#Cosplay2018

Here’s continuing this cosplay compilation post streak from 2016, 2017 and now, 2018.
(I also technically have one from 2015 too but it’s only on Instagram.)

Here’s my 2018 summary collage:

I feel like as more time progresses, I end up doing more cosplay makeup tests than I actually cosplay characters, haha! These are just the ones I’ve done to a shoot or to an event this year. The only 2 cosplays that were from previous years are Spirited Away’s Haku and Voltron: Legendary Defender’s Pidge. I’m also pretty glad I got the chance to practice sewing a bit more with different small projects, like:

• Naruto young Gaara’s top-shawl thing,
• More pants for young Gaara and Sanrio Danshi’s Kōta,
• Making a specifically-designed jacket from scratch for a friend, plus
• A hooded trench coat,
• A military cap, and
• Modifying a a gakuran for Golden Kamuy’s Tsukishima.

I got new/less common experiences with makeup too, like:

• Concealing eyebrows completely and absolutely cleanly as much as possible for Young Gaara (he doesn’t have brows /o\),
• Female makeup for Haikyuu!!’s Yachi (I don’t do female characters often),
• A bearded older character like Tsukishima (even though I have a baby face),
• A tanned character for Kuroko no Basuke’s Aomine (even though I have light skin), and
• Adding more colour and life with eyeshadow and blush for Haikyuu!!’s Hinata (for his youthful energy)
• Among other practice for fun tests.

There is one, small, specific experience I’d like to mention though, which happened just recently during the last convention I attended in the year.
The night before event, I was styling Hinata’s wig and thought it was pretty bad. I didn’t really bother trying to keep its shape much either and just threw it back into the wig ziploc then into my bag to transport it to prepare at the venue. During the con though, it was quite a surprise when  a number of people complimented it and mentioned how fluffy it looked even though it was darn rigid with hairspray. That… made me rethink my assessment from the night before while styling it, hahaha. I think I also ended up blushing a lot /o\ Those were some nice words I really appreciated and left me on cloud nine 🙂
It might not be much, but a few kind words might make a hell of a lot of difference to someone’s day, ya know? I hope I continue to live with that in mind.

For how long I’ve been cosplaying, my costumes aren’t much. It took me a few years to realise but most of the costumes I do are simple and modest, very often with limited or no props/armour or complicated construction of any kind. I mentioned this last year too, haha! I guess reflecting on it recently, I never really had a phase where I wanted to be popular for get recognised for what I do. My childhood was a little bit void of a social life outside of school + sports and the friends I made there, so manga was my escape from that. I guess cosplay just ended up being the start to my social life when I was done with sports too. In a way, it was the start of my freedom and I threw myself into it head first with no plan, expectations or goal… which is still pretty much how I’m keeping up with this XD

Every year I’m so damn thankful I lucked out to be able to meet so many friends through my interests.
Thank you guys, as always, for the superbly fun time throughout 2018. I love you guys and I’m looking forward to more great memories with you and the things we love ❤

This post ended up being so much longer than I first thought, haha! Sorry about that.
If it’s not already painfully obvious, I really enjoy my hobbies. I hope you all have things in your life that contribute to a spark of your happiness too.