New Cosplay! Yay! Devit (aka Debitto aka David) From D.Gray-Man

Please no yelling or even sighing from those of you who want to see what becomes of my Alois cosplay, but I am starting a new project. I will still be working on my Alois cosplay but because the jacket fabric is so difficult to work with, I can only work with it for a certain amount of time before I start getting all twitchy and then just completely lose whatever might have possibly been left of my sanity a few moments later. (Yup. That about sums it up.)
I will now also be working on Devit from D.Gray-Man. Me and a few of my friends will be cosplaying as a group of D.Gray-Man characters and actually Bagel, whom you've met before (Please Click Here), will be Jasdero, his "partner in crime." If you've any questions about the show D.Gray-Man itself, ask away (otherwise I'm just going to assume you know it or are fine with looking it up yourselves). In these pictures, the blonde is Jasdero (Bagle) and the other is Devit (me, MadDog).

The Look of Death: Where do I Buy a Wig?!

Whenever I ask someone if they have bought their wig yet, they either say "Yup XD" or they will get this look of death that slowly eats away their smile and blackens their eyes whilst they mutter a "no." So we are going to start our wig-venture with: where to buy wigs (because that's generally the issue).

There are a lot of sites out there and it's hard to tell what's legit or not. Lets take ebay for example. It's great... if you can find the right sellers. If you look for wigs on ebay, you want to make sure that the seller has a bunch of good reviews from cosplayers who know what they are talking about. You can get real good quality wigs from ebay (like my Rei wig was pretty good quality), but you won't always so make sure you really look into the sellers before actually buying. Generally when I shop for wigs, I will use Arda or ebay but I've heard a lot of good things about other online stores too. Here's a short list:

http://arda-wigs.com/
http://www.epiccosplay.com/
http://shop.cosplay.com/
http://www.amphigory.com/wigs.html
http://www.ebay.com/

Also, when you are buying a wig, you always want to make sure that it's in stock and you want to know when restocks are coming (just in case). Wigs can easily be the hardest part of your cosplay and it's always better to have it "bought and shipping" than to be looking for one last minute.

Last but not least: prices. Wigs generally cost about $30-$40. (This is for wigs that are short and medium lengths.) That being said, if you are buying a wig that goes down to your knees, it's gonna cost more. (Around $60-$70.) And some wigs can even get into the $100-$200 range. If you are looking at this paragraph about to tear out your own hair cause you don't have the money, ebay is going to be your savior. It's going to be a lot of time sorting through reviews (to find high quality wigs) but you can get wigs pretty darn cheep. (Heck I've seen a Hatsune Miku wig on there for $20) Especially if you can get free shipping and don't mind waiting a month for your wig to come in.

"Where do I Even Start?!"

I here this phrase all the time. (Like, all. The freaking. Time.) And really the answer is, you just have to jump in. You can watch a PowerPoint on how to swim but you are never going to learn unless jump into the water. End of story. However, these are a few things I do to help get me started on each project.

1) Pick an event.
If I have a timeline, or even just a deadline, I can always work better and more efficiently because I'll know when things need to be done by. Also, if I preregister for a convention, like I usually do, there is no going back.
2) Pick a character.
Just do it. Don't "think about it" for two months--just decide. Also, If this is you first cosplay, I highly recommend picking a character with a simple design/outfit/etc. (To learn about altering everyday clothing for cosplay, Please Click Here.) Take it or leave it but if you take it, you will be thanking me later.
3) Reference pictures.
Reference pictures, reference pictures, reference pictures! I don't know how many times I can say it. (Probably a lot more. XD) The last thing that you want to be saying is something along the lines of "How is this supposed to look from the back?" when you are already done making whatever it is that you are talking about. So Google some pictures. (It really isn't that hard in the great scheme of things.)
4) Make a visual checklist.
Draw/print a picture of your character and label all of the parts you need to make/buy/acquire/etc. I even have a board filled with info that I need on upcoming characters I'm going to cosplay as.
5) Get started and have fun!
I know your probably looking at this like, "Really?" but you don't want to fall victim to procrastination. Don't be that person who makes their outfit a week before the con! (Unless you and your friends are all doing it as some sort of challenge or whatever; then it's okay, I guess.) And remember to always make sure you are having fun. If you are stressing out big time, just remember that we are all a bunch of geeks just being extra geek-y when we are at a con. This is no need for stress. Have some fun, darn it! :)

My cosplay board (or rather, four boards...) and a typical visual checklist:

Finished Rei!

Hellola! I was so wiped on Sunday and as you can see, did not end up posting cause my post would've probably looked like this:
Yaaaaaaa it wa sjfgb refun aned sdgdshwrkj ll.....
And then I would have forgotten to upload photos cause I would've passed out due to exhaustion. Yup.

Well, Here I am now. Anime Boston was AMAZING! The first picture is of just me and my friend Jess, who cosplayed as Asuka. And the next one has the three of us (me and my friends who went as the Evangelion trio of awesome) and an Eva 01 that we saw there. (He was cool.)

Hope you enjoy! When I've decided on my next project, I will let you know!

Rei Not-Really-A-Preview Preview

I made the decision not-too-long ago (yesterday) that I would wait to post my complete Rei cosplay until Anime Boston, it being this weekend and all, but I figured I'd at least show you the wig I've been promising. So here it is:

After Anime Boston I will post a bunch of pictures and you can look the whole project and how it's come together. I'll try and post ASAP (meaning Sunday) but until then, check out this video of my friend, Justin Kelley's, new song called "Sometimes."