cosplay

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What I wore: no capes

It’s been a couple of years since my last cosplay.  After a stint as Tank Girl at Supanova I unintentionally took a hiatus from cosplay.  I didn’t make a conscious decision not to do it anymore, I just no longer felt excited about creating and wearing costumes.  But recently I started feeling the itch to cosplay once again.  And Free Comic Book Day presented the perfect opportunity to rock a new character costume

I’ve got a short list of characters I want to cosplay, and Edna Mode from The Incredibles was at the top of that list.  I adore Edna’s super sharp style and lightening wit.  Like so many cartoon characters, her look is simple but instantly recognisable and pretty easy to translate into a cosplay costume.

Naturally, an all-black ensemble was vital.  Edna’s outfit has an armoured look to it, and it’s very structured.  I chose this heavily sequinned dress for the bell-shaped skirt and the rough texture.  I added leather-look pants with pleated details on the knees and thighs for a tough look.

I actually bought new glasses specifically for this costume.  These are the 7001 from Derek Cardigan.  I normally go for very square or cats-eye glasses, but Edna’s frames are extremely round and heavy.  I actually really like the way these frames look and they’ve become my go-to glasses lately. It’s great to step outside your comfort zone and wear something you haven’t tried before.

Edna’s makeup was kind of tricky, because in The Incredibles she doesn’t appear to be wearing makeup. I kept my look polished and fresh, making my brows heavier and doing some more extreme contouring that I do for day-to-day.  I contoured my cheeks and around my mouth to make me look a little more jowly and shaped my nose to be a tad rounder to recreate the shape of Edna’s face. I kept my lips light with a slick of nude lipstick.

 

I picked up so many new comic books on Free Comic Book Day.  My favourite offerings were The Mall, which was a very nostalgic 80’s teen romance mixed in with a crime story.  Crush was gorgeous, a tale of a young man dealing with his first crush and I really enjoyed the lightheartedness of the Adventure Time Fiona and Cake story.  Naturally, I loved Tank Girl as well.  And the artwork in Street Angel’s Dog was unlike anything I’ve seen before.

After a very long day of standing in line, waiting in stifling shops and lugging bags of books I was grateful to jump on the train back to my boyfriend’s house.  He’s never seen me in cosplay before so that was a hilarious first for us.  I was ready for a long shower, a shampoo and a Marvel movie with the man I love.

 

I loved being Edna for the day and allowing myself to jump back into cosplaying.  I felt a bit disappointed with myself when I lost interest in cosplaying, because it used to be something that brought me so much joy.  But sometimes we grow out of hobbies that we used to love.  And sometimes we just need some time and distance, and suddenly our interest bubbles up again and we get to become reacquainted with that fun and creativity that we used to know.  And when that happens, it’s an awesome feeling.

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Daily outfit 25/11/2014

Every cosplayer faces the dilemma of what to do with their costume pieces in between conventions.  I know some people who display their costumes like works of art in their homes.  Others have entire wardrobes devoted to storing their cosplay gems (while their day-to-day clothes are relegated to the floor).  I take a different approach, as I like to work my cosplay items in with my regular clothes.

Today I decided to team the tee shirt from my Tank Girl cosplay with a laid-back outfit for a day of shopping and hanging out with my cousins.

I am wearing:

– Tank Girl tee (bought from Target, modified by me)

– Red and black striped skirt (thrifted)

– Red patent leather heels from Giallo

– Silver ear cuff from Sportsgirl

– Swarovski stud earring

– White resin bangle (thrifted)

– Ruby ring (inherited from my Great Aunt Anne)

– London bus bag from Harrods

Lately I’ve found myself really drawn to crop tops.  I’m not used to showing off my midriff, so it’s a bit of a challenge for me.  I prefer to wear my crop-tops with a high-waisted skirt, to show off a sliver of flesh between my navel and my ribcage.

This handbag was a gift from my old next-door-neighbours, and I’ve had it since I was four years old.  I adore it because it’s a little bit different, and big enough to fit all my bits and pieces in.  It’s also waterproof, which came in handy when my little cousin Abbey decided to turn the hose on me while we were filling up her paddling pool!

I also have a beautiful new ring.  This gem came from my Great Aunt Anne, who passed away recently.  She had no children of her own, and all of her things were sent to my grandmother when she passed.  I always have difficulty finding rings to fit me, because my fingers are really fine.  It seems that I inherited my tiny hands from my aunt, because all of Anne’s rings fit me perfectly.  So I took quite a few gorgeous rings home with me.  I feel quite sad that I never got a chance to meet my Great Aunt Anne, because it seems that she and I would have had quite a bit in common. As it is, I will wear her jewels with pride.

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Armageddon Expo Melbourne 2014

I made the joke recently that Armageddon is like geek Christmas for me.  It’s the last convention of the year that I attend and there’s always a strong sense of anticipation beforehand.  Also, Armageddon was the first convention I ever went to, so for me there’s a feeling of nostalgia and homecoming that surrounds Armageddon.

Last Sunday I was awakened by a rat-a-tat-tat at the door.  It was 5am and my mate Luke was at my place, super-excited and eager to make a start on our costumes.  After a hearty breakfast, a quick shower and several hours of makeup, we were ready to head out the door and make the drive to the city.

Luke had decided to dress as Zombie Superman and I’d offered to help him out with his special effects makeup.  We had loads of fun splattering his costume with fake blood and scruffing it up.  Here’s a picture of Luke waiting on a pretty pink towel for his blood to be dry enough that it wouldn’t rub off on the interior of the car.

I had so much fun with this makeup.  It’s been quite a while since I’ve experimented with horror makeup.  The eye-socket was a real challenge but I am pretty darn pleased with how it turned out.  Luke got a lot of compliments on his costume (and scared quite a few kids as well)

I opted for a re-booted version of my old faithful Tank Girl cosplay.  I’d intended to dress as Susan Sto Helit from The Hogfather, but then I read the weather report.  I didn’t feel like sweltering  in a wig and full-length gown and cape, so I chose to don my cutoffs and combat boots once again.

I made a few small modifications to my costume this time around.  I made a ‘target’ tee shirt like the one that Tank Girl wears in the film and dyed my hair green for the occasion.  I actually really liked the way my green hair looked!

The con itself was just sensational.  Some of the highlights included:

– Meeting up with Caz from Nerdburger.  Caz and I have been blogging buddies for years.  I even interviewed her way back when my blog was just a baby.  She is so sweet in real life and it was fantastic to finally meet her.

– Catching up with Stewart McKenny and Chris McQuinlan, two of my favourite comic book artists.  It was especially awesome to meet up with Chris when I was wearing my Tank Girl costume, because Chris did an awesome Tank Girl pin-up commission for my birthday a few years back.

– Seeing a little kid in a stroller, happily munching through a pack of trading cards.  I’m not even kidding.  He was eating those things like they were chips!

– Getting my mug shot taken by the Gotham City police department.

– Seeing a giant dancing Groot.

– Getting photos taken with this life-sized Jabba the Hut.

And of course, there were some incredible cosplayers.  Here are some of my favourites:

Groot!  I nearly hyperventilated when I saw him towering above the crowds.  His costume was so detailed and he loved to dance.

I went mad for this pink Darth Vader and her Storm Trooper pal.  Although I didn’t notice until afterwards that he was carrying Jar Jar Binks’ head around (embarrassing fact: I actually like Jar-Jar.  Let me hang my head in shame while we move onto the next picture)….

Howard Moon and Vince Noir from The Mighty Boosh!  These dudes were incredible.  That synthesizer actually worked, and they performed Future Sailors just for me.  I was one happy fangirl.

I found another Tank Girl!  And she was flippin’ adorable!

What horror-lovin’ gal wouldn’t love a free smoosh from Michael Myers?

And it’s pretty cool and Freddy and Michael were able to put down their weapons and get cosy for the camera.

Tank Girl got a little pick-me-up from Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.  Don’t fret, it’s just candy!

I ran into this awesome Prince Oberyn Martell who I met at Comic Con earlier in the year.

He was positively lickable!


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WOMAN!  WOMAN!  There just aren’t enough Muppets cosplayers.  It was so awesome to see this guy dressed as Animal.

Apparently severed heads were all the rage at Armageddon. This time is was Amy Pond with a Cyberman head.

Jane Lane!  She likes having low self-esteem.  It makes her feel special.

This Snow White was just too chipper for my taste  (haha!  She was actually super sweet).

Astrid and Hiccup from How to Train your Dragon.

I was totally smitten with this Flynn Ryder.  He was pretty dashing.

But not as dashing as Gaston!  Swoon!  What girl could resist those biceps?

This Elsa was so stunning.  I couldn’t take my eyes off her gown, it was just so beautiful.

We had a fair bit of Superman-on-Superman action.  This Clarke Kent was the slickest non-zombie Superman I saw all day.

I had a fantastic time this year and it was awesome to meet so many brilliant cosplayers.  I am a bit sad that the cons are all over for this year, but I’m already thinking about what I’m going to wear to next-years conventions.

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Oz Comic Con 2014

It’s been more than a year since my last convention.  I hope you can forgive me…

On Sunday I got all kitted up in my Velma Dinkley cosplay (last seen at Supanova in 2011)  and headed on down to the Royal Exhibition Centre in Melbourne for some geeky fun.

Firstly, can I just say that the Royal Exhibition Centre was an awesome venue for Comic Con.  The last Comic Con I attended was in 2012 at the Convention centre and it was horrible.  There were just too many people crammed into too small a space and it was dismal.  The Royal Exhibition centre is much bigger and much more suited to a convention of this size.

I went with Luke, the gentleman that I’ve been spending pretty much all my free time with lately.  He put together a truly stunning Harley Quinn cosplay, complete with massive mallet (in case you’re wondering, it’s made of yoga mats and duct tape!)

We had a brilliant time wandering about.  As you will already know if you’re a regular reader, my favourite part of any con is the cosplayers.  So naturally I have a bajillion cosplay pictures to share with you.  Here we go!

We made it our mission to find as many Batman characters as possible so that Luke could pose with them.  There were so many awesome Batman-themed cosplayers, and the first one we found was this awesome retro Catwoman.

I couldn’t resist striking a pose in front of the TARDIS.

I was so impressed by this gorgeous Pixie cosplay.  Her wingspan was massive and she was just the cutest!

How creepy and awe-inspiring is this fantastic Pyramid Head cosplay?  I don’t know how she managed to hold that head upright for the entire day, but she looked fantastic.

Spongebob!  Sometimes the simplest costumes are the most effective.

I couldn’t help but swoon a little over this Prince Oberyn impersonator.  Who wouldn’t want their very own Dornish Prince to go to battle for them?

I’ve seen a lot of Iron Man costumes in my time, but this one was by far the most epic.  His hands, chest and eyes all lit up!

Mystique is my favourite X-Men character (Duh!  She’s able to shape-shift into any form she wants!)  And this Mystique was so gorgeous.  She was so tall too, and even towered over Luke!

Wolverine!  This guy had serious attitude, and I adored his special effects makeup.

True to form, Silent Bob didn’t speak a word the entire time we were posing for pictures.  I should have asked him if he needed a chuckle-head sidekick…

Huzzah for giant minions!

Moments after this picture was taken, Shredder was swept away by a cosplay conga-line.  True story!

I found another Velma!

This group was easily the best thing I saw all day.  Not only were their costumes fantastically detailed but they were super-sweet.  Just look at that Olaf costume!  Later in the day I saw this group chatting to a couple of little girls who looked like their dreams had just come true.

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I knew there’d be a lot of Freddy Krueger cosplayers because Robert Eglund was one of the special guests at Comic Con this year.  But this one was the creepiest.  Check out her teeth!

These two were Officially The Cutest Thing I Saw at Comic Con.  I love Disney Princess costumes, but gender-bend Disney Princes?  Even better!

I’m trying to save my money so I didn’t do quite as much shopping at Comic Con this time around. Luke did buy me this adorable Olaf doll.  He likes warm hugs! (And there’s no danger of accidentally melting him!)

I couldn’t resist this incredible Dr Who print from Stewart McKenny.  Stewart has a whole series of amazing pin-up prints, but I was so drawn to the lifelike detail in this tribute to the 10th Doctor.

Stew has captured Number 10’s impish personality so perfectly!

I had a wonderful time at Comic Con.  I’m feeling really keen to visit more cons this year and to try out some cosplay ideas that I’ve had kicking around for a while.  I’m so excited to get back into the con scene, because it’s something I really love.

Did you make it to Comic Con this year?  How did you find it?

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Halloween 2013

I’m back!  Before I get into my post today, I wanted to say a massive “Thank you!” to all of my readers who got in touch with me to offer your support and well-wishes after Nana’s passing.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.

On Saturday I held my annual Halloween party.  I had debated whether or not to have a party this year because it was always something that Ross and I had done together and I thought that it might be too painful to do it without him.  But in the end I decided that I really wanted to because it would be an awesome opportunity to catch up with some of my mates.

I was lucky enough to have the lovely Miss Fairchild come to spend the weekend with me.  We had an absolute blast and she gave me loads of help setting up for the party.

My party was very low-key, but I still got some awesome photos that I wanted to share with you.

DSCF9108I had decided a while ago that I wanted to dress as The Joker from The Dark Knight.  I was excited by the prospect of trying some new special effects makeup to do the Joker’s scars.  This was my first time working with liquid latex, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out.

DSCF9110I took a lot of inspiration from Heath Ledger’s Joker.  I like the rough and undone look, which I think it a lot more frightening than the more manic joker from the Batman comics.

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At one point we ordered pizzas for dinner and I went out to pay the delivery woman.  She had her little girl in the car, and (forgetting what I looked like) smiled and waved at her.  She looked like she was about to burst into tears!  I felt very bad about scaring her and I apologised about a million times.

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My mate Evan came dressed as Walter White from Breaking Bad.  His costume included a bag of sky blue meth (which was actually Evan’s home-made blue toffee).

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DSCF9102Jelly was unimpressed when he tried to push the goods onto her.

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DSCF9118Miss Fairchild wore her incredible spider hat (which you can see in all its glory in this post).  Can you believe she made that herself?

DSCF9119My brother also came to the party and so did my friend Kath.  Kath was dressed in a fantastic rabbit costume and I really regret not taking any photos of it.  It was gorgeous!

I had a really brilliant time and it was awesome to have a chance to catch up with all of my friends.

What did you do for Halloween?

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Things I Love Thursday 31/10/2013

Happy Halloween!  No matter where you are in the world, I hope you have a truly awesome time.  Whether you’re getting right into the Halloween spirit with costumes and trick-or-treating or if you don’t celebrate it at all, I hope your day is amazing.

This week, I love:

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– Finding out that one of my favourite comic artists, Stewart McKenny has created an amazing Luna Lovegood portrait and named me as one of his sources of inspiration.  I could not be more flattered.

– Getting into my pyjamas the moment I arrive home from work.

– Cous cous salad with pumpkin and green beans,

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– Celebrating Ringo’s birthday.  He turned four yesterday.  We marked the day with loads of cuddles and a special dinner of fancy mince.

– Looking forward to my Halloween party in a couple of weeks.

–This video that one of my friends sent me of cats stealing dogs beds.  It’s so funny but so sad all at once.

– Starting my Christmas shopping.

– Taking Jelly outside with me while I do some gardening.  She’s such a good girl and always stays inside the yard.

– Emails from gorgeous friends.

– Painting my nails bright red.

– Yoga

– Lemon cake with Earl Grey tea.

– I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett.  I love Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching books.  She’s one of my favourite characters and she’s so beautifully written.  I loved this quote from I Shall Wear Midnight:

“Only time and tears can take away grief.  That is what they are for”.

 

DSCF8630-Enjoying how healthy my hair is since I cut it.  Although I loved my long hair, I had so many split ends and the lengths of my hair were so dull and dry.  Now that it’s been cut much shorter, my hair is much shinier and softer.  I’m really enjoying wearing it out, because it looks so healthy at the moment.

 

– Flipping through an album of long-lost family photos and remembering places and people that I haven’t seen for decades.

 

What do you love this week?

 

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How to cover your brows for costume and special effects makeup

Sometimes you have to go-all out with your makeup for a costume.  There are some more elaborate makeup styles that look better when you conceal your natural eyebrows and draw in new ones.  For example, drag queens often cover all or part of their brows and then draw in a new brow in a more feminine shape.  Some costumes may also require you to alter the shape, colour or size of your brows to get the right look.

So how do you do that without removing your brows entirely?  I promise you that there is a way.

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Today I’m going to show you the method I use to cover my brows for costume and special effects makeup.  It takes a while to do, but it’s very effective.  I’ve tried a couple of different eyebrow-concealing methods in the past.  I don’t like to use products like spirit gum, because they can be difficult to remove without taking a chunk of your eyebrow off too.  I’ve used glycerine soap before, but I found that it simply wasn’t strong enough to hold down my ultra-bushy brows.  My method of choice involves a simple glue stick.

The glue stick is used to flatten out your eyebrows so that you can apply makeup over the top of them to mask their appearance.  You can’t just use any old glue: choose one that’s non-toxic and water based.  It also pays to do a spot-test of the glue on your skin before you use it to make sure that you don’t have an allergic reaction to it.

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I like this method because it flattens out my brows really well, and makes it easy to apply makeup on top of the brow area.  Once you’ve concealed the brow, you can apply eyeshadow or other makeup to the area for a dramatic look.  You can see in the picture of me in my Columbia costume that I’ve got gold makeup up to and over my brow, and I’ve drawn in new (hot pink) brows for my costume.

This is also a good method for covering brows because the glue is actually pretty easy to remove.  At the end of the night, soak an old washcloth in warm water and hold it over the eyebrow for a few moments.  Then wipe the area firmly to remove.  The glue will dissolve with the water and heat and leave your eyebrows intact.