Commissions and Updates

I recently received a commission for another Ashitaka hood, which I'm pleased to say I just finished yesterday:


(I know, I look really cool >_>)

It's a bit different than the one I made for Mike a few years ago. I think there are some improvements, and some things that I wish would be different. That's the thing about homemade cosplay... every piece is unique!

Things I like about this new version:

- The mask! It's pretty awesome. It's attached on one side with stitches, and the other side has red velcro so you can take it on and off easily. I put in three pieces of velcro spaced a bit apart on the inside for adjustability. This also makes for an easier time keeping it securely up over the nose, or letting it hang down under the chin.

- I like the fact that I was able to attach all of the under pieces to the lining first, so there are no stitches on the outside from the velcro, mask, etc.

- The client wanted another flap underneath at the back of the neck so that he could slide the straw cape in between the pieces of fabric, so it wouldn't scratch his neck. I thought that was a pretty good idea.

Things I wish I had done better:

-The shape of the top ended up being a bit strange. I think it looks alright but it's not ideal.

- The white shapes. The client wanted them sewn on, which I did, but in hindsight I probably could've done it differently to make it look a little better.


Overall, I think the hood looks pretty great. I hope the client is happy with it!

I've also been working on my Space Commander Haruhi/Kyon costumes for me and my friend Mike for Anime Boston (it's soon! horray!). I think they're coming along... I'll have some pictures posted later.

How are your costumes going? Is your convention coming up? Are you going to AB? Hope everything is working out!

Preparing for a Con

Anime Boston is a week away!
Yay!
I'll be blogging all this week, showing pictures of my projects and giving you some idea of my timeline. I try not to have costumes to make right before the con, but that hasn't happened yet, and I have one to make for my friend in addition to finishing my own.

The first step is to make a big fat list. I wrote down each costume and underneath each put what I had to do, in specific tasks. If a task had multiple steps, I wrote those in. If you gloss over things, you will think you have more time than you do. Seriously.

Tomorrow I'm going to make a rough timeline to give myself some deadlines. I'll have to squeeze in some schoolwork, too!

The second step was rearranging my room to accommodate the amount of cosplay stuff that's in it. I live in a single dorm room, and it's reasonably sized for a person who doesn't sew or do cosplay as a hobby. I have crinolines hanging on the walls, bags on the walls... everything on the walls! All I have is vertical space. Use what you have.

I have a lot of materials and supplies, and everything gets organized into separate bags by costumes. Fabric is kept separately from paint, wood, etc. and in ziplocs (to keep out dust) instead of grocery bags.

3M hooks are great for this kind of thing. You can put up tons of them, hang everything your little heart desires, and then take them down after the con!

I'll be posting some photos of the sword making process this week, as well.

I finished up my client's dress. It was a bitch to make, for some reason, stupid things just kept going wrong. It happens. There was a problem when she got it, too, but we figured out how to fix it :D and she has been very nice the entire time. I can't wait to see how she creates the rest of her Urd costume.

Well, off to work on costumes...!

The First Official Client

Thanks to the magic of Facebook, I have a cosplay client. She's a very nice college student who was looking to have a part of her costume done by commission.

She's going as Urd from Ah! My Goddess, and I'll be making the dress part of the costume. She came over last week to drop off supplies, meet me, and get measured. She's very nice!

I still have some mixed feelings about costume commissions overall, and I'm wondering how others feel about it. On one hand, I love love LOVE cosplay and making costumes, so any chance to make a great costume is fantastic. On the other hand, I can't help but feel like I want credit for my work, and when someone else wears the costume, it's hard to say if the credit is correctly placed. I also really like the idea of people making their own costumes. However, I realize many people don't have access to resources or have skills such as sewing. I am very fortunate to have these things.

I think costume commissions are good, if the client knows not to take credit for the costume's construction, and if they aren't mass(ish)-produced throw-it-on-ebay-in-5-sizes kind of thing. Custom costumes for a specific person is something I might be able to get into, particularly for boys, since I am not one of those. I was very proud of costumes I've made for my friends, so it shouldn't be different for other people.

If you have any thoughts on the matter, add a comment. I'm curious to know how others feel about commissions, etc.