Phoenix Comic Fest 2018

Last weekend we attended Phoenix Comic Fest 2018. We had good experiences, better experiences, a couple lame occurrences and some sour disappointments. Here is the sum of our time at #PHXCF!

Thursday

Sam spent most of the day with her friend and GoPro master: Matt. They attended the Arizona Broadcasters panel to cheer on Stevie Spade Cosplay and The Jinx Cosplay. After a quick jaunt through the concessions area they wandered down stairs and spent several hours hanging out with the Phoenix 105th Squad.

Thursday was REALLY quiet compared to previous years. There were plenty of panels, guests, events and booths to keep people occupied there just were not very many people attending. Sometime near 6 PM Sam and Matt wandered to The Horsemen Of scavenger hunt event. Only...they did not scavenge. Sam found her way to the event on instinct. So...yeah. Oops. lol. The Grand hosted the event and their coffee/beer selections were INCREDIBLE! Since Friday was going to be busy the two wrapped up around 8 PM and left.

Friday

This is where Sam and Lina took over so this author is switching back to "we" instead of "they". We had THREE panels on Friday:

• Fashion Faux Pas (POORLY NAMED BUT NOT OUR CHOICE)
• Getting Into Character 
• Anime Through The Ages

As you may have guessed based on our reaction to the title of Panel #1 there were not many attendees present. We did interact well with who attended our panel and could not be happier with their support. I feel as though the panel should have been a "Preventing Cosplay Disaster" panel OR "Cosplay 101: Getting Ready to Dress Up". Many attendees use program titles as indicators of interest and Fashion Faux Pas fell flat on what we ACTUALLY discussed. After Panel #1 we went back to our 105th friends for some cosplay networking time...

Then we presented our second panel and met up with the fine folks from Bros n Cons. Vic Rincon was a trooper and filmed us despite multiple obstacles. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Here is the video they produced for the convention:

After this video we met up with Orange Slice Media for a final photo shoot with Thane (Sam is re-sculpting him) and made our way to our final panel before heading home for the night.

Saturday

This was GOTG day. We had: Mantis (Sam), Groot (Sam's Mom) & Star Lord (Lina). Our day was spent cheering up kids, hugging kids, walking a couple feet and posing...y'know, normal cosplay antics. AZ Central took our photo (shown above) which was SO COOL. Shortly after we had a shoot with the talented Hyn May Productions. Sam had a Studio Ghibli panel at 4:30 (which was PACKED) so we ate dinner and returned to con...OR NOT. Right as we were entering the fire alarms alerted and EVERYONE was EVACUATED from the convention center. Here is how we felt...

There was a fire evacuation last year AND the year prior so we figured everyone would be back in within a half hour. 1.5 hours later...nothing was happening. No information, no movement in line...people were getting annoyed. Twitter was the only place for answers. We played some music and danced to elevate energy but I knew that, if we were not in by 9, we WERE NOT going in. 9 was fast approaching so Lina and I left. Later we were told that a faulty electrical panel prevented the alarm from being shut off so ALL SATURDAY NIGHT EVENTS were cancelled at 10:30 PM and people were sent him.

The Curse of Phoenix Comicon continues...on the bright side I did get some fun photos with the 105th Squad early in the afternoon...

Sunday

This was the LAST DAY of con. We had a panel at 10:30 in the morning on Cosplay Photography and we immediately dropped in on our friends the 105th (yes, we spent A LOT of time with them because that's where the cosplayers migrated to). We found a place to snack...

Then visited the Hall of Heroes on the third floor before meeting with Kincart Photography for our last photo shoot. By some wonder the Masquerade was re-scheduled for Sunday so we had the chance to cheer at On Pins and Needles during her Hela skit. Afterwards we drove home, snagged some ice cream and settled into our couches for some much needed rest.

Managing Cosplay Stress

April 12, 2018

Managing Cosplay Stress

Indicators of Stress

While packing for Saboten Con 2016 something very odd happened to me. I started to run out of breath, my hands began to shake and all of the sudden I could not stand. After giving myself a moment to relax and chill out I realized something: I had an anxiety attack induced by Cosplay. Cosplay was actually STRESSING me out.

Stress can sneak up on a person. For some, it causes sweating or overeating; for others it can literally bring them to their knees. Recognizing the onset of stress before it consumes you is QUITE difficult. As a millennial, I was born into stress. I have lived with stress my entire life. I thought it was normal for your hands to shake on occasion or for your breath to catch due to exacerbation. The world around me changed so often that I thought running about until I literally collapsed was how society wanted me to operate.

The same thing can happen in cosplay. As creative persons (be they performers, sewing masters or fabricators) we struggle to balance the insatiable call of the arts with our adult responsibilities. This balance puts us in a precarious position . Do we conform to societal ideals and put "childish notions" to bed? Should we shun society and move forward in our imaginative realm, damning the consequences? What ARE those consequences? Can we be a cosplayer AND an industry/enterprise professional?

What...IF....HOW...CAN...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

TAKE A BREATH, MOVE FORWARD

The best advice I can offer those who feel the weight of expectations on them is this: SIT DOWN, TAKE A BREATH and MOVE FORWARD.

Who is setting those expectations for you? Usually you will find your own demands are higher than you can accept. Take measure of your life and consider what you can accommodate. If you have committed to something you cannot handle then do one of the following...

• Ask for help: Bringing a friend along makes hard tasks easier.
• Ask for an extension: Most people understand stress and are willing to make concessions.
• Cancel: It's human to falter so don't be hard on yourself when you have to step back from a commitment. DO try to find a replacement cosplayer or redirect your customer to someone who offers the same services and has availability. This will prevent inadvertently burning important social bridges.

As you grow and change you'll discover you can bear the weight of more responsibility. This is usually the effect of becoming more efficient, skilled and having a better grasp on time management strategies.

Ways to Relieve Stress

1. Prepare: Being prepared for your task will make it that much easier. Creating a list or agenda helps soothe concerns.
2. Eat Healthy - Have Snacks: Feeding yourself is important. Be sure to have wholesome snacks on you to survive your day.
3. Listen to Music: Tunes have a way of easing even the most anxious of people. Listen to jazz, classical or rock out your worries.
4. Step Away from Technology: Go outside for an hour, relax in a bath, go for a swim or play with your pets. Just disconnect.
5. Words of Affirmation: Remind yourself of past successes and use those to launch you into another.

Good luck to ALL of you and happy creating! NOTE: Please feel free to ask questions or put comments on your experiences below.

ECCC 2018

March 14, 2018

Emerald City Comic Con 2018

DAY ONE

The first day of Emerald City Comic Con was exploration and interview day. I (Sam) had the opportunity to interview Matt Mair Lowery & Cassie Andersen of Lifeformed for Fangirl Nation Magazine. Their comic Lifeformed: Cleo Makes Contact is a coming of age story in a post-alien invasion setting. It's LOADS of fun.

Once we finished the early interview we roamed the convention center grounds to familiarize ourselves with the places we needed to be throughout the weekend. While wandering we chanced upon Eurobeat Kasumi Photography who captured the adorable image you see to the right.

Some things to know about the Washington State Convention Center (for those daring to attend an event there)...

1. There are LOTS of nooks and crannies to find.
2. There are LOTS of food venues within walking distance.
3. The escalators break A LOT.

DAY TWO

The second day of the convention was EVEN BETTER than the first. For starters, we ran into more friends at the convention on this day. We also dressed as some of our favorite characters from the Seven Deadly Sins and I got a beer (which Meliodas proceeded to steal, as seen in the image to the right).

Our Sins cosplays were a hit so we had frequent stops in the dealer hall. I managed to pick up a cute pair of mint green cat ears that matched my wig and wore those proudly the rest of the day. During our browsing we also discovered some new ways to get in and out of the main convention building (which became handy for Saturday).

We also had the chance to eat dinner with an old friend!

DAYS THREE & FOUR

While we greatly enjoyed these days a big part of our team was missing: Lina. She unfortunately contracted an ailment that put her in the hospital for the end portion of our trip. Despite that set back she happily text us pictures of her hanging out with a cat and watching anime so we knew she was in good hands.

On Saturday we presented our Cosplay 102 Panel with Kii Chan Cosplay, AESmith, Krysta & Amber Brite. The panel was packed and our information ran over the allotted time frame (oops!). Thankfully we had some very patient presenters after us who gave us some time with our fans before we rushed out into the Cosplay Hall in the TCC building.

Sunday was a VERY open day. We shopped, took pictures, gathered at meetups and ran into some ecstatic RWBY fans (we were in Nora, Pyrrha and Qrow costumes). Our panel for that day LITERALLY CLOSED THE CON. It was full of wiley RWBY fans who were ready to debate theories circulating about the show and its cast. After some heated, but constructive debates we took photos with the attendees present at our panel then sighed a breath of relief at a weekend well used.

For more on our experiences please visit our YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

THANKS FOR READING!

ThermoCosplay 2018

January 23, 2018

ThermoCosplay 2018

2018 is already in high gear!! We've managed to...

• Attend One Convention (Taiyou Con)
• Present at a Library (Northwest Regional Cosplay 101)
• Finish a costume (Cinder Fall)
• Move to a new Patron system (www.makersupport.com/thermocosplay)

Want to know what's crazy? That is only HALF of what we have scheduled for this month! We have the following coming up THIS WEEK!!!!

• Cinder Fall and Salem Photo Shoot for Patrons
• Sisters of Themyscira Gathering and Photo Shoot
• New Cosplay Contacts Tutorial Release for Patrons
• Tempe Libcon (we will be there from 1PM - 5PM)
• SAM'S BIRTHDAY!!!

Ok...I THINK that covers what Lina and I have planned for January. So what are we doing after this month? Well...let's take a look!

February

• Sam is working on THREE commssions (God King Zamasu, Kolivan/Shiro of Voltron and Elias from Ancient Magus)
• There is a 105th Charity Photoshoot we're hosting on Feb 17th.
• We fly out to Seattle for ECCC!

March

• We are at ECCC hosting TWO panels: Cosplay 201 & RWBY:The World of Remnant
• We are helping John Paul Ried with the release of his last book: Academic Mayhem!
• We are attending Apache LibraryCon as guests and demonstrators.

April

• We are catching our breath from March...
• Sam wraps up her commission work and gets down and dirty with Ryder's Angara armor.
• We start preparing for Sabaku Con in May.

May

• We attend Sabaku Con in New Mexico!
• We attend Phoenix Comic Fest in Arizona!

June

• Once again we are catching our breath from May.
• Sam starts working on Moshae Sjefa from MEA!!!!

July

• We attend Anime Expo for the FIRST TIME!!!!!
• We attend Casa Grand Library Con!

Well...that about sums up HALF of our year. There are chances more items will pop up from time to time. What are your plans? Have something you are curious about in our line up? Let us know!