Byakuya test + Kenseikan tutorial v.2.0

A few days ago I modified my kenseikans for my Byakuya cosplay and now they sit much better and are easier to attach.. although I could use a friend's help to fasten them.
Here's a tutorial how I made them: Kenseikan tutorial

I took some more test photos yesterday and I'm actually pleased with how they turned out, even though I'm not quite done yet; I'm surprised how disturbingly easy it seems for me to pull of his typical facial expression... even though he has as many expressions as a potato...

I don't have so much more to say more than I can't wait for Chibicon!

Chibicon cosplay plans changed...

Remember I said I was going to bring Ichigo back? Well, plans changed.
I'll do haoriless!Byakuya to acccompany Jäärä as Rukia instead. I'm too scared of doing Ichigo and bringing huge-ass Zangetsu with me because it might end up collecting dust all con day in the... eh, "narikka" (that place you leave huge props and other stuff in during the con) and that would be kinda uncool. Actually, very uncool, Ichigo just isn't Ichigo without his oversized butcher knife. Chibicon's rules don't like big props it seems... so I figured to hell with it and play a safe card and do Byakuya instead; I only need to make the kenseikan and the scarf and voilá - first appearance version done. I don't have time to do the haori because the con is less than a month away and a captain's haori is a pain in the ass to make. I'll do it for Närcon this summer though.

I made those kenseikans, or as I like to call them - "hair bananas" - today as soon as we had discussed the change and agreed. lol And oh god how troublesome they were to attach, I guess I'll need to modify them and maybe shorten them too so they fit better... afghdgsdhag.  The scarf is just a random scarf, I need to make a proper one too.


Here's a WIP photo. Yes, I'm holding my hand to keep it in place. lol
Tested out some make-up and yeah... I think it is decent enough... considering how much I suck at make-up, ahaha...

Kenseikan

Yeah, said to myself I would finish them before this weekend earlier and today I got the thumb out from my ass and made them. It didn't take so long actually and was pretty easy to make. Here's some in progress photos (excuse me for bad lighting..) and short descriptions.

 

First I just took these hard paper (poster board?) whatever and cut out pieces that seemed an okay size. I cut out two similar so I could layer them over one another for strenght. I also marked the middle...

Then I just bent the middle to get that V-shape. After that I glued them on top of each other and proceeded to repeat the steps and make one kenseikan more...

When I had both kenseikan pieces cut out and glued together I just used duct tape in the inside to get the two separate pieces to be one whole...

Then I glued some scrap pieces to the ends to create some dimension.
And when I was done I went and took some WIP photos of one of my coming cosplays because now it's done. Yes, done. The kenseikan was pretty much the only thing I needed for it. XD Mhmm lazy budget cosplaying, I had everything else already.

derp

I'm herpderpin' around. lol I need white pins to hold kenseikan in place, black ones are too visible I think... and no, IT'S NOT BYAKUYA. It's Byakuya's dad, Sojun. Aww yeah, obscure character from a popular show. <3 There's only like... one official artwork of him and it's only showing his face from the front, heheh the rest is up to my imagination, woo. I will debut this cosplay during the summer first so yeah, I finished early. Although I need to test character make-up...