Laiškas žmogui, norinčiam tapti cosplayeriu

Nuėjau, pamačiau, noriu! Būti cosplayeriu. Kas tai? Ogi kiekvienam skirtingai. Vienam tai yra pasivertimas mėgstamu personažu. Gali nusipirkti kostiumą, nusikirpti plaukus kaip personažas arba įsigyti peruką, gali prašyti mamos, tėčio, labiau patyrusių draugų pagalbos. Gali nešti nuotraukas pas siuvėją. Gali išmokti pasidaryti sudėtingą makiažą, kuriuo išsiskiria tavo personažas. Gali išmokti kalbėti ta maniera, kaip jis. Kitam, gi, svarbiausia gali būti kostiumo gamyba, o ne meilė personažui. Tokie gamintojai stengiasi pirkti kuo mažiau dalykų, kuo mažiau perdarinėti senus rūbus ir kuo daugiau viską daryti nuo 0. Nuo nulio iki kostiumo. Jie net renkasi kostiumus pagal tai, ką jie nori gaminti, o ne kuo nori būti. Prisipažinsiu, aš iš tokių. Pažįstu vieną merginą, kuriai kostiumo atsiradimas (iš kur, kas padarė, ar tiksliai) nesvarbu, bet ji dievina pasidaryti personažo makiažą, apsirengti ir eiti fotografuotis. Pažįstu cosplayerių, kuriems sceninis pasirodymas yra svarbiausia dalis. Kiekvienas šių dalykų atskirai, ir visi šie dalykai kartu yra „cosplay“. Tai yra be galo platus, be galo atviras hobis, ir kiekvienam jis reiškia kažką skirtingo, kiekvienas pasiima ir susikuria pats tą hobio terpę, kuri jam labiausiai tinka, ir štai tada jis būna cosplayeriu. Skamba labai paprastai, ar ne? Taip ir yra, bet...

Yra tokia nerašyta ir visai ne taisyklė, bet daugiausia pagarbos sulaukia tie cosplayeriai, kurie kostiumus darosi patys.  Einant į konkursą varžytis dėl geriausio kostiumo, ir sąžinė neleidžia rungtis su savo pirktu kostiumu prieš kolegą, kuris praleido gerą pusmetį savajį siūdamas, pjaudamas, šlifuodamas ir dažydamas.

Gerai, tarkim, noriu kostiumą daryti pats. Bet gi nuo ko pradėti?!

Tai štai, visų pirma, pradėk nuo to:

1)      Google yra tavo geriausia draugė. Ji mėgsta raktažodžius (anglų kalba), tokius kaip „costume making“, „wip (reiškia work in progress)“, „how to make“, „what to use for“. Pavyzdžiui, nori pasidaryti Sailor Moon kostiumą. Na ir rašai „how to make Sailor Moon costume“. Nepatikėsi, Google randa daugybę video, nuotraukų, istrukcijų. Dar geriau ieškoti dalimis. Pvz.: „How to make Sailor Moon skirt“, ir t.t.. „Where to buy Sailor Moon wig“, ir taip toliau ir panašiai. Absoliučiai visa informacija, kurios tau reikia, jau yra internete, tau tereikia išmokti jos ieškoti.

2)      Kol ten googlini, gali pabandyti įvesti ir “Lithuanian cosplayers”, rasi keletą naudingų nuorodų kurios tave nuves pas lietuvius kolegas. Nesiūlau ieškoti lietuviškai, nes nežinau nė vieno su cosplay susijusio puslapio (išskyrus renginių puslapius) kuris rašytų lietuviškai. Bet, gera žinia yra ta, kad nuėjęs į kokio nors lietuvių cosplayerio puslapį pvz Facebook‘e, tu gali jam parašyti lietuviškai! J Pvz.: Eglucy Cos-up, Semashke Cos-land, Foxtail, Marynchan’s Sewing Shack, Solly, T-oku Cosplay, Squirrel Cosplay Cave, Vampire Kitteh Cosplay, Giedrius Cosplay, Akade Cosplay, Cere Cosplay, Roses and Boltshells (duo, viena iš jų lietuvė), Dulcinea Cosplay (aš)… Neabejoju, kad nepaminėjau dar bent 20 lietuvių cosplayerių Facebook‘e, bet pradžiai, manau užteks? J Pas juos visus gali klausti patarimo (su sąlyga, kad naudojiesi google ir neateini klausti to, ką iškart rastum įvedęs į paiešką) apie savo kostiumo gamybą. Neklausk „kaip man pasigaminti karūną/kardą/skydą/batus“. Klausk „gal žinai kur galiu nusipirkti dirbtinės raudonos odos?“, „Kokią medžiagą patartum šitiems šarvams *prisegu nuotrauką*?, ir panašių civilizuotų klausimų ;-)

3)      Taigi, jau lyg ir žinai, kaip ką pasigaminti, ir kur nusipirkti medžiagas Lietuvoje. Trečias žingsnelis, nusipirkus medžiagas, būtų viską testuoti!!! Nesusikirpk viso kostiumo iškart, jei nesi nieko siuvęs. Nesusipjaustyk viso plastiko, jei nesi daręs šarvų. Pabandyk pasiūti gabalėlį, palyginti, išskalbi ir išdžiovinti. Pabandyk paklijuoti, pašlifuoti, pašildyti, padažyti. Niekam nepatinka „siurprizai“ kostiumo darymo pabaigoje, kai savo ginklą nupurški dažais, o jis ištirpsta... True story, bro . Taigi tam ir reikalingi testai, medžiagų, priemonių, įrankių sąveikai ir suderinamumui nustatyti.

4)      O kam tas ketvirtas punktas? Jis jau nebe pradžia! Toliau tu darai kostiumą. Nepasiduodi, kai neišeina. Supranti, kad tavo įgūdžiai neatitinka tavo skonio ir neverki dėl to. Arba verki nedaug (visi verkiam prieš renginius), nes visi mes suprantame grožį ir tvarkingumą, ir pirmą kartą mums patiems tikrai nepavyksta padaryti taip, kaip mes įsivaizduojame, kaip norėtume. Yra toks angliškas posakis, kuris čia labai tinka, „practice makes perfect“. Ir nepatikėsi, tą dieną, kai tavo kostiumas bus baigtas (arba plius minus baigtas, patikėk, aš be „grafkių“ nesu ėjusi niekur su kostiumu), ir tu jį visą užsidėsi – atrodysi nuostabiai. Ir niekas nematys tavo klaidų bendroje jo visumoje. Atrodysi puikiai, jausiesi puikiai ir būsi tarp krūvos tokių pačių nutrūktgalvių, kas ir yra šio hobio esmė. TO HAVE FUN ^_^

Pasimatysime INTRO kur papasakosiu plačiau apie tam tikras kostiumo gamybos subtilybes.

Renginio nuoroda:NowJapan INTRO

Xoxo, Dulcinea.

Q & A about costume making

Hey everyone! Thank you all for submitting your questions for this Q&A. I hope you find the answers helpful and there will be many more Q&A's like that! :) 

Q1) "How to fix finger armor to your arm, and it has to connect with the rest of the hand/arm armor?" 

A1) Of course I would like to suggest to use a glove, which your character is likely to have, and either glue the armor directly to the fingers of the glove with hot glue, or glue velcro with superglue to the insides of the armor, and then sew the other side of the velcro to the fingertips. This will allow you to put on and off these parts without the glove and one by one. Convenient for fixing con damage. As for connecting it to the other parts of the hand armor, the question you need to ask yourself is why do you need? it Is it in the reference, does it look the character is wearing an armor glove and not just finger armor plus a handplate and wristbands/armbands? If the latter is the answer, than you do not actually need a connection, you can just attach separate parts of armor to your glove, ideally by using velcro, or sew on studs like this (I'm sorry I don't know the name): 

Now let's say your character has a lot of armor on it's fingers and hands and DOES NOT have a glove, but a bare skin showing through. This is a lot more complicated, but can be made just as simply by still using a glove in skin color and just doing the same thing I wrote about above. Otherwise, you can make an armor glove, that is connected together and works like a glove without any fabric, by using transparent silicone bra straps:

You can by them by the meter/yard without any ends, just like any elastic or bias or any tape, and cut into as many pieces as you need. On the skin, these are almost invisible, especially in photos, and you can use it for holding your armor glove, gluing the pieces of this material from the inside of each piece. All of the materials for this: velcro, studs, clear straps can be bought at the places where they sell stuff for sewing. 

P.S This question was originally asked in Lithuanian so I will make a short translation here for the person who asked it:

Na pvz.. Kaip pas Elise ar Marauder Ashe tie nagai.. kaip juos tvirtinti..? Kad ant pirštų jie laikytusi normaliai. Bet tie nagai dar turi susijungti su visa armoro rankove iki alkūnių.

A: geriausia naudot pirštinę jeigu personažas tokią turi (jeigu juoda tarp šarvo dalių, reiškia turi), ir arba klijuoti prie jos tiesiogiai su karštais klijais, arba siūti prie pirštų galiukų pirštinės velcro kibią juostą, o kitą pusę klijuoti į vidų šarvo dalių. Jei nagai turi susijungti su kitomis dalimis, visiškai be tarpų vistiek nepadarysi, tačiau vizualiai galima. Naudojant pirštinę tiesiog tvirtink tiesiai ant jos kitas dalis ten kur jos turi būti, arba su velcro, arba su knopkėm kaip fotkej viršuj. Jeigu personažas turi nuogą ranką po šarvais ir tai matosi, tu vistiek gali naudot kūno spalvos pirštinę, arba jeigu jis turi tokią pilną "šarvo pirštinę" ir nenori/negali dėl kažkokių priežasčiu naudot medžiaginės pirštinės, gali pasidaryt šarvo pirštinę iš vien tik šarvų, naudodamas permatoma silikoninę juostelę (kaip ant liemenėlių būna), klijuodamas gabaliukus tarp atskirų dalių iš vidaus. Tada gausi ir galėsi užsidėt tokią su mažais tarpukais šarvų pirštinę, bet bent jau ties riešu vistiek kažkaip turėsi prie savęs pritvirtinti, su knopkėm ar velcro ar kažkuo panašiu.

Q2) What materials do you use to make your armor, specifically the trim? What are the hooves on your draenei costume made of?

A2) I use pvc foam board or worbla for my armor. Most of the Draenei armor is made out of worbla, and the rim is also out of worbla, I made it by cutting a strip, heating and bending it to the edge of the table, and then  very slightly heating it and making it adhere it to the rest of the armor plate. No glue is needed, as worbla is self adhesive. Here you can the picture of the raised rims happening:

The hooves I made like this: Made a prototype hoof using whatever crap I had around the workshop and smoothed in out later, primed it and so on, and here is what I got: 

Then I molded it in molding silicone and cast two exact coppies in epoxy resin. However, I'd recommend using polyurethane as it's a lot more lightweigt, but I wanted it to be tinted from within so it does not chip, and I do not have vacuum degassing system to be able to use clear polyurethane resin, and the white cannot be tinted dark brown, so here's that. Then I made three holes in each screwed them to my high platform shoes with removed heels, and lastly I added some furniture "anti scratch" pads to the bottom to make it less slippery. I used super glue on top of their adhesive surface. It lasts for about one con and then one has to glue new ones on but it really does help :) 

Q3) I wonder about is how hard is it to keep all your cosplays in good order when traveling? and during conventions when walking around in a crowded space? making it was durable and easy to wear as possible etc 

A3) For travelling I use absolutely massive amounts of bubble wrap. I wrap each and any armor part into bubble wrap separately very single time, and that definitely helps the costume to travel in tact. Walking around a crowded space? That's not something we can do anything about, con damage is real and will always happen. To me what always happens is paint chipping and sometimes some very thin edges breaking of (I often have some thin long parts on my costumes..). If I want to wear a costume for a another cost it takes me about a week to repair it, as I usually strip a lot of painted parts due to chipping or cracking, refill it, prime it again and repaint it. 

Q4) When you do a costume with large shoulders like your draenei, how do you go about strapping them?

A4) I always do one and the same: one elastic band across the back (both of my shoulders are always connected together), and one elastic band around the armpit. I have done this for my Draenei shoulders, my Aion ranger shoulders, my Erza shoulders... I didn't do it for my necromancer shoulders, but I really should have, because I went it had visible leather straps connecting them together and I was certain this was going to be enough, but they kept sliding and moving around, so I definitely recommend my initial method to anyone in regards of shoulders. Oh and yes, I do need help putting them all! :) If a character has a naked arms/back, I use clear silicone bra strap tape instead and it's almost invisible in picture and crazy easy to photoshop out:

Q5) I love your Erza Scarlet costume so much! For her pauldrons, how did you shape them? The compound curves are very smooth, and I'm curious how you achieved that finish.

A5) I have used acrylic  half spheres for the curvy round base of the shoulders. I heated them up and bent them a little to resemble the needed form better, and then I use large chunks of pvc foam board that I also bent and glued and carved around the half spheres and finally I have used worbla scraps to build the other details and to fill in whatever mess I had left there. I use a dremel to carve off the excess everything and then of course filling, sanding and priming took place before paint, to achieve and ensure a smooth finish. It would have been easier not to use pvc foam board and just build the rims entirely from worbla, however, that would be a little bit of a waste of money. You could also build the rims empty on the inside, just using a worbla-craft foam sandwiches, and I have a tutorial for that technique over here, along with how to achieve the smooth finish: http://dulcineacosplay.blogspot.com/2014/02/worbla-smooth-surface-magic.html

Here are a few pictures illustrating my story of the Erza shoulder making:

A6) What kind of, or brand of resin do you use for your gemstone casting?

Q6) My favorite for this task is Pebeo Gedeo epoxy crystal resin that can be bought at hobby stores. It's really expensive though and that's the biggest con, but I really get best results with it, as I can't use polyurethane clear resin not having a degassing chamber.

Thank you for reading, and I look forward to your new questions about crafts! ^_^

xoxo, Dulcinea

Q & A (supposed to be a video, but happened to be a written blog post) + backstory

Hi everyone!

I don't know how many of you remember, that I about 2 months ago, I asked you to submit questions over here http://ask.fm/DulcineaCosplay , and promised to make a video with answers. I made this request (or is it an offer?) since I felt like many people misread my career change like the end of the hobby (since I announced that I have stopped making props for a living, many of you thought it = I quit cosplaying). I also did it because I believed it will help me get over my being on camera and talking fear. I almost got there. But then I started to get more questions (a couple weeks after the ones you guys sent in due to my request), which just made me more and more terrified of putting myself out there. There weren't "hate" questions, but all of them had either hidden complaints in them, or opinions that I am... well someone, who I am really not. Days went by, and the more I tried to sit in front of camera and talk, the more sick I would get in my stomach, and eventually I gave up. All I could imagine is someone loooking at the video and searching for something that I said wrong. Or looked wrong. But I still owe you all a Q & A. So here it will be, written down, because I have always felt that written words come easy to me, I can hide my fragile personality underneath them and appear cooler than I am! :-D

So now to all of you, kind people who gave me chance to answer some questions, here are my answers (some of them were not in English, so I translated those):

Q1) i don't think i'm original.....but seriously: are you planning on quitting cosplay completely?! please say no...

A1) I'm not definitely planning on quitting cosplay completely! I have, however, many mixed feelings about this hobby, that I want to share, since I'm doing the oversharing thing today. Some days I can't wait to start a new project, meet new people, "be out there", but other days I get sort of depressed and want to hide somewhere really deep. I know a lot of people to whom cosplay is exactly the thing that helps them be social, find friends, and cons are where they feel most at home. While I have gotten many many wonderful friends due to this hobby, my social anxiety increased. I have a very hard time taking compliments face to face and honestly have no idea what to say to people when they ask me stuff like : "how everything you do is so perfect?" and similar questions. I am well aware it sounds ridiculous and that I am supposed to be grateful for recognition. Don't get me wrong, I am, I just haven't found a way to deal with my inner socially awkward penguin. I am less of a penguin in non cosplay life, when nobody is praising me :-D
But yeah, no, I am not planning on quitting cosplay. Crafting gives me a lot of joy, as well as reading your comments under my pictures! I love those <3

Q2) Where do you come from?

A2) I believe the country is meant here, so - Lithuania, Europe :)

Q3) where do you get your worbla?


A3) I am getting mine at www.mycostumes.de, but the last time I did that, the CosCon shop wasn't open yet. Now I would get it from them, as they are closer, in Poland.  http://coscon.pl/

Q4) who's your cosplay inspiration (person or/and group of people)? ~ but to make it more interesting, answer should include people you don't know ~

A4) No problem, I can easily list many cosplay inspirations, both who I do know and those who I do not :) I don't personally know, yet worship: Volpin Props, Fev Studios, Vensy, Lightning Cosplay, Punished Props, Murmeltierchen Cosplay. And some of whom I do know: Shappi Wokshop, Violet Cosplay, Kairi in Cosplayland, Shinju's Workshop, Semashke Cos-Land, Foxtail, Giedrius Cosplay, Eglucy Cos-Up, Team Paraluna Cosplay, Jaycee Cosplay, Squirrel Cosplay Cave, and about like a million others. Honestly I find every cosplayer inspiring in one way or another :)

Q5) How do you choose music for your cosplay performances? Do you consider original sources for music first or straight to YouTube to find randomly good song?

A5) I used to spend hours and hours on Youtube (days, even), searching for a perfect song or two, but now I just go straight to this amazing dude, who makes music, and ask him for a custom made piece! I tell him what kind of theme, mood, and words I want, and he delivers something really really outstanding: https://soundcloud.com/zetox
Here is my Nidalee performance with the music that he made for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxhZ_Cc2zTs

Q6) This is probably the most random one you shall get from not an anonymous but... Was it difficult to go to bathroom while in your draenei cosplay? :DDD Describe your answer, why and how long did it take you? (silly questions, yeah? :D)‎  Kaligula

A6) Now you will be greatly disappointed in my answer :-D I never had to go to a bathroom in a full costume as such, because I would go right before I would put on my armor (with the help of like two friends haha), and I would limit my water intake for the day... I believe many cosplayers do it like this with their difficult costumes. It would literally be impossible to go to the bathroom in a full Draenei cosplay, because the pants go over the shoulders and then there are multiple piece of armor on top of it :)

Q7) Do you do any crafting? (not commissions for props but rather for yourself or a friend, not using the usual cosplay materials that you use for making props) Trippy question. >.>‎  Kaligula

A7) Not really, other than hand dying of the skirts for my job and occasional fancy gift wrapping, no :) I have also knit a few scarfs back in the day, but nothing significant. Actually, all my life I was absolutely sure that I have absolutely no skills or talent for any kind of crafts, and then I decided to start cosplaying. I still have absolutely no skills or talent,  but I have found that as long as you sand for hours, you don't really need any talent. :D

Q8) Sorry, wasn't following you very actively, but is it true that you're getting away from everything that considers cosplay? Why? I'm not judging, just curious :)

A8) As mentioned in Q1, nope, I am not! :) 

Q9) Have you tried dancing while in full armor/detailed costume? For example, any dance from WoW or Aion (since you cosplayed characters from these games)?‎  Kaligula

A9) I haven't danced in WoW or Aion costume, but I did that in an armored Nymphora. I went nuts there and all the parts stayed in tact. Actually, my faux teeth have unglued, but my "floating armor" stayed put. True story. It's somewhere on the internet, but I can't find it at the moment. It happened at Nowjapan, 2012. And this is not armor, but dancing from last year's Nyaaa! I always dance on stage if that's happening! :)) Thankfully to Vampire Kitten Cosplay, it does happen quite often..:)

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10202451062979675

Q10) U got any stalkish fans? (apart from me ofc)‎  Kaligula

A10) Nope. You're seriously the only one.

Q11) What do you do on your free time?

A11) I play LOL! Top lane, mostly (Singed, Sion, Ryze, Quinn, Lux, Poppy), normals (as I am too scared to find out what I would be in ranked. I bet Bronze V, but I don't want to know for sure). I also well, make cosplay :D however before when I had a prop making business, I would also make  my own costumes during work hours (as well as free time :D), as I had my best friend working on commissions with me, under my direct supervision, so I'd make my stuff and he would be there working on customers stuff. That way I would be available and around to do what he didn't do (gem casting, molding, and plastics thermoforming, for example), and if I needed someone to hold something or cut something with "man hands", he'd be around for me. 
And lastly, I watch a lot of TV shows in my free time and while working on cosplay. Keeps me very distracted from the boredom of sanding.

Q12) How and from where do You get all Your inspirations?

A12) I guess I answered mostly in Q4. From everyone related to cosplay :3

Q13) Do you plan to cosplay for a loooooong time? (surely hope so!!!)

A13) As I spoke about my mixed feelings in Q1, I guess it's safe to say that I have absolutely no idea how long I will be cosplaying, I just don't have a plan there :) but well, I hope so too! :)

Q14) how much does it take you to put on that draenei costume, make-up included?

A14) About two hours and about 2 friends helping me put it all on.

Q15) DO YOU WATCH ANIME?!

A15) Not anymore I don't. I just can't pay that much attention to the screen to read subtitles, as when I watch TV shows, I can still craft stuff, because listening is good enough, but then I don't speak japanese... And yes, I know I could watch anime in English or even Lithuanian, but I don't like voice overs :( Back when I used to watch it, FMA, FMP and NGE were my favorite animes :)

Q16) who or what motivates you to work harder on your projects ? you seem to be very ambitious and always make everything perfect at the end. Share your secrets :)‎  Egle

A16) I am my own worst enemy and my own greatest competition. I always want to to do better than the past me did, so I won't allow myself to settle for less. However, I always run out of time and I don't see my works as nowhere near "perfect" :D but well, you know, really, sanding and filling is the actual secret. And then many many many many hours. For example, what I would never do: I would never have some armor piece finished with paint job a couple weeks before the con, because well, I will be working on that surface until a mere couple days are left and then I will paint it. I don't know if you can call it a secret, but that's what I always do. I don't paint "unfinished" (the way I see it two weeks before the con) stuff and store it on the shelf, I'd rather use all the time I have to even it out and then pray and cry over drying paint. 

Q17) how do you attach wigs to your head? do you use any special wig layers for hair to stay put?

A17) I'm afraid I may be a noob here and not know stuff about wig layers, but well I use a wig cap and I use quite a few bobby pins. I pin through the wig into my wig cap and it holds like a charm.

Q18) Does Amber fart a lot?

A18) No he does not. Once I blamed him for doing so, but that was really me. I had to. He couldn't say anything about it, because he's a cat. 

Q19) Now that I think about your nJ performance in 2013... How bad was your vision with mesh eye contacts + lights near your eyes? o.O

A19) Pretty pathetic indeed. However, it helped with the stage fright a lot, because I could not see people looking at me :D Just the mesh contacts alone, however, work oddly: I could see something in the distance quite okay, but then I could never see myself in a mirror without thinking I am the purple blur. Therefore doing your own make up isn't very much possible with these contacts in. Eglucy Cos-Up did mine for NowJapan, and Foxtail for EC.

Q20) Do you have a fave YouTuber?

A20) Not one in particular, but there are few channels I watch. One of my guilty pleasures is Bubzvlogs, I don't know why exactly, but I absolutely adore her personality. Jenna Marbles, Michelle Phan, and whatever video Volpin Props <3 may upload.

Q21) Can you lift three cats at once? If yes, what about four cats at once? So, Can you??

A21) I can. Please send me three cats and I will show you. For now I only have proof of two kittens.

Q22) What will be your next cosplay?

A22) I think it will be an original gijinka design of Princess Luna for Nyaaa! Cosplay 2015. I really do like doing my own designs and that event is becoming a pony tradition for me :D

Q23) since you were a judge at nj, did u like the Deadpool(s) running around, acting funny, doing some in-between cosplay performances entertainment? they were cool btw, hope you liked them <3

A23) I saw them doing something really really bad, so no, not really, sorry :( I can't elaborate without putting the "victim" in the spotlight, but if you want to discuss it in private, please do send me a message on my page.

Q24) How differently judges rate in different cons (appearance/performance)? What does a judge have to look for in nowJapan\ Eurocosplay\ other cons you judged in? How different is that judging?

A24) Every event has their own criteria that are presented to the judges, so they know what to look for. In general these tips I have a blog post about apply, especially in Eurocosplay competiton: http://dulcineacosplay.blogspot.com/2014/06/10-things-worth-remembering-when-making.html Nowpajan has it's own uniqueness though. It's the only event I got to judge where the judges had no idea who will win and what. We just put down the scores on day 1 and got our papers taken away, same happened on day 2, and we were not given any time to discuss the winners. Everything came as a surprise to us.

Q25) What's your biggest fail in life?

A25) I have had many many many of them! Something I regret the most, is being a complete and utter b**** to someone who I really like and respect. Until this day I sit and think as to how can I fix the relationship that changed entirelly due to my sole fault. The moral of the story: sit down, breathe, think, then talk, and not the other way around...

Q26) How do you imagine our planet will be in the future?

A26) Well, I guess it really depends on how far in the future? Because well, the endgame will be "no more planet", right? 

Q27) What does it feel like to be a judge? Is it hard? Do you enjoy it? why?‎  Semashke

A27) Actually, yes, I rather enjoy it. When I am a judge I have a lot less stress than I am myself in a competition, yet at the same time I feel kind of important. I also believe that I have a fairly keen eye and am able to spot the strong and weak spots of ones cosplay craftmanship and performance wise, so I am fairly confident in my abilities to judge and therefore it's neither hard nor stressful for me.

Q28) What do you do for a living now that you say you are no longer taking prop commissions?

A28) I have a handmade clothing company, that specializes in tulle skirts, mostly: https://www.facebook.com/wbdulcinea It's my absolute dream job and I don't regret my decision to shift careers one bit! :) I personally hand dye each skirt in numerous ways, such as dip dye, gradient, dual colors and more, and I also do all the customer service. I have two lovely ladies (my mom and my friend) who do the sewing, as I am nowhere near that good of a seamstress to feel confident enough to sew professionaly for a customer :) 



Thank you so much for reading, and I really hope that you found at least a bit of interest in this Q & A. I look forward to any and all feedback <3

xoxo,
Dulcinea