Planning for AnimeNext
Jun. 6th, 2007 01:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofthethreadOkay, now that Anime North is over, I suppose it’s time I start making plans for AnimeNext. ^_^ I don’t feel up to planning another solo walk-on so soon after the Anime North masquerade (on top of making an elaborate new costume) so I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m most likely not entering the masquerade this year. I really only try for the craftsmanship awards anyway so I can just enter the hall contest if I come up with something good enough. AnimeNext was always my first big con of the year before but having competed at AB and Anime North already this year, I’m just very short on costumes that haven’t already competed. ^_^;;
As for costume plans, I’d like to bring out a couple of my older costumes that I haven’t had a chance to wear yet this year. Specifically, my black brocade coat for Ayame and my nyosen uniform because I haven’t worn either at a con since Otakon last year. I’m also planning to bring Count D’s vacation outfit and maybe one of the other outfits for him since I should finally have decent contacts for his mismatched eyes by then. And I’d like to make something new since I usually try to have one new costume for my main cons.
Unfortunately, Sora’s Saiyuki princess costume is being put on hold for now. I’d planned to have it for Next but there’s just too much stuff left for me to figure out and make in a month that I’d just end up stressed. ^_^; I think I’ll aim to have it for Anime Boston next year instead. I have a few possible ideas but I’m undecided about what I’ll make in its place.
One possibility is finally putting my monster petticoat with 18 yards of netting (http://images.cosplay.com/showphoto.php?photo=305636) to use and making this ballgown. I made Lili’s detective costume in 2004 and intended to do the ballgown for AnimeNext 2005 but also ran short on time then. And I’ve kept getting distracted by other things I wanted to cosplay so the petticoat has just been sitting around for over 2 years. ^_^;
Pros for doing this costume are that it shouldn’t be as hard for me now since I learned how to bone a bodice on my formal Terra, it shouldn’t require as much patternwork and experimentation as Saiyuki Sora would, I already have some of the fabric for it, and AnimeNext is about the only con where I could realistically bring this due to the huge petticoat. Cons would be that it might still be a bit much to do in a month and the petticoat could still be a problem since my father would be dropping me off at NEXT Friday morning and I might not be able to check into the hotel right away. :-/
If I did this one, I’d alter it to be more modest since I wouldn’t be comfortable with my stomach showing; I’d change the black bandeau to a tank top and raise the waistline on the shorts. I’d also add some embellishment to it with hot-fix sequins and crystals like I was doing on the Saiyuki princess outfit, since it’s also a circus costume.
I’m not actually that fond of this particular costume but I thought it might be good for a simpler outfit. ^_^; I already have the wig I was working on for Sora and the clothes should be doable in a month since I could take some shortcuts, like buying the tank top and gloves to alter. Plus, I love the series and still haven’t cosplayed from it. And the outfit would be more weather appropriate for July than a huge ballgown. XD; Bad things though are I don’t like the design that much and I’m a bit worried I’d come off looking fat in photos. I’ve lost a lot of weight the past couple of years but I’m busty and can’t do much about the huge bones I inherited from my father. >_>;
Another costume I’ve considered doing is the dress that D’s sister wears when she first appears. It’d be a nice change to cosplay from Petshop of Horrors and be able to have a figure; I’ve had a glut of crossplay lately with all the D outfits. >_>; I haven’t really been able to find an accurate print for this one since most floral fabrics tend to be dense repeating patterns rather than scattered individual flowers. But I’ve been eyeing the pretty “golden phoenix” brocade that Pearl River has: http://www.pearlriver.com/v2/CB_phoenix_floral.htm
It’s so pretty even if it’s not accurate to have the phoenixes mixed in. ^_^;; I’m kind of debating between the red and the gold. Since the phoenix designs are in yellow, they’d be less noticeable on the gold but I think the red would look more striking with the black wig.
The trickiest thing about this one would probably be fitting it since I don’t have a dressform yet and it should be much more fitted than the robes I’ve done for Count D. I guess the other downside to this costume would be that it’d look like a random girl in a Chinese dress unless I carried my plushies around. And I kind of feel like I should cosplay some other stuff, too, since I’ve done so much PSOH lately.
And, asking seriously… If I did make this dress, would anyone local be interested in borrowing one of my Count D outfits and cosplaying with me? I think it would be cool to have pics with both D and his sister and would consider lending out my brocade robe or the vacation outfit for a day although you’d need to have some items of your own, like a shirt and pants to go under the robe. Wouldn’t necessarily have to be AnimeNext since I’m sure people already have things planned for then. I’ve heard that MangaNext is being planned again and there’s going to be the NY Anime Festival in December. ^_^
Believe it or not, the blue brocade robe is probably the costume that’s easier to fit into. o_o I can manage to wear it without binding so it’ll fit up to a 38” bust, it’s not that fitted at the waist, and the side slits go pretty high so hip measurements shouldn’t be a big problem either. The tightest part is probably the sleeves since I used a size 12 sewing pattern as the starting point. ^_^; The vacation outfit might be more difficult to fit into because I forgot to account for the fact the tops need to be tucked into the skirt and didn’t put in as much ease as I should have in the skirt’s waistband. It’s a bit snug on me so it only fits a 27.5” or smaller waistline even though the rest of the outfit is pretty loose. ^_^;; And, for either, you’d have to be close to my height (5’3”) so that the costumes aren’t obviously too short or long.
Thoughts, anyone?
As for costume plans, I’d like to bring out a couple of my older costumes that I haven’t had a chance to wear yet this year. Specifically, my black brocade coat for Ayame and my nyosen uniform because I haven’t worn either at a con since Otakon last year. I’m also planning to bring Count D’s vacation outfit and maybe one of the other outfits for him since I should finally have decent contacts for his mismatched eyes by then. And I’d like to make something new since I usually try to have one new costume for my main cons.
Unfortunately, Sora’s Saiyuki princess costume is being put on hold for now. I’d planned to have it for Next but there’s just too much stuff left for me to figure out and make in a month that I’d just end up stressed. ^_^; I think I’ll aim to have it for Anime Boston next year instead. I have a few possible ideas but I’m undecided about what I’ll make in its place.
One possibility is finally putting my monster petticoat with 18 yards of netting (http://images.cosplay.com/showphoto.php?photo=305636) to use and making this ballgown. I made Lili’s detective costume in 2004 and intended to do the ballgown for AnimeNext 2005 but also ran short on time then. And I’ve kept getting distracted by other things I wanted to cosplay so the petticoat has just been sitting around for over 2 years. ^_^;
Pros for doing this costume are that it shouldn’t be as hard for me now since I learned how to bone a bodice on my formal Terra, it shouldn’t require as much patternwork and experimentation as Saiyuki Sora would, I already have some of the fabric for it, and AnimeNext is about the only con where I could realistically bring this due to the huge petticoat. Cons would be that it might still be a bit much to do in a month and the petticoat could still be a problem since my father would be dropping me off at NEXT Friday morning and I might not be able to check into the hotel right away. :-/
If I did this one, I’d alter it to be more modest since I wouldn’t be comfortable with my stomach showing; I’d change the black bandeau to a tank top and raise the waistline on the shorts. I’d also add some embellishment to it with hot-fix sequins and crystals like I was doing on the Saiyuki princess outfit, since it’s also a circus costume.
I’m not actually that fond of this particular costume but I thought it might be good for a simpler outfit. ^_^; I already have the wig I was working on for Sora and the clothes should be doable in a month since I could take some shortcuts, like buying the tank top and gloves to alter. Plus, I love the series and still haven’t cosplayed from it. And the outfit would be more weather appropriate for July than a huge ballgown. XD; Bad things though are I don’t like the design that much and I’m a bit worried I’d come off looking fat in photos. I’ve lost a lot of weight the past couple of years but I’m busty and can’t do much about the huge bones I inherited from my father. >_>;
Another costume I’ve considered doing is the dress that D’s sister wears when she first appears. It’d be a nice change to cosplay from Petshop of Horrors and be able to have a figure; I’ve had a glut of crossplay lately with all the D outfits. >_>; I haven’t really been able to find an accurate print for this one since most floral fabrics tend to be dense repeating patterns rather than scattered individual flowers. But I’ve been eyeing the pretty “golden phoenix” brocade that Pearl River has: http://www.pearlriver.com/v2/CB_phoenix_floral.htm
It’s so pretty even if it’s not accurate to have the phoenixes mixed in. ^_^;; I’m kind of debating between the red and the gold. Since the phoenix designs are in yellow, they’d be less noticeable on the gold but I think the red would look more striking with the black wig.
The trickiest thing about this one would probably be fitting it since I don’t have a dressform yet and it should be much more fitted than the robes I’ve done for Count D. I guess the other downside to this costume would be that it’d look like a random girl in a Chinese dress unless I carried my plushies around. And I kind of feel like I should cosplay some other stuff, too, since I’ve done so much PSOH lately.
And, asking seriously… If I did make this dress, would anyone local be interested in borrowing one of my Count D outfits and cosplaying with me? I think it would be cool to have pics with both D and his sister and would consider lending out my brocade robe or the vacation outfit for a day although you’d need to have some items of your own, like a shirt and pants to go under the robe. Wouldn’t necessarily have to be AnimeNext since I’m sure people already have things planned for then. I’ve heard that MangaNext is being planned again and there’s going to be the NY Anime Festival in December. ^_^
Believe it or not, the blue brocade robe is probably the costume that’s easier to fit into. o_o I can manage to wear it without binding so it’ll fit up to a 38” bust, it’s not that fitted at the waist, and the side slits go pretty high so hip measurements shouldn’t be a big problem either. The tightest part is probably the sleeves since I used a size 12 sewing pattern as the starting point. ^_^; The vacation outfit might be more difficult to fit into because I forgot to account for the fact the tops need to be tucked into the skirt and didn’t put in as much ease as I should have in the skirt’s waistband. It’s a bit snug on me so it only fits a 27.5” or smaller waistline even though the rest of the outfit is pretty loose. ^_^;; And, for either, you’d have to be close to my height (5’3”) so that the costumes aren’t obviously too short or long.
Thoughts, anyone?
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no subject
Date: 2007-06-06 07:54 am (UTC)Good luck with all of your planning!
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Date: 2007-06-08 02:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-06 11:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-08 02:46 am (UTC)I've been tempted to do Arabian Nights Layla myself (the more elaborate version on one of the mini-posters) but I don't know if I could ever look good in those tight white pants. ^_^;;
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Date: 2007-06-07 01:21 am (UTC)The chinese dress for D's sister is temptimg. I'd be anal and paint all the flowers on by hand exactly where they're supposed to be onto a brocade that had a plain tone on tone pattern for extra detail. Probably a light pink with butterflies or sakura to emphasize the fact that it's D's sister. That pheonix print is making me drool tho! I need to come fabric shopping in the states some time!
You're right about needing a D to cosplay with. I wish one of my sisters would throw on a D robe for me now that I have daddy D, but I don't think either of them would fit mine, or go near them with a ten foot pole. Mel likes to mutter about "the creepy chinese guy/plant thing" Whenever I'm trying to convince her.
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Date: 2007-06-08 03:20 am (UTC)After some more thought, I’m just not confident about finishing the ballgown in a month since things tend to always take me longer than I think they will. ^_^;; And I’m worried about all the other stuff I already want to bring. T-Chan takes up a good amount of space and the nyosen uniform is rather heavy. I don’t think I can deal with the monster petticoat and dress on top of that! I’d still like to make a big poofy dress sometime since I haven’t done one before but I think I’ll try for later in the year. My father usually gives me rides so maybe, I could bring it to a local event that I’m commuting for and put the petticoat and skirt on after I get there.
Yeah, painting the flowers yourself would probably be the only way to get really accurate placement on D’s sister’s dress. I’d be too lazy to do that though unless it was a more distinctive design like on the peacock dress. ^_^;; Unless I think of something else in the next few days, I’ll probably make that dress for AnimeNext although I still haven’t decided on the color. Might have to go into the store and pull both off the shelf and stare at them.
My siblings wouldn’t be helpful for that type of thing either. Neither is interested in cosplaying and they definitely wouldn’t fit my costumes!
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Date: 2007-06-07 02:07 am (UTC)I wouldn't mind being Count D's sis ^^. I almost forgot about that storyline. Though I found it sad how it ended
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Date: 2007-06-08 04:07 am (UTC)Ah, I was actually thinking I’d be the sister and see if I could find someone else to wear one of my Count D outfits. I’ve decided I’m probably making that dress for AnimeNext (unless I think of something else within the next few days) and since I’d making it for my wacky measurements, it probably wouldn’t fit anyone else properly. XD; So, I figured it would be easier for another person fit into one of my Count D outfits and gave an idea of measurements for those. If you’d prefer to buy a dress and cosplay D’s sister instead, you’d still be welcome to join me when I’m doing D. ^_^ I’ll probably be cosplaying both D and his sister at AnimeNext and of course, I could have the costumes for future events, too.