I wasn't planning to be at ConBravo! this year, because of the convention-burnout from all my spring events. But the masquerade put out a call for volunteers and since I can't resist the siren call of working for a masq (and I could allow myself to have a day off from my sewing projects) I ended up there for Saturday afternoon and evening anyways ^_^ I wanted to wear something comfy, easy to change out of (since I needed to be a ninja for the masq), and "new", so I elaborated a little on my makeup test from the winter and dressed as Luci from The Wicked and The Divine. I love the look of the Devil Herself, and had a lot of fun trying to look like a badass all afternoon XD. I spent most of my time hanging around the Cosplay for a Cure room or shoving my camera in friends' faces until It was time for the masquerade, when I changed and shifted to ninja-mode. I got the "interactive" ninja jobs, which was fun, and there were lots of beautiful costumes entered! However, as a masquerade vetran, I think that Bravo might want to consider reducing the time limit for entries, or we need to bring back the "Masquerade 101" panels. Or Featherweight's tip-sheet handouts. Something to remind entrants that 2-3 minutes on stage is a very long time. The night wrapped up with spending some time at the dance (it's been years since I went to a con dance!) and hangouts with friends because I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to everyone yet. Thank you to all my friends and the ConBravo! masquerade and events staff who made it a really fun day ^_^ As usual, I'm going to toss in a plug for The Video Ninja's coverage, including the full masquerade, retrospective, and interviews: ConBravo! 2016 playlist
So what's next? Fan Expo! I'll be there with Cosplay for a Cure this year, looking forward to that and the masquerade and cosplaying with friends. Gotta spend the next couple weeks getting my costumes finished though!!!
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YetiCon was a treat at the end of the spring - a reward almost for 3 months of conventions and events every other weekend. In other words, it was the vacation that it deserved to be instead of the usual chaos that conventions usually are for me. As a result, I'm not quite sure how to write about it - I mean, I had a great hotel room with lovely roommates, wore comfy and fun costumes every day, and did a couple photo shoots... but I didn't participate much in the rest of the convention activities. Due to a large oversight on my part, Cersei wasn't ready to enter in the costume contest like I planned, and because I spent all of Thursday night working away on that dress, I spent most of Friday at the con tired and trying to unwind. Saturday Kurumasha and I watched the costumes contest and cheered on our friends, poked our heads in on a couple of panels, and spent the evening in the pool and hot tub. Sunday was the "adventure" day - I was channeling Flash while riding the Ridge Runner coaster in my sloth kigu and riding the gondola to the top of the mountain, and we also spent some time at the magical tea party where we met a miniature unicorn XD I didn't carry my camera with me for most of the weekend and so I took very few photos, but I've collected a few below. Dream Land took some cute photos of my "Chihiro", which I have added to my Spirited Away gallery. I also shot Chihiro with PPhoto (first time shooting with her; so excited to see the results!), and Kurumasha and I shot out Rat Queens elves with Elemental (like, the millionth time shooting with her - total fave). Both those shoots will be posted at a later date ^_^
Once again, Anime North happened. Once again, I was there. I stopped by Thursday to pick up my badge and take advantage of the hotel being mostly empty to do a shoot with Dream Land Photography: another Kate Bishop-inspired outfit, this time because Lelola had given me an appropriate dress to use ^_^ Friday I wore my Flashback Tizzie (for the first time with the right necklace!!) and even though it was disgustingly hot, Dream Land once again made sure I look awesome in his photos. Once Kurumasha arrived we snagged some Rat Queens pics together at Cosplay for a Cure, and spent the rest of the evening wansing around the con looking for (and finding) friends. Saturday I was very glad that I hadn’t planned to wear a wig with my Spirited Away costume because I probably would have ended up with heat stroke. I really have no idea how anyone in a big or elaborate costume survived the weekend! Walking back and forth between the hotel and the North building for the masq was hell. On the positive side, the bathhouse costumes that Kurumasha is 100% responsible for were great greenroom staff uniforms - she did an amazing job. The greenroom ran about as smoothly as it could this year, which was awesome. I hope we can only improve on that experience again next year! It was great getting to interact with the Novice competitors as I took them to workmanship judging; so proud of each and every one! Sunday didn’t go as originally planned: I decided not to wear my wig with Alice because it was just too hot (only threw it on for a few photos), ended up behind the table at Cosplay for a Cure for a little while, lost the friends I was supposed to meet because my phone had no signal, etc. But I did at least manage to catch the masquerade awards to cheer on my friends and the novices that I met in the green room as they accepted their awards. Overall it was a very, very positive weekend. In spite of the heat, in spite of a severe lack of sleep, in spite of sore feet and legs most of the time; I had a lot of fun seeing so many friends and so many good costumes. I pretty much got to spend the weekend with all my best friends (except for Mr Stark </3) and doing one of my favourite “jobs” working the greenroom. Even managed to get at least one shoot of each of my costumes this year, which is an accomplishment itself. Wish I had more time to shoot with people and socialize more, but the heat and my lack of phone signal really hurt that. Selfie-con photos below - most are mine and the ones that aren't are noted ^_^ See you all again next year! Assorted AN videos I snuck into!
And finally, I've updated my galleries with photos from Anime North: Hawkeye, Tizzie, Spirited Away, and Alice!
Second con in Ottawa in one year? What is this sorcery?! Because I have a great affection for Kurumasha and was over-due for another convention road-trip with Ragz, I jumped at the chance to check out Ottawa Comic Con this year. I took on the “assistant director” position for the masquerade so my job was to keep Kurumasha sane throughout the weekend (or at least attempt to). Of course, that means I didn’t experience the convention like the average attendee, but it was still a good time. It was great getting to meet more of the Ottawa-area locals as either entrants or den parents, as well as spending time with friends that I’ve been seeing at cons for years. I spent most of the weekend with Kurumasha; either in the Cosplay Lounge doing masquerade prep work, or backstage in the masq greenroom. I know there were a handful of disappointed cosplayers who weren’t able to enter due to the entry cap (it is a popular event!!), but otherwise everyone I interacted with was incredibly enthusiastic and positive and patient, which is really what I love to see at a masquerade. Even the audience was quite possibly the most enthusiastic I’ve ever seen, which is incredible. Thankfully, the weekend wasn’t 100% work. I was able to spend enough time walking around the show floor to do some shopping (new mini POP vinyls and fun posters!), and to hang out and take Elfies with Rebecculous (and Sha), and even hop in front of Elemental’s camera backstage with Ragz and Logan (my Gravity Falls crew: let’s adopt Logan, Y/Y?), not to mention a couple of dinners with the Ottawa crew ^_^ I didn’t take many photos because I ended up being so occupied with work most of the weekend, but a small selection of my photos (plus a few more from others) is below! And while I’m posting photos of Wendy Corduroy, how about some bonus photos? In April I shot her at Celebration Square with Dream Land Photography, and I also had some fun back in February with a thrown-together “Weirdmageddon” Wendy (worn with my friends’ assorted other Gravity Falls costumes) to watch the series finale. My Gravity Falls gallery has been updated with the new photos!
The Geekery is a very geeky cafe/restaurant in Niagara Falls (Canada), and they like to host events for the community. This April I attended my first “Geekery Con”, and was honoured to have been invited as a cosplay guest!
I met soooo many new people at this con (I don’t know most of the Niagara Falls and Hamilton-area locals who were in attendance); cosplayers, photographers, and geeks in general. I didn’t have my own table (since I don’t sell anything), but I just hung around with the other cosplay guests and tried not to block traffic; it was a packed place! We did some fun photos on the cute Avengers backdrop, and I recorded my second interview for We Got The Geek Podcast, which you can listen to here! I didn’t do any shopping (bad Jen!) but I did end up with a lovely thank-you gift/raffle prize of a print from Toy Bacon - if you’re aware of my affection for playing LEGO games, you know how perfect this is LOL. The mini-con wrapped up in the early evening, but I stuck around for a while longer to take over the dining area of The Geekery for Skyleaf’s birthday dinner! Eating with friends was a great way to end my day in Niagara Falls ^_^ Thanks to Candy Cosplay and crew for the carpool, and to Jason and the Geekery/We Got the Geek family for the invitation. Just like in Toronto, Kitchener’s geek community has its fair share of drama, personality conflicts, and people who are simply poor representatives of fandom. However, the positive energy at Kitchener Comic Con this year totally dominated the atmosphere and made for a great event. Granted, my experience was coloured by spending most of the day working the Cosplay for a Cure booth which is always a positive experience, but still.
Because I was at the booth most of the day there’s not a lot that I can say about the event itself aside from the general commentary above. I debuted version 1 of my latest Alice in Wonderland costume, and although the other Cure girls were also in their rock princess costumes, the booth was busy enough that we didn’t get photos together. I was able to sneak away for a little bit for solo shots with Dream Land Photography. Ragz Cosplay was there in his latest Spiderman costume and standing next to him, I was mistaken for Gwen Stacey several times hahaha. Iron Girl wore her Elsa costume and was “borrowed” by the Marvelous Girls of KW throughout the day to join their (canon) princess group. “Ain’t No Pretty Princess” Alice gallery page is now up featuring photos from my shoot at KCC. Before I talk about this year's Toronto ComiCon, it's been a while, so I want to catch up on a few things real quick: I'm going to lots of cons this spring! Every other weekend, in fact, starting last week with MTCC. Here's what it looks like:
I'm making lots of things! On top of costumes for myself and collabs with friends, I'm pushing my boundaries with props, which includes having entered Worbla's TranspART contest. I really hope I manage to succeed at actually making something which isn't a disaster! ... That's probably enough of a brief catch-up for now! Moving right along.... Toronto Comicon a.k.a MTCC a.k.a MTAC! I went in to Comicon this year with a plan: buy some makeup, buy a wand, cosplay with friends, and take selfies. I had even avoided scheduling any shoots ahead of time, because I just didn't feel like it. Anyways, neither of the makeup or wand vendors which I had hoped to shop at were at the show this year, which was disappointing. I didn't get my new costume done on time so I wasn't part of the group that i had wanted to join. And I kept forgetting my camera at home, so I only grabbed a few selfies with friends and cool people on Saturday. BUT, I did get to hang out with friends for most of the weekend, saw lots of great costumes, and was kidnapped for mini shoots by Dream Land Photography, Santiago Ortega, and a huge group of Game of Thrones cosplayers. Stopped by the body-painting panel by Evie E and Shelle-Chii and picked up one new thing to try with my makeup in future. Oh, and I got lots and lots of street-passes ^_^ As usual, here's a little gallery of my selfie-con pics as well as some of my favorite shots which have popped up so far Additional photographers: OOC Photography, Tim Bermingham, Michelle Flannigan, Very Frank Pictures. And bonus content: I got the opening shot in Neffy A's video! Fan Expo. Here's the thing about Fan Expo. I went every year from 2005 to 2010. But I was less and less engaged with the con every year, and the admission prices kept going up, and after the really really terribly managed crowding and lock-out problems of 2010 I decided that it really wasn't worth my time or money and I wasn't going to go anymore. So what changed this year? Well, the biggest thing was that Mr Stark had arranged to be a "booth babe" for an artist at the con, and when your boyfriend is going to be spending four days at a local event and staying at your place, it's hard to say "I won't be there at all". In addition to that, I had also heard many times that the organizers have made a lot of improvements since 2010 (and the company is also under new management) so I thought I would give it another chance. However, I still wasn't willing to shell out the kind of money they were charging for badges, so I asked around for a volunteer position and ended up being a handler for The Cosplay Scion in exchange for my weekend badge. Which meant, for the most part, sitting at her table while she was doing her cosplay panels. I ended up having a very unusual convention experience (for me) as a result, since Lee Scion's table was in the "Cosplay Corner", which was a row of tables for most of the convention's cosplay guests* to sell prints, sign autographs, and meet fans. Up until that weekend, I'd been abstractly aware of the "celebrity cosplayer" business model, but I'd never seen it up close and for extended periods before. I have many friends who do guest spots at conventions and who sell prints, but the women at these tables were on a whole other level. There are a lot of different ways and reasons to cosplay, and I always try very hard not to judge or dismiss others who do it differently than I do. The cosplay guests around me were all clearly fans themselves: they all looked awesome and represented a variety of interests, and they all work hard at what they do. The ones I spoke to were fun and kind. Regardless, when the reason for having a table at a con is to make money (aka almost all the time), you have to offer what customers want, and it was very clear what is popular with the general convention attendee when it comes to cosplayers - traditionally attractive women in sexualized costumes (preferably popular characters) who sell pin-up prints. As someone who cosplays "obscure" characters and (generally) not-terribly-revealing designs, I sometimes feel like I have to fight to get photos of my work, or to find other people who share my fandom. So it was a little disheartening to see just how popular the cosplay guests all were, many with long lines in front of their tables for most of each day. People wanted their photos with these women, wanted to buy posters of them to have signed, wanted to flirt. Some local con photographers were just about falling over themselves to take photos at their tables, and hung around for an uncomfortably long time if there wasn't a line to see someone. Now I'm not going to say that these successful celebrity cosplayers are doing anything wrong - they're clearly doing alright for themselves, and since they're not hurting anyone I certainly can't blame them for making money doing something they love, as most people don’t get that opportunity. Nor am I jealous of their popularity - at least not in the sense that I want to be in their place, because I definitely don't. But it certainly makes a statement about how the hobby has evolved in recent years, especially with the increase in attention from mainstream media and culture. The women at the tables were not the “best” cosplayers in the building, nor--with a few exceptions--did they contribute to the cosplay community in terms of teaching panels or running events. It makes me sad to know that there are amazingly talented people who are "unknowns" and constantly passed over simply because they don't have "cosplay fame"; that is, because they haven't (or don't want to) figure out the magic formula of self-promotion + popular characters + sex appeal. I think this got away from me a little bit there... back on track. Anyways, seeing all this really got me thinking about who gets recognition for their hard work at a con these days. Mostly by accident, I conducted a very small social experiment on Saturday and Sunday to gather some anecdotal evidence. I had decided to cosplay from Hawkeye all weekend - Cover Kate Bishop on Friday, Clint Barton on Saturday, and L.A. Kate on Sunday. My Clint costume is very simple - t-shirt and jeans, a wig, makeup (and bandages), and shades. L.A. Kate is also very simple - tank top and shorts, a wig, makeup, and shades. Both costumes are "closet cosplay" - nothing custom made. Both costumes use the same bow and quiver props. Both designs are from the same book so they should be equally recognizable (well, Kate is at a disadvantage there, since Clint's costume is also used in other Avengers books). Finally, I spent approximately the same amount of time walking around the con, both buildings, in each costume. The difference: Clint is a dude and is fully covered. Kate is a girl in short-shorts and loose tank. The experiment: simply counting photo requests. I got stopped and asked for photos eight times more as Kate than as Clint. Eight. Times. That can't just be me. It's like if you don't fit the mould of the pin-up cosplay celebrities signing autographs, you become more and more invisible. The culture has shifted in such a way that Average Joe Attendee cares about taking photos of people they find attractive, not characters they like or amazing craftsmanship. My friend and author Derwin Mak, who has been attending fan conventions almost as long as I've been alive, not only pointed out this trend in conversation during Fan Expo this year, he named it: they are "fake geek boys". The guys who go to conventions to take photos, and post galleries which are entirely or almost entirely women. The guys who go so far as to ask male members of a cosplay group to move out of their shot. The guys who are clearly only there to fulfill their hetero fantasies as opposed to actually caring about whichever fandom is relevant because if they were, they'd be taking photos of everyone, not just the girls. So what? People are allowed to take photos of whatever they like, right? Of course - it's an issue though when it's not just a couple people, but the new cultural norm; not only just seeing cosplayers as sexy models (I had a few conversations over the weekend with people who didn’t understand that most cosplayers there were enthusiastic fans and not hired models), but also only seeing cosplayers as female. I was telling a guy friend about the results of my Fan Ex experiment when I got home, and he told me that ‘knowing he would probably be ignored after putting all the effort into making/wearing a costume’ is a huge reason that he hasn't gotten into the hobby, despite being a regular convention attendee. Heck, Men vs Cosplay, a group which promotes and supports male cosplayers, was started after the founders kept hearing ‘I want to cosplay but think I shouldn't; it's a girls' hobby’ from dudes at conventions. While it's awesome that so many talented women have seen success being professional cosplayers in recent years, men who cosplay have been becoming less visible and what I see now is a feedback loop of guys being discouraged from joining the hobby because all they see are women. Sorry guys, I just have a lot of feelings - not about how people cosplay, but about what types have become hugely popular and why. Despite the wall of text above, I had a good (if surreal) time at Fan Ex. I did a mini shoot with Nathan Dunham in my Clint cosplay, I did an interview for the We Got the Geek podcast, I did a little shopping at BMV, Dotsy's, and Cakes Cove. I saw friends at Lee’s table, as well as when I invaded the masquerade greenroom and almost ended up working backstage. I tried a pulled pork parfait, and got to watch Hayley Atwell's Q&A at the end of the weekend. I saw the convention from a different angle (quite literally). And in the end, other life obligations got in the way and Mr Stark wasn't even able to attend. Would I go back again? Sure... but I still wouldn't pay for a badge. Volunteer or bust! Enjoy some photos from the con ^_^ *since "Toronto Batman" was the only male in the group (and he was there to be a public spectacle, not to make sales) the rest of the discussion refers to the female cosplay guests
For several years I was going to one convention per year in Québec, between Con*Cept, Anticipation, Otakuthon, and G-Anime, but this year was the first time in a while that the timing to make the trip worked out! I was able to get the time off, and volunteering for WCS Canadian Preliminaries staff helped with the cost, and I had a great time ^_^ Friday was a very long day, starting with settling into the WCS greenroom before 8 am and not getting back to my hotel room until well after midnight. Most of the day backstage was pretty boring since my job was to guard the props belonging to the WCS entrants, but I did have good company from the rest of the staffers ^_^. Things got more interesting once workmanship judging started and I was a more active Den Mom and runner. Even then, most of the teams had brought their own designated helper, so greenroom emergencies were few and far between. Some pretty ridiculous photos might eventually surface of Kurumasha and I helping Melting Mirror with her wings though! I say it every Anime North, and I'll say it again now... I like working masquerade Greenrooms. I like being helpful and giving back to the community with my time and energy, and I like having the chance to interact with all the cosplayers. The show itself didn't run late into the night, but we stayed behind until all the entrants had left, just to make sure that the room was fairly tidy. Then we had a late-late dinner with friends. Then back to the hotel. It was a really really long day. Saturday and Sunday, on the other hand, were all about just bumming around the Palais des congrès in costume! Saturday was Cersei and included a private shoot with Elemental, and Sunday was Postal Twili Midna and I spent a lot of the afternoon keeping an eye out for Legend of Zelda cosplayers (and other awesome people) to hand out mail. Didn't got to any panels or workshops or concerts or game shows - I literally just walked around the con enjoying cosplaying. And while it wasn't terribly exciting, it was really nice to spend a couple of days doing that without trying to rush anywhere. And since I spent lots of time being visible, I even showed up in a bunch of photographers' galleries and a couple of cosplay videos! Unfortunately, neither costume was particularly good for keeping my own camera accessible, so I barely have any photos of my own! In fact, the only one of note is the selfie I took with an older gentleman on Saturday night; partially because I think he makes an awesome Maester (although that wasn't what he was cosplaying), but also because he was very nice, polite, and actually a con attendee. He was the kind of person I needed to run into after having two consecutive encounters on my way into the building with men who didn't have the first clue about anything geeky and just wanted to hit on women in costumes. It definitely wasn't the most pleasant way to end my Saturday night at the con, but unfortunately it's one of the realities of an event where the lobby and outdoor areas are open to the public and in a busy part of the city. In any case, overall I had a great weekend hanging out with a lot of friends, wearing less "casual" cosplay than at most other cons this year, and eating lots and lots of BBQ pork buns (that's what happens when staying in the hotel in Chinatown hahaha). I stayed in Montreal an extra day after Otakuthon ended which was fantastic for just getting to chill, eat awesome food, and enjoy the weather walking around the city. If its possible to join staff for WCS Preliminaries again next year, I'd happily go back.
Extra shout-outs: Link Speaks, The Otaku Crypt, Naredo Photo, Takumi Cosplay Photography, Carl-philippe Aubin, Toodletots, Alain Dahan, MrJechgo Photo, PascalFl
July and August have been so busy. All summer I’ve been riding the work-sew-sleep-repeat-cosplay cycle and I’m really, really surprised that I haven’t burnt out yet. I have, however, pretty much run out of time for writing blogs and posting photos from all these events! I thought that I would have plenty of time for all that online stuff after Otakuthon; after all, I didn’t have any more conventions scheduled for the rest of the year. Then an opportunity to go to Fan Expo came my way, and I got invited to a bunch of smaller events, and this whole hot mess of a convention year is going to keep going! In addition to Fan Ex (which I’m trying to give another chance - I haven’t been back since the 2010 debacle), I’m also going to be doing the Parkinson Superwalk (in Brampton) in costume with a few friends [if you feel like sponsoring me with a donation to Parkinson Society Canada drop me a line], I’m considering attending the Niagara Wine Festival with Cosplay for a Cure (I just have to figure out transportation), and I’m also planning to check out Forest City Comicon pretty much entirely because I really admire Twinzik’s work and we don’t normally run the same convention circuit so I’m jumping at the chance to meet them ^_^ Anyways, moving forward from future plans to looking back to last month’s last event: ConBravo! Like almost every con I attend, I feel like I missed out on a lot of interesting panels and events at Bravo. But at least I got lots of cosplaying in, especially doing the Needle Panic™ thing with Kurumasha! On Friday I pulled a serious “surprise” costume by doing my first crossplay since 2006. Kurumasha was going to wear Kate Bishop at the con, and I thought "while double-Kate is fun, it would be nicer if we had Clint-and Kate", so when I realized I could pull off a closet cosplay Clint for less than $5 the decision was made. I’d only told Sha (because cos-partner) and Mr Stark (because partner-partner and I wanted to borrow mens pants) and I’d say that the costume was quite successful in terms of being a disguise. I confused a lot of friends who didn’t recognize me until I smiled at them or started talking! We ended up only managing to catch the end of the fabric swap and have some photos done at the Cosplay for a Cure booth before having a late dinner and chilling at the hotel for the night, but I had a lot of fun :D Saturday started with a field trip - Needle Panic™ took a walking tour from the convention, up a hell of a lot of stairs that we wish Google had warned up about, to our destination of Ann’s Fabric Shop, where we had a ball looking at alllllll the pretty fabric and trying to buy only a reasonable amount. In the end I got everything I need for a Captain Marvel costume, as well as a very pretty piece of chiffon for a different Captain Marvel costume (can you tell how much I’ve gotten into a few Marvel comics this year?). Unfortunately once we got back, it took so long to get into costume and makeup for our Postal Warriors masquerade entry that we just had to go straight to the greenroom for show prep and judging. Not too much of note about the masquerade itself… aside from disagreeing strongly with a couple of the greenroom rules (no practicing, no leaving) it was a pretty standard masq. Here’s video of the whole thing! The video below is just our entry, “Going Postal”! We wandered the con for a little while after the show since we put so much effort into getting dressed and needed more time to enjoy wearing the costumes. Ran into Paul Hillier and got this sweet pic that I love ^_^ After dinner was just hangout in our hotel room with friends, because we had a kickass suite and know awesome people. Sunday was the first time I actually got to hangout with Mr Stark all weekend! And I got to see the con in general! I threw on my super comfy “L.A. Woman" Kate costume and Sha and I bummed around the hallways and dealers room. I picked up a cute Hawkguy pendant from JellySquid Crafts in the Artist Alley, and a sweet custom Midna shirt from Chop Shop Goods. I learned that ProJared is a Hawkguy fan, and did a fun, goofy photoshoot with old and new friends at the Cosplay for a Cure booth ^_^. My day wrapped up with an invitation to run backup for Kudrel on her “Horns, Helmets, and Headdresses” cosplay panel! I love doing panels at cons but haven’t been on any lately because I can’t really keep up with new materials and techniques, so it was great to have been invited to join her ^_^ I helped Cosplay for a Cure with some of their tear-down and stuck around to have a really nice sushi dinner with the “Cure” ladies before hitching a ride back to Toronto. Overall it was a pretty good weekend, and I’m really glad I got the chance to hang out and cosplay with Kurumasha so much because we don’t get that many opportunities. I only had my camera with me on Sunday, and I was a little brain-dead by then,so photos for the weekend are a pretty slim selection; but here's the rest of my photos! Special bonus content: Dan the Video Ninja's weekend retrospective, in which he managed to catch me in all three of my costumes ^_^ |
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