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