SyFy's Heroes of Cosplay
- Thread starter Art Andrews
- Start date
mdb
Sr Member
I really need to invest in one too. Trying to get an even layer of latex by brush...gah!! My Talon Lekku look good but are really heavy as I needed much more latex than I intended. It goes on the list of power tools that are hopefully in my budget (had to replace my netbook and desktop computers and my mouse sander and now rotary tool in under a year.... so yeah it's on a long list!)
Here in NZ yep, people travel up and down the country to participate in all the contests. And I know it's going to seem weird but the loudest cheers for contestants is from the rest of the contestants. I bawl up nearly every time I present awards because not only is there a really amazing pool of talent continually growing but they are encouraging each other. And even encouraging and helping each other to win. Which is just freaking brilliant. I know that's what my attitude was and didn't really have in return when I was competing- no real online community locally. Also when it was terribly obvious I was on my last legs of health at the last two shows the amount of support I personally had, even as scary judge, is simply beyond my own comprehension.
I do six shows as a judge in two countries. And there is a world of difference as to how it is seen in those two countries. Admittedly this is partly do to how the contest is run. Basically after a few years of working on the contest I was started to be trusted more and more to run it the way I wanted (from the convention organisers) so I took the "best bits" from ICG contests and my own experience doing singing contests, and it has worked. It's what NZ has become accustomed too and is as fair as it can be- not always and that's why the rules got changed over time. And I'm allowed to ban all media from the judging round. It's even in the volunteer pack as to who is allowed and when (so that no one gets interupted during a skit for instance).
It's been harder in Australia because the competition cycles there overlap and the rules have been different and we are between a few more established ones. But I have noticed a lot of my rules being lifted by contests over there so you know they must be doing something good
That said I think Aussie is big enough to cope with a variety of competition styles!Fairness is not about letting every single person do anything they like. It's about making sure everyone goes in to the contest knowing what they are to expect. If you know you are going to be competing where models and teams can work on a single entry then you know that someone is going to use that to their advantage.
Complaining about not having enough time to prepare is moot, it's like any contest in that regard and if you want to cram to enter this year or decide to pace yourself for the next that is your own choice. Yep real life gets in the way (which is why I'm making armour in a few weeks when I had started the head sculpt oh... 10 months ago.....) That is bald bad luck. heck we even have a phone tree system so that if someone gets caught in traffic we can shuffle the judging around to still get them to enter.
A lot of hems etc were overlocked (roll hem, so narrow and tends towards fluting of the edge rather than making it heavier and invisible zips were used to keep a draping flowing. Also fray check won't hold a seam. That would be for hemming?
I worked on Xena, Hercules and then Jack of All Trades and Cleo, and the only glue involved was on the vinyl stuff in Cleo and in the properly hammered seams of Xena's leathers (yep I got one of the first early looks at that costume and the quality of construction still stays with me.
That said as an extra on Jack of All Trades my hem was just turned up and stay witched in place which did not do well when we were shooting early in the morning with dew on the grass... And so eventually my hem was put up on site with plastic tag guns. I offered to hand sew it as I replaced my faux lacing thread bars repeatedly... but I wasn't allowed. Actual construction was strong. I think Jean Hunnisett's books were the go to on making and patterning for a lot.
I do though have a project on the go currently and fray check is what is making it look better than had I hand sewed all the elements! There is a mix of hand, machine, overlocker, glue and fray check. It allowed me to make very defined appliques from a crepe saree and then hand sew jewels on over that. The hem is roll hemmed on the overlocker but has I think 6 rows of hand laid machine sewn ribbon
Onephattsi2
Well-Known Member
I believe that Victoria was working the Information booth at Wizard World Ohio this past weekend..... Not 100% sure it was her though, we went in and walked the floor for a bit, then as we were walking out to get suited up in my Iron Man suit, I looked over and saw her... But never made it back into that area because I got mobbed trying to get back to the floor, we had to abandon that idea and turned around and went straight upstairs to the costume contest...
Sent from my HTC One X
Sent from my HTC One X
Wakeem
Sr Member
I decided to watch this show when I caught a bit of an episode with the Lollipop Chainsaw girl. I never knew cosplay was that serious. But they did come up with some good costumes. The female Rocketeer was on the show too. I remember seeing that cosplay image a year or so ago I think.
.:MirrorminD:.
Sr Member
Ya it probably was her, she started working for Wizard World this year
hahahahahahahaha!!!!
Alternately we could try to not be judgmental of others
The reason this is more striking to me is that it's not some distantly abstracted thing like redneck father-uncle-husbands. The community of adults who spend thousands of dollars a year playing dress up is pretty small, so I tend to want to be supportive of other people in it.
These are people that many here see / interact with on a regular basis. I guess for me that sense of community is sufficient for me to want to enjoy the good aspects of it and overlook the bad.
Gigatron
Sr Member
Alternately we could try to not be judgmental of others
The reason this is more striking to me is that it's not some distantly abstracted thing like redneck father-uncle-husbands. The community of adults who spend thousands of dollars a year playing dress up is pretty small, so I tend to want to be supportive of other people in it.
These are people that many here see / interact with on a regular basis. I guess for me that sense of community is sufficient for me to want to enjoy the good aspects of it and overlook the bad.
Yeah that would be awesome if it weren't for one small detail - cosplayers are probably THE most judgmental of all groups out there. I bet you can't even begin to count the number of threads, on this forum alone, that started with "You can't be that character because you're too: fat/skinny/short/tall/flat chested/busty/wrong ethnicity/wrong gender". And I have seen the same exact argument on every cosplay website and cosplay-centered blog, on the internet.
Hell, the only saving grace of HoC was Chloe Dykstra's rant at the other judgmental cosplayers.
Burying your head in the sand, or turning a blind eye to the problems, doesn't make the problems go away. There are always going to be costumers with a superiority complex because they happen to have the body type of the character they want to play dress-up, as.
-Fred
Onephattsi2
Well-Known Member
That's awesome :thumbup::thumbup: I knew it looked like her, but I didn't get close enough to know for sure...
Sent from my HTC One X
True. But actively working to NOT be that judgmental person myself is the only way I can do anything to try to make it go away. I'm far from perfect... I have those judgements too, I just try to work through them without ever expressing externally. Over time it gets easier.
So, just like I try not to judge a 600 pound dude dressed like Sailor Moon, I try not to judge people on TV that may have been edited to skew their original intentions.
I was thinking about how I said Holly (I think it is Holly) should have some sort of demonstration on how she did the spray latex and it occurred to me that it it might be nice to see how everybody did their work, for both Heroes and FaceOff. Hopefully not as a bonus on the DVD, because I really don't want them to get any of my money. Heck, SyFy might actually be able to make some specials, "Techniques of ....".
Alpha Proto
Sr Member
Yeah that would be nice. If Crabcat's spray gun hadn't gotten clogged that one scene I would't of know they used it.
SSgt Burton
Sr Member
JediG60racer
Sr Member
I'd just like to say a few things, none very likely to be noteworthy. So those of you into extremely serious conversation about the show, move along to another post.
Victoria has a much better head on her shoulders than the show runners portray. They definitely make intentional portrayals of each person on the show.
ScruffyRebel has been a very positive contributor to the local SoCal Star Wars community, and a wonderful conversationalist. While I've never met Jinyo, he seems like the kind of guy I'd click with and have very creative conversations about prop making and costume design.
Riki is a sweetheart. She took time away from a professional photoshoot to talk with my then-5-year-old daughter, who is a little cosplayer herself, about the finer virtues of being a princess, and coming up with creative costumes. That particular day, my daughter had put together her own costume: a fairy zookeeper. Riki recognized what Annie had tried to accomplish, complimented her on it, took pictures with her, and inspired her. It is still one of my daughter's favorite memories. Thank you Riki. I still need to send you the pictures you took with her... will tweet them to you at some point.
The Crabcat team has impressed me the last few years at San Diego Comic-Con with their drive and devotion to perfection. While I don't think I could handle being around them more than the couple hours I see them backstage at Masquerade, it's probably because they're SO intensely stressed out at that particular juncture in time, and that stress is palpable. However, I also see the love and joy they have at putting together truly superb displays of showmanship for the enjoyment of others. So kudos to you. Keep up the great work!
Victoria has a much better head on her shoulders than the show runners portray. They definitely make intentional portrayals of each person on the show.
ScruffyRebel has been a very positive contributor to the local SoCal Star Wars community, and a wonderful conversationalist. While I've never met Jinyo, he seems like the kind of guy I'd click with and have very creative conversations about prop making and costume design.
Riki is a sweetheart. She took time away from a professional photoshoot to talk with my then-5-year-old daughter, who is a little cosplayer herself, about the finer virtues of being a princess, and coming up with creative costumes. That particular day, my daughter had put together her own costume: a fairy zookeeper. Riki recognized what Annie had tried to accomplish, complimented her on it, took pictures with her, and inspired her. It is still one of my daughter's favorite memories. Thank you Riki. I still need to send you the pictures you took with her... will tweet them to you at some point.
The Crabcat team has impressed me the last few years at San Diego Comic-Con with their drive and devotion to perfection. While I don't think I could handle being around them more than the couple hours I see them backstage at Masquerade, it's probably because they're SO intensely stressed out at that particular juncture in time, and that stress is palpable. However, I also see the love and joy they have at putting together truly superb displays of showmanship for the enjoyment of others. So kudos to you. Keep up the great work!
:lol That may be one of the most awesome kid mashups ever!
JediG60racer
Sr Member
Thanks! Will pass along your compliments to the designer.
Zookeeper khakis, fairy wings and wand, talking parrot on the shoulder, tutu, and Punky Brewster style leggings & tactical boots.
Zookeeper khakis, fairy wings and wand, talking parrot on the shoulder, tutu, and Punky Brewster style leggings & tactical boots.
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