My first real cosplay

So... I've been to a few conventions before. Native to the Chicagoland area is the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), which I first went to in 2016. The year after, I went back to C2E2 for another go. I've been into anime for a while ever since my brothers introduced me to Flame of Recca and Fullmetal Alchemist. But seeing an entire crowd of people all geeking out about comics and stuff - wow, it was amazing.

I did what everyone else would have done. That's right, spend money buying a shirt or two, and grabbed a few figures. Oh, and look, a lot of looking. Not just at the pretty merchandise that was available on the dealer tables but also at the people attending. It's the first time I got to see cosplayers in real life. Of course, I'm a bit camera-averse so I didn't really ask cosplayers for a photo op, but I remember being amazed at all the effort they put into dressing up for that weekend.

I suppose something about that stuck to me since not too long afterwards, I started considering what would happen if I do my first cosplay. Something more than wearing an anime shirt ideally.

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A behind the scenes look at how I did my first cosplay

So... a lot of things happened I suppose.

First off was actually getting the print to print. To be fair, I didn't exactly have the best printer at all. It was a Sunhokey Prusa i3 clone that was starting to show some wear especially with its acrylic frame. I also had a heck of a time getting the heated bed to work. I ended up dismantling the printer after I got my new one and it turns out the solder between under the bed came loose. At the very least glue sticks still worked.

Piece by piece the print started to take shape. Although some of the print layers shifted like crazy, some of it was usable. If I recall, I even considered printing some of these parts at my university, but when I heard how much it would end up costing I figured I'd just keep going with my own printer at home.

Just dumping images.

Starting the day off at Chicago's O'Hare airport.

Do you recognize that bright yellow airplane paint job?

You guessed it 😄

Mmm. Instant cup ramen on a plane. Quality food choice.

At Oakland airport. Close enough to SF, no?

For those who don't know what the Dragon Lights Festival is:

The traveling Dragon Lights Festival has set up more than 40 gigantic Chinese lanterns in Soldier Field South Parking Lot, providing the perfect environment for some twilight selfies. The event features an enormous 200-foot-long dragon lantern, a whale, an adorable panda wall and plenty of other colorful creations. In addition to the lanterns, the festival also features nightly performances from acrobats, musicians and dancers as well as demonstrations of calligraphy, painting and knot-tying.
https://www.timeout.com/chicago/things-to-do/dragon-lights-festival

This was extra interesting for us as a family since our parents usually went to sleep pretty early but as this was focused on night lights, didn't start until past their bedtime. I don't have much to say besides enjoy the lights!

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