I am a Cosplay Guest again this year, alongside the lovely Amazon Mandy, and I have my hands full with events so here's the schedule!

ALL weekend - I have a booth inside the dealer room, and am offering the full line of products from my cosplay store, as well as signed photos and other goodies. When I am not at my panels or other programming, I will be at the booth, so come by and say hi.

ALL weekend - I have a spot inside the Cosplay Gallery, where a costume of mine will be displayed. I am not sure which to bring yet, potentially Dawn as it's new and way too big to wear around.

Saturday, Main Events, 7:00pm - I will be MCing the costume contest! After judging last year, this is a great chance to participate in the contest from a different perspective. Not sure yet if I will have a co-host, and also what I should wear!

And onto the Panels:

Friday, Galleria 103, 7:00pm - "Cosplay Posing Workshop" with Miko, Allison and maybe a couple other ladies:
You've made the costume, you've organized the photoshoot... but what are you going to do when you get there? Prepare to move around during this workshop, where we all will be working on posing for romance, drama and action. We will also be talking about flexibility and working out so that your poses can improve over time!

Friday, Galleria 103, 10:00pm - "Cosplay Q & A with Yaya Han":
Come for a candid chat with Yaya about all aspects of Cosplay. This is your chance to ask her questions on cosplay-related topics like how to get into modeling, Yaya's makeup tricks, the international cosplay scenes and conventions, costume contests and how to prepare for them, and more! There are also 10 years worth of Yaya's interesting stories about going to cons, making
costumes, dressing up and traveling world-wide in the name of Cosplay in store for you!

Friday, Galleria 103, 11:00pm - "Sociology of Cosplay" with Miko and Mandy (and who else?):
What is cosplay really? Why do cosplayers do what they do? This is your chance to ask anything about the hobby in an open discussion forum. Yes, anything. Last year we had cake, so perhaps there will be a surprise this year too!

Saturday, Galleria 103, 10:00pm - "Embellishing and Detailing Panel with Yaya Han":
Learn the many different techniques you can use to embellish your costumes and add interesting textures and details ! From beading to embroidering, Yaya will share her knowledge and show example costume pieces from her wardrobe.

I look forward to seeing everyone! Come to the panels and hang out with us!

Finally figured out what to bring! My costuming line up this year is:


Everything's pretty straight forward, except I have a NEW version of Black Cat, I am just doing the BSG uniform for a twin Cylon shoot with Miko (Evali) on Saturday morning, and I am hoping to change back into it for the Colonial Fleet party that night if I can make it after the contest. And I'm re-wearing Dawn on Sunday afternoon after RE for a photoshoot only, before getting ready for the big pirate party. If you have a Hot Pirate Babes 2008 calendar and want me to sign it, I'll be in my calendar costume. Also, though I have no booth of my own this year (dude, party con here), you can get merchandise of me at the following booths:
~Nene Thomas Illustrations in the Dealer Room - including the new piece "Orchid"
~Echo Chernik in the Artist Alley - including the new Steampunk piece
~Joseph Corsentino's Time of the Faeries in the Artist Alley

Now, I wanted to bring two other costumes as well but I am worried I won't find the time to wear them. So I'll at least be in one of them on Thursday night. And I need your opinion to help me decide. One is my original Space Girl costume, which is not a known character, but looks very animated. It also shows a lot of ass XD. Is it too early to show ass on Thursday night??? The other is Witchblade, but I am wondering if people would recognize the red dress version.


What do you think???

I was asked a little while ago to do this interview with Myana, regarding how I made my Lulu costume. Many thanks for choosing me for this line of articles. Anyone who's ever been interested in my general construction process, this is a great detailed insight to it. Hopefully this will help others wanting to get into cosplay but don't know where to start. Mainly, you begin with an obsession for a design/character.... sounds corny, but that love motivates you and keeps you going even when you're completely frustrated or stumped during a costume making project. We (meaning cosplayers) all know what that moment feels like, when you just fucked up something big, or what you had planned on doing completely fails. It's terrible. But as long as you look at the reference design and remember how much you love it, you can pass that hurdle and try again. I'm experiencing those feelings right now and it's really exciting! Can't wait to see the finished product come together.

Here's the link to the Blue Print Article:
[link]
[link]
[link]

I've devoted most of this month so far to finally working on new costumes for myself. After 7 months of working non-stop, it feels incredible to set time aside for a personal project or two.
Dragoncon, my favorite convention, is coming up, and I am trying to finish a few outfits for that weekend. The most important costume will be of the character Dawn by Joseph Michael Linser, for the Look-Alike contest on Saturday night of course! It's the best run costuming related contest at Dragoncon in my opinion! I've been backstage to play handler to my friends who entered in the past, helped create one of the winner's costume, and loaned out two sets of wings to contestants before lol. So even though this is the first time I am entering, I feel like I have this excited familiarity with the Dawn contest. Hopefully this year will be an awesome show and I can't wait to see everyone's adaptions.

Besides the Dawn costume I'm just making some easy cute outfits to hang out with friends and take silly pictures together haha. Don't have time for something elaborate, as I want to try an enjoy my break as well as stay creative. I still have to fill my store orders, and finish another pair of giant angel wings for a customer.

Anyone interested in coming to the Dawn contest, it will be on Saturday, the 5th of September, at 8:00pm. Dragoncon's website is here: [link]

Since I decided to severely limit my personal Facebook profile, I thought it would be nice to join the public FanGroup Bianca Canal made and turn it into my official Group.

Now, just because the word "Fan" is in it, doesn't mean I'm full of ego and am collecting fans. They just don't make a "Keep in touch with people who share your interest" group lol. And some of my closest friends are in the "Fan"Group, bless their hearts. I am hoping this will become a place where everyone who's curious and interested in what I'm up to can get first hand updates, photo posts, costume progress reports, event reports etc. Similar to my Livejournal, just for Facebook users.  
So please feel free to join and starting talking about your Dragoncon plans!

I've been home from San Diego three whole days now and finally feel like a human again. Comic Con hit me like a ton of bricks and I slept for two days straight basically and left the house yesterday only to get groceries (must feed).
But that just means that this year's SDCC was AMAZING! Aside from one or two tiny mishaps, it was the most fun I'd ever had at SDCC. We saw everything we wanted to see, hung out and partied a lot (my feet are wrecked) and spotted/met several celebrities. I generally only want to shake their hands and tell them how much I love their work, I never ask for photos or take up much of their time. But as much as I try to not to fangirl, one thing did make me starstruck, and that is getting Robert Downey Jr's autograph on our collectible prop. No, we didn't get to meet him in person, but we have his signature, which makes my life complete.

I dressed up in four costumes, did a couple of photoshoots, had my meetings and did some networking. We of course missed seeing some friends but I am super grateful for the time we did have with everyone.
All in all, a near perfect weekend, and now I have TIME OFF till Dragoncon! I have been working for 7 straight months with hardly one day off and now I have like 4 weeks of vacation! Laying around for the last three days was the best ever. But now I have to clean up my house and start on Dragoncon costumes. I'm planning to have at least three new costumes to debut so wish me luck!

Oh, and - Everyone! Go for it! Add me on Twitter. I just joined and it's weird and bizarre and hilarious! Kevin Smith talks about his private parts a lot. Follow me and see what I talk about lol
[link]
[link]
[link]

***Thanks for all the positive comments on the Mummy Bodypaint, guys! I can't believe the view count O_O!***

Back from Otakon. We drove through the night and I have been half asleep, half zoning out all day. We did very well at the booth, and were placed right next to Anime USA in the dealer hall, which was awesomely convenient, since I am a Guest at AUSA this year. Worked really hard this weekend, cosplayed for a bit, and had an epic dinner at Houlihan's with a dozen of people, and between a few of us 20 of their Mini Martinis! Only they ran out of the small glasses and gave us full martinis for all of them. Holy shit, I got blitzed. Next year I'd love to stay over in Baltimore for a couple of days, since Otakon always feels so damn short.

Today I finally started using my Facebook. I accidentally clicked YES to adding all my gmail contacts and seriously, anyone who has ever emailed me for any reason got added to my friends list which is so not what I made my facebook for. I wanted to keep it only for close friends - oh well lol! I FAIL! But after painstakingly deleting the accidental requests, the page looks more manageable now. The site still confuses me so until after Comic Con I won't be doing much with it.

Speaking of SDCC - I got tomorrow and Wednesday to clean up a bit, unpack from Otakon, fix up whatever costumes I wanna take, and re-pack. I have a couple of business meetings scheduled, and some modeling work lined up. Mainly, I just wanna check out the goodies and have a grand time! I probably will only dress up on Friday and Saturday, with 3 - 4 costumes. Marvel shoot is Friday, Brian and I will be Movie Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike together, and we got him a new wig that's making me super jealous. It's a lace front wig! In 10 years of cosplaying I've never splurged on a lace front lol! On Saturday I'll be wearing my original Alien Huntress Space Girl costume, and hanging out for a bit at the World of Pin Up booth with artist Mark Wasyl, who did this adorable logo artwork for me.

Other than that, I really look forward to seeing everyone, and to hitting up a couple of parties.
Oh, and btw I am supposed to spread the word about this cosplay interview I was a part of:
[link]
[link]
[link]
I love that all of us girls have such great positive views on dressing up. Girl power!

I received a very nice gesture from ~Ultraviolet-Oasis, a 3 month subscription to DA! Thank you very much. I haven't had time to play with the features yet, since I am in super crunch time preparing for Otakon.
And mere days after Otakon, I am flying to San Diego for Comic Con International! I am super excited about SDCC, to the point that I keep forgetting about Otakon, oops! Maybe it's due to the fact that Otakon is a business trip, while SDCC is primarily for fun, hanging out, shopping and networking.

At any rate, come by my dealer hall booth this weekend at Otakon if you have the chance, it's number 713. As usual, I will have crap ton of products from my cosplay store [link] and photo prints etc.

And again, ~Ultraviolet-Oasis, thank you so much for the wonderful gift!

Weee, I'm in LA, waiting to get the day started. Today we're setting up our booth at Anime Expo. It is booth number #517, in the fifth row toward the front. I will have my full line of products from my Store [link] available for purchase, plus some new products! I'll also be cosplaying at the booth this weekend so come by and say hello!

From the announcement on my website:
"I will be a Cosplay Guest at Metrocon [link] this weekend in Tampa, Florida - please come by my booth inside the vendor hall and say hi! I will have products from my store for sale, such as cat and fox ears, elf ears, mini angel and demon wings, horns, egl top hats and more. This is a chance for you to pick up any items without having to pay for shipping. I'll also have Ani-Coz cosplay magazines, including the issue with my cover, 8x12 photo prints and postcards for purchase.

I have the honor of being the hostess of the costume contest on Saturday night. Please join us for what it bound to be a fantastic show this year!

I am doing two panels this weekend, and they are the following:

Friday night 11pm in Panel Room 19 - Cosplay Chat with Yaya Han: Spend a casual hour with Cosplay Guest Yaya Han and talk about all things cosplay from construction tricks to convention stories. Come and ask any questions you have about cosplay!
Saturday afternoon 3pm in Panel Room 20 - Shopping smart for your Cosplay: We'll be talking about everything from budgeting, finding deals to the best sources for all your costume supplies and accessories.

You can find the locations of the panel rooms and vendor hall on this convention map [link]. See you soon!"

I am bringing the Steampunk Madam for the Ball on Friday night. On Saturday I'm wearing Mima from "Perfect Blue" during the day, then changing into my Peacock dress for the stage at the costume contest. I am super excited about MCing this time! Please come to my panels, they will be fun and informative!

I haven't kept up with much online lately, sorry!
Florida Supercon was a lot of fun, although it being my third show in a row after a very busy A-kon, I was absolutely running on reserves. I did my panel and spent most of Saturday judging the costume contest, which had a great turn out and fantastic entries. I also wore my Black Cat costume and got to snap a photo with Bruce Campbell *squee* [link].
The Monday after the show, I got to go to Epcot, for the first time! In 8 hours, we managed to cover the entire park and had a blast. I thought overall they did a great job on the different countries, even with every building being a little too shiny and colorful overall XD.
That morning I also found out I got another DD, on the Cleopatra photo I posted a while back. Much appreciation and thanks to *kamizuki for the suggestion and to ^Kitten-of-Woe for the feature!

After coming home I discovered that during the Epcot fun day, something must have bitten me because I got a red rash on my whole back. I felt terrible for a couple of days, drugged on Benedryl and feeling poisoned overall. I spent one day just sleeping and reading (started the Sookie Stackhouse vampire novels oh my lol) and the second day sculpting armor for my next costume.
I usually don't announce what I'm making in case something comes up and I have to postpone, but I'm hell-bent on getting this costume done despite the heavy June workload ahead of me. So to help keep me motivated, I'm announcing what I'm making!
[link]
We're doing a Soul Calibur 4 group at Anime Expo, with Shiya Wind, Wind of the Stars and Daydreamernessa, and I have always wanted to be Taki. I got fabric for her blue 3 costume a couple years ago but after seeing the designs for 4, I decided to do the burgundy bodysuit with the fishnet panels for now. Last December while I Guadalajara, Mexico, I got lucky and found the perfect color spandex for the bodysuit! And I'm even luckier that a group of lovely ladies want to wear their costumes with me at AX!
I'm about to head out for the rest of my material shopping, then it's on to sewing!

I am a Guest at A-kon this weekend! Flying out in an hour and scheduled to arrive in Dallas at 2:30pm. Come by my artist alley table to purchase items from my store, signed photos and more. I am also judging the costume contest on Saturday and doing the following panels, so stop by when you can:

CosPlay Make-up Panel (With M. Alice LeGrow) - Friday 5:00pm - 7:00pm in Houston C

Posing and Photography (with Sky Pirate) - Saturday 1:30pm - 2:30pm in Houston B

Sociology of CosPlay, a casual discussion - Sunday 4:30pm - 5:30pm in State Room 2

Furthermore, I will also be at the Meet the Guest Banquet - Sunday 11:00am - 1:30pm in Dallas A - C

Lastly, I am donating multiple items from my store to the A-kon Annual Charity Auction on Sunday to support the local battered women's and abused children's shelter know as the Family Place in Dallas, Texas. Be sure to come to the auction and bid on something for a worthy cause!

PS: I am bringing two costumes that are very easy to move in since I will be running ALL over the place. Sheryl Nome for Friday and Mulan for Saturday.

Hi guys, posting real quick about this weekend where I will be an exhibitor at Fanime in San Jose, CA. My booth number is #420, so aisle 400 toward the front.
I will have a variety of cosplay items for sale from my store [link], as well as signed photo prints. This is a great chance to pick up something without having to pay for shipping.
I am also bringing three costumes, including two new ones that have never been shot before. So I am looking for photographers to work with!

Please stop by the booth if you want to chat with me and check out my wares.

Thanks!

Been working on this on the ride home from Anime Central. I'm still adding info and tweaking, but this is a much easier way to browse my store. I also do realize that eventually, better photos must be had.

Please pass on the link (or even link it? *puppy eyes*) and check out the items if you have the chance!

[link]
[link]
[link]

Thank you!

Hey guys - I have been wondering what all I want to include in my DA gallery. It's still a growing collection of photos, less than 30 total, and until now only Cosplay (and outfits I have made). I want to eventually get a subscription to take advantage of the features and to support DA, but I kind of need enough photos to organize into categories before I do that lol. I have already decided to refrain from uploading event pics, candids etc., but I do have a huge portfolio of modeling work that I'd love to share. But... I don't know if there would be enough interest for that on DA. I love looking at modeling photos myself, but this is a predominantly artwork related community.
I wonder what makes people come check out my gallery - cosplayers, people who like cosplays, people who just like to look at photos? Anyone else? Since I do have a large website with all of my photos posted already, I only want to put my favorites here, and hopefully images that will not bore people.

No matter what, I'll keep slowly uploading pics as I find time. And try to be better at replying to comments, and leaving them!

Overall, there is not much going on over here but working hard everyday to make my costume products for 4 huge conventions in May. I am so scared of running out of stock after how much I've invested in these shows >_<... so I keep making stuff...

However.. tomorrow I will take the entire day to work on personal cosplay stuff. I want to start giving myself at least one day per week to do just crafty things for me. I hope this will allow me to finish at least a couple of outfits soon XD.

Still in Florida, happy that the show's over and that we don't have a con again till ACen. Nevermind that it's only two some weeks from now lol.

FX Show was a lot of fun! The attendee level was sorta low and I feel so bad for some of the exhibitors who definitely didn't get their investment back, but everyone I met was really nice and because the traffic was slow, I had time to hang out with a lot of awesome people. I did art modeling for the amazing Art Nouveau artist Echo [link] all weekend long, and will post more about that later.
Also somehow got roped into getting bodypainted on Saturday without being at all prepared O_O. But this sounded like so much fun and was a great opportunity as well. The guys from Project Vinyl asked me to model for super chill vinyl artist Buff Monster, and it was a blast! I love his designs and color schemes. I want one of his toys now! Buff did the bodypaint in an hour and then they let me keep the bathingsuit awww. Here is a link to his site with pics that he had me take with his awesome pink iPhone. Ignore the boobage and check out the art lol!
BuffMonster.com [link]
They also announced the bodypaint event on VinylPulse.com with my pic and link which is totally considerate of them, and then another entry with pics after the paint was done.
VinylPulse.com [link]
I also shockingly sold tons of photos, to the point where I ran out of my 100 pack photo sleeves. It's hard to describe the level of gratitude I feel when someone actually wants to spend money on a photo of me. I especially love it when girls buy them. <3

We went off on our own epic party Saturday night, back to Downtown Orlando.... much drinkage and dancage ensued at Mako's nightclub... hehehe. Everyone in our group is so awesome and laid back - I love hanging out with all of you! It's nice to just let loose and know that everyone you're with likes you for being you, and doesn't judge! It's also nice when you can somehow by-pass all rules of the secret VIP bar room, get bored in the VIP bar, and end up in a private lounge balcony overlooking the 2nd secret VIP bar! How the hell we managed to get over 10 people in there is beyond me.

Anyway, tomorrow we are going to take it easy and just play all day. Brian and I both need the break. I am really thankful to Jack who made it possible for us to come to FX Show and thank you to everyone who came by the booth and said hi.

I've been really busy preparing for the next wave of conventions. Mostly working on products for my booths, but I am also finishing up a new costume to be debuted at MTAC.

You will find me at these conventions, either in the dealer room working my booth, running around in costume, or giving panels/judging contests

MTAC - April 3rd - 15th [link]
Dealer room, panels, and judging

Sakuracon - April 10th - 12th [link]
Friday, April 10th, is my birthday! So at some point you'll find me at one of the hotel bars chilling with my friends and a margarita in hand

FX Show - April 17th - 19th [link]
I will be at CMI Toys in the exhibit hall all weekend, booth 1019, straight in from the front door. (However, at some point I will be stalking some of the other Guests....)

Anime Central - May 8th - 10th [link]
Find me in the dealer room, probably in costume all three days!

I will have more shows to add, too, so expect to see another post like this in a month or so.

By the way, this past weekend I actually visited friends without a convention being attached to the trip! For those who don't know, I am a huge Battlestar Galactica fan and about 40 fellow fans and I celebrated the Series Finale in West Virginia on Friday. We dressed up, took over a bar, and watched the last episode together. It was epic.
Photos will be up on my website soon, but for now I'll leave you with a group shot of us... [link]

Just a quick note saying that I will be at Megacon this weekend in Orlando, FL.

My friends and I will be working at my booth in the dealer room, #1015.
We will be selling cosplay accessories like ears, hats and angel wings, and I will also have photo prints of my costumes and modeling for sale! They are high glossy 8 x 12 photos I'll be happy to sign them.

Of course I plan on bringing a few costumes as well.

So far, tentative cosplay schedule is:
Friday - Sheryl Nome
Saturday - Steampunk Madam
Sunday - Ada Wong
Nothing too elaborate and strenuous to wear since I will be moving around a lot and bending to re-stock products etc.

After Megacon I have two weeks before another con so I will finally make time to sew more costumes! I have one to finish asap and one I'd love to slowly start on and take my time with. I also will devote more hours to Deviantart and work on responding to messages and comments as well as leaving more comments.

Here's to a good show and if you will be at Megacon, look out for me or stop by the booth and say hi!

It occurs to me that maybe I should post an event schedule on DA as well...

Anyway, right now I'm packing for Katsucon this weekend - mainly I am going to work in the dealer room and sell my cosplay and costume accessories, but I will also be dressing up:
Friday - Sheryl Nome
Saturday - Peacock
Sunday - probably just normal clothes

Hope to see some of you there!

Posting a quick blurb to let everyone know that we made it safely to Columbus! We left fairly late (11:30am) because the later we got up there the better chances we'd have of the roads being treated and cleared. And indeed, it took us only about 9 or 10 hours to make the drive and we didn't have hardly any trouble with ice on the road.
So after hanging out for a while with a bunch of people at the bar (I already lost my voice tonight) we're in pajamas and chilling in the room. Tomorrow we also get a late start on setting up the dealer room so I plan to hit the hotel gym first.

That's all for a fairly tame first night report at Ohayocon.