Thursday, September 11, 2014

The Best Cosplay of Dragon Con 2014, Pt 2

Time to dive in with another batch of Dragon Con cosplay goodness! I'm trying to be more selective with what I post here on the blog, just because I have SO MANY LEFT, but rest assured everything will be up on my Flickr account later. The pics here are just the ones I most want to talk about.

Kicking off with one of my favorite shots:


She was standing in front of wall sconce right at eye-level, so I asked her to tilt her head sideways into the light. Look how perfect her makeup & forehead prosthetic is! 

(Because, as we all know, everybody wants prosthetic FORE-heads on their re-al heads!)

Ahem. 

And behold the rest of her costume:


Had to HDR it up a bit to bring out the detail. STUNNING.

And another stunner:

Dragon Con is such a sea of talent, it's almost dizzying. She looks like she just stepped off the set of Face Off!

 I was *this close* to running off with this Astrid's adorable handmade dragon:



And speaking of handmade dragons... you are going to love DC's children's costume contest winner!

Coming through the door - look how high the tail is!
 And from the side:

So her legs are the dragon's legs, of course (oops - did I ruin the magic? :)), and she really had to throw her weight from side-to-side to walk. It must have been so heavy!

Here she is in motion:

 I wish I had better pics for you, but with a costume this big, and in crowds this massive, well... excuses, excuses, I know. ;)


It's always fun seeing look-a-likes cosplay, and this guy is a great Cary Elwes doppelganger:

 
Even better, the next day he cosplayed as the Dread Pirate Roberts! YES.

Ghost Rider & Max Headroom:

 I like this idea of carrying around your own photo backdrop!


So there was a big group of Peter Pan / Hook cosplayers, and right in the middle they had a big poster of Robin Williams...
 

... and maybe for a second my viewfinder got a little blurry. WHAT. [sniffle]

Then a photographer next to me asked them all to make funny faces:
 
 Hee.

And here's that Lady Hook on her own:
 
Gorgeous. See the ship on her hat? And I love the teddy bear.

Speaking of groups, this Fifth Element gang is here every year, and I love them.

Hard to choose, but I think the neighbor guy is still my favorite:

 Remember? If not, go and watch Fifth Element again immediately.

And one more, since the baddie alien is blocked in that shot:

 You can see Zorg's gun behind him on the ground, and the professor is holding one of the element stones. So, so good.


Remember that Vintage Vogue Fashion Show I mentioned in my last post? Here's another one of the dresses from it:

 Some of the ladies decided to stay in costume all day, so I spotted them out and about later.


And remember I said there'd be more Groots?

 TINY SHOULDER GROOT! Woot!

This year John brought his own camera, so I have an interesting mix of shots I don't remember taking... because I didn't take them. :) Anyway, I like this one for giving a sense of the overall DC environment:

 In other words: crowded. I like crowd shots with just one person in focus, though.

Which reminds me, a couple of readers I spoke with this year mentioned having anxiety for the first time ever, just because of the crowds. It's hard to communicate just how suffocating the Marriott lobby can be in the evenings, so if you struggle with crowd panic, I advise staying away from the Marriott entirely after, say, 5 or 6 pm. (And the later it is, the more crowded it gets. We've stayed past midnight several times, and the crowds then were the worst of all.)

Ok. Onward.

You see a lot of Poison Ivys at cons, but I've never seen one carry a prop this cool!

 Even the flower buds have teeth! Haha!

Terrible picture, but I loved this mashup:

 

 At first I thought it was Sailor Moon & Rainbow Brite put together, but I must be wrong on the Rainbow Brite part. Help?
[Ok, looks like it's Retro Scouts by Hyamei. Thanks, guys!]

Awesome glowy eyes:


A beautiful dragon mask:



And this lady is doing a PERFECT "Jen's Mom" cosplay:


"Fabulous, Mom, I love the feathers."

(And hey, there's a blurry "Jen's Dad" in the background! Sweet!)

My mom had a different steampunky outfit - and hat! - every day for four days. It was awesome.


This Claptrap from Borderlands was SO FUN:

The guy operating him could even make him wave!
So, you know, now John and I want to make our own Claptrap. Of course.


Just Dragon Con, folks. Nothing to see here...

Any of you watching the new Ninja Turtles cartoon? I've only seen maybe a dozen episodes, but I really love the re-boot. (The series, of course, not the movie. And I was a fan of the original one, too.) 

Plus John and I enjoy impromptu dance sessions to the new theme song, so please enjoy THAT mental image.

Anyway, here's Metalhead from the show:

So basically a robot Turtle.

And here he is... IN REAL LIFE:

 BOOYAKASHA!


So... this was terrifying:

I don't watch scary movies or play scary games, so... help?
[Aha! Gender-bent Dracula from the1992 movie. Thanks, guys!]


And now a few especially bad photos of really awesome costumes:


The girls from Bob's Burgers! Here's a reference if you don't know the show:

Best of all, Linda is wearing her "spice rack," which she invented on the show. John and I immediately went - in Linda's voice, of course - "spice raaaack! Aha! ha!" And my poor parents were SO confused.

And a super blurry shot of a gorgeous Hell Girl:


The Lutece twins from BioShock Infinite:


And a reference:


Yep, she had the coin on the platter, too, so you could flip it!

(You guys seemed to really like my including reference shots, btw, so I'll try to do that more.)

How do you cosplay the famous flat of the world's most famous detective? Like this:

Awesome. Check out the little skull on her headband!


And finally, you guys may want to step back, 'cuz I'm about to fling some crazy fangirling all OVER this place:

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?!

Here, let's try the front view:

 

My fellow fans are no doubt joining me in my shriekfest, because THIS, my friends, is the trash lady from Labyrinth:


AMAZEBALLS. The second I saw her I went running to grab her pic before she made it into that room there. I felt kinda bad for holding her up like that, even for just two seconds... but I had to have this photo, you guys. HAD TO. 

And on that victorious high note, I shall leave you. 

Hope you guys are liking the DC run-down! Because we still have a LOT more to go. Wheeee! [collapses from photo-editing exhaustion]

{Click here for part 3!}

59 comments:

  1. Amazing! Thank you for all of your work to share these with all of us. To imagine that you and John went through CW craziness and still managed to capture so many brilliant pictures is extra impressive. All of your blog posts can be as long as you want in my opinion. I love the reference pictures as well and could drool over impressive cosplay for days. So much fun. Thank you!

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  2. The creepy in red is supposed to be Dracula...from Dracula, staring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, etc.

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  3. I like how you squeezed in your own Robin Williams quote there. Fantastic pics! One day I'll go...

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  4. Sailor Moon and Jetsons mashup, I think.

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  5. I believe that the Sailor Moon cosplayers are doing a retro atom-age version of the Sailors that popped up on DeviantART and made the picture-sharing rounds for a while. Very cool. :)

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  6. The Trash Lady just made my day!! Thanks for sharing all the pictures! My hubby desperately wants to go to a con, but I haven't been able to talk myself into facing the crowds. But if our local folks have costumes anything close to these, well then maybe next year :)

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  7. Oh. The Hook cosplayers... that's just so darn sweet. Yowza.

    Thanks for brightening a dreary Thursday, these pictures are so fun and inspiring!

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  8. The guy with the awesome dragon mask looks like an Argonian from Skyrim. I'm not sure, though. And I love the trash lady too!

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    1. Seconded - that's a lizard guy from Skyrim, not a dragon.

      Also, the shiny mouse heads are Deadmau5.

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    2. Thirded, definitely an Argonian. I actually might not have picked up on that, but the daedric dagger and well-done leather armor gave it away. :)

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    3. That was my first though too!

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  9. Um, it appears someone did a "sexy" version of Gary Oldman's aged Dracula from the 1990's Coppola film...weird...

    http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121001123849/videojuego/images/5/54/Gary_Oldman_-_Dracula.jpg

    Love that Trash Lady!

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  10. Fun Fact: the guy that plays the neighbor in the 5th element ("GIMMIE THE CAAASSSHH") is the same guy who plays Nino (the guy she is in love with) in Amelie!

    the lady in the red is Dracula from the 1992 version:
    http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/bram-stokers-dracula/images/10766166/title/bram-stokers-dracula-screencap

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  11. Agreed with MissPooslie on the lady version of Bram Stoker's Dracula

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  12. Thank you so much for putting these posts together, I love them. The work on display by everyone is incredible, I can't decide which I like best!

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  13. that trash lady was awesome, my jaw dropped with the shot from the back!

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  14. To further clarify someone else's comment on the Sailor Moon cosplay, it's from this fanart by Abigail L. Dela Cruz: http://abbydraws.tumblr.com/post/58517900878/retro-inspired-sailor-scouts-part-1-part-2

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  15. Aahhh, so amazing! I want to attend a convention someday and all this is perfect inspiration fuel. More, please! I promise I won't ever get tired of cosplay shots :D

    Those Luteces! Wonderful. That Robert really looks quite a bit like Robert, too!

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  16. SQUEEEEEEEEEE! the junk lady!
    i just hollered that squee at my desk. and then said out loud, "WHY DON'T YOU LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOUNG WOMAN!" (because i have seen that movie entirely too many times...approximately eleventythousandeightytwo)
    thank you, jen, for always thinking of us and sharing your photos. i hope one day to get to dragoncon and have a costume fabulous enough for you to stop and ask for my photo!

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    1. I did a desk squee when I saw the junk lady, too! That costume is INSANE!

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  17. I love the 17th-18th Century lady with her beautiful black and white dress! Hopefully I will have enough money one day to buy such fabric, make the costume, and go a comic con rocking the Marie Antoinette look. :)

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  18. Pretty sure that dragon mask picture is of an Argonian from Skyrim. :)

    Awesome!

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    Replies
    1. NC's own Maggie Bennett (build genius) there next to the dragon-mask. Proud to say I know and admire her, nearly as much as Jen!
      Don't know who that dragon guy is supposed to be (since I've not seen all of Skyrim). But Maggie did have with her an incredible dragon she built (with help from the 105th). She had a 19 or so footer around. Hopefully you got a picture of it! It is an impressive piece of dragony goodness. (I played one of a couple of handlers at a local con in Durham last weekend. It's massive.)

      -WAM, Raleigh, NC

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  19. Oh my stars, these are AMAZING!! My coworkers probably think I've gone nuts for as much geeking out as I'm doing on my lunch break. Seriously, just wow, these people are so talented! That Astrid and Stormfly is just freakin' awesome. My jaw is on the floor. And love the trash lady! And the Peter Pan group. And Sherlock's flat. And just, well, yeah, thanks for making my day! Can't wait for more!

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  20. They Might Be Giants reference for the WIN! Costumes were awesome. Loved the dragons. Sniffled over Hook. Thanks so much for going where I can't.

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  21. Hey you have one of our Nostalchicks, Ashley Kayley with her Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon. She's the one with her handmade green Dragon (His name is NitWit) Thanks for the great picture. https://www.facebook.com/nostalchicksgroupcosplay

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  22. Also appreciate the reference pictures as I am chronically unhip among the hipsters AND the cosplayers...so just about everyone, really.

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  23. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the plants on the Poison Ivy costume are Audrey II and a few Audrey II "babies" from Little Shop of Horrors!!

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  24. And now I have dust in my eyes from the Robin Williams group *sniff*

    also Astrid is holding a Terrible Terror. Adorable little trouble makers :)

    I love your con pictures, It's like being there without all the travel!

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  25. OMG! I'm the Adventure Tink from the Robin Williams/Hook/Peter Pan tribute group. THANK YOU for featuring us. It totally made my day. Squee! And thanks for all the other fabulous pics. OMG the Trash Lady from Labyrinth is AMAZING! Not sure how I missed her!

    Also, your mom is adorable! :)

    Becky/Tink (long time CW and Epbot fan!)

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  26. Amazing and inspiring as always! I have an idea for a 221B Baker St. cosplay I would love to do if I ever have the guts. And the money for the custom fabric.

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  27. Eeeek that trash lady is amazing, oh my gosh!

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  28. Ello Jen and John! thanks for all the photos and woo for Labyrinth!

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  29. Love the Bob's Burgers group, especially Linda's spice rack! My friends and I were the kids from that the same weekend up at FanExpo in Toronto, and people seemed to really get a kick out of it :)

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  30. That is not an easy TMBG reference to squeeze into a blog post, color me impressed. I did get a little teary-eyed by the Peter Pan group. And I squeed with excitement at the Trash Heap Lady. She was amazing!

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  31. Amazing! Just amazing!
    And yes - I do appreciate the reference shots!
    :-)

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  32. I always love your cosplay posts. Even when I don't necessarily know the characters, it's just so fun to see the work people put into their costumes. One of these days, I'm going to go to a con myself (up in the air as to whether I'll cosplay or not).

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  33. Woo! We made the epbot roundup! *level up noise* We were indeed the Sailor Scouts (well, half of them, anyway), though the Rainbow Brite connection was obvious to all but our Sailor Moon who'd never (?!?) heard of her.

    Sailor Mars

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  34. That Cary Elwes doppelganger is amazing! Robin Hood Men in Tights is my favorite movie hands down. And the trash lady made my jaw drop. Maybe one of these days I'll have enough money to go.

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  35. The blue lady is Samara from Mass Effect 2 (and 3) :). Here's a google search

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  36. I am also loving the reference shots that you post! It's so helpful especially for characters I don't know (or with which I have only a passing familiarity); it gives me the chance to truly appreciate the amazing details the cosplayers put into their art. It also really makes me appreciate the work you (Jen & John) go through to highlight those details when taking pictures in a less-than-ideal photo setting!

    Any chance that dragon mask could be a Skyrim Argonian? It looks so much like the Argonian shopkeepers in the game, including the shirt! (Just saw another commenter post that it may be too, so I think we might have it.)

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  37. Oh my god, the trash lady! You've featured many amazing cosplayers on this blog, but this one is definitely among my absolute favorites.

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  38. Jen! I didn't think it was possible to love you anymore than I already did, but then you made a TMBG reference in the best way possible. Also, this post inspired me to finally start watching Bob's Burgers, which turned out to be an excellent life choice.

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  39. THE TRASH LADY!!! Oh my god, that's so creative! Did she do the voice? Tell me she did the voice.

    Now I'm really mad at myself that I didn't event think to suggest Labyrinth as group cosplay for the future sister-in-law's NYCC bachelorette party. She LOVES the Labyrinth. (I almost had her convinced on a Beetlejuice one though, but she decided on Doctor Who. So close)

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  40. Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies!! :) I make anyone who hasn't seen it watch it and then make them kick themselves for not having seen it! Some people, I tell ya!
    This is such a great post! So many awesome outfits! So many awesome people! Thanks for letting us enjoy the con, too!!

    --Piper P from Washington State

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  41. We were at the parade and felt so bad for the HTTYD girl- that costume looked so uncomfortable to walk in.

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  42. So who was that first gal cosplaying as? League of Legends? World of Warcraft? (The green makeup made me think Elphaba, but the outfit screamed flying monkey to me. I must be in a Wicked kind of headspace!)

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  43. Once again, wonderful photos and thank you for the references as I don't get out of my cave much. All of them are so marvelously done. Difficult as that dragon was to walk with I suspect the little girl was still very pleased with her costume.

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  44. I saw that Poison Ivy cosplay and I was like, "Feeeed me Seymour!"

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  45. I'm pretty proud of myself for catching your They Might Be Giants reference. :)

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  46. As an ATL girl who AVOIDS downtown over the Labor Day weekend, thank you for letting us experience DC vicariously through you. I've been a lurker for a long time. But Miss 221B Baker St.?! That was probably the most imaginative Sherlock costume I've ever seen! Totally comment-worthy!

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  47. Check out this build video from Bill Doran over at Punished Props:
    http://props.punishedpixels.com/?s=claptrap

    It's instructions for making your very own Claptrap. I would almost bet it's what the guy up there used since Bill was really trying to get a whole army of Claptraps running around DragonCon.

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  48. I literally grabbed my heart on that last one. WOW!! "Here's yer pander slippers!" SO GOOOOOD!! :)

    I would have been fan-girling all over that poor person.

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  49. The trash lady!! I knew instantly, from the first picture, who she was. Amazing!!

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  50. I wonder if the gent in the dragon mask is meant to be an Argonian from Skyrim? Color me impressed, regardless!

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  51. The first picture is of the Half-Orc Inquisitor from the Pathfinder RPG!

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  52. Such gorgeous photos and costumes!! The 'dragon head' photo is of two Skyrim inhabitants - he's an Argonian (lizard race) :)

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  53. So that first one is a half orc inquisitor from Pathfinder
    http://pathfinderwiki.com/mediawiki/images/thumb/8/87/Imrijka.png/250px-Imrijka.png

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