Gypsyangelf4i

Ok, finally made it to my first Con-Nooga and thought I'd share some initial impressions.

Fist, this has the potential to be a really great con. It really mixes the genres of fandom quite well. Lots of scifi , anime and even a few random independent,but still recognizable fandoms.I'd imagine that in a few more years this con could be huge.Like Dragon Con about 20 years ago huge.

Second, they did a great job mixing interests with panels and even had plenty on hands on projects specifically for the kiddies. Once again, as it grows,I'd imagine this con could attract more of the bigger names of celebrity from the sci-fi and anime world. Right now,there really wasn't any guest speakers I cared to see.

The host hotel is decent with plenty of eating choices on site. But being a historic hotel, it's also quite popular for tourists. So be prepared to get plenty of weird stares from travelers who are unaware of the con.

The con Staff was also great. They seemed much more relaxed than others that I've encountered at other cons. As long as you weren't blatantly breaking the rules,they pretty much let you do your own thing. Now there were a few exceptions, a foam sword needing peacebonded....really?? :-\ But overall,they seemed to be there to have just as much of a good time as the con goers.

Now for my complaint. Con-Nooga why you be so spread out??XD Seriously, I must've walked 50 miles a day. The dealers room is all the way across the back parking lot, some panels are across the entry in a separate building and some are in the main hotel. Then the hotel rooms Are also separate from the main building as well. LOT of outdoor walking....in Cosplay shoes. This con would likely be a bit of a disaster if the weather wasn't favorable. Now they did have shuttle buses running the entire lot, but if you know cosplayers,you know we likely won't wait around for a shuttle and getting on and off such buses while in Cosplay can also be difficult.

I read on the back of the registration book that this con will be expanding to the convention center next year. However, it stated that the ChooChoo would still be the host hotel with the exhibitors hall expanding into the convention center. So the way I read  this, and I hope I'm wrong, is that the panels will still be at the ChooChoo and the exhibitors hall will be off property at the convention center. Which you'll reach via bus. I do hope I'm wrong as this could be disastrous for the vendors. While the current location is a bit of a hike,you could still visit it several times throughout the day. But how many people are going to hop on a bus more than once...maybe twice. And some people's cosplays simply don't allow for them to get on a bus. As I said, I hope it's just printed incorrectly. I'll  definitely be looking forward to seeing how this developes by next year.

Well, I've finally gotten brave enough to cosplay Selene from Underworld. It's been a dream cosplay for awhile now. Holy cow,it's amazing how quickly one minute idea can snowball into a super detail oriented coslay. So much research and pouring over pictures to get everything just right. Even the guns and fangs had to be exact.

Thank goodness it's now near completion as my bank account nears depletion. Alas, the life of a cosplayer is never cheap. I have to redo the wig and will eventually redo the jacket as it's not quite right. But everything else has come together brilliantly. The custom corset I had commissioned turned out better than imagined. Thanks in whole to d-jenn, the best commissioner in the world!!The Lestat contacts work perfect. The guns even turned out great after being corrected on my choice of fire arms by my Death Dealer weapons expert. And I've even recruited a couple Death Dealers to play along. This con season is going to ROCK!! Lycans beware!

On top of it all,I've even started reading the Underworld series written by Greg Cox. So much info that's not in the movies O_O. Read it, wear it, live it.I'm getting it all down as perfect as possible. I can't wait to bring my latest cosplay out to play. See you at ConNooga peeps

So I totally fail at keeping a journal and tend to use this space more for organizing my thoughts for upcoming cosplays and cons. Recently I've been thinking of retiring some cosplays,some I've worn, some never saw the light of day. But hey,that's just the ADD in me.

Also been working on new cosplays for next year. Selene is almost complete. Just waiting on the commissioner to finish the corset. I don't think I've ever been so nervous about a costume piece in my life. But the Liquid Leather catsuit from River's Edge came out perfect, I got in my Demonia boots which are equally awesome and the rubber guns look super realistic and should be allowed at any con once I attach the orange tips.
  
I will hopefully be running to Joanne's to pick up both fake leather for Selene's trench and some blue fabric for Prince Soma,which I've recently decided MUST be cosplayed. He's so under done...which is why I think I'm drawn to cosplaying him. I still need to get started on Miku's Paradise outfit,but honestly the thing scares the bajeebus out of me. We'll see if I ever get started on it next year.

As for Cons, I'm all lined up for ConNooga in Feb, MomoCon in March and MTAC in April. Beyond that,who knows. I'll likely do AWA again this year,but probably not DragonCon. I hope to get off my lazy duff and get an Artist's Alley table for SeishunCon. But I need to make enough product to sell...so once again...lazy duff...get off it. :-/

I've also begun to pick my fav coisplays from the dozen or so I do and know that I will likely focus most of my time cosplaying those above all the others. Envy, Gaara and Matt round out my top 3 so far. But as my friends know, I'm very ADD and will never fail to whip some H.A. cosplay out at a moments notice.

Well, till the Con season officially rolls on again. Stay thirsty my friends....wait...what?