This year has been amazing so far! I’ve ventured out of my usual local cons and have been to three completely new conventions, two of which I had to fly to. Each of these new cons showed me a different aspect of convention life that I hadn’t noticed before while being stuck in my grove of the same shows every year. This doesn’t mean I don’t still love my local conventions (AWA, Dragon*Con, and Momocon). I will still be there every year, but there’s also other options out there.

Katsucon was the photoshoot con. Because of the gorgeous locations available, many photographers came out, and I really enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes creativity of these people. Cosplayers make the costumes, but without the hard work and creative minds of cosplay photographers we wouldn’t have much to show for our efforts.

PAXEast was less about cosplay and more about the gaming industry and the players who are eagerly awaiting the next big releases. It was almost like one giant LAN party where everyone played their favorite games together.

But I’ve already discussed Katsucon and PAX in a previous post. This weekend I went to my third new convention, one of which I wish I had started going to several years back, before the final book of Wheel of Time had already been released. That con is JordanCon, a con completely for those who love the world that Robert Jordan gave to us. I would have loved to have met the man who created Rand, Mat, and Perrin, but it was still wonderful listening to his team talk about all the hard work and love that went into the making of those books. I especially loved hearing from Brandon Sanderson, the author who finished up the series after Jordan’s unfortunate passing, and Jordan’s widow and editor, Harriet McDougal. Their insight into the series sparked new curiosities, and at points almost moved me to tears. I’m ready now to reread the entire series and I am definitely going to bring my books with me to the next Jordancon to get them signed by Team Jordan!

JordanCon was a new experience for me because it was the first time I had been to a convention where everyone was there for the same reason. They all love The Wheel of Time. I got to hear and participate in some amazing discussions about character motivations and interpretations of what certain things meant. I saw entire families come dressed in costume together. The series touched people of all ages.

I dressed up as Min for the convention. Making a costume based on a book character without visual reference was new for me, but I got to design how I pictured Min. I’m sure it’s a little different for everyone, but I was pleased that so many people at the convention knew exactly who I was portraying. When coming up with my design, I did base a lot of my ideas off the work of Ariel B., who has drawn any of the WoT characters beautifully. A lot of costumers came out to the convention, and I loved seeing how everyone interpreted different things in the book. For once it wasn’t about accuracy, since there wasn’t one picture to base everything off of, but rather just capturing the essence of the character. Everyone there did such an amazing job.

JordanCon was small, but the love for WoT was powerful. I can’t wait to go back next year!

March has been a busy month for me! First was Momocon, which is a local favorite convention of mine. This con was really chill for me and I spent most of my time just catching up with friends and enjoying sitting in the Marriott lobby without thousands of people crowding it. (Momocon was held in the downtown Hilton next to the Marriott Marquis. Both are also Dragon*Con hotels.) I managed to make two new costumes: Ritsu as Juliet from K-On, which I wore with Tham as Mio/Romeo, and Adorabeezle from Sugar Rush/Wreck-It Ralph! I also rewore Lethe from Fire Emblem along with Envel, which was a lot of fun!

          

I just got home from PAX East this week! This convention was a completely different experience for me. For the first time ever, I decided not to cosplay at a convention. Instead I went to a lot of panels and really took my time checking out the exhibition hall. As much as I love to cosplay, I also really enjoyed the freedom I had at this con that costumes and photoshoots sometimes hinder. That said, my mind is already considering the possibilities for PAX next year…perhaps a League of Legends costume? I have to say PAX was one of the most organized conventions I’ve been to. Every panel I went to went smoothly (and was hilarious), the exhibit hall left my jaw agape, the PAX app was incredibly helpful, and the omegathon made a jenga competition nail-biting fun in a theater packed with thousands of people. With freeplay rock band and dance central, a game library where you could check out and play just about any game you wanted, and half a convention center of tables set out with card and board games to play, there was always something to do. I have a long list of games I need to try out now, including some big titles to anticipate. Also, this convention couldn’t have been held in a better place. Boston is beautiful and I would love to go back!

I’m still trying to recover from this busy month, but JordanCon is right around the corner. This weekend I’ll be getting started on my Min Farshaw costume! There are a lot of things coming up that I’m excited about, including several photoshoots. Please stay tuned!

This past weekend I got to experience Katsucon in Washington DC for the first time and I can’t wait to go back next year! This was the first time I’ve ever flown to a convention, and I found it a little hard to pack my costumes for the plane, but the convention was completely worth it. Katsucon has one of the most beautiful convention centers! They really have it all: fountains, a gorgeous gazebo, gardens, open fields, a bay, and crazy statues. There was a location for any kind of costume and lots of great photographers came all the way to take advantage of it as well. I met wonderfully talented cosplayers from all over the world and got to spend quality time with some of my best friends. You can’t beat that!

Over the weekend I wore two new costumes and rewore another from last year. Pictures from the weekend are still coming in, so please check back for updates!

          

With Katsucon over, I have switched gears to Momocon costumes. That convention is going to be here before you know it! My plan is to have two new costumes made, plus get a bunch of pictures of some older ones. Can’t wait!

I’ve made a store in order to sell some of my older costumes. Please check it out if you have any interest!
Thanks so much for looking and please check back for updates!

Hello everyone! This con season was a blur, and though I loved it, I am excited to finally have some down time to do things like make this post! I’ve made several updates to the site, including adding costume profiles for six new costumes, adding new photos to some older costumes, and updating my upcoming convention and costumes. I’m also working on setting up a page where I can sell some of my older costumes because I’m running out of storage space for all of them. Keep an eye out for that if you have any interest!

Dragon*Con was Labor Day weekend and I wore four new costumes, and one rewear. You can check them out below, from left to right: Ygritte (Game of Thrones), Wasp (Marvel Comics), Cheryl (Archer), Cally (Battlestar Galactica), and Josie (Josie and the Pussycats)

          

     

Dragon*Con is always such an amazing event, and this year was no exception. Highlights include witnessing a beautiful wedding while at the massive Marvel shoot put on by the Superhero Costuming Forum and getting to meet Jamie Bamber and Michael Trucco from Battlestar Gallactica (while in my Battlestar costume)! I also loved getting to wear my Ygritte costume to the big Game of Thrones gathering and hanging out with all the Jon Snows. I surprised quite a few of my friends with my choice of Archer costumes, but the fans of the series made walking around half naked so worth it! Being reunited with my Pussycats proved to be just as popular as last year and just as fun. Overall it was a great time and I met so many wonderful people and got to spend some quality time with the people I love.

There was no time to rest after Dragon*Con though because AWA was less than a month later and I had to get right back to sewing to have two new costumes ready. I made a dream costume of mine, Odessa from Suikoden, and a new shiny, pink IdolM@ster costume for a Pink Diamond Luxury group with some fabulous ladies! I also rewore my Sayaka costume, this time with a full cast of girls.

          

This was my ten year anniversary of going to AWA, and though both the con and myself have changed a lot over the years, it still holds a special place in my heart. This was definitely a more laid back convention spent chilling with friends, which is partly why I don’t have too many pictures to share. Still, I wouldn’t have changed a thing! Saturday morning I picked up some friends and went on an excursion to Sublime Doughnuts. I never thought I was much of a doughnut person, but this place changed my mind with their unique and delicious creations. Check them out if you’re ever in the area! As is my tradition, I watched the costume contest Saturday night which never fails to showcase some amazing costumes from very talented people. AWA has one of the best contests around!

Now the cons have passed and my next adventure isn’t until February when I try out Katsucon for the first time. I have a lot to look forward to next year and a lot of fond memories to hold on to from the past conventions. Please check back as I will be updating photos as they come in, and as always, thanks so much for reading and for following my work!

I recently uploaded three new costumes to my website! Please check out the links below to see what I’ve been up to the past few months. I also wore Lethe from Fire Emblem for the first time at Seishuncon, but I don’t have any pictures yet. Please check back for those!

          

Speaking of Seishuncon, I was offered the opportunity to be one of the judges in their costume contest. I loved getting to talk to all the costumers who entered and seeing their dedication to the characters they love. It really reminded me why I continue to cosplay and I had a great time with my fellow judges. Thank you to the Seishuncon staff for the opportunity and thank you to all the contestants!

Moving forward, it officially looks like Dragon*Con is going to contain costumes from Game of Thrones, Battlestar Galactica, Avengers, Pussycats, and Archer. I have started the procress of finding and purchasing the materials for all of these costumes, but I definitely need to get started on my sewing soon.

Only a month after DragonCon I’ll need to have new costumes from IdolM@ster, Penguindrum, Zero no Tsukaima, and Suikoden ready for Anime Weekend Atlanta. Someone please wish me luck on getting all this done! Thank you!

This is a list of my current cosplay goals for the upcoming year:

I had an amazing time at Momocon this year at their new venue. I debuted a new costume, Sayaka from Madoka Magica, and rewore a couple older costumes: Yukata Felicia (this time with my cat eye contacts and fangs), and Kreiger’s Virtual Girlfriend. A few of the voice actors from Archer were at Momocon, so we got our Archer group back together to go to the panel and get pictures with Lucky Yates (Kreiger) and Amber Nash (Pam). It was awesome! More pictures from this convention are forthcoming, so please check back.

Last Wednesday night, a few friends and I donned our Game of Thrones costumes and headed to downtown Atlanta to catch a special early premiere of the second season of HBO’s Game of Thrones at the Rialto Center for the Arts. It was awesome to get to watch it, not only half a week early, but also along with an entire theater of enthusiastic fans. Can’t wait for the rest of this season! Though Ygritte doesn’t make an appearance in the first episode, I’m so excited to cosplay as her later this year.

I’ll be attending MTAC in Tennessee next weekend where I’ll be working at Yaya Han’s booth in the dealer’s room. Please stop by and say hello! I’m hoping to get a chance to wear my new Lethe costume at some point along with another new costume I started working on just today from my favorite video game series, Suikoden. If all goes well, I should have it finished in time and with that, I’m going to get back to sewing!

It’s a bit late to be annoucing this, but instead of going to Katsucon this weekend I will be attending Megacon down in Orlando. You’ll find me in the Dealer’s Room working at Yaya Han’s booth, so please drop by and say hello if you’re also attending, and pick up some cute products while you’re at it! *hint hint* I haven’t made any special costumes for this convention, but I’ll likely be wearing Shadowcat and Fionna, plus a cute Flash shirt I purchased recently. Can’t wait, though I am sad to be missing so many of my friends who are going to Katsucon this year. To those entering the World Cosplay Summit, I wish you the best of luck!

Back in January I attended Sukoshicon in beautiful Destin, FL and had an amazing time with some wonderful ladies! I wore a maid outfit with a blue and white wig with matching cat ears from Yaya Han’s store on Saturday. I also made a new costume for the con to wear with a group, so if you missed it, please check out my first of hopefully many IdolM@ster costumes:

I have been steadily working on my costumes for Momocon, and I’m happy to say Sayaka is nearly complete. I also have most of my supplies for Lethe and Hibiki, so I’m looking forward to getting work done on those as well. Meanwhile, my costume plans for the rest of the year continue to evolve. I finally got around to watching Battlestar Galactica this year and couldn’t believe what I was missing. Now I’m looking forward to Dragon*Con even more because of all the BSG stars that attend! I also really want to do a costume from the series, despite being several years behind everyone else, so there’s a good chance I’ll be making Cally for D*C now!

There also might be a Suikoden group in the works for MTAC, which I couldn’t be more excited about. I adore that series! Seriously, if you haven’t played it, you can get the first one on the PS3/PSP for only $6. You won’t regret it…and then play the rest! But anyway, I hope to be able to mark Odessa off my cosplay wishlist for the occassion.

Rambling on, despite telling myself that I wasn’t going to buy FFXIII-2 until after Momocon, I played the demo and couldn’t resist getting it on release day. Of course, playing the game cut into the free time I should have been using to sew, but my inner Final Fantasy fan felt that it was worth it. I had a lot of fun with the new aspects of the battle system and filled my paradigms with chocobos (’cause you can’t get any better than chocobos!) The game has showgirls with chocobo themed outfits in various colors that I think would make an amazing cosplay group idea. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, try googling Chocolina. She is quite fabulous!

The best news I have to share is Meru will be returning to the states this year and Kamikaze Kiss will be reunited at last! We’re planning Triple-H costumes from Mawaru Penguindrum to celebrate the occasion. Samu-chan and I can not wait to see her again in person, but until then we wish her the best during her final months in Japan!

I wish I had a nice organized list of my upcoming costumes, but a lot of things are still up in the air.
One thing is for certain, I’m kicking off the new year with Hibiki’s album cover outfit at Sukoshicon next weekend. I’ll probably bring Fionna from Adventure Time as well since she’s done, I just haven’t gotten any pictures yet.

I’m most likely attending Katsucon in February, but I’ll be busy so I’m not making any specific costume plans for that con. You might see me rewearing a couple things.

Next up is Momocon in March which I have a very full schedule…Sayaka from Madoka Magika, Hibiki for an IdolM@ster group, and Lethe from Fire Emblem. Super excited about all of these, especially the latter. I also hear there might be an Adventure Time group coming together, so I’ll have Fionna on hand as well.

I’ll be making an appearance at MTAC, though once again, not making any cosplay plans. I would love to have Trixie (yes, a pony) made by then, but we’ll see how things go.

Then starts Dragon*Con crunch time, which is looking to be the biggest con of the year for me, but is also where my plans get murky. I’m going to do Ygritte from Game of Thrones, though I haven’t seen her design yet from the show (the cold winds are rising in April!) I also love the new Thundercats show and want to cosplay from that, but I’m hoping there will be another female character other than Cheetara (Pumyra perhaps?), though I’m probably not above cosplaying WilyKit if it comes to that. >^^< I also really want to make new comic costumes. The two I really want to do are Wasp from the Avenger's cartoon (Earth's Mightiest Heroes) from Marvel and Hawkgirl from DC, though those aren't necessarily what I'll end up doing. I've also been thinking about Stature from Marvel and Jesse Quick from DC, along with Huntress, Mockingbird, and a hundred other things. There's also one other costume planned, but it's top secret for now, and I'll probably also be reuniting with my Pussycats to wear those costumes again. Busy, busy, Dragon*Con!

Then comes Anime Weekend Atlanta at the end of September, which is looking to be more laid back than usual (unless for some reason I decide to enter the costume contest). I’ll likely be rewearing Sayaka and Hibiki costumes from earlier and one new costume, which will be Naoto from Persona 4.

There’s several Juvia costumes I’d like to fit in along the way, maybe some K-On too, and I definitely want to finish Jessica. I fell in love with the anime Mawaru Penguindrum this year and hope to do Triple-H cosplays with Kamikaze Kiss, but we have to wait until we’re reunited for that. Definitely some things to look forward to!

And that is my current take on cosplay in 2012 (and beyond?)! Happy New Year to all!