Well. It's been another year since I wrote a blog. I don't think any of us expected the world to shut down like it did after March. All conventions were cancelled, cosplays put on hold, and the general desire to see friends have been erased. It was rough on all of us, many cosplayers I follow have either switched to making masks or just...disappeared. With no cons or the comfort to shoot with photographers safely, content just wasn't there anymore. And I was one of the many who disappeared.
The hardest thing was my friend passing away. It was a sudden loss that I'm still fighting to come to terms with. He was the biggest supporter of my art and the fact that he bought my book only to never get the chance to read it has been a haunting feeling for me. But I celebrate his life and energy that he was probably yelling at us all from the other side to be happy and rejoice instead of being sad. The NC con community lost an amazing soul. RIP JJ.
I also deactivated my cosplay page on Facebook and practically abandoned Instagram besides the occasional story or to talk to some friends. Social media was burned out for me, it was hard to make content with nothing to make content of. I don't have the proper equipment to shoot at home (not even a ring light) so I really had nothing to share. I lost all desire to work on things because I had no where to wear them or no way to shoot them. The only thing I managed to do was a really lame closet cosplay of Lucio from The Arcana that I did for a Halloween event the company hosted. I actually loved how the armor turned out and the wig, so it was nice to be working on something.
I also deactivated my cosplay page on Facebook and practically abandoned Instagram besides the occasional story or to talk to some friends. Social media was burned out for me, it was hard to make content with nothing to make content of. I don't have the proper equipment to shoot at home (not even a ring light) so I really had nothing to share. I lost all desire to work on things because I had no where to wear them or no way to shoot them. The only thing I managed to do was a really lame closet cosplay of Lucio from The Arcana that I did for a Halloween event the company hosted. I actually loved how the armor turned out and the wig, so it was nice to be working on something.
The entire shoot was in my spare room (that I turned into a craft room). I used up all my Halloween decorations and some left over fabric from projects (hey look, it's Judar's fabric!). I bought this sword from Spirit Halloween that I want to rework to look like Lucio's. I have a few things I want to fix with my armor and really get my wig to stay in place but I actually liked doing this. I just wish I had better equipment to take better quality photos. Oh well. Gave me an excuse to wear my goth clothes at least. I also was beyond happy with my make up that I honestly cant wait to have his cosplay fully down and parade around a con in it.
I did buy some new cosplays! I'm still way deep into Demon Slayer that I now own a Lady Muzan outfit (wig needs a lot of work). I also bought a Doma cosplay! I want to make an Akaza cosplay eventually and buy a Kokushibou cosplay too....I'm going to end up cosplaying every demon from Demon Slayer I just know it. To break the train, I bought a Touken Ranbu cosplay as well....I had money to burn apparently lol. But this makes me ready for cons whenever they start happening again!!
I did buy some new cosplays! I'm still way deep into Demon Slayer that I now own a Lady Muzan outfit (wig needs a lot of work). I also bought a Doma cosplay! I want to make an Akaza cosplay eventually and buy a Kokushibou cosplay too....I'm going to end up cosplaying every demon from Demon Slayer I just know it. To break the train, I bought a Touken Ranbu cosplay as well....I had money to burn apparently lol. But this makes me ready for cons whenever they start happening again!!
I also began to rework Hiromasa like I wanted to. I completely redid his wig using a tutorial by Kinpantsu Cosplay and I LOVE how it came out. I just have to get some really good wig spray to prevent tangling and it's ready for the con floor. I'm also fixing the pants where it'll be a little shorter to expose my ankles, align the appliques so they don't look wonky, took it in at the waste to fit better, and I'm ambitious and added a lot of gold overlay stitching to make stuff POP. I want to fix the sleeve up too for the same issues, add the missing details on his torso piece, remake the collar to make it bigger, and completely redo the armored sleeve (that was a rushed job). And MAYBE I'LL FINISH HIS BOW. Props are hard for me. I want to reshoot him when he's done and maybe reenter him to a contest to really show off my improvements.
Other than that, I've become a full time student again. I hope to be relocating in January if I can transfer to the university in time. I'm in the training program for a manager job at my company so I can transfer to the store closest to where my future school is. I have a lot of things to do between now and then to make this happen. Which...also means cosplay and cons will be further down on the list partly because Idk if I can afford them anymore! Gotta pay them school fee's somehow :^) So I'll finish what I have now and....we'll see.
For now...I'll update the site if and when I get more content but Idk if I'll reactivate my fb. My IG is still up and running (@oujaakuma) so follow me there for more consistent updates or for pictures of Lola.
Until next time~
For now...I'll update the site if and when I get more content but Idk if I'll reactivate my fb. My IG is still up and running (@oujaakuma) so follow me there for more consistent updates or for pictures of Lola.
Until next time~
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