Hanyou-no-miko In reply to cuppenzecake [2012-12-30 00:53:26 +0000 UTC]

DEM BB WE WILL BE AROUND THE SIXTH, DON'T YOU WORRY ABOUT THAT. LET'S HAVE A PARTY HELL YEAH.

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Hanyou-no-miko In reply to GuidingChaos [2012-04-27 02:11:09 +0000 UTC]

SKDJFLHJHSF ;______x______;

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Hanyou-no-miko In reply to nickie083100 [2012-01-08 03:51:30 +0000 UTC]

Awww, thank you so much! You're sweet.

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nickie083100 In reply to Hanyou-no-miko [2012-01-08 04:05:50 +0000 UTC]

thank u! ^^

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Hanyou-no-miko In reply to xainagal [2011-10-18 09:43:07 +0000 UTC]

FUFUFUFUFU MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

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xainagal In reply to Hanyou-no-miko [2011-10-19 20:50:38 +0000 UTC]

You make me want to cry sometimes.

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Hanyou-no-miko In reply to CameoAmalthea [2011-09-04 18:23:27 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! It means a lot to hear. The thing about Org cosplay is that a lot of people do it, and a lot of people do it poorly, so I think people at conventions have just become conditioned to ignore it. I think our group gets attention primarily because there's 7 of us, so we stand out. If it was just one or two of us I don't think anyone would pay us any mind, either. :/

Thank you! Axel/Saix is my boyfriend's and my OTP, and our personalities are both very similar to the characters we play, so it's easy for us to get into character for it.

And why, yes it is!

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CameoAmalthea In reply to Hanyou-no-miko [2011-09-04 20:30:06 +0000 UTC]

I know what you mean. I think most people think the Org coats are an easy barely trying cosplay because so many people buy one size fits all coats off the shelf. Personally, I like the fact that all the coats are slightly different and fit each member different. So like when I made my boyfriend's Axel coat I worked to get it skin tight, then I made another friends Zexion coat too large for her, and mine is Roxas's so it just fits. The point is there are the differences and it's cool to notice them and get it right.

What material did you use for your coats? I like the look.

And wow 7? That's so cool. I had a FFVII Before Crisis Cosplay group and I know how hard it is to get a lot of people together to cosplay. That's so awesome.

I also think it's because you do a cosplay not everyone does. I couldn't even find a Saix wig to buy when I was trying to find something to use as a base for an Isa wig for my boyfriend. (I also cosplay Lea and he does Isa). Also, your wig is amazing. I've tried to style three different wigs so he can do Isa and I've never managed to get it right, it's so hard to get wigs to go backwards at the front.

Anyway, I think doing a rarely cosplayed character helps or a character who's harder to do well. I know that when we do get noticed for our org cosplays my boyfriend is the one who gets noticed. It's like I'm Roxas and he's Axel, and people are all like "hey Axel" and ask for pictures. And I'm left standing there like "I'm in the video game, I think I'm the protagonist?" LOL (Roxas is sort of a fail protagonist, you know? 358/2 is Axel and Saix's relationship and character development and Xion and Riku, for the most part. I still love Roxas though).

Also, is your boyfriend GuidingChaos? I had no idea he was a boy from the picture. That's really awesome. Also, it's so cool you and your boyfriend are both into the same pairing. My boyfriend is into yaoi too, he honestly loves some pairings more than I do (I don't care about Sora/Riku but he's totally fanboy for it, and also likes Akuroku a lot). Sometimes I feel like we're the only couple that does yaoi pairings that aren't both girls, not that there's anything wrong with that. We just get a lot "what he's a guy?" Everyone gets all shocked.

And I think it's great to cosplay someone who fits your personality. The whole reason I want to do Ty Lee from Avatar is because when we were re-watching it my friends were all like, omg it's you, you would so say that. (Which I guess says a lot about my personality).

Anyway, sorry for babbling so much.

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Hanyou-no-miko In reply to CameoAmalthea [2011-09-04 22:11:17 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, we have a whole group! Got a group page and everything, as you can see here; [link] The other day was actually my first time cosplaying Saix; in the past I've been Xion and Larxene, for a Days- and a CoM-themed group cosplay. But yes, it frustrates me when people don't realize that each coat is cut differently for each member, and usually as a matter of utility (for example, Xigbar, Demyx, and Axel all have tight sleeves, so they don't get fouled up in their weapons). To answer your question, I used a heavy coat-weight cotton twill. I went to school for Fiber Science and Apparel Design, so I know a lot about fabric and the like, and I can tell you from looking at the way the coats fall and move and reflect light that they're absolutely not leather. The twill has a really nice hang and it moves really beautifully. Plus the cotton fabric basically absorbs all indirect light, so it gives an impression of being like...a dark void, which I like for the Organization members. ...sorry, I get a bit intense about fabrics. .____.

Yeah, GuidingChaos is my guy! He actually does a lot of the wig work for our group. He did the Axel and Saix wigs, and he usually gets a wig in a similar color to what he wants and then dyes them to the exact correct shade. He and I also use lacefronts for our cosplays; my Larxene wig and the Isa wig I styled for my roommate both have lacefronts installed to form the widow's peak and make the direction of the hair look correct. But the quality you start with is really important too; you have to have a really coarse wig to start with if you want something to stay properly spiked, y'know?

And yes, I agree. It's really rare to see a Saix cosplayer, and even rarer to see a GOOD one. So I am looking forward to our next con; we'll have Axel, Saix, Xigbar, and Performance-Review!Xemnas for sure. By which I mean, a Xemnas cosplayer who will spend the whole time following me with a clipboard, tag-team trolling me with Xigbar. Just like in the series! XD

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Hanyou-no-miko In reply to Hanyou-no-miko [2011-09-04 23:17:29 +0000 UTC]

Well, if you think about it, Axel's weapons are giant, spiked wheels that light on fire. His sleeves would catch if they weren't absolutely snug to his arms. So Ax's coat is very snugly fitted. For me, though, the most interesting coat was Demyx's, because of the shoulderpads. [link] It was a really fun challenge to get them to stick out properly.

Thank you. My program had a really, really strong emphasis on fabric and choosing the correct fabrics for the job. I'm also really OCD about accuracy in a costume so I go a little nuts with fabric sourcing and how to cut and build pieces to make them look as accurate as physically possible, while still making it look like clothing the character would wear if they were a real person. My philosophy with costumes is that you should be able to look at a cosplayer and believe that you are looking at the character. So choosing appropriate fabrics, doing good wig work, all of that, go hand-in-hand with body language and physical presence.

I'm not taking commissions right at the moment, but I can let you know if I do start taking them. It's true that wigs are almost always better for cosplay than using your own hair. It's easier to get a style to look correct, and easier to maintain. It also saves you a lot of time. So a wig is def. the way to go.

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CameoAmalthea In reply to Hanyou-no-miko [2011-09-05 01:15:57 +0000 UTC]

Honestly, it's a wonder Axel's hair hasn't caught on fire. (I have a friend who did fire dancing in one of our school's club who caught his hair on fire once).

Wow, yeah, nice work withe the shoulder pads there. That's a great costume. Man, I wish I had a Demyx cosplayer for our group. I have a friend whose nickname is Demyx (her personality, she's always dancing or playing music, she once also opened a cabinate underneath our sink to get something and at that moment a pipe broke flooding the kitchen. We all start screaming, my boyfriend comes out of the shower in nothing but a towel to see why we're screaming. The kitchen is flooded and she screams "I didn't do it! Run away!" And proceeds to hide behind the couch. So that's why her nickname is Demyx). Unfortunately, she doesn't really cosplay because her mom wouldn't allow it, so I've only gotten her to cosplay a closet cosplay varient once. Also, love the sitar on that Demyx cosplay, it is so cool. Also, what's the utility explanation of the shoulder pads? LOL

Yeah, what I learned with doing my own hair is that you can get a really good look with your own hair, and there is an art to that. However, there's no guaruntee on being able to replicate that and it's just way too time consuming to have to style it every time. Also, heat is so bad for your hair and you need heat to get spikes.

Like here's my Lea outfit (very closet cosplay, need to get the right scarf for that and figure out a way to make better props) but what I liked about using my own hair is it seemed real.
[link]
But a wig would definitely be better.
Still I like my Roxas hair [link] because when it worked, it worked and was definitely what real life hair could do because it was real, and I liked that I could get that with real hair. Unfortunately, when it didn't work, I ended up looking like a fluff ball.

So yeah, wigs for the win. And thanks for letting me know if you ever do.

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CameoAmalthea In reply to Hanyou-no-miko [2011-09-04 22:58:21 +0000 UTC]

I love Xion and Larxene, both are very cool characters. I just love Larxene's voice, how it's that playful mean, you know?

And you're right, the coats designed for utility makes sense, although with Axel I think part of it is Axel's just sexy and likes showing it off it skin tight clothing. JK LOL But yeah, I really like getting the different looks, like my friend who did Zexion didn't want to do the cosplay anymore so we sold the coat to another friend of mine who wanted to do Xion and altered it to make it more of a princess cut with the flare. Then with the Axel coat we wanted to really show off Axel's body shape, so under the coat by boyfriend wears a tight laced corset then we put in snaps on the side of the coat to snap so that the tight coat can be snapped even tighter to just really accentuate the waist and hips. Figuring out how to do that was fun.

Well I love how your coat turned out. I totally agree about the material not being shiny leather. Although I know a lot of cosplayers who look great in coats like that and I like the smoothness, but not the shine. I did a leather like material, but it's textured to get a darker less shiny look. We also needed to use something that would be dark but not too heavy. We live in Arizona, so 125 as the high in the summer, usually doesn't get below 100, then 60s as the low in winter, so we wanted to coats that would look heavy but be cooler. So ours are unlined and light weight fabric. I looked at cotton, but it was either transparent or too heavy.

But what do you think? [link]

I really don't know anything about fabric of fiber, or sewing really. My aunt helped me with the coats and it was sort of just guess work on the fabric. Although I'm hoping to make my Ty Lee outfit all on my own (those colors are so hard to find though).

Wow you both are really talented in the wig department. Could I possibly commission you on a Lea wig? I've been using my own hair and I've gotten really good at it, but it's not healthy to fry my hair into liberty spikes like that. (I also just want to grow my hair out so I'm moving to wigs as opposed to using my own hair for cosplay, which I thought was fun, but wigs are better. I've learned,)

And that sounds like so much fun! I hope your next con is awesome!

Also I respect you so much for having rational behind the materials as opposed to just using what every one else uses. The Xion in my group is selling me the coat back because she wants to buy a different one that looks like the shiny leather everyone else uses because she wants a more generic coat. (And yeah, I'll admit out coats aren't perfect, we don't have pockets and the sleeves and edges aren't hemmed. We sort of rushed to finish, ran out of fabric (which is why my Roxas coat has different fabric for the hood and sleeves). And the coats do look unique, not like everyone else's, but I think that's a good thing. To do your own cosplay even when it's a commonly done outfit type. You definitely added your own twist to the coats and obviously care a lot about the cosplay. It's great that you got recognition for it!

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Hanyou-no-miko In reply to CameoAmalthea [2011-09-04 23:34:21 +0000 UTC]

Whoops, replied to my own comment there. XDD My bad.

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