CostumeCon 32

Earth Dragon on stage - Photo by EleventhPhotograph

This was my first Costume Con, my first costuming conference, and I made my first original costume.

Costume con was a feast for the eyes and mind especially if you are looking see and learn about new techniques. Next time I attend this event I plan on attending many more panels. I was so busy.

It was an exhausting weekend but I had a great time and I look forward to attending it again. I may have to wait 3 years till it returns to Toronto but my friends and I are already brainstorming ideas.

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Thursday

Road trip day! with Kudrel, Calamity, and Kurumasha. We took many stops along the way with our loaded van. One stop at Fabricland for last minute costume touches and another stop at the Dollarama which changed our whole skit idea. Chinese lanterns for the win! Things that light up always grabs the audience's attention.
Once we arrived and settled in we got straight to crafting, followed by a quick swimming break, then more crafting.

Friday

Photo by Pxlbarrel

I was still working on my cloak for the simple pattern contest on Friday but I still managed to sneak out for a makeup panel where I learned a few tricks and tips.

I managed to get it done just in time to get to the green room where I discovered that I really tackled this contest in the wrong way.
I went for a straight recreation of the pattern with slight modifications. The capulet is less pointed and the cloak is longer and reversible in every way through ribbons at the collar. As for the rest of the competitors they completely reworked the pattern into something new. I saw fairy dresses made of mermaid tails (the other pattern), and coats made of multiple mermaid tails. It was amazing.

So after do a quick stint on the catwalk, I stepped off the stage and straight into the Friday night social, which brings me to one of the cool things about CostumeCon. Socializing with food and drinks. Several tables were set in the room so people could enjoy the show. There were also servers with treats. Throughout the day there was also a con suite with snacks and drinks so that members could socialize.

Friday night was spent finishing up last minute details on our costumes to get them masquerade ready.

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Saturday

After about a year of planning this group, the dream came true.
Kudrel, Calamity, Vickybunnyangel and I decided on a Chinese zodiac group a while back as a way to create original costumes for costume-con because it would be the most receptive convention for it. I was an Earth Dragon, Kudrel a Fire Tiger, Vickybunnyangel a Fire Rabbit and Calamity a Water Goat.

Morning crafting was followed helping out at the "Cosplayers and social media" panel. Afterwards I got dressed and ready for our shoot with Eleventhphotograph. Then our group quickly went in for our dress rehearsal then relaxed in the room until we had to get to the green room. It was exhausting wearing that costume with little sleep or food. Luckily Kururmasha got us some food before the masquerade, she is a life saver.

I think the most of were in survival mode once we reached the greenroom we were all pretty tired. Luckily some fresh veggies helped me out and we soldiered on.

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Group on stage - by Eleventhphotograph

We got to watch the first half of the masquerade back stage before going up. Our lanterns worked and I remember the sound of the crowd when they saw the lanterns appears on stage. No one tripped or dropped anything. It worked out how we planned even though we didn't really get to practice it from beginning to end as a group in costume yet.

After we wrapped up, we watched Detailled-Illusion's Frozen skit, which was great, then we went straight back to our room to decompress. I couldn't wait to take off that headdress because it's so damn heavy with all the stones and beads. We managed to get some energy to go back to attend a few parties then return to the events hall to watch the award ceremony after midnight.

To our surprise we won Best Mythical Representation for craftsmanship and Most Evocative for presentation. I would have been happy with one so I am ecstatic to have two. We are all now internationally awarded master costumers. Wow! But the hunt for the elusive best in show continues.

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Sunday

Kurumasha, myself, Kudrel, and Calamity

Sunday was easy going compared to the rest. I took part in two panels Making wings and Analyzing Heroes of Cosplay. I had a great time sharing ideas with the members.

I had a quick shoot with Eleventhphotograph then spent the rest of the day hanging out with friends and relaxing. There's nothing like a hot tub after a long weekend.

I missed the historical masquerade but the next time I attend this event I will take part.

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Monday

Like many other events, the last day goes by slowly. It was mostly spent saying goodbye to friends and I finally got to go to the dealer's room. I ended up buying two rolls of worbla, so now I'm set for my future armoured projects.

I didn't get the chance to take any good photos over the weekend so I'm sending you all to check out Elevethphotograph's general gallery & Masquerade gallery