Happy 2012! (Days 684 - 700)

Also happy 700th post!

I don't really have any New Year's resolutions, cosplay-related or otherwise. I have goals, sure, but they're not specific to this year or anything. I updated my 2012 Convention & Cosplay List, but it's still incomplete and is always subject to change. I'd love to actually stick firmly to my list this year and not spend bucketloads of money. I think I did pretty good at sticking to my plans last year, and compared to the year before, I did save a lot of money. I'd like to save even more this year. Cosplay and conventions take up so much of my time and money, I'd like to be able to do more things.

I updated a few things on this blog, but not really a lot. I tried to simplify things in the layout more and highlight features that people seem to like (mostly tutorials). I do this quite often, but I try not to make major changes that confuse people. I just want everything to be simple, easy to find, and relevant.

I recently got a WorldCosplay.net account in the hopes that it would be better than Cosplay.com. I'm not in love with it, but it is interesting at least, so I'll stick around for a while. There seems to be no way to communicate with other members, but I like that you can follow people and favorite photos, features that Cosplay.com either doesn't have or has inefficient versions of. WorldCosplay is mostly about this obscure ranking system that puts its users in order based on uploaded photos, people following, people followed, and photos favorited. I think it's to encourage people to be active in the community, but it will probably encourage more elitism. Ah well, we'll see how long this lasts.

My current cosplay project is still Callie Maggotbone (Ugly Americans). I'm hitting a lot of snags, though. First, that wig. I have a pretty solid idea of how to style it, but I can't even pick a color. Ideally, I'd like a bright salmon-colored wig, but I can't find one. My next choice is bright red, but usually bright colors are a no-no when translating a 2D design into real life. With Callie though, I mean, her skin is pink. I think a lot of elements of realism kind of go out the window. If I wanted to keep this, err, "realistic" (for lack of a better word), I'd go with a deep red wig, which would allow me to actually use my Yoko wig. I'd love that, considering the money it'd save me, but it doesn't allow me as much control as a new wig would. Callie has a widow's peak, a type of hairline that gives the face a heart shape, that I would have to create on my own. I couldn't do that with my Yoko wig. Also, using my Yoko wig, I would have to bring the rest of the color scheme down to darker colors to match. I'm not opposed to a different shade of pink for my skin (I'm looking into it) or a darker shade of lipstick, but I'm just not sure how that would work.

The skin is a major issue for me. Using makeup I have at home (powdered blush and white Ben Nye cream), I gave myself a pink face, and it was not pretty. It made me look really, really masculine (especially with slicked-back hair). I'm hoping that if I work on contouring, I can highlight my feminine features through the pink, but ugh, it just looked so bad. I'd probably drop the cosplay if I wasn't part of a group. It's a lot of work, and it may just be impossible to make it look good.

On a side-note, I did get a new white dress shirt to use for Callie, a more accurate one. It's actually not perfect, the sleeves are 3/4 sleeves instead of full sleeves, but considering the other issues I'm having, I consider this a minor problem. If I sort everything else out, I'll go back to looking for a more accurate shirt.