Of Thesises (Thesi?) and Minions!

Been working all week on a friends art college/thesis/web show thingamithing.
I've mentioned Blush Corp a few times in these posts but now that I've actually started working on it, its time to start talking about it!
(which also trumpets the first time we're going to be talking about current costume work in this stupid thing). Sweetness!

So, Blush Corp was created by my friend Cassi and a couple of her minions (read: Friends) while they were hanging down in Portland. Essentially, from what I understand, they all dressed up as kooky, dorky villains and ran around disrupting typical Portlandian life. If such a thing is possible.

Quickly the whole thing evolved in a rather brilliant little story about a group of villains who band together for the sake of greater good. Led by Lady Blush, her three minions, Subtlety, Retna Burn and Corporal Cunudrum act as essentially "Anti-villains"; people working for the forces of good, through the forces of evil. (if that makes any sense).

Basically, they're anti-villains. They do (conceptually) good things, in really dirty ways. For example: Those kids not eating their veggies? Take their favorite junk foods, bring them to life, make them giant and let them ravage major cities. Kids will realize that only the veggies are safe!

Cassi is putting together a short series of interactive sketches for her thesis project and has brought me in as a minion. So yesterday we ran around like mad chickens to value village and acquired all we needed for the adjustments to the costumes. Although the Blush Corp costumes have already been established, Cassi wanted to re-design some of the costumes before the show.

Today Tobi and I (mostly Tobi) worked on the new Subtlety costume! Which is really adorable, and I'm loving how it's turning out.
Subtlety is based around Tobi's basic personality. Essentially Subtlety is the essence of...well...non-subtlety. She wears bright colors, underwear on the outside, and carries around her weapon/best friend Sizzles, the happy frying pan.

This is Subtlety as she was in the original design. The green stripe tights are a commonality between all the minions. Most of the SHAPE of the original costume is still present in the redesign, particularly since we found keeping the underwear on the outside really important to her costume as it represents a lot of her personality. Subtlety, if all the minions represented ages, would be the five-year old. (Retna is about 10; Corporal is  a grumpy verge-of-puberty 13)

This was my contribution to the discussion of Subtlety's redesign. Cassi and I talked about having her be leaning more towards the yellow end of the spectrum. I, being unable to quickly and effectively draw out what I'm talking about (being Disgraphic), I made this quick mashup of images to get across what I was thinking.

And this is the final product that Cassi drew out. You can see the original HERE on Cassi's blog. But clearly awesome. Subtlety is now primarily yellow based colors (green, orange and pure yellow), and absolutely BEDECKED in bells (which I LOVE)
We aren't QUITE able to bring the whole picture to life in such a short amount of time, primarily the shoes as we have neither the time nor the budget to get our hands on those beauteous high tops.

Wait! It's TUTORIAL TIME:
Dying shoes 101: 
Grade: Easy Pie

Sometimes it's really hard to find shoes that are the color you need them to be. For example, the above high tops only come in very basic converse colors (red, white and black). And I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of boot covers. They tend to be made out of thin fabric and they LOOK it. It's really hard to make boot covers out of fabric that actually looks like something a shoe would be made out of. So sometimes, it's just better to dye.

Side note: Don't PAINT them. We have tried it and it usually results in splotchy coloring or shoe shrinkage/stiffness. Not awesome.

Sometime I'll do a better tutorial of the actual dying process, but for now you just have to put up with the basics here.

Take a good brand of dye. (by 'good' I mean not something that shows happy 5 year olds at a tye-dye party. Don't judge books by the cover, but you can totally be dye-judgemental. If it looks professional, it probably is, more or less).

Put it in a nice bucket or basin of warm/hot water. Make it hot, but not so hot that you can't keep your hands in it. The bucket needs to be big enough to fit the shoes, but don't overfill it with water, or you risk washing out the color too much (literally).

Now: the shoes need to be something that will take dye. Usually you can feel if a fabric is dyeable. If it feels fibrous it will probably dye. It its more slick or rubbery (even if it's cloth) it might not dye well. If you want to dye shoes, best to stick with canvas.

Alright, now dunk 'em! Pull them out every so often to check the progress. Swill the water through the shoe, and try and give everything an even current. When they are the appropriate color, pull them out and put them somewhere easy to dry! Tada! Easy.



BACK TO THE TOPIC:
So today Tobi and I got together and began work on Subtlety. The Primary focus was getting the underwear painted and the shoes dyed. The shoes were easy. We used straight 'yellow' Tulip dye (not my favorite brand but good for really primary colors) on the shoes and laces and they came out a great color after a bit of washing through the dye.

The bra and underwear were bought super cheap at Walmart (read: Den of Evil) and amazingly already pretty good shades of yellow. We wanted something pretty conservative in shape. The last thing you need is some sexy underwear on the outside. Not hot in the slightest.
All we had to do was add the red polka dots.

First we put a trash bag over my trusty dress form Betty, and put the bra over it. Then we took a piece of thick card stock paper and cut a circle in it as a stencil, (I advise always working with stencils when fabric painting. No matter how steady your hand is, once it's on there it's not coming off). Then Tobi went to work! (It's a one man job).

We used Tulip "Soft" fabric paint. Always try and get stuff that's not gonna be stiff and crackly, particularly on stretchy fabric like a sports bra.  Again, Tulip isn't my favorite brand, and it looked too hot pink rather than red, but it appears to have dried alright.

There it is all finished! Looks pretty good!

Now, that was the easy part. The Underwear is a little more...bizarre...
For starters. What do you put it on? You want to stretch it out about as much as it will be when worn so that the dots (or whatever) don't look bizarre later. But, unlike with the bra, you can't just stick it on the dress form. So...our solution?

Andy the Panda Bear. Wrapped in a garbage sack. Provided we kept his feet inside the underwear, it was approximately the right shape and there weren't any wrinkles in it. We tried his head (seen above) but it wasn't big enough XD

Slightly awkward looking (okay, super terrible, bizarre looking), but worked pretty darn well! The number one thing about costuming is thinking outside of the box. Things are never only useful for the reason they were made for. That applies (quite clearly) to every facet of costuming.

Here's the circle pattern we made. For a second time I bring up the importance of using a stencil. It's much easier/faster/more reliable. Just make sure it's movable enough to fit the contours of the garment, but not too thin, so the paint doesn't leak through.

Now it's drying overnight and we should have a full set of polka dot underwear by tomorrow! Hurrah!


Also today: Cassi wanted Corporal to wear a pair of green Bermuda shorts with yellow accents. We couldn't find anything sufficiently colored, but we did find a pair of white shorts with yellow stripes on them. Since green and yellow are a close enough color, I figured we could dye the shorts green and the yellow would come through the dye.
Here's the result! I'm quite happy with it.

Turned out pretty good! The shorts could be more vibrant, but I think the tights makes up for the lack of blinding green.

More pictures as it happens!

Not Dead

Just awfully close

Working on the last day of Finals, thus I haven't posted in a while.
Plus lots of stuff that I can't talk about on the blog *sigh* figures I'd start all these super secret projects right as I started blogging. XD

I should be back next week with either a tutorial or some Blush Corp news!

ECCC 2011 Con Report

Oh man. So here it all is! Emerald City Comicon 2011.
My oldest brother Josh gave me tickets to Comicon for Christmas (indulging my fangirly nature that he so often, and loudly, disapproves of). I was super excited but, admittedly, I wasn't as over the top anxious as I usually am for my normal conventions for two reasons.

1. I had never been to an actual "comicon" before, despite the fact that most of my interests lie in a comicon world over an anime world.

2. Comicon has the least helpful website EVER. Most conventions have a really detailed list of the events, all the people showing there, and a forum for con-goers to discuss the events and what they are excited for. ECCC? No such thing. Not only do they not have a discussion forum for Noobs like me to figure out how/when/where to do things, but they also have little/no information about the event itself! No schedule, no map, not even information about how and when to get badges! I wasn't even sure if they gave badges until I saw that certain resturaunts were giving badge-wearers discounts.

Regardless, Tobi and I had a killer time. Despite all the poor information, it almost made it more exciting to show up and see what was happening.

Friday

So, we showed up with no real idea what this was all going to be about. For starters, at anime conventions, you're lucky if you get through the badge line in under four hours. So I had us show up right at the time that the line opened (12:00) so that we could try and be in the convention by the time the doors opened (2:00).
Little did I know that it would take all of fifteen minutes to get our badges (TOPS). So we ended up waiting in a huge impatient mob outside the exhibition hall for two hours waiting for the con to open the doors, which they did about ten minutes late, much to our chagrin.

Tobi and I got to the point where we were pretty sure that we were in a time vortex and we would never leave that room again, trapped forever.

Actually though, we met some really nice people in line. Being unsure as to what the con atmosphere was, we dressed up really simply for the first day, doing a female take on Bill and Ted from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. Not many people recognized us, but a few guys in line were really excited to see the costume. One in particular was a really sweet older chubby guy (who called himself the Time Lord, as he had two badges and claimed to have been here already (He was being funny, not crazy, I think he was holding the second badge for somebody)). He complimented our costumes and held our place in line when Tobi and I ran off excitedly to get this picture:

Which was awesome. To say the least. 

 We also noticed that there is a muuuuch higher percentage of guys at these cons. Actually the differences between a comicon and an anime-con are pretty funny.

Anime convention: Populated by loud, screechy pre-teens and/or people who act like preteens.

Comicon: Populated by older guys. Many of which are either nerds, or comic book artists that are looking for their big break

Anime: There is NO SUCH THING AS PERSONAL SPACE. You leave con actually somewhat confused as to why random strangers aren't hugging/glomping/tackling/otherwise abusing your personal bubble.

Comicon: There is at least a four radius around everyone, regardless of crowdedness. Even at the really popular panels people will choose to sit further back rather than sit next to a stranger. It's actually super funny.

Anime: Everyone is dressed up. Nobody appreciates the costumes unless they are high quality.

Comicon: Only a select few are dressed up and, while most of the costumes are brilliant, everyone gets props just for dressing up.

So on the first day, while not everyone realized what we were, those that did were highly congratulatory. We also got to go see Wil Wheaton's Awesome Hour; which was, obviously, Awesome.

Ladies and Gentlemen! Wil Wheaton! Every bit as geeky and snarky as one would hope him to be. Tobi and I were only a few rows away from him and it was awesome. I'm not a big one for fawning over celebrities but I have to admit it was kinda of cool getting to see him in person. He did a couple readings and answered questions. We got to see evil Wil Wheaton emerge and abuse the audience, and we got to see Wil Wheaton get so disturbed by a question that he refused to even answer (Someone asked how the cast dealt with what a 'Gary Sue' Picard was. Wil asked what a 'Gary Sue' was, and the girl made a twilight reference. He ended it right there. Rejecting the question and moving on. "DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST COMPARE NEXT GEN TO TWILIGHT???)
It was, seriously, awesome.

We also just had a great time chillin at the convention center. We knew it from Sakura-con and it was great to be back. It was weird how much friendlier the staff was at this convention. Their renown for being irritable during Sakura-con. But then, when you compare the hyper-activity of a large scale anime convention to the relative social neurosis of a smaller scale comic book convention, can you really blame them?

We did have one Anime moment with Hentai Boba Fett...

Tobi was very disappointed in him.

Saturday

Saturday was a lot busier. Friday was pretty quiet and pretty barren, but Saturday, being the day that all the big celebrities come out of hiding, was the day that most everyone showed up. There were also a lot more costumes, but still far less than normally seen at the conventions I'm used to.

Tobi and I pulled out the old favorites of Riddler and Two Face. But unlike at Kumori-con, this time we had LOTS of Bat to abuse. XD

Tobi and I were really excited to see an Adam West Batman running around. There were plenty of New age batmen but no good-old-my-momma-made-this-suit-for-me Batmen. Granted he was a Fatman, but he was such a sweet, adorable one (besides...it was Adam West Batman. Fatman or no, it really doesn't matter). He was a super nice guy.

Tobi was really excited to see Cthulu. Even if she can't pronounce it's name.
This costume was a really simple, jersey knit costume but it looks really good. I wish I'd though to ask her about where she got the eyes, they're perfect. I love that she used glue on nails on the head as scales XD

And of course, the ever popular Sand people. There were four or five of these guys running around and they were AWESOME.

I've had a thing for the Rocketeer since I was just a munchkin. (I'm a Hobbit now, of course).
Seeing this guy literally sent me into a fangirly tailspin. He was so PERFECT. I wanted to pick him up under my arm and take him home XD

Then of course there was this guy. By far the most intimidating Batman we saw all weekend.
Seriously guys. Don't mess with the Bat.

Of course there were also all the panels that we went to. We don't usually go to many panels at conventions, because they usually aren't all that worth seeing, but here there was a good mix of awesome celebrities doing great panels and some good down-time in between. Overall it was a really relaxing but interesting convention.

Of course we went and saw the Guild panel. How could we not?
These guys were awesome together, and it was great to see their real personalities come out. Felicia Day, who usually plays a quiet, nerdy, soft girl; was kind of ditsy and clearly in command of the group (although in a really sweet-hearted way). Amy Okuda was quiet and self-effacing, and Wil Wheaton was, well, Wil Wheaton.
They had some awesome stories and it was really cool to hear them talk about becoming successful from a little hard work and intuition. They still film in Felicia's garage, and they still work unpaid (although the profits from the series has begun to change that) and look at them! Who doesn't know who Felicia Day is???
Awesome people.
Actually, funnily enough, we accidentally bumped into Felicia Day crossing the crosswalk on the way home. I didn't really notice until after she passed us and Tobi was too dumbstruck to tell me. *headshake*
But you know? She's really short. Like...me short.
If she had been taller, I probably would've realized it.
Who'da thunk?

And of course the wonderful William Shatner who was every bit as charming, adorable, funny, and red-faced as I'd hoped he'd be. Granted, Shatner is Shatner, but he really is amazing with fans.
He also had some amazingly hilarious long, drawn-out stories. Including his intense lobbying for Captain Kirk's final words. After years and years of announcing "Captain on the bridge" he had really tried to get the director to allow Kirk to die saying "Bridge on the Captain." But alas, no.

Sunday

Sunday was probably one of the best days I've had at a con ever.
Seriously.
Best. Ever.

We didn't really do all that much. It was still kind of crowded and there weren't all that many events that we wanted to go to. We were wearing what I assumed would be low-key costumes.
Really it was all the un-expectation that made this day rock.

First off.
I love Doctor Who. I haven't gotten to watch a whole lot of it, but it has made it's way into my list of favorite sci-fi's out there. One of my favorite episodes? Empty Child.
This episode, for those un-initiated among you, is famous among Doctor who-ites for it's sheer creepiness. The Doctor and Rose go to WWII London and encounter a small child in a gas mask that wanders around London and creepily demands it's "mummy". It's feared by all the urchins of London and is essentially this terrifying monster creature. But underneath it all it's still a scared little boy, which is what makes it so very creepy.
What's more? If it touches you, you turn into one of him. Proven by the herds of Gas-mask zombies that are present at the end of the episodes.

I won't spoil the ending but it's a great episode and pretty famous among Who-ites. So Tobi and I (and Livi who couldn't be at this con, unfortunately) have been planning to make a total flash mob of Empty-Children, but Tobi and I decided to take the costumes for a test run at ECCC

Man oh, man.

The reception we got...

Tobi was my Nanny, and I was a little boy. We walked around Con holding hands, Tobi was strict, slow and upright, and I lagged back behind her, slouching and twitching as we wandered around whispering "Mummy? Are you my mummy? Moooooommmy? Please mummy, I'm scared of the bombs..."

Everywhere we went there were people screaming, running away or begging us for pictures. People would ask for a picture and then panic mid-picture as we "mummy'd" them. (which resulted in some awesome terrified pictures, let me tell you). Big men would demand that we stay away or they would cry (Several of them ran away). and one great fan gleefully informed us that that specific episode terrified her friend to tears and was totally sending a picture of us to her.

PLEASE NOTE: This amazing picture was taken by Laura Anglin on Flickr. Please see the original HERE and favorite it. We couldn't get any good pictures of us in these costumes thanks to their only being two of us. She took an amazing picture and I super appreciate it. Please give her all respects!

PLEASE NOTE: This was also not taken by me for the same reasons. Again, super awesome picture was taken by LJinto. Please go favorite it on Flickr right here. What a super shot!

It was a super fun day. And we got a lot of really amazing reactions to the costumes. I officially love ECCC and am totally going back!

We also attended several panels, kind of offhandedly and had a great time at all of them. First we went to a DarkHorse panel where Felicia Day was talking about the Guild Comics and the creators of Axe Cop showed up. The seven year old from whom Axe Cop's brilliance comes had a bucket of candy that he was force feeding to the crowd and the other panelists. Tobi managed to secure a piece and a signature for Chase.

They were so cute together.
It was Malachai's birthday and we all sung to him and everybody had a great time. We bumped into Ethan later on at the pizza shop and complimented him on how adorable his brother was and how much we loved the comic. It was a great time.

And of course Brent Spiner Aka Data. We popped into his panel about halfway through (alas, because it sounded awesome). What we caught was really funny, positive and genuine. The best part about this whole convention was how real everybody was. You know, by the by, Spiner does an incredible impression of Patrick Stewart. He played out an entire crank call to the set of Big Bang Theory in the voice of Patrick Stewart. Thoroughly hilarious.

Just for bonus!

We really fought for this picture.
We wanted a GO TO YOUR ROOM picture soooo bad, but, of course, Sunday was the only day that there weren't 40 thousand Doctors running around. Finally this girl obliged us.

Actually, I think this guy might be genuinely scare of us.
Which is awesome. XD

LESSONS?

ECCC COMICON IS AWESOME

A quick note about Emerald City Comicon 2011

Got home from Emerald City Comicon! I had an amazing time, and I met lots of really wonderful people. This was probably one of the best cons I've had in a while. Not only were the guests people that I knew (Felicia Day, Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton, William Shatner...So on) but everyone was very congenial and nice. There weren't too many people dressed up, but everyone was really excited to see us. The last day there, Sunday, Tobi and I dressed up as the Empty Child gas mask zombies. I didn't think we'd have too many people who knew what we were but MAN OH MAN. I don't think we've ever had such an amazing reaction to a single costume EVER.

It was killer fun. I don't get to be creepy very often and the Empty Child costume was fabulous for scaring people out there wits. We made several people run away, including several large men, and many more people, who asked to have their picture taken with us, were barely able to hold out for the picture as we twitched and stared and "Mummy"d them. It was fantastic. Some of my favorite reactions: One girl walked up to us and was like "Are you guys...?" Any time people looked like they recognized us, we'd start going through the whole routine, twitching and mummying. (Which we were doing anyway as we walked around, hand in hand. She was my nanny and I was the little boy. She was slow and upright creepy, and I was hunched and twitchy). She freaked out for a moment and then asked for a picture, proclaiming that that episode freaks her friend out to no end and that she was totally sending her a picture. XD
There were also several large men who declared themselves not above running away if we came any closer as they took the picture. Also, people who would say "mummy" after we walked passed, only to panic when we turned around and focused on them, which we inevitably did.


I'll post pictures soon. I'm absolutely exhausted and sore from the whole deal, but it was way fun. I'll post the details but needless to say it includes lots of fun, creepiness, Felicia Day encounters, and AXE COP. yay!