GIMeagan Blog

Moving, and moving on.

2011-04-25T19:14:00Z

Hey All!

I have some news. Some life changing news, actually. This will be my last week at Game Informer. I am moving to San Francisco mid-May and will be taking up the role of Community Manager at Crystal Dynamics in Redwood City. While I’ll be representing the company as a whole, my primary focus will be on the upcoming Tomb Raider title.

As community manager I’ll be involved in many facets of social media and act as a liaison between the studio and various communities throughout the world. I’ll be a public face at the studio and will be attending events worldwide, giving demos, helping to execute short and long-term media strategies, and more.

My time at Game Informer has been nothing but fantastic, and I am extremely appreciative of the many memorable opportunities GI has afforded me. Not to mention that the staff (and the community!) is great and I’ll miss all the ridiculous daily antics of the office.

The move is going to be tough, but Crystal has been fantastic in making the transition as easy as possible. I’ve already found a fantastic apartment (phew!) in a great neighborhood near Google’s HQ, so the entire city has free Wi-Fi. How cool is that?! And I’ll only be 10 minutes from Pinkberry!

I want to thank the staff, and the Game Informer community, for making these past three years so memorable. I really can’t say enough positive things about GI. I’ve been a fan of the magazine for over a decade and I’ll still look forward to receiving my issue every month on the west coast.

See you on the internet!

Meagan

Twitter: _MeaganMarie_
Tumblr: Tumblr.com/MeaganMarie
Facebook.com/Marie.Meagan

GI Bundle Auctions: Proof Of Donation

2011-04-01T16:35:00Z

Another quick blog to post the proof of donation for Game Informer's limited edition bundles! Click on the image to see the full size.

Thanks everyone!

Meagan

Nintendo DS Auction: Proof Of Donation

2011-03-23T20:32:00Z

Hey all!

I’m not going to reiterate what an awesome experience this was or break down donation details again. I'm sure you're sick of it! If you missed the auction and are interested in reading about it, you can find more information here and here.

The point of this post is simple – to inform everyone that the Nintendo DS is happily in the hands of the winner, and that the money has been collected by MissionFish for donation to the Red Cross. Everything wrapped up nicely. :)

Thanks for all the support, and remember to keep tabs on Play for Japan if you're interested in more epic charity auctions!

[UPDATE] Auction To Aid Japan: Functional DS Signed By Nintendo Luminaries!

2011-03-14T18:57:00Z

[UPDATE] We’re already at $1,750! I can’t believe it! The generosity and support of the gaming community/industry is overwhelming.

On the technical side, I never expected the price to skyrocket like this. My original intent was to pay out the auction via Paypal, as most eBay business is conducted. From there I would make the donation to the Red Cross, choosing the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief option and providing public proof of said donation. Now that bids have surpassed my wildest expectations, I’m not willing to let eBay take such a massive chunk out of the donation by using standard sale practices.

eBay has an option to donate 100% of proceeds to specific non-profits, including the American Red Cross. I’m working with the Red Cross directly (as I hit several frustrating roadblocks with eBay) to ensure “honor of intent” for the donation, meaning that when I alter the listing to donate directly to the Red Cross, they will guarantee the money goes to the relief effort in Japan. I’ll keep you updated when the process is finished, but I’m positive this is the most effective way to make the donation.

Thank you all!

[Original Story] Hey everyone!

I spent the entire weekend brainstorming ways to utilize my skills to raise money for relief in Japan. My original idea was to create a custom Munny to sell on eBay, but time unfortunately won’t allow for that. After much thought, I’ve decided to part ways with my prized keepsake, an autographed Nintendo DS signed by some of the biggest names in gaming.

As the story goes, I was attending my first GDC back in 2007, writing for a small blog prior to my gig at Game Informer. I was asked to present awards during the annual Game Audio Network Guild ceremony, and as such was introduced to all the individuals listed below. I happened to have my Nintendo DS handy and asked each to sign it.

Meeting Miyamoto, Kondo, and the other individuals is still one of the highlights of both my career and life as a geek. I was completely dumbstruck when I walked away from the event, cradling the DS like it was a bar of gold. Someone made a joke that evening that they hoped it wouldn’t end up on eBay. Something tells me that the Nintendo creatives won't mind.

Securing my job at Game Informer a few years later has presented me with similar opportunities that I am very grateful to have experienced, and I’ve learned to rein in my fangirl tendencies a bit. Ultimately, my memories are more than enough to hang on to and if I can raise a donation of any size to aid the people of Japan, it is unquestionably worth it.

Please share this link with anyone you think may be interested in the purchase. For gamers, this is a one-of-a-kind collector’s item, and the individual also gets the satisfaction of knowing that their contribution will be fully donated to the Red Cross. Proof of the donation will be provided publicly as soon as the auction draws to a close.

You can find the auction here. I apologize for the poor quality of the photos, as our nice camera seems to be out of office on a trip, and as such I had to use my phone. I wanted to get the auction up sooner rather than later.

Thank you for your help and please spread the word!

Product Details

An original model Nintendo DS in red.
The DS is adorned with a Mario Kart sticker on the front, and four similar stickers on the inside. Please refer to the images.
As far as quality, the handheld features slight wear from use before I preserved it. Again, please refer to the images.
The DS is fully functional, but doesn’t come with a charger. I can track one down if the buyer so desires, but I highly recommend that it not be handled as it will degrade the quality of the signatures. The DS has been in a glass case for four or so years, and I urge the highest bidder to opt for a similar treatment.
The Nintendo DS features signatures from the following industry icons.
- Shigeru Miyamoto: One of the most iconic video game designers in history. Miyamoto is credited with the creation of Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, and more.
- Koji Kondo: A legendary video game composer who composed the classic Mario and Zelda tunes, among many others.
- Charles Martinet: Mario’s official voice actor since 1995. He also provides voices for Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and more.
- Eiji Aonuma: A video game designer and director who oversaw several Legend of Zelda titles including Ocarina of time, Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, and more.
- Martin Leung: Known as the video game pianist, Martin became famous for playing the Super Mario Bros theme blindfolded. He now tours the world and performs with Video Games Live.

If you have any questions about this item, feel free to contact me.

Thank you!

CosBlog # 29: Twilight Princess Two-For-One

2010-05-26T20:30:00Z

To make up for the CosBlog’s recent and mysterious absence, we've got a two-for-one cosplay serving this week featuring a pair of tributes to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Check out the radiant Princess Zelda by Michelle Morse and the ever-altruistic Link by Mark Mathews below.

Princess Zelda by Michelle Morse

Who: The Character
Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Why: The Decision
The Legend of Zelda has been a part of my life since I was a very small child. I've followed and played each of the games very closely throughout my lifetime. It's really hard for me to imagine life without LoZ. Princess Zelda, despite her near absence in most of the games, was never just a princess in peril to me, but the embodiment of all that is righteous, pure, beautiful, and true. She was the only thing standing between Ganon and complete absolute power (and ultimately the destruction of Hyrule, so I HAD TO rescue her. I took this all very seriously as a child, haha). She also has a very calming personality, which I'd always admired. I decided a long time ago that I wanted to cosplay every incarnation of Princess Zelda to the best of my ability. I guess you could say she's the pinnacle of my "cosplay career." I decided to start with TP Princess Zelda since her design is the most difficult (all downhill from here). It's also strangely appealing - when I first saw it, I didn't really like it. But it grew on me immensely. I also expected it to be a lot easier than it was. A deceivingly difficult costume, indeed.

What: The Process
My work time on this costume spanned an entire year and four months. I was determined to get every detail, and get them perfectly. I started out by meticulously drafting every pattern, design, accessory, gem, and piece of jewelry on the costume to scale. This helped me to understand the shape and size of everything. The pauldrons I made from a craftfoam base backed with wireform for stability, and model magic for the details. After sanding the model magic, I coated the pauldrons in fiberglass resin to create a hard surface, then I primed, painted, and weathered them. The other accessories are made from model magic coated with clear Epoxy resin. Every gem you see on the costume I created myself - model, mold and all. I casted them from clear polyester resin. The ears I bought from Aradani Costumes. The fabric I used for the gown is Silk Dupioni and Casa Satin. The Dupioni was originally a dusty pink, which I dyed to a darker dusty purple. All sewing patterns were drafted by me. The ancient Hylian glyphs at the bottom of the bodice were hand embroidered (took me about a month and a half. There are about 180 glyphs total on my bodice, each took 1 - 2 hours to stitch). The honeycomb trim at the bottom of the gown is half inch satin ribbon which I split in half to create quarter inch ribbon. I bonded that to the gown using steam-a-seam, then satin stitched it all down. For the lute designs at the bottom of the gown, I darned the design onto tear-away embroidery stabilizer, bonded that to some heat 'n' bond, then bonded them to my gown. I decided on this method because Casa Satin is a very delicate fabric, and there's no way it was going to hold up under all that darning without puckering or splitting, with or without stabilizer. The tabard is made from a wide-weave cotton woven fabric. I dyed the blue gradient myself, as well as the white-tan gradient (sadly it didn't turn out to be very visible). All designs were appliqued (with heat 'n' bond) onto the blue gradient fabric, then satin stitched down with dark brown thread. The gloves I also made myself from white matte spandex. The gray bands at the top of the gloves were the same white spandex which I gradient dyed gray. The small zigzags are painted on with fabric paint, and the large zigzags were darned with white embroidery thread the same way I darned the lute designs. The designs around the forearms of the gloves were also darned the same way.

The wig was a whole other nightmare, and definitely the most difficult, most time consuming part of this entire costume. I started out with the Enchantment wig from Amphigory in color 12, and picked up 4 packs of loose extensions in 12 and one pack of extensions in 24 (for the highlights). I mixed the two colors and sewed two and a quarter long, long wefts about 3 packs worth. It took me a total of 16 hours just to sew all the wefts in. Then I cut the last pack of wefts in half (with highlights mixed in) and sewed them in the front of the wig (for the earlocks), then wrapped them in quarter inch double fold white bias tape. The highlights at the very front of the wig were separately wefted and sewn in. I also sewed a bit of foamcore in the ponytail where the ponyholder is so it completely fills it out.

All in all, I think I spent just under $400 to make this costume. It was definitely the most work I have ever put into a costume. After months and months of working hard on this costume with the feeling of making little to no progress, I'm beyond happy that it's done, and I'm satisfied with how it turned out. =)

Where and When: The Debut
This costume was debuted at OhayoCon 2010. However the photoshoot took place about a month and a half before the convention, which was the initial test-run of the costume. We held it at the First Unitarian Church in Milwaukee, WI. When I first saw the church, driving by, I was in awe (almost rolled a stop sign!). It was just beautiful, and I was in love with the arches in the entryway. I was like "This is the place where I HAVE TO have my photoshoot!"

Links: The Cosplayer
You can find me on DeviantArt, Cosplay.com, and ACParadise

The Gallery
Photos by Ari of totallytoasty.com

Link by Mark Mathews

Who: The Character
Link from the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess.

Why: The Decision
One of the first games I ever got was Legend of Zelda for my Nintendo. That’s where it really all started. I remember running around my backyard pretending I was Link, wielding my Master Sword and shield, which were made from paper, sticks and string. When I reached College, I was exposed to this strange thing called "Cosplay." From there it was all downhill. I went to my first convention and saw these fantastic Link cosplayers. It was like seeing Zelda for the first time, I immediately knew that's what I wanted to do.

What: The Process
My Link costume took almost two years of off and on work to make. I used hand dyed burlap for the tunic and hat. The master sword is all wood, with raised paper clay details. The shield is made from foam for the core, wood for the front and back, and detailed with foam and foamboard. My shirt and pants are made from muslin. The boots are made from a pair of faux suede pants that I picked up at a local thrift shop for around $2.00 and covered a old pair of Lugg boots that I had. My under bracers are also from a second hand shop, they are a jean material, that was cut from a HUGE skirt. My bags, shoulder guard and bracer were all hand cut and tooled from a single piece of leather. The belts were purchased as blanks from Tandy leather, I dyed them and added the buckles myself. My gloves were wal-mart specials; I cut and hemmed the fingers. The chainmail was made from 14 gauge galvanized steel wire, the same stuff that's used for electric fences. By far the most difficult part of the project was the chainmail. Winding the wire and cutting it into links took forever, never-mind figuring out how to weave the links into a shirt. All in all the costume cost around $600.00 to make.

Where and When: The Debut
I debuted my costume at Anime Boston 2009. The photos were taken at a park just outside the Hynes convention center and just outside the Connecticut convention center. The locations were chosen by the photographers.

Links: The Cosplayer
You can find me on Deviant art and at Blitzcosplay.com

The Gallery

Miss the past few CosBlogs? Check out the CosBlog Hub for a full archive and information on how to submit a costume of your own.

Cosblog #28: IchigoKitty as Rosalina

2010-05-05T15:30:00Z

There have been several requests for cosplay from Nintendo’s most lucrative franchise, and we’ve finally found someone worthy of paying tribute to Mario’s Galaxy. Cosplayer IchigoKitty is known for her versatility when it comes character choices – and we feel like she pulls off Galaxy’s Rosalina perfectly. Enjoy the photos below!

Who: The Character
The character is Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy. She’s the newest Mario princess, and she controls the comet observatory, which is where most of Super Mario Galaxy takes place. The costume I’ve done is just her standard princess dress.

Why: The Decision
I really like Rosalina a lot. She’s very motherly, and very cool, and ultimately very sexy. I love the color she wears and her color scheme in general. The whole time I was playing the game I kept saying “oh man Rosalina is so HOT!!”, so I think it’s safe to say that I fell in love with her and (naturally) wanted to cosplay her.

What: The Process
The costume took about a month for me to make. I used crepe backed satin for the main dress part, and some very slippery (but pretty) fabric for the trims. I’m not sure what it was, it was just on sale. For the gems on the brooch, crown and earrings I used clear casting epoxy resin (though the earrings were a later addition), and I made the shapes and molds for the gems myself also. The crown is polystyrene with foamie over it (though foamie probably would have worked out better on it’s own), and the star brooch and wand are both wooden.

I don’t really remember what the final cost was. I reused a petticoat from my Rosebride costume, but the rest was bought specifically for Rosalina. The wig was probably the priciest because it’s from Cyperous. I would assume around $150 or so for the whole costume.

The most difficult task was probably working with the fabrics I used, and getting the dress to stay up.

Where and When: The Debut
I first wore my costume to Megacon 2008, though there were a few things not finished on it at that point. At that time, I only got photos around the convention center. I’ve worn this costume also to Anime Expo, TNT Mexico, AWA, Anime Boston, and a few smaller cons. The most recent photos are from Anime Boston, and my photographer, Christa, basically picked the areas. The extremely back lit shots are on the windowsill of a hotel room, and the outdoors ones are at the Christian Science Center (I believe).

Links: The Cosplayer
I’m everywhere! ichigokitty.com is my personal website, though I slack a bit with updates because I’m not very knowledgeable about that kind of stuff. I have a Deviant Art account, Cosplay.com account, APC account, and Cure account. Lastly, I have a Facebook fanpage!

The Gallery
Photos by Christa and Cato Kusanagi.

Miss the past few CosBlogs? Check out the CosBlog Hub for a full archive and information on how to submit a costume of your own.

CosBlog 27: Ana Aesthetic As Samus Aran

2010-04-22T16:35:00Z

This week's CosBlog features an amazing tribute to Samus Aran in her iconic Zero Suit. Cosplayer Ana Aesthetic made the spandex suit from scratch, showcasing her considerable talents in the process! Enjoy the photos!

Who: The Character
Samus Aran, from Metroid / Super Smash Bros. Brawl Variant

Why: The Decision
Funny story, while a huge fan of the original game, I had never played brawl when I was asked to create this costume for a cosplay group at Realms Con in Corpus Christi, TX. I dived into the process, collected reference images, and played the game in my off time at work. (We have a Wii in the photographer lounge!)

What: The Process
It took about 6 hours to make this costume. I drafted a standard bodysuit, making a mock up out of some leftover white spandex. Then I marked where the style lines would go, while it was on a mannequin. From there I created the final pattern and used a mix of two shades of blue milliskin spandex and the silver gradient metallic spandex to make the suit. The symbol was painted on using plain ol fabric paint from the craft store. The costume cost about $40 in materials. The hardest part was making the boot covers, actually. I would have painted a pair of boots, but ran out of time, so instead made a slip cover to go over my favorite pair of boots I wore to work. I think I was more intimidated by the whole task, but it ended up being a relatively easy costume to make.

Where and When: The Debut
Realms Con, Corpus Christi, TX 2008. Photo shoot done in April of 2010 by the amazing Matt of Dim Horizon Studio. This location is a favorite of his, but if I told you where it was and how we got there, we may have to kill you.

Links: The Cosplayer
You can find more info about Ana via her personal website.

The Gallery

Miss the past few CosBlogs? Check out the CosBlog Hub for a full archive and information on how to submit a costume of your own.

CosBlog 26: Vanessa Arrevillaga As Jill Valentine

2010-04-07T17:51:00Z

This week’s CosBlog sees Vanessa Arrevillaga dressed as Jill Valentine in her iconic STARS uniform. Additionally, we’ve got a funny twist on another popular Resident Evil Character - Zombie Girl. In Resident Evil 2 you may have noticed a lack of diversity in Raccoon City’s population – namely that most of the undead are copies of each other. Cosplayer Shirak pays tribute to the female zombie in Raccoon City for the official Capcom zombie walk in her native London. Enjoy!

Who: The Character
Jill Valentine is a video game character from the Resident Evil survival horror series. The version of Jill that I cosplay as is of her in her STARS (Special Tactics and Rescue Squad) uniform which she wore in the first Resident Evil game. (S.T.A.R.S.)

Why: The Decision
I wanted to cosplay as Jill Valentine because like my favorite video game heroine, Lara Croft, she was also tough, smart, and fearless. Any women that can handle a gun, and outwit their enemies with her fighting skills is awesome in my book.

What: The Process
It took a few weeks to gather everything I needed for the costume because I had to get all the materials from different places.

The beret was ordered online along with the patches, the shirt was found at Target, the pants found at Wal-Mart in the boys section, the herbs I bought at Michaels Arts and Crafts and painted them red, green, and blue, the fabric and straps for the shoulder pads were bought at JoAnns Fabrics and I sewed and assembled them myself which was probably the most difficult thing to do. I already had the shotgun and pistol since I also airsoft. And the gloves and holster were from my Lara Croft cosplay so they were just re-used for this costume.

Where and When: The Debut
I haven't debuted this costume at a Con yet cause there have been other more recent costumes that I have used instead. But hopefully soon, it will.

The photoshoot was done by Mike from Blanklogo Photography. I don't exactly remember the location of the place where we shot because we were just driving around until we came upon an abandoned house. We went inside and into the backyard and that is where we got our shots.

Links: The Cosplayer
You can find me on DeviantArt, Cosplay.com and Facebook.

The Gallery

Bonus! Shirak as Zombie Girl

Who: The Character
Zombie Girl from Resident Evil 2.

Why: The Decision
I always loved the Resident Evil series, particularly the second videogame. Halloween was coming up, so I decided to make a zombie from Resident Evil instead of a random one.

What: The Process
I used some warm red fabric for the top, since I was going to wear it in London on the 31st of October; that day wasn't too cold though. I bought a very nice brown wig that was too long, so I had to cut it and style it. It's a very simple costume, but all the small detail are really important.

I didn't use very heavy makeup for that so it could look more natural and real (instead of just a very white face with blood).

Where and When: The Debut
I was planning to celebrate Halloween in London, so I had it ready for that. Nevertheless, someone told me about the Capcom Zombie walk that was going to be at the Tate Modern Gallery that day, so since I had done that costume, I thought it was a great idea to show up.

Links: The Cosplayer

You can find me on my website!

The Gallery

CosBlog #25: Faith Connors By Benny Lee

2010-03-31T18:29:00Z

The CosBlog officially hits a milestone today – 25 weeks of showcasing the best of what the costuming culture has to offer. To celebrate, I’ve found one of the most remarkable tributes to a video game yet – easily on par with the Big Daddy Rapture recreation from earlier in the year.

This time, however, there is a twist. While the model herself makes a perfect Faith Connors, the entire effort was orchestrated by photographer and Mirror’s Edge uber-fan Benny Lee. Over six months he played the role of creative director – searching out and casting the best model, extras, makeup artists and more. Afterwards, he used his extensive post-production skills to make the downtown Atlanta skyline pop like that in DICE’s super-saturated world. From the thumbnail images it’s near impossible to tell that these pictures aren’t screens or concept art of the game.

Major kudos goes to Lee and his entire team. The end result is inspirational.

Who: The Character
Faith from Mirror's Edge

Why: The Decision
I sort of just fell in love with the character and setting when I first saw the trailer back in E3. It was simply breathtaking! The idea of having a strong and realistic female protagonist doing parkour on rooftops was really inspiring and cool to me. From the clean and modern looking city with abundant blue skies to the fitting and catchy theme song, they're all very unique and perfect for a surreal concept photoshoot.

What: The Process
The costume for Faith was fairly simple, and it didn't really require anything to be custom made since it consisted of just a tank top, a pair of runner shoes, and a pair of khaki pants along with other minor accessories. The tricky part was finding the right color for those pants and shoes, and boy was it difficult to find a pair of matching red shoes! It took me a few months but I finally found it two days before the shoot from a local mall. The black tank top was hand painted with dual white strips on both sides, and I used some old shoe lace to tie up the bottom of those khaki pants. The most difficult part for Faith's costume was probably her tattoos. I knew it was going to be difficult seeing how other cosplayers have attempted this before. I wanted to do it right and didn't want anyone to critique the tattoos later on, so I decided to do a casting call for some professional help. In the end, I found a facial makeup artist for Faith's eagle eye tattoo and a body artist for her arm circuitry tattoo. I also printed pages of references for the artists prior to the shoot as well. I spent about $50 at most, which is probably the cheapest costume I've attempted.

As for the SWAT team member, I had to scout around a lot and pay a few visits to military clothing stores. It wasn't as difficult as Faith's costumes, but I did spend some money in order to import the parts from Hong Kong. I spent about $100 on the SWAT team member's costume.

Where and When: The Debut
The costume debuted on August 23, 2009 on top of of an industrial building in Atlanta, Georgia. After more than six months in planning and preparing, I was able to gather a team of six people including me: The photographer (me,) an assistant, two models (Faith & the SWAT team member,) and two makeup artists. They were great and they were all professionals, so there was a lot of pressure involved. It wasn't easy; I had to do a lot of research about the environment, the shots I wanted to capture, getting the accurate lighting, and post editing. It took three tries to finally make this shoot happen; the first time we wanted to do it, we've had a bit of issues with the original model for Faith, the second time we wanted to do it, the weather wasn't ideal.

I was told that everything happens for a reason, and it's true! Soon after the original model got cut, we found Chryss, which is the Faith you see now. She looks just like Faith, and she's got her physique as well. I was so relieved and everyone seemed to think she was the perfect model for that role as well.

Finding the perfect setting was very frustrating; I was debating whether I should shoot it in a studio environment or on an actual roof top since finding an accessible rooftop location was quite difficult. Luckily, a friend of mine worked in a science building, and he was able to give us access to a very industrial looking rooftop.

I had the most fun with the post-editing. I remember I would always play the theme song, "Still Alive," whenever I was editing this shoot. I wanted to get the feel right, and I want viewers to instantly recognize that this is a Mirror's Edge shoot.

Links: The Photographer
My website is emanonDesign.com and I'm quite active on my DeviantArt account as well. Chryss, the model, can be found on her Model Mayhem account.

The Gallery

Things I Want: Entry #6

2010-03-25T20:14:00Z

The premise is simple. When brainstorming blog ideas for Gameinformer.com I started thinking about all the cool stuff I have on my desk. Then my mind wandered to all the cool stuff I would like to have on my desk. Then I made the leap to assuming that if I like cool things, you probably do, too. So here is a list of some things I want. There is no rhyme or reason to this blog. Instead, I post whatever tickles my fancy as it comes to my attention – even if it won’t fit on my aforementioned desk. Here you can expect to find an array of geek goods including toys, comics, games, artwork, clothing and even costumes for your pets.

PVC Momohime Figure [Link]

Little Frakkin Toasters Cylon Centurion [Link]

Cover Girls Of The Dc Universe: Batgirl Statue [Link]

TOXIC CANDY Series Featuring Sweety and Liquorice [Link]

Star Trek Inspired Custom Kokeshi Dolls [Link]

Coasters: Reboot and Escape [Link]

Ratchet and Clank Figures [Link]

Zombie Geisha Art Print [Link]

Zombie Candle [Link]

Superhero Vintage-style Print Set [Link]

Star Wars X-Wing Illustration [Link]

Geek Necklaces By Modish Mayhem [Link]

Android Mini Collectibles [Link]

Eddie in Space Illustration [Link]

Transformers Window Art [Link]

Nintendo Game Boy Dress [Link]

Bioshock Jewelry By AzureeAlice [Link]

Princess Leia Shoes [Link]

CosBlog #24: SigmaRue as Selphie Tilmitt

2010-03-24T17:02:00Z

This week we’ve got one of my personal favorite Final Fantasy girls, Selphie Tilmitt from Final Fantasy VIII. Cosplayer SigmaRue pulls off the look with style, lucky to already have hair perfect for the part. Check out her costume details and photos below!

Who: The Character
Selphie Tilmitt from Final Fantasy VIII.

Why: The Decision
“Final Fantasy VIII is one of my favorite games of all time, with Selphie being my absolute favorite Final Fantasy girl. I realized one summer that I didn't have this costume in my closet and just couldn't stand it anymore. I had spent a good deal of time working on more complex characters and wanted something simple, but fun to make. Plus, I needed another costume to wear at Sakura-con. So, Selphie happened. I found the perfect fabric after my first fabric store run.”

What: The Process
“From start to finish, the costume took about two months to make, but I spaced out different portions of the costume. The dress is made of a soft gabardine and took about three days to sew. I didn't use a pattern, so it required more time than I expected to make it fit me correctly. I added the detail top stitches one month later, which took two days of very slow sewing to complete. The zipper pull was done in a few hours with sculpey and spray paint. It was by far the easiest aspect of the costume to construct. The total cost came to about $60.”

Where and When: The Debut
“I'll debut this cosplay at Sakura-con in April and I'm incredibly excited about it. The first photoshoot took place at my house, thanks to my talented photographer sister, Emily.”

Links: The Cosplayer
You can find me at DeviantArt, Twitter and Cosplay.com

The Gallery

Miss the past few CosBlogs? Check out our CosBlog Hub for a full archive of past editions.

CosBlog #23: Wander by Hime no Toki

2010-03-17T19:45:00Z

We’ve already featured one amazing Shadow of the Colossus costume on the CosBlog, and this impressive Wander tribute continues the trend. Check out Hime no Toki’s take on the brave protagonist of Team Ico’s masterpiece below.

Who: The Character
Wander from Shadow of the Colossus

Why: The Decision
“I fell in love with Shadow of the Colossus. The game is simply amazing, from the graphics to the power of the story behind it. I love Wander for his determination to bring life back to the one he loves, and risk everything to do so. His story is so profound, and yet the game is so simplistic all the same, it's a beautiful blend of art and story. It doesn't need to be complex to get the message across or in order to be entertaining and thought-provoking. I absolutely love the works of Fumito Ueda and Team Ico, it didn't take any second thought or convincing for me to make this, I knew it had to happen. So without a moment's hesitation, I set about to make this dream costume a reality. I put my heart and soul into this costume.”

What: The Process
“This costume was a project from start to finish. One thing I will say is though it looks simple, there's a lot going on in this design and it took loads of research and work to complete. It took roughly four months from start to finish, and I had started brainstorming and gathering materials even months before the actual work began. It ended up costing around $500 for all the materials.

“I don't think I have ever been quite so meticulous with detail as I was with Wander, I wanted every stitch to be in place, the wig to be styled just right, every pattern to be replicated accurately, and every strap on the sandals to match up with what the character is wearing. Even the subtle details were important. I used my knowledge in leather work and sewing for most of the costume, there was a lot of hand and machine embroidery done throughout. I made sure to pick fabrics that had a texture and color to compliment Wander's garments as they appear and flow in game. I did leather work for the sandals, leg gaurds, belt, and bracelets. I embossed the symbols on the leather belt myself and paid careful attention to detail to make sure the symbols matched, it was really hard to find good reference but thanks to the artbook and studying the game, I was able to replicate it pretty well.

“The tabard is probably the most impressive piece, I spent hours studying the pattern in the artbook and on screen while making the template, and it was well worth it - I was able to replicate it pretty accurately and to scale, all of the symbols are appliqued on with fabric and embroidered by machine around each and every one, and it had to be done four times (front and back, and inside on both sides). I did a lot of hand embroidery for the headband, the stitch marks on the pants, around the tabbard edge, and on the under-tunic. The sword is layered balsa wood that was fiberglassed, it's pretty light-weight. If you want the full details, just go to the links provided for my Coscom and ACP accounts - I discuss the process at length there for how I made this piece.”

Where and When: The Debut
“I debuted Wander at OhayoCon 2009, where it won the honor of Best in Show craftsmanship. I didn't get around to doing any scenic photoshoots until I was back in Florida. I was happy to find out Consplayers would be in Florida, and shooting at the Maitland Art Center close by which was my dream location for this costume. The photos are all credit to Robert from Consplayers.com who did an amazing job! We did the shoot during the heat of summer, but it was worth it.”

Links: The Cosplayer
Cosplay.com
Anime Cosplay Paradise

The Gallery

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CosBlog #22: FF XIII Launch Edition

2010-03-10T23:07:00Z

To celebrate the launch of Final Fantasy XIII, this week's CosBlog features a dedicated group of Final Fantasy fans who channeled their passion for the franchise into amazing costumes. Check out our interviews with several of the cosplayers and a slew of images below. Enjoy!

Lightning by RainerTachibana

Who: The Character
"Codename Lightning, main character of the flagship title of the Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation, Final Fantasy XIII."

Why: The Decision
"I've always been a very big fan of Final Fantasy since I was a very young kid. My first title was FFVII, and I've been following the series through each installment since then.

"Lightning is a very unique character. She is strong-willed, resolute, relentless and unforgiving, and yet she has a soft, kindhearted aspect to her personality that's not apparent from the outset. All in all, she is a very real character, and one that people can easily relate to. I know I could. I was drawn to her character the moment I watched an early trailer, and when I watched the last few trailer releases, I was totally won over.

"Also, it helps that she has pink hair, which I love. Hahaha."

What: The Process
"I planned this cosplay as far back as 2007, but I didn't actually start on it till the second half of 2009, when I decided to debut it at an end-of-year event in Singapore together with my FFXIII teammates.

"The base of the costume was made by my personal tailor who did an awesome job, and I added detailing and crafted the accessories and props. We used a one-way stretch in a lovely ivory shade for the jacket, and a dark sandy color of the same fabric for the lining. Picked a red spandex for the cape which I felt was a good decision because it flowed and flipped in the wind beautifully. I was eyeing suede for the skirt but because there wasn't a suitable color, I went for a heavy drill instead. The leg pouch was red pleather which I spent a long time drafting and stitching by hand and gluing and taking apart and redoing. It caused me some amount of difficulty because I'd not made such a complicated pouch before and also, I'm hopeless at handstitching. The cuffs around the bicep were cut from pig's leather, and worn via velcro closure. Boots were also pleather, which were dyed from their original color to a more accurate shade of brown, and silver straps were leather belts sprayed metallic. Pauldron was craft foam, primed and painted. The pendant, worn on a simple silver chain, was also cut from foam, handpainted and glossed.

"Blaze Edge, Lightning's sword, I cut and sanded from light basswood, and the components pieced together using hotglue. I added an additional layer of detailing using craft foam and small stainless steel components. The total time taken was probably 60 - 80 hours, spent on and off."

Where and When: The Debut
"Lightning was debuted at EOY'09, an annual event in Singapore. The photoshoot was held half at the Singapore Changi Airport T3, and half at the Singapore Expo. We picked these locations because of the metallic structures and super-modern feel that is prevalent in Cocoon, the floating city of FFXIII."

Links: The Cosplayer
"I run a personal cosplay blog - which I promise to update more regularly. And more of my works can be viewed at my gallery on DeviantArt."

The Gallery

K-iricos as Hope Estheim

Who: The Character
"Hope Estheim from Final Fantasy XIII. I did the one and only default costume."

Why: The Decision
"I chose Hope because of the fact that I had greater confidence portraying the look of his as compared to the originally plan of Vanille. Second will be the resemblance in terms of height (short). I got very much attracted to the series because of the heavy influence from Rainer Tachibana when she first showed me the series. I fell in love with the character designs instantly."

What: The Process
"As for costume making, I left most details for my tailor to complete. All I did was to add on details on the scarf and did little alteration to the pants. Final costs were around 100 bucks or less since it was tailored. Most difficult task should be the painting and modifying of my boots to get the color as accurate as possible. The end results were somewhat satisfying though there are still lots to improve.I also want to mention that the Hope wig belongs to Rainer, who lent it to me for the shoot."

Where and When: The Debut
"First debut of the costume was during the end of year event in 2009 in Singapore. Photo shoot was held at the airport although we got chased away few minutes after we started. Then we went off to the Expo. Location was chosen by Rainer Tachibana as she is more familiarized with the series and is more experienced."

Links: The Cosplayer
DeviantArt and Cure

The Gallery

Jesuke as Snow Villiers

Who: The Character
"The character is Snow Villiers from Final Fantasy XIII"

Why: The Decision
"I was kinda attracted to the series because of the visual effects and the design concept of the environment and my friend Shizuka asked me whether I’m interested in doing Snow. Well, it was quite challenging, but worth the try!"

What: The Process
"It took awhile, like three days or so as I already started the costume quite long ago but I stopped for awhile. After that they say they want to cosplay in an event which was like 6 days to go and I try to finish it up as soon as possible and I have done it ^^. Material wise is of course cloth, craft form, paints, buckers, zips, aluminum…cost overall was below $60. The difficult task I think was the inner shirt because there are two types of different color cloth had to sew together and of course the necklace because had to make the necklace from scratch."

Where and When: The Debut
"It's in Singapore event which held on national library during 2009, called End-of-year event. Photoshoot is somewhere in airport and Singapore EXPO (which has very nice lighting). Because FF mostly is futuristic feel and more on glass, white scenery so we tend to choose Singapore expo as the place was very suitable for it."

Links: The Cosplayer
DeviantArt

The Gallery

[Photographer Credits: Zera, Windy]

B-eckiee as Oerba Dia Vanille

Links: The Cosplayer
DeviantArt

Yyumii as Serah Farron

Links: The Cosplayer
DeviantArt

Group Photos

CosBlog #21: Cammy White By Illiara

2010-03-04T06:15:00Z

This week's CosBlog sees one Street Fighter fan's take on Cammy White throughout her various costumes and iterations. I think it's safe to say that cosplayer Illiara has taken a notoriously hard character to pull off and succeeded in spades. Enjoy!

Who: The Character
"The character I’m cosplaying as is Cammy White from the Street Fighter series. I’ve done several variations of her costume, Alpha, Delta, and Swimsuit (complete with tan lines)."

Why: The Decision
"I’ve been playing the Street Fighter series since growing up so I suppose that is what initially sparked my interest in Cammy. I always cosplay characters that I like from a series that I dig so it was inevitable that I’d cosplay as her eventually, but I was initially asked to be Cammy as a part of a Street Fighter cosplay group that a friend was putting together and I happily agreed. Swimsuit Cammy came later based on a fanart I saw that had me in a fit of hysterics."

What: The Process
"Each costume took a different amount of time to create. I spent the most amount of time on Alpha Cammy, but it’s hard to guess how many hours went into it because another girl and I were creating accessories/costumes for about a dozen Shadowloo Dolls at the time. If I had to guess I’m say maybe around 10-15 hours? All of my Cammy costumes include copious amounts of spandex so it was tricky at first, but got easier the more I worked with it.

"The toughest part was out of all 3 costumes I think would have to be cutting that circle from the back of Aplha Cammy. Spandex is a little tricky to work with and I was nervous that cutting the hole in the back would turn out, eh, less than circular. My only disappointment with it is that since there is no tension in the back it leaves the sides a little saggy and I end up looking like a box. Haha! I was fairly new to working with spandex at that point so it was certainly a learning experience. :p"

Where and When: The Debut
"Alpha Cammy was debuted at Anime Vegas 2007. However, the costume received far more attention at Anime Expo; I think the size difference between the two conventions made a huge difference. Small cons rather than large cons are an entirely different experience. The Alpha Cammy pictures here were shot by Eric Joseph during Anime Vegas 2007.

Delta Cammy was premiered at Anime Vegas 2008 where I met the American Voice Actress from SFIV. She was really excited to see a Cammy cosplayer and ran over to ask for a picture. I was totally stoked when she told me who she was and that she dug my costume. :D That was the convention that I discovered how impossible my gauntlets made it to take pictures with my camera! I ended up having to give it to a friend to take snapshots of costumes that excited me. All of my Delta Cammy pictures were taken in San Francisco during Wonder Con. By Annisse Damfatale or Eurobeat King.

Tan Line Cammy debuted at San Diego Comic Con 2009. I wore it strictly for the sake of shooting, but had to go nab a friend in the convention hall so I wandered about a few minutes, saw a few other Street Fighter characters so we got a couple of pictures at the Capcom booth before heading out for the shoot. Not a lot of people got the joke, but the ones that got it were super excited/amused by it. My favorite part about it was watching them think about it and then seeing the moment of recognition occur. :D The pictures for Tan Line Cammy were shot by Benn Robbins.

Links: The Cosplayer
DeviantArt, Flickr, TheGamerGirls

The Gallery

CosBlog #20: Katt by Heidi Rogers

2010-02-25T16:41:00Z

This week veteran cosplayer Heidi Rogers proves that no costume is impossible to pull off with a lot of creativity and some crazy airbrushing skills. Enjoy her take on the acrobatic Katt from Breath of Fire II.

Who: The Character
Katt, from Breath of Fire II.

Why: The Decision
“Breath of Fire II is, and always will be, an awesome old school RPG! I own it and have played it to death repeatedly, and still haven't grown tired of it. It’s one of my very favorite games, and my favorite character has always been the spunky Woren gladiatrix, Katt. While she puts up a ‘tough as nails’ front, she cares very much for her friends, and has a heart of gold.”

What: The Process
“Katt was a little bit of a challenge to create, as almost everything from her costume had to be made from scratch by patternmaking. I wanted this costume to be as accurate as possible while still being functional, and had a lot of fun thinking of different ways to make things work. I love a challenge!

“A lot of people who see me from a distance think I’m not wearing any clothes, which always gives me a laugh. To pull off the pantless catgirl look, I made a full bodysuit that comes up just under the top of her halter and stays up with clear bra straps. I dyed it just the right shade of orange, and then airbrushed the whole thing, placing the belly button over my own. The airbrushing process was the most difficult and stressful part of making this costume, since if I messed up, I could easily ruin the entire bodysuit!

“I then added the tail, and made toe socks out of the leftover bodysuit fabric. They have black claws made out of Fimo ( a polymer clay) that sit over my toenails, and I put heavy foam in the shape of pawpads on the bottoms so I can walk around without shoes! My favorite part of the costume though is definitely her staff. I made it from PVC piping, Fimo, and round Christmas ornaments, and love how it turned out after everything was painted and put together.

“I worked on this costume for about three weeks, right before a convention. Altogether, I’d say it cost me about $100 in materials and for the wig.”

Where and When: The Debut
“This costume is one of my favorites, and it was first debuted at Anime Reactor in 2005 in Chicago, Illinois. I’ve since worn it to several other conventions…I just can’t get tired of it. ^_^

“My photoshoot was done in a little park near my home with a friend who was practicing photography, and I had a blast watching people do double takes whenever they’d walk by us!”

Links: The Cosplayer
You can see more of my costumes at my website, Cosplay Kitten, by visiting.

The Gallery

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