JOHNNY DRAFTS

'SUP, NERDS! Right now I'm planning out a cosplay I will hopefully be wearing for the summer convention season. I do want to keep them a little bit of a surprise, but I'm going to reveal one outfit I'm working on. The obsession never ends... it's another Space Dandy character.

Johnny, Rock Star

One of the best things in Space Dandy is that there are so many unique characters, even if they appear for an episode or two. Johnny stars in one of my favorite episodes and he actually plays a huge role in the main, overarching story line.

Awesome art of Johnny's commander uniform. It's dazzling.

Johnny leads the other half of the universe and is at war with the reoccurring antagonists
—Dr. Gel, Bea and Commander Perry. He was born into royalty and feels unfulfilled as commander of the Jaicro Empire.

One day Johnny meets Dandy. They become friends when Johnny overhears Dandy humming to himself in a men's bathroom. Hearing such an awesome melody, Johnny proposes that they start a rock band... so that he can follow his dream of becoming a rock star.

Sequin Rage

Such a beautiful cape, such a pain in my ass.

I've barely started this cosplay and I'm already experiencing a huge challenge. Johnny's cape is a bigger pain in the butt that I ever thought it would be. You can't really see in the pictures, but his cape literally sparkles.

I took a few trips to both chain and independent fabric stores on the hunt for either navy or royal blue sequined fabric. The closest thing I could find were peacock or ocean blue colored fabrics or some nasty foiled fabric, reminiscent of what a child would wear for a crappy Halloween costume or school musical.

I did some research in hand sewing the cape together. I went to Jo-Ann's Fabric and got 4 yards of blue chiffon fabric for less than $3 with the intention of sewing individual sequins I found on Amazon. Once I got the sequins in the mail, I realized that the type I found on sale were too tiny and it would cost way too much to do 4-5 yards by hand. I don't mind the amount of time it would take, but I'm too poor for this.

I've never been so angry and frustrated over something so shiny.

I went back to Hancock Fabrics and asked them some advice on where I can go for specialty fabric. One of the workers said that they had old prom-season fabrics online and I looked into that. There is an awesome line of sequined fabric for $40 a yard, but the closest fabric I would order doesn't look quite right.

I can't tell if it's more blue or gray colored. I'm not worried about the cost of the fabric because I get emails every day for 50 to 60 percent off of a single item. I just wish a nearby location had it in stock so I can see it before I spend a lot of money. I can always return an online order, but as I previously stated... I'm too poor to allow Hancock hold my money hostage.

The Rest

Quick sketch of how I would like
to make the dress.

The rest of the outfit is really easy. I'm going to girl-ify Johnny and make his suit into a dress. I want to keep the deep v-neck on the dress, which is a little scary because nobody wants their boobies to slip. I'm looking up tutorials on how to make built in bras and other creative ways to secure my chest. I feel like that's the next most challenging part to the Johnny cosplay, but I'm not sweating it.



Overall, I don't think I can realistically create Johnny for any conventions this year due to having a low income as a student. I only work one day a week off of commission. Either it's a really good day or a really bad day.

If you're interested in supporting my cosplay endeavors... I do accept donations. Don't feel pressured to send me anything, but I use all donations towards whatever projects I'm sharing with you online.

And speaking of money management, I've already purchased tickets to conventions I will be attending this year. I will post my cosplay schedule soon and which cons I will be vending at.

LATER, DWEEBS!
-Loverly Liz

FASHION CHECK!

'SUP, NERDS! My dearest friends know that I have an addiction... an addiction to Animal Crossing. It's a simple game, but it knows how to play me. With over 400 characters in the series, there is a huge pool of Animal Crossing cosplayers. I decided to cosplay Gracie, an iconic character that nobody bothers to dress up as.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. You will never know all their names.

Playing Mayor

The latest installment of the main Animal Crossing series, New Leaf, came out on the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. I hadn't played Animal Crossing since its American introduction on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002. I never owned a GameCube, so I was always limited to playing as my friends' characters, too young to afford a video game console for just a couple of games.

When New Leaf came out, I was hesitant at first, but my friends all bullied me into buying it because I didn't own many 3DS games at the time. I knew inside that it would be the best-but-worst decision of my life to get New Leaf. I pent up all of this Animal Crossing fever over a span of 10 years.

Nintendo hasn't made a game that stole my life more than New Leaf  has.
New Leaf is life.

Animal Crossing is all about creating a human character that moves into a village, whose inhabitants are all animals. There is no big point or goal to the game but to pay off your mortgage and expand your house. You can earn money buy collecting fish, bugs and other goodies that you find.

The game is known for its customization as for you can decorate your home and you can personalize any article of clothing. New Leaf is special because your character becomes mayor. Now you have the ability to make major decisions for the village such as deciding what monuments and landmarks you want to build.

Chilling on Gracie's furniture. This is her signature design.

The villagers make the game fun. Different animals come and go as you develop relationships with them. The animals have unique personalities and you quickly find ones that you love and hate. There are also permanent residents that run the town, Gracie being my favorite shop owner.

GracieGrace

Gracie yelling at me about
her amazing furniture designs.

Gracie is a snobby, world renowned giraffe who runs a high-end fashion boutique. She is known for belittling players for wearing poorly coordinated outfits or if you can't afford her wares.

All the items in her shop are extremely expensive and have a designer flair. You can only get these products from GracieGrace (or if a rich friend of yours decides to gift you something from her furniture or fashion line). It's difficult to convince her to move into town because of her high-standard fashion checks.


Animal Crossing games actually play in real-time so the game only moves as fast as time in real life. Gracie randomly appears in your village to conducts fashion checks. Once you pass enough times, she will build her shop on the top floor of the town department store. In order to pass, you need to follow a set fashion theme she assigns you that day to impress her with what you wear.

Me, in my sweet-ass basement. This is Gracie's Gorgeous furniture series,
probably my favorite of all her designs.

Becoming Haute Couture

Gracie.

Gracie's outfit was pretty simple to make. I already had experience making a dress from my QT cosplay so it only took me two days... of no sleep. The cosplay was made for Con+Alt+Delete this past December and I finished school right before Thanksgiving. That's enough time to make a cosplay for a Christmas convention, right? Nuh-uh. Not when you're working full-time holiday retail and dealing with the holidays itself.

Since I've become a bit more skilled at sewing, I was able to cut all my fabric and piece the dress together in a single afternoon. It was only the details of the outfit that killed me... and I only learned of an easier way to detail the dress until after I made it.

Gracie's iconic circle pattern took me forever to make. Rather than sewing the rings directly to the fabric with decorative, tight stitches, I folded and sewed down the rough edges to sew again onto the skirt. It was tedious and I didn't think of a smarter way to sew the circles until after I finished. The tiny circles and rings kept getting caught in the sewing machine so I had to frequently disassemble it.

Yellow dots and green rings wrecked me.

I left the ears and horns for my lifesaving mother to make. She just hand stitched some felt, stuffed it and hot glued it all to a headband. The scarf took me a matter of minutes to sew together. I got my wig and gloves off of Amazon. Because the convention was in the dead of winter, I just found a cheap sweater to accompany my dress.

This bitch was giving fashion checks all weekend.

This convention was also a first for me: I wore high heels for more than an hour. Not just an hour, but a whole weekend spent running around in them. I think you attain womanhood after wearing heals for a couple of hours, rather than losing your virginity or as a girl menstruating for the first time.

Getting Ready for the Next Con

I feel like this cosplay is a tad incomplete. I still have plenty of extra fabric to create more rings. Because I was on such a time crunch, I wasn't able to properly fit the bodice the way I wanted. When I add more rings, I will probably adjust the bodice and cut a scoopneck.

Gracie was extremely successful. I found other Animal Crossing cosplayers who never seen anyone dress up as anyone aside from Tom Nook, the Able Sisters, K.K. or Isabelle. I was constantly stopped for photos and the cosplay was well-received.

Next time I'm going to show you a cosplay I'm currently working on. It's an intense planning process and I hope to receive some advice from you!!

LATER, DWEEBS.
-Loverly Liz

STAYING FIT

'SUP, NERDS! Unfortunately it's still winter, albeit it being freezing one day and feeling like it's sometime in April the next. But the winter season usually means that we're cooped up in our homes, enjoying some hearty soup and cocooning ourselves in knitted blankets. We become one with nature to hibernate...Meaning that we get pudgy.

Today is all about my routine to get in shape for the summer convention circuit. It's a yearly ritual that starts about now. I know my friends and other cosplayers start working out in late-winter and are more conscious of what they eat if they're feeling a bit flabby after hibernating.

Yummy and (Good) for my Tummy

I have this theory that I would not be fat if I didn't like cake. I'm a self-proclaimed dessert connoisseur—baking being one of my other passions. Right now I'm saying good-bye to my best pal, ice cream for a little bit, currently my first-choice dessert. Regarding other sweets, I've never been a soda fiend and find myself addicted to LaCroix and my sodastream.

Yep, I made these with (or for) friends.
This blog almost became a baking blog. Someday maybe I'll start one?

When it comes to real meals, I make sure that half of the plate consists of green veggies—spinach being the best thing to ever come from the earth. I am constantly upset knowing that less than ten percent of Americans eat enough fruit and veggies. Every day I make a point to plenty of greens. I also discovered the wonder of kale and fruit smoothies and occasionally use them to replace a meal.

This is probably my favorite meal eat at school.
I make sure that my omelette is packed with veggies too.

Some of my other favorite foods would also include bread and pasta. I try (note: try) not to eat too much unless I'm heavily exercising. Buuuuuuut I'm sometimes guilty of going to Olive Garden for unlimited soup, salad and bread sticks. Although, I don't feel so bad when I'm exercising every day.

Gotta Go Fast!

So fast and just a blue blur.

It was fairly normal for me to run at least an hour, sometimes two, every day. I had a good thing going... until school happened. When it's nice out, I forget about the gym and make up for it by biking everywhere, but recently I've felt stuck in-doors.

Right now I'm enrolled in five classes and I pretty much only do homework. It doesn't feel right to have fun before I hit the books. My incredibly disrespectful and annoying roommate also happens to work at my campus's exercise facilities. Whenever I finish my schoolwork, she seems to have a shift in the gym or things are closed.

To counteract my homework and roommate, I'm bringing my bike back on campus because this winter has been oddly warm. I am also making a point to exercise the next few weeks before final exams and relieve some stress. And yes, my school runs on the quarter system.

My Gym Routine

When I'm on my regular exercise schedule, I typically run 30 minutes on the elliptical on the highest resistance I can handle. I don't really like to lift weights as a safety precaution since I always work out alone. I make the most out of cardio and keep pushing myself to the next level on a weekly basis.

Once I'm done with the elliptical, I put the treadmill on the highest incline and lightly jog for another 30-40 minutes. It depends on how long a set of episodes or a movie is that determines the length of my workout.

I'm practically jell-o. This is a really good chart to study if you want to become elastic.

In addition to cardio, I spend a lot of time stretching and doing other basic muscle exercises. I personally love doing the "superman" when I wake up. Aside from a bit of stretching before cardio, I do most of these exercises back at home, between homework assignments.

Wrapping Up 2015

I haven't regularly exercised for almost two months now, but I'm not feeling horrible about my body. I've maintained my weight, but just don't feel as tight. It's just a matter of getting back into the habit and remembering that my health is just as important as my schoolwork!

Next time we're going to look at the final cosplay I made during 2015. It's another very unique outfit of a character nobody makes. I'm quite shocked because it's a character from an immensely popular video game. I was constantly stopped for photos!

LATER, DWEEBS!
-Loverly Liz

PERFECT ROBOT

'SUP, NERDS! I'm hoping you're not sick of my Space Dandy obsession already... if you don't know how crazy I'm about the series, go back a few entries. Let's take a look at another character I dressed up as!

Hunk O' Junk

My second homemade cosplay is the robot, QT. You must be thinking "Huh?! A robot? It's not remotely human looking!" I'm also guessing you're curious as to how I pulled this off. My creativity was at full blast as I spent a good portion of my life looking on Google to see if if there were any spectacular QT cosplay to draw some inspiration. In my opinion, none were super cool, so I made it my job to make the best QT the world would see.

A perfect view of little ol' QT at different angles.

A little about QT: He is an outdated robot, who is a victim of innovation. He's so old that he can't even update to the latest operating system and he sometimes has issues with his battery. Poor thing. QT's punchlines usually revolve around smart phones and how quickly computer technology advances.

 

Looking past his antiquities, QT is actually very smart. He usually plays the straight man and scoffs at how thick Dandy and Meow are. This hunk of metal is also very anal about keeping things clean. His arms double as a vacuum cleaner as for he is the only crew member to keep the ship in shape.

QT is actually quite human. He has the capacity to love and is a mouthy little smart-ass. He's basically a person in a tiny metal body.

Out of the Box

I somehow cut my elbow.
Literal blood, sweat and tears.

Bear in mind, I went 200 percent on this project. I wish to describe the process in detail. To start, the basic concept of the cosplay is based off of  Japanese maid-styled dresses, considering QT is a glorified vacuum cleaner.

I made a simple yellow dress that goes slightly past my knees and a white apron. The apron wasn't difficult to sew, but making yards of ruffles tested my patience. It looks easy, but I had to pull and bunch heavy fabric, relying only on a few strands of thread to keep it all together. Whenever a string broke, I had to start over again. I'm not going to tell you how many times it took me, but I can certainly say that I'm now a professional "ruffler."

In order to capture the essence of a robot, I bought a silly Chinese cooking mask to make my face appear as if it were behind a monitor. The next step was to go to Home Depot to buy a few yards of dryer duct. I cut it accordingly and managed to slip my arms through to achieve a metallic look.

Found my crew.

Lots of machines have wheels and well, I don't have any naturally installed. I made an adult purchase: I got myself a pair of Heelys, not only for cosplay, but to fulfill a forgotten childhood dream. Plus, my buddy Dan had been bullying me into buying some for a while so we could skate around Meijer or Walmart in the middle of the night. The Heelys were expensive, but are a long-term, fun investment.

This cosplay also gave me a good
excuse to wear some crazy
gold lipstick.

You can hear that QT's voice is a little funny... It's entirely auto-tuned and this is one of his most distinguishable characteristics. It was a challenge and took me about a month to put together. I, ironically, had a crappy Droid smartphone at the time that constantly failed me... but then I discovered the wonders of the Apple App Store.

I found an app called I Am T-Pain. It's basically a karaoke program that auto-tunes your voice. I borrowed a friend's defunct, shattered iPhone and bought this program. Then I went to my best friend, Amazon, again and ordered a cheap lavalier to tape to my face and a powerful miniature speaker. If you're the market for one, it is very loud, has good battery life and won't cost you more than $15.

Dreams came true when I met Joel McDonald.
10/10: Would meet again.

The rest of the cosplay consists of simple accessories that I altered. Luckily I happened to buy a gold and blue wig the year before just because I thought it was pretty. It happened to perfectly fit QT's color-scheme. If my friends didn't lend me some pieces for QT, it also would have been much more expensive to make. Thanks, guys.

Rocking the Con

So yeah. I went all out. Convention-goers did double-takes and frequently asked who I was. Once they made the connection, I had people freaking out all weekend every time we passed during the event, showing me off to their friends. I even met the English director of Space Dandy, who also voiced Meow. He was impressed and commented that there aren't many QT's out there.

Now you know how insane I am about my cosplay projects. I still have one more ridiculous outfit I made in 2015... But that's gonna wait. Next time I'm going to show you how I get in-shape for the summer convention scene!

LATER, DWEEBS!

-Loverly Liz

TOP 5 COSPLAY THAT JUST CAN'T HAPPEN YET: Feb. 2016 Edition

'SUP, NERDS! Cosplay is all about having fun with the outfits you wear and loving the character you become. But many cosplayers are hesitant to make certain outfits for a multitude of reasons... my reasons being among some common excuses. Today let's look at my Top 5 Cosplay That Just Can't Happen Yet.

5. Honey (Cutie Honey)

The classical magical girl anime, Cutie Honey, was radical during its initial 1973 release. Honey, who takes on multiple disguises, fights her enemies by transforming into the red-headed babe she calls Cutie Honey. She the first female protagonist of an anime series geared toward men.

 

Classic Honey losing her clothes.

Not only is Cutie Honey known for breaking the glass-ceiling of anime, this character is known for something much more risqué... In order for Cutie Honey to use her stronger abilities, she loses her clothes. 

I really have no shame and no problem making a Cutie Honey cosplay. It’s pretty simple: I just need some yellow gloves, boots and my birthday suit—but I don’t think the world is ready for it yet.

4. Amazon (Dragon's Crown)

The official box art for Dragon's Crown, showing all playable characters.

I love that the Amazon doesn't need
body armor while the Warrior does. 

Dragon's Crown is a role-playing game on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, reminiscent of old beat-em-up arcade games. You can play through the campaign with three other friends and have six characters to choose from, each with their own distinct play styles.

Not only did I enjoy the game, but I fell in love with the art design. Each frame of Dragon's Crown was hand animated. This painstaking, yet impressive task is infrequently seen video games.

Most people think the characters are over-exaggerated and sexist. I disagree and appreciate the ridiculous aesthetics.

My favorite character is the Amazon. She is incredibly powerful with a massive booty and mega-thighs. I can definitely pull her off because I can squat like a million pounds... but I need sculpt my entire body to become an accurate portrayal of the Amazon.

If I were to go all out, I would need to find steroid dealer and cut all forms of cake out of my life. This cosplay simply won't happen until the day comes where I can give up cake.

3. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch (The Venture Bros.)

The Venture Bros. is one of my favorite original programs on [adult swim] which features ridiculous characters that parody Johnny Quest. With a complex story and messy relationships, I especially like the history of the arch-enemies—obviously the best villains being The Monarch and his "number two," Dr. Girlfriend.

Dr. Mrs.'s original outfit eerily
resembles Jacqueline Kennedy.

The Monarch dates Dr. Girlfriend early in the series. Dr. Girlfriend leaves him to return to her ex-boyfriend, Phantom Limb, because she felt like her "henching" was under-appreciated. Eventually Dr. Girlfriend returns to The Monarch under the condition that she isn't just his number two henchman, but to become his partner... Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.

Dr. Mrs.'s pink dress isn't too difficult to create... and you already know by now that I don't mind being practically naked to wear her butterfly suit. I just don't think I could ever match the way her voice sounds. I'm so nervous that I would be branded a loser since I won't be 100 percent in-character.

2. Katy Perry

So I know Katy Perry isn't a fictional character... but she is unique and I equally look up to her, Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj. They all worked hard to get where they are and freely express themselves.

Perry amazes me with her wide array of concert costumes and the colorful outfits she wears in her music videos. Her peppermint dress hypnotized me as I watched her concert movie, Katy Perry: Part of Me. This dress is on my cosplay bucket list... but I'm not smart. Either I need to become an electrical engineer to figure out the mechanics behind the spinning peppermints or make my boyfriend learn how to do this for me.

1. Yuna (Final Fantasy X)

Final Fantasy X becomes a love story between protagonists Yuna and Tidus.

Yuna yielding her healing staff.
She deals all damage in battle
with the aeons you recruit.

I think you get the vibe that most of these have been gag cosplay ideas, but I'm completely serious this time. Final Fantasy X has been one of my favorite video games ever since I discovered it in 5th grade. Hate me if you want, but I think its sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, is just as great of a game.

Yuna is summoner who embarks on a pilgrimage to save the continent, Spira, from an entity called Sin. Sin returns every few years to destroy Spira through the means of "natural" disasters by causing tsunamis and other devastating wrecks. Yuna is accompanied by friends who act as her guardians. They keep her safe as she visit temples to gain new aeons to summon and defeat Sin.

In order to banish Sin for a few years, summoners must reach the last temple so that they can sacrifice themselves for the Final Aeon. The leading male character, Tidus, falls in love with Yuna and initially doesn't know that she will die when she makes it to the Final Aeon. Tidus assists her throughout the pilgrimage, but also seeks a way for summoners to not die at the Final Aeon.

I can't cosplay her yet because I respect this game too much. Right now I can't do her outfit justice. My goal is to practice and become a seamless seamstress before I ever think of making Yuna's dress. Not to mention, I never embroidered anything and the skirt is decorated with tiny flowers. I foresee that these cutesy blossoms will unsuspectingly destroy my life, no matter how experienced of an embroiderer I am.

On the Next Episode...

Alright, next time you're going to see my next Space Dandy cosplay. I'm proud because I can easily say I'm the best cosplayer of this character... I can't think of anyone else who made it as creatively as I did.

I also know that this blog was full of me saying that "I can't" but always remember...

True dat.

LATER, DWEEBS.

-Loverly Liz