Greetings, all.
When it comes to the world of Cosplay, I am a relatively new citizen. Sure, I've been sat outside the city gates since I was fourteen, playing FFX-2, and dreaming of being able to have the skills/money to make/buy ALL of the outfits worn by the three main (kick-ass) characters: Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. Ah, those were the days! Every time I see a character I love looking extra awesome, my crafty-brain kicks into gear thinking about ways of constructing a cosplay. Then comes the firm, sonorous tones of practicality-brain. Man, she is such a buzzkill! "You can't afford that much material", "you don't own any tools that cut through metal", "if you shave your head, no one will employ you, and mum will cry."
Sadly, she does make fair points. Thus, my many ideas go unfulfilled... like my dreams...
This was until recently, when I finally managed to slip past practicality-brain, and bought a hacksaw! I know what you're thinking: "there isn't a superhero who only wears a hacksaw!", and you're probably right. No. The hacksaw allowed me to make the BatAxe!
A friend had a Skyrim themed birthday party (I know, right?! Such an awesome idea!), where we could all cosplay as someone/thing from the game. I had just purchased a new black pleather corset (as you do), which goes amazingly with my New Rock boots, and I figured: I'm halfway there - might as well go the whole hog. And so I made "leather armour" - the quotation marks are necessary as it looked nothing like armour & more like I was waiting to show an adventuter a good time. Ahem.
Aaaaanyway, I needed a weapon to go with my "armour", and since I have almost no experience with metal work, I figured wood would be much easier. I let practicality-brain out of the penalty box, and we conspired. We agreed that an axe would probably be the easiest option, and that a trip to B&Q was needed. The sales assistant there told me I'd need a jigsaw. If I were sane & wealthy I probably would have heeded his advice. I am neither. I took my hacksaw and my wood, and I went home to create the most epic axe you have ever seen outside of Tamriel!
Yeah, it didn't quite happen that way. I looked on the internet for ideas about the shape of the axe, and chose one I thought would be both easy and awesome. I then added a couple of my own embellishments. It was only after I cut it out (with the trusty hacksaw) and spray painted it silver, did I realise I had subconsciously drawn the bat symbol.
Oh well, it still worked. Add a nicely varnished dowel, a couple of screws, black material wrap around the dowel as a handle, and several splinters later you have the BatAxe.
Sadly the BatAxe has now been "dismantled" by some of my old housemates (due to the lack of BatAxe, I was unable to "disembowel" them). However, this simple wooden weapon did start me off on a Cosplay craze. It showed me that practicality-brain isn't just something that gets in the way and has to be shut in a cupboard every now and again. She can help!
I'm still developing my skills - at the moment focusing on sewing and woodwork (only where comically-sized weapons are involved) - but I'd like to expand my horizons. I need to explore things like metalwork and jewellery-making. For me, it's the little bits of detail that breathe life into a cosplay, and at the moment I'm a little limited in what I can create. But I'll learn.
I'm still evolving my cosplay style, and I still think it sucks that it's taken me so long to get off the bench and join the ranks of cosplayers (should I not have changed that metaphor? Eh, I'm sure you're intelligent, you'll cope). So I just want to say that if you're reading this and thinking about cosplaying at the next convention you go to, or the next party you attend - DO IT! Even if it's half-arsed, thrown together over an afternoon, or just a little stealth cosplay (yes, it is a thing, and there will be an article on it soon), you won't regret it! (Unless you try to invent hacksaw-man. Then you might. Just warning you.)
Live long and prosper.
When it comes to the world of Cosplay, I am a relatively new citizen. Sure, I've been sat outside the city gates since I was fourteen, playing FFX-2, and dreaming of being able to have the skills/money to make/buy ALL of the outfits worn by the three main (kick-ass) characters: Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. Ah, those were the days! Every time I see a character I love looking extra awesome, my crafty-brain kicks into gear thinking about ways of constructing a cosplay. Then comes the firm, sonorous tones of practicality-brain. Man, she is such a buzzkill! "You can't afford that much material", "you don't own any tools that cut through metal", "if you shave your head, no one will employ you, and mum will cry."
Sadly, she does make fair points. Thus, my many ideas go unfulfilled... like my dreams...
 |
| Can someone play this for me, please? |
This was until recently, when I finally managed to slip past practicality-brain, and bought a hacksaw! I know what you're thinking: "there isn't a superhero who only wears a hacksaw!", and you're probably right. No. The hacksaw allowed me to make the BatAxe!
 |
| Yes, it is that big. |
Aaaaanyway, I needed a weapon to go with my "armour", and since I have almost no experience with metal work, I figured wood would be much easier. I let practicality-brain out of the penalty box, and we conspired. We agreed that an axe would probably be the easiest option, and that a trip to B&Q was needed. The sales assistant there told me I'd need a jigsaw. If I were sane & wealthy I probably would have heeded his advice. I am neither. I took my hacksaw and my wood, and I went home to create the most epic axe you have ever seen outside of Tamriel!
 |
| Is that a Daedric battleaxe in your belt or are you just here to kill me? |
Yeah, it didn't quite happen that way. I looked on the internet for ideas about the shape of the axe, and chose one I thought would be both easy and awesome. I then added a couple of my own embellishments. It was only after I cut it out (with the trusty hacksaw) and spray painted it silver, did I realise I had subconsciously drawn the bat symbol.
 |
| Please don't hurt me! |
 |
| Sorry DC, it was an accident! |
Oh well, it still worked. Add a nicely varnished dowel, a couple of screws, black material wrap around the dowel as a handle, and several splinters later you have the BatAxe.
Sadly the BatAxe has now been "dismantled" by some of my old housemates (due to the lack of BatAxe, I was unable to "disembowel" them). However, this simple wooden weapon did start me off on a Cosplay craze. It showed me that practicality-brain isn't just something that gets in the way and has to be shut in a cupboard every now and again. She can help!
I'm still developing my skills - at the moment focusing on sewing and woodwork (only where comically-sized weapons are involved) - but I'd like to expand my horizons. I need to explore things like metalwork and jewellery-making. For me, it's the little bits of detail that breathe life into a cosplay, and at the moment I'm a little limited in what I can create. But I'll learn.
I'm still evolving my cosplay style, and I still think it sucks that it's taken me so long to get off the bench and join the ranks of cosplayers (should I not have changed that metaphor? Eh, I'm sure you're intelligent, you'll cope). So I just want to say that if you're reading this and thinking about cosplaying at the next convention you go to, or the next party you attend - DO IT! Even if it's half-arsed, thrown together over an afternoon, or just a little stealth cosplay (yes, it is a thing, and there will be an article on it soon), you won't regret it! (Unless you try to invent hacksaw-man. Then you might. Just warning you.)
Live long and prosper.
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