School Crunch -- back in a couple of weeks!

School, whyyyy?!  SO MUCH TO DO! ;A;

I'm in the final 2 weeks before graduating as Costume Design major.  I haven't been able to accomplish much outside of school work in the month of May (Meaning nothing personal), and that realization is a little disenchanting, but nonetheless unavoidable.  I was sick for a good week and a half (Thanks a lot, stomach flu!) as well, so I feel like May has been a bad month so far.  Honestly, until May 29th or so I'll be furiously putting together final projects, papers, presentations, etc.  It's a bit of a pain, but no big deal -- and like I have a choice in the matter!  Just seems like a huge deal, since the student-body atmosphere is very dark and moody -- and it makes me grumpy to hear so many students complaining!  Plus, my anxiety tends to over-blow any small thing into a seemingly larger, more complicated situation.  D: I need to learn to control my stress, and save it for when more appropriate circumstances arise!

Ah well... at least I AM GRADUATING! On to the next big adventure, starting this summer!  I'm at a cross-roads however, to continue my education, or to seek out work for a while, and pay down my loans?  I'll have to decide come June.  I have money saved up for a good while, so I am not stressed about that at all.  Just unsure what my next step will be.

I have made some progress on my Shanoa hip armor (The pieces that hang from either side of the breastplate) and formed them over a curved surface -- the same one we used for Godot's mask.  Now they're just sitting there in a pile, staring at me.  I should be able to work a bit on that this weekend, as they're ready for felting and their leather covers.  (I have some progress pictures)  It's an easier application than the breastplate, so it shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours.  Wonderflex is truly a magical product!

My collar is mostly complete as well (I just have to do a bunch of handwork to finish it), as are my gloves.  I ended up having to order larger black coque (Rooster) feathers for the gloves, and a different elastic for the cross-gartering, but no qualms here!  Gloves and collar need only an hour of work each, tops.  They should look pretty awesome once finished! I'll take pictures of them once they are.

Alas, haven't had time to draft the proper halter pattern for the dress base -- the skirt portion is cut, so I really need to buckle down and finish the top.  I ended up purchasing china silk linings in two different orange variants, a burnt pumpkin and a copper.  Seems like the copper will work out better!

Probably going to have to take a small trip out to Santa Monica between now and June, too. I need to buy a leg.  A... plastic display leg! xD I need something rigid and stable for forming the bottom greaves of Shanoa's armor!  A bit of a pain to drop $20 on one display leg, but who knows... I may need it again later?  Or I could just turn it into a lamp?  Hahaha.  The world of costuming is so weird sometimes.

Hope everyone is doing well!  I hope to get back on track with my crafting asap, and finally get some tutorials up too.

Cheers!

♥ Ely

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia: Shanoa -- Cosplay Update II, Breastplate, Collar & Gloves W.I.P

 

Hey all! Feeling kinda under the weather today as my on and off allergies have been driving me crazy.  It's been so terrible the past couple of days, that I've been feeling like a lump of sick, unable to do anything, sleep at night, etc.  What to do? So, I opted to stay home from school and relax, as my energy levels are near empty and my brainpower is in the negatives.  Meaning, I can't be constructive or productive at all.  So here I am, updating my blog in my pajamas, sipping tea... waiting for the vertigo to stop.  I hope I can recover from this soon.

On the upside, I do have a few small picture updates on my Shanoa costume -- mainly the completed breastplate, and also her fingerless gloves and collar!  Enjoy!

I used masking tape to "mask" (lol) any portions of the breastplate that I didn't want to accidentally glob glue on.  I decided to use E6000 over Barge contact cement to affix the decorative gold pieces because it's a pre-mixed epoxy, and doesn't need to be applied to both surfaces (As my materials are porous) to stick properly.  E6000 is also a flexible epoxy, and given this is going to be worn on my torso, I figured it to be a better bet as I will be moving about quite a bit!

The gluing task was a bit... harrowing, to say the least.  I had to be careful not to apply too much glue to the backing of the design (so that it oozed out from underneath when pressed down) and also couldn't apply too little, as it wouldn't stick down all the way.  I also couldn't bend my design back to apply glue -- the surface wanted to (naturally) buckle and haze as it is a primed and painted leather..

That being said, I applied glue all over the center back of the design, lined it up and pasted 'er down.  I glued the 'arms' of the decor separately, and used a small toothpick to apply to smaller portions of adhesive to the outer areas that needed more glue.  There were a few moments where I thought I had messed up something permanently, but because of the masking (Phew!) all was fine.

After a half an hour of careful gluing the design was set down! I let it cure overnight (24 hours) before I tried the breastplate on, and also performed some minor touch ups.  The outer gold trim was also glued down with E6000, and folded over the edge of the breastplate for a more finished look.  Here are finished pictures of the breastplate! ;D  Really happy to have finished a very difficult piece of this costume with relative ease.  I now must figure out how to attach it to my body, and all signs seem to be pointing to wide strips of Velcro, and a few snaps.  Will be updating on that later on!

I also had the chance draft her gloves and collar.  They are by no means complete, but the gloves are more or less 80% finished.  I just have to affix the elastic cross-gartering across the forearm, and create the feather detail at the elbow.  (I have black rooster feathers coming in the mail!)

For the collar, the bow is more of less complete, but the actual collar itself needs some work. I used darts to cinch it around the neck, but I must do some necessary clipping and tacking down for it to look right.  I tea stained the lace (On both the gloves and collar) for a more antique look.  It'll likely close in the front with a small hook and eye that the bow will hide.  The Venice style laces used were bought in downtown LA for a minimal price, and are pretty antique looking!

Anyhow, that's all for now as I am waiting on a few things to arrive in the mail so that I can keep making progress here.  Thanks for reading. :3!

Cheers and happy costuming,

♥ Elysium