Saturday, January 21, 2012

A Costume's Beginning

Unfortunately, last weekend was not spent with James making a mold out of my common-law as we hoped. Mother Nature decided she wanted a big blast of snow and it has been snow or rain ever since. Now, with all that moisture in the air, the plaster won't set so our plans are postponed for now.

In the meantime, I've been wondering what to post that has a bit of substance. I already did fluff after all, time for something with a bit more purpose! And never fear, I've got many ideas, but they do take a bit of prep work and right now I've actually got a costume I need to get started on. This morning, as I'm drawing up my plans, it occurred to me...post what I'm doing. It's a simple concept...so naturally it eluded me for a while :)

Everything has to start somewhere and a costume starts with a drawing. Actually, I guess it starts with an idea, but eventually it will have to be drawn out. Now, I hate drawing. Err, rather I can't draw. But even with my non-skills I can still get my concept down on paper which is valuable for a few reasons. I can make sure my ideas actually look alright ("oh...stripes and dots looked good in my head but I can see in my drawing it's awful"). It also gives me a chance to make sure I'm not forgetting anything ("Huh, I never thought about the pants"). And finally, it's how I make my shopping list.

 



Even if you're artistically challenged like I am, you can still get out a design well enough to help you. All I do is trace an outline from a colouring book (or you can Google "paper doll" and print an outline) and draw my ideas around it. As you can see, it doesn't look spectacular, but it gets the job done.  From that, I make little notes to myself including needed materials. I doubt this is how the pros do it, but hey, it works :)













With this particular costume, there are a lot of things with small details that I can't get across in the overview picture. So I did up a second page just for these gadgets. You know, looking at my gadgets page, I'm starting to think I missed my calling as an artist. I mean that squiggly thing with the line coming out of it is premium stuff...












Anyhow, these next couple of pictures are more of a testament to my obsessive-compulsiveness than anything else. I think most people could look at these pictures and come up with one list of materials right? Not me! I demand more! My first list is all the materials each item will need.











And this second list with all those same materials re-arranged and listed by stores. I know...it's a bit excessive hey? But in all fairness, I take transit and have to go out of my way to get to any of these stores. I would rather have everything overly organized than have to make multiple trips. It would be different if I drove or if these stores were near work or home but such is life. Excessive, sure, but in the end it will save me time.






 



 So, now you can see how my Saturday morning was spent. And I guess it's official now, my next costume is underway!

Now run along and go do something fun. I'd better get back to work :)

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Let's begin with fluff, shall we?

So I've been sitting here for no less than 30 minutes trying to figure out what to type. Being that it's my first post for this blog, there is a bit of pressure no? But since I'm drawing a blank, I won't attempt to try and stun you with my awesomeness. I'll just get started :)

I am many things: a fangirl, a hobby writer, a gamer, once in a while a performer, a costume fanatic, and a general nerd. As I mention in my profile, by no means am I an expert in anything I dabble in. The only official training I've received for anything is Early Childhood Education (a field I haven't worked in for almost a decade now although the resourceful/crafty stuff I learned is still of use) and office administration. Everything else that I've picked up has been through research, trial and error, and the wonderful people I have met along the way.

Even when I was too young to really put a name to it, costuming has always been an interest of mine. Halloween was a big deal around my house growing up and unfortunately that was about the only occassion I got to dress up for. As I got older and met different people, I slowly found other reasons to dress up - plays, charity masquerade balls, and even different performance groups. But, oddly enough, it's only been in the last couple years that I've truly rolled up my sleeves and gotten into some serious costuming. I've actually braved the sewing machine, braved the sheet metal, and even braved foam armour (more intimidating than it sounds!).

I know there are lots of other people out there, making their way with this awesome hobby (particularly Cosplayers). I don't claim to know much - I'm one of you, just someone who really enjoys costumes! But what I do figure out, I'll be sharing here. 

I think that's enough fluff for now, don't you? In all seriousness though, I'm hoping to post something more helpful and less fluffy in the next couple of weeks. If all goes as planned, this Saturday I will be working with a local movie director in Vancouver, James Frederick Fairley, to help create a body mold out of my common-law. It's the first bit of "real" costuming I'll be getting to work on, (not to mention something I've never done before but seems like a bit of a costuming staple) and I'm pretty excited!

Until then, run along and go enjoy some fluff or other stuff :)