A year is a long wait. Seriously. Today I saw Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first show at 10 o'clock in the morning. The story begins with a flashback from Jyn Erso's (Felicity Jones)somewhat traumatic childhood. We are then thrown immediately into the action and it almost hasn't a dead second during the entire duration of the movie.
Gareth Edwards has managed to make a war movie, with emphasis on the war. It's kind of raw, a little dark, sentimental and very exciting even though most fans already can imagine the end of the film. Despite this, there is the feeling of Star Wars there, perhaps even more than in The Force Awakens.
Although this film is set just before A New Hope and the characters
are such as we had never seen before, so we get our fill of old familiar
faces, incorporated very nicely in the story.
Everybody knows Darth Vader does an appearance, not a big part but makes a big impact. K-2SO, the re-programmed imperial droid, played by Alan Tudyk, is really good. The delivery of lines is fun and smart. The CGI is awesome. You don't even think about it as a CGI carachter. There are also a couple of more CGI moments that are breathtaking. You'll see for yourselves.
Disappointments? Hardly. However,
I can feel that the character Orson Krennic makes a little pale
impression, no shadow over Ben Mendelsohn's performance, but on the other hand, Director
Krennic is nothing more than a pencilpushing bureaucrat. In my opinion, this show a little clearer in the book Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno, which story takes place about 10-15 years before the events of the film.
This is a short review, I don't want to go deep and it is more a few of my thoughts around the movie. I'm not even going to score this one. I loved it though and had a lot of fun through the whole movie. Lot's of action, likable carachters, new interesting locations that expands the universe and so on.
Go see it and enjoy the ride!
Later, awesome nerds!
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Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Monday, November 7, 2016
Test of new product Ellimorph
As a cosplayer...ehrm, can I call myself that? A wannabe anyway. Well, to the point. Many have already seen the Ellimacs SFX Tutorial youtube channel by Ellinor Rosander and Macs Moser. They do amazing make up tutorials and have over 600k subcribers to their channel as of today. I have seen quite a few of their tutorial videos and they use a kind of biodegradable plastic that is non-toxic and softens in hot water which makes it really easy to work with. They sell it by the name Ellimorph.
The facts of Ellimorph
- Ellimorph comes in white plastic pellets
- It turns soft and transparent in hot water above 62 C/143.6 F
- Pick up the completlely transparent pellets and mold it by hand (at this stage you can add color)
- Allow the Ellimorph to cool until solid
- Re-heat if further moulding is required
- Dip in cold water for faster set time
- Re-heating takes longer if the piece is big
- Solid Ellimorph will shrink some over time. When doing teeth moulds you may need to re-heat and bite down again to adjust the fit
- Be careful when handling hot water
- Do not over-heat the water with pellets in it or they may become sticky and difficult to remove from surfaces.
Swedishfanboy's Ellimorph test on foam armor
Ellimacs SFX primarily use their product for make up FX and I love that kind of thing, but when I went up to their booth at ComicCon this weekend and spoke to them I thought that this product easily could be transfered to the world of cosplay.
Many times I am lost on what material I can use for different things in cosplaying. Often I know exactly what I want to achieve but the material or product doesn't exist or isn't available in Sweden.
I am making a sort of Grim Reaper costume for a private event next Saturday. Will not reveal it until then, sorry. But this costume has a piece of armor that I have small spikes on. I actually bought som spike type of thing at a local arts and craft store. These thing looks really weak and not intimidating at all. Actually I think they are suppose to be used as a carrot nose for a snowman, LOL.
Anyway, a perfect chance to test Ellimorph. Check out the pictures below to see the progress.
This is the foam armor pieces with the small spikes intended for a snowman. |
Now it's time to make a more horrifying type of spikes with Ellimorph!
Heat the water to above 62 C/143.6 F. This seem to be the meltingpoint of Ellimorph. I found out that 75 C/167 F is the perfect temperature to make the pellets go transparent really quickly. |
Pour water in a glass and add the Ellimorph pellets. When they are completely transparent, pick them up with a spoon. They should be cool enough to handle. |
I now have moulded a spike and put a match in it to punch through the foam to make it stick better. This piece is stil transparent because it didn't set yet. |
Two pieces that turned solid. It really become rock hard after it sets. Perfect to make teeth, bone and such. |
Finished! Hot glued to the foam armor and looks incredible already. I thought of painting them black as the original ones but I think I'll just weather them to have the bone/tooth feel. |
Evaluation of Ellimorph
Ellimorph is for sure in my cosplay workshop to stay. There are probably many many more things you can use it for that I haven't even thought about yet. Feel free to come with suggestions when Ellimorph can be used in cosplaying.
Update!
I finished the new spikes/fangs made out of Ellimorph today by weathering them with some black acrylic paint and the result is way better than the small black ones I first used. To seal the paint I sprayed a thin layer of clearcoat on. See the result below.
Update!
I finished the new spikes/fangs made out of Ellimorph today by weathering them with some black acrylic paint and the result is way better than the small black ones I first used. To seal the paint I sprayed a thin layer of clearcoat on. See the result below.
Later, awseome nerds!
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Day 2 of MCM ComicCon Stockholm
Woke up at 8 this morning and had a great breakfast at the hotel, I sure can get used to these continental breakfasts!
I got something today that I have looked at before and been really interested in. The Tie fighter blue tooth speaker from Disney. One of the vendors had one for more than 50% off retail so I bought it ofcourse. I think it is really hard to decide what to buy at these conventions, there's a universe of options and I have a hard time deciding LOL. I also got me som Jedi slippers and a Black Series Rey & BB-8.
Went to VampyBitMe's second Q&A, a lot of fun as the one yesterday. Lots of laughs and good questions from the crowd. I could've asked a couple myself but I thought I might let the young people shine instead of an old fart like me, haha. Also I had a stroke last year and my ability to build sentences in a second language is hard like that from the top of my head. I am still a little uncomfortable speaking in public. I kind of need to warm up first.
Lucky me when I got to VampyBitMe's booth after and she was really talkative and made me actually talk to her haha. Good training for me. It was really nice of her anyways. Bought a print from her and I could take a selfie with her aswell. I like the nerdy stuff and gadgets ofcourse, but it was really nice to be able to talk about cosplay for a couple of minutes with someone. I don't really have any cosplaying friends to talk cosplay with. Atleast when it comes down to materials and such.
Really tired now after a whole day at the convention. Malin and I are still deciding if we are going to the cinmema close by to see The Accountant or if we're going up to the 34th floor and grab a beer or two. Maybe we just crash in bed =)
Well, perhaps we can make a run-through tomorrow when the conventions opens at 10. We need to check out of the hotel by 11 and we have a soccer game to catch in the afternoon two trainstations away. Then back home again.
Later, awesome nerds!
I got something today that I have looked at before and been really interested in. The Tie fighter blue tooth speaker from Disney. One of the vendors had one for more than 50% off retail so I bought it ofcourse. I think it is really hard to decide what to buy at these conventions, there's a universe of options and I have a hard time deciding LOL. I also got me som Jedi slippers and a Black Series Rey & BB-8.
Went to VampyBitMe's second Q&A, a lot of fun as the one yesterday. Lots of laughs and good questions from the crowd. I could've asked a couple myself but I thought I might let the young people shine instead of an old fart like me, haha. Also I had a stroke last year and my ability to build sentences in a second language is hard like that from the top of my head. I am still a little uncomfortable speaking in public. I kind of need to warm up first.
Lucky me when I got to VampyBitMe's booth after and she was really talkative and made me actually talk to her haha. Good training for me. It was really nice of her anyways. Bought a print from her and I could take a selfie with her aswell. I like the nerdy stuff and gadgets ofcourse, but it was really nice to be able to talk about cosplay for a couple of minutes with someone. I don't really have any cosplaying friends to talk cosplay with. Atleast when it comes down to materials and such.
Really tired now after a whole day at the convention. Malin and I are still deciding if we are going to the cinmema close by to see The Accountant or if we're going up to the 34th floor and grab a beer or two. Maybe we just crash in bed =)
Well, perhaps we can make a run-through tomorrow when the conventions opens at 10. We need to check out of the hotel by 11 and we have a soccer game to catch in the afternoon two trainstations away. Then back home again.
Later, awesome nerds!
First day of MCM ComicCon Stockholm 2016
Scandic Victoria Tower |
The hotel by the way, Scandic Victioria Tower, is amazing. It is a three star hotel, but it is the tallest hotel in northern Europe with 34 floors and standing 117,5 meters tall. All glass ofcourse. Some people do not like these kind of structures but I think they are cool. The view over Stockholm is magnificent.
Today was the first day of Comicon Stockholm, and it is right next door to our hotel. Great venue, and a hell of a lot to see...and buy ofcourse, duh! We pretty much browsed through the vendors this day to maybe do some buys tomorrow. I got myself a couple of novels since I have started reading before bedtime again. Malin (my gf) made some christmas shopping.
Cool stuff to see aswell, among other things a full size Jabbba The Hutt and an iron throne replica from Game of Thrones!
We also went to a Q&A with Linda Le aka VampyBitMe. I enjoyed her cosplays for a while now and I think she is doing a great job. Now after I have seen her live and heard her speak about how she look on herself as an artist and cosplay in general, I think she seems really down to earth, kind and eager to share her knowledge to others. I am for sure getting an autographed print from her tomorrow, and I will attend her second Q&A ofcourse.
We'll see tomorrow what eventual shopping takes us. Many cool items to want I¨ll say =)
Later, awesome Nerds!
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Weekend almost over, bought some stuff at Närcon Gävle
Yours truly trying hats... |
Unfortunately the master cosplay contest was cancelled due to last minute drop outs. Too bad, I had been looking forward to this.
Well, myself and my girlfriend did go through the vendors quite a few times. We are both suckers for collectibles and the basic nerd stuff. I got an ear infection Friday night so I wasn't really in shape for the long run so we browsed through the convention a couple of hours on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. That satisfied me enough.
Point outs of Närcon Gävle 2016
- There was a vaste number of Pokémon GO stuff available among the vendors (No shit?)
- There was a German guy selling exclusive collectible figures, oh my god the prices!
- A Polish guy had the best merch in form of variety, anything from coasters to pillows.
- Anime prints seemed to be the best seller this weekend(I think someone bought nine of them).
We also got some Japanese candy. More on that another day...
Later, awesome nerds!
Saturday, October 29, 2016
My 5 dream cosplays
There is a vast number of potential cosplays around. Extremely many so called mainstream ones from hit movies and television shows, you know the type any average Joe can spot in a convention. There is also a lot of obscure characters out there, some you have a vague memory of but can't place, and some you have no idea whatsoever what the hell it is. But it is fun. For my part, I have very little or no knowledge of japanese anime characters. Some I have seen before but I can't tell from what show they come or their name.
When I look at characters I want to cosplay, I tend to look at the mainstream ones - more or less anyway. I might go for a supporting caracter in a movie but mostly I go for the well known and I also go for what I like and think I can pull off. Both in my appearance and the skill of my craftsmanship. I am still a beginner so I should not go overboard the first thing I do.
I am currently doing a genderbend of Sabine Wren from Star Wars Rebels, and I recently posted pictures here on the blog with my progress so far. I don't know about you other cosplayers out there, if you constantly think of the next costume you want to do. I sure do anyway, and I think most people working creatively do in some way atleast.
Here is my, without any specific order, the 5 cosplays I want to do:
This one really takes some work. Lots of detail. Most cosplays I have seen is very good but are made in the cosplayers hight, which is a common way to do it. I made a monster for this Halloween which involves a body rig that when worn makes me over 8 feet tall. My idea is to rebuild this into the Lich King.
When I look at characters I want to cosplay, I tend to look at the mainstream ones - more or less anyway. I might go for a supporting caracter in a movie but mostly I go for the well known and I also go for what I like and think I can pull off. Both in my appearance and the skill of my craftsmanship. I am still a beginner so I should not go overboard the first thing I do.
I am currently doing a genderbend of Sabine Wren from Star Wars Rebels, and I recently posted pictures here on the blog with my progress so far. I don't know about you other cosplayers out there, if you constantly think of the next costume you want to do. I sure do anyway, and I think most people working creatively do in some way atleast.
Here is my, without any specific order, the 5 cosplays I want to do:
Greedo, from Star Wars A New Hope Tusken Raider
Greedo is only in one scene of Star Wars A New Hope, but an iconic one. The rodian bountyhunter is really cool.
Tusken Raider, from Star Wars A New Hope
The Tuskenn Raiders, or Sand People, in the first Star Wars movie was intimidating and had a very different look. Fairly easy to cosplay to and I have actually already made the tunic and the garderffii stick.
The Tuskenn Raiders, or Sand People, in the first Star Wars movie was intimidating and had a very different look. Fairly easy to cosplay to and I have actually already made the tunic and the garderffii stick.
The Lich King, from World of Warcraft
Jason Nesmith, from Galaxy Quest
This might count as an obscure character to do. I know it has been done before by other cosplayers, but I like this movie. One of the best spoofs ever. Tim Allens character Jason Nesmith would be a great one to do and I already have the Galaxy Quest uniform patch, so....
Any male Togruta, from Star Wars
There are so many great female characters around. I love Ashoka Tano, but I will settle for any custom male Togruta instead. A really cool alien species.
I could list a couple of dozens of other characters I would want to cosplay, but I picked five I can think of right now and that I have a personal connection with. Many Star Wars characters here, but hey I am a fan so...
Lunch now and then time to make ready for Närcon Gävle!
Later, awesome nerds!
Friday, October 28, 2016
Närcon Gävle 2016 is live!
Närcon Gävle 2016 opened the gates at Gavlerinken Arena in Gävle today. The cosplay convention will be open all weekend until Sunday. In my eyes the biggest focus is on the master cosplay contest, where the winner will qualify for The Swedish Cosplay Championship in March next year.
The convention also have a lot of other things to do and see, for example E-sport contests. Unfortunately I can not attend this Friday evening due to other life things, but tomorrow I will be there all day! Looking forward to see amazing costumes and meet equally amaing people!
Later, awesome nerds!
The convention also have a lot of other things to do and see, for example E-sport contests. Unfortunately I can not attend this Friday evening due to other life things, but tomorrow I will be there all day! Looking forward to see amazing costumes and meet equally amaing people!
Later, awesome nerds!
The Nordic Museum(Nordiska museet)in Stockholm hosts cosplay contest
Well I am not worthy, but looking forward to see the results of this upcoming contest!
During five months, Nordiska Museet in Stockholm (Nordic Museum) is hosting a contest where creative cosplayers create costumes for the theme folklore beings. Here you can follow the participants' work until The Swedish Cosplay Championship (Cosplay-SM) in March 2017. Here you can also immerse yourself in the subject of folklore beings with the help of the Nordic museum experts, collections and archives.
Conditions of contest
If you are applying for the contest, you must be at least 15 years old and live in Sweden. Participants are expected to share their creative process in social media. Nordic Museum has the right to disseminate the participants' pictures, and the museum's own descriptions of the process and the costumes, in social media and on the museum's website. Participants are expected to display their costume at The Swedish Cosplay Championship 2017 in Stockholm.
In order to take part in sponsorship money for the costumes, you need to be able to bill the museum through your own company, or (if you have no company) through online billing services such as Freelance Finance. We will help you to use the service if new to it.
In order to take part in sponsorship money for the costumes, you need to be able to bill the museum through your own company, or (if you have no company) through online billing services such as Freelance Finance. We will help you to use the service if new to it.
Rules
Creating the costume
The creative process begins after the selected participants first information meeting, where participants can share information about the theme and conditions.
The participant shall create his own suit without outside assistance.
The contest is formost a crafts contest, which means that completely bought costumes are not allowed. Few details and modified components may be included in the suit as long as the participant is able to describe the work around the parts purchased or modified.
The contest encourages all or part originally designed characters. Feel free to use the museum's source material to create your own interpretation of your folklore being.
It is allowed to create the outfit for a model, which then also expected to show off the suit during the evaluation and demonstration.
The suit may not violate Swedish law.
The judging
- The costume will be assessed by a jury in a closed room.
- During the assessment the participant should be wearing the suit itself, or have a model show it.
- The contestants will then be able to account for both the creative and technical process behind the suit (ie the participant's interpretation of the theme "Folklore Beings", the participant's vision and how he then chose to portray this through his craft).
- Participants are encouraged to share their "work in progress" pictures, films and other materials during evaluation. Reference materials will be prepared by the Nordic Museum.
During the assessment points are awarded according to the following model:
Craftsmanship: 0-15p
The suit's crafts; workmanship, choice of materials, techniques, etc. will be assessed.
Interpretation of the theme: 0-10p
We assess how the suit is linked to the theme "Folklore Guard and Nordic Lights" and the interpretations of the source material made by the participant. Creativity and originality are encouraged!
Craftsmanship: 0-15p
The suit's crafts; workmanship, choice of materials, techniques, etc. will be assessed.
Interpretation of the theme: 0-10p
We assess how the suit is linked to the theme "Folklore Guard and Nordic Lights" and the interpretations of the source material made by the participant. Creativity and originality are encouraged!
Display of costume
As a participant in the contest you are expected to show off your costume on stage during The Swedish Cosplay Championship in 2017 and do a short catwalk / interview and during the price ceremony. However, this will not affect the outcome of the contest.
As a participant in the contest you are expected to show off your costume on stage during The Swedish Cosplay Championship in 2017 and do a short catwalk / interview and during the price ceremony. However, this will not affect the outcome of the contest.
Preserving the costume for the future
It is desirable that the participants within a year from the end of the contest leaves the suit to The Nordic Museum's costume collection, to be preserved for the future (optional).
Later, awsome nerds!
Monday, October 24, 2016
Recent and coming products from Sideshow Collectibles
Sideshow Collectibles has since 1994 provided us with fantastic figures and figurines of our most beloved heroes and villains. Their work is out of this world and when you buy a collectible from sideshow then you get your money's worth, even if it makes a hole in your wallet. Sometimes it feels as if I could just as well change the name of my bank account to Sideshow Collectibles.
Over the years they have given us fine old heroes and characters from the film and comic book world, some have later returned in special editions, but there have always been new ones as new movies and TV series are produced.
As a fan of Star Wars I will shout out some new figures that was released recently or will be released in the coming months.
Jyn Erso premium format figure from Rogue One - A Star Wars Story, not released yet, price unknown...
Over the years they have given us fine old heroes and characters from the film and comic book world, some have later returned in special editions, but there have always been new ones as new movies and TV series are produced.
As a fan of Star Wars I will shout out some new figures that was released recently or will be released in the coming months.
Nice Luke Skywalker sixth scale figure from Star Wars The Force Awakens, $229.99
Deathtrooper specialist sixth scale figure, from Rouge One - A Star Wars Story, $234.99
Han Solo and Chewbacca sixth scale figure set from Star Wars The Force Awakens, $519.99
Later, awsome nerds!
Friday, October 21, 2016
Inferno review
As mentioned earlier, I have seen all the film adaptations of Dan Brown's books with Professor Robert Langdon, and I have not been completely satisfied with either The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons. The first thought I was too short and could well have been an epic three-hour movie, while Angels and Demons was more or less a messy movie in my taste.
Basic plot if you did not read the book - Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital in Florece, Italy, with a gunshot grace to the head and memory loss. He has no idea how he even got to Italy. A female assasin, Vayentha (Ana Ularu), show up at the hospital and try to kill him and Langdon flees with his doctor Sienna Brooks, played by Felicity Jones. The odd couple end up in Sienna's apartment where Langdon finds a biohazard capsule in his jacket. They open it and find a hi-tech projector that shows and image of Dante's inferno from which Langdon continously had visions of during his trauma. Somehow it seems to be connected to a billionair named Bertrand Zobrist, played by Ben Foster, an eccentric tyrant with a vision of killing of half the world to save it from overpopulätion.
This movie starts off quickly with Langdons trauma and memory loss. He also suffers from visions, really creepy ones from the Dante's inferno which makes you squirm in you chair. The pace is constant through out the movie with people always chasing our heroes, and they trying to stop the maniac Zobrist and the secret organization he has behind him, lead by Irrfan Khan beautifully played by Harry Sims.
I think the movie holds up pretty good, read the book or not, it feels tighter than the previous movies and outshines them even if I atleast liked the tone of The Da Vinci Code. Ron Howard made a decent movie that I really enjoyed. Good performance from the lead actors and a thrilling story. It is not a materpiece but still...
Basic plot if you did not read the book - Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital in Florece, Italy, with a gunshot grace to the head and memory loss. He has no idea how he even got to Italy. A female assasin, Vayentha (Ana Ularu), show up at the hospital and try to kill him and Langdon flees with his doctor Sienna Brooks, played by Felicity Jones. The odd couple end up in Sienna's apartment where Langdon finds a biohazard capsule in his jacket. They open it and find a hi-tech projector that shows and image of Dante's inferno from which Langdon continously had visions of during his trauma. Somehow it seems to be connected to a billionair named Bertrand Zobrist, played by Ben Foster, an eccentric tyrant with a vision of killing of half the world to save it from overpopulätion.
This movie starts off quickly with Langdons trauma and memory loss. He also suffers from visions, really creepy ones from the Dante's inferno which makes you squirm in you chair. The pace is constant through out the movie with people always chasing our heroes, and they trying to stop the maniac Zobrist and the secret organization he has behind him, lead by Irrfan Khan beautifully played by Harry Sims.
I think the movie holds up pretty good, read the book or not, it feels tighter than the previous movies and outshines them even if I atleast liked the tone of The Da Vinci Code. Ron Howard made a decent movie that I really enjoyed. Good performance from the lead actors and a thrilling story. It is not a materpiece but still...
Rating (out of 5):
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Another Dan Brown movie....and other things
Tonight I'm going to the cinema to see the new Dan Brown adaptation Inferno with Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones.
I can say right away that I like Dan Browns novels, and I have read most of them. The film adaptations on the other hand has been, well...a little meh! Actually I liked the tone of The Da Vinci Code, I also think Tom Hanks is the perfect Robert Langdon. Many of the actor/actress choices for the characters in this movie was spot on. But the movie itself? Not so much.
The tone of mentioned film is good I think, but the storys about Robert Langdon is packed with a lot of information and subtletys, like Dan Brown intended when he wrote the novels. To cram this much information in to a two hours film is hard, hence the waste amount of good stuff that was left out in The Da Vinci Code. In my opinion, these films should be epic three hour long moviefests similar to types of movies like The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan and such.
Inferno is also only around two hours in length, but I have hope for this since it is a more of an action packed story than some of the previous ones.
The second full length trailer for Rogue One - A Star Wars Story has been out for a while and many have reacted and reviewed it before me. I'm not going deep on this but as a super Star Wars-nerd I think I may have to atleast say something about it.
I liked the first teaser that came during Star Wars Celebration 2016 in London, and I think Gareth Edwards made a perfect tone for this movie. That is just it, it's feels like a Star Wars film ofcourse, but it also feels like a really good movie that anyone can like - SW fan or not. From the last trailer we got a little more about the story and the characters seems interesting. Will this be the movie of the year? Well the potential is there.
There have been a lot of talk about the re-shoots Disney made Gareth Edwards do, but I think that is just blown out of proportions. Have you ever had your boss come to you and say "I'm not completely satisfied with your work, can you do a little better?" Probably happens to anyone in there worklife one time or another. The photography, tone, story and the exciting sequences in the full length trailer shows that this is going to be a great film. I also am a fan of many of the actors in this film, like Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Ben Mendelsohn and Mads Mikkelsen.
See for yourself below if you haven't already.
Lucky me I live in Europe....because we get to see this movie already on December 14th!
Well, I will be posting a few word about Inferno tonight or tomorrow!
Later, awsome nerds!
I can say right away that I like Dan Browns novels, and I have read most of them. The film adaptations on the other hand has been, well...a little meh! Actually I liked the tone of The Da Vinci Code, I also think Tom Hanks is the perfect Robert Langdon. Many of the actor/actress choices for the characters in this movie was spot on. But the movie itself? Not so much.
The tone of mentioned film is good I think, but the storys about Robert Langdon is packed with a lot of information and subtletys, like Dan Brown intended when he wrote the novels. To cram this much information in to a two hours film is hard, hence the waste amount of good stuff that was left out in The Da Vinci Code. In my opinion, these films should be epic three hour long moviefests similar to types of movies like The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan and such.
Inferno is also only around two hours in length, but I have hope for this since it is a more of an action packed story than some of the previous ones.
The second full length trailer for Rogue One - A Star Wars Story has been out for a while and many have reacted and reviewed it before me. I'm not going deep on this but as a super Star Wars-nerd I think I may have to atleast say something about it.
I liked the first teaser that came during Star Wars Celebration 2016 in London, and I think Gareth Edwards made a perfect tone for this movie. That is just it, it's feels like a Star Wars film ofcourse, but it also feels like a really good movie that anyone can like - SW fan or not. From the last trailer we got a little more about the story and the characters seems interesting. Will this be the movie of the year? Well the potential is there.
There have been a lot of talk about the re-shoots Disney made Gareth Edwards do, but I think that is just blown out of proportions. Have you ever had your boss come to you and say "I'm not completely satisfied with your work, can you do a little better?" Probably happens to anyone in there worklife one time or another. The photography, tone, story and the exciting sequences in the full length trailer shows that this is going to be a great film. I also am a fan of many of the actors in this film, like Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Ben Mendelsohn and Mads Mikkelsen.
See for yourself below if you haven't already.
Lucky me I live in Europe....because we get to see this movie already on December 14th!
Well, I will be posting a few word about Inferno tonight or tomorrow!
Later, awsome nerds!
Thursday, October 13, 2016
A little bit of cosplay progress
Hello cosplayers! Thought I would give you a small update on the progress on my latest cosplya which is a genderbend of Sabine Wren from Star Wars Rebels.
As mentioned before in a previous post, I gained some weight lately, so I decided to start with the props before the actual costume because I want to be slightly more fit before I get into tight pant and a shirt like Sabine has. Ofcourse I could just make a suit that fits me as is, but I really want to make my beer belly disappear a bit. The end result will be so much better. Don't get me wrong here, I am not the shallow type and I actually encourages people to cosplay nomatter what they look like. Cosplay is for everyone, and I do not, or will ever not have a perfect body anyway. Just a little better proportions is what I am after here.
Anyway, here comes some pictures of my progress so far with the Sabine outfit and som ideas I have for future parts.
This is the top dome of the helmet made out of EVA foam. For this I checked out Evil Ted's awesome Youtube channel for how to make this. You can see the tutorial on how to make a foam helmet here.
I then drew around the base of the dome to cut out at flat round piece. You will see further down why.
I used the flat round piece of EVA foam to tape the cardboard templates of the helmet sides on to it. This way I had the helmet perfectly sized after my measurements.
Then I glued the dome on top of the round piece, and then built polyester resin and glass fibre(the kind you fix and build boats with) layer by layer around the template to form the sides of the helmet.
I also covered the EVA dome with polyester resin to make it more sturdy. The dome itself is still there and actually makes the helmet more comfortable to wear. The surface of the dried polyester resin is pretty gritty so I used just polyester resin and mico glass ballon to make a putty for the finish. It did involve a lot of sanding afterwards. But totally worth it. The surface is now completely smooth and ready for small parts and paint.
I just drew out a template I found online on printer paper and cut out two layers of 12 mm EVA foam. Then I glued them together and stroke som wood glue on cracks and dents to make it smoother.
As mentioned before in a previous post, I gained some weight lately, so I decided to start with the props before the actual costume because I want to be slightly more fit before I get into tight pant and a shirt like Sabine has. Ofcourse I could just make a suit that fits me as is, but I really want to make my beer belly disappear a bit. The end result will be so much better. Don't get me wrong here, I am not the shallow type and I actually encourages people to cosplay nomatter what they look like. Cosplay is for everyone, and I do not, or will ever not have a perfect body anyway. Just a little better proportions is what I am after here.
Anyway, here comes some pictures of my progress so far with the Sabine outfit and som ideas I have for future parts.
The Mandalorian helmet
This is the top dome of the helmet made out of EVA foam. For this I checked out Evil Ted's awesome Youtube channel for how to make this. You can see the tutorial on how to make a foam helmet here.
I then drew around the base of the dome to cut out at flat round piece. You will see further down why.
I used the flat round piece of EVA foam to tape the cardboard templates of the helmet sides on to it. This way I had the helmet perfectly sized after my measurements.
Then I glued the dome on top of the round piece, and then built polyester resin and glass fibre(the kind you fix and build boats with) layer by layer around the template to form the sides of the helmet.
I also covered the EVA dome with polyester resin to make it more sturdy. The dome itself is still there and actually makes the helmet more comfortable to wear. The surface of the dried polyester resin is pretty gritty so I used just polyester resin and mico glass ballon to make a putty for the finish. It did involve a lot of sanding afterwards. But totally worth it. The surface is now completely smooth and ready for small parts and paint.
Guns and holster
I have seen a few different ways to do the guns and holsters for Sabine costumes, and it has been made in EVA foam aswell as balsawood and plain hard wood. I know EVA foam better than any other material so I went with that, both for the holster and the guns.
The holsters I cut out the frame from 6 mm EVA foam and cut it to fold around the gun. Check out this clip at 3:17 how to do it. It is a little tricky but the result is worth it even if you fail a couple of times like I did.
Here is the result of the glued holsters with the guns. I made the small parts on the guns with 2 mm EVA foam.
My uncle in Finland had a good elk hunt last year so he sent me som left over elk skin a couple of months ago. Lucky me. The skin came in handy for the holsters, and I think it turned out to be a perfect detail to the finished job.
Well, future work continues. The costume itself will need to be made. The idea is to sew the shirt from scratch. The pants I will buy a pair of cargo type pants and alter them to look more like the pants Sabine use. The belt I will also make from scratch since the style is typical Star Wars and nothing like that really exist in the real world, and attach the holsters on it. The armor I will continue to make from 6 mm EVA foam, the templates are finished after my measurments, they just need to be cut.
I hope you liked the progress I made so far considering this is my first cosplay. Please come with suggestions, tips and comments below.
Later, awesome nerds!
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Trends in cosplay
Cosplay is currently one of the fastest growing trends in Japan and the quality of costumes is remarkable. Fans of the crafting hobby goes to great length to create proffessional hair, make up and props. In Japan, a cosplay meet can bring 100 000 visitors without raising an eyebrow.
As a Swede, and a noob cosplayer, I can also say that the interest for Cosplay over all has increased greatly even here in Sweden. It has always been around since a long time back but only during the last few years it has exploded. In someways, you can even say that it has become a little more mainstream. This has been proved by Swedish public service television in recent years broadcasted the Swedish and Nordic Championships at NärCon live, first online, later live on the main channel. In 2016, NärCon is hosting a third convention for the first time in Gävle, with qualification contest för the championship show on TV in February 2017. Cosplay is growing.
The levels of Cosplay in Sweden is wide, from the beginners like myself, to experienced cosplayers holding high international standard. One of a handful is Linn Eriksson from Stockholm. She finished at least top 3 in every Swedish or Nordic Championship she has entered. To the left Linn as The Emperor from Final Fantasy 2, a costume which she won the Swedish championship with in 2015.
Trends
Trends come and go, that's why it's called a trend, duh! Often it is inspired by films, TV-series, games and comic books that have become popular. Last year it was not uncommon to see atleast a handful of Dead Pools at almost every convention. The trend now Among many female cosplayers is Harley Quinn as of the movie Suicide Squad. The comic book version we saw even erlier. During the last six months we also have seen a lot of pokémon cosplays since that darn game showed up...
Some try to be as unconventional as possible deciding their next cosplay. the most obscure costumes can be seen at most conventions, and sometimes you have to ask the character name and from the wheret it belongs. Some odd costumes you might know, but may also surprise you since you couldn't dream someone would pick that particular character. At The San Diego Comiccon 2015 there was a Triceracop costume present from the kickstarter marvel Kung Fury. If you do not know what the hell I am talking about, follow the link. You should though.
Mostly, cosplayers chose a costume based of a character they like. I am a Star Wars fan, and when I think of cosplay my thoughts goes to characters from that universe, and that's a big universe. My two current projekts revolves around Star Wars characters.
What will we see in the future then? Probably the usual stuff from the big productions coming to theatres, the most recent and old computer games and comic books. I would like to see more characters from the background, or characters that probably wouldn't be the first pick of most people. Perhaps someone from the recent movie The Girl with All the Gifts?
Well, cosplay is here to stay and is coming closer to the homes of average Joes.
Later, awesome nerds!
As a Swede, and a noob cosplayer, I can also say that the interest for Cosplay over all has increased greatly even here in Sweden. It has always been around since a long time back but only during the last few years it has exploded. In someways, you can even say that it has become a little more mainstream. This has been proved by Swedish public service television in recent years broadcasted the Swedish and Nordic Championships at NärCon live, first online, later live on the main channel. In 2016, NärCon is hosting a third convention for the first time in Gävle, with qualification contest för the championship show on TV in February 2017. Cosplay is growing.
Photo: Shila Forsman Photography |
Trends
Trends come and go, that's why it's called a trend, duh! Often it is inspired by films, TV-series, games and comic books that have become popular. Last year it was not uncommon to see atleast a handful of Dead Pools at almost every convention. The trend now Among many female cosplayers is Harley Quinn as of the movie Suicide Squad. The comic book version we saw even erlier. During the last six months we also have seen a lot of pokémon cosplays since that darn game showed up...
Some try to be as unconventional as possible deciding their next cosplay. the most obscure costumes can be seen at most conventions, and sometimes you have to ask the character name and from the wheret it belongs. Some odd costumes you might know, but may also surprise you since you couldn't dream someone would pick that particular character. At The San Diego Comiccon 2015 there was a Triceracop costume present from the kickstarter marvel Kung Fury. If you do not know what the hell I am talking about, follow the link. You should though.
Mostly, cosplayers chose a costume based of a character they like. I am a Star Wars fan, and when I think of cosplay my thoughts goes to characters from that universe, and that's a big universe. My two current projekts revolves around Star Wars characters.
What will we see in the future then? Probably the usual stuff from the big productions coming to theatres, the most recent and old computer games and comic books. I would like to see more characters from the background, or characters that probably wouldn't be the first pick of most people. Perhaps someone from the recent movie The Girl with All the Gifts?
Well, cosplay is here to stay and is coming closer to the homes of average Joes.
Later, awesome nerds!
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