Have been offline for a while

I haven't been online because of personal reasons. It is unlikely that I'll be back for a while sine I'm still trying to rediscover my motivation. I won't leave this blog dead behind. I just need to give myself alittle time...

Pumpkin

Thinking

Today has been an amazingly brilliant weather. It's hot. There's some wind too. I planned to really start with Jack's compass already yeasterday. I ended up doing some drawrings only. And today I have only done some thinking. So after doing a short walk with my dog Inkku, I shall for real, for real start doing things. My goal is to at least almost finish with the compass today. I'll add tomorrow some pics of it if I'll have time.

You see, tomorrow is the grand opening of Emil Cedercreutz's museum. Five of my costumes are in that museum, so naturally, I got an invitation. My father's coming there too. I don't know what it's going to be... I'll make a report here ofcourse after it. On Monday.

Sunny day from the Caribbean, mates!

Oy, myh lil' seaturtles o7

Things are rolling nicely. I've had a three hours break from making the costume. Yesterday I finished with modelling the rings, today I painted them. Two of the rings are still missing the jewel stones which I will make right after I get how to. I was thinking about glue... I also need to find some very small fake diamonds.


I could tell something about our Pirates of the Caribbean group cosplay in Tracon V! Tracon is a convention at Tampere in July's first weekend. The theme handles traditionally roleplaying games and anime and manga. This year Tracon is the biggest anime and manga convention in Finland, since Animecon '09 was perhaps the last one of Animecons here. Tampere is my hometown. At least from my mind. I really live at Lempäälä, but I go to school every day at Tampere and I lived there for 16 years of my life.
Anyway, for Tracon V, I have been organizing a PotC-group. At this moment, we have eleven members. The taken characters are these:

Jack Sparrow
Will Turner
Elizabeth Swann
Becket
Mercery
James Norrington
Barbossa
Davy Jones
Tia Dalma
Giselle
Ana-Maria

That is quite well, I'd say. This is my third group cosplay ever. It's amazing that this many people are interested about this. Ofcourse this is not much compared to American group cosplays, I guess, but I'm satisfied. In my dream PotC group I'd have along with these characters Sao Feng, Scarlet, Gibbs, Pintel and Ragetti. That is what I dare to dream of. If you have any interest, please let me know. In a perfect group I'd have also Captain Teague and the Pirate Lords, whole of the Black Pearls most important members and the Singaporean twins. My friend in school said as a joke that he could be the Hammerhead from the Flying Dutchman. That would have been fun. :)

If it isn't clear yet, I'm the whole group's lovely Captain Jack Sparrow. The character I have been pointing to cosplay my whole cosplay "career".

What I'm going to start with today is the compass. The hardest thing to do along with the wig, I guess. I'll have a moving needle too. I'm a bit excited about it but at the same time very scared. Wish me luck! o7

Bling bling!

I went to buy some basic rings from a crafts'store. They would've cost way too much. Only two simple rings were 4,5 euros! So, I had a plan B. I bought some really strong metal yarn (or sticks, you could say). I bought also some soft foam that could be used with the sword. Any way, I bought the metal sticks, went home, ate something and started with the rings. I couldn't believe myself doing the rings this way too... But apparently, it works. I use this white modelling clay with almost everything. Anything. Except with clothes.

When the rings are ready, I'll add some photos of them. I've realised that they are actually very important for Jack. You know how he swings his fingers smoothly? It wouldn't look really anything without the rings once he got them. 'Got them' is the right expression. You know the golden simple ring around his left forefinger? He got it from Tia Dalma. Stole it, really.

Feelin' good

Right at this moment I'm at school choosing the courses for next year. Yeah. I'm in Upper Secudary doing my second school year. Next year will be my last one. We had a meeting conserning the media diploma that the students doing media studies can accomplish during the last year. To have the diploma, we have to make a diploma work. It can be almost anything. A video or sound project, photos, articles. Something beyond my imagination and yours. I have been thinking of what it could be. Since the biggest part of my life I think about cosplay, it will probably have something to do with it. Even if I think other options. I have an idea but it will remain secret until I'm sure about it.

A few minutes ago I was feeling better than alright. Now I'm just... Out of rage. The network doesn't work at all. Am I gonna have all the courses I'm trying to have here?!

Okay, let's get back to the point where I was still happy. Well, not quite. But happy in a half sad way if you get it. Jack Sparrow, as my favorite character, has been my dream cosplay for years (if you have read my blog, you know this). So, I'm so happy-sad when I really see that I have the talent to be Jack... I could almost cry. This is so big to me. I've had all these comments like: "Is that really you?", "It thought you were really Depp", "Well done", "Too hot" and flirty teasing from a few directions. I can't take it. I just start to giggle, go all red and fall to the floor and laugh. These reactions come in a positive way. I'm all flattered. Maybe I'll get used to it. But this is so weird to be so close a dream come true.. ....... AAAH!

Hey guys!



It's Sunday and I'm cooling my computer with a fan while I'm writing this. You see, my computer overheats so easily right now and automatically turns off in a second if it gets too hot.

As you can see, I made my first make-up test yeasterday. I did one (or actually two) today as well. One for me and the other for my sister. I really didn't pay too much attention to the mustache and beard. How ever, you may find it in my profile. Hmm. Maybe I'll make things easier and put it here.

Here you go. That's what I did today. I guess the beard should be blacker and so on, but I hope you don't mind it. I took this pic for fun. For you. And practising the base really.

Oh my. It's already a quarter past six. I planned to draw in my sketch book the flower pattern on the bandada, which I have planned to do already for a week. So maybe now is the time to do that. I should also do the small stuff.. You know, some pearls, a saploon for the tattoo. Next week starting from tomorrow I should really move on to something bigger. The sword, the compass. The flintstone pistole. Order the wig I need before I start with the dreadlocks.

Any way, any gay. I think this is it for today. Gonna go continue with Jack. o7

My first make-up test

This is my first make-up test for Jack Sparrow. I guess I have a good face to cosplay Johnny's characters or himself, (At least if we take to the calculations that I'm a woman) but what really is important, is the make-up.

I've seen many Jack-cosplayers who have an okay costume, but an awful make-up. So here's a tutorial.


A good Jack-mak-up's basics are these:

1) Bronze. It can be almost anything. Just blend smoothly and mix some colors.

2) Lights and shades. Have a picture of Jack where you can see the make-up clearly enough to copy it on your skin. The most important part are the jaws and the cheekbones.

3) Facial hair. It must be done carefully. It should NOT look that it's made of black card board and then glued on.


So, to create the make-up from simple ingredients you need:

-an eyeliner, dark brown or black
-black and white Grimas' créme make up
-brown water color make-up

1. Spread brown water color on the skin with for example a paintbrush. Then blend it with a sponge well everywhere. From the beginning keep your eye on where the darkest and the lightest parts are.

2. Tap with your fingers shades and lights on the face with the créme make-ups. If needed, draw with the eyeliner carefully some lines. Those parts would probably be the nose and the cheekbones. Then blend again.

3. Put some eyeliner in your eyes. Remember that they are not just some circles around them but there is some make-up too on the lower eye lid.

4. Draw the facial hair starting from the eyebrows by making smooth drags from up to down and slope the way the hair should go too. This way it should look natural.

Voìla! See, even from some very simple make-up you can make it look alot more authetic. Of course there are some details that I don't advice you about here, but if you want to go easy on this, try!

Jack's pearls

Here. Did I mention that I'll add pics of the costume? Well, here you have it. I like it. If you have something to say, just say it. If I can agree, I'll propably just change if there is something to change. I have to still sand the pearls to give them just the right shape.

I'm thinking here how to lower my voice... I've had just one advice: By drinking sirop. Could that be possible? The idea doesn't really attract me. Drinking all day sirop instead of rum. Too sweet. I won't take steroids either. So you can forget that idea even before it came in your mind.

The Legendary Captain Jack Sparrow

I have come a long way from the day I choose to start cosplaying. Right after I had made my first costume (Sora, Kingdom Hearts II), I started to plan Captain Jack Sparrow as one of my future cosplays. I knew that I wasn't good enough to do it yet, so I planned to make it maybe after making two other costumes. When I could see that I was not good enough after those two costumes either, I postponed the point of time once again to the far away future. Now, the time has come to make my dream cosplay come true.

I'm really having a huge pressure on me about this costume. I thought I'd have enoug time to do this. When I made my Fumika (which was alot easier to make) I had two months to make it and used about 200 hours with it. The last hours of it in panic. I was really lazy though.

I started to make something concrete for Jack before Christmas, a mummied chicken's foot and started with the mermaid charm. I've now had a half a year break which is was a way too long period. This week I've made the seven most important pearls for Jack's wig. Quite a few to go still. Btw, I've had hard brain-storming on how to do the coins with all their details... I need tips. If you have any, please share. Those would be also the rare stuff I could order from somewhere if I even knew which country's coins they where and from which period. I have my guess: They are mostly perhaps from Singapore.

The day I'm livin' more or less right now has gone all waste again. I found a really cool PotC forum online and I'm feeling home there already. Maybe it's good to have a good nice rest before I start the costume.

Oh, Jack. I'm feeling a coming a little closer to ye. My head has been today somewhere there very high up in the sky. Men. That's what it's always all about...