Convention Fans

A few months ago, I wrote an article called “Watchmen Costumes Will Be Everywhere This Year” - and boy was I right! And the most popular costume from the movie is, unsurprisingly, Silk Spectre II. In fact, the Silk Spectre II movie costume and Halloween costume comparison I posted back then is the most popular image on all of Convention Fans at the moment.

Also not surprising is that the powers that be (those who control the merchandising rights that is) have expanded their line of officially licensed Watchmen movie costumes since I originally posted. Whereas before you could only find Silk Spectre II, Night Owl II, Rorschach, and some Dr. Manhattan “pieces,” now you can also find officially licensed costumes for Sally Jupiter,  The Comedian, and Ozymandias.

I have to admit, I am a bit surprised at how popular the Sally Jupiter costumes have become. I expected Silk Spectre II to be popular, but considering how fleeting the appearance of Sally Jupiter’s costume was in the movie, I didn’t think it would be something we’d be seeing a lot of.

Continue Reading »

One of the single most popular images at Convention Fans is of Lindsay, a Blood Elf cosplayer, from her debut at BlizzCon 2008.  What was so interesting about Lindsay, for me personally, was that she had never attended a convention before, and had never cosplayed either. And there she was on stage at BlizzCon, showing off her very first costume. That move took a lot of guts.

Well, I’ve kept in touch with Lindsay over the past year, and watched her become a true cosplaying force to be reckoned with.  She went back to BlizzCon in 2009 with an absolutely incredible Blood Elf costume, and took the stage in the costume contest once more. Although she didn’t win, the amazing amount of growth and progress from her first costume to this one is astounding.

I asked Lindsay if I could do another interview with her, about her costume, and about her BlizzCon experiences. I’ve also been given her permission to share some of the great photos of her latest costume with all of you. Please check it out below!

Continue Reading »

Ah, the vampire costume! It’s a classic isn’t it? And it seems vampires have never been more popular, what with the success of the Twilight movies and books, and True Blood on HBO and all. And let us not forget how huge Buffy: The Vampire Slayer was back in the day. Or even further back, Bella Lugosi’s iconic portrayal of Dracula! Below you will find a guide to creating a vampire costume inspired by Bella Lugosi’s Dracula, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, and Interview with the Vampire - with plenty of time to spare before Halloween and all the big fall conventions. (For a guide to Twilight costumes, please head over to my Twilight Movie Costume Guide.)

First Things First - Where Do You Get Great Vampire Teeth?

One thing all of these vampire costumes have in common is that they require vampire teeth. You can find numerous types for a wide range of prices. The cheap stuff is easily obtainable at any Halloween store or online costume shop. However, if you really want a nice pair of vampire teeth, you will probably want to hit up a local convention (preferably a con dedicated to the horror genre). At Chiller Theatre Expo, I actually ran into “Griffin Von Hallenborg”, who makes amazing custom vampire teeth (email: theink_well@yahoo.com). They used materials straight from a real dental office, wore gloves, and had a clean and professional set up. They would create a pair just for you, that slipped right over your real teeth. This is what you are looking for if you really want a great pair - custom fit vampire caps. The key will be finding someone who can do it near you.

Continue Reading »

Sometimes it seems like the ladies really dominate the whole cosplay community/scene. But, the male cosplayers are out there, and I recently found a really great one to interview! Cosplay.com member Allspice has costumes from multiple genres, including Disney, anime, video games, and even board games (and he’s definitely one of the best Prince Phillip cosplayers I have ever seen!) . So take a look at the interview below, and check out this guy’s great cosplays!

Allspice, how old were you when you attended your first convention?

Allspice: I was fourteen, but at the time had never cosplayed before!

How did you get into cosplay?

Allspice: My friends practically drug me along into their cosplay group. I reluctantly agreed, but after the experience, I was hooked! It was so much fun!

Are you a self taught costumer, or did you have someone teach you to sew, etc.?

Allspice: I would hardly call myself “Self Taught” though a lot of my experience came through fiddling around. My Grandmother and Mother both sew, and so I grew up watching them go to town on a machine. I learned all the basic functions of a machine this way, ,and so when I decided to learn, this knowledge made it much easier to pick up the skill. Even today I’ll still go to one of them if I have costume issues to fix. Haha!

Continue Reading »

I just love it when I find couples that cosplay together - especially if they are cosplaying as a pair of connected characters. A few months ago I discovered a cosplayer named “Livvy”, who operates livvylove.com. Livvy and her significant other, Adam, have some absolutely adorable cosplay costumes! I had a chance to talk to them, and find out more about their couples costumes, and how they balance costume construction responsibilities between the two of them.

Livvy & Adam, what were your first conventions? How old were you, and which cons were they?

L. & A.: AWA 10 was our first convention and we were 21 years old.

How long have you each been cosplaying?

L. & A.: After AWA 10 we decided to start cosplaying so it’s been about 5 years.

Continue Reading »