Cosplay : Prep and Success

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This Week in the Geek Galaxy : Clones, Costumes and Casting

Clone Closet

Are you excited about Orphan Black? Want to wear matching outfits with your sestras? Well you are in luck!!! Hot Topic announced that they are featuring an Orphan Black line, complete with four clone looks. 

HOT TOPIC CLONE LINE

We were so excited about the news we pooled together and made a hefty preorder! 

Deadpool Costume Reveal 

Are you for real? Is this finally happening? After years of waiting we get our first look at Deadpool in full costume. Earlier this morning Ryan Reynolds tweeted out a sexy sprawled out Deadpool on a bear skin rug reminding us why we should still be excited he is involved in this project. With each casting news reveal and speculation surrounding the film our crew loses its cool more and more. 

New Avengers Line-Up 

Marvel finally revealed their all new Avengers line-up post Secret Wars. Shaking it up and truly bringing us an amazing team. It seems that the 616 is adding Miles Morales into their mix and Marvel is adding him to the Avengers. Sam Wilson is repping Captain America, Kamala Khan is reporting for duty and our new lady Thor is rounding out the team. The team also includes Nova, Ironman and The Vision. We are so excited to see what they get up too and hope for some truly amazing moments between Miles, Kamala and Nova.

Star Trek 3 Casts Idris Elba 

Once we learned that Simon Pegg was writing the third instalment of the Star Trek franchise but the good news keeps coming. The film has cast Idris Elba for once of their lead roles. Speculation is that Elba will be portraying a Klingon. 

Fox Announced X-Files Episodes 

Earlier in the week creator and executive producer Chris Carter announced that the X-Files will be returning for a 6 episode run. Start David Duchovy and Gillian Anderson sweetly tweeted at each other about returning for the show.

As kids of the files we are excited to see what kind of stories they have in store. 

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Cosplayer of the Week : Monique Muñoz

  We first met Monique when we were awe-stricken by her art and approached her table at a con. We started chatting and we soon realized that Monique was friends with some of our friends. It wasn't until later we realized that Monique puts the same amount of hard work and dedication in her cosplays as she does her print work. She is creative, dedicated and extremely talented. We are so happy to be able to share our friends work with you and we are honoured to know someone with her skills. 

What got you into cosplay?

When I went to my first convention, Anime North. I was so amazed by all the costumes that I was inspired on making my own as best as I could!

What was your first cosplay? 

My first cosplay was Marik from Yu-Gi-Oh! ha ha I don't have a photo but I have a photo of my second and third costume! They are pretty funny!! ha ha I wish I had better ones of them but they were all lost when I switched computer a couple years ago.

How long have you been cosplaying?

Oh gosh….. around 8 years now? I think about it now and realize my god, I've come such a long way!! ha ha

What is your favourite part of putting on your cosplay?

Seeing it all completed! So after everything is on, you almost breath and think all your efforts paid off! ha ha It's a good feeling 

What's the best part of cosplay for you?

Being able to look fabulous with your friends.

What is your favourite cosplay? 

Urh, I'm not sure!  I'll say Articuno because it was my own original idea and design. It was also the second time working with feathers so I came up with a concept to make them flexible instead of being rigid. I think it turned out great! It was my first time designing a tail and with the help of my friend Andrew, it came out wonderfully! 

I also love cosplaying Hijikata from Gintama….because it's just fun ha ha ha 

Do you have a current cosplay or cosplayer favourite, someone that has inspired you?

I really love Reika's, Kaname's and Kuryuu's~ They are so wonderful 

I'll send the photos through facebook now!

Deviantart - Kaiser-Mony

Cosplay - Chibi_Mony

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Cosplayer of the Week: Chris Eyles

This week’s featured cosplayer is Chris Eyles! Chris is a familiar face in the Toronto cosplay scene, however we were only recently introduced to Chris’s cosplays at Anime North last year when we saw his fantastic Thor costume.  As we dived deeper into his cosplay repertoire we realized he was a cosplayer who had an affinity for the characters we love and even better was the fact that he does them all justice.

What got you into cosplay? 

Well I had a friend who was into it, and I kept seeing pictures from shoots at cons and it looked like a lot of fun.  I am a fan of a bunch of nerdy things and well who doesn’t want to dress up as someone cool!  It also helped that I already resemble several characters that I like, so that makes it a lot easier.

What was your first cosplay?

My first cosplay was Thor from the Marvel comics.  I did the armour version from the first Thor movie.  I had been lazy and hadn’t cut my hair so it was getting long, wanted to do a cosplay, and since I was a tall blonde guy I figured, why not Thor.  I looked up some tutorials and set to work.  It was done in a few weeks and I tested it at Superfan Comicon (really small con in its first year) and then gave it a real cosplay initiation by wearing it to Anime North 2014.

How long have you been cosplaying?

Almost a year now.  It was the May 24^th long weekend that I consider my first cosplay.

What is your favourite part about putting on your cosplay?

I’d have to say looking at myself and imagining I am the character.  It feels pretty cool.

 What’s the best part of cosplay for you?

I’d have to say recognition for the work you put into the cosplay, and meeting other fans of the characters you love and sharing that love.

What is your favourite cosplay?

Tough one.  I like my Thor because it was my first, but I also like my Final Fantasy 13 Snow Villiers, because it is simple and the overcoat has huge pockets (which are a blessing at cons haha!).

 Favourite cosplay/cosplayer or inspiring person?

All the people that you meet at cons that work hard on their cosplays are inspiring as well as new friends that I have made.  I must admit I totally do have  crush on cosplayer Nadya Sonika after meeting her at Fan Expo last year (2014).  She was just so nice and sweet, not to mention beautiful, and does some awesome cosplays, so hopefully I get to meet her again at another con!

Instagram/Twitter:  ChrisEyles

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Naruto Newbie - Journey to Hokage (Part 2)

Recap - Naruto is a popular Japanese manga/anime by Masashi Kishimoto. It centres around a young boy named Naruto Uzumaki. After a Nine-Tails attacks the village Konoha, the Fourth Hokage, risks his life (paying the ultimate price_ and seals the demon inside a newborn Naruto. Studying to become a ninja Naruto struggles with trying to fit in, being accepted and striving for his dream of becoming the Hokage. The story follows Naruto and his friends (team 7) and the missions they must accomplish all while the young ninja tries to complete his dream. 

As I set out on my mission and journey further into the world of Naruto I find my opinion of the show is starting to change. At first I thought it was something I could never get into but I find myself enjoying the character introductions and character growths, which I guess means I am invested. 

As much as I like Naruto I needed him to be surrounded by other characters in order for that to really come through. In enters Kakashi Hatake. He is a shinobi of Konohagakure. After receiving a Sharingan when he was younger he came into fame as the Copy Ninja Kakashi. He is talented, skillful and one of the village's most capable ninja. He is the leader of Team 7 and acts as teacher to our young heroes. I quickly took an interest in his character. Kakashi is unconventional. He is often shown as being bored and unenthusiastic displaying his calm like nature often an advantage when in  battle. He has been described as cool and hip. But better than that Kakashi, despite his growing reputation and strength in abilities, remains modest.  He possesses qualities I often seek out in characters. He is presented to us as someone who is stoic and emotionless but actually has a big heart and is very caring. He is fiercely loyal and he also has a childlike side. Of course we aren't going to ignore the fact that we all know Kakashi is mega handsome under that mask. Yuukatan also neglected to tell me that Kakashi is a dog person so my love for the man only grows (stop trying to keep him for yourself, selfish). 

What I needed from the story was an overall story arc which focused on moving our main protagonist forward. Our young heroes, now forming Team 7, and their leader Kakashi begin training in various ways to evolve as ninja. After a few successfully accomplished D-rank missions, Naruto asks the Hokage for a higher level missions, feeling that Team 7 is ready to take on more. They are assigned to escort bridge builder Tazuna to the Land of Waves. The mission already seems too high level when two ninja appear out of nowhere to attack the group. It seems our team's leader is easily defeated by the company. However Kakashi reappears and easily defeats the ninja. Naruto is badly injured and poisoned during the mission. We get to see Naruto's determination when he fears he might jeopardize the mission and cuts his hand with his kunai in order to cut out the poison. We learn that the mission level is much higher than the information given. We meet Zabuza and his young companion Haku our main antagonists of the story.  There are several battles that reveal our leader's abilities and show our young heroes journey and growth. 

Haku is another character that I thought was very interesting. Often mistaken for a young girl and very deadly at his age Haku is levels above Team 7. His relationship with Zabuza vastly different from Team 7 and their leader lends for and interesting dynamic. 

Naruto, inspired by the story of "The Land Where a Hero Once Lived" strives to help the village. Only after he loses his cool and his nine-tail fox abilities emerge are team 7 able to defeat the young boy. 

I am looking forward to continue the series at this point and watch as each of the characters reveal themselves. 

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Cosplayer of the Week: Charlie

Our featured cosplayer this week is Charlie! With her beautiful costumes and amazing craftsmanship you would never know that she has only been cosplaying for a year. Charlie brings even the most fantastical characters to life with her realistic interpretations of them. This is a cosplayer who really goes the extra mile to make her costumes perfect and we are always blown away with what she creates! 

1. What got you into cosplay?

My brother ! He had convinced me to go to Fan Expo 2013 After seeing some of the amazing costumes I knew I had to make my own. 

2. What was your first cosplay?

Lady Sylvanas was the first cosplay I ever made and I wore her to Toronto Comicon 2014.

3. How long have you been cosplaying?

I would say a little over a year maybe more!

 4. What is your favourite part of putting on your cosplay?

Actually putting my armour on. Somehow it makes me feel totally epic like I'm gearing up for war hahaha

5. What’s the best part of cosplay for you? 

Hmm. It's hard to pick just one thing. One of the things I love is people's reaction and admiration.  I swear if it wasn't for all the people who come up and ask for photos or tell me they love my costume or even just to talk about the character or game I don't think I'd have the courage to wear anything I made out. While I love dressing up as my favourite characters sometimes it takes real courage to step out in something you made and hope everyone isn't laughing. So I get real girly when people and other cosplayers admire my work!

6. What is your favourite cosplay? (personal collection) 

I'd have to say my T2 (Judgement set) Paladin.  While I love my Lady Sylvanas cosplay, I feel more attached to my paladin. I've been playing a holy paladin in WoW for 5 years now and owning the actual set for my character pushed my initial idea to make it. 

7. Do you have a current cosplay or cosplayer favourite, someone that has inspired you? (Other people’s collections)

Cosplayers like Kamui Cosplay, 

Yaya Han and Comissions by AmazonMandy  are definitely on my list of people who inspire me but I would have to say Tony Swatton ( Man at arms) He makes some seriously bad ass weapons. I'm just amazed every single time 

I'm currently working on Zelda Hyrule Warriors version, Tifa from FF7 and The Lich King from World of Warcraft. 

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