Monday, October 12, 2015

Cosplay Mania 2015

After a long, hard month of abstaining for cosplay, I finally got the chance to debut my Galaco NEO in this year's Cosplay Mania! 


I was indeed very excited to learn that Baozi and Hana, Usagi and Yingtze were gracing this year's event. I looked forward to seeing them in person, even for just a fleeting glimpse. Even though I was disappointed that Reika chose to not attend this year's event, I knew I wanted to go because my need for cosplay was starting to ring the alarm.

I decided to cosplay Galaco NEO eventually, since I've already done her default version last year. Details and accessories were made by me, and I was pretty proud that I managed to learn a lot about crafting and painting this time.


Making the crown was simple and easier, and the hardest part had to be sticking the gems on top with glue gun and attaching the actual crown to a thin head band. (Hint: Same head band, different crown. //winkwink)

I also had a test scheduled on the day after CosMania, so I had to study.

A lot of people have asked me where I bought my galaxy tights, too. I didn't actually buy them, I just bought a pair of black, opaque tights and painted them on myself to save costs of buying and ordering printed tights online.
Click to enlarge!
I also had planned for the robe of my dress to be sort of an ombre, but achieving the ombre style on the fabric I wanted was easier said than done so we just decided to make it in two colors with the belt hiding the cut.

I almost forgot how to do the eye makeup, but thankfully I remembered that I filmed a tutorial on the look I did for default Galaco. I recreated it with a few tweaks to match the colors of the clothes and I like how it turned out!
Galaco NEO
Photo by Infinity Studios
I had planned to leave early and arrive early, but unfortunately Manila's traffic always seems to ruin my plans of attending any event before 3pm. For this event, my cousin and her two children wanted to go with me to see me cosplay in action.

I had to study in the car as we drove through the rain to SMX Convention Center. Let me tell you that studying while in contact lens through the rain in heavy traffic was not the best idea - but hey, I aced my quiz so I guess if it works, it works.

Once we arrived at the event, we waited for Louis who had our tickets. As soon as we got them, it was a pretty confusing ride as we walked from end to end of SMX just to find the entrance.
My childhood - Anastasia!
I have acquired a son!
Thank you Louis for the Baymax plushie and Nico keychain~
Me and my adorable niece and nephew!
They got shy to ask for pictures with other cosplayers,
but they couldn't stop squeezing my new Baymax plushie. Adorable~
Of course, there are a lot of things that happened that day too. I stopped by Usagi's Room, a booth set-up by Japanese cosplayer Usagi. I've met her in Fantasy Quest before, and I wanted to see her again to see who she was cosplaying this time. I managed to meet up with Eiri! It was nice to see her again.

We were wandering about outside the halls when I felt like I was being pushed aside by some guards. Then I turned around and saw Usagi-san in person, and I don't know what kind of spirit suddenly rushed into me that I called "Usagi-san~" so absentmindedly.

Then Usagi-san suddenly said 'hi' to me, very cute and demure~ I was so starstruck that it took me three seconds to process that a senpai actually noticed me. I swear, if I wasn't wearing three layers of makeup that day, my face would have been beet red for hours in embarrassment, shock and pure joy!

Of course, another fan girl moment, featuring Jin Joson.

My friend Mihael told me that she managed to snap pics of Jin while in a booth, and that it's for free. Of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to meet Jin in person and snap a photo of her, even just a blurry one. I've been an avid watcher of her deviantArt in my early cosplay years and I have missed many many chances to see her in person. //regrets regrets~

Anyways, Mihael and I rushed towards the booth just to see her and I was lost in the stars in my eyes again when I saw her in her awesome Howl cosplay! I wanted to snap a picture of her, and what better way do I preserve the memory than by using my instant camera?
Off-topic: Hello Kitty film is SO CUTE!
I was trying my best to contain my inner fan girl but I just can't. It's Jin Joson. You just can't.

It was a very fun day, but it was indeed very tiring as well. I'm not sure if it's because of the fact that I am nearing my twenties, but my energy easily dwindled that day just from walking and bustling about.

Regardless, I managed to have a lot of awesome photos with Infinity Studios!

 


My shot in the escalator was one of my favorites because we had to go up and down a couple of times to get nice shots. It was funny to see Lourd and Louis run around, trying to beat the escalator's speed and getting good angles and lighting. It was a fun experience to try shooting in conditions where the odds are mostly against you.

You can view more of Infinity Studios' solo shots here.

After changing out, we headed to the seaside to stuff our faces and rest.




I didn't shop too much that day even though every single booth in the halls just screamed my name and begged me to take them home. I bought a pair of earrings and a cute headband from Starry Drop, which came with adorable stickers!


I am so excited for the next event, which is Fantasy Quest 4! A bonus blog update will be up sometime soon, where I'll talk about how it's like to work with the people behind the scenes and be in the know about this famed event.

Thank you so much for all the people I met and had photos with that day! I look forward to seeing everyone again.
- Aki 

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