Levi Boots

Hello everyone! Just wanted to post my new Levi boots! I was given them as a gift for Christmas. I asked for these a long time ago (and have no recollection of the cost) but I do know that they are from Forever 21 (as I received them in a Forever 21 box). Anyways, check them out! I'm probably going to try and alter them to make them look a little more like the boots in Attack on Titan but that will more than likely be some time from now. Sorry it's just a quick update but I hope you enjoyed. MadDog out!

Homestuck Troll Horns

Well. You should've known that this was coming. Anyway this is how I make Homestuck horns. It's really pretty simple. I Just use Model Magic, some tinfoil, a headband, assorted paints, and some hot glue.

STEP ONE:
Roll a piece of tinfoil up into a really thin cylinder.













STEP TWO: Cover it model magic shaping it so that it's a larger cylinder. (Having the tinfoil inside creates a much sturdier horn that can support itself and is therefore less likely to break.)











STEP THREE:
Shape it a little more to look like a specific horn. Then just let it just sit for a day drying.











STEP FOUR:
When it's done drying, paint it and let it dry.













STEP FIVE:
Hot glue to a headband.

STEP SIX:
Wear. Kk.

So it's really simple I just felt like sharing some of the horns I just made for myself and for my friends. (I made one pair and suddenly I just made like ten other pairs. It just happended.) Hope you liked this post. MadDog out!

Homestuck Troll Nails

I'm feeling the holiday spirit today, so naturally, I've decided to make a post on how to create the Homestuck troll nails look. Yeah. If you want to re-create this look, you are going to need yellow, orange, red, and clear nail polish. (Or you can be a moron like me and use orange acrylic paint. Facepalm.) You will also need some tape. Well, let's get started already.









STEP ONE:
Make sure your nails are nice and clean. Then, put a full base coat of yellow nail polish on your nails.









 


STEP TWO:
After your nails are COMPLETELY DRY, tape the top third of your nail over. Then paint orange nail polish over the bottom part. When you are done with this, take the tape off. (If you are like and jumped the gun putting the tape on before they were dry, after you take the tape off, you can always retouch the yellow.)

















































STEP THREE:
Make sure your nails are dry and then tape the top two-thirds with tape. Then paint over the bottom part with red nail polish. Once done, remove the tape.








































STEP FOUR:
Again, when your nails are dry, add the top coat of clear nail polish.

STEP FIVE:
When dry, throw on some horns (hhmmmm... maybe I'll make a horn tutorial post) and sit there feeling great. (Cause you know what, you are great. The end.)

Well, I hope that you at least somewhat enjoyed this post. (If you did, make sure to check out my tutorial on Medusa Nails as well.) You can always use this for your actual Homestuck cosplays. (Tip: to make this more accurate, sharpen your nails to a point.) If you like these random nail tutorials, let me know and I'll make more. I apologize for not posting these past few weeks and I also apologize because I've made no progress on my actual cosplays. When I last posted I truly thought that my Seras cosplay (and my Alois cosplay for that matter) would be finished soon however things just decided to get busy on me. Winter break is coming though so I'm hoping that you'll see a whole lot of progress then. Wish me luck. MadDog out!

More Fullmetal Alchemist Shoes (Pride Edition)

Hello again! I bring you more Fullmetal Alchemist themed shoes. This time around, they are more closely themed with the character Pride. I've made converse with Flamel symbols on them (Click Here to See) and flats with manga pages from Fullmetal Alchemist on them (Click Here to See) but now I bring you converse painted with shadows! All I did was use some fabric paint on some old shoes to achieve this dorky and amazing look. Hope it was worth a look. MadDog out!

DIY Dork Shirts (Edition: Dragon Ball Z and Attack on Titan)

So... I like Dragon Ball Z and I keep seeing the awesome ghi top in t-shirt style everywhere but I can't actually spend $20 on a t-shirt when I could be using it on cosplay... So instead I made one. I got myself a really cheap orange t-shirt that was even cheaper because I had a coupon and it was on sale and I used fabric paint to make the symbols on the front and back. That's about it and here's how it came out. I also said I 'd take a picture of the birthday gifts I made a while back so here's the Recon Corps shirt I made for my friend too. (Same method but with a little more effort.) Hope you like! MadDog out!

Other People Everyday Cosplay #3

So, it is the homecoming time of year and that means that (at least at my school) it is spirit week! (....woooo....) But that's not the point now is it!? To sum things up, today was crazy hat day and my friend, Mae, had made this wicked amazing Midna hat that she wore. I thought you guys would totally want to see it because it is amazing! So that's all. See ya. MadDog out!

Random Cosplay Tips #4

• If you are going to be wearing shoes that give you blisters for the whole a day, do yourself a favor and put bandaids on your feet before you start your day.
• Research before you take on crazy, what would usually be considered out of your ability projects.
• It's always better to have too much fabric than too little.
• If you can get away with it, use lightweight material when making your props.
• Always aim for perfection! 

Just a bit of randomness to tide you over! MadDog out!

My Everyday Cosplays #5

HELLO!!! I'm sorry sorry I haven't posted in a while--I'm in the middle of tech week and the show I'm in is going up tomorrow night! The only reason I even have something to post right now is because we try to advertise at my school by dressing up weirdly. Today was Nerd Day so I ended up casual cosplaying as Misty (from Pokémon). Just thought you might enjoy. As soon as my life is back in order, I will post new stuff--I'm so sorry guys. (Also sorry if this post makes no sense. And the fact that this picture was taken in my school's bathroom. D: Yeah.) I don't own a solid yellow shirt so, as you can see, this is my drum major academy shirt turned inside-out. I'm wearing the tights not because Misty wears black tights but because, I don't know about wear you live, but here in Massachusetts, it is fracking cold. Well, that's about it. MadDog out!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope yours was a day filled with candy and cosplay! MadDog out!

Other People Everyday Cosplay #2

So this is my friend, Kristen, as Rosie the Riveter. You know, you can look this awesome too if you casual cosplay. Hey, use Halloween as an excuse to cause that's coming up (is it really?). And back to working on my Seras cosplay. Hope you enjoyed this ridiculously short post. MadDog out!

Yet Another Cosplay! (Funny How That Works--This Being a Blog About Cosplay and All)

Well, drum roll please! I have decided who I'm going to cosplay as from Attack on Titan (finally). It was up in the air for a bit there but I will be cospalying as Levi. I'm fairly certain that this cosplay is going to be my Friday cosplay for Anime Boston (don't worry, I'm still making a Devit but he will be one of the other two days) and I will hopefully be going with a ton of people. Right now I also have and Armin, Hanji, and Sasha in my group but it is my plan to add more people. Hey, if you haven't seen Attack on Titan, you should (it's even is available on Crunchyroll!). Here is a picture what Levi looks like anyway. MadDog out! :D

Seras Victoria Wig

I had my Seras Victoria wig come in! As you can very well see, I need to style it badly. Right now I can't really see anything when I wear it and I need to make it spike at the ends. These "edits" will come in due time but right now I really just posted it cause I was excited. So that's all. In case you are wondering where it came from, this is an Arda wig in the style of Magnum and in the color of Titanium Blonde (AR017). MadDog out!

 

Other People Everyday Cosplay #1

Hello people! As you may have guessed, I am a strong supporter of casual cosplay as I love being a complete dork (gasp). But who wants to only see me casual cosplay over and over again. So I'm going to show you some other people casual cosplaying (probably just my friends). This first "Other People Everyday Cosplay" is of my friend, Nathan, as Soul Eater Evans (from Soul Eater). Still busy as ever but thought you might enjoy this little post. MadDog out!

Happy Anniversary to This Blog!

October 14, 2012 to October 14, 2013

Wow. It has been one year since my first post on this blog. Originally called MadDog's Sewing, I thought it would end with, "MadDog's Quitting." (Bad jokes--yay!) But even after a huge hiatus (like, four months or something), people are still coming to this blog everyday. If fact (caution--confidential information--you've been warned) this blog has had a total of 2061 pageviews. Now you're probably all looking at that stat like, "Well, that's lame..." but that is more than I could have ever possibly imagined! :D I mean, when I first started this blog, I was sure no one would ever visit ever--but here I am now completely eating my words! (I have actual living, breathing readers!) So I just wanted to say: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! And guys, don't be afraid to ask me to post what you want to see me make. I'd be glad to see this blog turn into something that can help (or at least entertain) you readers instead of just helping to me organize all of my projects. THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN THOUGH!!!

And just a quick update for those of you wondering about my projects. As you know already, 'tis the season of marching band competitions so I have been super busy but I'm thinking that there will be a Seraas Victoria update in the near future (and possibly some more Devit as well).

Thank you so much! MadDog out! :)

3D Maneuver Gear Part Four

So more progress on 3D maneuver gear. I've tried to add a weathered effect by dry brushing some acrylic paint on to the boxes. Also, tried to cover up some the crappy wrinkles that I inflicted upon my boxes. Yup. That's about it. More posts on sewing progress soon. (I've almost made a post-worthy amount of progress on things.) MadDog out!

3D Maneuver Gear Part Three

So! I've spray-painted my 3D Maneuver gear. It is definitely not my best spray painting job (and by not my best, I mean my worst ever--everything is all wrinkly because I spaced out and sprayed way too much on). But that's alright because the boxes already didn't look the best to begin with. I plan on making a more sturdy and better version of these later in life but right now I don't have the time to put much effort into them. Just a quick update: I'll let you know I have been working on other cosplay related things but nothing picture worthy (just cutting out fabric and stuff). Also, most of my time is being used up with making birthday presents for my friends. When their birthdays have come and gone, I'll post some of the stuff I've made for them because it's dork related so you all might be interested. That's about it. MadDog out!

3D Maneuver Gear Part Two

So hello again! (Two posts in one day--what?! MadDog... Are you feeling well?) Well, I was gonna wait to show you my progress on my 3D maneuver gear as I have done almost nothing but then I decided I'd just post now instead of doing a collective post. Because I'm lazy. Well, that and I'm basically stinking at school in general right now so I'm not sure when my next cosplay work time will be (as I will be cracking down on myself for a bit). All I've done since my last post is wood putty and sand down the edges of my two box things. Here are some pictures. I can't do anything else until I buy some silver spray paint and more foam board but hopefully I'll have those things soon. MadDog out!

Random Cosplay Tips #3

I'm very sorry if I end up repeating things I've said in these posts. As they are random, I have no idea what I've said randomly before. I hope that you'll still enjoy these posts anyways though.

• Ask questions of other cosplayers. If you want to know how they made that awesome prop, usually cosplayers are glad to share. (Seriously though, don't be scared--all it does is show that you have interest in their costume and can be taken as a compliment.)
• Knee length hair can be really hard to deal with (no... really), so get used to it beforehand or choose a character with short hair before sporting the super-long wig to a convention. (Guys, just trust me on this one. My hair was that length for the better part of my life--only recently did I get it cut.)
• MAKEUP! Every cosplayer should wear makeup--in the very least foundation--because your cosplay will look so much better in photos.
• Don't be that person who has a completely beautiful cosplay and then wears sneakers. Pay attention to your characters footwear.
• Pose! Right now I pretty much suck at taking pictures. Don't be like me--look completely awesome with an in character pose in yours.

That's all I got for now! MadDog out!

3D Maneuver Gear Part One

So. Schools started. This means that there is excessive amounts of sitting down. I cannot say that I'm really enjoying the excessive amounts of sitting down and the thought of sitting at my sewing machine for hours after sitting at desks for hours isn't exactly thrilling me. Instead of being in a sewing mood I'm in more of a prop-making mood. This brings me to my next little project. I've wanted to make three dimensional maneuver gear since Attack on Titan started airing just because it looked so flipping cool to make but it's been a while. Even so, I'm finally going to make an attempt at making it. I may not make a complete Attack on Titan cosplay for a long while but I really want to make three dimensional maneuver gear anyway so I am. That's all I have to say on that. So...Yeah. Basically all of done so far is make some boxes out of foam board so that's all I'm showing you for now. MadDog out!

Devit (aka Debitto aka David) Cosplay Part Two: The Pants... (In Progress)

Well, while I was in the process of making these pants it occurred to me (and by occurred to me I mean my friend pointed it out to me) that although I keep calling them pants, I don't really know what to call them. If you have any ideas, leave a comment or feel free to send me an email (wickedcosplay@yahoo.com). I would like to hear your thoughts.
Okay! So jeezums! This post took forever to arrive as well. Yeah, sorry again. (I am apologizing way too often--this needs to stop--I must be stronger--this is my blog!) However, it took me quite I while to gather all of the grommets that I needed to make them but I now have the finished product. Have fun following!

MATERIAL'S I HAVE GATHERED SINCE MY LAST POST ABOUT DEVIT:
120 black grommets (or eyelets; whatever you wanna call them)
An eyelet plier kit
(I ordered both of these from Amazon and they are from Dritz.)
 
STEP ONE:
I cut the leggings I had (on one one side) and hemmed them.

STEP TWO:
I cut a giant line down the middle of the long pant leg.











 STEP THREE:
Fold over, pin, and sew each side of the giant cut in my pant leg so that it looked even weirder than it did already.










STEP FOUR:
Spend multiple hours punching grommets into my pant leg and realizing that I'm going to need more than I bought to complete this cosplay.



































STEP FIVE:
Lacing up (Or should I say lacing down?) the one part of my pants that is now finished.

STEP SIX:
Where around my house like a boss and practice posing as Devit even though you know you're not close to being done with his whole outfit yet.

That's all I've done for now. The pictures should be more help than my commentary but I'm sure you generally get it. Sorry about the strange angle on my legs that makes them look all misshapen (too lazy to take another one--long day of cosplay) but I hope you all enjoyed this post anyway! MadDog out!

Medusa Nails

Today, I'm going to be showing you some more everyday geeky-ness. I will be showing you how to re-create Medusa's (Soul Eater) nails. (I promise I will do more with this section than just nail polish but I really like painting my nails and that's about all I have time for at the moment.) To recreate this look, you will need: black, yellow, and clear nail polish, some scotch tape, and scissors.






STEP ONE:
Paint your fingers with the black nail polish and let them completely dry.

STEP TWO:
Tape your fingers so that only an arrow of black nail polish is exposed.











STEP THREE:
Paint over the arrow with yellow nail polish and peel of the tape.

STEP FOUR:
Add a clear coat so that the yellow doesn't chip off and everything is nice and shiny.

If you mess up a little bit, toothpicks can works wonders with touch-ups. Also, if you have never work with tape on your fingers, you may want to just do one finger at a time. I hope that you enjoyed this post. MadDog out!