Weapons-- Take 1

The thing that makes gunner yuna so awesome, is her guns. So today was attempt one at guns. I just got back from an oral surgeon which was the main reason I gave up for the day. Two stitches in my gums :{.

I was trying to make these. The tutorial is here. I bought 16 mm press board (I guess that's what it's called) from home depot, and then 6mm and 3mm craft wood from Micheal's (which by the way is awesome cut! and that part is not sarcastic).

So we started out well. Cutting out the patterns as the instructions instructed. After we were done with each step, the pattern slowly got progressively smaller. (I am totally not showing off my mustang on purpose-- maybe the boyfriend though).

The main body of the gun got placed on the 16mm board, and then traced. I tried to do super dark lines in order to help the person using the saw (I wasn't allowed).

I don't know if you can tell in this photo, but these are the two guns traced on the piece of board. The board was steadied with clamps so that we could begin the sawing!

This is my wonderful mother carving out some of the smaller pieces with her little scroll saw. I wasn't allowed to use them because I just got out of the oral surgeons and apparently am a little weird. Psh! At least I may get some saw time with my staff...

I stacked up a couple of the pieces as we went so that you could get a good view of the gun's building, as the pieces were coming hot off the press.

A bunch of the pieces waiting to be sanded. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my camera?

Me, my boyfriend, and daddy all sanded the pieces. Yuri is totally a perfectionist when it comes to these things.

The reason why this is part one is because, even though they were all done to pattern, there was just too much human error, and not all the pieces fit perfectly together. Working on the sanding is pain staking. :{ (If anyone has an automatic sander, I would LOVE to barrow it). It's also incredibly cold outside and I'm an 110 pound wimp. :}

Part one has been stored in a box in my closet, and it will be picked up soon... maybe even tonight-- if i can find a space heater. :D Happy Cosplay!

Stud muffin.

I'm not going around to deviantART and coscom members who've cosplayed as Paine and asking for advice… I don't know what you're talking about!

See, the problem I'm having right now is that I'm trying to figure out how to manage Paine's studded shawl. The studs look pretty big, at least 2cm square. But the BIGGEST I can find for flat, metal studs is 10mm, MAYBE 13. And they're way overpriced.

Besides, by looking at her, it looks like instead of punk studs, they're square pieces of metal riveted by the screw or whatever that little round thing in the middle is. So studs would work, but would be a replacement for the real thing.

Now I'm trying to figure out if I can recreate what is actually there instead of just taking the shortcut…
-___-

On the bright side, I'm about to win the necklace charm on eBay and I know EXACTLY how I'm going to make the barbed wire chain... So excited to start it!!  <3

Dead lines! And Hunger.. Mmm

I found out today that I should be able to wear contacts with my Yuna cosplay. Of course, I will be sending a note to my doctor, to ask further, but as google says... I will be able to wear soft contacts. They're going to be a little bit dryer than normal, so I'm going to have to carry around eye drops, which means lots of water proof make-up.

For those who don't know, I'm getting something done called PKR. I go into surgery June 8th. It means a lot to me. I will be pretty helpless and blind the first week, so thankfully many of my friends have agreed to watch me and my new eyes. This is going to do wondrous things for me in the cosplay world. Not only will I not have to worry about putting on make-up while blind, I also won't have to constantly be adjusting contacts... Unless they're colored of course.

In response to these great things, Pinky paradise (the same place that Niki is ordering from), have agreed to sell me one blue and one green contact. :} So I don't have to pay for two pairs! Not quite sure which one's I'm going to order... But i'm leading to something that still makes the eyes look-- dark... With Yuna you can hardly tell about her eyes unless you're looking at her straight on.

Maybe something like this? All thoughts are taken into consideration. Any other characters, need to make sure that they have their eye arrangements made with me so that we can do one joint order. :} Usually by doing it like this, I can A.) Convince pinkyparadise to sell me two different colored contacts, and B.) I can get discounts on some things (like wigs from cosplayandwig.com).

Speaking of which, the wig order will be going in by Sunday! :D So get any of those to me as well.

Most boots on target.com are buy one, get one for 50% off. I will most likely be buying these ones, for my Yuna X costume, so if someone wants to make an order with me, we'll split the savings!

Um. Lenne got fabric! And I'll be seeing if I can put her up on the website sooner, rather than later. We're also thinking about coating candy beads in Resin for her earrings. We'll see what Resin can truly eat through ;3

Happy Cosplay

PREEMPTIVE STRIKE

Sleepy Niki went out and bought some sleepy hairspray and sleepy hair glue for sleepy future Paine wig... I'll post pictures later of the destruction and havoc I'm going to wreak on my hair out of experimentation. They will be RIDICULOUS. Also found some vague construction inspiration for my pieces... Woahhhh my photo almost makes me look like I have circle lenses in... SPEAKING of which, I decided to go ahead and get these...

I have an optometrist appointment this Friday to get my eyes rechecked for prescription contacts since I haven't worn  and once I have my prescription, Micah and I will be ordering our contacts.  <3

I think I'm going to wait to do the actual construction of all the pleather until I come home for the summer. Hopefully I'll reach at least halfway to my weight goal by then. In the meantime, I think I'll start with little details- the clasps, the necklace, the wheels, the brooch... things I can model here at school without having an entire huge costume in my tiny dorm room. I'll also try and buy and style my wig, so that I can just touch it up between now and Otakon. I want to give myself plenty of time to figure out how to achieve the best, most "natural" look. And I am DETERMINED.  >:3

WIG-gle, WIG-gle, WIG-gle, WIG-gle, WIG-gle, YEAH!!

So I've narrowed down my possibilities for wigs. I've been doing my darndest to find one that would have the same brown-blonde-silver quality Paine's hair has, and not be suuuper expensive, and this is what I came up with...

STILL LOOKING, THOUGH. If I can find a better one, these are going out the window.



Option 1:

This is a kind of long wig, which would be good for me since I need to cut it to the specific size I want. Paine's hair is kind of longish in the back, and since her hair goes so tall, the top section is pretty long, too. Plus, there are TONS of this same wig on eBay, so availability is not an issue.

Price: ~$17.00 USD

Option 2:

This one is a little darker, and a little browner, which I think might actually suit Paine better. Also seems like it would spike easily, which is incredibly important. I'm just not sure if it is too short for the length and height of her fauxhawk.

Price: ~$18.00 USD

Option 3:

My biggest concern with this one is that it may not be thick enough or long enough, but I'd need a second opinion. I just wish that there were more pictures of this particular one, so I could maybe gauge the thickness a little better. The color isn't PERFECT, but it's not bad.

Price: ~$25.00 USD

Option 4:

This one seems like the color is pretty darn close, but I'm not sure if the length is enough. Also don't know if it comes in layers or if it was cut into layers for the photo. I do know it was styled, but I'm not sure how. This one also looks like it's pretty high quality, ESPECIALLY for the price. Looks pretty natural compared to lots of wigs, and pretty thick, too.

Price: ~$17.00 USD

Option 5:

This one has length everywhere, which I love for its versatility. Just not quite sure about the thickness, and I don't know if the color is quite warm enough for it to leave the realm of plain gray and come closer to Paine's haircolor.

Price: ~$20.00 USD

Option 6:

This one looks a bit lighter than the rest, which I think is okay because of how Paine's color looks compared to it. Just don't know how well it would spike.

Price: ~$16.00 USD

Zombie or not zombie?! THAT... is no question.

Almost every cosplayer I see trying to pull off Paine's look goes out of their way to make themselves look ghastly pale, with super heavy eye makeup and just an overall emo demeanor. But Paine isn't some depressed middle schooler, she's just a badass! A badass with a healthy tannish glow, natural makeup, and who doesn't perpetually have a scowl on her face. I am going to do my best to portray the REAL Paine, not the one people seem to be portraying.

</endrant>

Micah says, "Niki is beautiful" :D

JiZz JaZz :}

I know this isn't actually the costume that I am doing, but in honor of our new member, I decided to put my character in her dress sphere. Although, I am singing a song to potentially whoo her boyfriend from a different universe.. Lenne I hope you'll forgive me. :{

Introducing Wendy as our new Lenne. [/insert claps here].

Other Characters added to our cosplay charades include:

Shuyin

and

Gippal

What other things did I want to talk about in this blog? Um... I drank a liter of OJ today. It was pretty great, our Paine watched me. Oh! And -drum roll-

I purchased two big things for the Yuna X costume. This wondrous costume. I'm planning on altering it, for fit, and then also removing said flower and redoing it with less/more details. I may also dye the sleves a little darker pink if I feel, when I see the costume. If for some reason, it doesn't work out, I will dissect the costume and put it together into one super costume. Paine helped me plan this ;3.

I also bought this little necklace, for the sake of saving time and money for like $8 with shipping!

Whoo! Ebay for good finds.

Back to helping Paine! Happy Cosplay :D.

Yuna from X update

Yuna from final fantasy is also another sore thumb. Well, not actually. What are your thoughts on buying complete costumes?

I found this wig, which is cute and cut well. It's also made out of the same heat resistant material that the Yuna X-2 wig is made out of. And because I would be buying two, maybe even three (My friend Paine's wig), the owner of the website is willing to give me a discount. :} Yay for cheerful piece of note. 

I found this beautiful costume for $89 on ebay. I'm just unsure of buying a whole costume. I've hand made all of the rest of them. I was also thinking that maybe the fabric wouldn't be of the quality that I normally buy, but even if that's so, i can probably line it with something, right? The detail in the embroidery is amazing. However, I still like the ability to say when someone asks you about a costume, that I hand made it.

They always give you that look of pleasant surprise.  Maybe I could just lie to get over that pitfall. Found this necklace for $2 on ebay for both of the costumes. Will be buying at least that piece. 

Nick name bo bink names :}

Why do bunnies come up when you put in the word rave? Teehee. So cute. Marshmallow is rolling in her litterbox with glee that I posted a picture of a bunny. Well, this post doesn't have much to do with raving at all. In fact, it kind of has more to do with nicknames, and cosplaying.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Starlighthoney-Cosplay-Fanpage/149491341758603?ref=ts
There is Star light honey.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Breathlessaire-Cosplay/210485942369276?ref=ts
Breathlessaire
http://www.facebook.com/RexlunaCosplay
and Rexluna.

These are all people I admire, all people that I dote upon and worship in my little cosplaying circle. What do they all have in common? A nick name. They all have a nick-name that's easy enough to remember, that when kids see their costumes, they can then go and look them up on an online webpage like facebook.

I want that. I would like a nick-name.

Let's do some brainstorming!

All the cosplays that I do have a common theme. It's LADY Subaru, and PRINCESS Kakyuu, and HIGH SUMMONER Yuna. You get it?

Another thing, In highschool I was always called Miko, which by wikipedia's meaning, means... A shrine maiden. :0.

I sense some correspondence. Now I need to just... make it cute... and bunny worthy.

Keeping in contact?

So... I'm kinda wondering which contacts to buy for Paine. IF I wind up buying them at all. Any opinions?

The difference is subtle, but I still can't decide which I like more... ohhhh, circle lenses. Why must you do this to meeee...

Yuna X-2 update

Yuna from X-2 has her own bag of problems. I was going to use the same shorts from the rave costume that are miscellaneously not coming in. Also, the wonderful one who I commissioned to make her jewelry isn't responding back to any of my messages. I posted about the boots previously. And that stays true to now.

My mom tye dyed this tester piece of fabric for the costume. This makes the piece of fabric look really vibrant and blue but unfortunately it didn't turn out like that after drying, so it will be re-tested on some more fabric. However, I really do like this fabric choice here because it has a lot of texture to it.

We ordered lace like this one, with a little bit of the flower pattern for both the shirt and the top. Some of the shirt lace that we ordered isn't stretch lace however, ergo it wouldn't stay flat to my body like Yuna's seem to. So, we did a couple redo's and have a couple great prospects.

We found this lace at the bottom of a shirt, and it looks like the right color, but it's just such an ugly color. Plus i would never be able to find the fabric of the hood in order to correctly match the two. So that was another no go :{

I found this wig on a wonderful site for $40 with free shipping. So, I will probably end up doing that. All of the fabric is bought, including the material for the "satchel" with coupons from wonderful jo-annes fabric. The only things left to straighten out is the guns which give me fear when I think about them.