Flight Of The Unicorn
Hello everybode!
A month ago I ran the Derby 10k for The Trussell Trust, who run food-banks in the UK.
A little more than a month ago I posted a blog about the fact that I would be dressing as a Unicorn to do it.
Well, never let it be said that I let my public down, because that’s exactly what I did, and here is the picture evidence!
1. Ears and Horn
The ears were the first thing I made, using some felt I had acquired during a mad felt-buying spree (fellow craft addicts – you know how these things happen) several years ago.
Being me, a lot of the felt was pink, and so it was an easy start.
Running for Unicorn Food
Hey everyone!
So, in my previous post I briefly mentioned I was going to be running in the Derby 10k on the 9th of April – this is a race I’ve done a couple of times before but wanting to run again and (hopefully) beat my previous best time, around 51 minutes.
However, far more important is what..or .who…I’m running for. It is run by Sporting Futures, an excellent cause indeed, but I’m raising for someone else.
Food Poverty and the Trussell Trust
This years I will be raising money for The Trussell Trust who run food-banks throughout the UK, helping people in a crisis and, even more valuable, helping them to get bank on their feet.
Food poverty and food-bank use has massively increased in these past five or six years in this country, mainly due to the policies of the incumbent and previous government.
Numbers helped each year – you can find more on these figures here.
We were in a bad way, true, when the financial crash hit nearly a decade ago, but that is not why things are so bad now. There has been a systematic failure to assist the most vulnerable and charity – various charities – have had to plug the gap.
Costumes and Cosplay – How To Be A Better Supervillain, Part 2
Now, when I wrote part one of this blog, I promised you that part two would be ‘along very soon’.
That was, in fact, back in May – five months ago. Well, in that time I’ve been doing many things – I moved to a Tiny House and began work on it, I have embarked on many Cycle Adventures and I have started reviewing independent cafes – and writing blogs related to all of these things!
Until recently I didn’t have much time or space (or, to be fair, inclination) to finish the video I started making, but finally I got my butt in gear and did it.
This was partly prompted by the fact that How To Be A Better Supervillain (With Vincent Saxby), for which the costume was made, was due for a second revised performance – in the end it had to be cancelled due to unfortunate circumstances, but many of us agreed that more time to practice and polish was not a bad thing. And for those who wanted to come along, don’t worry – we will be getting ready for another run asap!
Costumes and Cosplay – How To Be A Better Supervillain, Part 1
NB: This costume project is tied to a wider performance and theatre project called ‘How To Be A Better Supervillain’ which was initially performed as party of the Derby Comedy Festival in the Maypole Bar and Cafe on the 2nd May, 2016. You can find out more, including future performances, via these websites:
Vincent Saxby – Facebook
Vincent Saxby – Twitter
Vincent Saxby – YouTube
A while back my good friend and comrade Neil asked if I wanted to be in a show he was assembling called ‘How To Be A Better Supervillain‘ based, in part, on the training courses that he and I used to film a while back. The idea was simple – to take the structure and tropes (one might even say cliches) from this very serious world and put it into a rather ridiculous setting.
Of course, I said yes,
Being unable to fully commit my time I was not to be one of the main performers but one of the ‘previous attendees’, in the audience in character.
I settled on the role of a chief henchman to a number-based supervillain, Numericus.
NB: Numericus actually appeared in one of my early films, played by my good friend and awesome artist Chris, which you can watch here.
One of the key performers Roni (aka Agent Pain – Master Strategist) ingeniously suggested the name ‘Prime‘ and that was that. So, the character was born. And of course, he needed a costume!
Before I could make one, I agreed to do a ‘testimonial’ for the promotional video of the show – you can see the results here:
The only item I had at the time was a pair of red-tinted laser protection goggles, grabbed because they looked a bit villainy and because, despite having owned them for over a decade, I’d never really used them. I was pretty sure I could build a costume around them so I began work.
Costumes & Cosplay: Baron Samedi
So, Halloween, eh?
Right now, in early April, we’re almost as far away from it as possible (it’s 205 days away)– in case you’re interested, the furthest you can actually get from Halloween on a regular year is midday on the 1st of May – precisely 182 days in either direction from the 31st of October. This year it will be May 2nd, because of leap year.
Anyway, despite the fact that it was ages ago/ages away, I’d still like to talk about my last years costume.
After much tooing-and-froing over what to wear, and the eventual realisation that a Loki costume would be far too ambitious (I am STILL going to make one though – watch this space!) I decided to take on Baron Samedi.
He has always fascinated me as a character – deathly but full of life, elegant and yet earthy – he appeared in several of my short stories when I was young, and I even had a notion of writing a story about a reveller at a Halloween parade, dressed as Baron Samedi, meeting the genuine article…maybe I’ll get it on paper someday.
Some History For You
Baron Samedi is the Loa (or spirit) of the dead in Haitian Vodou – he has many powers and duties, principally to greet and guide the dead.
He, like most of his fellows, emerged from a process of syncretism between Catholicism and various indigenous Haitian religions and customs – the Loa in Vodou fulfil essentially the role of saints, intermediaries between humanity and an all-powerful but remote God.
Unlike the saints, however, they are not exactly well-behaved – Baron Samedi himself is said to be fond of bawdy jokes, rum and cigars.
NB: He is not to be confused with Papa Legba, a fellow Loa, who is a messenger spirit – they do have several things in common when depicted in modern media, but are traditionally very different.
Costumes & Cosplay: Mega Man (Mega Buster)
Hey kids!
So, at the moment I am working on a big costume, inspired by the palace guards from popular horse-based animation My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic.
Shut up, they’d kick your butt.
You can find loads of progress photos for that on my Twitter as I am constantly banging on about it – here are a couple to give you an idea:
Costumes & Cosplay: Riff-Raff (Space Suit)
Hello everybode!
Well, we’re nearly done playing cosplay catch-up – as this was done with the full series of videos on YouTube, there isn’t much point in writing much about my Riff-Raff (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show) Costume – I’ll just let past me guide you through this one!
Part 1: Intro
Progress Photos
I posted quite a few of these on my Tumblr – I hope to be able to do this on future projects too, as otherwise there is a big period of ‘radio silence’ when making a complicated costume. I have posted a few recently of my twitter too.
(Click on the images for a larger version)
Costumes & Cosplay: Sexy Hawkeye
Hello everybode!
It’s cosplay catchup again, this time…
Hawkeye
But not just any Hawkeye- a sexy one! Okay, so back in 2013 discovered The Hawkeye Initiative, a playful take on the rather ridiculous drawings of female anatomy in mainstream comics, particularly Marvel/DC superhero fare.
The concept is simple: find a female character in a ridiculous pose (bonus points if it is deliberately and unnecessarily sexualised) and then draw Marvel’s Hawkeye (comics or film) in the same position. Here’s an example…
(NB: I really tried hard to find attributions for this picture, but given the maze that is Tumblr I couldn’t – please do let me know if you know who drew the adjusted version!)
I was incredibly tickled by this – not only was it funny, sexy and creative, it was proof that a feminist agenda (in this case flagging up some of the ingrained sexism of mainstream comics) doesn’t have to be po-faced and preachy.
I wanted in – being a fairly mediocre artist there wasn’t much I could do through the regular medium, but I was already wanting to make a costume (primarily for J-Con in Derby but also just for fun) and I noticed some people had already taken this to the next level by posing in cosplay.
Cue probably the most complex and labour-intensive costume I have ever made, and also the first real ‘making of’ video – I think, though I don’t remember exactly, I knew the music I wanted to use (The Madeon Remix of Deadmau5’s ‘Raise Your Weapon’) and that played a big part, allowing me to visualise how cool both the video and the costume would be.
Now some of the following material might be considered NSFW – you have been warned!
SpektiJim 