A-Kon 24

I had the pleasure of attending Texas' biggest anime convention, A-Kon, earlier this month! Now that I'm finally settled in Austin and all of that, I wanted to tell you about the convention!

Texas, like most states from what I understand, tends to group anime cons and comic cons into the summer months. A-Kon, San Japan, and A-Fest are three of the state's largest cons, and all take place from June to August or early September. My last con was Ikkicon in December, so A-Kon came at just the right time.

A-Kon 24 Con Report

I arrived on Friday and to be frank, things were a mess! Between driving an hour and a half in traffic in a car with no A/C and the fire alarm being pulled while I was getting into my costume, the beginning part of my con experience was not so great. I also heard some rough stuff about lines and overcrowding smaller areas of the convention center.

As soon as all of that settled down, though, I got down to the con to attend an IHOGeek panel and search around the con. From there on my weekend started to improve! I ended up really enjoying the new venue -- it was a lot bigger, but at the same time, seemed more intimate. I hope next year they improve the locations of some things, like the Artist Alley and Dealer's Room, so that high-traffic areas aren't directly next to each other.

Saturday mainly consisted of photoshoots and wandering around the con. I ran into a lot of my friends on Saturday, including Anna AKA Glitzy Geek Girl, who was dressed as warrior Fiona from Shrek. Anna is covered in tattoos and piercings, and you can't even see them at all when she's in this costume! That's quality cosplay at its finest.

Photo by Mexicanime.

I dressed as an Engineer for most of the day so I could go to the TF2 photoshoot, which was tons of fun. I also had mini-shoots with Peony and Mexicanime! Mexicanime and I took some photos outside.

After the group photoshoot, I spotted a dingy stairwell with some industrial-looking furnishings, so I asked Peony to snap a few photos of me. Surprisingly, they are some of my favorite photos from the weekend. The yellowish, dim lighting was really flattering and fit the mood perfectly. Weird how some of the best shots are accidental, huh?

Photo by Peony Lang.

Later on, I changed into my Ramona Flowers costume for a fun photoshoot with my friend Kimmie as Envy Adams and Matt as Todd Ingram. I love how the photos came out for this! Kimmie and Matt put together their costumes last minute, but I think they wound up looking absolutely flawless! I can't wait to build a bigger and bigger Scott Pilgrim group.

For my Ramona costume, I decided to go for a bolder makeup look -- in my previous photos of her, the makeup was all washed out. I think the new makeup turned out great.

Overall, I had an awesome experience at A-Kon this year. Although I hope the con fixes some of the issues with the traffic flow of the convention, the venue is awesome and has a ton of great locations for photos. I hope to attend next year as well! If you want to view my photos, click here!

The next con on my list is San Diego Comic Con! I'm excited but also nervous to get some costume work done by then. Last year, I didn't wear costumes since I'd never been before and wanted to really soak up the experience. This year, I am going all out!

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Cosplay: Female Engineer from Team Fortress 2

In my cosplay series, I examine each costume I make, how I created it, what I would do differently, and so on! For more cosplay posts, just look in the cosplay tag here or sort by costume here. For cosplay tutorials, check out the Cosplay 101 tag.

This is one of my all-time favorite costumes to wear! It feels like I bring it out almost every convention. It was also one of my very first "real" costumes to complete!

I really love the freedom of interpretation that these kinds of genderbend costumes allow. I've seen so many different takes on female Team Fortress 2 characters, all of them unique and special in their own way! I am happy to add my hat to the ring.

Female Engineer from Team Fortress 2

Back when I used to play games a lot, TF2 was my go-to, and Engineer was my main class. Aside from loving the gameplay strategies the Engineer used, I adored his personality. I had always wanted to do a female version as a costume, but it took a while to get the push to do it.

A friend of mine who used to cosplay (male) Engineer was retiring his costume and gifted me all of his accessories, making it much easier for me to throw the rest of the costume together! Everything is hodgepodged from different locations. I am particularly fond of the bright color of the shirt and the girly details it has -- I found it right before the convention at a Plato's Closet!

Conventions

• Ikkicon 2011
• A-Kon 2012
• Comet Con (3rd place in the cosplay contest!)

(I feel like there are more but I'm having a hard time remembering!)

Materials

Hardhat, glove, kneepads, goggles: Home Depot (gift from my friend)

Wig: Arda Wigs

Shirt: Plato's Closet

Engineer Class Patches: Neither Sparky on Etsy (hard to see, but they are there!)

Suspender shorts: Forever 21

Belt: Mom's

Boots: Forever 21

I like...

I love this character and how comfortable this costume is! It's easy to put on, recognizable, and I can wear it all day with ease.

Since there is no official female version of the classes, I  had a lot of freedom in deciding what direction I wanted to go in. I've seen a whole range of female TF2 costumes, and they all have their own charms, whether they are dead-accurate or pin-up versions.

As I was picking out costume pieces, I tried to keep in mind what a female version of the Engineer would wear -- nothing too fussy or difficult to wear in battle, but with a few extra girly elements. I think I succeeded in making a costume I felt captured his personality, but balanced with some added femininity.

I don't like...

I can't believe how long I've had this costume to still not have a prop for it! I really want to make a wrench and maybe a suitcase dispenser, but I keep forgetting until it's too close to the convention.

Next time, I'll...

I definitely want to have the wrench ready next time I wear this costume. Also, if I can find some actual overall shorts rather than suspender shorts, I'd prefer that, but so far I'm having a hard time finding any that fit right. Other than that, I may need to replace my boots soon, but the rest of my costume is good to go!

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What I Did: Anime Fest 2012

Hey guys! Whew, it's already September and I'm feeling it. September always winds up being the busiest month for me, between school starting, sorority recruitment, and my birthday, which was this past weekend, on the 1st!

To celebrate my birthday and hang out with my friends, I went to A-Fest this past weekend. I love this convention because it's in Dallas, so it's near me, and it always falls on my birthday weekend... which is also Labor Day weekend! The convention is four days, not three, so everything is a little slower and there is less stress. I even managed to go to the gym -- what?!

This is such a good one of both of us!

Now, the coolest part about my birthday is that it isn't just my own. One of my best best friends Peony shares the same birthday as me! So, for our birthday, we decided to cosplay from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! It was so much fun running around as birthday pony princesses, eating mini cupcakes, and taking photos inside rainbows. Peony made both of our costumes because she is some kind of cosplay wizard -- she MADE her corset! We had a mini photoshoot with my camera and a lot of the photos came out really nice!

"See, Twi, friendship really IS magic!"

I also wore Rhyme from The World Ends With You for the first time! I haven't played that game in ages, but I've always wanted to cosplay from it. If you have never played the game, what are you waiting for? It's available on DS or on iOS!

Rhyme is most likely the most comfortable costume I've ever worn. I made the skull pin and the bell necklace myself from clay and that's probably the most involved prop I've ever made for cosplay, despite the rest of the costume looking so simple. I have a lot of improvements I want to make on this costume, but it was definitely fun to wear.

It was great to get some of the Dallas scenery in the shots.

Full body shot.

And a close-up!

I also wore an oldie but a goodie -- Miss Femgineer from Team Fortress 2! I didn't take any photos this convention, but I did get one when I stumbled upon a fellow female engineer. We both ran towards each other! I love con moments like that.

A little Instagram shot of me and my new friend.

Overall, I didn't actually do much at the con because I wanted to focus on my birthday and my friends! I did go to the art auction, where they auction off original art pieces with a nerdy twist. Think watercolors, Copics, and extremely detailed inking. Colby won a piece for my birthday! I can't wait to show it off whenever I do an apartment tour post. I also bid on a little baby Sailor Moon piece, which will probably live in my awesome crafting and cosplay area. Stay tuned!

I had a fabulous Labor Day/birthday weekend! How did you celebrate yours?