Long Cosplay Survey Meme

Bits about my day can be found on my LJ. This meme is from a shit ton of you people.

Basics

What is your cosplay alias?
Kurohane Shizumi. XD Some people associate me with Yazoo and now Maka.

How many years have you cosplayed?
Umm... five?

How did you get into cosplaying?
Hmm. Hard to say actually... I went to my first con in a "costume" of sorts. Wearing character costumes (or cosplay) was just the next, natural step. Especially after seeing such amazing ones right then! But why did I wear one in the first place...? I think it was just the whole idea of being apart of the fandom I loved so much. I felt like the anime shirts and such just wouldn't do. XD I'm ren-fest regular so I'm use to "getting in character".

What was your first convention and how did it go?
YasumiCon '04~ I actually don't remember a lot about it. I wish I had been writing con reports then so I could go back and look but... oh well. Umm... lesse. I bought a ton of stuff. I only went Saturday 'cause school started the following Monday so I needed Sunday to prepare. Since that con was held at a college, I decided to go to their when I went to college and I'm there now so... ^_^

How many cons have you been to?
Oh boy. Over 20 for sure. I think my last count was 22. And I actually don't end up going to a lot of them due to ride issues. :/ Because that 22 is over a span of five years.

How many cosplays have you done?
Technically, 6: Duo Maxwell, Yuuen, Yazoo, Aoyagi Ritsuka, Fujioka Haruhi, and Maka=Albarn. I'm currently working on Sumeragi Subaru and~ Xion. I have Belgium planned and I might go through with a secret cosplay that's not-so-secret among my RL friends. XD

Your Cosplays

What was your first cosplay and why did you choose it?
Technically, Gothic Kenshin was the first. If anyone can find any of the hideous pictures that might be out there, I will commend you. And I chose it because I wanted to be apart of the otaku culture. My more official first cosplay was Duo Maxwell. It was ghetto MIXed version. And I chose him because I f**king love Duo.

What is your favorite cosplay you've done so far?
Hmm... Hard to say really. I love each of my cosplays for different reasons. I love Duo, because it's was comfortable and no work. I love Yuuen because I get to be bare-footed and it's summery (which is perfect for FL). I love Yazoo because it's done so well. I love Ritsuka because it was the cosplay I didn't expect to pull off, but according to everyone, I did. I love Haruhi because I made her f**king jacket all by myself. And I love Maka because of her bad-ass prop and making nearly everything myself. I'm sure I'll love Subaru for bringing back a classic character and Xion because she's awesome.

What is your least favorite you've cosplayed?
I must be honest and say... Gothic Kenshin. GOD, it was a bad, bad move. I mean, it was black gi top, black hakama, black ribbon, AND BLUE MAKE-UP. NO REALLY.

What cosplay is the most uncomfortable?
YAZOO. DDD: It's... just... so... hot. *dies*

Process

How do you research the cosplay before you make it?
I usually watch/play/read the source the character comes from. I'll google them to see if there's anything about them that I haven't discovered that may have been disclosed outside the canon source. And of course, I try to find as many reference pictures from as many different angles as possible.

Do you sew your cosplays yourself?
Yes. Now I do. Yuuen was solely hand-sewn. Yazoo and Ritsuka I had help from <lj user="kin_sama"> who was cosplaying with me. But Haruhi and Maka, and now Subaru and Xion and everything that will come after will be by me only. Probably.

If so, how did you learn to sew? If not, do you plan to learn?
Well, hand-sewing is not that hard. It's actually pretty nice. ^_^ But sewing on a machine is really tricky. I got to see Kin sew with it and see wear she went wrong and such to learn the basics but I never actually used her machine. It was only by trail-and-error on my own machine that I learned.

Do you make your own props?
Yes. But I must admit I have some help. My father's a carpenter so it's fairly easy for me to request him to make me something. Honestly though he only really uses the power-tools for me. XD But he's already told me that the next few props we do, he'll let me do it and supervise me so that I get use to using them so I can do it myself. ^_^

If so, how did you learn to? If not, do you plan to learn?
Yeah, my dad. The first thing is to form a basic idea of how the prop is made in anime/manga/vg-land. XD Then you have to translate the design into something that works in OUR world. That's one of the very first things I learned from my dad because we would butt-heads all the time about "But that's not how it's suppose to work!" "But that can't be DONE IN REAL LIFE." XDDD

Do you style your own wigs?
Now I do, yes. XD Yazoo's, Yuuen's, and Ritsuka's were done with the help of Kin. She basically cut them for me. Which was actually really nice because I could put the wig on and she would cut it to fit me exactly. Now I do them myself but it's much harder because you can't see behind you and such. XD But I cut and spray and such them myself.

What other skills do you use to create your cosplays?
Umm... I'd like to say I can make shoes. But that's not entirely accurate. I modify shoes. And I also have extremely good painting skills. Surprising, that's really handy in cosplay. I'm not too bad at basic make-up skills. I think everyone―even guys―should wear just a bit of make-up at the very least.

What skill has been most useful for making your cosplay?
Umm... persistence and patience. You really need to have both for this kind of hobby. Especially, above all, patience because if you become easily annoyed, it becomes easier to f**k up. And persistence because even when you do f**k up, you can't just give up or you waste so much time, money, and effort. You have to be able to keep going, even when it looks bleak.

What is the hardest thing when making a cosplay?
Hmm... Trying to stay as accurate as possible, I think. There are just somethings that don't translate well at all and you have to make the best of it. Staying comfortable would come in at number two because often times the most accurate cosplays end up with a lack thereof. :/

What was the biggest screw up you've had making a cosplay?
When we worked on Kadaj... first time styling a wig... BUTCHERED IT. Seriously. TO THE POINT OF NO RETURN. D:

How often do you injure yourself while making a cosplay?
Hahaha~ A lot. Sewing involves a lot of pointy, skin-piercing objects.

Budget

Do you try to stay cheap or do you splurge on materials?
I'm not going to lie. I try to be as cheap as possible. But when accuracy is at stake I tend to compromise and pay more than I either originally intended to or than I really should. :/

cos-PLAY

Have you ever cosplayed with a partner or group?
Yup.

Do you try to act in character?
Umm... Yes. But I fail hard. So I'm only really IC when taking a photos or acting out something (like in a skit) or if a person sets me up for something.

Have you ever done fanservice at a con? (Yaoi, yuri, etc)
Yes. XD Metro. Kadaj/Yazoo. Nuff said.

How do you react to cosplayers dressed as character from the same anime/game/etc?
I don't. D: It sounds odd, I know. But I usually don't react at all. Oh, well... sometimes I say I'm better in my head. DX Like, I scrutinize. Bad habit, I suppose.

Do you try to duplicate your character's expressions, walk, movements, etc?
Kinda. Mainly walk/movements.

When crossplaying, do you try to act as much like the gender as possible?
Yup. It's rather either for me, being brought up by guys and all.

What was your funniest experience of acting in character?
Umm... I don't think I have one. D:

What was your worst experience acting in character?
Again... don't think I have one.

Competition

Do you compete in cosplay contests?
Yup~

Have you won anything?
Yes. Surprisingly. D: Yazoo won Best in Show with Kin's Kadaj at Chibi-Pa '08 and won MizuCon '08's Hall Costume Contest. Maka won a Con Chair award at YasumiCon '09 and Best in Show at MizuCon '09. Ritsuka was featured in the winning Homebrew OVA video at MetroCon '09's AMV contest and was also featured in Cosmode 27 in Japan. Haruhi was never entered in anything and I wouldn't dream of entering Yuuen or Duo in anything either.

Do you prefer skits or walk-ons?
I haven't actually done a skit. D: I planned one with Kin, but we never did it. And I can't think of one to do on my own. I am suppose to do one with ~Swankified-squeegee and her Ouran group so we'll see how that goes.

Community

How many friends have you made because of cosplay?
Umm... I guess a few. Hard to answer, this question is.

Do you attend photo shoots and meet-ups outside of conventions?
Yeah, sometimes.

What is the funniest reaction you've gotten cosplaying from people outside of the community?
The first time I rode a public bus I was in Yuuen's outfit. We went to StarBucks in Kadaj and Yazoo and the guy behind the counter did a double-take. Haruhi. At school. They thought I was headed to high school or middle school or some sort of private school. And the people that knew me thought I'd cut my hair and dyed it a darker color.

What was the worst?
I don't think I've gotten a truely negative reaction from the outside world when in cosplay. D:

Future

How long do you think you'll be cosplaying for?
Really. Forever. I actually can't wait till I'm a grandmother to do some of the awesome elder characters in anime (like Grandma Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle, or Impa in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, or even Sumeragi Lee Noriega (Gundam 00)).

Name a few cosplays you're planning to do next:
I mentioned a few before. I'm working on Subaru now. I hope to do Xion next. After Xion I actually have to do the White Witch for an Alice in Wonderland group. (I didn't forget!) And then Belgium in her dress and a waitress version I've got to come up with. I might squeeze in a secret cosplay but we'll have to see.

What is your dream cosplay?
Anything by CLAMP. D: And some of my own more creative characters.

Misc

What do you take into consideration when picking a character to cosplay?
First and foremost, whether I like them. If I don't like the character EVEN A LITTLE, I will have next-to-no-drive to cosplay them seriously. And that makes for a shitty outcome. The second factor is less important: whether I feel I will do the character justice. I believe that if you truly love a character, you'll do them justice by doing your best. And last of all: whether they are possible for me to accomplish. Which I won't really know until I get right down to it. ^_^

Is cosplay serious business for you?
HELL YES IT IS. I'm spending time, money, and effort―LOTS OF ALL THREE―to accomplish something that's really productive. WHY WOULDN'T I TAKE IT SERIOUSLY?

What is your favorite thing about cosplay?
Honestly, getting to be someone else for a day. It's like a mini-vacation. ^_^ I also love the sense of accomplishment that comes from finishing one and the good feeling when someone else acknowledges what a wonderful job you did. ^__^

What is your least favorite?
The lack a life as you work on it, the amount of money it often consumes and how much effort it really takes. D: But it is, as I said, worth it.

What is it that makes you keep cospaying?
All my favorite things about cosplay, of course. Also, seeing other amazing people. *A* And getting to enjoy doing it with my friends.

How would you like cosplaying to change in the future?
I would definitely like it to be recognized as something akin to fashion design. Seriously, even though the cosplayer doesn't design the outfit, they do, in a way, design how it is made. And then they actually go about making it. This takes a great deal of creativity and skill. And I do wish that more people would see that. (And I don't just mean contests at cons! XD)

How do you want to grow as a cosplayer?
I reallllly want to work with armor materials like wonderflex, craft foam, resin, sculpy. I'd love to continually push the bar higher for myself. I hope that one day I will be able to pass my skills onto my children and give them this gift of creation so that they know they can make whatever they want in life. Or something like that. ^_~

~Shizu ^_^

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Cosplay List: kurohaneshizumi.livejournal.co…

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