Best Workmanship Award-finally!

[Mad Woman Cheryl]

After 12 years of costuming, I finally received my first "Best Workmanship" award at ShoreLeave this past July. It actually was a shared title with a guy who did Jack Sparrow. Believe you me that I was quite shocked when my name was called.

My son wanted to be a character from one of his video games (he is 7 yrs old) and I told him ok. The Character he wanted to be was "Yunsung" from Soul Caliber II. I started in February and worked most weekends right on up to July 10. I don't know how many times I looked at the 360 degrees in the video game.

Here are some pictures:

Yunsung on wall

Yunsung - front view

I have only received two other awards for workmanship in the past 12 years. The first was "Best Makeup" for a Cardassian - the first to appear at ShoreLeave and the other was for "Most Original" for "Loathsome Things", another costume I made for my son.

The hair is his (red hair cement), but he just makes the character. I am not sure how I am going to top this one.

[Mary Diamond]

Congratulations! and well done ~

[Capt. Sterling]

Congratulations and well done indeed but your best work yet is the model.

[BriarRose Kildare]

Congratulations!!! Awesome costume and Great Workmanship.

Here's a drink to you in celebration.

[Red Cat Jenny]

That is fabulous! The best reward is for a child to be able to live their fantasy and use their imagination with a great costume. I always loved dress up as a child!

[Capt Grey]

Congrats on the award.

I love making costumes for my kids, even when they are anime ones that look entirely different in 3D.

My older son as Sora from the Kingdom Hearts video game:

And as Kaiba from the Yu-Gi-Oh series:

Last, but not at all least, my youngest as his super-hero alter-ego - Quick Mitch:

(I didn't have the hood finished when I took these)

Sorry if I hijacked your thread, Cheryl.

[Rumba Rue]

Congrats for you Cheryl!

I know what it's like to win workmanship awards at conventions, (having won numerous ones) and it makes you feel really good that your work has been done well!

[Rogue Mermaid]

Wow..that is very well done!

[Red Cat Jenny]

Awwww! They're adorable as well.

Nice job!

[Silkie McDonough]

Nicely done lass!

[Mad Woman Cheryl]

Thanks all! Tis ok Capt. Grey. Those are well done. It all helps when they actually become the character, and a lot of kids miss that point. Of course, Duncan has been on stage since he was a couple of months old. (I dressed as a Klingon and he with "ridges" made out of makeup. I sang "Sesame Street" in Klingon to him while holding an Ernie puppet.)

His cousins now want to do two more characters from the same video game.....I better get started. This convention I am shooting for is in February.

[Capt Grey]

I hear you and feel your pain. My older son wants his new Sora costume finished for an Anime convention in January.

[Mad Woman Cheryl]

His cousins want to be "Kilik" and "Raphael" from Soul Caliber II. They were hoping to have the costumes by Halloween, but I told them I sorely needed a big break. Hopefully they won't be as labor intensive.....

[captjacksparrowsavvvy]

NEAT ! I love hand made costumes and outfits. Congratulations on the award.

I cannot sew a button on. Tis duct tape and hot glue gun for me.

I use to make costumes for my kids eons ago. Big Bird, M&M's, Babe Ruth, Barbie and Slimer. OK, so that tells ya where I am coming from and how fast I am going hahahahaha

[Patrick Hand]

A HALLOWEEN COSTUME RANT

(This is not directed at anyone in the Pub, I just figured this would be a good place to post this)

I am a professional Costume Designer, I make Animal Mascots for my living. This October 15th will be my 25th aniversery of doing so (Wow...25 years...)

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and it's what got me into making costumes in the first place.

What realy peaves me...... On Halloween night, someone who has thrown together a costume in one or two nights will tell me " Of course your costume is good, you'r a professional......" or they will straight out disquality me at the local bar's contest because mine is "Too good ! " One bar gave me a free drink, and then awarded $75. for first place to some guy wearing a rubber mask !

I start working on my Halloween costume in mid September. I put time and effort into what I will be wearing. I like making costumes, and I'm very good at it ! Sure, I'm a show-off, but I could spend the time making an Anamal Mascot and get paid for it.... I quess getting disqualified is a "Back-Handed" form of recgonition, but it does kinda take the fun outta it.

This year, I wasn't even going to bother... I have an idea for a "throw together" costume that would be fun, and take very little effort to put together....

But my Boss is letting me set-up a Haunted House at her resturant, so now I can show-off on a Grander Scale......

[Rumba Rue]

Patrick, I've been in the very same situation.

Way back when I had a horse we use to have Halloween dress up contests for the horse and rider at the stable I boarded at.

I went to great lengths to make some great things only to be discarded for some kid who did hardly anything....then I was told I was too good and that the kids really should win.....I was really upset.....

[Mad Woman Cheryl]

I understand Patrick. Once while having gone to great lengths to have makeup on an such, I lost to someone who was wrapped in aluminum foil. Another time a bunch of us were dressed as Klingons before Klingons were popular and went to a bar in Annapolis for a contest. There were several really good costumes, but the winner was a bar regular dressed as Vincent (Beauty and the Beast, popular at that time) with a mask. We felt that the guy who was dressed as a witch (towering at least 7' with his real head in the witches cauldren) should have gotten first place.

We now tend to steer away from any of those kinds of competitions. We won't even take our son to any of the "Mall" Halloween contests or any Renfaire competitions. My son knows whatever costume that I make for him is a good costume. This past February he wanted to compete in Masquerade at FarPoint using a store bought costume. I told him that competing with a store bought costume is just not fair to the others that made their own costumes. He understood what I told him. That was when we made the deal to make something for ShoreLeave. At that time he had not competed for a whole year since I was making some props for our yard haunt.

Yeah, I flunked Home Ec sewing in school but at least I persisted in learning on my own to create some great stuff.

captjack, twas a bit of hot glue that went into this costume. The gimp around the gold buttons (two large, 4 small), the large pin on his shoulder (several layers of craft foam, some wire to bend, the raised areas on it) and the pin on his left arm. Hot glue is your friend!

[Capt Grey]

A toast t'Master Hand for taking on a costuming genre I would not touch with a 10-foot needle. My deepest respect for your skill. Doing mascot costumes is extremely difficult.

I also have been disqualified from many costume contests, but I don't really care since I do it for fun. Those that want a chance to compete against their costuming peers should attend the San Diego Comic-Con and enter the Masquerade; some of the work represented is extremely professional and includes stage effects and props.