The Wall So Far...

Most of the time, I really, really try to finish projects I start. But sometimes, there are just some projects that take way longer to get done than I expect. The project in question happens to be my bedroom wall. Painting a mural on my bedroom wall has been one of my dreams since I was very little. But I didn't actually decide to do it until last summer. I had just gotten home from my tour to Sweden, Estonia, and Latvia with Shrine of the Ages choir and I was looking for a project to do when I noticed the framed photos that I'd had on my wall since junior high. I figured it was time to change them out, but I wanted to do it a little differently. After picking new photos (most of which came from the tour) I drew up a design for the new layout:

The color scheme of my room is green (the walls), brown (the carpet), and white (pretty much all the furniture). So this was my design. The rectangles are where I would place the picture frames; I was kinda going for the "family tree" concept.

However, this concept has changed drastically since its beginnings. This was the time when I also developed my...mild...obsession with fairies, so I modified the design to be a sort of fairy haven. Here's a series of sketches and concepts that grew out of the original.

My hope is to put a bunch of fairies in after everything else is finished. I don't know how many I want yet though...

So with these ideas, I began! I worked throughout the summer, usually for a couple hours at a time. I just wasn't very consistent, so I didn't get that far.

 I began by marking where I wanted the picture frames to go by taping pieces of paper to the wall.

Then I marked the outline of the first tree with some tape.

I marked the second tree and kinda improvised with this one, since I didn't do too much planning with it.

Here's the first tree painted!! I really like the way it turned out. I decided to make the trunk skinnier and forego the door and windows I drew into my second set of designs. But I might put them back in after everything else is done. We'll see.

After the trees came the flowers and mushrooms. I kept everything in the green/brown/white scheme.











I don't have any more in between photos. And the project is still in the works. It's been a nice project because I don't feel pressured to get it done and I can fall back on it when I want a break from things. And so, here's one last picture. This is the current state of the project. I still have to finish the tree roots, touch up the blossoms, and add all the fairies. But that'll be simple! Right?.....

Phoenix Comic Fest 2018: Part 2

DAY 2!

The second day of Comic Fest was definitely an adventure. To start, the skateboard I painted as a prop got taken away at prop check. I was pretty upset about it, not only because I had spent a lot of time on it, but also because it was a key element to the character. There wasn't anything I could do though. Then, we planned on going to the masquerade in the evening, but while we were eating dinner, the fire alarm went off! So we all got evacuated and over an hour later they still weren't letting people back in. We ended up going home; it was late, we were tired, and we'd been there since 10:00 that morning anyway.

Danna and I were characters from the anime Hunter X Hunter. Danna was Gon and I was Killua. We didn't manage to get pictures until we left the convention (because we wanted to take them once I got my skateboard back) so the lighting wasn't great.

This costume involved less pieces and more sewing. I found the clothing from thrift stores (never underestimate the power of thrift stores), and did quite a bit of sewing to make them fit. The pants and white shirt were WAY too big, so I took them in quite a bit. The shoes I found at Ross, which was lucky cause brand new shoes like that are pretty pricey. I was going to add purple to them to make them more accurate to the character, but...I fell in love with them and couldn't convince myself to make any permanent changes to them.

The two pieces that I crafted were the skateboard and the button pinned to my shirt. The skateboard was pretty simple: I just painted an old skateboard I wasn't using anymore. Which turned out to be a mistake, since I couldn't take it into the convention. I realize that I should have made a prop skateboard, out of foam or cardboard or something. Oh well. Next time.

The button is made out of cardboard with some safety pins glued on the back. The buttons are from the first arc of the anime, the Hunter Exam arc. Each participant is given a number when they register for the exam, and while the characters only wear the buttons in the first segment of the anime, it's one of my favorite arcs and it was a fun piece to add! It also became a more important prop after I no longer had my skateboard...

So there you have it! Another successful year at Phoenix Comic Fest! I have two goals for next year's convention. First, do one costume that is more simple and comfortable so I can focus more on panels and events. The second is to do one costume completely from scratch, instead of working from thrift store clothing. I haven't decided exactly what those costumes will be, but I'm sure they'll be fun!

Phoenix Comic Fest 2018: Part 1

Phoenix Comic Fest (RIP Phoenix Comicon) is one of my favorite times of the year! I attended the convention for two days--Friday and Saturday--and it was one of the best years so far. I've gone for the past four years, but always only for one day. This year I decided to go for two days, mostly because I wanted to make two costumes instead of one...but what can I say. COSTUMES.

Three things that made this year's convention so great: panels, cosplays, and Christopher Paolini. So first, the panels. (Side note: I attended Comic Fest with one of my best friends, Danna, so I will probably say"we" frequently.) Danna and I planned on going to quite a few panels, though in reality we ended up going to maybe half of what we had planned. Which is usually what happens. But the ones we went to were spectacular! They were on topics such as what cosplay is like in other countries, how to use EVA foam to craft costumes, fan theories of the TV show Voltron, and even parenting lessons found in The Incredibles (I REALLY enjoyed that one.) Second, cosplays. There were some incredible cosplays this year and I was more impressed than ever with the diversity, craftsmanship, and passion shown by all of them. Last, and most important, Christopher Paolini signed my book! He is the author of The Inheritance Cycle and I got my favorite book of the series (Inheritance) autographed. Check that off the bucket list!

So now, on to the fun part. COSTUMES! Unfortunately, I don't have too many pictures from the process, since I started making the costumes way before I decided to start this blog. But I can talk about them a little, and I have pictures of the end product! On the first day, Danna and I were characters from the anime Blue Exorcist. Danna was Mephisto and I was Amaimon. This costume was so fun to put together. Nothing was too complicated, but there were enough pieces to it to be a bit challenging. I found the maroon shirt and the white vest (originally a jacket) at a thrift store and just had to make a few adjustments so they fit better. The black skirt I had from another costume, and the gold scarf was just a scrap piece of fabric I had in a box. I got two pairs of green leggings at Fry's (I'm always surprised at the number of good things I find there, of all places) and turned one of them into sleeves. I wasn't sure I was going to find leggings that were opaque enough, but I got lucky! They were a bit hot to wear on the way there, but it was pretty cool inside the convention center. The skull belt buckle was hand made by my one and only, super awesome, handy-man dad (we did a trade: I hemmed his pants, he made me a skull 😂.)

The wig was probably the most difficult aspect of the whole outfit. For starters, I cut the pointy bang part in the front a little too short, and then the gel I bought didn't hold very well. So I was constantly making sure it was staying the way I wanted it. All day. Another thing is that it's just really difficult for me to wear wigs in general. My real hair goes down to my waist and is really thick, so in order to even think about getting a wig on I have to braid it into very many little braids and pin them all against my head. Even then, the wigs fit really tight since there is so much hair underneath and it digs into my forehead. And usually gives me a headache. But enough about wigs. I think my favorite individual piece of the costume are the elf ears. Granted, my elf ears tend to be my favorite no matter what costume I wear them with. This particular pair is new so they're still super exciting every time I put them on.

One mistake I made with this costume was my choice of shoes. You can't see them in the picture, but I'm wearing laced ankle boots with heels. Not the best choice to walk around a convention all day, especially when we had to travel between four different floors frequently. I was pretty worn out after our morning in the vendor hall, but luckily the rest of our day was panels. So I got to sit.

The rest of this saga will continue in part 2! In the meantime, here's a picture of my friend and I from day 1 of the convention.