notbadcosplay:

To every girl who has ever said, or even thought, “I’m not pretty enough to cosplay”

I want you to take a look at these photos. Side by side. One is fresh out of the shower and ready for bed. The other is wearing makeup, a wig, and having her picture taken by a photographer. This is the same girl.

It’s amazing how much you DON’T see of all those great cosplayers who are idolized. You see their cosplay pictures and are envious that you aren’t that pretty. But reality is, when we go out in cosplay there is a lot of makeup and wig work involved. I have friends that don’t recognize me outside of cosplay.

I don’t want young girls to look at cosplayers and think, “I can never look at that.” Because cosplay is what made me feel beautiful. I want you to look at yourself and say, “They’re just like me when they aren’t in costume. We’re all human, and I am just as beautiful as such and such is.”

When I go out to the grocery store, not wearing makeup, probably wearing old cut up jeans that have paint on them, I don’t get hit on. No one tells me I’m beautiful. But I step outside of my hotel room and suddenly I have young teenage girls telling me how they wish they looked like me and how they don’t feel pretty enough to cosplay.

I’m telling the truth when I say, “I’m wearing a lot of makeup.”

Happy Cosplay Positive Friday!

I saw this post earlier this week and saved it till today, It’s a great message, because anyone can cosplay and anyone has a chance to look awesome!

You may not look 100% like your character, you may not have a giant fan following, you may not get many pictures taken - don’t base success solely on that! When you cosplay you are also showing off your skills, your love for the hobby/character/series, and your guts to actually go out in public in costume. Be proud of your work while you wear it, and then look back on what you can improve so you’re even better the next time!

flyingcatnall:

I never post on Tumblr, so I’m hoping my few followers can help me get this word out by reblogging…

I work for a hotel that hosts a major US con every year. I love anime and I go to cons myself, but I am going to be blunt about some of the problems we have and how we deal with them. I don’t know why people lose common sense when attending cons. I realize that most con-goers are young, and probably haven’t traveled alone before. They’re also really excited to go to a con and to see people they’ve only chatted with on line.

But…things have gotten out of hand.

So, please…read this list of Bad Behaviors that I’ve seen over the past three years and please…don’t do them!


1. Completely Trashing Rooms. I have part of the team that has to take pictures of the damages left behind after a con. We will bill you. Sometimes, we won’t even tell you. We’ll just charge it on your credit or debit card. Again, the tiny print in the contract allows us to do this. We take pictures in case you try and dispute the charge with the credit card.

2. Being a Homeless Congoer. These are the people who don’t have a room but figure they can sleep in the lobby, stairwell, hallways, whatever. We’re on to you. We will remove you from the premises. If you are underage, we will still call the police.

3. Being Unable to Pay for Your Room or Food. These are the people who usually make arrangements for rooms with online friends. One friend books the room on a credit card, but when it comes time to settle the bill and the so-called friends are asked to pay their share in cash or come up their own credit card to split…there’s suddenly no money. I feel bad for the person who booked the room, and I’m sorry that you’re not going to make rent, or that your mom is sick, or that you’re a poor college student or whatever. Please don’t stand in the lobby and cry or try to offer me “free art commissions” or the horns off your Homestuck costume. My hotel does not accept those as payment.

4. Having Noise Complaints Lodged Against You. So, that little gathering you decided to have in your room is getting pretty loud and despite two phone calls from the desk asking you to quiet down, you refuse to do so. Guess what, the hotel management is throwing you out. We’ll have our security guards tell you and then the police will escort you from the premises. No, you will not get a refund. No, we don’t care you have nowhere to go. Maybe those two phone calls should’ve clued you into the problems you were causing.

6. Acting Like You Own the Hotel. These are the people who think that since they paid X dollars for their con badge and Y dollars for the room they are entitled to do whatever and whenever they want. Here are some of the most ridiculous (and this is by far not an inclusive list):

a. Taking their clothes off and running down the hall
b. Wearing full Homestuck body paint and jumping in the pool and hot tubs.
c. Screaming “KAWAII!” at random people
d. Camping out in the hotel restaurant and not ordering anything
e. Running through a wedding reception in different a ballroom while shouting “HETALIA!!!”
f. Smashing a brand new TV in one of the rooms
g. Sex in the lobby. While in cosplay.
h. Setting up an “art table” in the middle of the lobby. (She didn’t get an artist alley table and was mad about it…
i. Pulling the fire alarm at 3AM and forcing an evacuation (This person was prosecuted. We caught them on tape)
k. A cosplay-photo shoot that went out of control with photographers physically fighting with each other…in the lobby.

One more note: Our manager is really upset about the amount of clean-up required after the Homestuck cosplayers we had last year. Bathrooms and bathtubs were covered in gray body paint, and the pool and hot tubs had to be drained and cleaned because some of them thought that would be a quick way to get it off. Manager is thinking of putting in the contract with the con that they have to ban Homestuck cosplay to prevent this in the future.

So, as a Homestuck, I beg you! Please, please, don’t do this! Clean up after yourself!

And some useful tips to avoid being a bad congoer/hotel guest:

1) To avoid completely trashing a room, lay down some ground rules for your roomates. At the end of each day, do what you can to tidy up so that the job is easier on the final day.

If you plan to work on your costume in the hotel room, bring thick cardboard or a drop cloth with you so that you won’t damage the room. It’s better to do all your painting and hot gluing at home, and leave small fixes (such as hand-sewing, ironing or trimming threads) for the last minute.

If you plan to wear body paint, bring your own towel from home, to prevent staining their towels! I do this with a washcloth for my regular makeup. Make sure that after you wash off your bodypaint, that you rinse out the tub too. Not just for the hotel, your roommates will appreciate it too!

2) If you don’t manage to get a hotel room, and you don’t live in the area, see if you can find a friend who will let you sleep in their room or car for a bit.

3) If you are the person in charge of the room get the cash before hand! I always collected on the first day of the con. Always make sure you have enough room on your credit card, or in cash, to avoid not being able to pay. Remember that some cons require a cash deposit, especially if you pay for the hotel in cash, and so you may need to provide money up front as well.

Remember that cons might feel like a magical place, but they really are just a normal place with a lot of cool people. Common sense and social etiquette still apply! 

Worbla Armor Tutorial -
http://astargor.deviantart.com/art/Worbla-Armor-Tutorial-367927476

I asked you guys what would you prefer: Answering from the ask box directly, or taking a screenshot and making a new post.

It was surprisingly close but the “Taking a screenshot and making a new post” won.

Going Forward: If there is a full answer being given, I will be doing it with a screenshot. If I am just responding with “can you provide a reference picture” or “see ______ post” then I will respond directly from the askbox.

Someone asked if the askbox is currently closed, yes it is. I open it periodically when I have answered all the asks, just keep an eye out for it. I hope to start some livechats soon where people can ask questions live, so that I don’t get backlogged with asks in the askbox.

Hey followers! When it comes to asks, what do you prefer?

Asks (like this one) where it’s answered directly from the askbox? (Easier to search for, particularily if using google/bing/etc)

or

Asks (like this one) where it’s answered as a new post, with the ask as an image? (Rebloggable)

If you have an opinion, please respond!

Hi Ivy-Ant,

Sounds like a cute costume!

Pockets are pretty easy to make, these tutorials should help you out:
http://blog.a-common-thread.com/post/41608393469/sewing-how-to-add-pockets-to-a-dress-tutorial#.UYqvEMqbUac

http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2012/02/adding-pockets-to-skirt-or-dress.html

http://a-modicum-of-ingenuity.blogspot.ca/2012/05/tutorial-add-in-seam-pockets-to-dress.html

http://byhandlondon.com/2013/03/22/nerdy-sewing-tips-how-to-add-side-seam-pockets/

http://seekatesew.com/sewing-101-adding-pockets-to-any-skirt-pattern/

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2013/03/adding-hidden-side-pockets-to-anything-skirt-pants-shorts-etc.html

http://www.shrimpsaladcircus.com/2012/08/adding-pockets-to-skirt-sewing-101.html

Goodluck!

Three days of looking through tutorials, deciding where they fit on the list, and putting them there but I made it through and the Cosplay Tutorial list has been updated!

The list now includes all tutorials that were posted here since the last update (which was sometime in December).

If you find a broken link, or any other issues, please let me know!

You can check out the updated tutorial list here:
http://cosplaytutorial.com/list.php

My next goal is to do some reorganizing, giving some tutorials their own sections. There were two new sections added with this update: Tunics and Vests!
http://cosplaytutorial.com/list.php#sewingTunics
http://cosplaytutorial.com/list.php#sewingvests

Ahh it’s a Henry cosplay!

purpleduckblog:

Knocked off another part of Kevin’s Tenmyouji cosplay today, the tie!

We hunted for the gem but couldn’t find one that was the right size, so I gave Kevin some options: Sculpt it, cast a gem with resin, keep checking stores till we find something that works, shop online for a gem that is the right size, or pick up some acrylic and cut it into shape. Kevin said he didn’t care if it was transparent or not, so we went with the first method.

This is a tutorial for sculpting faceted gems out of fimo, sculpey, or another clay. This tutorial focuses on an emerald shape, but the methods can be used to make other shapes as well. This gem can be used on it’s own, or used to make a mold to cast other gems!

What you Need:

• Sculpey, Fimo or another oven bake clay
• Paper and pencil
• Small Ruler
• Craft Knife
• Oven and tray (For baking)
• Paint and Paintbrush (Optional)

Read More

fluffywrench:

cosplaytutorial:

Mexican cosplayer Nyumexico as Raven from DC comics

Like this costume? Let her know! Leave a comment on her Deviantart:
http://nyumexico.deviantart.com/art/Raven-184078093

Why do you have to point out that she’s Mexican?

Hi Fluffywrench,

I mention the country of every cosplayer that I post, if they have it listed on their profile! For one, it encourages me to seek out cosplayers who aren’t just from North America - or Canada and the U.S. specifically, and because it can allow people to see some awesome costumes and costumers from their country!

I wouldn’t recognize Canadian cosplayers who aren’t from the Toronto area by their picture alone, but I always am happy when I see an amazing cosplay and find out the cosplayer is a Canadian!

I also mention their alias and link to their picture, cite the photographer whenever possible, and mention both the character name and where they are from!

Hope this clarifies~

Netherlands cosplayer Riluna as Queen Amidala from Star Wars.
Photo by Sander ( http://gevoelsfotografie.nl/ )

Like this costume? Let her know! Leave a comment on her Deviantart:http://riluna.deviantart.com/art/Queen-Amidala-299634503

American cosplayer BatmanBeyond-08 as Iron Spider from Marvel Comics

Like this costume? Let him know! Leave a comment on his Coscom:http://www.cosplay.com/photo/3200955/