Haircut!

After staring at my tired, dull face in the mirror for a week and watching a playback from a video shoot I did, I realised it was time to visit the salon. I'll confess, I hadn't been to a hair salon since my stylist closed her business (I'm still very very sad she's gone. I completely respect her personal reason for closing shop, but it still makes me a wee bit sad in my selfishness. She's the only stylist who's ever been able to deal with my fine hair). Unfortunately my hair is just so thin and fine that it doesn't hold shape well. There's also not alot of it there (some folks have fine hair, but alot of it. I am definitely not one of those people). Then there's the fact that over the past year I've developed a widow's peak which a centre part doesn't play nice with.

Through a Google search, I've come to the conclusion that Liv Tyler seems to have some similar hair issues as me. So I mused on possibly getting my hair cut/styled like hers to hide my widow's peak and thinning hair (yep, I've got some bald spots). So here was the inspiration...

http://www.dwalls.com/42626-1/Liv-Tyler-10.JPG

BEFORE: 


AFTER:

I got about an inch of dead/split ends cut off and some long layers put in. I also had my hair dyed, though it came out much darker than I had originally wanted (and more on the cool red side than the golden undertones). Well, at least my eyes, eyebrows, and hair all match again!

At least I can still do my elven style and it not look too Gothic (then again, Arwen DID have black hair).



A nice little realisation is that with the darker dye, I can now easily pull of X-23/Laura Kinney hair. Wa-BAM!



Missing the tell-tale adamantium claws, but I'm working on the stare.
 

Femme Tony Stark Costume Idea

So I've hatched yet another crazy hair-brained costuming scheme. I've been swept up in the Avengers whirlwind that's taken everyone by storm. I naturally look to costuming to express my fandom (art too) so I'm at it again!

I've been experimenting with doing gender-bent or Rule 63 costumes (you folks might remember me mentioning working on a female version of the 10th Doctor, which has since been postponed to next year. What? It's the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who next year!). My costume list for Dragoncon has also shrunk due to not having enough time/money to do my more elaborate plans. So I've been narrowing down my costumes to more "real world" outfits. But I want in on the Avengers action that I know is going to be going down at Dragoncon. I look nothing like Black Widow and Maria Hill's costume would be too complicated/expensive to try to make. The boys really get to have all the fun. So how could I join in....I'm not personally into crossplay, so I went back to the gender-bent idea again. But to save on money I thought instead of doing a full costume of one of the Avengers (i.e. one of the suits) I'd do one of their more casual outfits.

Then it came down to decided WHO of the Avengers I would do. Personality/morally-speaking, I'd be closest to Steve Rogers, but physically, hands down it'd be Tony Stark. He's the only one with dark brown hair and big dark brown eyes. So my latest Dragoncon costume is a Femme Tony (Toni/Tonya?) Stark costume that consists of a black tank top, skinny jeans, boots, arc reactor, flowing modeliscious hair, and part of the Mark III gauntlet (as seen in the scene where Tony is working on weaponizing the flight stabilizers). Here's my preliminary sketch, which I hope to have coloured soon...



Thankfully, I'm in luck as one of my coworkers happens to be a pretty awesome propmaker. So this past Saturday we met up to start work on the gauntlet. But not til after we goofed around with the other Iron Man armour pieces laying around...



The process, thus far, runs like this...

Step 1: Gather pepakura files. Trace pepakura files onto paper. Cut out pieces.
 

Step 2: Trace outline of cutouts onto black EVA foam. Cut out pieces.



Step 3: Er.....try to remember to clean up scraps...



Step 4: Beware when scraps attack! I mean....
 

Step 5: Er....Step 3, in truth, glue foam together. I let my coworker, Adam, handle that part. I don't trust myself with that work yet (which he already knew how to do).



Step 6: Sit back on the couch to watch Stargate Universe and trace/cut out finger pieces while Adam puts the palm piece together.

 
Step 7: DINNER! (Yep, stereotypical Chinese takeout consisting of sweet & sour chicken, fried rice, and crab rangoons.)