So we are approaching the end of 2017 which means a catch-up is well overdue!
I recently started a new full time job and I am adjusting to the hours well enough to be flexible in blog writing. Here's a recent picture of me - my hair has grown well, despite the fact it falls out when I am under any sort of stress.
If you're following my social media channels, you'll have seen I attended two MCM Comic Cons in October and November! These cons also marked my first public cosplays. This was incredibly unnerving and don't assume I attended in-costume without initial apprehension!
MCM LONDON, OCTOBER 28TH, 2017:
In terms of MCM, you may have seen I previously attended the largest British convention in London back in May 2016. In the summer of 2017, I was dead set on cosplaying at a con and decided to arrange another visit.
Okay, so I don't think I outlined this enough in my previous post but the whole travel and entering process is OVERWHELMING. If you're prone to anxiety, I recommend you travel with someone who's patient and understanding. Train journey's and car rides are relatively stress free compared to entering the venue. The London convention is held at Excel London and we had to get one train and a few more subways to get to our destination. I am at ease with the hustle and bustle of London but in terms of queuing for the actual event, I found it quite a difficult ordeal. You see, even if you purchase priority tickets, there's still a bit of a wait and in anticipation of wanting to get in on the fun, it drives me to a temporary state of insanity inside, which in turn is highly projected onto the outer surface. To an outsider, I likely seemed irritable, eager and fed up at the same time - special thanks to my best friend for putting up with the ambiance of that time.
Although I was in cosplay, I struggled to approach anyone who was dressed familiarly. I can be the most talkative person, as I really hate small talk but when it comes to the initial introductions, I clam up. Still, we had a good browse around the stalls and I managed to get my hands on a Play Arts Ignis Scientia (FFXV) figurine! This is by far the largest FF figure I've purchased and I'm hoping to get Aranea Highwind into my collection soon! You;ll find many stalls sell the same or similar goods and this in turn can get a little repeatative. There were a few moments where I needed to get some fresh air, where I gazed at the cosplayers and outdoor photography sessions. Honestly, I didn't realise that there was so many fandom meetups outside so next time, I will be sure to get more involved.
Tifa Lockhart prep
In the spring of 2017, I cos-tested Tifa Lockhart for the first time. Quite a lot has changed since that time. Different wig, change of outfit, new makeup - this is all part of cosplay progress and if you're new to it yourself; you'll often find yourself making alterations to your costume.
Here, I wore neutral beige eyeshadows and sported matte pink lips with a subtle contour. The wig was long and cut shorter around the sides to frame the face, also ensuring left ear exposure. The teardrop earrings were purchased from eBay for £3.99. My original costume was purchased second hand from Ebay - eventually it became too big for me to wear publicly due to continuous weight loss, though I've kept it in the event I may need spare materials.
My updated outfit came from a shop called Cosplay Made and my best friend Emma helped customise the costume. As you can see from the stores stock images, the shorts and lower cape are ready made attached and this did not suit me. The reason for this is, my large arse to be frank! Initially, I purchased an ankle length black skirt to be cut as a cape with material friendly scissors. The challenge in this was cutting around the skirt to create a rectangular shape at the waist front, for the purpose of mimicking Tifa's front pocket. I'm not much of a crafter and I don't have a lot of patience, so thank goodness Emma offered to customise the Cosplay Made costume herself!
Emma used scissors to cut off the sewn on shorts whilst retaining the quality of the cape so it could be still be worn over a spare pair of shorts, wrapped around my waist. Emma did a fantastic job and I was able to pair the cape with my faux leather zipped shorts I purchased second hand from eBay. My shoes were £5 online and generic black high top style with white laces - nice and simple.
The main thing I learnt from the process was NOT to feel pressure to perfectly match your character's attire. There's good reasoning for this. You may look at your cosplay idol and assume they've crafted their work to absolute perfection but I strongly believe in this: A key factor in creating an authentic looking cosplay is to ensure each stage of craft accommodates to you personally. What works on someone else (that also applies to a fictional character), won't necessarily work for you. Some of the most world renowned cosplayers are known for their more advanced levels of customisation.
Lets look at the wonderful lady Alyson Tabbitha - she's acquired some well deserved recognition for her work. Admittedly, her natural beauty is an excellent canvas to start with, but what I love about her tutorials, is that she simply 'enhances' her features, rather than try to completely change them into a character. An example is how she alters the tones and highlights of her characters wigs that suit her, whilst ensuring they're completely recognisable. In her Lightning wig tutorial, you can see she purchased a cheap ebay wig and utilised her creativity into crafting a work of art - this does NOT mean that this particular wig would suit YOU individually. Using various crafting materials, Alyson has changed the tones of pink in the wig that reduce the 'synthetic' appearance of the wig, whilst complimenting her natural skin-tone.
(Pictures by Alyson Tabbitha)
Another great example is the Elizabeth Swann make-up tutorial. Alyson uses a soft brown colour to enhance the shape of her eyes to the likeness of Keira Knightley's, without going overboard. Brown tones (particularly ashy mauves) are great for contouring and bringing eyes, cheeks, chin and jawline forward or outwards to match your desired character in conjunction with highlighting. Had Alyson used too much black liner, the result would not have appeared as authentic. I am in no way informing anyone how I think they SHOULD cosplay, it's all down to personal preference and I believe what was stated above works best for me PERSONALLY.
Bottom line is, cosplay is for FUN. The community can be presumptuous, which is a shame but common and to be expected. Think of cosplay as being YOUR version of a character and no one else.
Also, I took my cos pics on my iPhone, so apologies about the quality!
Tifa Lockhart prep:
I kept the eyebrows of Tifa lighter to avoid a harsh contrast in pictures, as I already have a face that photographs shadowy.
LONDON CON PICS:
Birmingham MCM:
My local MCM was a convention I'd never previously attended so I didn't know what to expect. It's set up in the NEC, a popular venue for gigs, conventions shows etc. Birmingham is the second biggest City in England, so it remains a very popular MCM event and many who attended London often travel to the Midland City. I guess it's also seen as an alternative con for those closer to the City, who can't travel to London. I was previously informed it's not a patch on the London MCM so I didn't expect much from the stalls. I must say, the set-up at this con seemed disorganised and there was nowhere near as many unique, quirky stalls as there were in London. However, I did manage to find a Toyko Toys to pick up Christmas gifts, though sadly, no Square-Enix pop up.
For me, this con was the first positive as a COSPLAYER, as opposed to just an 'attendee'. My interactions with others were limited in London but I was approached by an awesome Barett Wallace cosplayer for a pic, then I slowly started to come out of my shell. I was fortunate to be stopped by a professional photographer who promptly taken a few shots before I had time to compose myself, hence why I may appear awkward and stiff in these images. Regardless, I'm pleased with how they turned out, although my shorts and cape were hanging off my frame, so I think it would prudent to adjust the cape for future purposes or simply purchase a tight fitting black belt. After a couple of more requests for pics, I was approached by a Claire Lightning Farron cosplayer, whom was accompanied by another Claire, along with the most adorable Serah and Noel duo - such lovely people indeed.
Emma spotted another AC Tifa cosplayer and literally dragged her over towards me - it was a great moment. The craziness didn't end there, more FF pictures were taken with a Vincent Valentine, Squall and Rinoa. It was truly one of the best days of my life, prompting me to continue my cosplay ventures into the new year.
For me, this con was the first positive as a COSPLAYER, as opposed to just an 'attendee'. My interactions with others were limited in London but I was approached by an awesome Barett Wallace cosplayer for a pic, then I slowly started to come out of my shell. I was fortunate to be stopped by a professional photographer who promptly taken a few shots before I had time to compose myself, hence why I may appear awkward and stiff in these images. Regardless, I'm pleased with how they turned out, although my shorts and cape were hanging off my frame, so I think it would prudent to adjust the cape for future purposes or simply purchase a tight fitting black belt. After a couple of more requests for pics, I was approached by a Claire Lightning Farron cosplayer, whom was accompanied by another Claire, along with the most adorable Serah and Noel duo - such lovely people indeed.
Emma spotted another AC Tifa cosplayer and literally dragged her over towards me - it was a great moment. The craziness didn't end there, more FF pictures were taken with a Vincent Valentine, Squall and Rinoa. It was truly one of the best days of my life, prompting me to continue my cosplay ventures into the new year.
Birmingham con pics:
Noel Kreiss and Serah Farron.
These two snazzy shots above were taken by photographer JDN Creative Studios.
Upcoming conventions:
MCM March, Birmingham, 2018 - Saturday.
MCM May, London, 2018 - Saturday and Sunday.
Kupocon Pomathon, Birmingham, September 2018 - Saturday
Cos-plans that are 100% in the works:
Aranea Highwind - Final Fantasy XV, Episode Prompto edition (casual re-work).
Ignis Scientia - Final Fantasy XV, genderbend female edition.
Unsure cos-plans/incomplete:
Serah Farron - Final Fantasy XIII - Casual edition.
Possible future cosplays:
Mary-Jane Watson - 90's Spider-Man The Animated Series edition.
Darth Vader - Star Wars, genderbend edition.
Tohru Honda - Fruits Basket.
Ariel - Disney's The Little Mermaid.
Elizabeth Swann - Pirates of the Caribbean (Dead Man's Chest).
Noctis Lucis Caelum - Final Fantasy XV, genderbend edition.
Aerith Gainsborough - Final Fantasy VII.
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