Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

I know that a lot of members on this fine site are not fond of cosplay and many down right hate it. But I need a little help from true fans of the Final Fantasy series rather than people who have never seen or even know of the game. This is my first excursion into cosplay in five years, and also one of the more intricate pieces I have ever done. I usually work with renaissance era clothing when it comes to costumes, and never really foray into cosplay so this was a little odd for me.

Back on track, this is my representation of Setzer Gabbiani of Final Fantasy VI. This was my representation of the sprite version rather thank the Amano. What I need are opinions and ideas for additions i any ideas arise. This just took first place at a local cosplay contest, but these were anime fans rather than gamers.

The coat is handmade of gabardine lined in poly-satin. All of the edging and lace is hand sewed and the coat itself is heavy enough to serve as a winter coat (snow worthy). The jabot is bridal satin and the vest is heavy leather. I really need some constructive criticism before I take this to a convention.

https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/5...885291751_n.jpg

Many thanks for any feedback you might be able to give.

--------------------

I'm your Mama Terra, come hang out with me around the internet!

Retro gaming cosplayer with a focus on Terra Branford.

Wow, that's really impressive! I can definitely see why it took first. The coat is probably my favorite part, it's really well-done.

--------------------

Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

Wow! That's fantastic.

I don't see a whole lot to criticise, really. It all looks like a pretty accurate representation of the original artwork to me, and as far as I can tell in the photo it looks well-constructed indeed. Your features seem to work pretty well to suit the character, as well. If I were to say anything, I would say that while it might just be the photo, I would say that the scar makeup is a bit unconvincing.

I'm not really sure where you got the idea that we don't like cosplay here. I'm sure there are some folks that don't, but I don't recall reading that the prevailing winds are against it. I for one love to see good cosplay and wish I had the skills to make it - though I'm pretty old to get away with dressing up too much!

--------------------

"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Many thanks, everyone. I'm very flattered.

My thoughts with it were that it is not flashy enough, but I'm trying to stick to the sprite as best I can and am wondering if adding anything might be too much. As it stands, the personality and voice I've given him while in the costume (lofty, proper and adventure driven) are what makes him shine. At this point I think I'm going to have to put him away for a while and work on Locke Cole with my husband and pull Setzer back out before con with a fresh mind.

Honestly, the scars bother me too. I had to settle for cheap eye-liner to get them to work for the small cosplay contest, but I can't think of anything else that would work. The Halloween scars you can pick up at costume shops are too grotesque so I'm thinking I might have to mix gray and white liquid liner for them. Any ideas?

I'm a rather goofy person, but I honestly believe that one is never too old too dress up. This could just be because I've spent so much time at Ren Faire and have been around many people wiser and elder than I that look wonderful in costume, and have a whole lot more fun in it than I do. As much hype as cosplay gets in the convention realm, it isn't about how well you do it, or even how you do it in general, it's supposed to be about dressing up like a nerd and running around with other nerds while dressed like maniacs and scaring the mundanes out of their pants.

I haven't seen many threads around the site in general much, but a few of them have had at least a few members dogging on cosplay. I admit it, dressing up as characters from games and anime is indeed quite silly, but who doesn't dress up a little on Halloween? Isn't putting on a cloak and a mask from Scream or a hockey mask from Jason just as silly as putting on a blue mini skirt, donning blonde ponytails and swinging heart-tipped wands at someone who's carrying a sword that's way too big for him? It's all fun and games until someone loses a wig, then it's a party. 8D

Anyway, I'll put my soapbox away for now. Many thanks for your input.

This post has been edited by St Khael on 5th July 2012 03:48

--------------------

I'm your Mama Terra, come hang out with me around the internet!

Retro gaming cosplayer with a focus on Terra Branford.

Quote

My thoughts with it were that it is not flashy enough, but I'm trying to stick to the sprite as best I can and am wondering if adding anything might be too much.

Well, it's going to be less flashy if you base it on the sprite, sure. I feel like most cosplayers from the games like FF6 would tend to design the costumes more on the concept art because of exactly that. The art has more detail than the sprite can convey, which doesn't necessarily make it more flashy, but instead works to give the cosplayer more options.

Quote

Honestly, the scars bother me too. I had to settle for cheap eye-liner to get them to work for the small cosplay contest, but I can't think of anything else that would work. The Halloween scars you can pick up at costume shops are too grotesque so I'm thinking I might have to mix gray and white liquid liner for them. Any ideas?

I think you might want to do more searching for pre-made scars. I'm taking "grotesque" in the context to mean that you're finding mostly pre-made scars that have bright blood and look otherwise fresh, in which case, yeah, that won't do you much good. Surely there are some out there, somewhere, that are meant to be older and more healed; I don't see anything that you make yourself being all that convincing, because a scar that size has to have some dimensionality. With a talented airbrusher at your side, I would imagine you could create something that has the effect of depth, but I don't see off-the-shelf makeup doing it well.

As an aside, those who have chatted with me on this site over the years know that I have a tendency to use "too old" to do something as a shorthand for a variety of other things. In this case, it means a combination of "no longer having time to pick up the talent to make a costume," "having a spouse that wouldn't be that interested in it*," and also "I've never been a part of that scene and it's far too much effort to ingratiate myself now." For what it's worth, I still don't feel like this site really skews as anti-cosplay, though it may be that the minority was just a lot more vocal at some points. It would be a fairly interesting topic if one of us were to create it just to get opinions. I'm a bit curious now.

*this link being only the second time I got her to even dress for Halloween in 15 years together!

This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 12th July 2012 19:16

--------------------

"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

It may have been that this site has traditionally focused on the earlier FF games, as opposed to the later ones (I think I remember some hesitation from the userbase when the FFVII section was going to be a reality), and the fanbase of the later FF games tends to skew toward the anime/manga/otaku/cosplaying crowd.

So it might have been a little bit of that, though as people have noted here, whatever of that sentiment that ever existed doesn't seem to exist anymore anyway.

--------------------

Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

As detailed as the concept art for the final fantasy games is, I do not like it at all. I like Yoshitaka Amano's artwork outside of Final Fantasy, however.

As for the scars, thank you for the suggestion, Rangers51. After some digging I did find a scar set that I will be able to trim down and work with easily. We're starting on a sprite design for Locke Cole this week and should have it done for the convention in August. After that I'll be starting a Sprite version of Terra. No...I don't like VI at all....>_>

I'm glad that the site is open to cosplayers and I'm definitely feeling more confident in bringing it up. A cosplay topic would be interesting indeed. I'll go ahead and start one and see what happens from there. : )

--------------------

I'm your Mama Terra, come hang out with me around the internet!

Retro gaming cosplayer with a focus on Terra Branford.

Great job, Khael.. you've really got that sense of (lofty) refinement Setzer has about him, perhaps this is aided by your actually looking upwards Have you thought about any gambling related poses?
I find most cosplay efforts are so flashy as to be a bit abrasive.. I saw some military uniforms ala Valkyria Chronicles with such vibrant blues and reds that kinda ruined the whole thing.. The delight is seeing this alien attire transposed into our reality, so why not make it look like it belongs in both worlds. I think you have the balance just right.

Girl Setzer works surprisingly well, but I can't say the same for the amount of guys one sees dressed as Tifa

--------------------

www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

Many thanks, Blinge.

I agree, a fair amount of cosplay does come across flashy and abrasive which is a shame because a lot of the costumes that are afflicted with that problem are very good quality. I'm working on a representation of Terra Branford at the moment, reaching more for toned down colors rather than the brilliant that have a tendency to pop up. I'm not saying the brightly colored Terra's are unattractive, they just don't match what I always imagined. I'll be reaching for burgundy instead of red and a richer green rather than the mint or blonde that I usually see. Hopefully it will come out well.

Yes, I agree, some characters should just not be cross-played. Mind you, if a male can pull off a female character either by adjust the gender of the character or just be awesome enough to make you think that they are female to begin with, that's pretty boss. I can respect the acting and costuming skill of a person that can do that.

As for gambling poses, I do have a few. For the convention I wore this to, I carried the final fantasy VI cards out of the 25th anniversary deck to complete the image. I haven't taken any pictures with the cards or the poses yet, but I have another mini-convention coming up so I'll probably get some pictures of them then.

This post has been edited by St Khael on 14th September 2012 16:30

--------------------

I'm your Mama Terra, come hang out with me around the internet!

Retro gaming cosplayer with a focus on Terra Branford.

Ah one more thing., what made you chose Setzer?

--------------------

www.youtube.com/blinje
The victor sacrificed the vanquished to the heavens

I liked him from the moment he was introduced in my first run through of the game back in the 90's. I can't explain the attraction to him, it was just an instant fondness. There is something about his personality that always felt so real that I could have easily met him on the street or call him friend. Stepping into his shoes was far more a pleasure than I thought it would have been.

Also, here are the rest of the images we took.:

http://www.cosplay.com/costume/429936/


--------------------

I'm your Mama Terra, come hang out with me around the internet!

Retro gaming cosplayer with a focus on Terra Branford.

Quote (St Khael @ 26th September 2012 18:20)

There is something about his personality that always felt so real that I could have easily met him on the street or call him friend.


http://www.cosplay.com/costume/429936/

I feel the same way about Setzer and Sabin. They both seem to have a certain street-smart quality. Yet, unlike Sabin, Setzer seems to be a more refined, almost bohemian type.

--------------------

Praise Be To Helix!

I love your cosplay You look great!! Love your boots

Just once I want to cosplay, but if I do it I want to be fantastic at it, and also be super fit so I look great too hahaha.

Umm, as far as the scars go, I love playing with makeup. I'll toy with it a bit, see if I can't come up with something fun! Edit: I see you already found some, hahaha. No matter, it was fun playing with the makeup to come up with maybe an alternative, especially as fake scars can be kinda heavy and uncomfortable!

http://imgur.com/a/iXEVt/all

I came up with those last night. I only did the left side of my face to show how much nude coloring I did, as you know Setzer has a very pale, colorless face and I wanted to show that, though I think you did a great job on that regardless. Also, gave you a blue lips alternative, as I believe in some concept arts he had a blueish/purple lips as all Amano characters do.

For the lips, I'd put on a plain lip color, a base skin-tone powder, and then even a concealer stick (that looks like lipstick) to get the colorlessness of his lips.

For the scars I'd done, I used a blunt pencil maroon/purple eyeliner first, to make it look a bit raw and new, then went over it with a sharpened black/dark brown pencil to give the jagged parts a bit of depth. Then took a liquid eyeliner pencil over that, especially for the thinner lines and for sharpness.

Also, wanted to try out some eyeliner as in the FMV he has a bit of a Pirates of the Carribean thing going on.


Hahaha this was unnecessary, since you'll be on Locke next, but oh well

This post has been edited by RelmArrowney on 27th September 2012 08:47

--------------------

You're telling me that there's no hope.

I'm telling you you're wrong.

Those scars look fantastic! I actually did the make up for this particular occasion very quickly and on far too little time or I would have put more effort into it. I don't like black scarring, but I didn't have much time to put together an actual idea for the face. I just did this with grey eyeliner and my usual foundation. I'll be wearing him again though so I'll figure something out eventually. I wanted to stay away from the Amano artwork actually simply because I can't stand it. I'm going with sprite versions for all of my final fantasy cosplays so I don't feel like a clown in all that make up. I'll save that for Kefka. >:3

Ideas are never unnecessary and always welcome.

This post has been edited by St Khael on 27th September 2012 12:17

--------------------

I'm your Mama Terra, come hang out with me around the internet!

Retro gaming cosplayer with a focus on Terra Branford.