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CosBlog #11: Princess Ovelia by Hyper Mouse
Fanboys (and girls) are a special breed in the gaming world. With their zealous enthusiasm they single-handedly have the ability to make or break games, breathe life back into flailing franchises and (if they use their powers for evil) start flame wars across the Internet. Their undying devotion for a developer, game or character has spawned web-rings, epic works of art and the desire to participate in the ultimate fan tribute – cosplay. This weekly blog highlights some of the best cosplay found around the net. These fans put their blood, sweat and tears into their work, and it shows. 
Who: The Character
This is Princess Ovelia from the fabulous tactics turn-based Final Fantasy Tactics. ^^ She wears the same outfit throughout.
Why: The Decision
Honestly, and truthfully, I'm a TERRIBLE gamer! I have a dreadful habit of starting games and not finishing them, or starting them and watching my friends finish them, helping occasionally. I blame my need to fidget and run around. Tactics tragically was no exception, but my best friend since preschool was in love with that game, so one day I said, “you're right you should make that FFT costume you've always wanted, and I'm going to make one too!” I like Ovelia from the 40% of the game I played, I liked her “tragic” nature and in the end determination (from watching friends play through to the end). I made the costume largely for my friend to wear with her Ramza. My poor friend is frequently bemoaning the out of character poses we did with these costumes. The other reason I wanted to make this costume was the design. All the artwork for that game is just beautiful! So detailed and just stunning work!
What: The Process
The costume took months, I recall from sketching to completion about 8 months, but it's to date my most comfortable and durable costume, so it was totally worth it. I did a fair amount of research on medieval costumes and sketched out quite a few ideas on how I'd put the costume together before I drafted and modified my patterns. I used simple muslin for the under dress, going off medieval dresses that placed the simpler/cheaper fabric nearer to the skin. A silk/cotton blend was used for the outer dress which I thought of as a big fancy tunic. Both have full fleur-de-les and geometric faux-silk patterns appliqued on to the bases of the skirts. That took a lot of time and ironing. The cape is moleskin lined with flannel, so it's either terribly cozy or horribly hot. The appliques were applied in a similar fashion as the skirt. The boots, which are never seen, were made from cutting off the top of a sandal and building a "boot" by using my own feet as the form. They're the comfiest cosplay shoes ever.
Where and When: The Debut
Darkin (my friend who cosplayed as Ramza) and I debuted our costumes at Anime Central 2007, and also wore them at Anime Expo 2007 and 2008. They've since been retired. We had one photo shoot with EuroBeat King of Cosplay.com while at Acen2007, and I had a private shoot taken by my boyfriend up at my family's property near Nederland, Colorado. The costumes have also attended a few FF and Tactics gatherings. Mostly the locations were places chosen as the most picturesque or easily accessible when at conventions. With the one in Colorado I felt I had a beautiful place to take pictures and I wanted to take advantage of it.
Links: The Cosplayer
Darkin and I can be found on myspace and my cosplay.com account.
Feel free to message either myself or Darkin if you ever have any questions about our costumes, or just want to chat. We love chatting ^_^
The Gallery
Miss the past few CosBlogs? Enter "CosBlog" in the search bar above for a full archive of past editions. Or simply hit the blog tab above and search through past entries by hand.
Interested in having one of your costumes highlighted on GameInformer.com’s CosBlog? Check out the CosBlog FAQ for more information.
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