This costume was a last-minute addition to my SDCC 2013 roster, but one I wanted to tackle for a couple of years now. I’ve been a fan of Camilla d’Errico’s art for quite some time, drawn to the anime roots, surreal styling, and juxtaposition of organic and mechanical elements. Her odd amalgamations captivated me – the “Helmet Girls” series in particular.

I loved the idea of cosplaying from a piece of art, as I’d never done it before and it seemed an extra challenge. The first and perhaps most difficult task was choosing which Helmet Girl I wanted to pay tribute. I browsed the full catalogue and returned continually to “The Heart.” The intricate yet industrial helmet, delicate butterfly, and quizzical expression sealed the deal.

Construction was relatively inexpensive as I had most of the supplies at home, although I did pick up a few pieces from the plumbing department at my local hardware store.

I started her “helmet” by crafting a trio of headbands from scratch, made with craft foam sandwiched between two pieces of Worbla. Once cooled and shaped on a foam wig head, I was surprised by how much support and structure they provided. Aside from the large cylinders on the sides (the plumbing bits), everything else was built up from craft foam. I sealed the foam with gesso to ensure a smooth finish when painting.

I used a variety of brads, large screws, and cogs for accent pieces. I keep a tub of odds and ends around the house; never sure what I’ll use them for. Several parts of the final helmet came from my stockpile, such as the “monocle” lens. It’s actually half of a collectable coin preserver.

I aged the helmet, but didn’t distress it much, wishing to keep it relatively ornate looking. I started with brass paint and dry brushed bronze and copper for accents. I also broke up the color palette with some silver and gold accents.

I completed the structure of the helmet with several days left till SDCC, giving me time to do something I’d really hoped to fit in – make the outermost cogs spin. My friend Michael kindly helped me install two RC car motors. I’m so glad we found time for this final touch, even though having the motors right next to my ears made it a bit difficult to hear on the show floor. You can see it in action via the gif below, taken from a longer clip in this “Cosplay Girls of Comic-Con 2013” video.

“The Heart” couldn’t be bothered with clothing, so I had creative freedom in her attire. I wanted to contrast the industrial helmet with something a bit more whimsical and delicate. I picked up a soft yellow sundress and ordered a handful of feather butterflies to attach to the skirt with magnets. I found a really nice steampunk butterfly necklace on Etsy, and fabricated my own ring out of odds and ends from home.

Hydred – the talented makeup artist I hire every year for SDCC – was responsible for polishing off the look. We wanted my eyes to mimic butterfly wings with over-the-top lashes. I also popped in some yellow contacts from EyesBright.com, which gave the look a sort of otherworldly element.

The lovely Lisa Lou Who was able to join me at the show as a second Helmet Girl – The Egg Thief – and I was blown away by her final look. You can see more photos of her here. We were both incredibly happy to have the chance to chat with Camilla and AdaPia d’Errico on the show floor and show off our costumes!

Thank you to the following photographers for fantastic convention photos: Adam Patrick Murray, David Ngo, Jason Chau Photography, Sebastian Jespersen, and Elysiam Entertainment.

You can find WIP and convention photos below. Enjoy!

Helmet Girl WIP

Helmet Girl Portfolio

I’ve been inexcusably slow to finish this write-up, as the task of putting this experience to paper has been daunting. Our Claymore build was the most complex costume I’ve ever had the pleasure of working on. It was also the most rewarding. Hang in there; you’re in for one long blog.

Stage 1: Assembling the Team
So how did this beautiful relationship begin? I’d met Linda Le, also known as VampyBitMe, just prior to my big move across the country last year. I really enjoyed the limited time I spent with her, and when I learned I’d be living less than 20 minutes away, a collaborative costume was a no-brainer. It became even more ideal when we were both invited to be cosplay guests at the same convention – Katsucon – in February of 2012. We just had to narrow down the theme.

About the same time my boyfriend had started and finished a Claymore marathon in a single sitting. The ambient music and dialogue from the other room had me instantly intrigued. I sat down the next weekend and did the same, falling in love with the characters, costume design, and overall narrative of Claymore. In a moment of serendipity the next day, Linda posted a progress photo of her own Claymore costume to Facebook – the first stages of wig and bodysuit for Teresa of the Faint Smile. The madness began soon after.

We both wanted the cosplay to be one of the most impressive of our portfolios, so some large amount of time was spent ideating techniques for the swords and armor – Linda is an expert seamstress, so we didn’t sweat that aspect at first. I work primarily in Wonderflex and craft foam, but knew they wouldn’t cut it this time around.

Part of the discovery phase involved chatting up a friend from work – Michael Poon – who offered some great advice and put us in contact with a friend who runs a fabrication shop up in Sacramento. We met the owners (Zack and his wife Kris) a week or so later and immediately hit it off over debates about Star Wars, Gundams, and gaming. With that, our team began to assemble.

The best part of collaborating with a big group is the unique skills we each brought to the table. Michael, Zack, and Kris specialize in engineering and machining, while Linda and I offered up the more creative and aesthetic angle. In total, Linda and I made the drive up to Sacramento for five long weekends during the build, taking advantage of the massive shop and picking the brains of our newfound friends. Specifics on each aspect of the project below!

The Sword: Claymores
To be totally honest, Zack got a bit excited about the project, and had our first sword nearly complete by the time Linda and I arrived up in Sacramento the kickoff weekend. Thanks Zack! After freaking out about how amazing the blank blade looked, we sat down and chatted about how to polish it off and replicating a second.

Despite the first blade being nearly done, Zack made sure to run us through the process so we could wrap our heads around the fabrication. After plotting out the sword in SolidWorks, a CNC (computer numerical controlled) machine milled the blade out of solid aluminum. We considered at one point welding sheet metal together to hollow out the blade and make it lighter, but the milled approach resulted in a much higher quality and was worth the extra few pounds.

In regards to the hilt of the sword, the pommel and cross-guard pieces were also mapped out in SolidWorks by Zack, and then lathed/milled, respectively. The grip is spun carbon fiber fixed with colored epoxy – red for my blade and blue for Linda. Zack was even able to cut our respective symbols from the swords – another perk of the blade being solid. The pommel and guard were then painted with high-quality gold automotive paint.

My sword was the first out of the metaphorical oven, and after comparing it to our statures we scaled Linda’s down to be a bit more proportional. To acknowledge the obvious – yes, the blade is taller than in the show or manga. Without realizing the discrepancy, we scaled the Claymore off the PVC MegaHouse figure of Clare, which showcases the sword at a much larger size. After investing so much work into them we weren’t going to start over. Also, there is no such thing as making a sword too big.

At that point, the swords were mostly done, except for a large amount of sanding required, and dulling down the edges for convention safety. They were sharp enough to murder watermelons for this video, and to be honest; they didn’t dull down a noticeable amount. I’m surprised they weren’t confiscated at Katsucon! The swords easily weigh over fifteen pounds, but were worth the exhaustion from carting them around.

Claymore WIP – Sword

Armor: Pauldrons & Sword Sheath
The shoulder pauldrons were by far the most challenging part of the build, and a big learning experience for everyone involved. The most difficult aspect wasn’t the fabrication, but rather engineering how everything would stay in place and where to position the points of attachment, as well as scaling them for two vastly different stature individuals.

We looked at using traditional mould setups and plastic composites, but ended up using carbon fiber as the most lightweight and durable option available. Yes, I’m fully aware that we were spoiled on this project.

To start the pauldrons we again took advantage of the CNC machine. Zack had the moulds drawn up and milled by the time we arrived the next weekend, leaving the actual fabrication to Linda and I once we settled in. After demoing the technique to us, Linda and I laid out sheets of carbon fiber, cut them into thin strips, and wove them back and forth in the concave aluminum shapes. After five or so layers, we covered the entire form in heat-resistant cloth, created plastic vacuum seal bags, and sucked out all the air to compress the carbon fiber. Each shoulder piece has two tiers, so in total we repeated the process eight times, consuming the majority of a single weekend even with the help of the rest of the team.

After baking the pauldrons in an industrial oven, the carbon fiber shapes were set, albeit very rough. Then came repeated fittings and shaping, which again took the better part of a day. Linda and I struggled with the exact size and shape to cut them to (we baked them considerably larger then needed so we could custom fit them to our shoulders) as each reference image looked different. We printed hundreds of stills from the anime, and constantly consulted the manga, but it came in little aid. Eventually we settled on a shape somewhere between the perfect oval and dramatic point the armor seemed to swap between.

Early designs done in SolidWorks

Marking out our final patterns in a silver sharpie, we cut away the excess materials and started the process of sealing the forms with Bondo and sanding. And sanding again. And again. And again. We then used a piece of foam to bolster the tiers of pauldrons on each shoulder and give them the accurate angle and degree of separation.

What we referred to as the “backpack” was created in a very similar way – aluminum mould, woven carbon fiber, baking, Bondo, and sanding. In the anime the form is used to sheath the giant Claymores, but we quickly learned that our arms could not feasibly extend far enough to actually draw a sword from that angle, so form took priority over function.

Returning for another weekend, assembly became the biggest focus for us, and it took dozens of attempts to get it right. A full day of fittings unfolded as we learned that animators don’t necessarily consider real-life engineering issues when creating entertainment. We could find no points of attachment on the armor, aside from the more intricate metal designs along the breastbone (these shapes were drafted in SolidWorks and cut with the water jet).

At some point we gave up trying to hide hardware and permanently attached the pauldrons to the backpack and front pieces with locking nuts and bolts. Even at this stage we were adjusting the armor constantly to form it properly to our chest and shoulders. The final result was a bit back heavy, but we were able to mitigate that at a later stage.

Claymore WIP – Pauldrons

Armor: The “Petals
Weird nicknames aside, these pieces shouldn’t have been overly complicated but again ended up being a nightmare. Early on we came to the agreement that using a urethane blend would be the best approach for them. Finding that perfect blend was extremely difficult, however. Zack and Kris tried dozens of mixtures to ensure it wasn’t too heavy or brittle, and malleable enough to conform to our bodies. Michael proposed a perfect solution in embedding wire mesh to provide extra staying power for shaping. We put the wire mesh into our CNC milled moulds and spent another weekend mixing, pouring, and drying the urethane pieces once Zack found the appropriate ratio of parts. Each took two hours to dry, and both Linda and I needed nine pieces, so the process ate up most of another weekend. The petals cured well, but required some Bondo here and there to fill pockmarks from escaping air. Much more sanding followed.

With the petals finished, Linda and I shifted our attention to the harness, to ensure they would sit correctly before we shaped them to our hips and thighs. After much thought, we decided for a fairly rudimentary approach by attaching each petal to an elastic band that sat at our natural waist. Sewing them into the tunic itself wouldn’t have been seamless enough, but the curve of our waists would help to disguise the thickness of the petals. We drilled holes in each petal top and hand sewed them into the interior of the band, using a bit of felt to protect our skin from the urethane. The exact positioning and attachment methods again took some trial and error, but after a day or so we had them mostly finished.

Then came the baking. We put the entire skirt piece in the oven for two or so minutes, and shaped each petal one at a time so they lay flush with our lower half. After cooling, we took every thing – petals, pauldrons, and other assorted shapes, to the shop for painting. Again, we used high-quality automotive paint to ensure it was thick and chip resistant.

Claymore WIP – Skirt

Bodysuits, Capes, and Cowls
While away from Sacramento, Linda nabbed some not-so-cheap triple ply fabric from downtown San Francisco, which worked perfectly for the Claymore bodysuits. I was nervous about donning a white body suit in public, but the fabric was thick enough that there was no transparency to it.

Linda whipped out both bodysuits in a weekend, and then we met up for fittings and alterations. Eyeballing the deep neckline and concave tunic shape, we cut and finished all the edges by hand in our moments of downtime in Sacramento. The capes were cut from the remaining fabric in a single piece, giving careful consideration to the shape so that they would drape and move appropriately.

Our final weekend in Sacramento was the most stressful, as we planned a photoshoot for that Sunday. Linda and I were up working on the cowl pieces for hours just prior to the shoot. As all cosplayers know, good intentions and careful planning only help so much when it comes to finishing costumes early. Somehow it always comes down to the last minute and a lot of industrial strength velcro.

The Final Touches
The final touches resulted constant scrambling the week before the shoot, as we had to purchase white cloves, silver contacts, and add various snaps and Velcro bits all over the costume to ensure everything stayed in place. Linda also had to cut and style the wigs. Last minute, we even decided to whip together a young Clare costume for Zack and Kris’ daughter, who was a super trooper for participating and looked totally adorable. Our initial photoshoot with James Ellerker proved to be a much-needed test run for the costumes, although the images turned out quite well despite the stress. After the shoot, I removed one of the arms from my tunic and whipped up a Quicksword arm, assembling it from some faux leather and some belts I nabbed at Target.

Finishing Touches Gallery

Claymore – Finishing Touches

Katsucon
After all the pressure of coming down to the wire subsided, Katsucon was a blast and the costumes were received incredibly well. I owe the convention administrators a huge thank you for being such fantastic hosts, and throwing a wonderful show. The highlight of the convention was our shoot with my good friend Ljinto, who does the majority of my cosplay photography. He scouted the perfect location just outside our hotel, boasting an amazing statue called “The Awakening.” Linda and I transformed it into a giant Yoma emerging from the sand, waiting to be slain by a pair of vengeful Claymore. The day was overcast and gloomy, setting a somber tone for the shoot. It was perfect.

Claymore Portfolio

Final Thoughts
I usually make costumes alone in my apartment in the midst of a movie marathon. Having never collaborated with a group before, this build was an incredible experience, and inherently much more fun than sitting by myself making a mess on my floor. In fact, we all got along so well that a builders group was born from our cosplay collaboration – Mantium Industries. You can read more about our group and goals here. Essentially, we just want to make cool shit.

With all the unique skills we each brought to the table, everyone involved walked away having learned something new. Despite all the false starts and occasional frustrations, we can’t wait to collaborate again.

Phew! That was a mouthful! Want to get even geekier about the build? Read our interview in Composites World Magazine for even more tech specs!

Mantium Team Credits: Zack & Kristine Spencer, Michael Poon, Linda Le, Meagan Marie, Scott Trauthen, Robert Maurer, and growing!

Although my childhood memories are primarily punctuated by cartoons like Batman: The Animated Series, DuckTales, and Disney’s Gargoyles, I was exposed to a handful of anime in my youth. One offering in particular – Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke – resonated with me for years to come. To some degree it retains a special place because it was one of my first forays into the world of Japanese animation, but it additionally warrants fond recollection for a powerful story and moving performances. When I was invited to Katsucon 2012 as a cosplay guest – a massive honor and an amazing experience – it only seemed natural to take on San’s deceptively simple garb from the Ghibli film.

Construction of the costume took about a month, working a few hours here and there after work. I started with San’s mask, as in my eyes it’s the most iconic part of her costume. The mask began as a bamboo bowl from Target, which I chose because of its light weight and durability. I shaved down the bowl with a razor, plotted out the eyes and mouth, burned the sockets in with a soldering iron, and began mold the clay accent pieces. When everything was shaped, I popped it in the oven to bake. After cooling, I filed off any paint that still adhered to the mask so the natural grain would show through.

My primary goal in the costume was to ensure everything looked hand made, and as such little sanding was needed. I actually carved lines into the dry clay to make it appear made of wood, too. When it came to painting I avoided oversaturation, so that the rings would show through the bright pigment. I hand painted the small details, again, not really worried about achieving perfection.

The ears were made similarly, entirely out of clay and carved to look like wood. I also made the teeth on San’s necklace out of clay – painted an off white and then slightly yellowed for a realistic look.

The crystal dagger was fairly easy. I ordered a glass napped point on Etsy, and painted the back with blue nail polish. It’s a simple trick that works very well and doesn’t compromise the transparency of the glass. I used a friendship bracelet and some leather cording to finish off the piece.

San’s actual dagger – her primary weapon – is made out of Wonderflex. I left the edges intentionally serrated so it would appear to be made out of bone. Again, I used a slight off-white color. A spare piece of curtain rod became the handle, completed by wrapping leather cording around the grip. I also made the earrings out of Wonderflex, painted a pearlescent shell color.

I completed the dress and vest in one night without the aid of a pattern. I chose a thick, rough looking linen for the fabric, knowing it would fray and look more authentic as I wore it. I used the same fabric for the head and arm bands, attaching beads accents I purchased to match the design.

The shoes used to be some ugly fashion boots, complete with fur and a massive zippers. I stripped them down to the bare bones, and hand-sewed on new soles so they wouldn’t look manufactured.

The fur cape was a last minute addition, and something I was very concerned about leading up to the show. When my order arrived, it was a very distinct silver color – not the pristine white I had ordered. I almost settled due to a lack of time, but my boyfriend surprised me with a new, accurate order that arrived the night prior to my departure. Cutting it up and securing it in place wasn’t difficult, but was very messy.

The day of the convention, fellow Katsucon guest Linda Le helped me paint my face, as I’m absolutely horrid at anything involving symmetry. She also cut and styled the wig for me, making it look as light and feathery as San’s own hair. I finished up the costume with a bit of “dirt,” which was in truth black and brown hairspray diluted with water and stippled on my arms, legs, and face.

I spent the first half of the day in my full Mononoke ensemble, which was very well received by other Ghibli followers. I then returned to my room, removed my mask, and bloodied up my mouth and hands. Fans of the film recognized the look as the first time they see San, attempting to aid her wounded wolf-kin.

I shot with both Anna Fischer and LJinto at the show, and am so, overwhelmingly happy with the photos. The Katsucon hotel was an ideal place for the shoot – the lighting and atmosphere was perfect, and there was even a little stream running through the courtyard.

I am by no means through with San – I intend to wear her again to several more conventions this year. All I need now is to find myself an Ashitaka!

Princess Mononoke WIP

Princess Mononoke Portfolio

Anime has only been on my radar for the past few years – if you don’t count the unavoidable Pokémon episodes I devoured as a kid. While considering what to take on for my first cosplay project, I was also taking my first timid steps into the world of Japanese animation. After watching Chobits at the recommendation of a friend, I knew Chi would be one of my first costuming endeavors.

This was back in late 2006. With that being said it’s obvious that this costume was a long time in the making. Technically, my first cosplay experience was dressing up as Lara Croft in early 2006, (which while good for a first effort, makes me cringe looking back) but this costume idea came almost immediately afterwards.

After my first successful cosplay run – a small comic book convention in Minnesota – I decided I wanted to give the whole cosplay thing my all. As I mentioned, that decision corresponded directly with me watching Chobits for the first time, and I immediately fell in love with the main character Chi. Who wouldn’t though?!? Her costumes are as adorable as her personality, and I knew I wanted to try and pull off the long pink dress she rocked in one of the later episodes. At that point I had no sewing skills whatsoever – as opposed to my questionable sewing ability now – so I looked to eBay for my first official cosplay purchase. I think GEN editor Kannaya and I spent more time in class on eBay looking for cosplay outfits for several weeks than we did on schoolwork. Eventually I found the dress online – which looked beautiful in the photo – and ordered it right away. I asked for it to be modified to make the sleeves short, but other than that no changes were made.

The Inspiration For My Dress

I purchased the dress for a total of $100 – very steep for me at the time. The ensemble came with the dress, foam Persocom ears and Chi’s little spool hair ornaments. I was really happy and excited with the purchase from the get-go. However, when I got the dress in the mail, I was pretty bummed with the results. In the eBay photo, you could not tell that the fabric was shiny and very heavy – versus the light and flowing dress that appeared online. The flower embellishments on the neck were much lower quality, and one of the sleeve tops was even sewn back on itself. The dress was also a much more vivid pink that I imagined. To make things worse, when I tried on the dress the front was much longer than it appeared in the photos. One of the reasons I chose the dress was because of the unique shape – a very short skirt in front contrasted with an overly long train in the back. The front of the skirt almost reacted my knees. The dress did not fit great anywhere, but since it was made custom to my size, I sucked it up and dealt with it.

I dealt with it by sticking it in my closet and never wearing it out, even to my first anime convention. It stayed there until I had an itch over a year later to try it on again. I just received a long and curly blonde wig in the mail, and wanted to give Chi another chance. Nope, the dress didn’t fit any better, but I decided to try and get some fun photos out of it anyway. I managed to negate the length problems by adding a corset to the costume. With that, I was able to tuck up around eight-inches of the dress under the corset, making it the appropriate length. Also, the black corset helped to block off the huge mass of pink. Without the corset, the large pink blob of a dress proved to be overwhelming to look at.

After I decided to shoot the costume, I went accessory shopping. I bought a little petticoat for under the dress to give it an extra “omph” and found matching thigh-high white stockings with cute satin bows on top. I finished the dress off with black pumps and the pink choker. I decided to use the long blonde wig I already had, even though it was not quite perfect to character. The really long wigs that are needed for so many anime characters are hard to maintain and more often than not look fake, so I chose to sacrifice a bit of accuracy for something I thought would photograph and look better.

As I began to plan the shoot, I decided I wanted to do a few quick photos in other Chi appropriate clothing items. Since Chi was almost always wearing Hideki’s sleep shirts in the beginning of the series, I thought it would be cute to throw on an oversized men’s shirt in some photos. I also grabbed a flowing white nightgown because I thought it would look nice with the blonde wig and some natural makeup.

Chi in one of Hideki’s sleep shirts

Organizing the shoot was fun. I was able to work with an amazing makeup artist and photographer, who did not mind my babbling on and on about the character and series. We exchanged emails before the shoot date to go over makeup ideas, possible shoot locations and fun stuff like that. My makeup artist – Konnie Yang – and I had not worked together previously. When I sent over pictures of the costumes we decided to do a more natural look for the first shots in the sleep shirt and night gown. Even though we went for natural and minimal makeup at first – she still managed to my skin flawless and make my eyes even bigger than they already are. Also, she was one of the fastest working makeup artists I have ever shot with – which was fantastic due to the extra camera time we got as a result. Also, check out those eyelashes! Put on perfect!

Scott Walker, the photographer, was a friend of mine who I have worked with several times in the past few years. We had been talking about doing a cosplay shoot together for some time, so shooting Chi seemed like a good fit. He has a fantastic studio with lots of windows and interesting spaces to shoot in the building. Scott did a unbelievable job with the photos, and I can honestly say I have never seen a raw pictures come from the camera looking so good. I also loved that he rigged his camera up to the computer – so I had constant feedback on how the photos were looking and what poses were working best.

As I mentioned, we started the shoot with me in the nightgown and sleep shirt. When shooting, I tried to keep Chi’s personality in mind. In the early part of the series, she was very child-like and confused. She had the curiosity of a little kid and I tried to show that. Some of the pictures I am hugging a big bear – or interacting with it in some way such as pointing at its nose. Some of the photos I have a semi-lost expressions on my face, and others I have a big – and admittedly goofy – grin on my face almost like Chi was glowing from receiving Hideki’s approval. I also did a run looking out the window – trying to seem lost in thought as Chi often did. The “sleepy Chi” shots in the blue sleep shirt turned out cute as well. I have to say though; my favorite pictures out of that set are my “underpants” shots. One of my favorite Chobits episodes was when Hideki sends Chi out to go buy underpants. I loved that she did not quite understand what they were for or why she needed them. I picked up a new pair of white panties from the store before the shoot and played around with them in a few photos. It took a bit of explaining on my part for everyone there to understand what I was doing, but I think the shots are fun.

Last Inspirational Image

We moved onto the big pink dress after that – which required three sets of eyes the whole time to keep every ruffle in place. That dress is a piece of work to say the least. Konnie spruced up my makeup to make it a bit more glamour for those pictures. She added more color to my cheeks and gave me a smokier eye. With darker eyes, she decided to leave my lips with just gloss. We started shooting the dress in front of a white seamless backdrop – primarily because there was enough going on in the costume that we did not want anything to compete. I tried to approach these photos as a bit more mature Chi. She was farther along on the path to self-discovery at the point I was pulling from, and seemed a bit older as a result. We tried some full-body shots and some close-ups for the makeup and I varied both serious and fun looks. After shooting on the white background, we moved into the hallway to shoot coming up some stairs and by a different window. After a few photos, we got a fantastic profile shot and decided to end the shoot on a good note. I think I liked being blonde a bit much, because I left the wig on the remainder of the day.

Scott put up a gallery of photos a few days later, so I did not have to wait long to see our collaborative results! There were a huge amount of great photos thanks to the team effort. As far as post-production work, very little was required. Color-balance, focus and exposure were perfect nearly every shot thanks to Scott, and Konnie did a great job bringing out my features. I did apply a diffused-glow filter to some of the photos to play up Chi’s angelic nature, but most of the photos are pretty pure. I also changed my eye color to brown in order to mach Chi’s – but only because my eyes seem to reject contacts whenever I try. I thought about lightening up my eyebrows a bit – as I have already received comments that they give away I am wearing a wig – but in the end I figured it was not really that big of a deal.

So there you go! Way more information than I am sure you need to know about this costume! I doubt I will ever wear it to a convention, as it is hard to keep in check – but who knows, Chi may make a Minnesotan appearance at next year’s Anime Detour. I hope you enjoy the photos – a ton of hard work went into bringing Chi to life!