was at Earl’s Court 2 and people are expecting the basics in the middle of London… not a good deal guys really!

Inside the lights are tungsten yellow things, they make everyone look a bit pallid and ill if you ask me and other than butt loads of signings areas there wasn’t really what I would call a great deal to do. Most conventions I go to you can listen into panel talks etc but you had to pay extra for that on top of your ticket, yeah you heard me PAY for panel talks. Hell no! I gave up my money for a ticket, paid £13.70 to park in a hobo-riddled car park, was overheating and had to pay for anything to do? Screw you Showmaster’s, one step too greedy.

Stan Lee – Poor man he’s 91 and it’s his last showing in England. Be reasonable, but no Showmaster’s allowed a virtual signing queue for 2000. Work that out, he has to sign two a minute at a solid 16 hours to get through that. Plus the photography… what an insult to one of the greatest comic legends… no wonder his team had to step in and stop the madness for him and then people are complaining because he cannot do that much. Expectations are ridiculously set and people are absolutely unreasonable to have complained about him, not all English people are this damned rude I say!

Right, the good bits – friends, cosplayers and the crowds who refused to let the actual convention organisers ruin it. I saw some fantastic people and caught up with friends. I was happy because I made some new friends and saw people I had only spoken too via my facebook. THAT is the bit that made the convention, everyone smiling and getting involved with helping one another, cheering each other up and chatting about costumes and planning their evening in the pub as a reward.

Cosplayuk made the costume for me for Anya Stroud and I was super happy to finally be able to show it off in person to them. I met a fellow gearhead that hopefully will be cosplaying in future with us and I saw people that I really do miss throughout the year, so all in all that aspect of it made it worth the trip.

Heading home? Oh my you think it stopped there? Hell no! We pulled up at Northampton Services for a quick break and to get something to eat. We set off again back towards Nottingham and experienced “that guy”. The driver was in the middle of the three lanes and kept roaming between the other two narrowly missing cars. We opted to attempt to drive past him as he was also slower than he should have been in that lane and as we did we spotted the idiot was asleep at the wheel! So we called the police, we had passed services a few miles back which also meant he had, which meant he was either already asleep on the road or had been so arrogant that he cared little for the safety of himself or others. I hope they found him and I hope they sort that behaviour out, it’s not impressive or clever.

When we got home and dropped off our Cyclops, me and my friend got out the car to collect our well earned bottle of wine and some beers. Sadly the Cyclops additional parts that had been painted appeared to have melted all down my car and into the seats. Sunday was then spent cleaning up what could be removed. Phewie!

So Sunday afternoon we went over to Games Workshop HQ and had dinner before I said goodbye to a good friend for a short while. Conclusion? Love the people, didn’t love the convention sadly. I doubt I will be going back to an LFCC any-time soon as I think they have been utterly greedy and not even played safe for people who were doing some seriously lengthy travelling to celebrate their fandoms.

I hope if you had a better experience than me this blog isn’t just a pool of whine. I really did love to see everyone and I swear I know not every volunteer, person involved or attendee had a rotten time, so please please don’t take this as me hating on you or your efforts.

Peace Out.

 

 

MCM, YCC6 and other things…

So.. it’s been a while and that’s mostly been to fighting a bout of depression that I really didn’t fancy boring folks with. Depression is to me a personal thing, when it comes to causes, but the upshot is when you come out of it the other side fighting it’s a good thing to apologise if you mucked up. Sincerely, I can admit I make mistakes and I think people should be able to do that. It’s not weak at all in my book to say, hey I f*cked up I am so sorry.

So after that I was in talks with my doctor and he suggested instead of giving up and moping around I should go to MCM London, get my costumes out and generally stop putting myself into the gloom and self-doubt.

On the Friday me and my friend Kyle headed off with the car loaded up, the traffic was surprisingly easy going and we hit London before the event opened. Checking into the hotel we were surprised by how nice the Travelodge was, (I haven’t used them before) and then proceeded to unpack and get our costumes on. I took Ezio from Assassins Creed 2 for my first day, I got to wander around and look at the stalls. The ticket system was fairly fluid on the first day and we had a nice time. A few drinks the night before, something to eat and a late-ish night we were all happy to get ready for the big day on Saturday.

Saturday I chose my crossplay of Chris Redfield, lost in Nightmares from Resident Evil. I love meeting up with REUK and I always feel so happy to see everyone. Leon Chiro and Philipe Lauby were there looking awesome, along with Neil Gorton of Capcom who took some pics and videos. It was a lovely day, packed however and I am told that the ticketing system in the morning was pretty much a hellish run, when I went in a bit later it seemed that they had ironed that out significantly to be fair. It rained terribly, and heavily, and a lot of folk outside got a nasty drenching, me included. It sparked a mass rush for the cover but the security at the exit spotted the problem and opened the doors to prevent further troubles.

Saturday night we went for a nice Chinese meal, had a few glasses of wine and then went into the Fox. I walked home after a few drinks and wandered back with another friend in a nearby hotel. We had a nice chat and then it was great for me to relax and settle down before my friend got back. It was a great night and it really did serve the purpose of relaxing my already anxious self. Well served friends, cosplayers and bar staff!

Sunday – Well I decided that after loosing over 9 stone in the last couple of years, of paying the awesome CosplayUK to make the base of my dream dress I would get my guts sucked in a bit and cosplay Anya Stroud’s CIC outfit from the first and second Gears of War.

I was so lucky! Me and my friend, who borrowed the Stranded coat and a lancer, were picked by MCM to be in a video! And then we got some wonderful pics by the gent below. I was so very proud of the dress and all the bits I added to it. I felt like the dieting, the work and the effort to get out all paid off in that regards. I have achieved one of my Dream cosplays and it’s all down to support and friends who help me out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work in Pixls Facebook 

YCC6 – Yorkshire Comicon.

So after the big weekend at London, we had a break and went to YCC6 in Doncaster, at The Dome. It’s my first time making a costume utterly without purchase off commissioners and friends so I was nervous I admit.

I picked a Death Knight from World of Warcraft, and I went for their starting kit. I know there’s plenty more I can do with it but I made a point of buying scrap materials from work and then from trying to reuse things as much as possible. The whole thing cost me about £10 in total and about a month on and off of sewing.

Suffice to say I felt quiet nervous about this one but the new medication has kicked in, my panic attacks are down and I am generally thinking that it’s perfectly okay to try these things because hey, everyone has to learn somewhere!

I met new friends, saw older ones, I loved the venue but it was a bit warm being next to a swimming pool! The day went really fast in fact, but we did have a giggle surprising local Asda (Walmart) people by wandering around, the Ghostbusters even got picture’d by staff. Overall when we left, a little tired and possibly bedraggled it was in a high spirit.

Our next outing is to LFCC (London Film and Comicon) and I am taking Anya again. I simply love the costume and am hoping that CosplayUK will see me, my costume and the bloody big grin all wrapped up in one. I know Stan Lee will be there but I didn’t get a ticket and photoshoot organised in time, so my loss but I hope if you did you get to have an amazing time.

So what are your next plans? And if you ever spot me around a convention here in England PLEASE stop me, say hi and if you are in costume and I have my camera tell me to get a pic for you because I am probably so happy to meet you I might forget that part.

Frag out!

Rea

 

 

Buying vs Making your cosplay

Oh no it’s me again! Well you read it, I write it 😉 so I figured I would go with the whole do I buy it or do I make it thing? If you BUY your costume it’s perfectly fine in my view, I think if you want to commission someone or you ask someone with more talent than you think you have, why not? There is no need to be elitist about it and assume that someone who brought it is somehow sub-par to you. Here’s a few things to consider before running your mouth off about it:

1. Is it personally ruining your life if 40 people brought an Attack on Titan costume and got a group, took some pictures and had a laugh? I mean genuinely, has it cause you physical pain to see that shelf picked Kingdom Hearts coat? I am going to bet NO… NO it really isn’t.

2. Have you got a clue about that person? Their situation or their means of buying/creating?

3. We don’t all have that kind of time. Yes you can probably squeeze in the odd hour here and there for an adjustment, make a little bow for your hair, perhaps spray a gun black from plastic blue. But some of these costumes take a practically full time job to make. I am 34, I work, I have a household to manage, I have a limited time scale in which to do it and I do it with the tools and time I have. There are some people working 40+ hours, going home to a family to care for and feed not to mention other real life scenarios. That £20 costume is what makes them happy, why are you so down on it?

4. Talent – I personally feel I have zero talent in some thing, I have a go, I sometimes succeed and other times I completely balls it up. I mean seriously I’ve thrown metres of fabric away or I’ve ditched half-cut swords as I realise I simply don’t have the tools, space or even the real know-how. I’ve watched vids, tried reading tutorials and sometimes it just won’t happen. So then I turn to the trusty commissioners I know.

5. Cost versus  outcome. Honestly in some cases what a commissioner can make me is so much more worthy of the money. It would cost me double in materials, time and blatant lack of talent to produce something HALF the quality. So I’d rather give my money to a local commissioner, someone who can make it. Who probably has a jigsaw in his garage (I’d like a garage or even a garden, this flat’s a little small hehe). If I see it as value I will buy it.

Now what you get when you can make it, or try is an invaluable sense of self-accomplishment. I won’t deny even the ones I have made that aren’t amazing still make me feel good, I achieved something, yet it can still be utterly disheartening when you do all that and no one even looks at it. I go back to many comments about this, unless you’re looking for a career in it I think you should treat it as a compliment if a picture is taken, not a right but yeah, when someone in a Pikachu onesie is stopped over your halo armour, you’re home made Jedi etc you can feel a bit annoyed. I get it, but that’s no reason to be angry or have a go at someone over their costume, if you are doing it just for recognition I don’t think that’s the essence of why I love cosplay and I don’t think we’d agree on my points above ever. I respect that, if you don’t respect me that’s your loss too really isn’t it?

I have home made, to store brought. I have crap costumes but I also feel I have good ones. I don’t think it matters, you’re celebrating your fandom and you’re doing it with a smile (if you are doing it right). So I’d say before you get so aggravated over someone else having a good time, think about you’re attitude towards them. They probably love what you did, they probably love you made that shield/dress etc… but if you are going to be a tool about it, you’ve already lost “the game.”

 

Terrible hand made Sanzo from Saiyuki – used for? Well actually a dressing gown. That’s how good I think it is bleh!