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I completed the Unicorn Gundam Banshee costume finally after I installed the psychoframe lights in the cannon and the head the day before. The Unicorn models (Unicorn & Banshee) really gave me a great challenge and along the way I met up with a lot of obstacles in the making process and in life.
The ...Unicorn models may not have wings or big accessories like some other Gundam costumes I have made, but they are the only Gundams that I found difficult to plan and make. The details are crazy and with the psychoframe lights in so many parts, the mecha cosplay tutorial that I came out with is hardly applicable. With the general drop in quality and variety of stuff like adhesive tapes, spray paint..e.t.c, my costume parts were falling apart even before I could complete them.
One of the issues in life that affected me the most is that I do not have a home of my own. In order not to cause inconvenience to others in the temporary homes (I have been moving to different houses for 2 years), sometimes I will work on my costume after 12am when most people are asleep. A lot of times in these 2 years of making, I felt like giving up. To be more specific, I felt like stopping cosplay totally and live my life as per any other normal Singaporean out there. Work was also pressing hard on me and at times I had to spend sleepless nights working on projects and proposals instead of the costumes. But somehow, I did not give up and I completed Unicorn & Banshee.
Now that when I look back at the time I started the Unicorn project, I still cannot believe that I actually went through the making process. If I look further back to the time when I started cosplaying in 2001, it is like a dream; I do not know how I managed to make 15 mecha and 28 human character costumes while coping with my life. The only answer I have is that God gave me strength to persevere in times of despair and trouble as well as a wife who understands and able to tolerate me. Praise the LORD!
I am glad that finally the world is starting to recognise my works and I am very appreciative to all the organisers who invited me to their event as a guest. I am proud to label myself as a Singaporean when I meet cosplayers from other countries and even more proud to say "This is the mecha cosplay of Singapore." And perhaps because of this sense of identity, I insist on using corrugated plastic and PVC for making my mecha costumes instead of the commonly used EVA/PE/Craft foam/rubber sheet. I hope that I am able to bring glory to my country and inspire more people to make and cosplay mechas. And I also hope that more more cosplayers in the West will get to know that Singapore is an independent country that is not part of Malaysia, Indonesia or China.
I like to take this opportunity to thank my friends who have helped me in these 12 years and of course the LORD for giving me such a great gift of craftsmanship.
The ...Unicorn models may not have wings or big accessories like some other Gundam costumes I have made, but they are the only Gundams that I found difficult to plan and make. The details are crazy and with the psychoframe lights in so many parts, the mecha cosplay tutorial that I came out with is hardly applicable. With the general drop in quality and variety of stuff like adhesive tapes, spray paint..e.t.c, my costume parts were falling apart even before I could complete them.
One of the issues in life that affected me the most is that I do not have a home of my own. In order not to cause inconvenience to others in the temporary homes (I have been moving to different houses for 2 years), sometimes I will work on my costume after 12am when most people are asleep. A lot of times in these 2 years of making, I felt like giving up. To be more specific, I felt like stopping cosplay totally and live my life as per any other normal Singaporean out there. Work was also pressing hard on me and at times I had to spend sleepless nights working on projects and proposals instead of the costumes. But somehow, I did not give up and I completed Unicorn & Banshee.
Now that when I look back at the time I started the Unicorn project, I still cannot believe that I actually went through the making process. If I look further back to the time when I started cosplaying in 2001, it is like a dream; I do not know how I managed to make 15 mecha and 28 human character costumes while coping with my life. The only answer I have is that God gave me strength to persevere in times of despair and trouble as well as a wife who understands and able to tolerate me. Praise the LORD!
I am glad that finally the world is starting to recognise my works and I am very appreciative to all the organisers who invited me to their event as a guest. I am proud to label myself as a Singaporean when I meet cosplayers from other countries and even more proud to say "This is the mecha cosplay of Singapore." And perhaps because of this sense of identity, I insist on using corrugated plastic and PVC for making my mecha costumes instead of the commonly used EVA/PE/Craft foam/rubber sheet. I hope that I am able to bring glory to my country and inspire more people to make and cosplay mechas. And I also hope that more more cosplayers in the West will get to know that Singapore is an independent country that is not part of Malaysia, Indonesia or China.
I like to take this opportunity to thank my friends who have helped me in these 12 years and of course the LORD for giving me such a great gift of craftsmanship.
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My Mecha tutorial is COMPLETED =)
2 min read
My mecha cosplay tutorial is completed at last! Compiling this tutorial is very challenging to me as there are a lot of methods and experiences that I want to share with everyone. I hope that I can influence more people to start cosplaying mecha using this tutorial.
Mecha costume making is a way I train my determination and mental tolerance because the process of making it requires a lot of effort compared to most other types of costume. Being in the suit is also quite a challenge where I have to maintain my balance on high platforms and move around with limited vision. In making the costume, I identified three points when one will want to give up. The first point is when the number of tasks involved piled up like a mountain and one will get discouraged by looking at this list. The second point is when one is halfway through the making process and it seems like there is still a long way to go. Without will and determination, one will usually stop at this point. The third point is when the costume is near completion and one has already exhausted him/herself. But he/she finds that there are still quite a lot of finishing touches to be made. When one manages to overcome all the negative feelings and competes the costume, he/she will find great satisfaction as well as an unforgetable making experience.
I hope that everyone who uses this tutorial will find it useful and will enjoy themselves in the making and cosplaying process.
Mecha costume making is a way I train my determination and mental tolerance because the process of making it requires a lot of effort compared to most other types of costume. Being in the suit is also quite a challenge where I have to maintain my balance on high platforms and move around with limited vision. In making the costume, I identified three points when one will want to give up. The first point is when the number of tasks involved piled up like a mountain and one will get discouraged by looking at this list. The second point is when one is halfway through the making process and it seems like there is still a long way to go. Without will and determination, one will usually stop at this point. The third point is when the costume is near completion and one has already exhausted him/herself. But he/she finds that there are still quite a lot of finishing touches to be made. When one manages to overcome all the negative feelings and competes the costume, he/she will find great satisfaction as well as an unforgetable making experience.
I hope that everyone who uses this tutorial will find it useful and will enjoy themselves in the making and cosplaying process.
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At last I have completed the tutorial for the structure making of a Mecha/Gundam... It will be sufficient for anyone who wants to build a mecha costume. The rest of the tutorial touches on asthetics which may be not useful to alot of people because PVC plastic sheets seem hard to find in other countries.
It has been a tedious process compiling the tutorial which is based on version 9 of my mecha costume making method. I used to have a version 7 tutorial which has the exact measurements for each part...but I guess that will fit my size only and may not work well on others....and I kinda want people to think about the scaling and measurements with reference to a model kit/Gunpla rather than just copying every single thing from the tutorial.
A lot of people asked why do I do compile this tutorial where no one else does (for free) and whether I am afraid that people will know my secrets. The answer is that I want more people to try making and cosplaying a mecha so that there will be more mecha cosplayers in the world and that I have no secrets. If applying law of Physics is a secret, I guess that can be obtain through books and school lessons
Another reason is that I will like to share my experience and gains with cosplayers; Making the costume trains one's patience and determination...and sometimes analytical skill if the mecha design is very complicated.. and that will train people to overcome tough situations that they may encounter in the future.
Saying all these, I really do not mind if someone will buy the pdf version of my tutorial Monetary benefit is somewhat important in the modern society where inflation is a killer....especially in my country. I do hope that people who have used my tutorial share their experiencewith me and other cosplayers. My tutorial can be found in my deviantart gallery and my facebook page at www.facebook.com/Clivecosplay
It has been a tedious process compiling the tutorial which is based on version 9 of my mecha costume making method. I used to have a version 7 tutorial which has the exact measurements for each part...but I guess that will fit my size only and may not work well on others....and I kinda want people to think about the scaling and measurements with reference to a model kit/Gunpla rather than just copying every single thing from the tutorial.
A lot of people asked why do I do compile this tutorial where no one else does (for free) and whether I am afraid that people will know my secrets. The answer is that I want more people to try making and cosplaying a mecha so that there will be more mecha cosplayers in the world and that I have no secrets. If applying law of Physics is a secret, I guess that can be obtain through books and school lessons
Another reason is that I will like to share my experience and gains with cosplayers; Making the costume trains one's patience and determination...and sometimes analytical skill if the mecha design is very complicated.. and that will train people to overcome tough situations that they may encounter in the future. Saying all these, I really do not mind if someone will buy the pdf version of my tutorial
Monetary benefit is somewhat important in the modern society where inflation is a killer....especially in my country. I do hope that people who have used my tutorial share their experiencewith me and other cosplayers. My tutorial can be found in my deviantart gallery and my facebook page at www.facebook.com/Clivecosplay
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I am very grateful to Anime Festival Asia ( www.animefestival.asia/afa12/i… ) that I will be judging for the Regional Cosplay Championship this year again and it is an honour to be judging along side with Kaname☆ once again .
The contesting teams consist of the best cosplayers who won the country finals in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand after rounds of preliminary contests in the various states. It will be an eye opener to see the best perform on the AFA stage. One of the main feature of the competition that I am looking forward to is the video made by the teams to aid their performance. In previous years, some teams did an extremely good job of interacting with the video during the performance making the whole competition more interesting with more possibilities than the conventional ones.
I hope that more cosplayers from around the world can visit AFA take a look at the competition in Singapore Expo hall on 9, 10, 11 Nov 2012. Hope to see you there
. The contesting teams consist of the best cosplayers who won the country finals in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand after rounds of preliminary contests in the various states. It will be an eye opener to see the best perform on the AFA stage. One of the main feature of the competition that I am looking forward to is the video made by the teams to aid their performance. In previous years, some teams did an extremely good job of interacting with the video during the performance making the whole competition more interesting with more possibilities than the conventional ones.
I hope that more cosplayers from around the world can visit AFA take a look at the competition in Singapore Expo hall on 9, 10, 11 Nov 2012. Hope to see you there
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China Cosplay Event cheated me
3 min read
The organiser of 中新杯国家动漫园首届COSPLAY大赛 (cosplay.ku6.com) in CHina Tianjin has completely played me out like a fool. They invited me as a guest on 28 Sep 2012 and to judge their cosplay competition on 27 & 28 Oct 2012. I sent my enquiries on 29 Sep and they promise me on 1st Oct the following:
1) Flight and accommodation for me and my assistant
2) other expenses I will incure
3) custom made seat for me to sit down in my Gundam costume
While I am researching more on the event, they sent a 2nd invitation on Oct 4 and I accept their invitation on 6 Oct in the end because I felt that they are very sincere. I send another email on 11 Oct because I did not receive any details after I confirm. In this mail, I re-stated the items commited to me in their 1st reply. However, they did not reply me again despite me going through various channels to push it. In the meantime, I discovered that they put up my Unicorn Gundam photo in the event publicity material without my knowledge and permission and they are circulating on the net. From the poster and stuff, I am a contestant in their competition. I did not ever agree to that! I also heard that they are searching for another mecha/creature/guy cosplayer from Singapore through my friend who is also invited to the event while I was waiting for their reply. I began to doubt their intentions.
Today, I just got a reply from them and they claimed that I requested for the items late and therefore they will not be fulfilled. These items are the ones committed to me on 1st Oct 2012. I find it impossible to go China now because my Gundam costume is heavier than the passenger baggage weight limit and I no longer have a helper to suit me up or carry my costume. My helper has already reserved the time slot for the trip and I have applied for 1)deferment from NS reservist, 2)push away a business deal, 3)and postponed an important board meeting for a tertiary institute. I felt cheated. Apparently my friend from Indonesia, who is also invited as a guest got a similar experience.
Their latest email claimed that I am not qualified to judge...totally ignoring my all my achievements and judging experience which surpass some of the judges' they chose.
When it is 4 days before the event, they still did not provide me with a letter to let my costume clear airport custom. In a short time frame, it is not possible to obtain a clearance from the authority in charged and so I cannot go. I asked them to take down my photos immediately as they are in violation of China copyright laws and international copyright laws, they refused to comply. The organisers are nothing but thieves.
1) Flight and accommodation for me and my assistant
2) other expenses I will incure
3) custom made seat for me to sit down in my Gundam costume
While I am researching more on the event, they sent a 2nd invitation on Oct 4 and I accept their invitation on 6 Oct in the end because I felt that they are very sincere. I send another email on 11 Oct because I did not receive any details after I confirm. In this mail, I re-stated the items commited to me in their 1st reply. However, they did not reply me again despite me going through various channels to push it. In the meantime, I discovered that they put up my Unicorn Gundam photo in the event publicity material without my knowledge and permission and they are circulating on the net. From the poster and stuff, I am a contestant in their competition. I did not ever agree to that! I also heard that they are searching for another mecha/creature/guy cosplayer from Singapore through my friend who is also invited to the event while I was waiting for their reply. I began to doubt their intentions.
Today, I just got a reply from them and they claimed that I requested for the items late and therefore they will not be fulfilled. These items are the ones committed to me on 1st Oct 2012. I find it impossible to go China now because my Gundam costume is heavier than the passenger baggage weight limit and I no longer have a helper to suit me up or carry my costume. My helper has already reserved the time slot for the trip and I have applied for 1)deferment from NS reservist, 2)push away a business deal, 3)and postponed an important board meeting for a tertiary institute. I felt cheated. Apparently my friend from Indonesia, who is also invited as a guest got a similar experience.
Their latest email claimed that I am not qualified to judge...totally ignoring my all my achievements and judging experience which surpass some of the judges' they chose.
When it is 4 days before the event, they still did not provide me with a letter to let my costume clear airport custom. In a short time frame, it is not possible to obtain a clearance from the authority in charged and so I cannot go. I asked them to take down my photos immediately as they are in violation of China copyright laws and international copyright laws, they refused to comply. The organisers are nothing but thieves.
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