Dia de los Muertos Maleficent at Comikaze

So, I am officially a month late on posting my pictures from Comikaze...sigh. What can I say, life gets in the way. But I am glad that I am finally able to share pictures of my Dia de los Muertos Maleficent! My cosplay was based off of Peter Steigerwald's art (he is an amazing artist at Aspen comics, go check out his art!). When I was at Comikaze, my friends and I found his table at the convention and I was able to take a picture with him and thank him for doing such awesome artwork. He was so kind and even gave me a print of Maleficent! Sweet!

Wandering conventions is always fun, and this time was no exeption. I was sad though because I really want to do a meet up with a group of people from Youtube, but because of a misprint in the schedule I missed the meet up :(. I think I will also go two days next time, there were a bunch of panels I wanted to go to but they were all on Sunday, but I couldn't pass up going to a convention on Halloween, the best holiday of the year!

While I had a great time at the convention, I was so tired that I didn't attend the cosplay ball at the end of the night *tears*. Wearing that headdress all day was pretty tiring. Oh, and btw my headdress is made of worbla. It is actually my first time working with worbla and I actually like how it came out (but I still see places I could make improvements). Looking at other people's worbla creations makes me want to work with worbla even more (but it's soooo expensive *tears*). And my friend made my staff, lights up and everything! Whenever anyone asked for a picture and I turned on the light, people went "ooh! Wow!" So I got to thank my friend officially for making such an awesome staff. Well, until my next cosplay/convention. I wonder what I will do next! TTFFN, ta ta for now.

Lana! Lana! Lana! at Long Beach Comic Con

Another con, another cosplay (that I have done before). Seriously, being Lana is so much fun! Whenever I am Lana I get yelled out so much! And I don't think I have heard "Danger Zone" so much in life! And I loved it!

I really like Long Beach Comic Con because it is such a small con and it's crazy the amount of people you run into! I ran into Thomas of SoCalCosplayfoto (https://www.facebook.com/socalcosplayfoto) and did a quick shoot with him! Which led to other photographers wanting pictures (if you happen to see a picture of me floating on the internet, let me know!). Plus I was in a video with Nerd Reactor and Archer (aka mynameisnotbrucecosplay): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5cYL08gfj0 .

Chatting with other cosplayers and going to panels is always such a blast. I love hearing how other people made their cosplay, and what inspired them to do it. Like, meeting probably one of the best 10th Doctor copslayers, left me a little star struck (and listening for the Tardis). I mean, seeing a Morrigan cosplay from Wicked and Divine was awesome! As well as seeing,  Over the Garden Wall, Wirt and Greg, cosplay (they were my favorite young cosplayers). Plus watching the Cosplay competition at the end, was actually super impressed by some people's innovation! The only awkward thing was walking back to my car in this cosplay...let's just say this dress is very short, and people are not always so nice. Until next time, TTFN ta ta for now!

Esmeralda Wandering D23

I'm sorry for the million pictures! I know I always say that, but seriously I'm sorry for the like 50 pictures, I was just so excited about this cosplay. I really feel like I nailed Esmeralda (but I know I could do better).

The second day of D23 was a complete world wind. When my friend and I arrived the second day we were greeted by a ridiculous line, and the sad news that the Star Wars panel had filled up (the previous night, so absolute no chance of gettign in). So, I suggested we go sit inside under the air conditioning and just go to the con later, and my friend was bold and walked up to door and...lo and behold, the door was unlocked! We were able to just walk into the con and bypass all the lines. It was amazing! Getting early meant fewer people on the floor, meaning more space to wander and fewer lines to deal with! Because there were less lines it meant that my friend and I were able to do a lot of stuff we were not able to do the first day (the Target gif creator, Marvel green screen photo-op, seeing the Moana exhibit, Zootopia setup, preview of Shanghai Disney, Pandora/Avatar Land for Disney World, etc.). It was great.

I also got to see the Star Wars Jedi Academy, which was freakin adorable. Little kids pretending to be jedis and "fight" Darth Vader and Darth Maul was too cute. After watching the adorableness, my friend and I decided to wander the floor and take some pictures. And while outside attempting to take a picture, guess who I ran into...Disney Legend Floyd Norman, one of the creators/animators/writers of Hunchback of Notre Dame! It was amazing to meet one of the creators of one of your favorite Disney movies, while you happen to be cosplaying as one of his characters! Meeting him and having him tell you, "You are about the size of Demi Moore when she came into record", was probably the highlight of the con! Absolutely amazing.

Another highlight was meeting a DarkWing Duck, who had a violin and was playing it. When I went up to her to compliment her playing she started playing the main theme from Hunchback of Notre Dame! It was such a rush to hear the music from the movie you are cosplaying while you are cosplaying! I know it might be lame to some, but I enjoyed it immensley.

While D23 was absolutely amazing, I must say it was one of the most tiring cons I have ever been to, but since it's every two years I could see myself going back (but I think only one day). Well, that took me forever to get posted, but finally did! So happy! Can't wait for Long Beach Comic Con this weekend! Until then, TTFN ta ta for now.

MegaMan Sailor Pluto Mashup at Anime Expo!!!

 

Again...SO MANY PICTURES!!! But wow! I am so proud of this cosplay, mostly becuase I actually finished it! First, this cosplay was inspired by artist ShadowMaster23 on deviantart, please check out her art, it's amazing. This cosplay seemed cursed, everything that could go wrong went wrong. My staff heart broke...twice! I had issues with getting everything to work together and a wig that didn't want to not tangle. But! It all worked out in the end and I am so proud! This cosplay took up so much time and effort and to see it come together in these pictures only encourages me to do more cosplay (plus encouragement from other cosplayers-keep reading)! Before moving on, I would like to thank my friend who was an absolutely amazing human being who helped me get everything on, and helped me throughout the day to keep everything on. You know who you are, and you are amazing.

So, Anime Expo 2015 was so much fun! I havent' been to Anime Expo since it moved to the LA Convention Center, and wow...so many....people. This convention has really grown in recent years, and it warms my heart to see more people embracing nerd culture, and not being ashamed! I know so many people used be ashamed for liking anime, so it's nice to know I'm not the only one binge watching Moribito and reading Tokyo Ghoul (don't watch the second season of the anime, so bad). Plus the swag at Anime Expo was bomb! I got some super cute Luna stockings (expect to see them on the blog soon!), some artwork (one was free because I was dressed as a Sailor Moon character), and a picture of my coslay. Plus I saw a super cute Luna purse (that Sailor Moon is actually holding in one of my pictures) and ordered it on Ebay, expect that soon too. Anime Expo also had a whole section where you could do small drawings and write nice messages-as you can see one girl went all out. My drawing looked like nothing in comparisons to hers (I drew my friend and myself as Kiki). There was also a section at Anime Expo just for Cosplayers! They had set up backdrops for photos, a cosplay repair station, and a place you could get a 360 view of your cosplay (here's mine: http://qlqlexpo.com/frame/T5TC-7YE7)

Anyways, being Sailor Pluto was so fun! I ran into so many Sailor Moon groups, and it just made me wish I had a group to cosplay with! All the Sailor Moons were super sweet, and the other Sailor Pluto I met was incredible (follow her on instagram at _bambie.b). I also met the amazingly talented and kind Vividvivka, dressed as Vincent, who walked up to me and asked "Did you make your cosplay? Is this your first one?" "Yes, I made this. And this is my first big cosplay." I said. "Wow! You did an amazing job! If you have any questions on cosplaying, you can message me on Facebook or Instagram. I love helping others with their cosplay." I know this be lame, but I was so touched by someone as talented as Vividvivka coming up to me to compliment me, really encouraged me and made feel so much better about my cosplay (I was having major issues with keeping the thigh boot portion on my actual thigh).

I'm sorry, I've started to ramble. But I just wanted to express the love the cosplay community has for each other and how a little compliment can really lift your spirits. Cosplayers unite!

TTFN, ta ta for now.

Lauren

Wondercon Day 3- LANA!!!

So many pictures! I probably took close to 300 pictures on the 3rd day of Wondercon! There were just so many amazing cosplays and things to see, plus my cosplay came out better than expected. I pretty much did this cosplay in a day, and I would say it was success. In case you can't tell, I'm Lana from Archer. I can't tell you how many people yelled at me from across the convention hall, "LANA!!!" And I always screamed back "WHAT!?" Reply, "Dangerzone." It was great. Who knew being yelled at could be so much fun. I even got to meet another group of Archer cosplayers, which was amazing! Cosplaying with a group, seems so fun. Wish I could have a group for my next cosplay.

And some advice for anyone going to a con, Sunday seems to be a much calmer day that allows you to just enjoy the atmosphere. I just walked around, bought some goodies, and took pictures. I wish I had gone to some panels though, there was actually a panel about "Fashion and Comics", which would have been perfect!

Anyway, I got to have my picture taken by a few photographers, and it was quite fun. I never had my picture really taken by a photographer before (except at school picture days a long time ago), so it was a new experience. As always, I can't wait until the next con. I am already planning my next cosplay and thinking about how much materials will cost (*tears*). But I love cosplaying, so it's all worthi it. Until then, TTFN ta ta for now.

Lauren

P.S. I would like to thank my friend again for taking these awesome pictures.

Wondercon Day 2-Korra

What a whirlwind! I can't believe Wondercon was only a week ago! It feels so much longer!

This was my first time attending Wondercon and what a blast! I bought a 3 day pass, but ended up only going 2 days. Which I think is a perfect amount of time because the first day I got to walk around, visit a few panels and see other cosplayers. On the second day I just walked around and relaxed, had my picture taken and just enjoyed the atmosphere (pictures of the second day coming soon).

My first day there, which was technically Day 2, I cosplayed as Korra from the Legend of Korra, but a battle/armored Korra. This was my own design of the character. I imagined what she would wear if the battle with Kuvira had continued in Season 4. When I did my makeup the goal was that when I closed my eyes it looked like I was in Avatar state, don't know if I succeeded (you are the judge). This was also my first time working with eva foam and making armor. While making the armor was difficult, it was doable (thanks to all the tutorials online) and I was even able to put my own design on the back of Raava (which I imagined Korra would take up as her symbol in battle). The hardest part was actually figuring out how to attach everything to myself. This was definitely a learning moment. Next time, I know that I have to buy straps and buckles and all that good stuff. In addition, Next time I am definitely wearing a wig. While it's nice to have my own hair because it looks more natural, it is a pain. Since my hair is naturally curly and dyed a light color I had to straighten and spray it with temporary color which means frizz. Ugh, the bottom of my hair was large by the end of the day. Lesson learned.

Beside that, I had a blast as Korra. I talked to other Korra fans (even met an Asami, Korrasami OTP) and other cosplayers, which I love to do. I have very few people in my life that I can nerd out with, so conventions like this are what I wait for all year (plus I love cosplaying now!).

I loved Day 2, and Day 3 was even crazier. Stay tuned! TTFN, ta ta for now.

Lauren

P.S. I would like to thank my awesome friend for taking these pictures!