MCM Expo May 2014 roundoff

Hey folks :) Well, I've finally recovered from expo enough to write my journal entry about it. As always, my Facebook page has more frequent updates, but I'll try to get updates up here too.

So expo was quite an interesting experience this time as Capcom invited us up to swan around in our Monster Hunter armours to help promote MH 3 and 4:

It was great fun, and it was lovely to get chatting to so many MH fans.


I also wore a new costume - Android 18 from DBZ. I've just started getting into DBZ but already love it, and have a few costumes planned. I wasn't originally going to make 18's outfit (at least not yet) but I got given a load of old jeans which gave me plenty of fabric for her skirt and jacket, and overall I'm pleased with how the costume came out. The wig was also my first attempt at straightening, and although Nomes Cosplay had to help neaten up my straight cut, I think it all went well:

Unfortunately I'm not sure what my next event is, though this year should mark my first attempt at LARP and the associated outfits and armours. I'm also planning MGS4 'sweet' snake with Nomes as 'sweet' Raiden, and a couple of other projects that I will talk about more when I can.

Commissions open, a few choice pieces, and Hylian shield

 So it's been a while since I last posted - what with the bad weather and the UK convention-off-season (for me, at least) I've been lazy - oops. As always, check out facebook.com/zelvyne for more regular updates.

Anyways, My next convention is Kitacon, and hopefully I'll be wandering around as:
Rathian Gunner - Monster Hunter 3u
Link - Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Faye - Cowboy Bebop
I might also have another re-wear packed, but at the moment I'm focused on finishing these three off.

I fully opened commissions at the start of this year - so anything and everything that needs making can be considered. So far I've had a few odds and ends, and here are a couple of my favourites:

Mitsuki from Kyokai no Kanata:

And Kristoff from Frozen (photo stolen from https://www.facebook.com/SjbonnarCosplay, the recipient)

And while my costume isn't complete yet, I feel the need to show off my Hylian shield. My whole Link  costume is a budget built, using about £20's worth of stuff (including the white under-tunic-garments) and scraps but I like to think this shows that scraps go a long way:



I should have a more purposeful post sometime, but for now, the Kitacon-panic is about to begin.

Post-MCM post

 So October MCM 2013 in London will forever be.... the first time I got con-flu. Having finally recovered and caught up with stuff, I can now show you lovely people the... lack of photos I had taken of my costumes...

Friday I drove up to London for the first time, and the people I was room-sharing with didn't arrive 'till late, so I didn't cosplay. I did get a nice look round the dealer's room, and actually bought some stuff for a change though.

Saturday was the big one - the Jak and Daxter group with Jenny and Naomi (and Matt, but I drag him everywhere). I'd finished the costumes for Matt and myself the day before we left, so I was pretty pleased with how they came out, even if the rush to finish meant that I didn't seal the paint and wig dye again rain... and of course it rained on Saturday. Once the weather cleared up though, it was great fun, and lots of people recognised us, which was heartening.

Sunday we wore out Attack on Titan uniforms. I think I've found the definition of nerve-wracking - making a jacket and fully body harness which someone tries on half an hour before they want to wear it to a con. Oh well, everything mostly fit, and we met a ton more awesome AoT cosplayers, so that costume'll definitely be a keeper.

All in all, expo was great (a tad cold), despite the few teething problems that the new ticket/queueing system had.
Next projects include: Ms Marvel (Earth's Mightiest Heroes) and Faye (Cowboy Bebop). Keep posted.

October expo 2013 runup

Right, it's been a while since I posted becuase I have been swamped with prep for October Expo 2013 in London.

Following Ayacon, some friends and I got talking and realised we all liked Attack on Titan a bit too much, so with only two months to play with, I had the task of making the uniforms. Thankfully it was only three of them, but it still took a while, making the jackets, harnesses, skirts and my tshirt from scratch:

Also, my partner and I are doing a small Jak and Daxter cosplay group. I'm still in the panic-making stage of those costumes, but here's a sneak peak:















In-btween the large tasks, I've also had a great amount of fun for my first time using worbla, making Melisandre's choker from season 2 of the Game of Thrones TV show:
Hopefully the young lady who it is for will like it and look beautiful as one of the most undoubtably evilcharacters that GoT has to offer ;)



Other than that, October expo will be my second wear of Garrus, as I'm already planning a new big costume for Kitacon2014.

Very late Ayacon update - complete with Garrus

So, Ayacon 2013 (the final Ayacon ever) was last month. It was my first time going to an Ayacon event, and it was great fun. It was also my first time entering the cosplay masqurade, and I have to thank everyone that cheered and had nice things to say - it made the whole thing enjoyable rather than terrifying. It was also great fun getting to natter to some people in the waiting room for the masq, so thanks for all being so friendly.

I also managed to wander round for part of the day in my Garrus, though it was warm and quite akward to move in. My partner had to act as my bag-carrier in the battle dress Shepard I made.

For the other days I was lazy and wore May from Pokemon and Naoto from Persona 4, but didn't get any new photos as I was too busy enjoying the convention.

As always, especially as this update is so late, take a look at https://www.facebook.com/Zelvyne for more regular updates, including tutorials and progress pictures.

Commissions open

I've suddenly found myself with more time to make things, so I've deiceded to consider any and all commissions.
Below are a couple of examples of commissions I've done, though feel free to browser through my DeviantArt, CosplayIsland and Facebook pages (linked on the right) to see more, and contact me at zelvyne@googlemail.com for more information.

Elesa from Pokemon

Resident Evil STARS blanket and umbrella cushions

Facebook page

As I've been struggling with using a blog for the past year or so, I've decided that for the immidiate future I will instead try using a Facebook page to cover all my makingness:

https://www.facebook.com/Zelvyne

if that works better, I'll eventually get rid of this blog and just use that.

Oops - long time no see

Hey folks (if anyone reads this). I just realised how long it's been since I last put up a post (hint: aaages), but I have a good excuse - my health has been all over the place with lung trouble, tooth trouble, and general poor health (no doubt aided by the first two). Still, I intend to keep this up this time, if only to have somewhere to throw my thoughts.

Since then, I've redone my NCR ranger with a better helmet (actually a helmet liner, but it works quite well).
Unfortunately 'till furhter notice it's out of action as the chestplate has become a nightmare - the straps are pinging off, showing that hot glue won't hold if your chestplate isn't shaped to your body (I chose to have it flat for ease of storage) and the neck actually grazes my neck too much, so the patterns I used before clearly need yet more room for the neck (as well as the arms, really).

I've also finally delved into Assassin's Creed cosplays, with my own novice outfit, which will be going into its third iteration soon. If any of you want to do a Creed costume but are daunted, don't be - baggy clothes, a big hood (which this tutorial proves is easy) and a sash make the basics, and it's great fun - highly recommended for first time cosplayers or more seasoned costume enthusiasts ;)











Other than that, I've been experimenting with resin dyes (with humerous results), fabric painting, wig dying (with frustrating results) and playing around with beading, all of which I will mention soon, possibly along with a lot of cosplay-related rants (as such matters are topical at the moment).

Build: Fallout New Vegas: Maria pistol

I've been a big fan of Fallout for a while now, and while I do want to make some of the iconic weapons from the newer games - the plasma rifle, for example - I'm going to start with an easier one - Benny's pistol 'Maria' from Fallout New Vegas.

As the reference picture (right) shows, it's a lovely gun - a highly ornate unique 9mm pistol, golden with engraving and pearl grips.

For a fun little project, I'm using a base gun and making the alterations. Unfortunately, living in the UK, it can be hard to get hold of fake copies of real firearms. The Fallout 9mm is based of the Browning Hi-Power pistol, so I jumped when I saw this for sale for a fiver (bottom right):

OK, so it's not the exact right gun - the Fallout one is a different version of this, but it's only that the grip is slightly more shaped, the groves on the slide are slightly further along, and the trigger is different. The main obvious problem is the grips, but they can be removed easilly enough.
When I bought this, an airsoft-prop-modifier by the name of Lycaneyes had already changed it for soemone's costume prop - mimicing the lovely brown and black colourscheme of Claire's Browning from a Resident Evil game. Unfortunately when I recieved it, the gun was so coated in paint by the ownder that it no longer works, and you can quite clearly see the brushstrokes etc. So stage one of this build is stripping down all the paint to try and get the surface smooth again and to hopefully get it working - it's a spring-powered toy pistol so if I can unclog is, the slide will pull back and the magazine will come out, etc.
Hopefully in a week or so I'll have some progress, as it's currently sat in a bucket of white spirit.

Post-illness catchup

It's been ages since my last post as I've been quite unwell for the past while. Luckilly I seem to be over most of it, so I'll start being more active again.

Anyway, MCM October Expo in London has just been and gone, and I had a great time. My costumes were my new and improved NCR ranger armour:











and my original design novice assassin, based on Assassin's Creed 2/Brotherhood:

I also threw together an MGS1 Meryl costume to enter a contest - I had no hopes of winning and wasn't surprised, but as every entrant got a nice artbook and tshirt, I thought it was worthwhile.
We had a lovely Assassin's Creed cosplay group on the Sunday, but on the Saturday it wa just my partner and myself as NCR ranger and Boone (in NCR gear).

I'm hoping to start my next costume projects soon. For this coming year I'd like to put together a better MGS cosplay (Either Eva or Meryl in the sneaking suit), Lilith from Borderlands, and maybe one adventurous armor project that I'll get to closer towards the time.
My immidiate little project is another Fallout-based one, so keep tuned for step-by-step attempt at making Maria, Benny's gun.

Cosplay holiday

Well, it's been a slow week for actually making stuff becuase I went on holiday up North. Why is this relevant? I spent a whole week with some of my cosplay friends, and we actually got a lot done.

We attempted a photoshoot twice in the lovely Bradgate national park up near Coventry - it's like a teeny-tiny Dartmoor. The first time it rained pretty heavilly, but we still managed to get some piccies. The second time was much more fun as it was sunny, though that meant there were more people we had to work around. Both days I wore my Lara Croft reboot outfit, and had the company of an OC Assassin's Creed assassin, Drake and Sully from Uncharted, and Joker and OC Harley from DC comics

We had the lovely Chloe Lynch as our photographer. It was great practice for me to properly be directed for photos, and Chloe was very easy-going with it, so it was a fun experience.

I've only seen the un-edited outtake photos so far, such as the one to the left, but I'm sure the proper photos will look fantastic, and will post up a choice selection here.
Until then, please do Check out Chloe's gallery, and if you're at any conventions, or in the Coventry area looking for a photographer, get in contact with her:

www.flickr.com/people/celynch_photography/






Asides from the photoshoot, I've got my October MCM expo cosplays planned:

-NCR Ranger (Fallout New Vegas). This'll be a remake of my old one, as I finally have a proper helmet and revolver, so it should be ten times better than the last one. I'm also making the costume (without the mask and helmet) for my partner who will be my NCR Boone
-Catwoman (DC Comics). Though I love my Arkham City Catwoman costume to bits, I've been pounced on for a Gotham City Sirens group, so I need to do the plain one. I'm going to probably be lazy and buy a catsuit as I found myself unwilling to actually climb buildings in my Arkham City one lest I snag it on something and rip the fabric - if I buy one I can risk getting some really adventurous photos.
-OC Assassin (Assassin's Creed). I was tempted to do an Ezio, but I don't think I'll have the time to do it tru justice, so it'll be an AC2-themed OC instead.

Final bit of news: Keep an eye here for when I open up an Etsy store, which I should be doing in the next couple of weeks. I've got so many little odds and ends that it'll be nice to get out on sale, so I'm getting pictures and whatnot ready.

Jewellery

Well, I've been going through a bit of a jewellery phase these last few weeks, and for my efforts have a few different pendants, the most recognisable of which are probably the Assassin's symbol from the Assassin's creed game series:





They're made out of a nice durable resin, and though I'm still playing around with the colours, it looks like I can get red, blue and green in transparent and silver opaque very easilly.





 Though I daresay the silver is what most people think is best for the Creed pendants, the other colours will certainly be useful for another thing I've been making with my partner (XeroTech Industry's) equipment:
Other values of Legend of Zelda rupee, including the necklace on the right, should be made soon.



While the two above started life as 3D models on my PC, I've also attempted to turn my hand to sculpting for my latest costume:

This is the jade phoenix pendant as worn by Lara in the upcoming Tomb Raider game. The rest of the costume is either on its way or in the making, but I couldn't resist making this. The clear resin gives a nice gemstome / gummysweet look, and it's nice and light.


All of the above can be duplicated at a moment's notice, though I'm waiting to get a small stock together before setting prices, so if you just can't wait, contact me and we'll sort something out.

Also, check out XTI's DA page: http://xerotech-industries.deviantart.com/ as he's the lovely guy who let me steal his molds, and has some pretty nice bits and pieces to look at too.

Welcome

Well, I thought it was about time to set up a blog. This will be slowly sorted out alongside my main website, and will cover all the stuff that my website isn't quite fit for, and will show items in progress - including non-cosplay things or things I'm not planning to sell.
Until all of this and my website are sorted, please check out http://cosplayisland.com/overview/Zelvyne and http://zelvyne.deviantart.com/.