I had a fun at Dragon Con this year. I was there for Saturday, Sunday and a teensy bit of Friday night. I took two new costumes and a couple of older backups with me.

Friday night and most of Saturday I was dressed as Colonel Hunter Gathers from The Venture Brothers cartoon. I used a sports top and bloomers I already owned as the base for the outfit. I painted the pieces, as is quite obvious, in a camo-like way. I wore two pairs of bloomers because I may be dressed as a stripper, but I am not a stripper and needed to feel like I was covered up. The stubble was dark eyeshadow stippled on with a contour brush. The cigarette holder was an eyeliner pencil with medical tape on the end. The hat is spare green material folded up like a newspaper hat and stitched in the corners to keep it together. I left my white gloves sitting on my bed. D’oh. Combat boots, fishnet stockings, wig, and glasses round out the ensemble. This picture includes a young lady who modified a Sexy Army costume.

I ran into the two creators of The Venture Brothers at a gonzo show. Jackson Publick laughed hysterically and never did say a thing. Doc Hammer shook his head while saying, “He wasn’t supposed to look that good.” I was nervous wearing that getup but that comment gave me all the confidence I needed to keep going. I had my picture taken more times than I could count while in that costume. Now I know how ManWithPez feels when he wears the Seymour and Audrey II costume.

Sunday was my Dr. Saunders day. You may remember my scar test. My technique improved, unfortunately, I forgot to bring my reference so the scars were a bit misplaced. Oh well. I wore the costume briefly on Saturday and discovered my subtle scars were too subtle. No one noticed them. Sunday’s scars are much darker. Dr. Saunders jacket is unique and could only be replicated if I made it…which I plan to do. Until then, I have a simple lab coat with a popped up collar. I wore a blouse, fluted skirt, and heels with the scars and wig. I heard there was another Saunders at D*C but I never found her.

My Dragon Con 2009 gallery is posted. I didn’t take as many pictures this year since I was there for two days and missed the parade. Sorry. I tried to take pictures of the costumes I loved. I hope you like them too. My recap post is on its way.

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This week Bumblebee made the rounds on the internet. It’s an impressive costume.

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This spring I fell for Whedon’s latest show Dollhouse. It started a little shaky but strengthened considerably by the end of the season. Several of my online/convention buddies are planning to dress as dolls and ManWithPez will be a handler. What shall I do?

I picked one of my favorite characters, Dr. Saunders. She is played by the magnificent Amy Acker. Dr. Saunders was attacked left with facial scars. Here is my attempt at recreating the scars. You’ll see a few differences in some of them but that’s because I was testing different techniques.

I used spirit gum, wax, maroon eyeshadow, black eyeliner, lip liner, red lipstick, and base makeup. I used the lip line to pencil in where the scars should go. Next I dabbed on the spirit gum on one line. As it was getting tacky, I rolled the wax into a worm shape and then pressed it onto the gummy line (the wax might stick to your fingers, that’s okay). I did this one scar at a time. Stipple on the eyeshadow. Draw the eyeliner down the middle of the scars and dab off excess. Repeat this step with the lipstick. Dab some more. Blend a little with your base color. Set with powder to lessen the tacky feeling. Voila.

I need a lab coat and a new wig. So, what do you think?

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Yesterday, well this week really, was hard on the entertainment world. We lost three iconic personalities: Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson, and Farrah Fawcett.

Farrah was a bold young woman. She took chances and made risky decisions that sometimes left us scratching our heads but mostly left as wanting more. Her early work highlights her science fiction and costume period. As her career progressed, she opted for everywoman roles and good ol’ gals who wore regular street clothes. I’d like to note a few of her more memorable costumed moments. (more…)

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I can’t believe I almost missed Captain Picard Day!

Many websites list June 16th as Captain Picard Day, stardate 47457.1 from the episode “The Pegasus”. Let the obsessives worry that the date is likely two or three days earlier, all I care about is celebrating the Captain.

Listen to The Picard Song by DarkMateria. Make some Earl Grey, hot, and enjoy a little Shakespeare all while practicing your best Picard maneuver in your new uniform. Perhaps you can even organize an archaeological dig featuring space gadgets and rare alien artifacts. After all, Jean-Luc’s second love is archeology. You can make arts and crafts inspired by the Captain. Don’t forget to watch Patrick Stewart’s alphabet song dedicated to Gene.

I hope you enjoy your Captain Picard Day celebrations and art exhibit.

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Fans of Resident Evil might get a kick out of this story. Jay, a young RE and zombie fan, went to a zombie crawl in Seattle. He was then detained and questioned by police.

Jay was wearing his black swat style gear from the RE series. An on-looker didn’t know an event was scheduled and believed an armed man was about to commit a crime. Six cars converged on the host shop and found Jay inside. Luckily, the organizers could back up Jay’s claim of no intended harm. Congrats to Jay for winning the costume contest and tickets to Crypticon.

Let this be a lesson to all of you: Even with your orange tipped machine gun, people may be wary of you. Be patient and understanding when people assume the worse.

To my friends at the Wolf Pack Elite, be careful, this could have been you.

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