#I’ve never made/remade a wig before so it’s cool that it worked

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

Good news! My plan to fix the fact the pompadour wig kept sliding off my head with barrettes worked!! And so…

The quality of the photos isn’t the best, since my brother and dad are at work, and my mom can’t take pictures due to her CP, so I had to take them myself on my little tripod in my hallway. Not the best way to get a photo taken, ha.

But!! I think the outfit turned out so good!! I wasn’t going to cosplay as Mondo to Comic Con this year, since last year my modified hairstyle didn’t turn out very good and I didn’t look much like him. But now! Now I actually kinda look like him and if there are any Danganronpa fans at the con they might recognize who I’m dressed as, ha. Bryce Papenbrook (voice actor for Makoto) will be at Comic Con signing with the Demon Slayer cast, so maybe I’ll try to get a ticket for that autograph, even though I’ve never seen Demon Slayer. The kids at work like it, though, so getting an autograph there would be worth it for that anyway, ha.

Anyway, what do y’all think??? Is it good???

[cosplayinamerica]

I was digging through my tumblr and found probably the first cosplay interview for Cosplay in America - Maridah. The interview was posted Aug 24, 2010

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I’ve seen Maridah at Fanime and Anime Expo for the past two years. When I started this book project, she was cosplaying Saber and completely mobbed at both cons I saw her at. I decided to shoot her an email to ask about her cosplay.

Well, first of all, tell me how you got into cosplaying ?

I attended a magnet high school for theater, so I had taken a few costuming classes. This was around the same time I became interested in anime and wanted to go to a convention. At the time ‘cosplay’ was just starting to gain interest in america, and it seemed like a fun idea for me to show up to a con in a costume if I was going to go…I ended up making 3 costumes for myself and a couple for friends for that first con. One of these was an Auron from Final Fantasy 10 for a friend, which meant working with leather and all sorts of things I hadn’t tried before in school. From the get-go I was taking on challenges, something that I think has stuck with me. As soon as the convention started I was hooked. I made so many good friends that first con, and cosplay really appealed to my interest in making costumes, so it was a perfect fit.

I had ask folks on my Facebook/Myspace as to what questions they like answered. Two of these questions is “How do you pick which character you want to portray?” and “Do you enjoy group or solo cosplay more?”

I love group cosplay. I have made so many good friends through cosplay, and cosplaying with them is great. Even if it’s people I’ve never met before, I’d rather have people to pose with and chat with. If I’m posing alone, it’s okay, but standing around by myself can be really boring. The costumes that I have had the most coverage of at cons were solo costumes, and while it is great to have that recognition of hard work on costumes I’ve wanted to make, I still end up wishing I had friends involved.

It’s sort of up to chance what I end up cosplaying, and each costume is done for different reasons. Only a portion of the costumes I start for myself get done. I’ve given up making a lot of my costumes sewing stuff for others. Hopefully I can turn that around a bit! I have a list of things I want to do, but this list ends up being ignored quite a bit because there are so many factors. I try to pick costumes of characters I like, but occasionally I pick ones I feel are more look appropriate.

It is really random what ends up being made in the end, though. Half the stuff I work on is picked according to what show friends want to do because I like doing group work. The other half is stuff I really want to do, even if it’s on my own sometimes. The end result is aways the same with every costume, regardless of motive. I’m over budget, but it’s fun~

Can you tell me about what you wore to Fanime ’09 and about the construction of it ? How long did it take ? Was it harder than you thought ?

For Fanime 2009, I wore Armored Saber from Fate/Stay Night. It was about a month and a half before the con when I started working on it.

The majority of the costume is made of a thermoplastic known as Sintra. I patterned out each piece of the armor, then transfered the paper pieces on to the plastic. I used a scroll saw to cut it all out, which took several days of work. I sanded the edge of each piece to give them a slight bevel and a cleaner look. I used a dremmel to take off sharp corners and fix up shapes if they didn’t line up right or couldn’t be cut to shape with the saw. I used boiling water to shape the smaller pieces, and a heat gun for the side panels. After shaping them, I primed the pieces, sanded them, and sprayed them with paint, then used a clear coat to seal them.

Not every piece of armor worked out as planned, so a few pieces were remade last minute out of thick craft foam.

The sword was made out of balsa and wood putty. The wood was sanded and sealed, and sprayed in the same way as my armor. I was short on time, so it ended up being rushed. I drafted out my own pattern for the dress. The sleeves are reinforced with thick interfacing to keep the shape they have. The base wig was found locally. I bought loose hair and made a few wefts on my sewing machine and the braid. The wig was styled in an evening, and involved hairpins, a little hot glue, and a ton of Got2BGlued hairspray.

The costume was about as hard to make as I expected it to be. Difficult, but not impossible for me. I had not worked with many of the materials I made it from before and it was a learning experience.

What were folks’ reaction to your Saber when you were out at the cons ?

It was different depending on the person. Generally other cosplayers were just intrigued, and wanted to know the ins and outs of the construction. Little kids seemed to think I was something akin to a character at Disneyland, and wanted pictures, which was adorable. I had some guys who seemed to think I was a mannequin or something, and seemed mystified by my ability to talk, which was funny. I met some cool people who liked the series and they gave fan approval on my hard work. Others were quick to ask me where I bought everything, and seemed skeptical of my answer. It was a totally mixed bag, but over all, I had a lot of people interested in photographing the costume and there was plenty of positive feedback. It was a good experience.

Did you do any of the Masquerade ? I thought your outfit was pretty awesome and curious if you entered any contests.

Thank you! I haven’t entered a masquerade. I’m not really into competing, honestly. I might consider being part of a group with friends some time in the future, but I don’t see myself ever entering a masquerade on my own. I’m honestly not motivated enough to deal with the hassle of getting signed up, doing rehearsals, etc. If more conventions had hall cosplay contests, I would most certainly give one a shot, but there aren’t many of those that I know of. It also kind of goes against why I cosplay. I just really like to make the costumes and I want it to be fun to wear them. I don’t need a trophy to tell me I did something well. I get that award every time someone asks for a photo.

A friend of mine suggested this question : If you could cosplay anyone and time, money and technology were of no concern, who will it be ???

If I could, I’d want to make an awesome Motoko from Ghost in the Shell with a full scale tachikoma I could ride in. That’s pretty close to impossible, but I can dream, right ?

And finally, I’ve been asking everyone what cosplay means to them ?

Cosplay is a important hobby for me. I love the process of making something well. It’s a hobby that lets you exercise so many skills, and it’s always challenging. That’s partly why I love it. The big thing for me is the people I’ve met because of it, some of them have become dear friends I hope I can always call that, even when we’ve moved on to other hobbies and interests.

Okay, thanks a lot ! Hope to see you out at future cons ^^

www.maridah.com