Showing posts with label crazy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crazy. Show all posts

Monday, June 3, 2013

I.. Uh.. WHAT?!

I just got the "Your trip is around the corner!" notification from my friendly neighborhood airline.

Shit just got real @@

It's about a month away from the con and I'm quietly panicking inside. I don't know if this is a good change or a bad change from the "I can get everything done!" mentality. I've been freaking out privately to Akira (and I'm pretty sure she's pretty tired of listening to me go "I HAVE THIS LEFT TO DO.")

(P.S. THIS WOMAN IS A SERIOUS BEAST.)

Her suggestion was to list everything that I have left, as it is helping her time manage between her insane workload for grad school. I really don't have any excuses as to why I'm not further along, aside from working a full time job and my various physical activities to get me into con shape.

Every year I tend to start out ambitious and things change. This year was no different. Instead of Connor from ACIII and Alita, the boy and I are going as Zuko and Katara from Avatar: the last airbender. Two costumes each, though. And I also got a commission from my dance teacher who will be performing at Massive this year at the same time as AX.

Wooooo boy. So here's my seriously scary to do list.. With an approximate time required

For myself:

Katara (Fire Nation Disguise)

- Top (30 to 45 min):
 - Sew top seam
 - Add rib cage band and "ties"
 - Sew snaps  (Finished 6/6. I ended up having to remake this damn thing and it ended up being two hours)

- Skirts:
 - Finish adding on the swirly decoration (10 minutes)
 - Hand beads the swirl (... 2 hours total?)
 - Waist band/assemble everything (20 minutes)

- Pants:
 - Add Snap (less than 5 minutes)
 - Hem (see above)

- Accessories:
 - Make necklace (1 hour)
 - make gauntlets (20 minutes)
 - Make bicep rings (20 minutes)
 - Make ankle decorations (20 minutes)
 - Buy flip flops and modify (1 hour)

- Style wig (a day?)

Katara (Water tribe/invasion battle outfit)

- Robe:
 - Finish hemming (5 minutes)
 - Add white lapels (30 to 45 minutes)
 - Add bottom white border and swirl design (30 to 45 minutes)

- Pants:
 - pattern, sew and hem (1.5 to 2 hours)

- Gloves:
 - pattern and sew (2 to 3 hours)

- Boot covers:
 - pattern and sew (2 to 3 hours)

- bending water pouches
 - pattern and sew (2 to 3 hours)

- hardware (gauntlets and greaves):
 - pattern, make and paint (4 to 5 hours)

Articuno Gijinka:

- Overskirt (an hour total, depending on if they cooperate):
 - Sew petals together and iron
 - Add snap to waist band

- Top:
 - Pattern (20 minutes)
 - cut and sew (1 hour)

- Tabards:
 - Pattern (30 minutes)
 - cut and sew (2 to 3 hours)

- Waistband:
 - pattern (10 minutes)
 - cut (20 minutes)
 - sew (2 hours)

- wig and hair accessories:
 - buy/figure out if I can get away with using my own hair
 - make hair doo-dad with three long trailing pieces for the forehead feathers (2 hours?)

Rainbow Dash
 - Finish coloring wig (4 hours if I'm diligent)
 - Make and assemble wings (maybe a day including drying time)
 - make tails for all four people (idk)


Bloo

- Closet version;
 - Find a blue shit and stencil "sly bloo" face on the front and "BLOO" across the butt of the shirt
 - Find a blue wig
 - make crazy blue accessories/blue arm warmers.

For the boy:

Zuko (team avatar variant)
- Overrobe:
 - hem and finish decoration on the bottom (and iron) (20 minutes)

- Pants:
 - hem and add elastic (5 minutes)

- Belt and shirt:
 - add snaps (10 minutes, but I need to fit to boy)

- Boot covers:
 - Pattern and sew (an hour)

Zuko (blue spirit variant)

- Shirt, belt, hood and pants:
 - Pattern and sew (total of ten hours)

- Hardware (gauntlets and greaves?):
 - Pattern and make (total of two hours active)

- Mask
 - sculpt, mold and slush cast (1 hour to sculpt, 1 hour to cast, idk how long down time)
 - Paint mask
 - Add ties. (5 minutes?)

Special commission:
- Pattern harness and hardware (maybe 30 minutes)
- make above (maybe an hour for the harness and who knows for the hardware)
- prime hardware (maybe two hours?)
- make sure that everything fits.

My goal is to at least get all of the stuff that requires the machine done before the middle of the month, which will leave me a little more than two weeks to work on the hardware, wigs and what not. Push comes to shove, I can leave the painting of the Blue Spirit mask to the night before the con. I'm more worried about not being able to finish everything and panic at the last minute like last year (though, last year I managed to whip out two sets of simple armor within a week) or the year before (that was a shit show).

.... I'm going to go stare at the wall and whimper some more (or pattern like a mad woman and try and get the patterns I need traced out at least).

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Anime Expo in a Month!!!

As usual, real life reared its ugly head these past few months. Since I started grad school, I was extremely busy with papers, readings, and presentations. Only these past two weeks have I been able to make everything in lightning speed.

Picture heavy post below the cut.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Let AX 2013 planning commence!!

So right now we're super motivated and getting our ideas together for next year's con already! We'll see how long this keeps up for me >>

This is our costume list for now. We're doing an MLP group and a Pokemon group as well. I'm also going to be making a Battle Angel Alita/Ganmu costume. As in Gally in the Last Order series with the crazy damascus blade butterfly knife.

So onwards to reference photos!

(I may or may not be slightly buzzed from inhaling alcohol fumes while cooking, and Nave had me try one of his favorite beers. Beer + Me = CAPSLOCK)


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Last Minute Progress

Here's a quick list. I'll post pictures when I get a moment to breathe.

Kaylee's jumpsuit, pouch and belt are all complete and distressed.
Wash's jumpsuit just needs to have the patches, pocket and shoulder details hand-stitched on.
Wash's harness needs to have one more area stitched, then all of his details glued on.
Zoe's vest and pants are all done. All the pleather pieces are darkened and weathered, but I need more snaps for the shrug and to attach it to the vest. The holster is mostly complete, it just needs the parts where the gun holds on.
Zoe's gun needs one or two more coats of paint and all of the bullets are painted and drying.

18 hours until Goose, Madhouse and I are on the road. Still need to shop for supplies, do the laundry, make the apartment ready for the weekend for our fur-babies, and pack!
Running on less than 5 hours of sleep today, but it's all worth it in the end.
Can't wait for Otakon!



Monday, July 9, 2012

Never Enough Time!

Once again, Goose and I are hurrying to the finish, despite goals of starting and ending sooner. I love reading the Otakon and cosplay.com boards, but since everyone is counting down to Otakon, it makes it hard to read. Just reminds me of my crunchy deadline.

This past weekend, I have finished the base for my Zoe capris. They still need to be fitted, hemmed and the details of the boot cuffs added. Goose has finished the frames for Ilo/Milo and the foam has been cut to size. They just need to be shaped and the pockets for the fabric made to fit in the foam. After that it's stamping the Ilo/Milo fabric, making the face, arms and legs, and Goose finishing the support system. I started working on Goose's Wash jumpsuit and have finished most of the torso base. I need to sew on one more sleeve, sew the pants, attach the pants and put in all the zippers. Goose is working on the patches for Wash (which is proving difficult without a proper drawing software).

What's left to be done: (Because I love lists...)
Firefly
Zoe
-Capri Details and fitting - Akira
-Vest (pleather for the vest, shrug and holster should arrive this week) - Akira
-Shrug - Akira
-Holster - Akira
-Mare's Leg - Goose
-Knife - Goose
-Darkening and distressing leather - Akira

Wash
-Jumpsuit - Akira
-Harness - Akira
-Patches - Goose

Kaylee
-Dye the fabric for the jumpsuit - Akira
-Jumpsuit - Akira
-Teddy bear patch (furry fabric should arrive this week) - Akira
-Details - Akira

IloMilo
Ilo and Milo
-Finishing securing the frame and supports - Goose
-Shape the foam - Akira
-Make the pockets for foam - Akira
-Sew together the skin - Akira
-Attach the skin to the frame - Akira
-Hands and Feet - Akira
-Face - Akira

If I'm really diligent, I'm sure I can get most of the sewing for Firefly done this week, depending on when my shipment of pleather arrives. And Goose has really been stepping it up for the mascots. I think we can get it done if we work really hard every day until the day we leave for Otakon. (*knock on wood*)
I'll post construction pictures if I remember to take them in the blur of the next few weeks.
Wish us luck!



Sunday, July 8, 2012

FMA progress, an Inara vest and a Malcolm coat!

So ever since I got this new phone, I've been taking a lot of my progress shots on instagram and posting them on twitter.

Warning: IMAGE HEAVY!

Here's what's been happening:

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Another update

Pictures are coming soon, I promise. Managed to cut and sew together most of the base of the overrobe. Tomorrow night should be the following, if I'm lucky and motivated enough:

1. alter the bust of the front piece of the dress and sew the front to the rest of the dress.
2. add extended back panels
3. buy a new zipper.
4. add the base for the huge .. sleeve things around the shoulders.
5. hem hem hem hem hem (and see if I can get away with wearing low heels or do I actually have to go with 4" heels for the hem clearance?!)
6. sew the sleeves up on the shirt, and start thinking of adding in the two decorative collars
7. .. make sure that everything fits with the layers?

Good thing reducing the seam allowance from 5/8" to the width of my sewing machine foot gave me the wriggle room to work with, but now I have to make sure that it still will fit, maybe taken in parts of the torso where it may be too long for me. I'm estimating about 2 more days of fairly solid sewing before I'm done with all of the basics. After that, it's the hardware, decorations on the robe and tabards, and the weird knotted rope things that DON'T MAKE ANY SENSE WHAT SO EVER.

Clamp, I love you and all, but man do your costume designs not translate well to real life ;; t-minus 2 months and 23 days until Nave and I are on a plane.

60% of Tomoyo to finish (including wig)
100% of Syaoran
50% left of my portion of the senshi costumes.
100% of Kitaku's Sailor Moon wig