Penelope Coat

So my next big project is this coat:

It's from the movie Penelope, featuring Christina Ricci and James Mcavoy.

I read somewhere that the ladies in charge of costume design were told to make a coat that looked like it belonged in a fairytale first of all, because that's what Penelope is, and secondly like someone took everything they thought would look cool and put it into one coat, with crazy colors and imperfect trim and somehow it all works. These ladies finished the coat literally right before they put it on Christina Ricci's body and sent her off to start filming, praying that it would fit.

I've already started, so of course after I've got all my materials, more close-up pics show up on the web. I'm making it mostly accurate to the movie coat, but there are some things that just have to change, either because I didn't have good reference shots to begin with, or out of necessity. My lining is different, but really, whatever. Second, it may be fine for someone to run around a movie set with a floor length coat, but that's actually dangerous and infuriating in real life. Especially if you're like me and live in a downtown urban environment where you really don't want to know what you just stepped in on the street. So my coat is shorter. Some of the orange trim to the seams are different, mostly because I didn't have good refs but also because I couldn't be bothered, and the buttons are going to be different but just as mismatched as the original.

So if you're still reading this, let's see how this goes, shall we?

D*Con updated

Well, so. Four months later, here I am! I don't have an excuse. But I did get a tumblr right before finals last semester. That's... pretty self-explanatory, really. Life, where did you go?

So here's me as Adelaide at D*Con, with the obligatory Connie in Worth's coat:

I've only got one pic of my steampunk outfit, and I'm sitting down with my badge and my cellphone all hanging out in the picture. I'm kind of retarded like that.

I made a gunbelt with spots for test tubes instead of bullets! :D I messed up one part of the actual gun holster, but I was so fucking proud, I can't even. And then I was supposed to have khaki/tan shorts, but they wouldn't stay sewed together, so I borrowed a friend's orange skirt. It worked out rather well, I think.

And then there's the joint cosplay Salmon and I did: a friend's artwork of horoscopes. Salmon chose Gemini, and I chose Scorpio. The original artwork and characters belong to Lyndz, or asiaoddhours on DA.

So much blue.

D*Con Menu

Dragon*Con is a month away. So here's the set list:
There is, of course, going to be Adelaide from HiNABN. I remade my hoodie out of plain cotton (think the material dress shirts are made of), so that I won't die in the heat. I may have accidentally used white thread on the pockets. We'll see if I can cover up that particular boo-boo before it makes its appearance.

Then, there's Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time. I'll be in her outfit from the Nightosphere episode, and guys. I can play the Fries Song. I'd take a functioning guitar, but I'd rather make a prop to match the outfit, so. But there still may be a recording on Youtube in my future. Just for the giggles.

Salmon's going to be the Princess Bubblegum to my Marceline, so look out for us!

Then there's my Steampunk Medic, who's design is getting a re-haul and some pants. Can I vote a hell yes to the pants? Because I am. She's also getting a gun.

And then there's my SUPER SEKKRET cosplay, which coordinates with Salmon's, cos we're dorks like that, that I'm not allowed to post in-progress shots of it or drop hints or ANYTHING, REALLY. It's all very pouty-face, because this is the outfit that's taken the most work, and I am seriously proud of all that work! The only problem I've run into so far is the wig. Lord, don't even get me started. It also appears that I have too much hair. It won't all fit under the wig. I'm going to assume it's just a smaller wig than I normally get, because I do have problems with my other wigs, but not like this. I wish I was kidding. I'm like "OBVIOUSLY the solution is to chop off my hair!" but I have been working really hard to grow it out an be healthy and stuff, so no. I am not giving up on long hair just yet. But I may have to give up on wigs. It's sad, really.

ANYWAY, that's what's on the menu for D*Con. Can't wait to get back to Atlanta and see everybody!

Steampunk Gun

Every steampunk character has a weapon. Or a prop. It's almost like a prerequisite. The most common of these is the Steampunk gun. Now, I am not nearly so talented or filthy rich as to just make or buy one, much less a functioning one. And those are hard to get into conventions anyway. So I googled it, and there is a surprising number of examples where people have taken toy guns and painted and modded them to look like fantastic pieces of art, which are actually sometimes functioning. My favorite so far has been this one. I really liked the blue. So that's what I had in mind when I found this baby on clearance where I work.

That orange button on the hilt? Makes it so that the gun can swivel into a sword. There are sound effects and lights and everything, guys. And I figured, my steampunk character is a medic. That knife bit on it would come in handy, and I could mod it so that the gun looked more like a stun gun, because what kind of doctor would want to kill someone? ...Alright, pretend that was rhetorical.

So I took to the spray paint.

There are lots of tiny pieces. I can't tell you how many pictures I took just so I could try and remember how to put the darn thing back together. And I still can't figure out where this one screw goes. OH WELL. The problem I ran into was that toy guns are made to fit together exactly as they are. Adding paint to them adds space between the moving parts that wasn't there before. So perhaps unsurprisingly, I can't get the gun to swivel between gun and sword modes, which isn't a problem, but there was also a portion on the muzzle that would have been really cool if it could pop open like it's supposed to. Then I could really create the illusion that this is a stun gun, with a bit that pops open before it delivers electrical shocks. But no. Woe is my life.

Also, make sure you seal the paint with a layer of clear acrylic. It makes a huge difference.

So this is what you get. I also decided I wanted to keep the blade (I was thinking of throwing it out entirely), so I painted it with basic acrylic paint. And then I decided I wanted blue. The problem came in that I used too much color.

 

I probably should have stuck with one shade of blue, and maybe done wood paneling for the handle. As it is, it looks a little to futuristic-y for me. But I still like it. So does my brother.

I decided later, that hello? Stun gun = electricity = if this is steampunk, how does it get the electricity stored inside the gun? So I cut out an outlet face, painted it and glued it to the gun. It would have looked better had I done all that at the start, and then painted it all in one go, but unfortunately, based on how the gun is put together and the position of the outlet face, I can't open the handle of the gun anymore. And it certainly doesn't look the best of quality, but it's an interesting touch and I am going to be satisfied with it, because I frankly can't stand thinking about changing it anymore.

But of course I don't have pictures of that. I suppose you'll just have to wait until it makes it's appearance at Dragon*Con this year. :D