Hi guys,
Sorry I've not been posting much this year. I've gotten involved in a community of geeks, gamers & cosplayers called Anime League & it's taking up most of my free time. I joined their staff back in Feb & since then I've been helping run their cosplay section, a small RP section & put out a couple of radio shows each week. I've just got back from my first time crewing with the stage team at the London Anime & Gaming Con, which went really well. I spend the month beforehand making a cosplay of Urahara Kisuke from Bleach almost completely from scratch. I learnt how to sew & made a Japanese style shirt & trousers & a haori (knee length, kimono style jacket, only having to buy the hat & geta (Japanese clogs), as ran out of time to make them.
Running around behind stage, helping organise cosplay masquerades, celebrity Q&A sessions, guest panels & even learning how to do acrobatics & kick-step (a dance variant for dubstep), all dressed up with essentially wooden blocks on my feet was slightly challenging, but I managed not to trip, stumble or fall & make an ass of myself! :D
I also met a mate I hadn't seen since I saw him cosplaying Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist back in February, which was awesome! Here he is as Renji Aberai (also from Bleach) & me as a zombie version of Urahara, due to me representing the Zombie Clan at this convention. He had made this cosplay completely from scratch too (including patterns, sword & sandals!)
All in all, it was a very enjoyable, yet tiring, weekend. Am looking forward to our big event, ALCon, in September, where I'll be helping host some of the events this time. I've now got to decide on what cosplays to make & get cracking on them. Currently, I'm making a H
oban Washburne (from Firefly) as part of a group, possibly Urahara again, as I love that character, and if I get time, either Hellsing or Jiro Mochizuki from the animes Hellsing & Black Blood Brothers. Those two are due to me representing the Vampire Clan in competitions & events etc., but also because I love vampires (as long as they don't sparkle!!!)
If you're interested in anime, gaming, role-play or cosplay, drop by our site sometime at www.animeleague.net. We have a friendly community of people interested in everything geeky & it's always good to see new people on the forums :)
On the Anime League forums, I go by the username Avalien or Urahara (depending on what mood I'm in), so if you like what you see, register as a member & drop me a message on here or there, to say hi :)
