Black Rock Shooter Photoshoot - Katsuya Weller

I'm back with what I believe is the final leftover from the backlog of last year- The Black Rock Shooter photoshoot from the talented Katsuya Weller!  We dragged her all the way to the North Carolina Museum of Art for part of this shoot, and we thank her profusely for putting up with all of our "getting lost while driving" and "having our costumes melt and/or fall apart" nonsense.

Yes, bask in the glory of the giant circles

Stuart's model close-up

Dramatic gaze into the distance

Then we trekked back to the convention center so we could dramatically lay down on the floor.

Careful not to get stepped on

Because I just love my sword SO MUCH

Group shot!

To see all of these pictures in their high-resolution glory, here is Katsuya's AZ 2012 photoshoot set on Flickr.

~Kathryn

Mirai Nikki Photoshoot (circa AZ 2012)

Another item from the backlog of things from last summer- the Mirai Nikki photoshoots with the wonderful and talented Katsuya Weller!  Beware- massive photo spam below.

Group shots yeaaaah

Everyone loves sketchy parking lots full of cosplayers

       Deus!

Poor Stuart and his miniscule field of vision

Murumuru!

Lounging on the sketchy stairs

Read all the manga! (i.e. the Ratchet and Clank comic we borrowed off of Katsuya)

Time for Mimi's closeup!

Ninth / Minene Uryuu!

I recall this feeling very awkward

Yes, scream into the microphone like a crazy person!

Third / I don't remember his real name because he dies after the first episode (spoilers)!

Guys, we should probably take the stairs instead

Twelfth!

Next up, Katsuya's Black Rock Shooter pictures!

~Kathryn

Black Gold Saw: Sword

So I realize this post has been a long time in coming (give or take a year or so), but I am finally getting around to the sword construction post for Black Gold Saw!

(pretending that I didn't completely forget about this)

My sword is quite similar to Stuart's - we went to Home Depot and bought a giant piece of that pink 2" thick insulation foam together and got them to cut it in half in the store (meanwhile having to awkwardly explain just why we needed almost six feet of insulation foam when we were clearly not making home repairs).

Unfortunately, Black Gold Saw's sword (what a tongue twister) features an entire edge that is serrated, so I had to measure and sketch out every zig and zag along the way.  

The top bit ended up being nixed and enlarged later

 And then came the fun part.  Carving.  Carving carving carving carving.  Expect to spend many many mind-numbing hours on this part, and be careful - X-Acto knives are sharp.  (You might think this obvious, but when you are trying to distract yourself from the tedium by watching bad television, your hand might accidentally slip).  My poor apartment had more pink insulation foam on the floor than actual carpet by the time I was done with this.

In order to get the hilt to fit snugly into the sword, I cut a rectangular strip down the middle of the sword so that I could insert the PVC pipe.  I remade the top part of the sword out of leftover foam (made it larger), so I just cut a hole through that and stuck the PVC pipe all the way through.

Just so.

Then came the joys of expandable foam, and here comes the warning: DO NOT GET THIS ON YOUR HANDS, CLOTHES, FLOOR, OR ANYTHING THAT YOU ARE REMOTELY ATTACHED TO.  Wear gloves, and then prepare to never be able to use them again.

Terrible quality picture is terrible

And once it is dry (you should leave it at least overnight- poke it with a stick to be sure it is hardened), you can shave off the extra foam.  However, here is something I was not aware of that caused a few problems- when expandable foam is cut, it actually shrinks noticeably in volume.  Do not shave the foam completely flat against the sword - you will end up with this weird warped indentation down the middle of the sword that I have (and was unable to mask).  Once that is done, cover the entire thing in masking tape.

Add paper mache, and voila!

Finally, spray paint/acrylic paint it until it looks the way you want it to, then seal it with Mod Podge (but get matte, not glossy...I accidentally used glossy and my sword was much shinier than it needed to be).

The handle was made with Delight air-dry paperclay , and I sculpted the skull on top with stone clay.  

The finished product:

Stay tuned for another sword tutorial!

~Kathryn

Black Rock Shooter Photoshoot, Part 3 - MZMA

Poor Cosplay-vania.  I've totally left you abandoned.  Q_Q  You need a good old-fashion post to get you back on track.  And so, without further ado, the continuation of our picture-fest from our Black Rock Shooter photoshoot (again, shot by the wonderful Bryan Regan) with my MZMA pictures.

 I love the angle of this next one :)

And this next one is my favorite one of this cosplay.  ACTION SHOT! :P

And finally, one group shot where we all look awesome :D

This photoshoot was amazing, and wouldn't have been nearly as fulfilling without Mimi and Kathryn, and our photographer Bryan Regan!  Thanks everyone!

-Stuart-

Black Rock Shooter Photoshoot, Part 2- Black Gold Saw

After a week of blerg (that's actually the technical term), I'm finally getting around to posting my pictures from our Black Rock Shooter group cosplay.  So without further ado, here's the second set of photos from the photoshoot with the wonderful Bryan Regan!

You know how much fun it was getting up onto that platform?  Not.

Model pose GO

That sword is ridiculously difficult to hold up with one hand.  That is my intense concentration face.

Why hello wig, after a day of conning you don't look so good.   Creepy factory makes up for it though.

Dramatically stare into the distance.  This is an important skill.

I think I may have been singing here. 

Totally not slipping on the gravel.  Definitely an intentional pose.  Definitely.

You're damn RIGHT there's no trespassing.

Ridiculously well-timed walking picture.

AWWW YEAH, cue dramatic wind blowing my hair.  And, you know.  Cars.

Batter up!  Swing batter batter SWING 

>__<

And just for fun...

I think you're doing it wrong.

Herp derp.  

Guitar sword?  Yes please.

More group shots and MZMA pictures to come!

~Kathryn