Archive Posts - Plushies of 2011

2011 wasn't a very productive year for me, plush wise. I spent a lot of it making more generic "cute" plush - fried shrimp, sushi, rice balls, the works. I also started a new, full-time job, robbing me of a lot of spare time to make plush in. What few plush I made include:



Hungary from Axis Powers Hetalia - almost entirely fleece, with some felt (the gloves, boots and facial features, most notably). I think this is my best UFO style plush to date.


I wish I had a good enough camera to capture it on film - this Spiritomb glows in the dark. I painted all of the green and yellow spots with watered-down glow in the dark paint! It also has plastic beans in the "rock" part so that it can sit on almost any surface.


Hands down my favorite, and my most successful plush to date - my "fuzzy Joltiks". They are life-sized at around 8 inches long, and are made almost entirely out of fur, with fleece "feet" and hand-painted stone and glass beads for eyes. I've made seven of them, and sold all but one - the short-haired one, which was a gift for a friend.

Archive Posts - Cosplay of 2011

2011 was an interesting year. I went to ten conventions total throughout the year, but only cosplayed at about five of them, and only made new costumes for four of them. I ended up repairing, updating and re-wearing many old costumes, including Tao Jun, Touko, Sabrina and Twilight Suzuka. In total I had six completely new costumes, including:


Platinum/Dawn/Hikari from Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, in her Platinum outfit. This I wore to Katsucon specifically because I wanted a costume I could wear in the snow. And...there wasn't snow. Well, there was a large pile of snow, but that was about it.

2010 Plushies part 2 - the Felties

For the month of November, 2010, I did something a little insane. I decided that instead of trying to write a novel, I would try to make one plush per day - specifically, one feltie plush per day. I didn't quite make it to all thirty in the month, but I made quite a lot.

 
Before I could take commissions for the felties, I needed some examples, so I made a few favorites. Articuno, Oshawott and Snivy. Trivia: Oshawott and Snivy still have their Japanese names, because when I made the plush the games were only out in Japan and had no English equivalents!

During November (and parts of December), I managed to make:

Archive post - 2010 Plush (part one)

2010 was the first year I sold at a real Artist's Alley (I'd sold at NashiCon's before, but not actively). As a result I focused on a lot of small, cute, generic plush and in a way lost some of the focus I'd had the year before.

I started the year with more plush commissions:

I still consider the Ponyta to be one of my best fleece plush.

Archive Post - 2010 Cosplays

If asked to pick one costume that completely defined 2010 for me, it is this one:

While there have been many cosplayers of Touko/Hilda/White since, this photo was taken just two weeks after the first pictures of the protagonists for Black and White were leaked onto the internet from CoroCoro magazine. I was the first cosplayer outside of Japan, if not the first cosplayer period, to complete and wear this costume.

Archive Post - Plush of 2009

So, six conventions and eleven costumes in 2009 - with all that happening, surely I wasn't making plushies left and right as well, was I?

Of course I was.

My biggest accomplishment, in all senses of the word, in 2009 was undoubtedly Tadpole Jackson.

Archive Post - Cosplays of 2009

Ah, 2009. If 2008 was "busy" with the 8 costumes I wore, 2009 was insane. In 2009 I attended: Katsucon, Momocon, NashiCon (as staff), Animazement, Otakon, and Anime Weekend Atlanta, for a total of six conventions and twelve new costumes. This was not including all of the older costumes I re-wore to various conventions!

If there was one big thing that happened in 2009, it was Soul Eater. I did three different SE costumes:

















 
Eruka Frog at Katsucon

Archive Post - Plush of 2008

2008 was a busy year in terms of cosplay, but...not plushies. I only made three plush over the course of the year: 

    

Two versions of Boota, the pigmole from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and one plush that I still consider to be one of my true masterpieces:

 Carbunkle from Final Fantasy 8. I made this with something called "fun fur", which is the crappiest material ever, but very soft and it really took marker well. The entire plush was made with the same fabric, I just sharpied the darker green and aqua blue parts to the correct color. The eyes and jewel on the forehead are felt. The thing is huge, a good 15 inches tall, and was entirely handsewn.

Archive Post - 2008 in Cosplay

2008 was the first year that I really started going to conventions and cranking out cosplays. Proof: I went to three conventions and helped run an additional one-day convention over the course of the year, churned out 7 new costumes and remade one!

In March I went to my first ever Momocon and wore my finally updated Lillymon:

 

Archive Post - First Plushies

2007 was my first year in a real college setting, away from home. I went a little...insane. So I don't have a lot of cosplays to show for that year, but I did start making plushies for the first time.

A note before we begin! With the exception of Gluttony, I made every single plush here using this pattern by the awesome BabyLondonStar. The skins were all fleece, the hair was all felt (Izumi's was yarn), and the clothing was anything I could get my hands on at the time. I made all of these plushies (yes, all 11) in the span of about a month. I'm still not entirely sure how. I blame the insanity.

He turned out better than my Envy costume did *sob*

Archive Post - 2006 was not my year

So after that first year of cosplay, I could only get better, right?

Oh no. I had incredible beginner's luck with those first two costumes, as you'll see. My second year was, well...

 There are so many things wrong with this picture. I don't even know where to begin. The terrible wig. The dress that doesn't even fit me. The boot covers. So many details just plain wrong or missing. What was I doing in 2006? Oh, right.

 If I remember correctly, right before Animazement 06 I started reading Fullmetal Alchemist, which of course took away from my time to work on Lillymon above. I then decided at last minute to make this costume, which took me a whole twenty minutes or so of sewing...but it took me days to find all of the materials to make it, further taking away from time to work on other costumes. Ugh.

 I later remade both costumes:

Now this is more like it. Correct details, form-fitting costume...

Better wig, better material choice, and hoo boy was I in great shape when I wore this costume the second time. 

So if nothing else, I definitely learned from my mistakes in 2006.

Archive Post - Humble Beginnings

Oh, 2005. That seems like so long ago now. I've definitely learned a lot about sewing and cosplay and everything since then. Here's a look at my first two cosplays ever:

  What can I say about this one? I still have the wig and the dress to this day, and I even into 2012 this is my default "I don't have anything else to wear to this convention" costume. Since the picture was taken I've restyled the wig at least five times, lost a substantial amount of weight, gotten correct shoes, and learned how to properly apply makeup.

Well, here's a look at the only surviving picture of my very first cosplay, all the way back from Animazement 2005, my first attempt at Twilight Suzuka from Outlaw Star. Oh, did I have a lot to learn back then. Like not to use shiny satin, for example. But, I've now made that kimono three times and worn the costume countless numbers of times. And...I still haven't gotten the hair perfect yet. xD  

In contrast to that, I wore both costumes to conventions in 2011. How do they look now that I've got a few years of experience under my belt? (Or...would it be 'under my obi' since...ah, nevermind):

 

I'd call that a success. :D