Category: Cosplay

2022 Cosplay Year in Review

22/12/2022

King of Swords | Umbreon | Sylveon | Morana | Risotto | Raihan

It's been a productive year. I managed to complete a few costumes on my long "to be completed" list and I got creative with Pokémon costumes again. 2022 was my return to conventions after pandemic lockdowns. I'm still adjusting to post-lockdown conventions while trying to stay safe and dodge covid for another year. Luckily, I was never the type to share drinks and I always had hand sanitizer with me pre-pandemic, so I was going in with good habits. I never want con plague, not then and definitely not now. It was nice to be back and seeing friends I haven't seen in years. Also, it was a shock to be assaulted by con funk after being spared for so long.

Sylveon cosplay | Photo by KevinUncaged

What I learned

Flash tape was my MVP this year keeping the girls secured and hidden. I've been using athletic tape and using Vaseline or cream to protect sensitive parts
Pur cosmetics lash glue is great for glueing stuff to your body. My gold foil would not budge on my King of Sword cosplay
Patience can save you money: I was so eager to make my Raihan cosplay that I started accumulating materials as the game released. I'm a slow crafter and before I could even finish 30% of the costume there were decent quality full costumes for less that the material costs I've already incurred. I love my costume and it's of a higher quality but I should have waited to buy it and save myself the time.
Persistence pays off: If you are dedicated to a project it's safe to wait for the right materials. I've been on the hunt for striped fabric in the right width for Risotto for months and the one I settled on was perfect. Similarly, for Morana, I could not be bothered to make her white dress since it's a pretty standard look. I managed to find a Victorian inspired cotton dress on AliExpress. It was cheaper than buying the materials myself and I didn't have to put in the labour.
Keep your reference photo handy, because your mind can play some tricks on you. Refer to it frequently to avoid mistakes.
A halo crown + beads is an easy way to add elegance to a costume
Consider painting your appliqués to get the desired colour for your project. You can also dye them and of course add beads and rhinestones for extra pizzazz.
Gathered ultrapreme looks great! It looks so rich and is very soft. I used this for the bottom of Raihan's sweater.
Saving on HTC vinyl: Typically when you have a vinyl design, you have it cut by a vinyl cutting machine in the shape you need, then you apply it. Raihan's design had mainly straight lines in orange vinyl. Instead of cutting out the design as is, I just cut out strips and applied them as need be. So I was able to do the whole costume with one roll of vinyl and with minimal waste.
Get threading tools (drawstring threaders) to make inserting ribbon, chord, and elastic into fabric channels easier. Ex. like the ribbon in a hoodie
When you wear light-coloured brows (blonde/white/silver) add a dark shadow with eyeshadow so they don't disappear on your face and it softens the looks without them looking too harsh
When sewing a sticky fabric (like vinyl) use wax paper as a protective layer between your fabric and your foot to glide the fabric through without it catching. This also works with paper towels but wax paper is fairly transparent so you can see what you are doing.
When working with spherical props consider flattening a side or hollowing it out attach it to other items. A flat or hollow area give you more surface to work it. I had to hollow out some of the foam balls I used for Risotto's hat otherwise they hung awkwardly and ends of the fabric were visible, which didn't look nice.

Photo Paul Hillier

Most Expensive - Risotto

Surprisingly this was not too expensive at about $150. Although I wasn't the best of tracking my expenses in the pandemic years. I managed to get a good deal on vinyl from Aliexpress to keep the cost down. The loafers cost as much as the fabric but they are so nice and I wear them all the time.

Photo Amaleigh Photography

Least Expensive - Umbreon

Sylveon and Umbreon are basically the same price (around $65) but I had to buy more rhinestones and ribbon for Sylveon. Both costumes were an Aliexpress special: fabric, appliques, halos, and rhinestones. I also used a lot of accessories I had lying around. Check out those bracelets meant for a Riju (Breath of the Wild) cosplay that never happened.

Favourite Cosplay - Risotto

I don't really have a favourite this year but if I have to pick, I'll pick a Jojo costume. I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the sewing went considering vinyl is such a finnicky fabric. The hat is fun and was an interesting puzzle to pattern out. I managed to get the stripes on the pants to align neatly. How satisfying! And the shoes are cool and comfortable. Plus any excuse to do crazy poses is a good one.

Risotto cosplay | Photo Paul Hillier

Return of the Cons

I was fortunate enough to go to four conventions this year: Yeticon, Anime North, Otakuthon, and Capital City Comic Con.

I had a relaxing time as per usual at Yeticon. The scenery is always beautiful but the wind was miserable this year and made it so cold, which was a pain since I packed mainly light costumes. It was the opposite at Anime North where it was horribly hot. Thankfully my Eeveelution costumes are as light as can be. They are probably the most exposed costumes I have. Although I was a little nervous wearing them out, I had no regrets once I step outside in the hot weather. Judging the masquerade was like riding a bike, it was nice to be back at it and seeing people's creative work.

I had a good time at Otakuthon, although I was trying to avoid the worst of the crowds. The fun I had that weekend was doing things around the city (going to the spa, checking out an art show) since it's been years since I could visit. Lastly, Capital City Comic Con, was my return to guesting at a convention. It was a great event and everyone was so friendly. Getting back to the west coast (Victoria) made me really miss travelling. There are so many beautiful sights to see on Vancouver island and Lichon Photography showed me around. I got to see a few small waterfalls and of course we took photos in the woods.

Juan de Fuca trail on Vancouver island

Forward to 2023

I'm being cautiously optimistic for 2023. Here's hoping I can make another 5-6 costumes and maybe clear some other old costumes on my "to be completed" list like this Sakizo costume I've been working on since 2019. You can also expect more Jojo costumes and pokemon gijinkas.

Besides that, I'm mainly sticking to projects I can make with my fabric stash. After moving recently, I realized how much stuff I have and I need to reduce the amount before committing to new things. Also I don't really have place for any new costumes, which means I will be getting rid of some older ones to make room.

I hope you all had a great 2022 and I'll see you in the new year.
XOXO

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2020 Cosplay Year in Review

31/12/2020

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Wooloo | Rohan | Cosmog

I had grand dreams of being ultra productive in 2020. I managed to crank out three new costumes for Katsucon in February (which is more than usual from me) so I was expecting to have many more completed costumes by the end of the year. Then the pandemic happened, I started working from home, and I figured, what a great time to get ahead on projects! I was going to produce the most costumes I ever. Well, it didn't work out that way. The only 3 costumes I finished were those 3 from Katsucon. I've been sporadically working on projects but never finishing them, and that's fine. Maybe I needed a break from the hustle. I think many cosplayers have felt the pressure to keep up and continue to push out new things on a regular basis. Every year when Katsu would roll around I would anticipate a friend of two burning out from the stress. Know that your health and mental well-being is a priority and if this year has shown us anything, it's that the costumes and conventions can wait. So instead I focused on creating content with costumes that I had in my closet. I finally put all my self-shooting equipment to use. I got to filming short videos and actually enjoying making Tiktoks (le gasp!). Long story short, do what makes you happy, even if that's relaxing on the couch and reliving your high school weeb days.

Photo: Paul Hillier

What I learned

I will keep cosplaying even though a pandemic
I never realized how much deadlines played into my motivation. The only costumes I finished were for Katsucon
Hand knitting is fun, easy, and fast
My makeup skills improved. Thank you beauty gurus! Get a good fluffy shadow brush for diffusing your eyeshadow
Don't be afraid of extra long false lashes, they look phenomenal for dramatic characters.
After reluctantly joining it last year, I realized how great Tiktok is. It's currently my favourite place on the internet
Getting a great pose sometimes means taking the risk of looking like an idiot.
Posing can be a workout for muscles you never knew you had
If you are in costume and creating video content, record in character B-roll to use for future videos. It's a good investment of your time.
I really like to hoard fabric. I bought so much new fabric for upcoming projects during quarantine but didn't really progress on those projects
Strategically use the finished edges of finicky fraying fabric instead of having to hem or serge it yourself. Work smarter, not harder ladies.
I much prefer schedule social media content (Ig/Facebook) way in advance rather than dealing with the indecisiveness of figuring out what to post on the day of. It also grants you a little more perspective. Some costumes/photos I thought I posted recently, when in fact, it was over a year since I last shared something about it.
I love a nice curated and colour coded Instagram grid but it is so much work!
Self shooting takes some practice but isn't as intimidating once you get the swing of things.
Self shooting can also be exhausting since you are taking care of all the roles yourself, from makeup, to modelling, to photography. Then you have to edit everything afterwards.

Photo by lichonphotography.com from our shoot on Vancouver Island in January

Most Expensive - Rohan

I had to drop quite a bit of money on leather and leather crafting supplies to make the belts and the headband. I also had to order the pen heads twice since I stored the first batch somewhere and forgot them once it was time to make the costume.

Least Expensive - Wooloo

I bought chuncky yarn at a great discount to makes this cute costume. Ordering a new pair of fangs (since my last pair were old and yellowing) was almost as expensive as the yarn. All of the black under-layers are from my wardrobe.

Favourite Cosplay - Rohan

I love many things: I love Jojo, and I love being comfortable. So Rohan is my favourite costume of the year. It's rare I get to be conformable in costume and look this good. Having a character that is meant to have fun and interesting poses definitely helped me go out of my comfort zone in photoshoots. I just have to remember to channel that Jojo energy with my other costumes.

Photo by lichonphotography.com from our shoot in Victoria in January

Forward to 2021

I don't know if I'll get miraculously more productive in 2021 but I hope to put a dent in my outstanding projects as usual. I don't foresee going to any conventions until maybe the end of the year, and even that is a stretch depending of how vaccinations go.

I just know I miss my friends, and I want to travel the world once things are safer. I also want to go on more wilderness photoshoot adventures. Hopefully in warmer weather, since I'm always freezing on my wilderness shoots.

I hope you are all staying safe and hopefully I'll see you online and maybe at a convention next year or the following year, who knows.

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Katsucon 2018

20/2/2018

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With Jayuna and Jazzmin

Katsucon is a yearly tradition for me where I look forward to seeing amazing work while also catching up with friends. With those two things in mind my mission was accomplished. I was really worried I wouldn't finish my projects in time but luckily I was able to pulled through without pushing myself too hard. The grind to finish Katsu costumes, aka "Katsucrunch", got the best of many people this year, which serves as a good reminder to take a step back and reevaluate things with high stress projects. I learned that lesson the hard way at WCS.

I have to give special thanks to a few people who made this weekend great. First off to Kurumasha for helping me finish my projects and lending me her wig. Second to VickybunnyAngel for being an amazing roomie, helping me in and out of costume, and also helping with makeup. Third to Jayuna, for helping me out of costume when Vicky wasn't there. Lastly to everyone who I caught up with ans shot with over the weekend. Thank you for your time and sharing it with me.

All right let's dive in!

Thursday

I flew in on Thursday morning and made friendly with some local cosplayers on the same flight. We split an Uber to the hotel and I totally felt like a con mom asking them about what they planned to do for the first year there.

When I arrived, I picked up some supplies for the weekend from CVS then got ready to shoot my Spring Sawsbuck that afternoon. I shot with White Specs and Vicissijuice back to back. It was my first time shooting with her and I look forward to seeing the photos. Afterwards I immediately took a nap because I was very tired. After sleeping for 2 hours, I got up and worked on finishing up Lilith while watching the Olympics. Figure skating woot woot!

Friday

I was pretty certain that I would't finish this costume in time but I was able to wear Lilith on Friday of the event. I was suppposed to finish this costume for Katsu of last year but I just kept putting it off. There are a few details that still need to be added or improved but I am still happy with what I got to wear for a few hours.

A special thanks goes to Vickybunnyangel for helping me get into this and pinning down my wing harness and also to Jayuna for helping me out of the costume. I was resigned to the fact that I would have lie down on the bed for close to hour waiting for a roommate to return to help.

I got to shoot with MH photography by the water before the rain came in. I had a "great" time balancing my long nails (not pictured but you'll see eventually) for pictures but they were worth the hassle because they add an extra layer of crazy detail to the costume.

Photo by Martin Wong

The rest of the day was easy going. My roomies and I went for dinner at Elevation Burger then we went to Felt for a party at the MGM. It was a nice change of pace from the hustle that happens at Pose. I didn't end up going there this year since the lines were horrendous.

It was a great opportunity to catch up with friends without having to circle the bar all night trying to find them. Also two couples got engaged, how exciting!

Side note: I got this new blue dress and it is a nightmare to get in and out of. It's a snug fit with minimal stretch and I wish it had a zipper. Luckily I wasn't stuck sleeping in it overnight.

Saturday

The big day. I decided to wear something somewhat comfortable and that was Storm. After years of putting this costume on the back burner she is finally done! She got such a warm welcome at the event even though I got blamed for the snow that arrived that day.

I did a shoot with U.V. Photography partially outdoors and indoors then I spent the rest of the afternoon meeting up with friends and getting to know new ones around the gazebo. I also shot with Anna Fischer and my god it is magic what she can accomplish with a few lights and gels.

I had another dinner with friends, this time at the Walrus for some delicious seafood. I find this is the best opportunity to catch up with people because the hustle of Katsu can get the best of you. Afterwards I went around the lobby visiting friends and playing more catch up.

Sunday

I was pretty tired come Sunday but I still got into Alexandrite. There were so many other gems that it made me so happy. I love to see the different ways people interpreted the wigs and the makeup. My interpretation requires 3 layers of highlighters.

I spent most of time hanging out at the gazebo level and doing the odd shoot here and there. I also got to catch up with Sweet Sensation photo, and I'm curious to see if my over posing worked out. Since it was such a simple costume I figure it was time to whip out the Vogue moves. I also did a brief balcony shoot before I changed out of the costume, which was a first for me.

After saying too many goodbyes I made my way to the airport and after nearly falling asleep at the gate, I made it home in one piece.

All in all I had a good time despite the crowding. Honestly, I expect this every year from Katsu so it was not a surprise and honestly I thought it would be worse. I wore my cumbersome outfits on Thursday and Friday to avoid the worst of it. Crowding makes it difficult to get good photos but a little ingenuity, courtesy, and determination goes a long way. I would agree with some friends with the point that some of the usual photoshoot spots are getting overused but I think that is part of the deal when you attend a con several years in a row. However, it's still leaps and bounds better for shoots than conventions held in warehouses every year. I will be returning next year so long as my friends will be there since that is the bulk of the fun for me.

How was your Katsu? Did you run into any issues?

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2017 Cosplay Year in Review

24/12/2017

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Primarina at Colossalcon - PhotosNXS

This year was a slow moving one for me. My day job gobbled up more of my time so I didn`t produce as many costumes as I would like (granted I say that every year). I also went to more events that ever, which also ate into my costume making time, but I had a great time exploring new cities and new events. Finally, I wrapped up the year by going on another cosplay adventure into the wilderness. Let`s go through my year in cosplay.

MILESTONES

First time being invited to conventions outside of Canada (Anime Matsuri & Mechacon in the US)
First Livestreams - Styling Nidalee's Wig & Styling Storm's Wig
I hit 3k on Instagram. Thx!

NOTEWORTHY BLOGS

My Cosplay Photoshoot Trip to Kelowna
My first time at YetiCon

Costumes

WHAT I LEARNED

Stretch mesh can dye easily
Crinoline on the other hand, does not
Feathers can be dyed with regular dye, you just need more product
Finally, and surprisingly, you can also dye starfish (not for too long or it will deteriorate)
PVC pipe connectors are super useful for props
I may have a fake flower purchasing addiction
Floral wire + florals make for easy headpieces
Get a sturdy headband if you are going to be wearing it often, especially for heapieces
If there is an option to gold leaf something, do it
The answer is more accessories
Organza is a magical material that you can airbrush
Don't be afraid of big false lashes
Fur collars are amazing
I love making headpieces
I also love making my own original designs
Location shoots are the best shoots
I have a surprising tolerance for the cold in the name of photoshoots

Sharla (2014) shot at Yeticon (2017) with Elysiam Entertainment

Most expensive

MH Photography

Collectively, all of the Sawsbuck costumes cost $770, which is quite the bargain if you split it four ways. I re-purpose certain items throughout the designs, such as the corset. Of the four designs, the fall one was probably to most expensive since I had to buy some of the flowers at a slight discount (instead of a deep one) due to timing.

Least Expensive

U.V. Photography

I spent a whole $85 on Ducklett and most of the money went into the trims and appliques. It's such a nice and simple costume that is easy to wear. I don't get to use sequins often in my costume so this was a treat, also I got to use all that feather knowledge I built up over the years to make this beautiful skirt.

Swanna (2016) shot at Lake Chilliwack with Lichon Photography

Favourite Costume

Erik Paredes Photography

Favourite Prop

Sometime I can surprise myself with my practicality. Sawsbuck's headpiece has removable/replaceable flowers and antlers, interchangeable floral bases, and easily slips on top of wig

The Sawsbuck collection of costumes hit a sweet spot for me: I got to rekindle my love of design, I got to make a bunch of fun capes, I fell in love again with crafting headpieces, I got to embellish the crap out of each design, I had fun shopping for complimentary accessories, I got to be thrifty by reusing certain parts of the costume, I improved my corset making skills, and I got to play around with some intense makeup. All-in-all good stuff, 10 out of 10 will do again.

I brought Queen Beryl with me for my Kelowna trip. Fun fact - the ground is pure mud. Photo by Lichon Photography.

Events

This banner at Anime Matsuri was insane

So Many Conventions! I think this was my busiest year yet, especially since I had to travel further for these events. Here`s where I`ve been:

Katsucon - Washington DC - Convention Report
Anime Matsuri - Houston TX - Convention Report
Costume Con 35 - Mississauga - Con Report
Ottawa ComicCon
Anime North - Toronto - Convention report
Colossalcon - Ohio - Convention report
Yeticon - Blue Mountain - Convention Report
Montreal Comiccon - Convention report
Mechacon - New Orleans - Convention report
Otakuthon - Montreal - Convention report

I also did another cosplay trip out west to visit my friend the super talented Lichon Photography. We shot 5 costumes over 7 days all around Southern BC, mainly Kelowna. It was amazing and the photos are to die for.

I consider myself very fortunate to be able to judge masquerades and to be invited to events, so I would like to thank everyone who put my name forward, those who came out to see me or buy prints. Your support means a lot to me. I`m glad my costumes could bring a little joy to your day. If you would like to see me at an event near you, get in touch with your organizers or contact me.

NIdalee - Photo by White Specs

Forward to 2018

Since I have fewer events planned for 2018, hopefully that means I can create more costumes. I have quite a few projects on the go, but the biggest one I hope to finish is Lilith from Trinity Blood. I have also been dragging my feet on a Storm for years that is finally coming together. Hopefully I can knock out some more outstanding projects in 2018.

I have another cosplay photoshoot adventure planned and it is going to be even more intense than the last ones. More details on that to come. The plan is also to produce more regular content from home. I`ll do my best to work some magic.

The urge to return to NYC is also strong, the fabric district is calling me, although I`m not sure if I can swing either NYCC or AnimeNYC in 2018.

If you want to know what I`m up to, please check out my Planning page or you can find me posting progress pics on my Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. If you want to support my work, you can buy me Ko-fi. I hope your 2017 went well and see you in 2018!

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Cosplay trip - Kelowna

29/10/2017

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Nothing beats fresh air and doing super cinematic photoshoots in the mountains. I had such a great time in Banff last year that I figure I would pay Lichon Photography a visit in Kelowna this year. I've never been and I had a hankering to go in the mountains again.

If I had to summarize the trip I would say: Mountains, fresh air, road trip, girl's trip, and cosplay goals. I I had to summarize the shoots, I would simply say cold. I was freezing through all of them. Windy cold, wet cold, hail cold, snowy cold... You get it at this point.

I somehow packed 5 costumes in my luggage so we did 6 shoots over the course of 7 days. It was intense but fun. Here's a quick recap.

Myra Canyon

We went to Myra canyon to check out some beautiful fall foliage. We had to take a logging road up there and it felt like me were off roading most of the way. I got to see some unique pine tree that turn neon in the fall. Lichon also taught me some stellar tree shaking skills to level up our practical effects in our photos. I also learned the art of dodging prickly bushes and carefully detaching fabric from said bushes. I wore my Fall Sawsbuck costume and it was the first time I wore it in a seasonal setting. I'm so happy that my headpiece survived the flight. I got some serious cape action going, and I curious to see how the photos turn out.

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Otakuthon 2017

8/8/2017

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With Sarcasm-hime and Detailed Illusions

My pirate face

Busy but fun. Otakuthon is one of my staple events for the year and it delivered good times with my friends. I came into the city on Thursday evening and I was able to grab a few drinks with a friend on a patio and catch up after a few years apart.

On Friday I wore Nidalee, I didn't forget my necklace this time, and I got to shoot with White Specks. I immediately had to run to my panel afterwards and it went surprisingly well considering I thought it was cancelled and I had to make due without my notes.Afterward I had an amazing seafood dinner at the Captain's Boil. It's a pirate themed restaurant with bibs, gloves, and food in bags. It was glorious and delicious.

On Saturday I got dressed in my Fall Sawsbuck costume after attaching some last minute flowers to the skirt. I'm so stoked to get photos back for this costume. I felt majestic af in this. I love it so damn much with its warm colour palette. I also hung out in the Otakuthon lobby for a bit and I was pleased to see how warmly the costume was received especially since it's an original gijinka design.

The rest of the day was spent judging the masquerade and Otakuthon always has stiff competition. This year was the year of WOW. There were so many talented Sylvanas cosplayers, in addition to a lot of Hakuouki and Madoka Magika.

On Sunday I wore Ducklett and I took it pretty easy. I watched the WCS Canada performances, then jetted out for a fashion inspired shoot, then came running back for the award ceremony. I spent the rest of the day eating great food with friends and catching up with them.

All in all it was a good weekend despite the questionable weather.

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Mechacon 2017

7/8/2017

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It was my first time in New Orleans and I didn't know what to expect but Mechacon was amazing!

I arrived in NOLA on Thursday afternoon and settled into my hotel after meeting some staff for dinner.

Friday

Photo by Chinasaur

I brought the sea goddess to Mechacon, and I was happy with how well received Tia Dalma was.

Friday was busy since I was doing craftsmanship judging for the masquerade for the most of the day. I was amazed at the amount of talent I saw in the cosplay competition. After a few hours of that I went to the opening ceremony with my fellow cosplay guests Chinasaur and Starbuxx. I was really impressed with how well produced the opening videos were for the event in addition to the talent on stage since many of the musical guests preformed throughout the ceremony.

Afterward we had a meet and greet with the guests (ambassadors) and VIP con guests. It made for a great time to meet new people and socialize. It set a great tone for the weekend.
I wrapped up the evening by grabbing dinner at a great Colombian restaurant and calling it an early night.

Saturday

On Saturday, I wore Kida. Earlier in the day I was judging more entries from the cosplay contest then I got to spend some time at my booth. I met so many interesting and nice people. Thanks again to anyone who stopped by to say hi and buy a print.

Later in the day I got to watch the cosplay competition and boy was it intense. There was a crazy amount of craftsmanship on display and it was hard narrowing down the winners. I'm also used to having lengthy deliberations to determine the awards but we had to pick the winners within 15 minutes! In the end, we came to a consensus and the contestants really put on a good show.

After the con I got to catch up with Hane Cosplay over dinner and frozen rosé. Yum.

Weekend Cosplay Gallery

Sunday & Monday

I'm blue da ba de

Sunday was the most relaxed of the weekend. I was mostly at my table in my Ducklett costume. The AC is not a joke at this con so I was sporting a jacket most of the day.

I had a great time socializing with the attendees and the other guests in the guest table area. I've got to say that Queen D is a great cosplayer and a joy to be around. I would love to see her MC a Canadian masquerade.

Chinasaur and Starbuxx were lovely and I had a great time hanging out with them over the weekend. Also thanks to Most Flogged for swapping X-men stories and taking me to the aquarium on Monday.

Stay awesome New Orleans!

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Montreal ComicCon 2017

11/7/2017

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I had a great relaxing time at Montreal Comiccon. I'll take any reason to go to Montréal!

I only wore one costume, Pharoah Nidalee, and it was briefly on Saturday for a photoshoot with Erik Paredes. Note to self: do more test runs of costumes before wearing them. It was surprisingly uncomfortable to wear and a few pieces didn't stay put.

Most of my time was spent hanging out with friends, exploring the dealer's room, grabbing food in Chinatown, and going on little Pokemon adventures.

Notable events: I spotted Patrick Stewart twice over the weekend. Once in the dealer's room on his way to his signing and again while he was walking through Chinatown.

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YetiCon 2017

19/6/2017

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It was my first time at Yeticon and it did not disappoint. I decided to go at the last minute and I'm glad I did. It was quite a relaxing event. It was a bit of a downer that there was rain throughout the weekend but otherwise it was fun.

FRIDAY
I drove in with some Ottawa cosplay friends and arrived at around 4pm. It quite the scenic trip, much better than driving to Toronto. I threw on Sharla in a rush and did my makeup in record time. I grabbed my badge at the event, ran into almost all my Toronto cosplay friends, then went straight to a shoot with Anna and Kay. I can't wait to have some good photos of Sharla with her prop. This costumes has been collecting dust for a few years since it doesn't travel easily. Some parts were coming apart since the glue worn down after a few years. After taking off my costume I rode the mountain coaster and hung out with friends for the rest of the day. I took it easy for the rest of the night since it was pouring rain.

SATURDAY
Despite my best efforts I could not sleep in, so I lounged around my suite with my roommates until around noon when I got dressed in Summer Sawsbuck. I got to shoot some video with Ackson and then did a photoshoot with Anna at the top of the mountain. Even though I doused myself in bug repellent I still end up with 4 mosquito bites.

I got out of costume and was killing time until the pool party except it got cancelled due to thunder, rain, and tornado warnings. Instead I went to go visit friends in their rooms getting drenched by the rain every step of the way then headed to a suite party for the rest of the night,

SUNDAY
There was a forecast of sporadic rain so I decided not to wear Ms. Fortune on Sunday. It was stupidly humid as well so I only imagine all my fake scars would be peeling off within a half hour. I took another ride on the roller-coaster and said goodbye to as many friends as I could.
It was nice drive back to Ottawa filled with pitching questionable skit ideas.

OVERALL
The resort is beautiful and great to wander around. There are tons of activities you can do in the resort for free thanks to getting a badge. There is a plethora of great photoshoot locations. The con has a lot of interesting events happening. I missed out on my free drink and open bar :( but others got to take advantage. there are a lot of food options and the hotel rooms are all great. It is very relaxing. In comparison, Colossalcon is a fun partycon while Yeticon is a laid back party con.

I want to return next year. I just hope they don't put it back to back with Colossalcon!

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Anime North 2017

29/5/2017

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This is @animenorth aka parking lot con pic.twitter.com/bRDdXvbzBf
— Melting Mirror (@MeltingMirror) May 27, 2017

I've been going to this con for more than ten years and sometimes you can get into a funk of "been there, done that" but this year was a blast at Anime North!

First off, it didn't feel as crowded as usual. Secondly, the weather, although overcast and sometime lightly raining, was nice. It wasn't the usual sweaty mess which was a welcome change. Lastly, my schedule was relaxed enough that I had time to spend with friends instead of running around from event to event.

Overall it was a good year. Although I felt as if there were less cosplayers wandering around or at least less crazy impractically big costumes.

I had a great time judging the Friday workmanship contest. I highly recommend it since it is such a short time commitment (under 10 mins).

Most of my weekend was spent hanging out with friends and convincing them to buy Siamurai pants and joining my pants cult. Special thanks to my roomies, carpool buddies, and all the friends who made the weekend a blast. See you next year!