Cosplay: Daenerys Targaryen (Qarth Dress)

Photo by The Nerdy Girlie

Daenerys Targaryen

After my first Dany costume, Liz expressed interest in creating a matching costume. When her Jorah started coming together, I got the itch to create this version of Daenerys (widely known as her Qarth dress) so that we would have matching outfits from the same part o the show. After learning that we'd get to attend the Game of Thrones beer tasting event at SDCC, I rushed to create the costume before the convention!

I wound up wearing the costume lots throughout the weekend. Between the beer tasting, the Game of Thrones museum, and the costume contest with celebs from The Walking Dead, I wore it almost every day!

Photo by The Nerdy Girlie

Conventions

• SDCC 2014

Materials

• Wig: Dany from Arda in Titanium Blonde
• Dress: Sewn using Casa Collection chiffon and lining in "blue radiance" with Simplicity 1347 pattern, modified for accuracy. Gold pattern created with metallic gold fabric paint and a sea sponge
• Belt and shoulder pieces: Handmade from hot glue with a pattern printed from the Game of Thrones Costuming Group. Spray painted with Plasti Dip and gold metallic paint. Laced up in the back with gold ribbon
• Beads: Chosen from selection at Jo-Ann Fabrics, attached with wire

Dem eyebrows! Liz helped me achieve Khaleesi brows - tutorial here.

The Process

I started with the belt and shoulder pieces. In the show, they seem to be made of gold. I've seen lots of cosplayers use worbla, craft foam, leather, metal... all types of materials! I was really intrigued by the idea of using hot glue, which I've seen several cosplayers use. I wanted to see if hot glue would work, since it's such a super cheap and easy-to-use material. All I had to do was follow the pattern, which other cosplayers have created before me. Drilling all the holes in another material seemed a lot more difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. I was super pleased with the results of the hot glue!

The belt before painting and Plasti Dip.

Next, I worked on creating the dress. I started with the Simplicity pattern meant for this dress because I'm still pretty new to sewing. I modified it to be a little more accurate - the front and back had to dip a lot lower, and I added the cape. I had to hand-sew the shoulder pieces to the dress. They were a little flimsy, so I'm planning on adding kilt pins inside them when I upgrade the dress.

The dress is coming along!

Finally, I painted the dress with a sea sponge and gold metallic fabric paint. This step took a lot more time and a lot more paint than I expected! Several days were spent working on the painting. Finally, I created the beaded part and the costume was done!

And it's finished!

Honestly, I'm not very pleased with the outcome of this costume; that's one reason I've been putting off this post for months! While it looks pretty decent in photos, the draping of the dress was all wrong. I should have painted the chiffon fabric first, but I wanted to make sure that the dress would turn out alright. As a result of painting the dress last, the chiffon and the lining stuck together, and the fabric became stiff and lacked movement. I would like to try and get the fabric to drape and move correctly, so I am going to experiment with washing the dress gently to see if that helps. Next, my sewing machine was constantly having issues throughout this project, so a lot of the seams are barely held together and messy. And, as mentioned earlier, I'd like to upgrade the shoulder pieces to be a little more secure.

For some reason, this cosplay doesn't seem that impressive to me. Despite how much time and effort it took and making all the pieces myself, it feels a little underwhelming. I wonder if that also has an effect on how I feel about the outcome.

Despite the issues with the dress, I am still glad that I made it for SDCC! I think with a few upgrades, I'll be much more satisfied with the costume and feel more comfortable wearing it again.

With Pedro Pascal at the Game of Thrones beer tasting!

Who is your favorite Game of Thrones character?

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SDCC 2014 (Part 2)

Catch up by reading part 1 of my recap here!

Friday

After the whirlwind that was Thursday, Friday was considerably more relaxed. We spent the morning in line for the Game of Thrones Survive the Realm experience. Inside, there were lots of costumes on display (so much detail!), and you could make a gif of you with Drogon, sit on the Iron Throne, and climb The Wall via Oculus Rift. It was pretty cool, but I'd already seen all of that (except the Drogon gif) at SXSW, so I was a little disappointed that I waited so long.

We were hot from waiting outside and tired, so we changed out of our costumes and into normal clothing for the Nerdist cosplay panel and @midnight live. The cosplay panel was rad - there were so many cosplayers I really admire, like Commander Holly and Chloe Dykestra - and I learned so much.

They're playing Tenacious D so it's going to be a good time. #midnightSDCC @midnight pic.twitter.com/mA6YWrqdl9
— Mia Moore (@xoMiaMoore) July 26, 2014

@midnight is one of my favorite TV shows currently - it's a game show with different comedians as the contestants, and it draws from the internet! I was so excited when I saw they were doing a live show at SDCC - we got seats in the 3rd or 4th row, so we had a great view! It started off with stand-up, then a live version of the show itself. The featured comedians were Matt Mira, Brian Posehn, Steve Agee, and Grace Helbig. It was awesome and I hope they do a live show again next year.

Saturday

Bryan Lee O'Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim, just released a new book, Seconds, and hosted a panel at SDCC for the first time in 5 years! I knew I had to wear Ramona for the occasion. Lots of people dressed up in Scott Pilgrim costumes, which was awesome!

A lot of people at the panel hadn't read Seconds yet, but I was happy to learn more about what inspired the story and the artistic process. I also picked up my SDCC-exclusive copy of Seconds and got it signed by Bryan!

At the panel, I got to man the mic during the Q&A session! It was pretty easy since almost everyone was respectful and asked appropriate/good questions, but I was pretty nervous to stand up in front of a room full of Scott Pilgrim fans! Afterwards, me and another Ramona cosplayer took a photo with Bryan - she made her jacket, can you believe it?!

For the third day in a row, we went and changed into Game of Thrones cosplay for the Courtyard Mariott cosplay contest! Normally, I'm not much of a contest person. I have a lot of fun cosplaying, but my craftsmanship isn't that great. Megan (The Nerdy Girlie) personally invited us to this contest by giving us keys, and when she told me that Norman Reedus and Greg Nicotero were judging, I couldn't say no! 

Photo by Megan

It wound up being a really awesome experience, even with a few bumps along the way. All the other cosplayers there were super sweet and we bonded backstage. Norman Reedus loved my contacts/eye makeup - he said "Whoa!" - and all the other cosplayers had some seriously impressive costumes.

Photo by Megan

Photo by Megan - isn't her dress awesome?

Sunday

We were supposed to wear our South Park: The Stick of Truth cosplays on Sunday, but honestly, Liz and I were exhausted! We were only expecting to wear one costume each day, but it quickly turned into two whenever the beer tasting and cosplay contest popped up. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I think next year, I will be a little smarter about choosing my costumes. SDCC is simply too huge to cosplay comfortably, and multiple costumes a day was not a great idea! 

So instead, we took Sunday easy and wore our Westeros map shirts we got from the HBO pop-up shop. We didn't plan to pack almost identical outfits, but we both have similar tastes, I guess!

Sunday was mostly wandering around, tying up loose ends, and watching Colby do the Assassin's Creed Parkour Course. Assassin's Creed partnered up with a parkour training facility to make its game more fluid and realistic, and hires them to do videos and performances. They set up a giant obstacle course for SDCC with the official parkour team performing throughout the day. It was really cool! It made me want to learn parkour.

Liz made a video that captures the scale and immensity of SDCC really well!

This was, by far, my most packed SDCC yet. I wore more costumes, did more things, and saw more people this year than any year prior. It was such a great experience and I look forward to next year! 

What celebrity would you most want to meet at SDCC?

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SDCC 2014 (Part 1)

San Diego Comic Con is always a beast. It's one of the largest conventions in the country, with something for every kind of geek. SDCC results in totally different experiences for each person who goes - someone might camp out all weekend to see the coolest panels first-hand, someone else might cosplay all weekend, and someone else might find the coolest stuff in the expo hall, and that's only a small fraction of what's out there. This was my third year going (2012, 2013), but I still feel like I have so much to learn every year to get an even better experience next year.

Just a warning - I'm splitting the event up into a few posts. So much happened this year, but I want to share every detail with you guys (also, my memory is a sieve, so this helps me remember it, too!).

My main companions this year were Liz and my partner, Colby. We were lucky enough to all secure 4-day passes (no preview night - I've never been) and a room right across the street at the Omni hotel. One reason this year was so different was because we were so close to the convention center. In previous years, we were a 25 minute shuttle ride from the convention center, which meant if you were in cosplay, you were staying in that costume all day. Plus, once we got home, we rarely went out again because we were so exhausted and it simply took a long time to get back.

This year, we were able to change costumes mid-day, change into regular clothes, and take a break somewhere private, and it made a world of difference. I absolutely prefer staying so close to the convention center - it's so much less stressful.

Wednesday

Before we even flew out of Austin, Liz met George RR Martin at the airport! She had a layover in Albuquerque, and who should she see at the ticketing counter for her flight to San Diego than GRRM himself? I felt like this was a great sign for how our con would be this year.

Liz got to our hotel first and send a photo - we could see the entire convention center and part of the Gaslamp district from our room! I was so sure we wouldn't be facing the convention center. It was awesome to be able to see the crowds.

Thursday

Our first plan on Thursday was the Aisha Tyler meet-and-greet. (If you're an Aisha Tyler fan, pay attention to her podcast a few weeks before SDCC - we've gotten to meet her two years in a row, and all you have to do is send an email with a certain phrase at a certain time.)

We made our Archer costumes specifically to meet Aisha! Costumes from Archer are sort of a challenge because of the animation style - if you don't look like any of the characters, it can be hard to be recognizable - but I really like how ours turned out.

Aisha was super pleasant, as always, and sent us home with lots of signed swag and tattoo compliments.

We rushed back to the hotel to change for the Game of Thrones beer tasting. Before the con, the official Twitter account ran a contest to go to the tasting (you just had to tweet with a certain hashtag) and I won! I didn't think it would be an exclusive event - in fact, it seemed like it would be a really small event.

For SDCC, Liz made a Jorah costume, so I made a different Daenerys costume to match. Liz helps me out so much when I'm in costume anyway that it seemed appropriate for her to be Jorah!

Right when we arrived, some random guy stepped on the cape of my dress, tearing it from the shoulder pieces and leaving me clutching the dress to my body. It fell apart! I was trying hard not to panic, even though I assumed my dress was totally ruined. Luckily, Liz and one of the workers of the event helped, bringing me to a private room to safety pin me back together. It was a really scary moment, but my dress still looked alright, even with the damage. 

I was still feeling really shaky emotionally when we finally got to the beer tasting event. We were the first fans to arrive, and to my surprise, everyone else was press. Press?! Who was coming that would necessitate this many people? We guessed Kit Harrington, the actor who plays Jon Snow, since the bar was themed like the North.

During this time, the official Game of Thrones Twitter account took a photo of us and it was posted later. I was freaking out inside, it feels awesome to be recognized by an official venue of your favorite show!

We were totally wrong - it was Pedro Pascal, who plays one of my FAVORITE characters, Oberyn Martell. I was totally unprepared to see him, then be served beer by him, especially after the distress about my dress. It was a completely weird moment emotionally, but one of the best moments of the convention. He was super nice, liked my contacts/eye makeup, and chatted with us one-on-one. It was a fantastic moment, and I feel really lucky that I had the opportunity to experience it.

Since there were so few fans there (maybe 15-20), I also got to meet some awesome Game of Thrones fans. And, to my surprise, the Valar Morghulis beer didn't taste bad to me (and I hate the taste of beer and alcohol, I rarely drink). It was really a perfect event and I'm so happy that we got to go.

After the event, we rushed back to our hotel room to change for the Female Geek Blogger meetup! I don't have any photos from this event, but it was awesome. I got to meet so many great geek bloggers that I've been friends with online forever! Some but not all: Megan and Tillie from The Nerdy Girlie, Joie from Confessions of a Book Pimp, Usagi from Usagi in Wonderland, Elle from Your Friend Elle, and so many more! We complimented each other's work, talked blogs and comics and cosplay, and there may have been a few tears shed. It was the perfect ending to a great day!

I can't wait to share the rest of the convention with you. I have so many photos and stories!

Who would you most want to meet at SDCC?

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Cosplay 101: Daenerys Eyebrow Tutorial

Aside from her white-blonde hair, Daenerys' most identifying feature is her dark eyebrows. Even before I watched Game of Thrones, I could recognize Dany cosplayers by their hair and eyebrows!

When I worked on my first Daenerys cosplay, I realized that her eyebrows are one of the biggest keys to looking more like her in costume. I'm a beginner at makeup, so even though I've learned a lot about makeup since I started cosplay, modifying my eyebrows to look more like a real person's seemed intimidating. 

Luckily, I'm close friends with Liz, who is fantastic at makeup. She's done my Dany eyebrows for me each time I've cosplayed Daenerys so far. I've had a few people ask how she did it, so I wanted to share a quick tutorial with you to achieve Khaleesi-status brows.

I gathered lots of reference photos and noticed that while Dany has thick, natural-looking brows, they are fairly well-groomed. With almost no stray hairs, they are definitely shaped through plucking or waxing. In addition, Dany's eyebrows have almost no arch.

#NoMakeup! Just kidding, I'm wearing a ton of makeup.

My own eyebrows are pretty sparse, but luckily that's easy to fix with makeup. I have almost no arch to my brows, and the overall shape is pretty similar to Emilia Clarke's eyebrows, just thinner/sparser. I actually grew my eyebrows out a little bit for my Daenerys cosplay so they'd be a little thicker (and look less drawn on).

If you have thicker eyebrows, you can either shape them to the same shape or use the glue stick trick to cover them up.

Half on, half off - the power of makeup!

Liz used Anastasia Beverley Hills Brow Wiz  in Ebony to fill in my eyebrows. Brow Wiz is basically a mechanical eyebrow pencil that's super simple to use. Liz did a light outline of the shape she wanted, then filled the shape in the direction of my eyebrow hair. Finally, Liz used the brush end of Brow Wiz to comb the color through.

The most crucial part is getting the shape right, so use really light strokes until you get the shape you want. For Dany's straight eyebrows, start with the straightest line at the bottom of your natural brow. Follow the same line for the top of your brows. Try to keep the arch minimized. Look in the mirror and refer to your reference images frequently to make sure you're on the right track!

Khaleesi brows complete!

Since this makeup is for photographs, I like to go a little bit darker than Emilia's natural eyebrows so it will show up better on camera. The general rule of thumb for cosplay makeup is to go at least 10% heavier than you would normally.

And there you have it! With a little practice, you too can have Daenerys eyebrows.

Have you ever re-shaped your eyebrows for cosplay or otherwise?

Find more Cosplay 101 posts here!

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