Full Cosplay Log: Princess Garnet

I am still alive and kicking it~! So how about I give another cosplay / theorycraft log? This time it is none other than the one character that stuck with me as a child, Princess Garnet til Alexandros XVII from Final Fantasy IX.

Garnet til Alexandros is a princess from the kingdom of Alexandria that later joins Zidane in his adventures. Since she is a princess and a magic user, I had to make sure the materials I choose fits the role.

It's Too Dangerous to Go Out! You'll Need the Following:

1. Wig/Extensions
2. Dress
3. Accessories/Trinkets

Wig

There was no wig involved for Garnet because my hair was long enough to recreate it. However, I bought clip on fringe/bangs to recreate the look.

The Pretty Dress 

I would be lying if I said this was gonna be an easy costume. The bodice, skirt drapes and the grand skirt is what this dress is comprised of. To give it a royal look, I used mostly bridal satin and blue crepe (for the grand skirt).

Most importantly, the 6 hooped hoopskirt is what holds the shape of the dress and give it that full look.


Bodice Top and the Skirt drapes

The bodice was from Buttrick's B5731 pattern from Prince William and Princess Kate's wedding. Though I modified it to have a seam in the center just like in the cutscenes. The skirt drapes are self drafting I did on my mannequin with the bodice on. The clear straps are there as an back up in case it slipped off (but you can photoshop it later~!) The fabric choice for this part was bridal satin with white lining to contrast the light bluish skirt later on. Afterwards, it was embroidered on by hand using the split stitch method.

A Grand Skirt for a Princess

I consider this part to be the most difficult since trailing skirts eats up ALOT of fabric. Instead of using the white lining I used on the bodice, I use cornflower blue crepe fabric under the bridal satin in order to recreate that bluish look. The pattern is still Buttrick's B5731 though modified for the split front. Finally, I added the Fleur-de-lis by using the same freezer paper technique I used from my Princess Peach dress. Simply grab your design, trace on the paper side (not the shiny side!), cut with exacto blade, iron onto fabric, paint inwards, wait for it to dry, and peel it off! 

(optional: Odin summon)

Accessories/Trinkets

Crown


Surprisingly, the crown was very light considering its complexity. It started off with a craft foam base with hot glue for the details. The "roses" was sculpted like actual roses than the game art cause I want it to be as elegant as it should be. It was later coated with epoxy resin for durability.

Belt

Another product of my artistic liberty here. The dangly bits are made from Fimo Clay but the center piece was fun to work with. It was a combination of a thick board base, green resin gem I made, hot glue for the borders, and sculpted clay roses. It was later weathered for an aged look.

Falcon Claw Pendant

I would call this one my pride and joy in cosplay accessory crafting. I sculpted a clay model of the pendant, mixed a silicone rubber mold cast from it, and produced a resin cast pendant that looked exactly like the game/artwork. I later drilled a hole through it to loop in the necklace chain. The crown topper was comprised of craft foam and Sculpey clay that's been coated in resin.

"Gloves" and Arm Jewelry 

The "gloves" are basically sleeves I self drafted from my arms and hand embroidered like my dress. The arm jewelry was simply craft foam with resin and topped with a resin gem.


I hope you guys enjoyed this cosplay progress/theorycrafting log. See you again on my next log~!

Full Cosplay Progress Log: Princess Peach

I am waaay overdue for a promised tutorial/what-I-did video of my SSBB Peach cosplay so let's use this one as a substitute for now shall we?

 

It's Too Dangerous to Go Out! You'll Need the Following:

1. Wig
2. The Pretty Dress
3. Painting the Filaments
4. Accessories/Trinkets
5. Parasol

Wig

The wig was purchased from ebay and it's very long just like Peach's hair. Though I had to snip it a bit so the bangs wouldn't poke out my eye. I touched up her bangs on the day of AX actually and used hair spray to make the subtle point in the center.

The Pretty Dress 

This part is a total pain in the derriere as it took me on-and-off the entire Spring semester (along with stress)! The making of the dress will be explained into 2 different sections.

The material I used is  6 yards worth of dark pink silk charmeuse for her panniers and 8 (?) yards worth of light pink crepe satin for the rest of the dress. The charmeuse has a nice drape feel and the crepe satin is great for gathering. The white gathered ruffles is white silk charmeuse left over from my Twilight Princess Zelda. And of course, who cannot forget her white lace accents?

Most importantly, the 6 hooped hoopskirt is what makes the dress big and poofy. Otherwise, it just looks dead without it.


Bodice Top

Normally I self draft from existing clothing I own but for this I have to alter a commercial pattern. Using Simplicity's 2207 Steampunk pattern, I opted out their buttons and made it as a zipped back with a buttload of alterations. 

Back

Front

 The front and back white ruffles is a standard gathering with a silky cord or ribbon and sewed it into place once you achieved the gathering I want. However for the side ones (noted on the picture above) : I had to vertically lengthen the pink front sides, make cord gatherings on both ends, gather til it matches my body, sewed it in place and then hover the steam iron over it while keeping it stretched to retain its shape. The rest I just continue by following the altered pattern.

Finished Top

The sleeves is basic poofy sleeves you can grab at any pattern or online tutorial. The bows on the ends are made from the same pink fabric. The scalloped collar was backed with interface for stiffness and satin stitch on the edges.

Layers and Layers of Skirts

First

First, started off with a 4 tiered skirt that fits with the hoopskirt shape and sewed it into place with the bodice. Add in the dark pink on the bottom and the lace on top

Second

Next off, made a circle skirt that later alter to become the light pink drapes and added the lace edgings on that too.

Third and final part

Finally, added in the panniers by making a big half circle and did some draping in the front and back.

Painting the Filaments

I used a freezer paper method for the stencils and believe me, its a total time saver. Simply grab your design, trace on the paper side (not the shiny side!), cut with exacto blade, iron onto fabric, paint inwards, wait for it to dry, and peel it off! The best of all is that its reusable and doesn't leave any icky residue. Then, I outlined the edges with darker yellow fabric marker IN the painted design rather than outside of the design which was on the fabric.


Accessories/Trinkets

Crown

Super easy to make and light to wear. The base is made from craft foam that's been sealed with Elmer's Glue, coated in resin and spray painted gold. The white details is just dimension paint and the gems are resin casted with foil backing. Later, I attached it on a skinny headband for easy wearing.

Earrings

They're just painted ping pong balls attached on dangle earrings base.

Center Brooch

This one is another most frequently asked one for me. Basically using a clear Christmas ornament and cut it in half. Next off,  poured a little bit of blue resin to slush cast it and attached it on a board base with the foil backing. The gold part is made for craft foam that's been sealed with Elmer's glue and painted gold.

Ring and Gloves

A simple square cut sapphire ring to top it all off with some opera gloves.

Parasol

Took a bubble umbrella, removed the plastic cover, and drafted a new one out of Crepe Satin/Silk Charmeuse. The white pole with its handle is from a PVC pipe and the handle is made from wood.


I hope you guys enjoyed my progress!

お帰りなさい。 Welcome back!

Hey everyone!

Its been literally a year since I wrote on this blog so let's get down to updates and stuff that happened while being offline here.

1-I've been making cosplay tutorials and progress videos on Youtube

2-Still a student at CSUF except now I picked up on a Minor in Japanese.

3-Still a cosplayer

4-Returned to AX starting 2012 and on. In 2012, I got recognized by a local TV news crew for my Princess Zelda.  Now in 2013, my Princess Peach is part of the footage for Heroes of Cosplay and some of KBL Noodle's cosplay vids.

5-Got a better Camera so expect to see some future pretty videos.

Well thats all the updates I have so far. There will be plenty more stuff to come later ~! See you all soon!

Moshi Moshi

Chiharu-san desu.

This will be my first blog to update on costuming, art and life whatsoever. So, I hope to hear from you guys soon!