Brenna Bozanic, winner in competition BlizzCon 2010 costumes, shows us the entire process of creating your ysera costume.
After the excitement after BlizzCon 2010 subsided, we invited the three winners of the costume contest to write an article to tell us about their experience: from creating the costume to attending the event itself. This is the first of those articles.
Hi, I'm Brenna Bozanic and I was dressed as Ysera at the BlizzCon 2010 costume contest. Although I have been to all of BlizzCon, this was my second costume. Last year I dressed up as my blood elf with the mid level 40 outfit gear, simply because I liked the style. Cosplay for me is about creating something cool, wearing it and having fun. The atmosphere at BlizzCon is perfect for this.
Individual dragon scales for the 'tail' part
When I decided to make Ysera's costume, the new model had not been published, it had not even been talked about. I was convinced that it would be an opportunity to do something really cool, and I did everything I could think of with the design. I was determined to move beyond the idea that clothes have to be the best part of the costume. So I tried to make it look like she was partially transformed into her dragon form.
Ysera outside the convention hall, BlizzCon 2010
Gloves are my favorite part of the costume. I opted for the chain link even though I had tried it before. The gloves were my torture for six months. It was very tedious to put all those tiny metal rings and scales together for hours and hours. But that's what cosplay is all about. Putting in hours to create something amazing.
Dragon claws in production
Following the design of the dragon, I created a tail, wings and horns to accompany the hands. I tried materials I had never worked with before: foam rubber, PVC pipes, and paper clay. I made a point of being able to sit up, so I had to make the tail move. As a consequence, each flake had to be made and added individually to allow the glue to be flexible. Unfortunately, I was so busy at BlizzCon that I only got to sit down once.
I had a great time making the costume and wearing it. Thanks to everyone who gave me a hand. BlizzCon is an annual tradition for me and hopefully dressing up will be too.