The Start Of My Cosplays

Left:- Mayuri Kurotsuchi First Form (Debuted At The Oct MCM Expo 2009) Centre:- Mayuri Kurotsuchi Second Form (Debuted At The May MCM Expo 2008) Right:- Mayuri Kurotsuchi Third Form (Debuted At The May MCM Expo 2009) All Costumes Hand Made By Me!

The first time i ever saw cosplayers was at the London MCM Expo October 2007. This was my first ever convention, and one that possibly changed my life. At the time i was heavily into anime and manga, and the whole point of me and my partner going to this convention was to learn more and purchase more japanese culture. My first impressions when i walked into the hall was "OMG" all i saw was lots and lots of people in costumes, and being this was my first convention i didnt bother to dress up, so i felt like i stuck out like a sore thumb. After the initial shock i began to stare in awe at these costumes, and that is also when i found out that nearly all of the costumes people were wearing was hand made. For me personally it felt like i had died and gone to heaven, i have always been interested in art, fashion and costuming, and seeing cosplayers meant that all three was used. My partner and I spent the entire day there and decided this will be our twice yearly weekend away. As soon as we had made that decission i looked up on websites for cosplay's, costumes and other people who was interested in the same things i was, and this is when i bought my first ever cosplay.
My first cosplay was something simple yet something that everyone had said noone had done.The character i chose to do was Mayuri Kurotsuchi from Bleach. Unfortunately i wasnt very confident in my artistic skills, so i just bought the suit and decided to give it a go at making Mayuri's sword, Ashisogi Jizou. Thankfully the costume was AMAZING an i got a really good reception on my portrayal of Mayuri. As the year went on i still wanted to do Mayuri due to the fact he had 2 other forms, and having starting on one form i needed to do the rest, and this is where my cosplaying skills took a turn for the better. In order to enter competitions i had to have a costume that was hand made, so in order to enter the masquerade i took apart the whole costume of Mayuri's and remade the lot, using similar fabrics, yet tweeking different sections to make the suit fit better. Best way to describe is that i used the original bought item as a pattern for the rest of my costumes. In doing this character my weapon making skills had improved aswell as costume making itself and this is where i got the bug to make more costumes.
I shall be making some tutorials on each of my characters, but for know i shall leave you with a few of my costumes and any questions please don't hesitate to contact me on my facebook which is here
!!~ http://www.facebook.com/kyothekat ~!!

1st Time Blogging

Well this will be a first for me, and hopefully not a last ><
The whole reason behind me doing this Cosplay Blog is to hopefully help other cosplayers like myself, who have lots of questions about different things, yet have nowhere to get answers.
I dont class myself as a proffesional or as a elitest, and yet i dont class myself as a beginner. I do have enough experience through my history of studying art, be it through school,college, university or by personal projects aswell as having one big and ever expanding imagination to give out advise. And if i am able to answer any comment or question, i shall with the best of my ability.
To those who dont know about Cosplay here is a little bit of information.
"Cosplay has a couple of meanings, but the most relevant is the merging of the words costume and play. It is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from Manga, Anime, Video Games, Movies, Musicians. However, in some circles, "cosplay" has been expanded to mean simply wearing a costume. Likeminded people gather to see other costumes, show off their own elaborate handmade creations, take lots of pictures, and possibly participate in best costume contests at some amazing conventions. Cosplay in the United States and Europe differs from Japanese cosplay culture in that cosplay concerning Sci-Fi films and TV shows along with Renaissance-era characters and historical re-enactments especially at Sci-Fic conventions, are far more popular in the West than they are in Japan. There are also other trends in cosplay such as costumes based on characters from games and anime, as well as "original" costumes based upon a general theme of existing fashions. In particular, the Tokyo fashions of gothic lolita has attracted some cosplayers who might not have the inclination to wear such distinctive clothes around town, but who would like to dress in such a manner on some occasions." - Wikipedia

This blog also gives people a chance to see how i create many of my costumes, and another chance to ask questions and see my own tutorials.
well i hope to see you soon, and hope i can help at least one person :)
Xx Kimi-chan xX