Hamilton Armageddon!

After so many late nights finishing off my PA Jane cosplay, it was awesome to finally bring it out at a con!

The convention started early for a lot of us with a picnic and photoshoot on Friday at the Hamilton Gardens.

I pulled out my Season 4 Korra for the occasion. The shoes are now more durable (ADOS instead of hot glue) and I've weathered the garments a little more.

Here are my favourite photos from the day!

Photo credit: Dan Hardwick

Photo credit: NichelleMedia Photography

Staying in Tauranga meant getting up early and driving to Hamilton in the morning, but with Courtney of Sparky Cosplay, one and a half hours passed almost too quickly!

We had about 15 minutes at the actual event before running out to our group photoshoot at the gardens. There are so many different kinds of scenes, it was easy to find a setting for all of our characters.

The four of us - Kealy-Ann, Brooke, Courtney, and I - had Cyren from Pixiscene Cosmedia as our photographer. We all got some really incredible shots! Here are my favourites.

Our full group!

After the photoshoot, we headed back to Claudelands Arena to experience the rest of the con, which included the Cosplay parade, and buying excessive amounts of merchandise!

The next day Courtney brought out Six Tails from Naruto, and I was Korra (season 4) again.

Hamilton Armageddon certainly has a different atmosphere to Auckland. There is a greater percentage of people cosplaying, and it's easier to run into friends! I had such a fantastic time, and bought a whole lot of merchandise.

The competition had only a small amount of contestants compared to last year. Most of them being our friends, we got a lot of cheering done. Our voices were hoarse by the end!

By the end of it all everyone was already making excited plans for Wellington Armageddon. I'm going to be making my Witch King costume for the competition, and on one of the other days I'll be wearing PA Jane. So that leaves one day where I will most likely be Korra - only, which Korra? There are a fair few months to decide, but I might be making something new....again!

Post Apocalyptic Jane nears completion!

Hamilton Armageddon is less than a week away now (*internal screaming*) but I'm progressing pretty quickly.

I'm nearly finished making my first (ish) prop! The spearhead from one of the earlier scenes, when Tarzan is fighting the leopard.

Camping mats! They are very squishy and difficult to rough-handle.

After attacking it with a dremel

First pieces of Worbla - so nervous!

Post worbla! It's hard!

Several coats of gesso sanded down, then three coats of a PVA/water mix

I just realised I did so much last week. I finished the petticoat, the leather poncho, the armband, and I did a lot of weathering.

A pair of gloves I picked up from First Scene's garage sale

Cutting holes and roughing them up with sandpaper

Using dark foundation and soft artist's pastel chalk to apply dirt and blood stains

While working on leather belts and closures, I had the awful realisation I've done all of the buckles wrong. Ugh!

I also stumbled across a Gaelic fair while out with Louella - the re-enactment actors let us wear their helmets!

Rarr!

Cosplay Shenanigans: Me Tarzan, You Petticoat

My weekly post has degraded into a fortnightly one, but I have an excuse - I climbed Mt Taranaki this weekend!

Not exactly cosplay related, but it was cool! It also meant I had no time on the weekend to work on Jane!

I have got a bit of progress to show, however. I found this wonderful tutorial on how to make a Victorian petticoat. Thankfully mine didn't have to be floor length. I dug out a couple of metres of white cotton that I don't remember buying, let alone what I bought it for. Now it's going to become a petticoat!

After cutting all the pieces out, I started assembling the frills. Messed up a bit by not making them long enough. I made them twice as long as the across-back measurement, not twice as long as the actual back piece. Whoops! I reduced my four frills to three, and split one between two of the others to make it longer.

With my overlocker working really well right now, I joined the trim to all the frills, and assembled the front and side panels.

Each frill was then gathered and sewn down onto the back panel.

I decided to use elastic to gather the back, because I'm lazy and it means it will fit over my head.

Then the side panels were sewn to the back, catching the frills along the way.

And here's the result when worn over the bustle. So poofy! Now I need to trim the bottom, attach the lace, then start ripping it all up!

Cosplay Shenanigans - 2am sewing, picnics, and planning

In order to encourage me to post more as well as keep you all up to date with any cosplay related things, I'm introducing a new weekly post - Cosplay Shenanigans! Basically just a summary of anything cosplay related that happened through the week, such as progress, events, or news in the wider community. A lot of stuff you'll already find on my Facebook page or my Tumblr.

Last minute sewing

No matter how much time you give yourself to prepare your cosplay, it appears that you'll inevitably be found frantically sewing in the wee hours before an event.

I think I gave myself a month to sew Korra (book 4), yet I was attaching buttons and hot gluing things together the night before the event (Auckland Cosplay Picnic).

3D printed button and cording for the thread

If I hadn't slacked off the previous weeks, I wouldn't be gently crying over my sewing supplies while wishing I could just put my head down and sleep. Lesson learnt (yeah, right).

Cosplay in a park

So what was all the rush about? So I could dress up and run around in public, of course!

I hadn't been to one of the Auckland Cosplay Picnics before, so wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out it had a similar vibe to a convention, except almost everyone was cosplaying, it was far more relaxed, and there were no lines for food!

I caught up with a lot of the people I met at Auckgeddon, hung out with a some great friends, and met some new ones!

I was also privileged to have a casual photoshoot with a cosplayer/photographer I met, Hannah (BB's Cosplay & Photography). I'm amazed someone can take such fantastic looking photos while everyone is running around like mad. It was also my first photoshoot, but I didn't feel stressed - it was so fun! I can't wait to see the end result, but for now here's a preview!

Image credit: BB's Cosplay & Photography

I'M SO PUMPED

Also I just realised I parted the fringe to the wrong side. Shameful, haha.

And I absolutely have to show you this most amazing gift Sparky made for me.

She made it herself! I think I died a little. And by a little, I mean a lot. So many feels!! What a talented lady!!

Future cosplays and planning

One of my next major cosplays is going to be Post Apocalyptic Jane Porter, which will debut at Hamilton along with a lovely group of other Post Apocalyptic Disney guys and gals.

I don't have much time each day to make it, so I had to do some forward planning.

I'm using Google Tasks, the predecessor to Google Keep. I like it because it gives you a nice overview on your calendar.

First I added all the major components, then spread them out across the remaining weeks. After that I broke each component down into manageable tasks that I can tick off as I go. There's a lot to do, but if I stick to this schedule I shouldn't get too stressed about it.

Progress

I've done a little bit of work on Jane this week - just a part of the underskirt. I can't wait to rip it up and weather it!

It's been a busy week, and next week should be just as busy, which means I'll have a lot of content for next weeks Cosplay Shenanigans post!