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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Costs and Considerations of Costumes

Yup tis me again!  I’m going to write about something dear to all our hearts, money, lack of or overspending of.

All too often you will see people searching the pages to get cheap commissions or to get costumes fast because a) you might be new to cosplaying or b) you are restricted on funds.

You might well be dismayed when that comes in the post because, and don’t think you are alone here, what turns up doesn’t even vaguely look like the epic costume you envisioned. And sadly this is why – pay for cheap you get cheap. And I am not going to be arrogant and say I told you so… because that assumes it’s about you being stupid and it’s not. It’s about learning what and where to order from. Not everyone is able to sew, for instance I find it very hard to find the space in a small flat so something’s I will order from people.

What I learnt by trial, error and money is that you need to research what you want and carefully… First time I brought something it was a total disaster, nothing like the thing I had ordered and consequently sits in a box of shame with the idea I might one day find a use for the component parts.

It’s akin to buying a Walmart/Primark suit for a job interview then wondering why the guy in Prada has nailed it… the investment speaks for itself. Of course if you’re new to the whole thing and you want to get something cheap and fun until you think this is the hobby for you ignore me!

I also don’t include this when we’re talking about home made costumes, if you can make it and try then I think it’s great because it’s a creative thing and more to celebrate. However I guess this is more for me when I say keep it in perspective – if you want to have a totally epic armour set that looks like it was made by professionals you either need to be that said professional, talented or pay the cost. Don’t get upset if you aren’t stopped for you’re Link costume if the Link beside you is home made or cost an extra few hundred bucks.

What I love about seeing costumes way better than mine is thinking, well that’s about ten million ideas I use to make a better one next time!

And on that joyous note I wish you all a wonderful Con Season and hope that you love your cosplays as much as I do!

And just for a laugh see my Gears of War Stranded that I took to MCM Telford. If you like it you can hit the link here and say so, thanks!!

Peace out.

GearsGirl