Old blog archive: 28 August 2001

I’ve said this about 27 billion times already, but the costume’s ALMOST done. And I mean it this time. ;o) It’d better be, considering the convention’s in 3 days! But Mom gets Mondays off from work, so what we did this weekend was cut a small lengthwise stripe off the waist/stomach sash, and Mom used that and sewed it on as the border of the top yesterday. There wasn’t enough left to do the collar, though, but it’s okay. I already know my costume isn’t perfect, nor is it even that great, but I’m just proud of it because it’s my first costume I’ve really, truly made (with help from Mom, of course)…the Jedi robe doesn’t exactly count–just because she did all of it…and it wasn’t exactly made with authenticity in mind. This was, but…stuff happened, and authenticity got screwed. :oP My hair’s too short–though when I get off work at 3:30 today, I’m going to get my bangs cut and a slight trim, like for split ends, etc. (b/c I haven’t gotten my hair cut since December), and see what they say about how to keep my hair STRAIGHT for the next couple of days, to get it as long as possible (it’s just below my shoulder-blades, but curls at the ends).

Okay, other stuff re. the costume…I also bought some cloth glue last night after work, as well as a little bit of gold ribbon (they didn’t have any gold foil, which was what the people at Aimee’s studio forum suggested), and I glued the red designs onto the front. I love it–the glue is “permanent until washed.” *snickers* Anyway, other stuff…oh! When I was looking for a button (like, one of the ones that has a pin on the back ad says something on the front) to go on the front of the top last night, I poked around in my parents’ bathroom and looked up, and saw one of those gold cardboard crowns, like the Burger King birthday-type ones (except it was just plain gold), sitting there. So I plucked it up and asked my parents and brother if they needed it, and when they said no, I took it downstairs and made armbands out of it. :oD Well, I got the left-hand one really nicely…I would’ve gotten the right-hand one as well, but there were staples in the cardboard and when I tried to pull one out, it RIPPED the cardboard. :o/ So I’ve got to use the ribbon for that, I guess.

Checklist:


*waits on it to load* What the hell is wrong with [company name]’s network connection? Ugh…

Hrm.

Hair: Getting bangs cut (and my air trimmed and THINNED *grumbles about her thick, thick hair*) today. Have those little gold thingies to go in her hair, though mine’ll only be long enough to let me put in two, not all four.
Earrings: Uh. Whoops. ^^; I guess I’ll forage through the cardboard/ribbon scraps, and if I have any that are big and sturdy enough or that I can salvage, I’ll cut ’em in the shape of the earrings and stick them to some little studs or something that I already have.
Armbands: Upper left arm’s done. For the bangle–I’m an Indian girl, and I took dance when I was little, and Mom loves collecting bangles; I KNOW I can find something around the house. :o) Upper right one’s still a work-in-progress; hopefully I can finish it tonight.
Top: It’s pale pink, not regular pink. But I don’t have time to re-dye it, and with the green fringe already attached, I really don’t WANT to re-dye it. The red designs are attached as well. There’s no green collar border; we ran out of material. But I need to go back through and trim that and even it out. The bottoms of the front are also more curved than pointed; I didn’t realize my mistake till after I’d cut it out. Still need the side bands…I’ve got pink cloth (it’s darker than the shirt), so I’ll cut a couple of strips out of that. I’m not sure if I should stick it to the sports bra I’m wearing underneath, or if I should stick it to the top (either one using my cloth glue), or both. I still need to make the gold button–I’ll also try to get that from the scraps of the armband makings and just stick it on the top somehow; we apparently don’t have buttons, and I don’t want to bother with painting anything right now. I also didn’t put the shoulder pads in to hold the shoulders up; it’s not totally stiff, but it kind of stands on its own. I also didn’t get the fringe to the little upturn thing on the shoulders. But it’s recognizable, and that’s all I care about. :oP
Stomach/waist sash: Done.
Pants: Done, except for pinning them up. It’s just a matter of wearing this and the sash together, since these things make my hips look freaking HUGE ^^; (I don’t vent about my figure a lot, so cut me some slack, okay? ;o) ), not to mention the waistband is going to make it kind of funky as well. I think I’ll wear the pants, then put on the sash, and pin the inner layer of cloth of the sash to the pants or something. As it is, I have to pin the pants up, too. :o/ Oh, and there ISN’T a pink stripe on the end of this one; that picture’s wrong. She only has a design on her episode 6-21 sash.
Belt/scabbard: Nope. Maybe next year. I just ran out of time this year.
Boots: *snickers* Try sandals. ;o) I didn’t feel like running all over town looking for a pair of ankleboots. The temperature’s going to be in the 80s and I’ll be wearing big sweatpants; I’ll be sweltering as it is. :oP But at least the sandals actually seem to match the outfit pretty well, so that’s cool.

And that’s it. So all I have left to do…
– Get a haircut. :oP
– Make the right armband.
– Make a button for the top.
– Make side straps for the top.
– Get the sash-pants thing working.
– Other assorted Dragon*Con preparations–like clean the house, go pick up my friends from the airport Thursday and provide hotel and taxi service for them for the next 4 days ;o)…that sort of stuff. Oh, and picking up something that’ll pass as an autograph book.
– Figuring out what exactly I’m going to ask John Rhys-Davies and Harlan Ellison in terms of their work on PoDW, since they’ll both be there. ;o)

Not counting the last couple, not much at all. *grins* I’m definitely going to remake this costume next year, except I’ll have a whole year to make it, so I can really make it authentic. I think if I do Dragon*Con again, I’ll make it a tradition to go as Tula one day and as something else another day–I’m really starting to enjoy this costuming thing, not to mention I’ll be helping my friend Jenn with her costume, whatever it may be. (She was going to go as Tifa from FF7, then realized exactly how skimpy that outfit is, and how “pornographic” Tifa’s been viewed by many guys online. ^^; )

Oh, and I’ll be there all 4 days. I’ll be going as Tula Friday…I’m not costuming the rest of the time, unless for some reason I decide to go as Tula again, which would be kind of weird. But I’ll be with the Star Wars Chicks contingency for a little while…I’ll probably be wearing my Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra (emphasize “my,” since I designed it *grin*) shirt and shorts Saturday, along with a Yoda necklace my friend Jenny made for me back in high school…Sunday, probably a Star Wars t-shirt and jeans or something, and Monday, just whatever. If you want to meet up with me, let me know!

Old blog archive: 20 August 2001

Stuff about The Quest

Changes between Dark Water and Pirates of Dark Water:

Opening scene…
DW: The background behind the ringed moon is more in shades of black and red, and fairly dark. It doesn’t match the sky in the rest of the scenes, though it does look very impressive. ;o)
PoDW: The sky’s the same orange color as in the rest of the scenes.

When Ren’s staring out the window of the lighthouse…
DW: A cloud flashes quickly across the windows before the wave rears up and crashes through the windows.
PoDW: No wave–just Ren staring and the wave crashing.

On the Maelstrom, when Bloth drops Primus’s ex-watcher into the constrictus pit…
DW: After Bloth releases him, the view from the pit is slightly cut off; you only see his hat fluttering down, and part of the word “eat” in Bloth’s “Eat well, my pet!” is cut out.
PoDW: The man screams and falls; this is a little bit extra added in.

When Niddler carries Ren off, after crashing through the window and picking him up…
DW: Niddler squawks as you see them flying away from the window with Jenna watching.
PoDW: Niddler doesn’t squawk.

Overall in the miniseries, but only first noted on the Maelstrom after Niddler “drops” Ren off…
DW: Niddler’s voice is deeper, more normal. His voice actor is Roddy McDowell.
PoDW: Niddler’s voice is much more comiclike, high-pitched and basically whiny. His VA is Frank Welker, I believe. Intonations and emphasis are also done in a more parodylike manner, instead of in the serious tone that Roddy gave Niddler.

Right after Konk and Ren play “peekaboo” around the main mast-pole-thingie, when Ren kicks the wheel and Konk goes flying…
DW: The sound is misaligned–Konk’s yell and the thwap as his dagger snaps the rope holding the main sail up are both delayed a little.
PoDW: The sound is aligned properly.

After Bloth uses nycra to dissolve the crow’s nest and it topples, and Ren falls out…
DW: There’s a mistake here. They accidentally don’t make the mast move as if it’s falling–it’s just stationary against the backdrop; they just have it stuck at a diagonal angle and Ren topples out of it.
PoDW: It moves accordingly with Ren’s movement.

Niddler’s response to Ren’s “I know where we can find some food. It’s called the Abbey of Galdebar”…
DW: Once again, the animation and sound aren’t aligned; the sound’s noticeably late–Niddler’s “Galdebar?” falls when he’s kind of scrunching up his face in disgust, and the “Hmm. That doesn’t sound very appetizing.” is late.
PoDW: The sound is aligned.

When the pirates break through the wall separating Alomar’s chamber from the outer chamber in the Abbey of Galdebar
DW: They’re yelling random things like, “Over there!” “Down here!” “Get ‘im!” “That’s him!” but instead of them sounding kind of cacophanous and rowdy, the way you’d expect a bunch of pirates “on the hunt” to sound, they just shout them out one after the other, and it’s kind of awkward, because in the next scene they’re all silent as they run down the stairs.
PoDW: They don’t say anything. Though you’d imagine that they should, it’s actually not as awkward.

As Ren beats up the pirates to get them off Alomar
DW: There’s a scene where he does this (mistakenly slowed down ^^; ) sideways kick in the air and bowls a bunch of them over. There’s no sound with that.
PoDW: There’s a proper “thump” that goes there.

Alomar lying there in the moment before he dies…
DW: He lies still for a second before he gasps and Ren comes to his side, and then after the, “It’s too late for me…”, Ren leans forward, but his mouth doesn’t move as he says, “No!” and it ends with him staring down at the dead Alomar.
DW: Alomar lies there for not even a second before he gasps and Ren gets to him–and Ren’s mouth moves with the “No!” though it’s off a little bit. But he bows his head as Alomar dies, and then looks up as Bloth goes, “Fifty gold pieces to the swab who takes the boy’s life!”

After Niddler attacks the archer with the fire-arrow…
DW: When the archer grabs him and throws him aside, he doesn’t squawk.
PoDW: He squawks as he’s thrown aside.

After Ren dumps the archer into the water and turns to leave…
DW: “Niddler! Now’s our chance! Come on!” – Ren / “I can’t!” – Niddler
PoDW: “Now’s our chance! Come on!” – Ren / “I can’t just yet!” – Niddler

After Ioz admits to having stolen the Wraith…
DW: “What?” – Ren / “What?” – Niddler
PoDW: “What?” – Ren / Niddler squawks.

When the Wraith’s on the Dragon’s Maw, trying to outrun the Maelstrom..
DW: “We need less sail!” – Tula
PoDW: “We must slow the Wraith!” – Ren / “We need less sail!” – Tula

Right after the fireball that Bloth’s pirates aim at the pinnacle where Niddler and the 1st Treasure are hits its target, and it explodes…
DW: It fades into black, and then focuses on Ren and Tula, who are staring at where it was, stunned–then Bloth’s “Boy!” makes them turn.
PoDW: It fades directly into the next scene, and after you see them both still for a second, Tula moves to say something, but Bloth interrupts them.

Not sure about this one, but…
After Ren bows his head in Niddler’s memory, only to have red monkey-bird feathers rain down from above…
DW: Niddler squawks as the feathers rain down.
PoDW: Niddler doesn’t squawk.

When Niddler opens his mouth to reveal the Treasure inside…
DW: He stays silent.
PoDW: He manages a muffled, “Ha.” And I THINK the way they animated Ren here is different, but I don’t remember…

And that’s it. Time to go home, woo! (I’m posting from work. Whee…)

Old blog archive: 07 August 2001

Okay, so the costume’s coming along…here’s the latest status report:

So far, I’ve managed to dye the sports bra–it’s not the EXACT shade as my skin, but I didn’t expect it to be. So that came out great. And we went to K-Mart yesterday, and on the clearance rack, imagine my surprise to stumble across a pair of white, triple-X-sized sweatpants! *cracks up* I just think it’s going to be hilarious trying to make it fit. ;o) But at least they’re really loose and not form-fitting! And the bottoms are definitely as baggy as Tula’s pants are. Score! Hehehe…anyway, I dyed it, too, but I think I added too much water b/c it’s kind of cotton-candy pink…but hey, it’s pink. If I get more time, I’ll try re-dying it.

Oh–I realized that I TOTALLY forgot about Tula’s earrings. :o/ I do have my ears pierced, but I haven’t worn earrings in a long time…but the holes are still basically open, so if I do get time, and a little ingenuity in figuring out how I’m going to make earrings of that size and shape, maybe I’ll attempt those, too.

So Mom and I went to Jo-Ann Etc. a couple of days ago, which was where I picked up the dye…I also got a yard of green fabric to use for her waist-sash-thingie, though I realized kind of belatedly that hers is kind of a lighter green, while the fabric I got is regular green. *shrug* Once again, time permitting, I might try to pick up fabric in a lighter shade if it’s still on sale. And I found these gold candleholders that I can use in place of the napkin rings for the sash and for my hair, especially since these are considerably smaller. So that’s cool.

For the shoes–I know I mentioned it below, but I really do think I’m just going to wear sandals. (Which means I need to take the teal nail polish off my toenails. ;o) ) Mom’s boots have heels, and seeing how I’m already around 5’9″ and Tula’s actually 5’4″–I really don’t need to be any taller. *grin*

For the shirt, I’m going to use one of my dad’s undershirts (and I doubt he’d miss it, nor would he care too much). It’s not too thin, so it seems like it might hold up well…hopefully today (I’ve got to run some errands and go to campus to start packing my stuff, b/c I switch dorms on Monday) I can run to Jo-Ann and buy some more pink dye, as well as red material for the designs on her outfit.

And that’s it so far. I’ll keep updating when I make more progress. :o) And I WILL be back to updating regularly next week, when I’m at work/school again.

Old blog archive: 04 August 2001

So I’m home now, for roughly the next week or so (I’ve been home since Wednesday-Thursdayish, actually), and HAVE started work on the Tula costume. Well, kind of. ;o) I’ve been throwing around ideas for a while, and sketched out her costume (the episode 1-5 “butterfly vest” one, not the 6-21 midriff one) and headed to Jo-Ann Fabrics yesterday…except that it was a Jo-Ann Etc., meaning it was basically a fabrics superstore. Whee! So I went in, and then realized how completely CLUELESS I was about everything…so I went to look at patterns to see what I could find, and found one for a sleeveless, v-neck shirt that I figured I could alter, but then figured I’d come home and talk to Mom and see what she said.

What I have planned so far is this:

– TOP: I’m going to attach the whole thing to a sports bra. The thing I was really worried about (besides how showy it would be…I’m still kind of working on that, though I think I’m just going to dye the sports bra tan and leave it at that, with no trimming or anything) was how to get the shoulders to stay up–and that can just be done by taking the pattern for the t-shirt, adding more material to the sleeves, and using shoulder pads to hold it up. The gold thing “holding” both sides of the front together’s going to just be a big gold button, sewn on. As for the red designs, I’m still not sure if I’ll just paint those on, or cut them out from some red fabric and glue/sew them on. (Seeing how I’m not that great at sewing, I’m trying to find alternative methods. ^^; )

– STOMACH: That’s not too hard. Get some green fabric, enough to wrap it around my stomach several times, cut a small v out of the top, and get some kind of cheapie napkin ring and paint it gold to run the end of the fabric through to hang off to the left. So with this and the top, the most that’d show is kind of a trapezoid of skin of my upper abdomen area, and not much cleavage either, so no problem there. *sheepish*

– PANTS: I was originally planning on taking some of Mom’s old white sweatpants (with her permission) and dying ’em pink, but she started suggesting using some of the pink pants that go with some of the Indian outfits I have…but they aren’t baggy from the knees down, at all. So I’m thinking it’ll still be the sweatpants.

– HAIR: I’ve been meaning to cut my bangs for a while (I’ve let them grow out with my hair, which is roughly to my shoulder-blades now), so I’m definitely getting them cut to about ear-level or so, maybe a bit higher, and might resort to using curlers or something for a day or so before the con to get them to look right. As for her mid-forehead bangs, I’m not sure I’m willing to go THAT far. ^^; But we’ll see. I was tempted to get a wig, but it’s not worth it–maybe by next year’s D*C, my hair will actually be her length. ;o) As for her “pigtail” things draped over her shoulders, I probably have enough hair so that I can put one gold thingie on each bunch, but it isn’t long enough for 2 yet. I’d use cheapie napkin rings painted gold for those as well.

– ARMBANDS: I do have some gold bangles that I can use one of for her left wrist, and I might have something really similar to her left armband from my old Bharatnatyam (Indian dance) recitals I can wear on my upper left arm. :o) As for the right arm, I still don’t know. :o/ I’m tempted to take alumimum foil or tape or something, or maybe even fabric with Velcro–I just want to make sure it won’t do something to my skin or something.

– SHOES: Mom’s got some old brown ankleboots I can use (blecch, how 80’s! hehe)…the only problem is that they have heels. And I’m not sure if they’re my size, but they’d at least be close enough. I’ve been tempted to say, “Screw it,” and just wear sandals instead–I mean, they’re brown, too. ^^;

– SWORD BELT: Nah. Not unless I can find a brown belt big enough, or unless I find time to drive across town to the Big&Tall store to get one. And even then, that won’t give me enough time to make a hilt or sheath for her dagger.

So yeah, overall, I’ve got a week to do this ENTIRE thing. But after this, it’ll hopefully just all be touch-ups till I get it perfect for next year. Though I’m already wondering if I should do a different costume next year or not–maybe a female version of Ren’s or something…I guess let’s just see how this turns out. I’ll be posting updates here throughout the week. :o)