Finn does Cosplay

The plans for the Obi Wan Kenobi cosplay was fairly simple and easy. All I had to do was find some jedi robe patterns, and use those to make the costume. The robes I used had to be edited a little in order for them to work for Obi Wan, but other than that nothing much was changed from that. I also made sure that my dad had a plain brown shirt and some khaki pants to wear underneath the robes. For his shoes, he got a pair of brown boots. For my dad's hair, we're using Mehron Hair White and Silver, so he can put it in his hair and wash it out. He already has a saber for the costume as well.

My McCree cosplay was never truly a finished cosplay so I continue to make parts of it here and there. I just finished his arm. I basically just made some cut outs that looked like different pieces of his arm from the reference images in the McCree Reference Kit from Blizzard , transferred the patterns onto some foam, glued it onto a glove and an arm thingy (because im smart) and then covered those in Plasti-Dip and painted them. It's the same thing I did for the Junkenstein hand (the arm is going to be remade soon). Here are some pics of the wips and the final product WIP Hand - Before Plasti-Dip and paint  Hand - Paint 1  Hand - Paint 2  The Arm Final

A quick update before I go to Anime Blast Chattanooga in a couple days! I'm not going to be able to finish the Link cosplay for the con, so I'm taking him out until Ichibancon next year. Most of the McCree updates will be scheduled to update on Friday, but other than that the updates to the cosplay are almost done. Anime Blast Chattanooga 2017 cosplay line up- - Friday: McCree - Saturday: McCree - Sunday: Soldier 76 - Back Up: "Fox" Mulder After the two updates for McCree, I'll get back into finishing the Link cosplay.

I know I said that I wouldn't be revisiting Dr. Junkenstein until the summer, but I decided that I might as well and attempt to get a couple of the smaller things done so I don't have to worry about them and focus on the costume. I am going to be keeping some things from the first attempt at doing Junkenstein, however I will be doing a number of remaking things that I didn't like/didn't work out. So here is the plan on what I'll be doing to finish Junkenstein by Dragoncon 2018. October 14 - I will start working on Junkenstein's Arm while working on McCree's arm. I wont be focusing on painting it as much, but will be focusing in building and putting plastidip on both of them. November - I'm going to be looking at how to do 3D printing and and how to make models for 3D printing. I'll be 3D printing some items to replace others, as well as some smaller details in the costume. March - I will be looking into styling a wig for the costume during the fi...

Alright so a quick update as I made a change of plans here. I am still going to Anime Blast Chattanooga with one of my friends. I will be cosplaying as Link and will be bringing back McCree because I miss dying of heat stroke as a fictional cowboy (yehaw). McCree is getting a little upgrade as I will be making an arm for him, and if it goes well then that means I will be able to make the arm for my Junkenstein cosplay in December. I'm also looking at fixing some minor details I skipped out on (ie the stuff on his hat and his belt) and possibly doing something for the pattern on his cape. I will be going to Ichibancon, and I'm looking at Triadcon and a couple other cons next year. More updates on what I am able to do for what cons when. The Link cosplay will not be finished until December, into which I will have the full thing at Ichibancon this year. The majority of the costume (everything out side of props and minor costume adjustments) will be ready for Anime Blast Ch...

Hey! Just a quick update on what's happening with me and cosplay! So between doing a bunch of stuff for school, I plan on having my Link cosplay finished at the end of October. I haven't really worked much on it since I got to school, which means as of right now I have to fix the collar, edit the boots, and make belts. I'm not too worried about props until Ichiban 2018. I'm also going to be making some things for the Amaterasu cosplay. In November, I will be going to Anime Blast Chattanooga with a friend of mine. That is where I plan on doing my Link cosplay, and might pull out my half done Soldier 76 which is just there for kicks and giggles. I'm also planning on going to Ichiban 2018, and I'm extremely excited because I am going to be competing in the Cosplay Contest! I'm super excited to show off my Rey cosplay, and my dad is going to be there as well as he did make the staff. There's also going to be an amazing surprise at Ichiban, but I will s...

I have never used 3D printing for anything, and neither did my father. My dad now helps me with my props for my costumes, so he ended up helping me with the sword and sheath. I ordered the pieces online, he put it together, and then I paint it. However, we didn't know what we were doing with the pieces so it ended up in a fun little story to tell due to us not knowing what to properly do the first time. When the sword had initially arrived (i bought the sword all at once, where I bought the sheath in two separate orders which contained half of the sheath), the tabs that were supposed to be used for durability??? did not fit. I figured it had to do with printing such a small little piece, and I figured that the sword should be fine as long as I don't swing it around, which I didn't plan on doing anyway.  We first glued it together using Gorilla Glue. We glued multiple different pieces together, and then those pieces together, etc. until we got the full sword. Putting ...

Instead of fully making my props, I bought most of them. I figured it would be the easiest for me as 1) props for Dr. Junkenstein failed terribly and 2) I'm not even going to bother with trying to make swords. The only prop that I made was the shield with the help of my aunt and uncle. Sword and Sheath      The Master Sword and it's sleeve thing I bought 3D Printed here ! This helped a lot with cutting out having to make it, but I did have to put the pieces together. Surprisingly the sword costed less than the sheath, but owell. There's a whole story to go along with what happened with putting hte sword together (which ended up being a continuation story of the sword at work), but long story short we ended up just using superglue and paint. We also sealed with Mod Podge.  Ocarina      I literally just bought this off of amazon. That's it. Here's the link . It's playable, but either it's not fully meant to be played or I just can't play an i...

Alright, so just some updates and stuff from my last post until now. I've had a change of plans in terms of my ability to go to cons (seeing how I'm starting college and all) and some of the cosplays I'm working on. Cons:      I'm not going to be able to go to DragonCon and probably not gonna be able to go to NC Comic Con in November. However, I am looking at Queen City Anime Con in Charlotte and some cons in Georgia and Tennessee near the NC border. I am making plans to go to IchibanCon in 2018 unless if something comes up for college. Cosplays:      Amaterasu and Dr. Junkenstein are going to be completely held off until the summer unless if I can find some time to work on them during the school year. As for my current cosplays, I will have to hold most off during the school year unless if I can find some space for them in my dorm. Rey will be worn during summer cons to help with the staff and weather. Link will be all year (however props may no alwa...

I actually did a make up test for once in my life, but it was mostly an excuse to mess around with the ears and to start working on the wig for it. I don't really have much done for the actual costume in terms of the hat I had to improvise for now. But yeah. For the actual make up I really just put on some foundation and used a little bit of darker eye shadow on the nose and on the edge of the brow. I'm not a make up guru or anything, but that's what I do really when I do make up make up. I did the eye shadow thing around the nose mostly because I wanted to eliminate the look of the 'ball point' end of my nose, and to help it look a little straighter than it is With the wig, I had an old blonde wig that I got a couple years ago and I dont remember what it was for but I still had it. It was longer than desired so I decided to cut it a little, and it'll need some fixing in the back (that's not really shown in the pics), but other than that I'm pretty...

Just a quick update on future plans coming up shortly for my cosplays! I'm putting Dr. Junkenstein on hold for a little bit in order to quickly do Link from Ocarina of Time. It shouldn't take me very long outside of the sword and shield for Link, so I'm expecting it to finish in a short amount of time. Dr. Junkenstein is no longer going to have the tire, and the grenades are going to be changed (not sure to what but eventually). After I finish up Dr. Junkenstein, I plan on working on Amaterasu starting with the wig before the kimonos. Other pieces will probably be done throughout the next couple of months (ie: necklaces and Issun).  In a couple of months I'll also be remaking my Vince Heliotrope cosplay, and it will have EL Wire through it so it can light up! I'm excited for that! I also plan on going to Dragoncon 2017 and hopefully NC Comic Con Nov. 2017. Next Cosplays to be completed Link (Ocarina of Time) Dr. Junkenstein  Amaterasu Vince Heliotrope (r...

Alright! So, I'm taking a small break from working on other cosplays to quickly push out this one! I'm currently starting to work on Link (Ocarina of Time version), and going to go ahead and get this one done while I can and before I go off to college. So anyway, here are some small sketches I did at 3 in the morning with notes before I actually start posting things when I start on the costume itself within the next week. Sketches: Notes: Page 1 *We are mostly focused on the outfit for this page a) hat is made of same fabric as the tunic, tightens in the back b) elf ears w/fake piercings. (Will use spirit gum for attachment and some flesh latex to hide any gaps) c) tunic and undershirt are going to be made d) reg belt for the waist, make "belt" for the sword (I ended up calling it a shoulder strap. not really good with terms for this) e) make gauntlets f) white leggings (bought) g) boots Page 2 a) sword and sleeve printed (Ordering them 3D pri...

Animazement was so much fun! I got to meet some amazing people and hung out with my friends, and all in all enjoyed the con. 

So I finished the hand for Junkenstein and about to start working on the arm. I had to change a few things for the arm than planned, and didn't do exact detail on the hand. Mostly because I wasn't sure what I was going to be doing with them as I haven't done this before. I'm pretty happy with how the hand turned out even though it was a little sloppy! Hopefully the arm will be as well! The changes for the arm compared the plans is that I will not be using masking tape or chicken wire. I'm just going to go ahead and build it out of cardboard and use a thicker foam than planned for the outer layer. I'm then going to add plastidip onto the arm and then paint it. Pics for the hand: (there's some paper towels in between the fingers as I was waiting for the paint to dry when I took these pictures)

Just a little update for what's going on with the Junkenstein cosplay for Animazement. 

Sooooo...... I completely procrastinated when I wasn't supposed to so now I have like 3 days to complete the barely half way complete Junkenstein cosplay in time for animazement... Oh boy! So, there will be a page spam when it comes to the updates for this thing, and there really won't be any works in progress. Thankfully what I'm going to be doing wont be taking forever (seeing how I already got it all planned out so I should be good to go, I just gotta not get distracted while working on it). Here's just a progress thing on the different parts of the costume: Jacket Pattern: Done Jacket and Apron: WIP Hand: Done Arm: Haven't Started Tire: WIP Pants and Boots: Done Wig: Needs Styled Here is the line up for the cosplays for Animazement 2017: Friday: Rey from StarWars Saturday: Junkenstein during the day, X Files at Night Sunday: McCree Extra: Soldier 76

Here is the final list of characters that I will be cosplaying at Animazement. There isn't necessarily a specific order for them yet, but they are what I'm absolutely wearing to the con!

So below is a sketched out idea as to what I want for the mechanical arm that Junkrat has in the Junkenstein skin. To start off, I recently found a set of tutorials that will help SOOOOO much for anyone looking for a Junkrat cosplay, and here is the link . I'm mostly using the tutorials for the idea of how I'm going to be making the arm and tire, but due to the design differences in between Junkrat and Junkenstein, I'm not doing it step by step. Anyway, here are the sketches and notes for Junkensteins Arm!

So I lied when I said that I was going to be making the tire first, and I'm actaully going to start with the costume part as that will be the quickest as of right now. Here are my immediate sketches for the majority of the costume (I still need to work out something for the shoulder straps that hold up the tire, but that's for another time) Also want to apologize for such a small post from such a while. I've been a bit of a procrastinator the past week, whoops. Notes: a) roll up sleeves b) blank on the back c) hand make the side connectors d) underpanel =    -  -  - e) zipper location =    -  .  -  .  - f) knee length g) clip around the waist h) add belt ontop i) purple pants  j) find a pair of boots k) not doing the peg leg for this l) arm and gloves for another time Sketches Jacket Purple thing around the waist full

Some sketches for what I'm planning on doing with the Rip Tire for the Junkenstein cosplay I'm doing. Because I have had no luck in finding any information on a tire prop, I'm deciding to do my own thing and start from scratch. I'm wanting the tire to be removable, like in the game, and not have to stick to straps the entire time. I'm also converting the tire to a backpack of sorts (with an opening on the side where it faces my back when worn), and I'm also looking on doing something that wont break easily and light weight. Because of this, my first guess is to start with some wood and styrofoam for the base; craft foam, tape, and paint for the details; and to use a metallic spray to give it the metallic look to it (seeing how the Junkenstein Rip Tire isn't a tire per say).

I'm posting this as an update for what I'm planning on doing for my cosplays! I'm deciding that I'm going to push Amaterasu's cosplay plan date to Dragoncon 2017. So, instead of immediately working on Amaterasu, I'm going to be working on possibly one of my favorite Overwatch skins: DR. JUNKENSTEIN! I will be uploading some sketches and plans later, and I do plan on making a couple props for the costume as well. I may or may not also be doing a tutorial depending on how well the RipTire ends up being. I plan to go ahead and start working on the RipTire first, as I still need to figure out costume bits to the cosplay. **Also I have not gotten around to taking photos of the X Files cosplay, however I will be taking photos of all of my cosplays for Animazement at the beginning of May.

I just wanted to say that my X Files cosplay is almost complete! I'm going to go ahead and put down a list of the official materials that I'm using for the cosplay. Note: this costume is meant to be a joke costume, and is not a serious costume of Mulder and/or Scully.

I am officially going to Animazement! Of course, I do have a few cosplays that I will be doing there. I don't have any specific order for them yet, but here is what I have in mind for Animazement. I also wanna leave some notes and stuff down for future plans on costumes for the next conventions I'm planning on going to and what not.

Shoes is cosplay is honestly something that I personally don't find to be the biggest needed thing unless if the shoes are a well known part of the costume. Most of the time in my costumes I'm just wearing one of my everyday pairs of shoes, and will probably do that for most costumes to come. I have bought shoes specifically for a couple of costumes though. I bought a pair of pink heeled boots for my Mettaton Ex cosplay, mostly since that's one of the most well known features about him. I bought a pair of grey boots that looked similar to Rey's boots to her costume in the Force Awakens mostly because I wanted to. And for my McCree costume I bought a very cheap pair of cowboy boots. Outside of that, I haven't bought any other shoes for costumes as I haven't necessarily seen them to be needed. What do you guys think about shoes when it comes to cosplays?

Buying or making cosplays or at least parts of them is something that everyone decides on. I personally like to make my own costumes and then buy the wigs (as I haven't had a need for props yet). This really differs for everyone who does cosplay and so I'm just gonna put in some personal preferences and things that I have learned so far.

So, I think I'm going to start a weekly post update for some things when it comes to the cosplay community. These will be my personal opinions and stuff when it comes to cosplay. I'm doing this mostly to make sure that I'm updating this blog at least once a week. By all means, all of the things that I end up posting for these Food For Thought Posts are just opinions, are are not strict guidelines or something that everyone should follow. Just how I like to do things and personal thoughts on things. Any posts about Food For Thoughts will be titled "FFT" and the topic of the Food for Thought. Food For Thought's can also be used to answer any questions if anyone has them. You can ask them in comments on this blog, or send me an ask via tumblr or an email (justice.alford@outlook.com) if you have any questions on anything that I'm doing or any thoughts on something that interests you. I'm only a beginner cosplayer, and even then most of my costumes hav...

Devine Instrument Notes: Devine Retribution use either wood or styroafoam circles for the fire, orange felt and a red fabric the red fabric should be light material. something similar to silk maybe?? in order to keep the red fabric in place and stiff-ish, use hot glue on the inside and perhaps some wire the Devine Retribution should have some sort of backpack strap attacked that can hide under the Obi... maybe part of the Obiage??? Devine Retribution will probably cover the knot in the back of the Obi.  Devout Beads Devout Beads will be more on a larger scale.  Devout Beads will be on a string with knots on the ends of each bead to keep them in place.  Devout Beads will probably be made out of clay and hand painted While only 6 is needed for the Devout Bead necklace, it would be good to make  extra beads just in case Tsumugari Tsumugari will probably end up having a wooden base and use craftfoam or paint on the outside Tsumugari will be last ite...

I've been wanting to cosplay as a human version of Amaterasu from the game Okami for a couple of years and never got around to it. It's not a priority cosplay of mine, but I do want to cosplay as her. Here are some design things I have made for the costume: Outfit Front Sketch: Makeup Sketch(not my best job but its something): Hair design: Kimono Spread: Weapons/Props: Full Costume 3 Sides (Front/Profile/Back): Close ups of images -

I will sadly not be going to TriadCon this year even though I've really wanted to. However I will be going over to Animazement this year. Here is the line up of characters so far: - McCree - Junkenstein - Rey I might also be hosting a panel at Animazement with a couple of friends, so I'll let you guys updated on that!

Here are the following cosplay plans for 2017 - Finish: McCree, Soldier 76, and Rey - Start on: Dr. Junkenstein, Springtrap/Purple Guy - Remake: Vincent Heliotrope Cosplay line ups with cons (note- these are cons that I want to go to. May or may not be able to go to them due to travel expenses and con expenses and school):   - Triad: McCree, Soldier 76, Rey  - Animazement: McCree, Rey, Junkenstein  - Dragoncon: McCree, Rey, Junkenstein  - NC Comic Comiccon: McCree, Junkenstein, Vincent  - Ichibancon: McCree, Junkenstein, Vincent, Rey I will start updating this blog regularly this year with work in progresses and hopefully a tutorial or two on how to make certain props and cosplay sketch plans.