Here are a few shots from last weekend’s Phoenix Comicon. We’ll be filling you in more soon!
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Snapshots of Phoenix Comicon 2016 #PHXCC
Phoenix Comicon 2016 Picks #phxcc
Wading through the Phoenix Comicon schedule can be a bit daunting, so I wanted to highlight some panels and events I thought you lovely maker geeks might be interested in.
I’ve asterisked the items that don’t require a Phoenix Comicon membership pass for anyone who can’t make it to the whole Con but still wants to be a part of the action.
For more recommendations on what to eat/drink/see around the Convention Center, check out our last post.
Thursday, June 2
3pm Cosplay 101 – From Closet to Convention Floor – I love that this panel is about making your own costumes with what you already have!
*6:30pm Comi-PAWn Pet Parade – Probably the cutest event of the Con, pet lovers can bring their dogs in costume to the Herberger Theater patio to be part of a show and parade.
7:30pm The Phoenix Ultimate Geek Smackdown (PUGS) – preliminary round of the annual, hilarious geek debate tournament
*8pm Star Wars vs Star Trek – The Music of Deep Space – The Phoenix Symphony will be playing music from Star Wars and Star Trek films, and the audience will vote for their favorite franchise! (Event tickets required.)
Friday, June 3
1:30pm Making the Game: The Art, Design, and Imagination of Iconica – how to design your own tabletop game. (More info on Facebook.)
*4:30pm Geek Girl Brunch Phoenix: Comicon Meetup – cocktail hour with a group of geek girls who usually meet for brunch. (h/t friends Anne and Eileen)
7:30pm The Phoenix Ultimate Geek Smackdown (PUGS) – geek debate tournament finals
8pm Star Party with the Phoenix Astronomical Society – telescopes will be set up for star/planet-gazing
Saturday, June 4
1:30pm Cosplay for All Sizes – modify costumes and patterns to work for your body
7:30pm Dancing for Everyone! – introductory-level English and Irish community set dances
Sunday, June 5
10:30am Confessions of a Cosplay Boyfriend – trials and tribulations of being in a relationship with a female cosplayer
4:30pm Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest Preview – apparently, this year’s Fan Fest will be at a new venue and in October (instead of December). Hopefully, they’ll let us know what’s up. (And hopefully I’ll make it to Sunday afternoon.)
While the car show will stay on Third Street (full schedule under Phoenix Comicon “outdoor events.”), there will be a lot happening on Adams Street, as well.
Fri-Sun: Con on Adams
This year, Phoenix Comicon is taking over Adams Street, where there will be live music, a party pavilion, San Tan Brewery beer garden, and food trucks.
Bands:
- Cockswain – 7-piece Celtic folk punk
- Dratini on the Rocks – video game cover band
- Luminatus – Otaku symphonic metal
- Open Beta – Geek-folk
- People Who Could Fly – indie-pop
Food truck line-up:
- Queso Good – quesadillas. Fri: 11am-10pm, Sat: 11am–10pm, Sun: 11am–5pm
- Pho King – pho, stir fry, fusion burritos
- Gelato Spot – pizza, paninis, salad, gelato
- Cactus Corn – flavored kettle corn
- Cheese Love & Happiness Food Truck – grilled cheese
What are you looking forward to?
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PS Travelcraft Journal turns 3 today! I’ll probably raise a celebratory glass – or spoon – at Comicon. Cheers to all of you for being a part of this community!
Constructing Costumes, Characters, and Time-Traveling Cars
At Phoenix Comicon, I attended 5 panels where authors, cosplayers, and time-machine builders gave advice about their respective crafts.
Character Clothing
Four authors and a comic book artist shared about the role clothing plays in their works and what to keep in mind when you consider how your characters dress.
Is the clothing functional in the environment? If not, make sure the character feels its effects. –Travis Hanson
Try making the costume of one of your characters and wearing it for day. Feel what it’s like to move around in what they wear. Sensory input can really inform your writing. –Leanna Renee Hieber
Cosplay
2. A Beginner’s Guide to Foam Smithing:
New cosplayers often start working with foam, because it’s fairly easy to work with and cheap. If something you try doesn’t work, you’re probably only out about 50 cents.
Foam doesn’t have to be something you move on from. You can incorporate many different materials into your costume. It also uses many of same tools as Sintra and other thermoplastics. [Check out the Tools and Materials list in our DIY Armor post.]
3. Cosplay Like a Pro: Less Stress, More Fun!
You notice the flaws of a costume you’ve been working on but others won’t. They see the overall picture.
Remember the 10-foot rule: your costume doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to look good from 10 feet away. If someone wants to get closer than that, that’s when you suddenly have a panel to rush off to.
4. We are ALL Wonder Women! with Heather Ann Cosplay, Stray Kat Cosplay, and Whitney.
Even if you feel you don’t look like the character or aren’t sure about your costume, you can feel like Wonder Woman. –Stray Kat Cosplay
Watching Wonder Woman inspired little girls that
they could stand up for themselves and others. –Whitney
Time Machine
Oliver and Terry Holler used parts they found and made to turn a DeLorean into a far out Back to the Future time machine. With it, they have traveled to all 50 states to fund raise for a future Parkinson’s Disease cure (a cause close to my heart because of my cousin Allison).
5. Back to the Future: Adventures in a DeLorean Time Machine:
The great thing about making something yourself is then you can fix it.
Money comes and goes. Time only goes.
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Thank you to Phoenix Comicon for providing media passes.
DIY Armor: Tips from cosplay experts
“Making costumes is addictive. You never just do one costume. It destroys your life.”
–501st Legion
I went to a couple of fascinating back-to-back maker panels at Star Wars Celebration. They shared tips that would be useful in all kinds of craft – even if you’re not into Star Wars.
The panels were given by two groups.
- 501st Legion: make/wear Star Wars “dark side” costumes (Darth Vader, stormtroopers, etc.)
- Mandalorian Mercs Costuming Club: make/wear armor-clad bounty hunter costumes (Boba Fett). Four members constructed armor for a panel audience volunteer in just 40 minutes (!)
Like Justice League Arizona (who I’ve mentioned before), members of these two groups build their own costumes, often make free appearances for charities and other good causes, and are passionate about what they do.
Getting started
501st Legion:
Don’t do a complicated metal costume like Boba Fett for your first costume. Do a soft costume.
Mandalorian Mercs:
You can get everything you need to make your armor for under $50 – tools, Bondo, gloves, etc. But know what level of tools to buy and when to spend less. Don’t be afraid to spend a little money on good tools, if you’re able to.
Safety
Mandalorian Mercs:
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- Wear gloves. Hot glue will burn you and will not stop burning until it cools off.
- The most dangerous thing is an X-ACTO knife. That’ll cut through you faster than a hot knife through butter.
Sizing for Costumes
Audience question: How do you adapt costume templates for people who wear larger sizes?
Mandalorian Mercs: Use optical illusion – black fabric, extra flanks, etc. Adapt templates to fit your body. People don’t all have the same proportions, especially women. Get up close with a friend, who can help you get your exact measurements. Armor must be molded to your body. I don’t think anyone else could put on my armor.
501st Legion:
It’s better to have slightly less accurate armor that’s proportionate to you. You don’t have to stick with on-screen measurements.
Mandalorian Mercs:
Make a duct tape dummy for a perfect cast of your body you can use to create a costume sized to fit.
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- Put on a t-shirt that’s one size too small.
- Duct tape around yourself.
- Have friend cut it off down the back.
Materials and Tools
Audience question: Does costume material have to be the same as the original?
501st Legion: No. It comes down to the finish. If a piece is painted well, you can’t tell what it was made from.
Mandalorian Mercs:
- A dremel set is one of the most important tools. It makes plastic look like metal. However, it is extremely messy. It goes so fast it can eat into your armor.
- The best place to find expanded PVC board, a.k.a. Sintra is a sign shop. [I believe Sintra is what they used for the armor-making demo. –TCJ]
- You can get Bondo at Walmart. It comes in large container that should last a long time. Do not glob Bondo on. Use rubber spatula to smooth on small bits.
- Krylon paints dry quickly and last. Don’t mix them with Rustoleum, because it won’t cure. Some people prefer to airbrush.
- Primer is like the Velcro to help your paint stick. It’ll last longer.
501st Legion:
Use rare earth magnets when working with metal that you can’t clamp down on. Just don’t accidentally glue your magnets to your armor!
Sourcing
Mandalorian Mercs:
Costume pieces may be incorporated from found items, seemingly random things like a battery cover from a palm pilot. We like go on what we call “scavenger hunts”. You’ll never look at the thrift store or dollar store the same way.
501st Legion:
It’s funny how our costume obsession has increased the price on random and ridiculous stuff on eBay! 3D printing can be a cost-effective alternative.
Final Thought
501st Legion:
Sometimes we get too obsessed with details and have to remind ourselves: “Just relax. We’re just plastic spacemen.”
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Thank you to Star Wars Celebration for providing media passes.
Phillip’s Guide to Phoenix Comicon
I decided to try something new last summer: attend the annual Phoenix Comicon (PHXCC). I would like to invite you to experience it briefly with me today.
You may think, “I don’t like comic books or super heroes or science fiction, what’s in it for me?”
If there’s a theme to the Phoenix Comicon, it is that “everyone’s a geek, celebrate it!”
What is PHXCC?
Phoenix Comicon started in 2002 with several hundred attendees as a way for comic book fans to gather in the Phoenix area to meet artists, buy and sell comic books, and have an excuse to dress up as their favorite comic book characters. Makes sense – “comicon” is short for comic convention!
But comic conventions have evolved beyond a focus on comic books to all things pop culture: science fiction, fantasy, horror, video games, board games, card games, anime, toys, filmmaking, etc. Even NASA has been coming for years to showcase their work and allow the public to interact with their newest projects.
From its humble beginning of 400 attendees at a Best Western in Ahwatukee, it has exploded into one of the largest conventions in the country – last year’s attendance topped 77,000!
The event is held during Memorial Day weekend in May at the Phoenix Convention Center.
They have 4 days’ worth of programming that includes panels and events. Don’t think of this as a serious trade convention but rather a celebration!
What to do?
Panels
Panels vary widely in topics and format. Here’s a sampling of some of the panels from last year:
- Spirituality in Comics – comic artists discuss spirituality and religious imagery in comics.
- Meet a Scientist – scientists from a variety of fields answer audience questions.
- Justice League Arizona – hear how a team of adults from all walks of life construct their own costumes of Batman, Superman, the Flash, etc. and dress up as their characters at charitable events. Did you know that if you have Batman or Wonder Woman ask a group to donate to your charity, people get way more excited to give?!
There are special panels (spotlights) with celebrity guests in the larger convention rooms that include a Q&A. Last year, some of the actors you could see were Cary Elwes (Wesley from the Princess Bride), Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver!), and Nathan Fillion (from Castle and Firefly).
My favorite panel was the Phoenix Ultimate Geek Smackdown (PUGS). In the format of a game show, volunteer contestants get to debate such important topics as “Who was the most helpful Redheaded Doctor: Dr. Beverly Crusher from Star Trek or Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama?”
It is the audience who gets to judge the winner of each debate until the ultimate geek is crowned!
Exhibition Hall
When you’re between panels, most people spend time in the exhibition hall which takes up the exhibition floor of the Phoenix Convention Center. This space is the size of several football fields and it’s a place where you can go to buy pop culture inspired artwork, meet artists, buy unique gifts and see displays, like an entire city built out of LEGO, including replicas of buildings in the Phoenix area brought in by local LEGO building club Cactus Brick.
You could also spend time in a Star Wars village to meet R2-D2, Chewbacca, or share a drink with aliens at the Mos Eisley cantina.
You could easily spend hours perusing the tables here, but try to get out – there are more things to see!
Parties/misc.
There are also many other activities:
- If zombies are your thing, you can dress up like a zombie and do the zombie walk through downtown Phoenix.
- Don’t forget the parties: there’s the Geek Prom, the Peter Pan Pirate Pool Party, and all kinds of other after-hours activities.
- There are also film festivals, roller derby competitions, and car displays outside (including the A-team van, Back to the Future DeLorean, Ghostbusters’ car).
What to expect
While there are many programmed activities, there’s much to expect that is not on the program.
1. First and foremost, expect to get overwhelmed! There are lots of events and activities going on at any one time!
My word of advice here is to go online and view the events of the weekend or pick up the PHXCC programming guide as soon as you can. Thumbing through this can help you make sense of everything.
2. Next, there will be lots of people in costume! People spend many hours putting together costumes for this event. Some you’ll recognize: Star Wars characters, the Terminator, comic book characters, etc. Some you won’t: I later learned one of my coworkers went to PHXCC dressed as a character from an anime show I had never heard of.
It is in the costumes where passion is most obvious.
You’ll see some pretty awesome costumes, and people love being recognized for their work. Just remember, if you’re going to take a picture of someone in costume, make sure and ask for permission.
3. Lastly you can expect to encounter people with passions for a wide variety of things – including some you didn’t even know existed!
A Place for All People of Passion
For me, going to PHXCC taught me about celebrating life and embracing who you are as a geek, a person with passions. I think I learned this best from a couple of kids.
We ran into a spunky 7-year-old girl equipped with a pink Disney princess backpack, a red lightsaber, and a big smile. Her wheelchair was outfitted to looked like an Imperial TIE fighter from the Star Wars movies! Her friend had a wheelchair made to look like the Millennium Falcon.
Everybody loved it, and the kids loved being the center of so much positive attention. For the three days of Phoenix Comicon, these kids weren’t simply scooting through life in a wheelchair, but flying through the stars.
So whether you’re young or old, wheelchair bound or not, a Star Wars fan or a Star Trek fan, at PHXCC, you can celebrate that we’re all people of passion!
We are what we love; we’re all geeks!
– More info –
- Registration is open for the next Phoenix Comicon May 28-31, 2015.
- Phoenix Comicon for newbies
- Cosplay tips
- Our take on Phoenix Comicon’s new event: Fan Fest
- All our Phoenix Comicon posts
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Thank you to Phoenix Comicon for providing media passes!