Gijinka Pokemon Design Project

One of my goals for the near future is to learn how to do proper fashion illustration, so that I can plan my costumes better, especially when I go off-canon. For example, my upcoming Unown dress only exists in my head, and that's a very unstable storage space. But I can't draw it properly, so it's all I have.

And once I've learned the basics, I have the perfect project to help me fine-tune the skill: design 721 gijinka Pokemon costumes (one for every single Pokemon there is... so far). I won't necessarily go in order (what fun would it be to do Bulbasaur, then Ivysaur, then Venosaur all in a row? It would get redundant every time there was an evolution series) and I'll practice new things with each one I do, to make a learning experience instead of a weirdly self-inflicted real-life grind quest.

Here is the Pokedex I'll be working from. I think that's all I'll use, instead of pulling in other reference photos. I'm far and away more familiar with the original generation, since I actually played those games, and seriously. But I think between their names and sprites, I'll have enough information to design around the rest.

I don't know if I'll actually make any of them... as soon as I had the idea, I knew I badly needed a gijinka Dratini in my closet, but we'll see. For now, this is a fun way to improve a skill I really need.

Cosplay: The Reason You Had to Take Geometry

Yes, kids, I'm sorry, but the reason we all had to take geometry in high school was because some of us were going to use it later in life, and, not knowing which of us would become engineers and architects and designers and cosplayers, they made us all learn it.

What's that? You think cosplaying doesn't use math to the extent that architecture does?

Pictured below: My afternoon.

How many pleather straps do I have to make? How long are they?
Make sure they're all the same width, and don't forget the seam allowance.
Oh, and how did you measure them? Because that makes a HUGE difference.

I'm not great at 3-D geometry... Birk had to get involved to show me how to
make all the straps attach to each other. Drawings were badly needed.

This would have been the first of at least a few attempts at the red bracer if
Birk hadn't reminded me of some basic geometrical concepts.

You can see the failed attempt at geometry on the bottom of the page.

It turned out right... so far. There's still a lot of math,
sewing, grommeting, lacing, etc. to go...
and that's just for one forearm of this costume.
Just wait until we put the whole top together.