OMG! Sami-chan and I have been having such issues with this post. We both have written a good chunk then something would go wrong an we would lose over half of what we had written. It really has been a pain, but thanks to my stuborn streak, I am bound and determined to geth this thing up, even if it takes me all year! So, hopefully not horribly late, here is our detour adventure.
We had tons of fun this year. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make very many panels this year, but we were able to do other things like go to the room parties.
The first panel we went to was Antisocial to Social which I was pretty nervous about. I mean a panel named like that, there was bound to be some sort of forced interaction. Which, there was of course. We played this game where we split into 3 groups and formed circles. We had to point to a random person in the group and alternate saying zing zang zow. At the end we had to split off into groups of 2 and talk. Thankfully, the girl i was paired with was pretty talkative, so carrying on a conversation was easy. it was surprisingly fun and I'm glad we went.
We went to Truth or Dare Phantomhive but we only stayed for a few minutes. No offense to the panelists, its just their sense of humor doesn't fit in with ours.
But what happened next was quite an adventure. We locked ourselves out of our room. Yes. We locked ourselves out of our room. I am totally blaming Sami-chan on this one. She's the one who was in charge of the room key and the one who set it on the counter. So that, was so on her. :P
We were able to check out the room parties this year which was fun. They weren't quite what I was expecting. I was expecting something a little more like an actual party. But we went from room to room getting drinks. it was more like bar hopping, but still fun. I had this awful cinnamon flavored shot. I really hate cinnamon flavored stuff, and that was just, ugh it was bad. We also had this punch made with peppers that was actually really good and these mashed potatoes made with vodka. I wasn't too impressed with those.
Saturday. Hee hee hee, saturday. So we went to a panel called how to write and podcast about anime. It was mostly about podcasting really, but there was some good tips that applied to writing as well, such as it takes lots of dedication (something i admit we lack at the moment), give you own reaction, and keep it entertaining yet truthful and accurate. and of course just have fun with it. cuz, when you are having fun, your audience will have fun too.
The next post we went to was Ryster Rong's guide to writing. the panelist was a self published author, who had some good tips for anyone looking to publish. She gave us a couple self publishing sites to check out: lulu.com and createspace.com. Friend other authors on facebook. they can give you tips and answer any questions you might have. just search authors on facebook and you will find thousands of them. you will also find beta readers, who are people willing to read you novel for free and give you feedback.
When you are just starting out, you should never try selling a novel for over 4.99. once you start getting a good fan base, then you can start upping you future novels. Kindle also has a promotion type thing where people can buy you novel for free for 5 days.
another cool thing that she mentioned, and this i think is really amazing, when people by you novel for kindle, you can get a report from that reader that says how many pages they read in a day. If your readers are consistently stopping to read on a certain part of your novel, you can look it over, see if there is something wrong, take it down, and edit it, then put it back up for sale. of course the people who already bought it can get a free version, but i thought that was really cool.
as far as getting your work out there, of course there is social media. friending other authors may help as well. she suggested creating a site like on godaddy.com. anything that will get people interested in your work and make them wanna buy your novel. it was a very good and informative panel, and the panelist was a good speaker.
After that we went up to our room and guess what? yeah we got locked out of our room again. i unfortunately have to admit that this time was my fault. God we felt like such morons going up to the front desk and asking for yet another room key. but we got one and watched the cosplay contest in our room and then walked around the convention and parking lot taking pictures.
Sunday, we made it to the beyond creation diversity in writing panel. It was mostly about adding diversity into your writing. Does you character have to be the stereotypical or default character? Always be open minded, research and talk to different people, but of course always be respectful.
then we went to secret tips of cosplay, which i am only going to hit some highlights, unless you wanna be here for a month reading this.
So starting with wigs, the sites she recommended are cosplayfu, epic cosplay and arda wigs. you can use motion oils and sheen spray to detangle wigs. you can also put the wig in a bucket of water with some softner overnight. for styling wigs, there are heat resistant wigs, but if you do not have one, you can use heat on a non heat resistant wig, just be sure to use the lowest setting on your curler or flat iron or whatever you are using, and test an area first, before using. a tip to get better curls is to use boiling water.
when it comes to dying wigs, you can use sharpies for pastel graadients. Rit dye is best for all over color and more vibrant colors.
to wash a wig, in a tub or sink use cold water and shampoo. be gentle. you can use a little conditioner. she couldn't remember what it was called but there is a gold bottle with a purple cover hair spray in the ethnic section that is good for getting the tangles out. it is recommended to wash wigs after every con.
to store a wig, especially the long wigs, to avoid tangles, you can loosely braid the hair and then wrap it around the base of the wig stand.
Now onto the make up. makeup is more definitely recommended to give you cosplay that completed look. even for guys. you should always have reference picture to help you pick out what makeup to get, and usually you want to go as natural as possible unless you character is obviously wearing make up, or has some sort of scarring or tatoos etc.
For the most part, just go with makeup you like and are comfortable with. for scarring, latex is good for puffiness of the skin (if you are not allergic), there is also scarring liquid that tightens up the skin.
circle lenses can be great too, just be smart about it. buy them from a good source, always wash hands before and after handling, never sleep in them, and always rinse the lenses before and after use.
when making your cosplay, always research different angles of your character. BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET! research which fabric is right for the costume, always keep an eye out for good deals, etc. s&r harris is a great place to find cheap fabrics. spandex world obviously for spandex. make sure you get fabrics you can wash. always pretreat (wash) fabrics before working with them.
now on to the props. so, again, research. if the prop is oversized, you may want to consider scaling it down to a more appropriate size. consider what you will be doing with it as well. if its something that you will be holding all day, make sure it won't be too heavy and awkward to carry. You can certainly commission the prop if you do not want to make it yourself. if you are making it yourself here are some materials to consider. Wood, foam, cardboard, worbla, resin, plastics-quilting plastic; metal, etc.
some tools you may need: hot glue gun, sand paper, household glue, wood glue, spackle, paper mache, paint/sealers, etc
the panelist has a youtube channel you can check out MissMeowMoew. on deviantart: xoMJxo and tumbler and instagram: molluskcosplay you can check them out and get more tips.
That was the end of our detour adventure. we went to the mall of america afterwords, went to Maki of Japan. I'm telling you, if you ever find yourself in MOA, go to Maki of Japan and have their maki chicken, its super good. then we had some amazing crepes. I'm pretty sure moa is going to be a tradition now. just for the food. we don't care about the stores. we just go for the food.
so that was our time at detour. we had lots of fun and got to experience some new things like the room parties. I'm hoping I've got sami-chan convinced to go to the rave next year so we can see what that is like. but we shall see. I'm excited for next year. we have both already stared on our cosplays for next year. so hopefully we can keep you guys up to date on how those are going. in the meantime, we shall continue to watch and review anime for you guys. ttyl :D
*Pixie