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[anwyn_crescent]

Michi, I hope to see you both there, this will be my first year attending Fanime. Maybe we could get a group together, if everything works out. =)

[Penna Fae]

I'm currently working on my Garnet outfit. I'm also willing my hair to grow that little bit extra. No wig for me.

[Gemelli]

FF9 cosplays really appear to be rare, and the country I'm from is hardly an exception. Compared to FF7, FF8, FF10 and FF13, I've seen only very few FF9 cosplays around. It's such a shame, as it's a great game!

I would really like to cosplay Kuja, but I don't have the confidence to wear something like that even though he's my favourite character from my favourite videogame. Instead, I've decided to cosplay Garnet/Dagger in August, the jumpsuit version including the White Mage Robe she wears at the start of the game. I already found a pair of boots that are almost perfect! I just need to dye the heels.

[Zaiten]

<3 Just started working on Zidane yesterday! I'm so excited, since he's a favorite character of mine. The vest is looking awesome. But any advice on the tail?

[TortureBunni]

Originally Posted by Zaiten

<3 Just started working on Zidane yesterday! I'm so excited, since he's a favorite character of mine. The vest is looking awesome. But any advice on the tail?

For the tail, I think it's important that you have a really good armature for it, so that it will hold its shape, and be easy to pose. I know that some people use wire coat hangers, but any heavy-duty wire should hold up okay. You can wrap a few pieces of wire around one another to help give it more stability.

[GirlintheWater]

well, looks like I'm gonna attempt to do Princess Garnet for AX2013! ^_^ I got White Bridal Satin and Crepe Fabric for it ^_^ The good news is I don't need a wig. The bad news is how on earth did you guys walk in a pretty trailing dress at a convention? O_O

[han-pan]

I'm making a new Dagger jumpsuit myself.

Also, a group of friends started discussing how awesome it would be to genderbend FFIX. I am considering doing a genderbent Black Waltz because COME ON HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE?!

[GirlintheWater]

Originally Posted by han-pan

I'm making a new Dagger jumpsuit myself.

Also, a group of friends started discussing how awesome it would be to genderbend FFIX. I am considering doing a genderbent Black Waltz because COME ON HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE?!

ohoho Genderbeding ftw! my good buddy did that with his Zidane and a group of his friends who did other genderbent FF Characters.

[Starlit Rose]

Oh wow, there's been some activity since I last looked here. XD

Originally Posted by Zaiten

<3 Just started working on Zidane yesterday! I'm so excited, since he's a favorite character of mine. The vest is looking awesome. But any advice on the tail?

Hooray, more Zidane love! Agreeing with TortureBunni that coat hangers alone won't give you much tail support. Adding in the fabric, the stuffing, and length of the tail, the weight will be too much for a wire that thin - even if you twisted up multiple wires. The wire I used for mine is pretty thick, and I twisted it up for added strength. It was the perfect amount of strength at first, but over time (and after posing it so many times), the wire has gotten a little weak, and it can't hold a gravity-defying pose as well as it used to. I can't remember the gauge I got, but it's basically just thin enough that I can bend the wire with my hands. Any thicker and I'd have some difficulty moving it without the aid of tools, and any thinner, it wouldn't be strong enough to hold up the weight of the tail. I got it from a hardware store. It was available on a giant spool that I had to have cut, lol. Hope that helps! I don't know what help you are seeking specifically.

Originally Posted by han-pan

I'm making a new Dagger jumpsuit myself.

Also, a group of friends started discussing how awesome it would be to genderbend FFIX. I am considering doing a genderbent Black Waltz because COME ON HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE?!

Why do you want to re-do your jumpsuit? It was already perfect!

Regarding the genderbent Black Waltz idea...there are both male and female Black Waltz's already, so I'm confused. XD;; (#1 and #3 are male, but #2 is a female) Do you mean genderbending #1 or #3, or just coming up with your own original female design that would probably incorporate more femininity to it than what #2 has going on?

[han-pan]

Originally Posted by Starlit Rose

Why do you want to re-do your jumpsuit? It was already perfect!

Regarding the genderbent Black Waltz idea...there are both male and female Black Waltz's already, so I'm confused. XD;; (#1 and #3 are male, but #2 is a female) Do you mean genderbending #1 or #3, or just coming up with your own original female design that would probably incorporate more femininity to it than what #2 has going on?

Habububuuu ;;3;;
It's just not in great condition anymore, seeing as I made it from 2008-2009 xD;; It's time for a new one, which will solve the issues I have been frustrated with...like wearing two jumpsuits at once, phew that is hot @__@;;; Plus I know what I'm doing a bit more this time around ;D

Black Waltz 3! Being as the group is a "gender bend ffix" group, and the only male characters I was really interested in were picked, I decided to go to the villains side. XD And the Black Waltzes are awesome, plus giant wings. Will actually be kind of fun. XD And I think Black Waltz 3 is a little bit more memorable, seeing as its crazy and comes after you twice.

[Zaiten]

Originally Posted by Starlit Rose

Oh wow, there's been some activity since I last looked here. XD



Hooray, more Zidane love! Agreeing with TortureBunni that coat hangers alone won't give you much tail support. Adding in the fabric, the stuffing, and length of the tail, the weight will be too much for a wire that thin - even if you twisted up multiple wires. The wire I used for mine is pretty thick, and I twisted it up for added strength. It was the perfect amount of strength at first, but over time (and after posing it so many times), the wire has gotten a little weak, and it can't hold a gravity-defying pose as well as it used to. I can't remember the gauge I got, but it's basically just thin enough that I can bend the wire with my hands. Any thicker and I'd have some difficulty moving it without the aid of tools, and any thinner, it wouldn't be strong enough to hold up the weight of the tail. I got it from a hardware store. It was available on a giant spool that I had to have cut, lol. Hope that helps! I don't know what help you are seeking specifically.

That's actually just to kind of advice I was looking for actually! I was hoping to get the kind of wire and/or gauge that people often use, how they bent it, and what problems they may have encountered so I can skip those and find new ones!

I think the only other thing I could think of would be fabric type. I think a short length faux fur would be best, right? It looks like that's what most people pick.

[TortureBunni]

I think for the fur, you'd want something with a short to medium pile. You want the fibers long enough so that they cover the seams, but not too long that it's going to add extra weight and drag the whole tail down. JoAnn's occassionally carries some faux fur around the winter time, but Etsy has a really good selection, too.

[Starlit Rose]

Originally Posted by Zaiten

That's actually just to kind of advice I was looking for actually! I was hoping to get the kind of wire and/or gauge that people often use, how they bent it, and what problems they may have encountered so I can skip those and find new ones!

I think the only other thing I could think of would be fabric type. I think a short length faux fur would be best, right? It looks like that's what most people pick.

I'm glad that helped! Yeah, for the wire, definitely go thicker than thinner if you want your tail to be good for posing. It'll get weaker over time, so if i could go back in time and make myself get one size thicker for my tail, I'd have done it!

The fur...oh jeez, for the life of me, I can't remember where I got my fur from! >_< I ordered several swatches from different places before I settled on one. I think what I got was from some teddy bear materials site I only used that one time, but the fabric is lovely. I used something akin to the Long Haired Mink on this site, in terms of how smooth it is and the length of the pile. It's kind of like standard teddy bear hair length. It's my personal preference to go with that length rather than longer because of how Zidane's tail looks in the cutscenes, but considering it's a very monkey-like tail, you can pretty much go with whatever you want. As TortureBunni said, with the shorter piles, the seam is visible, but it's not TOO obvious. If the idea of the seam showing bugs you, definitely go for a bit of a longer pile!

[Zaiten]

Wow, guys, you're both awesome! I'm lucky that the Hancock Fabrics near me is dumping their faux fur right now so I have plenty to choose from and at about half off or more. The teddy bear length does look nice! I think they're selling just a tiny bit longer so hopefully that will look nice.

[Celine]

Ditto to what everybody else said about wire thickness. The wire I used was REALLY sturdy at about 1/4" to 1/3" thick. It's very very hard to cut through but won't bend or fall on its own. Since everybody at the entire con will pull on the tail, you need to be really careful about how you attach it to the pants. My original tail got completely detached after some con so when I remade it, I actually had the wire wrapped all the way around my waist. Tail wasn't going ANYWHERE (though it meant that when it got pulled, the rest of me went with it). I've found decent thicknesses at some craft stores like Michaels, but your safest bet is a home improvement store. Just ask the craft store for armature wire or the home improvement store for galvanized wire for fixing a fence. I think I used either some fuzzy felt or else fleece to cover it.