Stud muffin.

Niki / Paine / AzureStarlight / Azure here, for the first time in far too long. xP

This is what I've been up to. I managed to figure out a pattern of sorts for my little capelet. While I'm sure Paine's capelet is actually one piece of fabric folded over, I've decided to go ahead and simply sew two pieces together, so that way the wrong side of the pleather won't show. Also, it should make it easier to wear.

So I cut some of the pleather so I could start on that when I have a chance, and decided to go ahead and start on all of my little "metal" studs for the bottom layer of the capelet. Here's the deal with those. I spoke to the creator of the Paine cosplay I found the most impressive on cosplay.com, and she let me in on a little secret. She simply cut inch by inch squares of craft foam, punched through them with brads, and spray-painted them silver. I couldn't even tell it wasn't metal, in all of the photos I looked through. The only problem I could see with hers was that some of the studs had a tendency to rotate, because she actually punched through the material of the capelet with the brads, and that was how she attached them. While I might go ahead and do that, I think I'm going to secure the studs further on the back side of the material so that they won't rotate. Micah's momma found the brads I want, by chance, so once I get those from her, I'll be ready to punch them through the foam and get to painting.  :3

Here are some photos I took while working on the studs.  :)

I think it looks like a miniature bookshelf all stacked like this.  :3

DOMINOOOOOO

My scissors are all jacked up from all the crazy art projects I've subjected them to... xP

The squares are all one inch by one inch. Some are a little off, just because the dimensions of the foam sheets unfortunately weren't as precise as they claimed to be.

What will probably come next in my series of cosplay things to do is to actually go ahead and sew up the capelet. I'm still in the process of losing some weight, so I want to wait to make my shorts and leggings, since those will also be made of pleather. But I think that the capelet shouldn't change much even if I lose some weight before Otakon. I can't decide if I would rather sew the seams to the bottom, stud-filled piece, then attach the studs, and THEN sew it to the top, or if I should just do all the sewing in one go and then attach all the little studs.

Things I still need to do (mostly once money permits):
-buy boots
-order contacts
-make shorts
-make leggings
-make suspenders (buy red pleather)
-make/put together belts
-make five million little decoration-y thingies
-pretend sword doesn't exist

I will give another update with photos soon!

Wigs for one, and wigs for all!

Today, I tried on like seventeen wigs seemingly. (actually it was only three and you'll see them all below. We got our Yuna X-2, Yuna X, Paine, and Rikku wig from a website called cosplayandwigs.com which i really recommend for group cosplayers because they gave my group a discount <3.

First-- we did our hair. I find that the easiest way to do under wig hair for long hair is to do two french braids, and plan on teaching all the cosplayers similarly.

So, let's start off with Yuna (because that's me!!!)

Two wigs, $30 each from that cosplay and wig shop that I mentioned previously! :D The one on the left is Yuna from X,  and the one on the right is Yuna from X-2, which I will be using for the group shots.

So Yuna A, and Yuna B. The one on the left almost feels natural on my head while the right does not. :{ It's not so unbelievely tight that it hurts obnoxiously though, last year i wore the giant hoops on my head which I think hurt more than any short brown wig can. Also in the picture on the right, you can see my hair line. Considering I have brown hair, this isn't the largest deal, but i can see it, which annoys me.

So, naturally me and Paine posed a little bit. I was thinking of maybe using some sort of temporary hair lightener on my hair line so that it does look more natural. I don't know though. Everyone else doesn't thinks it's a big deal.

Niki right here, is showing the admiration of her beautiful wig. So on to paine! This is her, just styling it mostly with her fingers to get the wig to perk up in the manner that it needed to. She'll be doing more styling, and posting her own posts describing this styling. So stay tuned! :D

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long hair.

Oh wait, you're not Rapunzel! Dx Paine, gtfo. Because Rikku hasn't been able to get over to try on her wig, I did it for her to make sure that nothing was abnormal, etc, and to figure out how to properly connect this little pig tail that paine is sporting oh so beautifully.

The wig company that we bought the wigs from connected the hair for the excess pony tail to this giant clip thing. And at first, this made me scared cause I had no idea how I was going to connect this to Rikku's wig. (which is a normal short blonde thing).

The wig itself is also really thick, just like all the rest, which made the pony tail surprisingly easy to attach. we used the braids, and a little bit of the pony tail to cover up the clip.

Shuyin's wig is complicated. Matt wants it to look like this, but it doesn't at the moment. So his wig is going under construction, with beautiful artist Niki at his side. He will also post progress later. (I hope).

So here are the three wigs. We really need to get better at posing with each other <<;

Happy Cosplay! :D

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

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

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...

Wigging OUT

REALIZATIONS.

Micah and I have been pondering how the hell to make my Paine wig WORK.

We've talked to commissioners…

and all sorts of people…

AND WE JUST REALIZED.

We just need a badly-colored Kakashi wig. And I can style it. No problem.

How did we not realize this before?!

No Paine, no gain.

Welp… they always say "go big or go home"… soooo… for my VERY first cosplay… I'm going BIG, guys.

It's me, Niki- this year's Paine for our Otakon group. I'm extremely nervous… buuuuut equally excited. I cannot WAIT to start. It can only be great.

The thing about Paine and her costume is that… well… there are a lot of little things. Little… skin-tight things… ohhhhh, goodness. Yes, yes, and lots and lots of pleather will also be involved here. I broke her entire costume down so I could process it all mentally, and it seems like a lot. But I'm so ready to start it.

Necklace:
Leather studded collar
Barbed wire + pendant necklace

Cloak:
Pleather cloak (material by yd)
Metal/mirror studs
Broach

Shorts:
Black leather shorts (could be cut-off pleather pants)
Two buckles for slit-sides

Thigh-highs:
Black pleather thigh-highs (could be cut pleather leggings)
Three buckles for slit-sides
Red connector straps with metal ornament studs

Boots:
Leather/possibly vinyl boots (either simple flat boots or slight heel [comfort!])
Studded ankle straps

Belts:
Buckle belt under ribs
Circle belt under belly button
Skull belt on waist
Wheel belt on hips (need wheels and red cord, possibly red pleather)

Randoms:
Black leather/pleather elbow-length gloves
Red pleather suspenders
Pinkish-red contacts
Brown-gray wig
Silver stud earrings

Well, friends... wish me luck!