illusionistdragon-cosplay-blog1 - Tumblr blog

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Hello! I am offering free photoshoots at Otakon 2016. Please note that his if my first year attending Otakon, and that I am not from the area (and therefore may not know of the best locations, but I will be spending Thursday exploring the convention area).

I am available Thursday night to Sunday morning, and am open to doing shoots for both individuals and groups from any series. A shoot can produce any number of photos depending on how well it’s going, but I will always do my best to return at least five edited images back to you. Shoots will range from a half an hour to an hour long, depending on the size of the group involved (or the amount of locations you wish to visit for photos).  

If you’re interested, please contact me through my facebook page (where more examples can also be found) with your character/series/group size/a place where I can credit you/desired time, and we can work out the details! All photos I take are free for you to post elsewhere so long as credit is given to me. I look forward to seeing all of the amazing costumes! 

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I am awful at uploading anything to Tumblr, but here are a few images of Reshiram that the lovely Laura took for me at Katsucon this year! 

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This year, we really want to give back, to our Midoricon family and newcomers alike! So to one lucky follower, we’re giving away:

1 Free MidoriFest Badge *

Free Photoshoot at MidoriFest OR Surrounding Con *

$25 Nintendo eShop Gift Card

To qualify, you must FOLLOW midoricon.tumblr.com & REBLOG this to your blog. Winner will be announced March 1st!

* You will be compensated if you have already purchased your badge, or plan to before rates increase after March 1st! * Our photographer is available for shoots at MidoriFest,C2E2, Anime Central, Colossalcon, Midoricon (& possibility of Youmacon). Winner is also free to schedule a shoot in the Columbus area at their convenience.

website & facebook 

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The first Ohayocon blog is up!

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The signs as relatable cosplay moments

Aries: I just bought this wig online and it's not the right color I'm going to SCREAM

Taurus: Crap I just stabbed myself with a needle and now there's blood on my costume

Gemini: I WORKED WAY TOO HARD FOR THESE SLEEVES TO NOT BE SYMMETRICAL

Cancer: Showing pictures of your cosplay to everyone you know at least 4 times

Leo: Wow this wig is amazing. It's super soft and it's like really lightweight. ...Oh wait, that's my actual hair

Virgo: Okay but I can't just put on a shirt and a wig like I've got to get the colored contacts and the exact brand of boots and I have to be the best cosplayer there but I have only two days to do it

Libra: Startling yourself when you look in the mirror because you didn't recognize yourself

Scorpio: This building is way too cold. Like I've got three square inches of clothes on I'm gonna die

Sagittarius: This building is way too hot. I'm wearing three different layered sweaters and boots and a wig I'm gonna die

Capricorn: ...I've spent three hundred dollars on this costume and it's only half done.

Aquarius: What compelled me to cosplay as this character in the first place I can't even remember

Pisces: Siri, does Walmart sell vampire fangs, purple sunglasses, a plunger, or a really tall top hat

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A bit last minute due to being overwhelmed, but I think this is my final line up for Ohayocon this year! Eli, and Kagari are finished. Edward is not, but it’s just gloves, boot covers, a wig, and sword fixing. 

Friday: Eli (Snow Halation) Love Live 

Saturday: Kagari: Lamento beyond the void

Sunday: Edward (Trueblade): Fire Emblem

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I finished Kagari a while ago, but I am horrible with updating my Tumblr, so here’s the wig I styled for her the other day! I’m super happy with it, as I haven’t styled many wigs at all (I honestly can’t name more than two, this included, where I styled more than just the bangs), and this was my first in quite some time. It’s on the wig head a bit crooked, as I was afraid to touch it while the bun was still setting. xD Also please ignore how awful I am at braiding, just trying to keep the long pieces in the front from tangling during travel. xD This wig is also my first Arda! 

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Cosplayer: Tori (Me)

Photographer: My lovely friend, Laura 

There’s a lot I need to change on this costume (I need to fix the yellow dress, and remake the bow, which I didn’t have time to do before the convention), but I do really like these photos Laura got of me! 

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http://midoricon.com/

Midoricon is a three-day convention held at: http://www.maumeebaystateparklodge.com/

This year the con took place the 25th-27th of September!

Tori: https://www.facebook.com/Illusionist-dragon-Cosplay-963470043684769/timeline/

Print From: 

http://zulayawolf.deviantart.com

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Facebook/More examples 

Hello! I’m offering free shoots at Midoricon this weekend! I’ve started up recently with photography, after taking a course in it, and am looking to get some wonderful photos at the convention. I am available for the majority of the con (arriving around 11 on Friday, and excluding the Masquerade. Otherwise, I’m free). I will likely be able to get all finished, and edited photos from a shoot back to you within a week (but more likely within a few days depending on the number of shoots I take on, as I do my best to work quickly, as I understand the desire to look back at a con). All photos taken are, of course, free for you to use/post! 

If you’re interested, please shoot me a message on my Facebook (or here, if you don’t have a Facebook), with the following information: Name I should address you by, pronouns I should use for you, number of people in your group, cosplay, series, place you would like to be credited as (for example, if you have a cosplay Tumblr or Facebook you want linked. If not, I will use whatever account I am contacted through to credit you), and time/day that would work best for you. If your cosplay also hinders you from posing in any way, please let me know so I can plan ahead of time to ensure you get the nicest photos I can provide! 

Thank you! I hope we can work together!

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Originally posted on Facebook - Old Trenchy

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This is how I make all of my breastplates. I get lots of questions on how I do it, so here it is! I whipped up a quick tutorial for you guys :D this is how I made my Saiyan armor, Ganondorf, and Elven breastplate (the one in the tutorial)

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A bit of progress on Luna. I can’t wait to sew in the lining this fabric is fraying like a beast, haha. The first picture is of the lining. It’s unfinished (the two back pieces haven’t been sewn in yet). I could have been done this by now, but my dog (who is basically still a puppy) won’t give me more than like 10min at a time to actually work on anything (he’s just constant play all of the time, and brings me his gross ball all of the time that I have to hide this costume from to avoid getting dog spit on it. xD)

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Run a Cosplay Blog? Reblog this post.

That way people looking for cosplay blogs can find and follow you!  Bonus: give a brief description of your blog so people can see what you’re about. 

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Midoricon 2014

See more on the Xen Photography Facebook Page

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XenPhotos.com

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Multi-Wing Tutorial

So this past Anime Expo, I was constantly asked how I made/rigged up my wings for my Seraphim cosplay. I thought I’d write up how I went about making it for cosplayers who’s characters have multiple sets of wings, such as Angewomon, Lilith from trinity blood, and the like. 

(photo source x)

These are the supplies you’ll need (*will vary; this is what I used for 6 wings):

*x6  3/4″ PVC pipe 

12″x12″ 6mm sintra board 

1 flag pole bracket

*1 roll of packing foam (mine was 12″x50′)

thin/cheap fabric or whatever you want to use as a skeleton

super glue/epoxy

hot glue gun and loads of glue sticks

heavy duty fishing line 

6″ seperating zipper

canvas/duct fabric 

heat gun

dremel tool with a drill bit, rotary saw attachment, and sanding bit

screwdriver 

exacto knife/box cutter

self healing cutting mat/cutting board

scissors 

fray check

zipties (I used 10 of the 12″)

reference pictures!

***I would like to say ahead of time that these are literally my first set of big wings and that they were made with loads of mistakes. I hope you will take this rough design and improve on it! ***

The very first thing I did was cut out hundreds of feathers. I made 4 templates of varying sizes, and cut the entire roll of foam into feathers. It took a lot of time, but I think the result was totally worth it.

^ I had an entire packing box full by the time I was done, this was tray one.

I forgot to take photos of heat forming my PVC to shape, but it’s pretty straight forward. I matched up the ends of the pipe that would fit into my flag pole bracket, and drilled 2 sets of holed in each pipe. The first set towards the top of the bracket, and the second at the base. I did this so that at the end when I ziptied everything together it would be super, super sturdy. 

After the frame was shaped, I laid it over some cheap fabric and traced out the basic shape of the wing. I cut 2 of each shape, glued it to the PVC frame with hot glue!

I also apparently forgot to take photos while gluing on feathers, but this is the diagram I used as reference.

I tried to do a mix between what’s anatomically correct and the design, so the feathers are actually overlapped in the reverse of the above image. If that makes sense? 

Now onto the harness for your wings. Because I had so many wings, I wanted the weight to be distributed to my hips instead of my back. However, the costume design wouldn’t allow for a typical corset harness. I opted out for a sort of belt harness instead. It was actually really comfortably and you honestly didn’t feel the wings at all. 

I took a 12″ square of 6mm thick sintra and cut it into a 5″ width band diagonally. I also trimmed the sharp corners. 

Find your center, and line up the end of your bracket. I traced it out with a pen, and also marked where I’ll be drilling holes for the screws (included with bracket)

Now, taking one of the corners you cut off trace the bottom of your bracket a second time. I felt doubling up added extra support, and also helped the screws lay flush with the board. At this point in time you should have 2 pieces of sintra and your bracket.

Drill your holes, and glue your smaller piece of sintra to your band. Take extra care in lining up your holes, the super glue bond is ridiculously strong so take your time. Then screw in your bracket. 

Next you’re going to heat up your sintra and form it to your hips! If you think you need help, get help! I didn’t have any trouble doing it by myself though. When you’re done, you should end up with a little something like this.

You’re almost there! Next you need to make a casing for your sintra/bracket combo. What is a casing? Well in this case it’s a band of canvas that encases your sintra and allows you to wear it as a belt! 

Measure the width of your sintra and double it, add 1″ for seam allowance. As for the length you’ll be using your waist measurements, add another 1″ or two as you’ll be sewing in a zipper. Sorry I did this all very last minute and forgot to take photos of this part. You’re going to align your bracket with your casing and cut out a notch for it. Go over the cut with fray check. Place your casing over your sintra, fold in the raw edges, and sew! Do a test fit before sewing in your zipper to determine how tight is tight enough, remember you’ll have a little bit of weight pulling it back. When you’re done it should look like this.

I don’t have any picture of when I ziptied each wing in but this is how it went down: 4 of your PVC pipes are going to fit in the bracket. It’s going to be a very tight squeeze, but you’ll get them in there. The other two will be straddling the side of the bracket. Do not fret though, thanks to the holes you drilled prior, they will be on there and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. 

Now here is a word of caution, I trimmed the ends of my zipties, but two or three ended up digging into my back and I ended up tearing myself up pretty bad. So, if you’re going to trim your ends be sure they are 1″ or shorter. 

Here is the other thing, my wings were a hot mess when I got to the con. They were dropping and darn near the saddest thing I have ever seen, ever. After stopping at the repair center the problem was fixed with cord, but I would suggest using fishing line.

(photo source)

The green line is where the harness is, the blue dashed and straight lines are the cord. Blue dashed lines mean it goes under something else. Basically, the top set of wings got holes punched under the PVC frame, so that the weight is supported. It’s then strung around my shoulders, and tied around the bracket, then back over my ribs, and again around the bracket, and tied off. It didn’t cut off any circulation, and was surprisingly comfortable! However, as this was an emergency fix I wasn’t thrilled. Looking back I wish I had fishing line, but that’s what I’ll use the next time. 

That’s about it, sorry for any typos/grammatical mistakes. If I missed something or you have questions please feel free to ask. Hope this was helpful, and good luck cosplaying! 

[illusionistdragon-cosplay-blog1]

You seem like the queen of motivation, organization, and execution of excellence!! How do you do it all?? Tips for the peasants like me pls? ;-; *trembles in your presence*

Get a daily planner. Whether it’s a notebook or an app, it doesn’t matter. Use it to plan out your days, weeks, and months ahead of time. Create schedules and stick to them.

Make to-do lists. There’s nothing more satisfying than checking something off a giant list of tasks you need to accomplish. It’s such a rewarding feeling that you’ll be motivated to tackle the next thing on the list so you can check something else off and feel it again. Almost like a drug. A productive drug.

Establish a routine. Sort of in-line with the first tip, but get yourself on a consistent daily routine. Start your mornings the same, end your nights on the same note. This creates a sense of stability; it gets your day off to a “baseline” start, and your nightly routine is something to help you reset and calm the chaos of everything that happened during the day.

Reward yourself before you go to bed. Whether this means having a treat, playing a video game for 30 minutes, watching a few episodes of anime, drawing, taking a bubblebath, doing yoga, reading fanfiction, etc. doesn’t matter. Just pick something that makes you happy and helps you wind down from your day. It’s a planned period of self-care built into your schedule so you have something to look forward to throughout your day, so even if you have to struggle through a difficult work shift or you’re plowing through a project from 8 AM until 11 PM, you know you’ll have that quiet time to yourself where you can relax and recharge. There are 24 hours in the day; you can give at least 30 minutes to yourself and your mental/physical/emotional health.

Just do the thing. Seriously. When you feel like you’re lacking motivation, remind yourself that time is fleeting. You don’t want to look back in thirty-five years and think, “Wow, I really wish I’d worked harder in school, or practiced my art more, or exercised consistently to take care of my body, or actually finished all those projects I started.” Relaxing is important, don’t get me wrong; we all need downtime. But there are lines between relaxing, procrastination, and laziness. You need to weigh how important relaxing is versus the goals you want to accomplish.

Yes, sitting on Tumblr for five hours today may be tempting and it’ll make you feel good now – but will you feel good in two weeks when you hand in a subpar homework assignment? Or next month when you can’t wear a new costume to a con because you didn’t finish it? Or a year down the road when you look in the mirror and realize you haven’t made the fitness progress you wanted? Is procrastination and reblogging memes going to help you achieve any of those goals?

The answer is, of course, no – so you have to decide which will ultimately bring you more happiness in the long term: scrolling through your dashboard all day, or spending that time working to make your dreams come true.