Cosplay line-up for Anime Iowa!!!

Friday morning/afternoon: Sonic dress
Friday evening (opening ceremonies): Wonder Woman
Saturday morning/afternoon: Dr. Facilier
Saturday evening/Masquerade judging: Mario
Sunday: Minnie Mouse

We’re headed out tomorrow! Can’t wait to be a guest this weekend and see everyone! We’ll have a booth in the vendor hall and will most likely be there when not running a panel or whatever other guest things we’ll be doing :) Feel free to stop by to check out our books, crafts, cosplay, geekery, hugs, and all that jazz <3

Hi there! Thank you so much for your message! When I do different interpretations of characters (like Wonder Woman) I usually base it on styles I like to wear. I like wearing ballgowns, so I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I did that?” I love Wonder Woman’s normal outfit, but I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable in it, and a huge part of having great cosplay (and normal wear) is being in things you’re comfortable in. So I sketched the design to the ballgown, and them my partner made it :) (also known as “the wifey” aka “that woman I met 13 years ago who got me into cosplay in the first place”)

And sometimes I decide to just have some extra fun with the cosplays, like this crazy rainbow make up I did for a “Rainbow Mario”:

And sometimes I decide to be a bit brave and step out of my comfort zone if it’s a design I really like, like pin up stuff. So I decided to do a variation to Dr. Facilier from Princess and the Frog. I was hesitant at first but when I put everything on and took a pic I was like, “Dayum.”

Accessories really add to things, too, like the top hat and the cane (and I also had a Tiana frog, too ^__^)

Your idea sounds amazing! I would say the comic version may be a bit more fun and colorful for a skater dress, but you can also have some fun with those kick ass wings from the movie. I would say sketch both. Look at reference pictures for skater dresses and just let the inspiration come to you, because it will. When I sketched the ball gown I pretty much looked at pictures and took elements from different ballgowns that I liked, then went with it. 

And don’t be afraid to get creative. With the Mario dress, my partner added a little pocket to the dress at the last minute, and she also used a kid’s bedsheet to do the ruffle because we couldn’t find Mario fabric.

Have fun with your cosplay!

Premiered my Dr. Facilier at CONvergence and I really like how it turned out (many thanks to the wifey, as always, for her sewing skills). It was my first time doing cosplay with fishnet and shorts so I was kinda iffy at first, but I’m pretty much in love with it now and love the way I look. 

I’ve officially cosplayed both heroine and villain from the same movie :)

I usually cosplay Tiana, but sometimes, the villain comes out to play. Gonna be Dr. Facilier this weekend at CONvergence and am super excited! I went to find a top hat and ended up picking up an awesome mask.

Cuz I got friends on the other side~

cosplayingwhileblack:

Tiana by JitsumiaKazuminno

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!

This just in: still madly in love with my wifey.  That is all  :)

Many thanks to Lavonne Brite for taking pictures of us outside of cosplay and in cosplay.  As always, all cosplay was made by the wifey <3

ariel8619:

brichibi:

This Tiana that I met was so amazing! Not just because of her cosplay, but she had the character nailed! She was so nice, and that smile was so perfect! I had to get a picture with her (also I love how Yoshi is totally looking up at Naveen) The best part was that you could just tell that she loved her cosplay, even when I saw her from a distance I could tell that she really loved the character and was enjoying portraying her, not just for all of us to gush over, but for herself, and there’s no better feeling, when it comes to cosplay, than enjoying yourself.

If anyone knows who she is please let me know so I can credit her properly :)

Omg thank you so much! I really love Tiana and I was honored to portray her! I was so happy to put a smile on everyone’s face! I wish I could have hugged everyone that complemented me, but of course I couldn’t lol! Thank you so much for taking a pic with me and sharing it! You’re the best! And I love all your dresses! Very beautiful!

Reblogging so everyone can see who the Tiana is (ariel8619) and follow her and shower her with love <3 She also has a Facebook page. Go, go now!

This Tiana that I met was so amazing! Not just because of her cosplay, but she had the character nailed! She was so nice, and that smile was so perfect! I had to get a picture with her (also I love how Yoshi is totally looking up at Naveen) The best part was that you could just tell that she loved her cosplay, even when I saw her from a distance I could tell that she really loved the character and was enjoying portraying her, not just for all of us to gush over, but for herself, and there’s no better feeling, when it comes to cosplay, than enjoying yourself.

If anyone knows who she is please let me know so I can credit her properly :)

Growing up, I was one of the weird kids. On top of loving video games, I loved anime, and back then that wasn’t “normal” for a black girl to be into. I was told that I wasn’t “a normal black girl,” to “stop acting white,” and was pretty much told that I wasn’t portraying my race accurately. I was also told that I “wasn’t a real girl” because I played video games. Add the fact that I was overweight and I was just this ball of oddness to people.

I did have friends, friends who I still love dearly today, but they weren’t into this whole anime/video game thing. Still, we were close like sisters, but I didn’t have too many people who could quote “Dragonball Z.” But at the age of 18, when I stepped into that convention hotel, I was suddenly surrounded by like minded people. It wasn’t just one or two people, but hundreds of them, and I suddenly didn’t feel like “the weird black girl.”

My interview with “Twin Cities Geek” celebrating #28DaysOfBlackCosplay.

Thanks so much to everyone who celebrated #28DaysOfBlackCosplay and thanks for letting me be a part of it. This movement has really shown that cosplay is something that all of us can take part in, and more importantly, it showed that there are many of us out there to support one another. To everyone who has ever been told that they’re “wrong” because of how they look or what they’re into, it’s o.k. to be different, and you’re not alone. The month may be ending, but the love and support is going to continue for the rest of the year and years to come.