Anime Fest 2014

Anime Fest is a four-day con because it usually falls on Labor Day weekend (my birthday!). This year, it was in mid-August, but I managed to stay for all four days anyway.

For the first time ever, I organized a panel! The Superheroesque team (myself and Liz) invited a few of our friends, Starman from My Geeky Geeky Ways and Camille from Samurai Pizza Kitten Cosplay, to talk about confidence in cosplay! You can watch the full panel (minus Q&A) below.

Putting the panel together was a learning experience. I had never tried to organize people in multiple cities for something like this before. Everyone was super flexible, but there was definitely a learning curve. It can be a little difficult to make sure everyone knows what's happening.

With Anime Fest, you have to submit your panel, badge holders can vote for it, then it may or may not get approved. While voting can help your panel, it doesn't mean that the panel will get approved. I was definitely surprised when we got way more votes than expected and then we were approved!

Camille always has the cutest cosplays!

I was nervous that nobody would come to the panel... and I was nervous that lots of people would come to the panel. We noticed a line forming before we set up, and I was totally shocked. We ended up mostly filling up the room we were in -- which wasn't huge, but still totally unexpected! I feel like we had a really good reception to the panel, too. We had lots of people come up to us after to ask questions and get more information. I definitely want to do another panel in the future!

Liz and I wore our Archer costumes for the panel and did a shoot with Aperture Ashley too. That was easily one of the most fun photoshoots I've ever done! The absurdity of Archer lends itself to a lot of silliness, like arm wrestling, choking, fighting, and dolphin shenanigans. I can't wait to share the photos with you all - I'll probably post them on my Facebook page first!

Making ugly faces with Kat and Matt!

With the panel over, I didn't have any other big commitments (besides cosplay). I brought my Luna Lovegood costume to wear with Kat's Ginny Weasley! We did a shoot with Cosplay With Me and met up with Matt later, who basically looks exactly like Ron Weasley. It's always surprisingly fun to bring Harry Potter costumes to conventions, everyone always gets a kick out of it!

We hung out in the hotel room a lot and made friends with our neighbors. Through a series of coincidences, one of our neighbors knew someone working at the hotel, but they hadn't seen each other in years. They ended up taking us up to see the rooftop of the hotel, which was awesome! Photos couldn't really capture how high up we were and how much of Dallas you could see. 

Wearing kigurumis with Liz!

Hangin' out with Leia and Kimmie from Sub Cultured!

One thing we do almost every year at A-Fest is the art auction! I love seeing anime characters re-imagined in different art styles, and there's always lots of creative work at A-Fest. If you get the chance, you should definitely check it out.

I also brought Ramona, as usual, and took a few photos with Liz as my photographer. The last day of the convention was rainy - combined with the skywalk, it made the perfect Toronto-esque background.

Overall, the convention itself was great this year! Last year, the con moved to a new hotel, resulting in a lot of growing pains. This year, a lot of those issues were fixed. I wish that a few things had been different - the cosplay contest was Sunday night, for example, making it difficult for most people to participate, and the hall cosplay contest was way too early in the con - but I still had a great time.

Have you ever been to a four-day con?

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A-Kon 25

My friend Jeremy runs Cosplay with Me -
 cosplay music videos and more!

A-Kon takes place in Dallas, and is one of the largest anime conventions in the country and the biggest in Texas. I've gone for a few years now, but this year was one of the best yet!

Last year, A-Kon moved to a new venue. Along with the move came growing pains - confusing maps, high-traffic areas directly next to each other, and awful lines. I'm pleased to say that most of these issues were resolved this year! While the new location is still a little confusing to me, I didn't encounter any ridiculous lines or congested areas. For the most part, it seems like there were far fewer complaints than last year.

Shout out to Liz for perfecting my makeup and helping me with my wig!

Friday

I found out too late that the A-Kon extended to Thursday this year. I'm not sure they've ever had programming on Thursday, though many people arrive on Thursday evening for "day 0" of the convention. This year, the masquerade took place on Thursday, and I was so sad that I couldn't make it out!

The hall cosplay contest took place early on Friday - it ended around the time that we arrived. I had wanted to enter my Daenerys in the hall contest, but there was just no way that we could make it in time. Maybe next year, I'll be in a position where I can make it down for day 0 of the convention as well.

We still arrived fairly early on Friday, and I immediately got to work! I knew my Daenerys would take a while to get into since I was working with lots of new elements, including fake blood, a lacefront wig, and a different style of makeup than usual. 

I made the major pieces of the costume myself (the top, skirts, and accessories), so I'm especially proud of how it turned out. I can't wait to share more photos when I get them. I think this is one of the best costumes I've ever made.

Pavi steals all of the hearts!

My main event of Friday was seeing Amber Does Dallas, my former cast, perform Repo! The Genetic Opera live. I hadn't seen the show in a long time, so it was really wonderful to dance and sing and shout at my friends. Plus, seeing a show about organs seemed appropriate as heart-munchin' Dany.

Saturday

Aisaka Taiga!

Originally, I had planned on wearing Mako Mankanshoku (from Kill la Kill) on Saturday morning, but when the time came, I just wasn't feeling it. Instead, I wore Taiga Aisaka (from Toradora) all day. 

This costume was super simple to put together since I purchased the jacket and skirt secondhand. Everything else just had to be assembled. Considering I am the third owner of this uniform, it fits amazingly well! I also really, really love this wig - it's so poofy!

The Palmtop Tiger!

I had a shoot with Avarice Conspiracy Cosplay, and then hung around the con the rest of the day. It was super hot so I wound up changing out of the costume early. I think carrying around the sword made my whole body tired, even though it wasn't that heavy!

Later that night, we went to Medieval Times, which is seriously right next door to the convention center, to celebrate Colby's birthday. I've been to Medieval Times a few times, but it was totally different after seeing Game of Thrones. So many of the knights had colors or sigils that reminded me of the Game of Thrones families. Although our knight didn't win, he was easily the best. Long live Black and White Knight!

Sunday

Usually, I don't plan any difficult, time-consuming cosplays on Sundays, but I had a shoot with Aperture Ashley, so I woke up super early to get back into Dany. I'm glad I'd done the costume once before, it went a lot smoother the second time around! The shoot went really well!

Some friends! Bobii, Liz, me, Camille, and Peony!

I also walked around the Dealer's Room one last time, including hanging out by the Crunchyroll booth. They had a webcam set up with people at home watching live. When I showed up, I got reactions ranging from "Bring Dany to the front!" to "GoT best anime 2K14" and "GoT isn't anime go away pls." For some reason thinking of Game of Thrones as an anime cracked me up.

Vest Buds.

I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out, but I had a really amazing time. I'm glad the con fixed some of the major issues it had last year and I'm glad I got to see most of the people I wanted to see!

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Dallas Comic Con 2014

The Geeky Seamstress makes such a great Ms. Marvel! Photo: @kenjisalk

I'm a little biased - I tend to go to anime conventions over comic cons, or video game cons, or sci-fi cons. This isn't because one type of convention is inherently any better than another - I think part of it is how many of my friends go to anime cons. I also appreciate that anime cons feel fan-run, rather than some cons that feel more corporate (though that's not necessarily a bad thing!).

When I set my convention schedule for the year, I added Dallas Comic Con for the first time. The timing of this convention had never worked out for me; it always fell on moving weekend, or graduation, or something like that, but this year, I could finally go! The con moved to a much larger space this year and had around 60,000 attendees! As always, there are growing pains with a new location, but overall it was a great experience.

I stayed with the lovely Mindy, AKA The Geeky Seamstress, and it was so fun to talk shop all weekend! I'm hoping the more I talk with her, the more sewing knowledge I will gain via osmosis.

The focus for me is almost always cosplay. This tie around, I brought two new costumes - movie!Ramona, and Princess Bubblegum. PB was a last-minute closet cosplay with Kimmie, who didn't end up making it anyway, so it was a little bit of a mess. It was really fun being pink for the night! Ramona, on the other hand, is a costume I've been working on for months! There's still a few things that need tweaking, but I love how it turned out. I modified the dress, hand painted the stripes on the shirt, dyed and styled the wig, and made the hammer. I also worked on my best Mary Elizabeth Winstead impression.

Like sisters, right? Photo: 8bit Geek

I think my favorite part of DCC was the Cosplay Hideaway, a secluded room with a repair station (sharpies, safety pins, and hot glue, oh my!), volunteers to help, and seating. As any cosplayer knows, it can be difficult to take a real break at a convention, especially if you are with another cosplayer. People can ask for photos at the most inappropriate times (um, I'm eating!) or your conversation can be interrupted over and over again. While I love taking photos, I also need time to recharge, and the Cosplay Hideaway was perfect for that! Plus, I got to talk to tons of new cosplayers I hadn't met, especially those who are usually swamped with people asking for photos. Shout out to the North Texas Cosplay group for organizing the hideaway!

Working with Cosplay With Me on a new video!

Overall, I really had a wonderful time and I'm glad I made the effort to go to DCC this year. The same organization does a few events throughout the year - I may need to add them to my calendar.

My next convention this season is A-Kon, next weekend - eep! I have so much cosplay work to do before then, wish me luck!

Ready to kick some butt with Princess Mentality Cosplay!

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Anime Fest 2013

  

Cat ears, fake eyelashes, hipster Fionna costume

I feel like I've mentioned this a lot, but Anime Fest is one of my favorite cons because it falls on Labor Day weekend, which means it's a 4-day con AND it usually lands on my birthday!

My birthday is also special because one of my very best friends has the same birthday! We were born in different years, but sharing your birthday with someone really makes it a lot more special. This year, we celebrated my 21st birthday. I'm not really a drinker so spending the day in cosplay with my close friends is more my scene. Plus, some of my friends got us presents, nice people that they are!

The first day, I wore this same outfit but with the addition of a pearl cat ear headband. I love this headband so much, even if it feels a little costumey. Cat-themed accessories are my favorite since I'm only a few steps away from being a crazy cat lady. 

Sailor Moon locket (gift!), 21st birthday pin, Ramona Flowers, CORGI!, vegan cupcakes from Capitol City Bakery

On Saturday, I dressed as Ramona Flowers (video game version) and walked around with the big hammer I made for Comic Con. I'm a little sad that the hammer got damaged since last con. I am planning on re-making it anyway, but I was hoping this hammer would last a little longer. I was also able to successfully put on fake eyelashes for Ramona this year! I try pretty much every time I wear cosplay or lolita but rarely have success. I love the extravagance they give a costume, it makes everything more cartoon-y and adds to the suspended disbelief of costuming.

Hipster Adventure Time, posing with my friend Camille, Totoro plushie

On Sunday (our birthday!), I wore a new costume -- Fionna from Adventure Time, Hipster-style! I had Liz as Hipster LSP and Peony as Science Princess Bubblegum, which made it even more fun. I have a full post on the costume coming up, so look forward to that and more photos!

The con felt really quiet this year since a lot of people were at Dragon Con or PAX, but I still enjoyed it. 4-day cons always feel so much roomier and lower stress!

With that, con season comes to a close. I don't have another convention scheduled until Ikkicon in December, which means plenty of time to focus on other things and work on more labor-intensive costumes.

What did you do for Labor Day weekend?

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