Things I've learned from my first convention

About a month ago, I attended my first ever convention, Connecticon to hear about all of my blunders and adventures, check out my previous post. I learned so much during my weekend away in Hartford, some ste things people don't even really warn you about. So here are some of the things that I learned!

Make sure your videos are recorded with sound

I recorded a lot of videos throughout the convention of panels and events on my phone. Unfortunately none of them had sound!!! This was a huge disappointment for me.

 Plan!

Plan everything out! From what time you'll wake up, when you need to get to the convention. How long it will take you to get your costume on, even how long you think your morning crap will take. Planning is very important, it will keep you from being rushed and will keep you from stressing. I was rushed both Friday asnd Saturday having not budgeted a better amount of time to get ready.

Don't be shy about asking for pictures

I was very shy the first day...there is no need to be! Just about everyone wants you to take pictures of their costume! Just about everyone I encountered was excited and glad that I asked. Plus, it felt amazing when a few people excitedly stopped me for pictures or recognized who I was supposed to be.

Ask permission to take picture

Don't just snap someone's picture - it is rude. I made the mistake of taking a picture of something in the dealer room and forgot to ask permission beforehand. I felt terrible about it!!!

Bring plenty of money

THIS! I had maybe $50 to spend in the dealer room for the entire weekend. There were so many things I wanted but didn't have the money to buy. Many vendors also tend to be overpriced. Plan and budget months ahead of the convention you will attend. Don't ask your parent(s) to borrow money two weeks before like I did.

Look at everything before buying

There are so many things! It is thee worst to have spent all of your money and therm find something you really want. Some vendors also have markdowns on the very last day.

Buy things you want badly on the first day

Most things, especially artwork will sell out fast. So anything you know you definitely want, buy it as soon as you see it.

Bring plenty of food and water

To the convention and your hotel room. Room service, takeout and even hotel restaurants are really expensive! If you bring your own snacks and meals you'll save a lot of money. Whenever I'm at a big event, I often forget to eat and don't eat most of the day. If you're like me, pack some granola bars or something. I packed granola bars and fruit rollups in my backpack each day and it really was a lifesaver. Pack plenty of water, water at conventions is expensive. Luckily there were water coolers to refill my bottles in the conference rooms

There is a sense of community

I never suspected the sense of community I would feel - both at the convention and even at the hotel. It was amazing! As someone with social anxiety I have a hard time with crowds and I have s difficult time talking to strangers. I found myself talking to random people as lot. Everyone was really cool, I didn't encounter a single asshole! People of all different sizes, races, genders and sexuality were there cosplaying. No one judged them! There were no rude stares or comments. Everyone was peaceful and mostly kind to one another.

You will get no sleep

Something else I didn't anticipate - you will not get any sleep during a convention. Typically convention centers stay open late and have events into the night. By the time you head back to the hotel you most likely need a shower and need to eat. You also will be too wound up from the excitement of the day to sleep. Be prepared to stay up late each night and wake up early in the morning so that you have ample time to get ready before leaving. As much as I loved it, I was ready for con to be over by mid-day Saturday so I could go home and sleep.

You most likely will have a sore throat by the end

You may lose your voice or upset your throat during a con, especially if you ate cheering at events. My throat was very sore from the strain of yelling and screaming at the Cosplay Death Match. It wasn't comfortable by any means, and it didn't heal for nearly a week.

You will feel like shit after the con

Oh yes, you will feel horrible after a convention. There is the possibility you may catch a cold, being around so many people with possible questionable hygiene. Luckily, I didn't! You will be thoroughly exhausted by the end of the last day, and you probably won't eat a decent or healthy meal all weekend. You will be sore from all of the walking and whatever activities you get up to.

Bring ear plugs

Ear plugs are important, I wish I had thought to bring some with me. If you're at a loud event you need to protect your hearing. My friend who doesn't have any ear problems like me even had to plug his ears.

Aches galore!

At the end of each day you will ache. My feet didn't bother me so much, but my back and legs sure were sore. I was wise enough to bring some pain relief cream to help with it. It made a huge difference!

Don't be afraid to talk to people

A lot of people are just as shy or anxious as you may be. I have social anxiety and I was afraid to even approach and ask for pictures, but don't be. Everyone is really nice and people will start spontaneous conversations. Remember, everyone is just like you. They're all wonderful, geeky fanboys and fangirls.

You will eat like shit

You will eat like shit, most likely. Hotel room service and even hotel restaurants are very expensive. The Hilton's restaurant charged $20 for an all you can eat breakfast! You will most likely be eating fast food or takeout. If your convention center has as cafeteria, you most likely won't be finding healthy choices there.

Leave all the  drama at home

As much fun as I had, drama ruined a lot of my con. Don't start drama. Don't bring problematic or drama starting people with you. You want only positive, loving smd supportive people in your convention group. So when in doubt, don't bring the person.

I hope this helped any first time convention goers and that you can learn from this! I know that next year I will be much more prepared.

Xoxo

Heather Zombie

Things I've learned About Cosplaying

For my first convention I learned a lot about cosplaying; from making two costumes as well as well as wearing them at the con. This is what I learned:

Plan every little supply you'll need

This was a major problem I ran into. I planned out all of the more important pieces for my costumes, but not the smaller ones like glue, paint, rhinestones for Usagi's brooch, ect. It is very important to plan every little material so you aren't running to the store all the time or over paying.

Budget

This is very important. I hadn't realized how much the cost for materials would add up. It really adds up quickly too! Sure, $3 for fabric and $6 for a tank top doesn't seem like much, but add it to a $20 skirt and it will. Money adds up quickly.

Research

Before you get started, research how you're going to make your costume; from methods to materials. A problem I ran into was researching along the way/figuring it out along the way. It turned into a mess when I had finished with the foam pieces for my bass, but didn't realize I needed something to seal it with before painting.

Look for lowest prices

You will most likely be spending a lot on your costume, so shop around and find the best price you can. I found a bag of rhinestones with way more than what I needed for under a dollar on eBay, where it was  $4+ everywhere else. Who wants to spent a ton of money on a material you only need a little of?

Plan early, start early

I planned my costumes out and started them early, it was a huge help! I didn't gave to scramble around last minute trying to buy supplies.

Don't procrastinate

Even though I started my costumes early, I procrastinates badly on finishing it. This left me scrambling the week before con to finish it. It was extremely stressful! Manage your time, try to finish your cosplay a month ahead of time to on allow for minor tweaks here and there.

EBay is your friend

A lot of materials I needed I ordered on eBay. Yes,most of what I ordered came from China, but I ordered it at a minimum of three months early. I got Usagi's pearl earrings for $1. The red and blue fabric I needed, I got for $3 per yard and it shipped from within the US. EBay was my savior while financing this cosplay.

Take advantage of money earning sites

Sign up for websites such as swagbucks, earn free gift cards and stock pile them as soon as you decide to go to a convention. Every little bit helps. 80% of both of my cosplays were funded by gift cards and Paypal money that I earned online.

No one cares about your size at a con

I thought this was really cool. There were a lot of heavier men and women in costume at Connecticon. I never once caught anyone staring/laughing at them. I didn't hear of anyone making fun of anyone. In fact, people would compliment their cosplays regardless of size. I think this is important because this is how the world should work! Take notes America!

Make your props sturdy

This is extremely important. My bass for Marceline broke in the car on the ride to our hotel. The night before con which was the night before I planned to be Marcy was spent stressing and running around the hotel attempting to fix it. No one wants to be up at 11/12 at night fixing their prop the night before a convention.

Bring supplies to fix your props

I made the mistake of thinking my bass would be fine and that I wouldn't need anything to fix it. Luckily my friend brought glue with him and the hotel lobby receptionist let me borrow her stapler. Whatever can go wrong just might. Be prepared.

As long as you put effort into your costume, people will love it

I was worried about my Usagi costume. I assumed it would look mediocre next to other costumes and that people would judge it. It wasn't perfect, there were flaws. But it was my very first costume I have ever made completely on my own. It was completely made by hand, every stitch was sewn by hand. I spent 2 hours on Usagi's uniform top bow alone. I worked SO hard on it! If you work hard, people will appreciate it. It's easy to tell if you put a lot of effort in vs just slapping it together. I actually had quite a few people stop me or yell "Sailor Moon!" As I passed by. I even got stopped for photos a few times.

Stand out

Be creative with your costume and costume choice. The more you stand out, the more appreciation you will receive. Some of my favorite costumes were the ones with a twist or just the plain random/funny. Someone dresses up as W.B Mason from the paper company my high school had and people took notice because it was so different.

Budget time

Do this for both making your costume and getting ready to wear it at a convention. I sure didn't budget enough time forgetting ready. The results were a rushed makeup job and unstyled wigs. No one wants that!

I hope this post was helpful to anyone wanting to make their own cosplay! Check out my previous posts in my series about Connecticon!

Xoxo

Heather Zombie

Connecticon 2016 - All About My First Convention

Hello dears! It has been nearly as month since I experienced my first pop culture convention, Connecticon. I meant to have this post up much sooner, but I have had some difficulties lately. Con took its toll on me (see the next 2 posts in my series about Connecticon 2016.) and I went through a nasty breakup that started the day after I returned home. My ex wasn't who he manipulated me into thinking he was and he treated me badly....that's all I will say. I have (and still am) dealing with a lot of hurt, it has been an extremely painful and ridiculously dramatic number of weeks. I have also been very depressed and it's been challenging for me to get anything done and to force myself to act like my regular self. So yeah... But I'm trying to be better and let go of my anger and just move on with my life.

Anyway! What is Connecticon? It is a pop culture convention in the state capital, Hartford of my home state, Connecticut. It is held one weekend in July every year; it's like comic con but much much smaller. Having social anxiety it was probably the best place to experience my first convention. Despite much drama and bullshit throughout the weekend I did have lots of fun! Warning, this is a pic- heavy and lengthy post. If you are in any of these pictures and would like to be credited or your image removed feel free to contact me.

I arrived in downtown Hartford Thursday morning with one of my best friends, Beckman and my ex. We had booked an early check - in to our hotel so that we could get settled and relaxed before con began. I should note that this was also my first time staying at a hotel. Yeah...I was acting like Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club, except mystified by the wonders of the non-commoners!

The view from our hotel room on thursday afternoon

Yes, there's a big white blob. There was someone in the picture that I didn't want.

We stayed at the Hilton, a 4 star hotel. The room was smaller than I expected but it was nice. The beds were comfy, we had a nice TV (though with limited channels), a good shower, a mini-fridge, a desk and we eventually figured out the free wifi. The hotel staff was very helpful with all of our needs. I was surprised with the complimentary toiletries they gave us in our bathroom.

It was actually a good brand, not a cheap off brand! Peter Thomas Roth, a brand I have seen at Sephora. I was also surprised at the amount of products we were given. I expected to see only a bar of soap, shampoo and conditioner.

After we unpacked a little and became settled we all headed to the pool. Our hotel had a nice sized indoor pool and hot tub (I didn't go into the hot tub). That day we had the pool all to ourselves, we decided to play Marco polo - weaboo style. No, there is no normal Marco polo with us geeks! We helped things such as "Eren, Levi", " Kirito, Sandwitch -kun" and "Kohai, Senpai." We also discovered that I absolutely SUCK at the game and went around yelling sandwich-kun like a loli.

At around 2:00 we left the hotel to go to the convention center to pick up our badges for the weekend. Surprisingly there was a free bus shuttle to transport people around downtown Hartford and it brought us to the convention center and back. We waited in line for about an hour (some people waited 3-4 hours). I was surprised to see people in costume already just to wait in line! Once we returned to the hotel we ordered dinner and ate, then Beckman and I went to the hotel bar for a few drinks. The bartender had a lot of interesting stories for us, especially since the concert arena was just across the street.

We went back to the room to repair my cosplay prop that had broken. We spent half the night running around trying to fix it, eventually having to go to the lobby to borrow a stapler.

Pretty bath! Before I started a flood...

 I took a lovely bath to unwind....and accidentally ended up flooding the bathroom 😂 good times!

Friday started off with a rocky start - I do not want to discuss the details here. We awoke early, got ready and headed to the convention center.

Me as Marceline from Adventure Time on friday in shitty lighting/

Taken on friday while chilling between panels.

I started to notice people all over the hotel and all over the streets of Hartford in cosplay. I went to my very first panel - a fan run Sailor Moon panel where we discussed the state of the fandom and had various discussions about there manga and shows. It was great, I even made some friends!

Sailor Venus and Sailor Pluto at the fan-run Sailor Moon panel

Male Peridot! (Steven Universe)

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. They were both really nice and a lot of fun to chat with!

We walked around the convention center a lot, checking things out and taking pictures of cosplays.

Ouran High School Host Club group

My fabulous friend 

 

Black Butler cosplay group

One of my favorite cosplays! Stereotypical anime mom

Baymax!

Attack on Titan Group

Homura and Madoka, Madoka Magica

The best Belcher family cosplayers! (Bob's Burgers). The picture was blurry and I hadn't realized it ;___;

I discovered that there was an entire game room by the small in-building cafe! They had so many arcade games including DDR. I never got the chance to play because every time I went near them they were flooded with people. At one point we saw a Toph (Avatar the last Airbender) Cosplayer playing a game.....we were like TOPH YOU CAN SEE!! IT'S AS MIRACLE! hahaha. There was also a bunch of computers for the League of Legends tournament and various MMORPGs.

The next panel I went to that day was that of anime voice actor and the yellow Power Ranger himself, Johnny Yong Bosch. It was a Q&A where he discussed various characters he has voiced and told us some really funny stories; including the infamous quarters story!

 I sat in the middle of the room taking creeper pictures he he.


They opened the Dealer room during the panel, so we went to check it out when the panel was over so it would be less swamped. The dealer room was what otaku dreams are made of.

Note: I didn't take these two images. Credit goes to a beautiful soul on the Connecticon Facebook page...because I forgot to take pics.

Beautiful things I didn't have enough money to buy ;____;

There were tons of booths selling things from manga, comic books, figures, wigs, costumes, plushies, Japanese snacks..!!basically anything you could think to get at a con. Then there was the Artist Colony which took up about 1/3 of the room, where artists sold art prints. There was so much beautiful artwork, I wish I could have bought all of it!

After that we went to the Women of Voice Acting panel. I was SUPER excited for this one!

It started off with Brittany Lauda, Lauren Landa and Erica Mendez. These three ladies are anime voice actresses, Brittany Lauda being more on the directorial spectrum. If you don't know who they are, Brittany Lauda plays Michelia in Fairy Tail, Lauren Landa is Annie on Attack on Titan, Kyoko in Madoka Magica and Sailor Neptune in the new Sailor Moon dub. Lastly Erica Mendez plays Sailor Uranus in the new Sailor Moon dub, Tsubaki in Your Lie in April and  Ryuko in Kill La Kill. I was very excited to see Erica, I love her work! They discussed what it is like being a woman in voice acting.

About midway through Linda Larkin, the voice of Jasmine from Aladdin joined them. She was such a sweetheart and had so many interesting stories! Her speaking voice is exactly like Jasmine's.

We went to the FMV contest, which was an AMV film festival and contest. We didn't get to see them all at that point but they were really cool.

I can't remember much of what happened between that and the next event,  but we went to the Cosplay Dating Game which was hosted by Rick and Morty. It was a "3 bachelorettes on one side" type deal. There weren't many characters that I recognized, but the first round was the principal from Prison School and Mrs. Archer from Archer. I can't remember the 3rd Cosplayer or the bachelor. The convention center closed much earlier this year so when that was over we went back to the hotel; where we ordered dinner and went to the pool for a while before settling in for the night.

View from our hotel at night

Saturday morning we woke up early to go to the next showing of the FMV festival. I was in a rush to get ready. I should have budgeted my time better! I was Usagi from Sailor Moon that day.

In line at Starbucks. Ahhh my wig was slipping! 

Fixed it! :D

We went to Starbucks and then to the convention center. It was as good first event, I was able to chill/wake up more and finish my makeup. Below are a few of my favorite videos from it. My favorite was Animal Cannibal Shia Lebouf where they photoshopped Shia Lebouf's face onto Alucard in Hellsing.

 https://youtu.be/McKa6Fq3W9k

I didn't have any more panels until later that afternoon so we just walked around the building and the dealer room.

Ciel, Black Butler

Rose Quartz, Steven Universe

Adorable Sword Art Online group

Daenerys and Oberyn (Game of Thrones)

Alucard, Hellsing

My Chemical Romance, Danger Days cosplays

Anastasia!

Star Butterfly, Star vs The Forces of Evil

Maes Hughes, Fullmetal Alchemist. He even had pictures with his daughter!

Noh Face and Chihiro/Sen from Spirited Away

Lion, Lapis Lazuli and Peridot from Steven Universe

Opal, Steven Universe

Giant, adorable Pikachu

George R R Martin pissing off Game of Thrones fans

Gryffindor Quidditch team

Myrtle Snow and Misty Day from American Horror Story: Coven

Beckman and I had to separate because they did a terrible job with scheduling; I had to miss Tom Kenny's panel (Spongebob, Ice King). But, fear not! I went to a Sailor Moon panel!!

 Yes! This panel had some voice actors from the new dub! Johnny Yong Bosch (Artemis), Keith Silverstein (Dr. Tomoe, Kenji Tsukino), Lauren Landa (Sailor Neptune) and Erica Mendez (Sailor Uranus). I was way too excited! It was a Q& A. There was an adorable little boy that asked a lot of the questions; I thought it was great that so many more younger boys as well as men are able to enjoy Sailor Moon without judgement. All of the actors were really cool and nice. I think Johnny was bored, he seemed like he didn't really want to be there; Lauren was the most enthusiastic. We got to hear Keith do Dr. Tomoe's laugh and Lauren did a preview of Neptune for us. I wanted them all to say their favorite line for each of their characters....but I was too shy. A dude dressed as a Jamaican banana came in about halfway through and and whenever he liked what someone said he stood up and shook his maraccas.

More Usagi selfies

I sadly had to leave the panel 5 minutes early to meet Beckman for the Cosplay Masquerade so that I would have as seat. The Masquerade was a cosplay contest - people went on stage showing off their costumes and getting awards. There were also skits. Sadly half of the people didn't bother showing to collect their awards.

Fruit rollup buddy time before the death match

The last event of the night was the Cosplay Death match. It was AMAZING! First off, the entire ballroom was packed. Every single seat was filled! It was such a wonderful and crazy experience. At this point more than any other, I felt part of a community. Like I belonged. The death match was basically cosplay wrestling - 2 contestants (or groups) would get on stage. The audience would have to make noise for the character they wanted to win, thus deciding the victor. It was very funny - at one point Zim from Invader Zim was throwing a Gir plushie as a weapon. The losers of each match were carried off stage by a herd of zombies. The zombies would be eating a faux limb, would steal the weapons of carious characters; one even had a sign reading "I ship it" covered in blood.

Zombies before the death match

Digimon family

Invader Zim vs. Someone (Before I figured out I needed to change my camera's settings to get pictures in such harsh lighting)

Black Butler group

Freddy Mercury. They always played Another One Bites The Dust whenever he was fighting on stage

Levi cleaning the stage

Levi is declared the winner! His friends joined on stage

All of the contestants at the end

In between each match, classic rock played and the entire room sang along while this host promotes us. It was amazing to see so many people united! It was extremely loud - I had to cover my ears each time there was applause; I already have tinnitus I didn't want to further damage my hearing. Each time a character from Star Wars was on stage, all of the Star Wars nerds would raise their lighted light sabers. Chewbacca was a fan favorite. There was also this adorable family of Digimon cosplayers.

My favorite Cosplayer - who I nearly lost my voice screaming for and eventually won the whole thing was this cleaning lady Levi! This cosplay was impeccable. Each time they came on stage, they would mop the floor. Their attacks consisted of dusting and cleaning their opponent. At one point a zombie stole Levi's bucket and MAN was he mad, he pulled his swords out and was joined by Armin and Eren on stage. They tried to kill the zombies but they wouldn't stay dead. Levi's reaction was hysterical.

When the death match was over, we went back to the hotel to make food before heading to the pool. While reheating the previous night's Chinese, I accidentally put metal in thee microwave and nearly started a fire. Why am I so accident prone? ;_______;. At the pool we players giant game of Marco Polo, when I was it it took probably 15 minutes for me to catch anyone. At oner point I was scurrying my feet upon the pool floor, trying to keep my short self head above water.

Me on Sunday

With my lovely friend <3

Wonderful Alice cosplay. She actually made this prop!

The old guy from Up

These Free! cosplayers were amazing, they did this pose specially for me <3

Free!

Looking down at the convention center on sunday

Mabel from Gravity Falls

Team Minato, Naruto

Zuko, Avatar The Last Airbender

Jack and Sally

Sunday was a mostly chill day. We checked out of our hotel and headed to the convention center at about noon. We walked around a bit and visited the dealer room before going to a panel on Fullmetal Alchemist and it's real alchemic basis. It was very fascinating, unfortunately we left halfway through because the guy conducting it droned on and just showed power point slides.

The other panel we went to that day was called Steven Universe: Gay Space Rocks. Most of the room was packed. I gave to say, it was nice to see Steven Universe becoming so popular!

Before the panel started, I found Kakashi. Rather, we caught the ending of the FMA panel and I watched him like a creeper, waiting for the panel to finish so I could get a picture. I think I scared the poor man! I went up to him and excitedly said "I finally found Kakashi!!! I've been looking for one all weekend!" He said he had seen quite a few. I guess they knew I was there and his from me! Why, Kashi-kun, why? ;_____;. Before the panel started, I got a singalong started in the room. I played "Stronger than you" from Steven Universe and put it on speaker - people slowly sang along!!  The panel itself was really cool, it discussed all of the LGBTQ undertones in the show, many I hadn't picked up on. It was led by an adorable lesbian couple.

After the panel we went back to the dealer's room to spend our remaining money. From there we had to head back home. Unfortunately, con ended on a terrible note for me. There was a lot of last minute drama.

My convention haul:

Kawaii little alpaca and Asuna Funko figure

I spent all day sunday looking for this print I had seen earlier in the weekend!

Daenerys pin and a pin a booth gave me

Grab bag from Zombie Romance and Japanese candy

My kawaii lolita cat ears

Art print I got

Tuxedo Mask charm. Unfortunately I lost it in the park ;_____; I miss it so much

Garnet, Steven Universe car decal I got for Vicky as a gift

Princess Serenity, Sailor Moon artwork. I can't find who the artist is, but they had a bunch of stunning works! I wanted to buy them all!

Free! fanservice artwork <3

Black Butler wallet for my Sailor Moon Luna purse

Overall - con was great, though not fantastic. There was so much unneeded drama and my ex ruined most of the con for me. This year it was also very disorganized and condensed vs previous years. I did have a lot of fun, I learned a lot and in all I consider it a good experience. I'm already planning next year's cosplays!

Thanks for sticking through this long post, keep an eye out for my next posts in my convention series!

xoxo,

Heather Zombie

P.S here are some more cosplay pics! I did my best to include as many as possible

This girl carried around this amazing umbrella all weekend

Team Rocket cosplay group, they won best skit at the masquerade

Sailor Saturn, Sailor Moon

Turniphead, Howl's Moving Castle

Toka and Rize, Tokyo Ghoul

Madoka Magica group

Rose Quartz and Connie, Steven Universe

Stevonnie, Steven Universe

Nikki, Orange is the New Black

Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Moon

Peridot, Steven Universe

Cosmo and Wanda, Fairly Odd Parents

The Devil is a Part Timer characters

Kickass group

Maka, Soul Eater

Attack on titan characters with Team Rocket

Flame Princess, Lemongrab and Marceline, Adventure Time

Cruella DeVille,  101 Dalmations