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[bluecatcosplay]

I GOT A JOB INTERVIEW!

Dont let people say that cosplay doesnt get you places! 

I just got a job interview based on my make-do/can-do attitude and my cosplay photography and editing experience. 

I also used the fake confidence I leaned by cosplaying to keep my cool on the phone enough to schedule a face-to-face interview!

Cosplay gets you everywhere if you use it right!

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Jessie has a special memory for me because at the 2022 CCA, a little girl and her dad came up and asked for a hug, not a photo. I asked her if she was excited to see the rest of the convention but she seemed really shy and scared. 

I noticed that she had done a “closet cosplay” of Dr Ellie Sattler from Jurassic Park and I asked if thats who she was today. She lit up because I recognised her and I thought she was cool. I told her that  her costume was really good and that Dr Ellie explores new places with confidence. I told her that a friend of mine would be cosplaying as Dr Ellie Sattler as well on a different day of the convention and that she would love to meet her! My friend came up to me on the last day with tears in her eyes becasue a dad and daughter came up to her and told her that Jessie said to keep an eye out for her! . Being recognised and appreciated when in cosplays that aren’t popuaar but mean something to you is the best feeling in the world and definitely one reason why I cosplay. Getting kids into cosplay is another reason. 

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Missing Cosplay

I just recently moved countries and had to leave all my cosplay stuff behind for now and I am really tight on budget till I can find work here (yay for creative fields requiring more hoops than just a CV) but I am seriously missing out on Cosplay big time! I dont evne have most of my clothes that I would usually pull closet cosplays from. :(

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I’m a damsel...I’m in distress... I can Handle it.

Have a nice day! 

Almost literally threw this cosplay together for rAge Expo 2022 this year as I was a cosplay Judge for all three days! I’m still finding glitter in the oddest of places...

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a lonely little toadstool waiting for some toadstool friends to make their way to him. 

I made this a part of a little cosplay showcase/collab effort with Comic Con Africa for the month of October in 2021. They allowed me to borrow their Brother FS60X Extra Tough machine! 

Check out how I made it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bb8AcWxsh0&t=62s

Icompleted the little mushroom just in time for Halloween and then wore him to other events in 2022. He has quickly become a fan favourite!

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Yee-Haw! 

Threw together this little Cowgirl for one of the more casual days of CCA 2022! 

She was super comfy to wear and I saw so many kids get so happy seeing me running around!

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Cosplayed Hannah Alexander’s Tudor inspired version of Yennefer from the Witcher for Championships of Cosplay at CCA 2022. Did really well in both pre-juding and Stage Presence so I came 2nd overall and took the Master Champion Title home with me. A wonderful way to MAYBE end myy time as  a South African cosplayyer before moving overseas and trying out the UK circut.

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Finally managed to get some pro-quality photos of my Captain Amelia Cosplay from Comic Con Africa 2019.  I competed her and won the Championships of Cosplay Needlework Division.

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This is so important to remember! also, if you come from countries where things like Worbla and super high-quality wigs like Epic Cosplay Wigs and Arda aren’t readily available in- store or easily delivered (thanks Postal Service!), materials can be EVEN MORE expensive and harder to come by reliably. Making a plan and getting by doesn’t make you any less of a Cosplayer. Yaya Han said,  at the inaugural ComicCon Africa, “You don’t have half the things we do overseas and yet you still manage to create world class costumes! your innovativeness and creativity is amazing”

I’m really starting to lose my confidence in my cosplay, and I feel like everyone’s doing so much better than me and I just can’t keep up, and I don’t know how to restore my self esteem.

I feel you on this! Cosplay as a whole has visibly jumped up a few notches in terms of skill level and quality from when I started (2004) and it can feel like you are getting left behind.

These are a couple things I keep in mind to not get overwhelmed:

1) The number one metric to judge your abilities is your personal growth. From one costume to the next, did you improve and learn? If you are always getting a better you are doing a great job. If you aren’t improving, ask yourself why and work on it.

2) The community is large and varied. Odds are someone is going to be better than you, and someone else is going to be worse than you.

There are absolutely professionals who cosplay. Professional cosplayers, propmakers, costume designers, fashion designers and people who have backgrounds or experience that put them on that professional level. There are many substantial reasons you might not be at that level of quality including budget, support, experience and time. 

You should look to these people as inspiration and motivation: you can certainly work toward getting there but don’t think your own achievements are worthless because you aren’t there, yet. Everyone will have their own journey. If you think you should be at their level, look at why you might not be and see if you can improve on those areas.

(On the flip side there are cosplayers who are learning everything for the first time. Lift them up and encourage them.)

if you need to, take a break from following people who make you feel down about your costumes. It’s okay to do that! But changing how you see and react to these costumes is going to be more beneficial in the long term. 

All the best!— Duckie | Admin | Support the Blog (Ko-Fi) | Etsy

[bluecatcosplay]

Marvel PSA

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.1, we know that Ronan he Accuser’s ship is called the Dark Aster.....

Today i was rewatching the movie and my mom walks in and goes, “Did you know that Aster means daisy?”

So I go, “What? a daisy?”

ANd she reponds with, ‘basically ,ypur big bad villain flies “The Dark Daisy”. ‘

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Some runway shots of the first of two looks from my 2nd year fashion show.

The theme for this look was “White Shirt” and w as split between two overarching themes, “Structured” and  “Organic”, which we then further divided into related sub-themes in groups of approx. 5 people.

This look as a structured look that was inspired by the structure and organisation that is Japan as a country and its people as a society. I have always wanted to go there and experience it first hand. 

The shirt has exaggerated kimono-like sleeves with a red top-stitch detail and texturing of raw edged squares layered and overlapped on the middle sleeve panel. The collar is exaggerated as well as dropped and edged with a red topstitch detail. The bottom of the shirt is edged with an interfaced edge panel with red topstitch detail. The waist is cinched with a belt and adorned with an origami-style elongated bow. The pants are hugely exaggerated harem pants which, despite not being Japanese in origin, are quite anime in appearance in my opinion. 

This look won the White Shirt category which made me immensely pleased despite having to stay late into the night to receive the award. 

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My costume for the inaugural Comic Con Africa!!! 

This costume was made by me all the way from the patterns process.

One thing I learned from this costume: if you are biologically female, always do fittings and mock-ups as far away from your period as possible. Rather have a costume that fits perfectly most of the time and gets 1 cup size too big on Con Weekend than finish your period two days before the Con and end up with a costume too big for you. this happened to me with this costume and I lost marks during the judging process. It has since been adjusted to fit correctly. 

Hair: me

Make-up:me

Costume: me

-_- I literally did it all.

Cosplayer pictured with me in the first image, is the incredible, inspirational Yaya Han

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And.....it’s done!

This is a two piece comprised of a fully lined sequin halterneck bodysuit and a wrap over skirt with side seam pockets.

The halterneck was created using contouring principles and a mid-shoulder princess panel line.

The main fabric of the lining and the skirt is Princess Satin and the sequins were on a jersey backing. 

The client is a very petite 18 year old and for this reason, the dress from is too large for the dress to fit perfectly even on its smallest settings. :/

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me off the the right in a dress i made myself based off the 50′style.

on the Left is my First Year Fashion Show outfit. The overall theme was a modern Africa, specifically Ndebele influences and the sub-theme i got put into asked us to mix that style with a more structured look. 

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I made my BFF’s little sister’s Matric Dance (prom) dress from scratch.

The top skirt is removable to reveal a tea-length skirt underneath and the underskirt has hidden sideseam pockets big enough to fit a glasses case without being obvious. she shocked many a person at the event. 

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the cherry blossoms are in bloom!!!🌸