Cosplay News

And finally it's styled. This beauty is 110 cm long. A bitch to maintain but looks sweet. I've got the cosplay ready for the upcoming con, but I was too lazy to put it on. XD The trick to storing this one is twist ties and a plastic bag. Lots of TLC too. My hairbrush is full of blue and purple. I'm hoping to put up some of my Stocking photos after the con, and as well some of the Ciel photos from a recent Kuroshitsuji photoshoot.

Stocking Wig!

And this is my Ciel wig:

How about you show me your favourite cosplay wig? (If you cosplay) :3

At any point in time have you ever asked yourself ‘am I really addicted to this?’

Well of course you have! Who hasn’t?

Now how about this? ‘How addicted to this am I?’

Okay maybe lesser people asked this to themselves, but we still have a high count.

How about looking up to the heavens and proclaim to the world ‘Yeah I’m an anime addict. Got a problem with that?’ Now that my friends, are my kind of people.

There are a lot out there who are anime addicts, like myself, but are quite shy to admit it. I don’t know why and I don’t bother to ask. It’s their life not mine. But I’ve also seen some hard core addicts, even more so than myself, that they actually wouldn’t mind suffering hours upon hours of sweating in their massive costumes just for fun.

Yes, I mean cosplay, and not just those ordinary otaku that all they have to do is put on their desired costume(i.e. sailor-fuku), grab a wig and trot around mingling with other otaku’s. I mean those that goes the extra length of planning months ahead, spending their allowances on the cloth(which are quite expensive) and the service(tailor) and on the awaited day haul their costumes in the restroom and then come out looking like… DOMO-KUN!

When asked, ‘is it hot in there?’ he replied ‘uh… yeah, but no sweat I could do this all day’.  Seriously? Yes seriously. Insane? Yes, but with them around you can be sure it’s going to be one hell of a day.

Man! Talk about first-class otaku. I could even get myself to cosplay a simple character(since I’m pretty much stingy when it comes to cash) let alone one that would probably kill me due to dehydration.

But still whether one likes to cosplay, collect figurines and mangas or not, an otaku is an otaku. Much like a doctor, no matter what he/she specializes in is still a doctor. You can’t argue with that fact.

Note: Ehe… just suddenly thought of this, don’t mind me.

Yunaginomachi out. >=3

The Basics... Part One

Why Cosplay?

Just have fun

Good question. Everybody has their own personal reasons why they like to cosplay, and I admit, not everybody likes it. I cosplay because I enjoy dressing up and being generally crazy and having fun with my favourite characters. One of the big things when starting to cosplay is to ask yourself why. If it’s because all your friends do it and you don’t want to be left behind, and really you hate cosplaying, then don’t. Simple as that. But whether you’re aiming to become a world famous cosplayer, or just go to your local con, make sure that at least part of the reason that you’re cosplaying is because it’s fun. Never be pressured into a cosplay as well. If your yaoi crazed female friend asks you to dress as –insert yaoi character here- and do sexy yaoi photoshoots with –insert best friend who is same gender as you-, despite the fact you’re both straight, refuse politely. If something isn’t in your comfort zone, nobody can force you to do anything.

Who To Cosplay

 One of my first cosplays

When choosing your first cosplay it’s extremely important for you to have a group. Find a series you want to cosplay from, and gather friends. It will be a horrible and lonely experience if you’re just one character, especially from a more obscure fandom. I like to choose a cosplay for how the costume looks. When you’re beginning it's crucial to choose a cosplay that is easy, and do able, but make sure it still looks good. Cosplay isn’t limited to anime, remember that. It will make your life easier. Good starting cosplay are as follows:

• Alice in Wonderland (or Ciel in Wonderland)
• The Sniper, The Scout, The Engineer, The Spy, and The Heavy from Team Fortress 2
• Casual, or beach versions of characters. Most common for these ones are characters from Hetalia.
• Shinji Ikari
• Any random school girl
• Magnet versions of VOCALOIDs
• Izaya Orihara
• Most Death Note characters
• Most Slice of Life anime characters
  
• Princess Lea, from Star Wars
• Maka from Soul Eater

As you become more experienced, and you know where to get cosplay or how to make them, then start choosing more complex ones. Weapons, I find, are some of the most difficult to make and look good. Cosplays that are generally more difficult include:

• Claire Stanfield (It take a lot of time and effort to blood stain and ENTIRE cosplay and make it look good)
• Edward Elric (if you’re going for the exposed metallic arm)
• The Pyro, from Team Fortress 2
• Darth Vader
• Anakin
• Pretty much any character from Saint Seiya
  
• Ikaros

Getting Cosplay

Ellie Sattler... Cheapest cosplay ever.

There’s this old saying we cosplayers have, “You aren’t a real cosplayer if you haven't made your own cosplay.” This is bullshit. Cosplay is about dressing up as the character, having fun, and taking photos. It shouldn’t matter if you made your cosplay by hand, bought pieces and put them together or bought it online. If you make your cosplay by hand, the main rule is to know what you’re doing. If you don’t know how to sew, don’t make the costume. It is one of the worst ideas, and will ultimately cost you money. You could also buy bits and pieces of a cosplay from local thrift stores. For example my Ellie Sattler cosplay (Jurassic Park), was made from a blue tank top I found in Value Village, as well as a pair of short shorts. I found my brother’s old pink dress shirt that didn’t fit him, and my hiking boots and wool socks. It cost me about 20 bucks (wig not included). You can also commission somebody, who sews, to make the costume for you.   Usually a friend will give you a discount, although if you don’t have anyone, sometimes you can find good deals. Finally, the final option is to buy online. I suggest that you purchase any wigs online. Trying to find wigs in your home town is close to impossible… trust me. Now purchasing the cosplay it’s self is good for people who have a damn near impossible cosplay to sew or put together, and it’s good for first timers. Do a google search, but be warned, it isn’t cheap. Cosplay never is. The final and least helpful alternative is buying it used. Maybe you have a friend who’s selling their old cosplay, or there was an advertisement on the web. But I warn anybody taking this route to not go into strange peoples homes by themselves, and make sure that the cosplay is in good condition.

It took me awhile to write and edit, but I have finally gotten my content all together and have wrapped up writing most of my experiences at this year's FanimeCon 2011 in San Jose, Califorina. In this first of two segments that highlights my four days of wandering around, taking photos, and interviewing people for this feature, I will discuss what I saw at FanimeCon cosplay-wise, from the basic cosplayers to the elaborate cosplays that left people standing there in amazement. In addition, I have two of the interviews that I conducted for this feature, as well as some cosplay photos that I took during my travels around the San Jose Convention Center over the four-day duration of FanimeCon. I hope that you enjoy reading this feature as much as I did writing about my experiences.

One of many awesome, elaborate cosplays that I came across at FanimeCon 2011 xD

Introduction

This year, I was able to make the pilgrimage from my hometown of Chico, California down to San Jose for FanimeCon 2011, which ran from Thursday, May 27th until Monday, May 30th at the San Jose Convention Center in downtown San Jose. From the moment I first reached the Convention Center at roughly 11:30 AM Friday morning until I got on the 12:50 PM AMTRAK train back to Sacramento on Monday, I was amazed and thrilled to be surrounded by roughly 15,000 or more fellow anime/manga fans doing what they do best: partaking in four days of Con madness. I was surrounded by a horde of people, ranging from photographers to cosplayers to members of the media and everything in between as FanimeCon 2011 officially got underway at 2:00 PM Friday with the Opening Ceremonies. Armed with my 2009 Canon Rebel XSi D-SLR camera, a pair of 18-55mm and 55-250mm lenses, and two 8GB memory cards that could hold 1,350 images apiece, I set forth into the masses and began my 4-day adventure at FanimeCon 2011, taking cosplay images, conducting interviews, and helping my new friend (and fellow photographer) Sam Lau with his photoshoots outside of the Convention Center with dozens of cosplayers.

Two of the many Black Butler-related cosplays seen at FanimeCon 2011 (Grell and Ciel)

Cosplay at FanimeCon: From the Basic to the Amazing!

When I attended the opening day of FanimeCon 2010 last year (from 8 AM until 2:30 PM), I managed to walk around the Convention Center taking images of various cosplayers that were making the rounds of the area before I had to leave. This year, I decided to employ the same strategy that I had used for the 6 hours of the previous year, by making constant loops of the 1st floor, 2nd floor, and outside of the Convention Center, taking images of any cosplay that captured my attention or was worthy of being captured with my camera. This year, I began to notice after several hours that there were a ton of VOCALOID, One Piece, Black Butler, and various Final Fantasy cosplays (ranging from FFV all the way to FFXIII) at FanimeCon to behold, and they seemed to be the most popular series/franchises to cosplay as this year. I lost count of how many different cosplays from different series that I came across, but I am quite sure that it was quite a high number in the end. Some of the best cosplays that I came across were from the VOCALOID, Eureka 7, One Piece, Black Butler, Final Fantasy, Puella Magi Madoka★Magica, Code Geass, Street Fighter, Rozen Maiden, and other franchises that I could not name (not familiar with them)

One of the many cosplayers participating in a photoshoot (Cosplaying as Luka Megurine of the VOCALOID franchise)

In addition, the types of cosplay that I came across at FanimeCon were quite amazing, from the basic cosplays that new cosplayers or low-budget cosplayers donned for convention all the way to the elaborate, high budget cosplays that had photographers swarming them like flies, all trying to capture images of their amazing cosplay from whatever series/franchise it was from. There were dozens of scheduled cosplayer gatherings being held at FanimeCon, which allowed for a large number of cosplayers dressed as the characters of their favorite franchises to participate in mass photoshoots and to interact with each other under the leadership of the leader of their gathering. I managed to attend 5 gatherings (VOCALOID, Pokemon, K-ON!, Valve, and Black Butler) at FanimeCon this year, taking image of the large number of cosplayers that participated in each of their respective gatherings. One of the people that I managed to interview for my feature was the leader of the VOCALOID gathering that was held on Friday at 5:30 PM, and our brief interview is as follows:

Here is Chirstina, cosplaying as Hatsune Miku and leader of the VOCALOID gathering at FanimeCon 2011.

ShadowKnight508: So, what got you into cosplaying at FanimeCon?

Christina: Just going to the convention and seeing the cosplays and like "That looks like fun!" *laughs*

ShadowKnight508: So, what got you into cosplaying as VOCALOID?

Christina: Um, I dunno...I just love Miku, she's a great character. Um, I'm not really sure...she is just like my favorite, so....*laughs*

ShadowKnight508: So, what was your budget and what was the effort needed for your cosplay?

Christina: Um...budget was about...I wanna say around $200+. Um, it was originally about...maybe I think $75 for the wig and like $80 for the cosplay itself plus shipping, so and then I added on props later, so that total is around $50 or so.

ShadowKnight508: Thanks for participating, Christina! Enjoy the rest of your Con!

Working with Sam Lau (Cosplay.com)

Around 2 PM on Friday afternoon at FanimeCon 2011, I came across a Sucker Punch photoshoot that featured a Babydoll and other cosplays from the film. As one of the cosplayers posed with a rifle on a bike, the wind began to swirl quite strongly, sending one of the reflector screens that one photographer had set up flying. I grabbed onto it and put it back in place, holding it still until he was finished. After the shoot was over, he introduced himself to me as Sam Lau, a photographer from Toronto, Canada who was attending FanimeCon 2011 to take images for his profile on Cosplay.com. I decided that he was a neat guy to hang around with, so I asked if I could become his assistant/partner for the day. He agreed, and from that point on, I was assisting him with his photoshoots for the remaining three days of the convention. We took many images as a team, with me assisting him in his shots by holding/angling the light reflecting screen or holding the screen with a Pocket Wizard-enabled flash for additional lighting. While he packed up after he had finished, I would take my quick shots of the subject and then proceed off with Sam to find the next cosplayer to shoot. We spent the most time with a Sailor Mercury cosplayer (Sailor Moon), taking her images at the fountains at the Cesar Chavez Memorial Park and in the one fancy area of the hotel that Sam was staying at.

His images (which turned out much better, due to his impressive Nikon camera and incredible lenses), can be found on Cosplay.com under Baron Karza, his profile name.

Over the 4 days we worked together, we took images of at least 60 different cosplayers, most of which had some stunning outfits or amazing props to go with their cosplay. Below are some of the many cosplay photos that I took at FanimeCon 2011 this year. The rest (meaning the other 150 or so) can be found on my DeviantArt profile (which will be linked down below the images):

FanimeCon 2011 (57 images)

Overall, my experience at FanimeCon 2011 was a great one, for spending almost four days engulfed by all things anime/manga with over 15,000 people is nothing short of epic. I took roughly 500 images at FanimeCon, with around 280 of them turning out to be the best of the bunch, so those 280 or so are being uploaded onto my DeviantArt account (around 70% of them are loaded up as we speak). In part two of my feature on my trip to FanimeCon 2011, I will post the other three interviews that I managed to conduct, more cosplay images, photos from several of the gatherings, my Con pass, the FanimeCon 2011 guidebook, and show the band of religious protestors that show up and heckled the con attendees (which led to some funny moments with cosplayers mocking them, horsing around them until the cops showed up, and ended with a Jesus cosplayer walking in front of their group, arms spread wide and looking towards the heavens as the crowds cheered him on).

ShadowKnight's DeviantArt Profile: http://www.shadowknight508.deviantart.com

*ShadowKnight508 is a frequent user of AnimeVice, with almost 24,000 Wiki points worth of work to his name and many blogs to his credit. You can find him watching anime, taking photos, gaming, or working on the Honey Blonde/Maid Bride wiki pages.*

About two weeks ago I headed down to a convention in Tijuana, Baja California Mexico (Just a bit south of San Diego, CA). Mexicans' appeal for anime is a whole other culture. Most of Japan's educational system is very similar to that of Mexico's. All schools require uniforms and I don't need to tell you that Mexico has a knack for spices, kind of like Japan. The convention I went to was more of a Japanese culture event rather than just anime. Three Japanese bands (Kiryu, Kazha and Lemon Drop Kick) even came all the way from the land of anime itself and played live. Added to that martial arts shows, Japanese food and, of course, cosplay compiled the full on event.

I left with a sunburn, the taste a rice ball and a Sora plushie. I enjoyed myself a lot!

Special Thanks to my friend Alhan Anaya for taking most of these awesome pictures

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

FanimeCon 2011 (San Jose, California May 27th thru May 30th)

FanimeCon 2011 Banner

• Friday: Arrive at FanimeCon 2011 around 12 PM. Register at the line and make rounds of convention center. On Friday afternoon, the VOCALOID and K-ON!! cosplay gatherings will be doing their big photo events and meeting up with fellow Con attendees. I have the consent of each of these group's leaders to take their photos and to let me interview some of their members regarding their history with cosplaying, how much effort/time was spent on their cosplay, and why did they choose the character that they dressed up as on that day? I intend to write a feature on cosplayers at FanimeCon, and both of these groups will be featured in my article. 
• Saturday: I will be attending the panels, events, and doing more cosplaying photos for AnimeVice. After lunch, the NARUTO and POKEMON gatherings will be doing their big gatherings outside by the fountain, and I have the permission of the leader of the POKEMON gathering to take their photos and interview several of their members the questions seen above. I should also catch the FLOW concert and The Black and White ball as well.
  
• Sunday: This will be my last day at FanimeCon 2011, for my ride will be picking me up shortly after lunch to return the 400+ miles back home north to Chico, California. I should be able to be around for the Final Fantasy or ONE PIECE gatherings for photos, but as of now, I have not gotten a response from either group regarding them participating in my feature on cosplaying. Might also catch the Rozen Maiden gathering as well, but that depends on their time and location. 

Website: FanimeCon 2011

KinToki-Con 2011 (Sacramento, California June 16th thru 18th)

KinToki-Con 2011 Mascot

Website: KinToki-Con 2011

SACAnime 2011 (Sacramento, California September 2nd thru 4th)

SACAnime Con 2011 Banner

Website: SACAnime 2011