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Description
And now for a very special deviation!

This submission celebrates 50 deviations and twelve months of cosplay!

I can't believe that just around the corner is Manifest 2011. Manifest 2010 was the very first convention I went to "officially" in cosplay (I'd dressed up before, but never committed to getting the detail right). I was a tiny bit nervous but I wanted to just go and have a good time. I'd just finished watching Avatar the Last Airbender (for what was then just the first time), and of course I was obsessed with it. So I dressed up as my favourite character, Princess Azula. My first time in cosplay, and from there I was unexpectedly and utterly hooked! I got my first taste of the awesome cosplayers, their incredible personalities and their incredible talent. Here I met some long time friends who still leave me dumbstruck with their awesomeness. I love you guys and I expect to be totally blown away at Manifest 2011.

The outfit is so comfortable to wear (and pose and kick and fight and fire twirl in) and so much fun to get into character. Princess Azula was, and remains still, my utmost favourite cosplay, I hope you guys like it as much as I do.

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Characters:
--Princess Azula = ~chrysocome
Universe: Avatar the Last Airbender
Debut: Manfiest 2010
Location: Supanova Melbourne 2011
Photographer: Miranda M ~MissyMandy

Outfit made by ~chrysocome with some help from my amazing mum
Props: ~chrysocome
Hair: ~chrysocome and ~forevergirl
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Construction notes:

Shirt and tunic: Are actually sewn together as one garment. It took me ages to find the fabric, in this case I decided it was the colour that was vital. I was worried about the pink being too bright/gaudy which would not suit the character. In the end, I chose satin and turned it inside out (so comfy). The tunic is the same but in red. My mum helped me sew the pleats into the skirt so that the folds would always be perfect.

Armour: Once again I wanted the armour to look realistic. I'd decided a long time ago that I would be making it out of vinyl (pleather). The shoulder pieces are two circles, one in brown and one in burghundy. I added a collar and painted it with gold fabric paint. There are hooks at the back to hold it together once I get it over my head. I've made bracers many times before, this time it was a little different adding the extra wrist guards. The bracers lace up on the inside with gold thread (not shown). The belt actually laces up like a corset at the back, which was my personal touch of originality on the outfit.

Pants and boots: These were also my first pair of pants, nothing remarkable except I was proud of my first attempt. The boots - hard to see here. I am wearing normal suede black boots underneath, I used cling wrap then masking tape to create a pattern for vinyl boot covers. The boot covers are in two pieces - one for my shin and one for the foot. The seams are hidden by gold ribbon.

Hair and makeup: This is my real hair! It was deceptively hard to do. I spent a lot of time growing it out to the right length - it has to be fairly long to get it up that high. Lots and lots and lots of hair spray and help from a friend - in this case ~forever-girl . The fire nation motif is made of craft foam, sprayed in red then metallic gold. A gold ribbon hides the seam with my hair. I am wearing yellow contacts as well. (Isn't hair amazing?? I swear I look ten years older than my Toph cosplay and completely different).

Props: Not seen here. At Manifest, I held two very bright LED torches wrapped in blue cellophane which looked amazing in photos. At Supanova, I used two round glow poi (like for fire twirling, but these were bright lights) covered in fabric to make them look like blue flames. I spent the whole day at Supanova (where this picture was taken) "fire" twirling. There will be more photos (and maybe a video) later. I would have worn some crazy long nails but for the difficulty I would have fire twirling.

Finally, thanks to photographer Miranda M for taking this photo and capturing Azula's calm evilness. My favourite part is the blue light shining on my hair and shoulders.
==================

Description
And now for a very special deviation!

This submission celebrates 50 deviations and twelve months of cosplay!

I can't believe that just around the corner is Manifest 2011. Manifest 2010 was the very first convention I went to "officially" in cosplay (I'd dressed up before, but never committed to getting the detail right). I was a tiny bit nervous but I wanted to just go and have a good time. I'd just finished watching Avatar the Last Airbender (for what was then just the first time), and of course I was obsessed with it. So I dressed up as my favourite character, Princess Azula. My first time in cosplay, and from there I was unexpectedly and utterly hooked! I got my first taste of the awesome cosplayers, their incredible personalities and their incredible talent. Here I met some long time friends who still leave me dumbstruck with their awesomeness. I love you guys and I expect to be totally blown away at Manifest 2011.

The outfit is so comfortable to wear (and pose and kick and fight and fire twirl in) and so much fun to get into character. Princess Azula was, and remains still, my utmost favourite cosplay, I hope you guys like it as much as I do.

==================
Characters:
--Princess Azula = ~chrysocome
Universe: Avatar the Last Airbender
Debut: Manfiest 2010
Location: Supanova Melbourne 2011
Photographer: Miranda M ~MissyMandy

Outfit made by ~chrysocome with some help from my amazing mum
Props: ~chrysocome
Hair: ~chrysocome and ~forevergirl
==================
Construction notes:

Shirt and tunic: Are actually sewn together as one garment. It took me ages to find the fabric, in this case I decided it was the colour that was vital. I was worried about the pink being too bright/gaudy which would not suit the character. In the end, I chose satin and turned it inside out (so comfy). The tunic is the same but in red. My mum helped me sew the pleats into the skirt so that the folds would always be perfect.

Armour: Once again I wanted the armour to look realistic. I'd decided a long time ago that I would be making it out of vinyl (pleather). The shoulder pieces are two circles, one in brown and one in burghundy. I added a collar and painted it with gold fabric paint. There are hooks at the back to hold it together once I get it over my head. I've made bracers many times before, this time it was a little different adding the extra wrist guards. The bracers lace up on the inside with gold thread (not shown). The belt actually laces up like a corset at the back, which was my personal touch of originality on the outfit.

Pants and boots: These were also my first pair of pants, nothing remarkable except I was proud of my first attempt. The boots - hard to see here. I am wearing normal suede black boots underneath, I used cling wrap then masking tape to create a pattern for vinyl boot covers. The boot covers are in two pieces - one for my shin and one for the foot. The seams are hidden by gold ribbon.

Hair and makeup: This is my real hair! It was deceptively hard to do. I spent a lot of time growing it out to the right length - it has to be fairly long to get it up that high. Lots and lots and lots of hair spray and help from a friend - in this case ~forever-girl . The fire nation motif is made of craft foam, sprayed in red then metallic gold. A gold ribbon hides the seam with my hair. I am wearing yellow contacts as well. (Isn't hair amazing?? I swear I look ten years older than my Toph cosplay and completely different).

Props: Not seen here. At Manifest, I held two very bright LED torches wrapped in blue cellophane which looked amazing in photos. At Supanova, I used two round glow poi (like for fire twirling, but these were bright lights) covered in fabric to make them look like blue flames. I spent the whole day at Supanova (where this picture was taken) "fire" twirling. There will be more photos (and maybe a video) later. I would have worn some crazy long nails but for the difficulty I would have fire twirling.

Finally, thanks to photographer Miranda M for taking this photo and capturing Azula's calm evilness. My favourite part is the blue light shining on my hair and shoulders.
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