Aww I was working Saturday so I wasn't able to go to Neo Tokyo Project's Zombie Cosplay Walk yesterday!

Check out the Channel News Asia clip bout the event! Boy it sure did look like fun!

It's here! London MCM Expo is now ongoing! Here's some of the EPIC cosplayers spotted at the con from Day 1 and 2. More to come Monday!

Great photos from Collider

SKYRIM! - (Stacylala)

Team CATS!

Cutesy Maid

Ooo Mystique and Magneto

Ok that kinda looks like David Tennant Dr Who

Dark Eldar Incubi - Warhammer 40K!

Ferry girl!

Darth Revan - Knights of the Old Republic Star Wars

TOO AWESOME - Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Hey! It's Danni from Game of Thrones TV

Steampunk Kimono girl

Scorpion VS Sub Zero - Mortal Kombat

SLENDER MAN

Evil Silent Hill nurses

Nice Armor!

Team Bleach!

Lara Croft! - Tomb Raider

Lady Death and Medieval Guy

It's Belle from Beauty and the Beast!

I think this guy is from Silent Hill as well

 
The Seminole Chronicle (town in Florida, USA) decided to do a small report about this year's Halloween Costume trends. It lists in ranking, the most 'in' costume trends:

1. Superheroes

2. Video Game Characters

3. TV Characters

4. Pop Culture Phenoms 

5. Political Figures

6. Zombies

7. Princesses

8. Monster High

9. Hunger Games


Hm. Yup, Superheroes is really popular now thanks to all the Superhero movies - eg. Avengers, Batman, Spiderman etc. And Superheroes are classic so you can always jump into an outfit any Halloween/ Cosplay event

Video game characters - sure! Lots of cool games released this year  - Diablo 3, Borderlands, Resident Evil etc.

Now TV shows is interesting. I haven't seen that many TV show characters around other than Dr Who. The article does state people are wanting lots of 60s style Mad Men outfits. Hmm. And also 1920s style Boardwalk Empire gangster stuff too.

Pop culture Phenoms. - Yup, Gangnam Style PSY is a big deal, also the Meme stuff is really big

Political Figures - yeah cause the US elections are on now. So lots of Obamas and Romneys will be about.

Zombies - cause zombies are frackin everywhere!

Princesses - just cause there are lots of princesses to choose from and some how, little girls like to be princesses (I'm not one of those people though)

Monster High - whoa, what is this stuff? Never heard of it? Oo. it's like Monster Bratz ok got it. Guess it's a tween thing

Hunger Games - yeah, the trend is sorta waning but that would be lots of Katniss's and Effis about.

Well you don't really have to follow 'trends' to be the 'in' halloween cosplayer. Just where classic stuff I says, classic stuff ain't never get old!

 
Wow, I've been really pooped from work but it still brings a smile to my face when I talk about cosplay and when I see some really good outfits!

Philadelphia Weekly just published this interesting article about 'Why Do We Cosplay?' - so what is the psychology behind wanting to cosplay?

The article claims that people just want to be 'recognized' - We want attention, in other words.

Here's a great except from the article:

"It seems counterintuitive. Especially in this age of online handles and anonymous comments, when we’re constantly hearing about trolls and identity thieves hiding behind false facades. Surely masks and costumes are not meant to reveal ; they exist to hide, to obscure, to transform.

And yet, when we select our Halloween costumes, we are consciously choosing how we wish to be seen. We want to be recognized, not as schoolchildren or underpaid interns or office workers living lives of quiet desperation, but as the scary, sexy, colorful people we know we are on the inside. We don’t want to disguise ourselves—our very selves—we want to unveil them."

Yeah now that's interesting. In today's age, people want to be 'invisible' online. To be another persona from their real life and be allowed to do something out of their ordinary life. Some people troll, bully, talk crap about others just because they know they're just a false name and number on the internet. 

And yet when it comes to selecting a character to cosplay as, you subconsciously choose something that's iconic, recognizable and that people will see you as that character rather than 'average joe X'. Bizarre isn't it?

The writer goes on to talk about his Batman outfit and why he wears it

"While I have worn this costume to Halloween parties and science-fiction conventions, I didn’t make it for any one specific event. I made it because I want a Batman suit. Which of course really means this: I want to be seen as Batman. Sure, I’m not a vigilante champion of justice—but I do help the people I meet, in my own small way. Giving $10 to someone on the street or helping a friend get a job is not the same as saving the city from deadly laughing gas, I realize. Which is why I don’t don the cape and cowl every day."

 

Yeah it's true, you don't really want to be Batman EVERY DAY. You just want to be Batman for a short while. Being Batman every day is a different story : )

Great little article, go check it out!

 

So maybe Cosplay is too expensive for your budget, but that doesn't mean you can't wear something to a con to join in with the festivities!

Here's some options that you could check out!

1. Wear a gamer/ anime/ comic book shirt - lots of people do this, it's cool to wear a shirt with your favorite pop culture stuff on it to a con. Show your geek pride!

2.  Wear special head gear - Neko ears, gamer hat, viking helmet, headband. The options are endless! You could even wear a wig!

3. Wear a funky mask - The Meme masks are pretty popular especially the troll face masks and I see tons of people wear them to a con and it really is quite funny. You can also wear something simple like a Bleach Hollow mask or even a pirate patch and that's still fun.

4. Wear a cool pop culture accessory! - A scarf, watch, tie, pair of earings, socks, shoes. Lesser stuff that hopefully isn't too expensive that's pop culture related. Special patches, pins, key chains etc.

5. You can even paint your face, temp tattoo - if you're feeling up to it : )

6. Girls, you can do your nails! - There's all sorts of pop culture related nails and things you can do on your own too!


I personally feel better when I something fun when I go to a con even if I'm a civilian just to join in, ya know?

So I started a new job as a retail assistant and something I thought that was really interesting that the store manager told me was that when you're in retail, it's not about you, as a civilian, selling something to someone. It's about you representing a brand to sell something to someone and that comes with switching on the 'friendly retail person' persona. You speak in a bright voice, you greet customers sincerely and pleasantly when they enter and leave the store, even if the customer has an attitude problem, don't take any of it personally because you represent a brand and you still have to be nice to people. It's basically like unconscious acting.

Having thought about this, I thought it would be interesting to share an article on Cosplaying in character. The difference between cosplay and just wearing a Halloween costume is when you cosplay, you ARE the character. You're no longer you, you become this persona of your favorite character.

This is an article written sometime back by Cairdiuil of 'All About Cosplay' blog about 'how to play your cosplay character' here's an except

 "What really helped me with playing my character was I didn't just constantly watch footage of Rei (from Evangelion) in the series and seriously studied her mannerisms, I would look at cosplayers who portrayed Rei really well. I would save their photos onto my computer and study the photo and ask myself, "Why I am I getting a Rei vibe from this image?" "Is it the lighting, her pose?"

What also helps is study your body in front of the mirror and take lots of photos of yourself. Practice your facial expressions and see how their come out. The more time you spend in front of a camera, the less shy you will be! Get a family member or friend to take photos of you in your cosplay and try acting as your character. Even at home or when along in your room, in the bathroom say some lines as your character, acting as them. Well known theater actors and film actors like Danial Day Lewis do this, when coming up to a play they walk around staying in character. I try do this subtle when coming up to a shoot."

It's a helpful article written by a fellow Singaporean, very cool and thanks for sharing!

 
A friend referred me to this sweet post by webcomic artist, Aaron Diaz who's the artist of Dresden Codak.

He was nice enough to share his notes he gave to his art students about composition. Note this info is basic Art 101 for not just illustration but pretty much Photography, Film etc.

Very clear and very cool notes that might help frame your photos/ comics better

See his full notes here